Children Learning English

Children Learning English

1. Contexts for learning

   • Strategies to manage the mixed ability class
     • • Catering for pupils’ lack of interest or ability
     • • Avoid labelling students
       • Do you have a tendency to label your students according to their behaviuor, personality or learning ability?
     • • Giving enough time
     • • Planning differentiated activities
     • • Have high expectation of all pupils
       • "Children then begin to begin to behave as we expect them to, and so they end up becoming successful or failing according to our expectations"(p29)
     • • Varying teaching methods to cater for different abilities and learning styles
     • Planning differentiated activities
     • • Varying teaching methods to cater for different abilities and learning styles
   • • Creating a warm, friendly learning environment
   • • Lively classrooms
   • • Warm and happy atmosphere

2. Children as languague learners

   • Pupil's abilities
     • • Need a safe environment to participate
     • • Talk their heads off
     • • Use chunks of language
     • • Use language creatively
     • • Go for meaning
     • • Are naturally curious to join the action
     • What implications do they have in our classrooms?
     • • Have fun

3. teachers' beliefs about learning

   • Ways of observing children's language learning
     • Can error be signs of active learning?
     • • Keep a diary
     • • Record children’s interaction
   • Have you discovered discrepancies between your lesson plans and the beliefs you claim to have?

4. Ways of developing positive attitudes towards English

   • Which are your students' attitudes towards English?
   • • Aiming your lessons at the right level
   • • Avoiding TENOR (Teaching English for No Obvious Reason)
   • • Encourage peer tutoring and group teaching
   • • Enjoyable activities
   • • Find out what pupils feel about learning English
   • • Helping students to create reasons for learning English
   • • Find out what pupils feel about learning English
   • • Helping students to create reasons for learning English
   • Motivating Students
     • Explain
     • Reward
     • Care
     • Teach inductively
     • Satisfy students needs
     • Make learning visual
     • Positive emotions

5. Pupils' attitudes to learning English

6. Classroom Management

   • Establishment and mantainance of the classroom so the educational goals can be accomplished
     • Effective Management
       • Planning
       • Establishing routines
       • Considering consequences
       • Establishing limits
   • Approaches
     • -Self-discipline approach
     • -Instructional approach
     • Dessist approach
   • The teacher
     • Effective teacher: Meets students personal and academic needs
     • Ineffective teacher: Poor planner - unclear academic and behavioral expectations
   • Causes of misbehavior
     • The teacher
     • Home environment

7. Scaffolding

   • Support given to the students
     • Adjust and reduce support
   • Four basic categories
     • Metacognitive
       • Reduce the amount of mental processing
     • Procedural
       • To show a process
     • Strategic
       • Provides alternative ways to approach a given task
     • Conceptual
       • Recognizing relationships between things
   • Support
     • Further support through contexts which:
       • are familiar to pupils
       • provide clues to the meaning of the language
       • begin from the concrete, physical, and move to the more abstract
     • 1. (Teacher's) Language
       • Using language at children's level
       • Adjusting one's language
       • Adjusting one's speed and volume
       • Using gestures and actions
     • 3. Children themselves
       • By watching other children (as models)
       • By listening and getting help from others (as tutors)
       • Practicing with others (as partners)
     • 2. Techniques and resources
       • Repeat pupils' answers
       • Rephrase answers
       • Use gestures / actions
       • Activate background / prior knowledge
       • Create a meaningful purpose for using language
       • Clear feedback

8. Language Use in the Classroom

   • Teacher's talk
     • Teacher's action zone
       • To allow all students equal opportunities to participate
     • Main form of language input
       • Gradually increase the amount of English
         • It gives pupils more exposure
       • Language
         • Simple instructions & vocabulary
         • Repetitive pattern
         • Actions linked to the words
         • Using objects
         • Both languages are a resource
     • Asking questions
       • Effectiveness
         • Clarity
         • Learning value
         • Interest
         • Availability
         • Extension
         • Teacher's reaction
       • Types of questions
         • Display
         • Referential
           • Divergent
           • Convergent
       • Purposes of questions
         • Referential
         • Noticing
         • Concept-checking
         • Form-based
         • Guidance
       • Effective questioning
         • Give enough time
         • Balance questions
         • Divergent questions
     • Storytelling
       • Adquisition of new vocabulary
       • Enjoyment
       • Development of lestening skills and literary competence
     • Feedback
       • Clarify
       • Value
       • Concerns
       • Suggest
       • Thanks
   • Supportive strategies
     • Genuine interest
     • Attention to language accuracy in a constructive way
     • Understandable input
     • Working in partnership with students

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