Topic 1 Establishing Common Ground
1.1 Background to the Teaching for Young Learners: Attitudes and
Approches to Teach English to Children
1.1.1 Emotional Development: Action, Communication and
Understanding
1.1.2 The Development of Morality
1.2 The Advantages of Starting Young with English
1.3 The Practical Challenge: A Spider Mobile
1.3.1 Spider Across The Curriculum and The Needs of
Young Children: A Cross-Curricular Analysis
1.3.2 A “Needs” Spidergram Reflection and Feedback
Topic 1 Establishing Common Ground
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE TEACHING FOR YOUNG LEARNERS:
ATTITUDES AND APPROACHES TO TEACH ENGLISH TO
CHILDREN
In many countries, English is now compulsary in primary education (Nikolov,
2009; Pinter, 2006).
Curricula and practices are often developed in an ad hoc way because there is
little appropriate research to inform fundamental policy decision.
Knowledge and understanding of teaching practices in the field of young learners
is still unclear to many.
To date, there are no studies that examine how teachers around the world go
about their everyday practice of teaching English to young learners, their attitudes
to this teaching, and the chalengges they face.
1.1.1 Emotional Development: Action, Communication and Understanding
Encompasses learning and understanding about feelings, emotions,
comprehending how both occur as well as recognising feelings of self and others.
Thus, developing the ability to manage them.
a) Action:
Emotional development of preschool can be observed from the
understanding, control and expression of a range of emotions, such as anger,
fear and happiness.
This also includes the development of the child’s confidence, self-worth,
trust, self-esteem and attachment to important people such as parents and a
primary caregiver.
The child’s dependence on parents and primary caregiver is an important
factor in fulfilling their needs.
Table 1.1 Stages of Preschoolers’ Emotional Development.
Stage Emotional Development Action
Three- Children have very little control Children will likely laugh when
year-old over their feelings. they find something to be funny.
In the same way, if they find
something that arouses sadness or
anger, they will be more likely to
cry.
Little impulse control. Children will likely snatch a toy
from other children if they are
interested in the particular toy.
Inability to comprhend differences In trying to solve conflicts,
between proper and improper children may likely hit, bite or
communications. push others.
Four-year- Children start to comprehend the Children start showing fewer
old association between emotional tantrums.
outbursts and negative
consequences.
Children start to develop sense of Children love making silly and
humour. making people laugh.
Emphaty. Children learn to recognise the
feeling of sadness in others such
as friends.
Five-year- Children show better ability to Children start to express their
old regulate their emotions. feeling without difficulty.
Children show better ability to Children display patience. They
control impulses. wait for their turn. They ask
permission before taking a thing
which does not belong to them.
Children begin to display their
anger using words rather than
getting physical or throwing a
tantrum.
b) Communicating:
Since preschoolers have limited language ability, they may communicate non
verbally such as using touch, gestures, smiles, sounds, facial expressions and
ways of moving.
Communication requires the ability to put oneself into the role of another.
Hence, effective communication depends on the preschoolers’ ability to
understand the thoughts of others (Seedfeldt, Castle & Falconer, 2010).
c) Sharing and cooperating:
The ability to share depends on the development of role-taking and the ability
to read other people’s emotions.
According to Seedfeldt et al. (2010) sharing behaviours can be fostered by:
i) Providing security - they have enough for themselves;
ii) Models - a noticeably warm, spontaneous and responsive teacher;
iii) Conducive physical environment - large play spaces and adequate toys;
and
iv) Direct teaching - teaching children the social skills involved in sharing.
Cooperative skills is also essential for living in societies.
Social experiences from prsecholers’ ability to cooperate, which include
giving up or sharing something and becoming less egocentric.
d) Making friends:
Dunn, Cutting & Fisher (2002), relate making friends to other social skills.
Maintaining friendships are very integral to children’s success in school and
life.
Children need to find common ground with potential friends.
Teachers should plan ways for them to accomplish the goals.
One of the way is by explaining the Concept of Common Ground (what we
have in common).
1.1.2 The Development of Morality
Morality can be defined as skill of knowing the difference between right or wrong
and comprehending how right choices are made.
This skill is highly influenced by two main factors:
a) Children’s experiences; and
b) Children’s environment.
Young children’s sense of ‘what’s right’ and ‘what’s wrong’ is highly influenced
by their physical, emotional, cognitive and social skills.
As children become more mature, they have more empathy for others.
Killen & Smetana (2006), males tend to think in higher moral stages than female.
Females think about moral issues in a manner that is different from males.
In resolving moral dillemas, females are typically less concerned with justice and
more concerned with caring and maintaining relationships.
They are even willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the relationship.
1.2 THE ADVANTAGES OF STARTING YOUNG WITH ENGLISH
English language learning should start early among young children.
Young children enjoy exploring language learning by experiencing and
experimenting with new words and other language learning activities.
Which include sing along story books, rhymes, simple language quizzes and
language games.
These activities show young children intuitively that language learning is an
enjoyable activity.
In general, learning English language helps young children to develop many
aspects of their lives as language connects the puzzle surrounding the young
children, contributing to increasing their understanding of the world around them.
1.3 THE ADVANTAGES OF STARTING YOUNG WITH ENGLISH
The practical activities included in the current training course relate to various
areas of the school curriculum.
The aims are to encourage teachers to:
a) Participate as a group in carrying out of a practical task;
b) Raise their awareness of classroom (instruction) language, and
c) Discuss the exploitation of a practical task and the relevance to children’s stage of
development and in terms of generating/ practising a specific language point in
English as Foreign Language (EFL) classroom.
Task of making the spider mobile- teachers work in a group of four or five.
They give instructions on how to create a spider mobile.
They display the results alongside the instructions they have produced.
They ensure that they are aware with what they are writing for an eight-year-old
audience.
Figure 1.3 is an example of an illustrated set of instructions cempleted by a group
of teachers.
After that, they ask the training group to give some comments whether they think
practical tasks should be generated by a language-based syllabus or whether
language aims should be generated by an activity (or topic) based syllabus.
Do teachers feel that the starting points affects the motivation or interest of young
children?
Then they display the results of the writing activity on a notice board so that
participants have the opportunity to compare their views with the rest of the
group.
1.3.1 Spider Across The Curricullum and The needs of Young Children: A
Cross-curricular Analysis
The aims of this activity are to encourage teachers to:
a) Develop a cross-curricular topic web that focuses on “the spider” (and other
mini-creatures);
b) Discuss the potential language points that can be generated by a range of cross-
curricular tasks; and
c) Compare the kinds of activities that may take place in a primary classroom with
those that usually take place in an EFL classroom.
Completing the task- teachers complere the cross-curricular chart in the course
notes.
Students can exchange ideas and information as the prompt the young learners on
these different curricular areas.
Then, encourage teachers to discuss the integration of cross-curricular tasks into
their own language teaching.
For example:
a) List the advantages and disadvantages of introducing cross-curricular tasks in a
language lesson;
b) Give comment if language practice is best carried out before or after a practical
task has been completed or whilst it is being completed;
c) List the practical limitations, for example, in terms of time, classroom space,
existing course book;
d) Give comment if “other teacher” cooperation is necessary or can be easily
obtained; and
e) Give comment if young children will learn language more effectively.
1.3.2 A “Needs” Spidergram Reflection and Feedback
The aims of this activity are to encourage the teachers to :
a) Discuss the needs of young children in a learning situation; and
b) Discuss how a teacher can take these needs into consideration within the EFL
classroom.
As teacher work in pairs or groups, they discuss results with their partners or
groups and the whole training group.