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       Teacher-initiated

Teacher-led

       Shared-support

       Child-led

Child-initiated

      Children have their own views on teachers and they openly tell parents who is their favourite teacher and why. Good relationships with the teacher and with their peers contribute to the intrinsic enjoyment that motivates children to learn English. A supportive relationship shows that the teacher values the children’s ideas. It also encourages children to initiate sometimes, using phrases like I have an idea. Can I tell you? Children need to be confident that initiating is allowed in the English classroom, since, in some cultures, it’s not always encouraged in L1 lessons.

      It’s also important to remember that children learn more from each other than from the teacher, as, from a child’s point of view, peers are easier to copy than an adult.

      Children learn strategies from watching each other, and are more likely to imitate what someone quite like themselves does rather than an adult.

      (Stewart)

       Teachers need to constantly review:

       the changing teacher–child and teacher–class relationship and how it develops within the year

       how interesting they themselves seem to children – are they holistically ‘switched on’ to the children’s world (including ‘screen world’)?

       how they present new content to children and develop their desired independence (autonomy)

       how they structure content to help make learning easier

       how they manage activities so that children have opportunities to work together and learn from each other (for example, with one child ‘teaching’ and peers learning)

       how they make children and families aware of progress.

      The best motivation to learn a language is not an abstract liking of its beauty or utility, but a liking for the person who speaks it.

      (Taeschner)

2.4 Enabling learning

       … prepared input that alters according to the child’s needs and interests.

      (Whitehead)

      Planning language input within a programme and lesson is paramount for progress. Thought has to be given to which language to reuse and where, as well as when and how to introduce new language. In addition, some language input needs to be structured very precisely so that children can absorb it easily and later use it themselves. However, ‘planned language’ also has to be adaptable to include impromptu language, as the teacher tunes in to the immediate interests and needs of the children during a lesson.

      Children need quality, planned English input (and repetition of this input) if they are to pick up English to their full potential. This potential is often underestimated in comparison to that of children who learn languages outside the classroom effectively, rarely making mistakes. A child does not find learning language difficult like an adult; if he or she says it is difficult, it is generally a reflection of what adults have said!

      Throughout the language learning process, the ‘feel-good factor’ is vital for motivation and new learning. Children live in the present and their well-being can change from lesson to lesson. Teachers need to tune in to their emotional state at the beginning of each lesson and adapt to it. Sometimes, if children are moving into a new developmental stage, teachers need to adapt quickly to satisfy their eager curiosity to absorb new information and ideas.

      Focus (Attention) is a skill. Attention is embedded in well-being.

      (Goleman)

      Holistic learning for young children of 6 to 9 years is innate, rapid and continuous, following recognisable, common developmental patterns. By the age of 8 or 9 the child has matured considerably and has gradually begun to feel and portray his or her own identity. The child is more knowledgeable and can do more things alone, confidently repeating and consolidating known skills or discovering and trying out new ones. A child of this age is an unconscious self-educator and likes to be treated with patience and understanding.

       2.4.1 Modelling language

      Modelling the use of new language, or re-modelling known language and extending it to match new content, is important for learning. Acquiring language through structured modelling involves:

       teacher modelling (child watches and listens)

       co-share modelling (teacher and child work together)

       child modelling (leading the speaking, with teacher encouragement and support).

      Modelling can be consolidated through playing quick games. Consider the 'Pass it on’ game:

       ‘Pass it on’ game

      Start the game ‘Pass it on’ by passing a packet or object to one child, saying This is for you. Please take it.

      The child takes it and gives it to another child repeating This is for you. Please take it.

      The other child takes it as quickly as possible and says Oh! Thank you very much.

      He or she then goes up to anyone in the class and says This is for you. Please take it.

      The new child takes it as quickly as possible and says Oh! Thank you very much.

      He or she then goes up to anyone in the class and says This is for you. Please take it.

      This continues until the teacher says Stop.

      The child who has the packet when the teacher says Stop is out of the game for one minute.

      To begin with, the teacher has to support each child as he or she speaks to make sure the English is correct, but once the game is known it can be played with two or three different packets being passed round the room at once!

       2.4.2 The inclusion of enabling activities

      Enabling activities need to be closely linked to assessment if teachers are to take children to the next level and work within the child’s latest ‘zone of proximal development’ (‘ZPD’). Vygotsky defined ZPD as the gap between what children can do on their own without help, and what they can achieve with assistance from an adult or more able peer:

      Teachers must plan effective, structured enabling activities to match the developing child’s need for new motivation and consolidation. Children have the ability to comment on their own work and are often aware of how well they and others have performed. Motivation plays an important role in achievement and to assess effectively teachers need to know how to react to growth and development of learners.

      To achieve progressive learning, the teacher has to plan a programme which includes enabling activities as well as natural opportunities for repetition and reflective free play (or free-flow play). Teachers need to find ways to arouse curiosity in both girls and boys, whose interests can sometimes become markedly different as they mature.

       2.4.3 The parents’ role

      Teachers have to be wary of how parents describe their children, particularly parents’ perceptions of their children’s qualities and faults. Sometimes parents may say, in front of their children, She’s very shy. He’s not a good at studying. Even though some children ‘perform’ in front of their parents, to please them, the teacher should not automatically accept the parents’ description or the child’s behaviour in this situation.

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