CHALLENGES IN CAPTURING THE ATTENTION OF YOUNG LEARNERS

      'Language learning is the most significant step for a young learner. It is easy for a baby to learn their mother tongue through acquisition. Even though he learns to speak and understand, formal education is required to teach them how to write and read. If English, is a mother tongue of a child the, teaching young learners English becomes quite an easy process. While teaching English as second language to the kids, certain technicalities and skills are required. These skills are to be acquired through TEFL or TESOL Courses, which specializes in teaching English to second language. The age group of ‘young learners’ fall within 2-12. It is the most crucial stage of any one’s life as it serves as a base or a stepping stone of a bright future. During the TEFL course, the teachers are taught the ways to teach both preschoolers and primary school students as both can be a totally different ball game.

Flashcards for young learners

 

    The biggest challenge for an English teacher to teach young learners is to grab their attention. If the students are learning English as second language, the problem for the teacher is that they are unable to communicate in their mother tongue sometimes. However, for language teaching the teachers are not required to know the mother tongue of the children. TESOL and TEFL course gives teachers training to teach English in English language only. teaching young learners English can be a challenging job and may be that is the reason why theESLteachers for young learners get the highest salary.

           

        
           Teaching kids can be both challenging and rewarding at the same time. It is a perfect opportunity to contribute towards the society by teaching young minds and at the same time earning good remuneration for the job.

Cartoons are being used to keep the attention

          Children unlike adults have a very short attention span. Thus, it is important for the teachers to use games, stories and songs while teaching children English. The teachers are taught the ways to teaching English as second language in varied ways to the kids. While teaching kids through various activities another most important thing the teachers should keep in mind is to manage the classroom well. Working in groups and giving proper instructions can help the teachers in this regard. Using flash cards, films and cartoons can also help at times. As the kids learn English as second language it helps them to relate to the pictures and flash cards with the language.'

         

    

      The video shows us several effective ways to use. These ways both help students to focus on the point and learn effectively. They are mostly the ways that include technology in creating. Through these ways, we, as teachers, can both keep young learners' attention and make them learn without getting bored. By the way, they can learn different aspects of a topic sequentially in only one activity. For instance, they can both learn 'tomato' and its color 'red' at same time.

        'Kids look up to their teachers, thus the responsibility of the teachers are quite high. They have the power to build the future of the kids. Teaching young learners English will help them in the long run as English is the lingua franca of today. However, in conclusion teaching English to young learners is not just the responsibility of the teachers but the parents should be equall.'

  ''Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing          great was ever achieved'' 

                                                                                                      Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

        -Can you think of another ways to use in the class to capture their attention? 

        -What might be the most effective techniques and activities?

        - Does it seem enjoyable to you?

Sources:
http://teachingyounglearners.com/teaching-blog/?p=44   
http://englishwell.info/uploads/taginator/Aug-2012/flashcard-for-kids.jpg
http://teachers.greenville.k12.sc.us/sites/ebjohnso/Shared%20Documents/kindergarten.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaOnX4VVifdeQNx0yKHckhpIyQc3JQP3WzA00mDmYYB2UQwqzcOELayyhpG60EEy7NZV62gdE-3LLy58h9v9FUXonFEAPObrmHy-Shkce0davC1gcRf2GJqtQeZjtdd0hQrYMGIQmQ9wU/s1600/parent+child+teacher.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2qMc_dCePCo

 Below, there are some usefull links to articles that you can read more if you are intersted in;

•  http://www.parax-ac.ir/FTPHost/0/EditorFiles/Documents/very%20young%20learners.PDF

•  http://www.global-english.com/custom/courses/pdf/sample%20c%20_%20motivating%20young%20learners-3.pdf

•  http://www.elt-china.org/pastversion/lw/pdf/liqinglan.pdf