LESSO TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE
N
ELEMENTARY GRADES: AN
1 OVERVIEW
After completing this unit,
you are expected to:
a. identify
characteristics
of elementary
students and
its relationship
to learning
English;
b. describe the
importance of
English in the
PRE-TEST elementary
grades; and
c. conduct an
Write TRUE if interview with is correct and FALSE if not. You don’t have to submit this.
the statement
_________ 1. Children come to elementary grades empty-handed (no background/significant experiences).
elementary
_________ 2. Receptive skillsstudents
are the mosttoimportant to imbibe to the students.
_________ 3. Language skillsknowcan be thought
their in different meaningful ways.
_________ 4. Children need ainsight
strong foundation
about at home or in the environment before formal instruction can be
effective. learning
_________ 5. Different children pass through unique stages of development in learning the language.
DISCUSSION
Working with young language learners in the elementary classroom can be both
a rewarding and a demanding experience. To make the most of that experience
for both learners and teachers, we need to be very clear what it is we are trying
to do. We must try to identify what learning a language in school demands from
young children and what it can offer them. We should also acknowledge what
the implications of those demands and needs are for the teachers.
Young children do not come to the language classroom empty-handed. They bring with them an already well-
established set of instincts, skills and characteristics which will help them to learn another language. We need
to identify those and make the most of them. For example, children:
— are already very good at interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding the individual words;
— already have great skill in using limited language creatively; frequently learn indirectly rather than
directly;
— take great pleasure in finding and creating fun in what they do; have a ready imagination;
above all take great delight in talking
Very young children are able to understand to grasp meaning what is being said to them even before they
understand the individual words. Intonation, gesture, facial expressions, actions and circumstances all help to
tell them what the unknown words and phrases probably mean. By understanding the message in this way, they
start to understand the language. In later life we all maintain this first source of understanding alongside our
knowledge of the language itself. It remains a fundamental part of human communication.
Children come to elementary school with this ability already highly developed. They continue to use it in all
their school work. For example, even though their mother tongue skills are already well - established, they
may well find it difficult to follow purely verbal instructions and information. When this happens, or sometimes
simply out of laziness or inattention, children will tend to rely on their ability to 'read' the general message. In
fact, we can see this happening most clearly when they get it wrong! More importantly, particularly in terms of
language development, their message-interpreting skill is part of the way they learn new words, concepts and
expressions in their mother tongue as their language expands to meet the new challenges of school.
So when children encounter a new language at school, they can call on the same skill to help them interpret
the new sounds, new words and new structures. We want to support and develop this skill. We can do this by
making sure we make full use of gesture, intonation, demonstration, actions and facial expressions to convey
meaning parallel to what we are saying.
Alongside this ability to perceive meaning, children also show great skill in producing meaningful language
from very limited resources. This too will help them when they encounter a new language and is therefore
something else we want to build on.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ELEMENTARY (PRIMARY) LEARNERS
Physical Extremely active and enjoys physical activities
Social Beginning to have a choice of friends but frequently quarrels with them
Emotional Becoming sensitive to criticism and others’ feelings; eager to please the teacher
Cognitive Sees patterns, engaging in problem-solving activities, learns a lot through self-talk
Children’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive developmental characteristics give evidence of their
innate interest and ability to learn English and all these must come together in designing an engaging and
encouraging English learning environment.
Understanding Language
Understanding language in its broadest sense encompasses oral, written, and visual modes. Each mode is both
receptive and expressive as shown in the chart below. Children learn language, learn about language, and
learn through language in a simultaneous, integrated fashion. Thus, language develops through use and, like
thinking, is a process that embraces all curriculum areas.
Receptive Expressive
Oral Listening Speaking
Written Reading Writing
Visual Viewing Representing
Understanding Curriculum
Understanding curriculum requires that the purposes of the language and literacy program are clear and
focused (see descriptors of learning). The purpose of the language arts program is to develop children’s
reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities while enabling children to use language for acquiring
knowledge, communicating with others, and for enjoyment. Skills, such as phonics, word recognition,
capitalization, and punctuation, are taught in meaningful ways. As children use language in functional ways
they develop an understanding of what language is and how it works. The language arts class should help
children to:
Understand that communication is a process of conveying meaning to a particular audience for a
particular purpose
Understand that the language modes are interrelated
Know and understand a variety of language forms (oral, written, visual)
Understand that the language of print is different from the spoken language.
Understanding Assessment
Accurate and effective assessment of children’s knowledge, skills, and attitudes in reading and writing helps a
teacher more accurately match instructional strategies with how and what the children are learning. Both
formal and informal assessments are necessary to gain a complete picture of each child’s strengths and
areas of need. Effective assessment makes it possible for teachers to:
Monitor and document children’s progress over time
Ensure that instruction is responsive and appropriately matched to what children are and are not
able to do Customize instruction to meet individual children’s strengths and needs
Enable children to observe their own growth and development
Identify children who might benefit from more intensive levels of instruction, such as individual
tutoring, or other interventions (Neuman, Copple, & Bredekamp, 2000).
Understanding Instruction
Learning to read and write is an interactive, complex and multifaceted process that requires a variety of
instructional strategies and approaches. While the child is the one actually engaged in the construction of
knowledge, it is critical that teachers and parents maintain a supportive and instructive role in the process.
Support for children can range from direct or explicit instruction to exploration opportunities where they
interact and engage with meaningful, literacy-based materials. Instruction is based on careful selection of
teaching and learning strategies that match the needs of individual or groups of children with the specific skills
being taught. Goals for reading and writing in the early years must be challenging but achievable, with
sufficient adult support. This includes teachers setting appropriate literacy goals and then adapting
instructional strategies and decisions upon their knowledge of reading and writing, current research, and the
individual child’s strengths and needs.
Understanding Learning
What a child knows about print depends upon the richness of the environment and the responsiveness of the
adults. Children develop their own language skills successfully when the adults in the environment share
these beliefs about learning:
Children’s language flourishes when specific conditions of learning are present (Cambourne, 2000,
1989).
Children need a strong foundation before formal instruction can be effective (Cummingham, 1995
and Cunningham & Hall, 1994).
The child’s brain seeks meaning first, looking for whole-part-whole relationships (Jensen, 1998).
Children pass through typical stages of development when learning to use language.
References:
BIBLIOGRAPHY Halliwell, S. (1992.). Teaching English in the Primary Classroom.
The Primary Program: Growing and Learning in the Heartland
