Teaching English
TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TO YOUNG CHILDREN
In the words of President McAleese, at her inauguration, November 2004- “ Ireland is a country of newly opened doors.’’ Over the last number of years, Ireland has been a nation of growing cultural diversity. We have a wide variety of non Irish nationals making this land their home and that of their children. With our newly found multi cultural society comes many challenges, not least the barriers of language and education.
In a child centred environment such as a crèche or Montessori school, children on both sides of the equation face problems of language and culture, so let’s look at the problems from the point of view of the child.
This is the first time that the child has to face an entirely new environment. Until this moment he or she has been safe in the centre of his own family, culture and language. Now the child finds him/herself in the difficult situation of a strange environment and may not be able to express his or her discomfort or anxiety.
In this environment our child finds new people and new children. These new faces may have a positive or negative reaction towards the child. The possibility also exists for the boy or girl to find a new friend. This depends on the communication abilities of the child. For example, does the child have any English ?, and if so can he or she use this basic grasp of our language in the right situation ?
Adapting to this new environment can take on different forms for the child :
- The child may integrate readily with the group without fear or angst.
- The child may become introvert, close all lines of communication and only join or interact with the group after some period.
- After about two weeks, the child will find no problem integrating with the other children and making friends.
On the other side of the coin, the already established group may be wary and somewhat curious about the new kid on the block. They may laugh or jeer with regards to lack of pronunciation of certain English words and the difference in accent. As a teacher I find that the best way to overcome this is to explain to both sides that this is perfectly normal and as a group we can understand and help the new child with English.
So far we have looked at this from the view point of the child. Let’s talk about the role of the teachers. After all they are the link between the family and the new environment for the child.
As a teacher, you should prepare for the new child with some basics with regard to the child’s country of origin and cultural background. All this can be gotten from the parents when they first come to visit the school. The teacher should also be informed about the level or command of the English language that the child possesses. You need to have some basic phrases in the child’s first language to smooth things along, such as – toilet – do you want a drink/food and simple yes and no commands. It is amazing how much of a difference this can make to improve the environment for all concerned. Step by step the teacher can begin to exchange these words for the English equivalent.
When the teacher has to present the new child to the group, she has to be sure to pronounce the name of the child properly, explain correctly which country the new child comes from, and if she feels that the child is comfortable in the environment she can ask the child to say ‘Hello’ in their native tongue.
Another piece of advice is to make a small tour of the school and point out the different activity areas to the new child, for example – the classroom, chairs, toilet, playground. Take care to pronounce clearly all these areas.
Gradually the teacher can expand the new child’s knowledge of the language. Start with single words and evolve them into sentences. A typical example of this is working with a jigsaw of a farm. First point out an object such as a cow. Say the word correctly and ask the child to repeat the word. Be sure that they can pronounce it properly. If it is a difficult word for the child to pronounce first time, do not persist with this. The exercise can be repeated again another day. Success comes quicker without pressure.
If your class has more than one non-English speaker, then form a small group and present the English language through the use of
- Pictures. Animals and basic objects are a good starting point.
- Poems and Songs. Start with simple poems and songs that a group can understand and progress onto more complex words when you feel that the group is ready.
- Games.
During the lesson with the full class, when presenting new materials, for example shapes, insist that the non English speaking children can pronounce the vocabulary correctly. Let them repeat and master these words.
The teacher can introduce the countries of the children as a lesson, using pictures or music to illustrate the cultures and traditions, for example a lesson about Latvia, China or Nigeria. When the children in the group are presented with some knowledge of these countries, they can understand and appreciate their new friends in the class better. This helps speed up integration and tackles issues of difference.
It is important to inform the parents daily of the new words that their child has grasped. The parents can then be empowered to help the child to master the new language at home.
These are only a few ideas on how we can help the child to be more educated in our ever growing multicultural environment and reduce the challenges faced by teachers and parents.
Sylvia Elworthy
School of Practical Childcare.
November ’04.
The School of Practical Childcare have designed an eight week ( 20 hour) course -- TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE TO YOUNG CHILDREN.
This course will be available on their Spring timetable. It is also available as an outreach course to local groups.
For full details contact
SCHOOL OF PRACTICAL CHILDCARE
01 4884 300
Written by
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