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Teaching English to Young

Learners (TEYL) has be-

come its own field of study

as the age of compulsory English edu-

cation has become lower and lower in

countries around the world. It is wide-

ly believed that starting the study of

English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

before the critical period––12 or 13

years old––will build more proficient

speakers of English. However, there is

no empirical evidence supporting the

idea that an early start in English lan-

guage learning in foreign language con-

texts produces better English speakers

(Nunan 1999). Levels of proficiency

seem to be dependent on other fac-

tors––type of program and curricu-

lum, number of hours spent in Eng-

lish class, and techniques and activities

used (Rixon 2000). If an early start

alone is not the solution, then what

can EFL teachers of young learners do

to take advantage of the flexibility of

young minds and the malleability of

young tongues to grow better speakers

of English? As the age for English edu-

cation lowers in classrooms across the

globe, EFL teachers of young learners

struggle to keep up with this trend

and seek effective ways of teaching.

This article contains some helpful

ideas to incorporate into the TEYL

classroom. These ideas come from the

discussions and assignments done in an

online EFL teacher education course

designed for teachers, teacher super-

visors, and other TEYL professionals.

The participants in the online course

came from a number of different

classroom situations and countries in

the Middle East, North Africa, Cen-

tral Asia, and Southeast Asia. Some of

the teachers worked in immersion

classrooms; others saw their students

in class two to three hours per week.

Regardless of the country and the

types of classrooms these teachers of

young learners came from, the list of

helpful ideas below seemed to be

applicable to most situations.

To clarify for whom these ideas are

targeted, it is important to define

young learner. The online course used

the definitions provided by Slatterly

and Willis (2001, 4): “Young Learn-

ers” (YL) were 7–12 years old; “Very

Young Learners” (VYL) were defined

as under 7 years of age. Although the

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Ten Helpful Ideas for TeachingEnglish to Young Learners

J o a n K a n g S h i nU N I T E D S T A T E S

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online course was designed to train teachers ofyoung learners, participants discussed ideasrelated to their teaching situations, whichfocused on both YLs and VYLs. Therefore, theideas given below can be applied to learnersranging from approximately 5 to 12 years oldand can be used for various proficiency levels.

1. Supplement activities with visuals,realia, and movement.

Young learners tend to have short attentionspans and a lot of physical energy. In addition,children are very much linked to their sur-roundings and are more interested in the phys-ical and the tangible. As Scott and Ytreberg(1990, 2) describe, “Their own understandingcomes through hands and eyes and ears. Thephysical world is dominant at all times.”

One way to capture their attention andkeep them engaged in activities is to supple-ment the activities with lots of brightly coloredvisuals, toys, puppets, or objects to match theones used in the stories that you tell or songsthat you sing. These can also help make thelanguage input comprehensible and can beused for follow-up activities, such as re-tellingstories or guessing games. Although it maytake a lot of preparation time to make colorfulpictures and puppets or to collect toys andobjects, it is worth the effort if you can reusethem in future classes. Try to make the visualson thick paper or laminate them wheneverpossible for future use. Sometimes you canacquire donations for toys and objects fromthe people in your community, such as parentsor other teachers. A great way to build yourresources is to create a “Visuals and RealiaBank” with other teachers at your school bycollecting toys, puppets, pictures, maps, calen-dars, and other paraphernalia and saving themfor use in each other’s classes.

Included with the concept of visuals aregestures, which are very effective for studentsto gain understanding of language. In addi-tion, tapping into children’s physical energy isalways recommendable, so any time move-ment around the classroom or even outsidecan be used with a song, story, game, or activ-ity, do it! James Asher’s (1977) method, TotalPhysical Response (TPR), where children lis-ten and physically respond to a series ofinstructions from the teacher, is a very popularmethod among teachers of young learners.

This popular method can be used as a tech-nique with storytelling and with songs thatteach language related to any kind of move-ment or physical action. Children have funwith movement, and the more fun for stu-dents, the better they will remember the lan-guage learned.

2. Involve students in making visuals and realia.

One way to make the learning more fun isto involve students in the creation of the visu-als or realia. Having children involved in cre-ating the visuals that are related to the lessonhelps engage students in the learning processby introducing them to the context as well asto relevant vocabulary items. In addition, lan-guage related to the arts and crafts activitiescan be taught while making or drawing thevisuals. Certainly students are more likely tofeel interested and invested in the lesson andwill probably take better care of the materials(Moon 2000).

You can have students draw the differentanimal characters for a story or even createpuppets. For example, if the story is Goldilocksand the Three Bears, you may want to use pup-pets to help show the action of the story. Toget students more excited about the story, havethem make little pencil puppets of the threebears and Goldilocks before the storytelling.It’s a nice little art project that doesn’t have totake up too much time. If your students aretoo young to draw well, make copies of thecharacters on paper and have students colorthe characters and cut them out. The cut-outpaper pictures can be taped to their pencils.After the storytelling, you can use the puppetsto check comprehension of the story plot andhave students practice the language byretelling the story using their puppets.

If you cannot spare the time in class tomake the visuals you want to use, another ideais to consult the art teacher at your school (ifyou have one) and combine your efforts. If theart teacher is making some objects, pictures, orpuppets, you could ask the teacher to makethem for use in a particular storytelling orgame in your class. Then, when students cometo English class, they will bring their artprojects to use. In addition, before the lesson,you can warm up by having students explainin English what they made in art class.

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Some activities could use objects, toys,stuffed animals, or dolls. A “show and tell”activity is a perfect way to get students inter-ested in the lesson with their own toys. Theintroduction to the lesson could be a short“show and tell” presentation that gives studentsa chance to introduce their objects in English.After this activity, get right into the lessonusing the objects the students brought in.

3. Move from activity to activity.

As stated before, young learners have shortattention spans. For young students, from ages5 to10 especially, it is a good idea to movequickly from activity to activity. Do not spendmore than 10 or 15 minutes on any one activi-ty because children tend to become bored easi-ly. As children get older, their ability to concen-trate for longer periods of time increases. So forstudents ages 5–7, you should try to keep activ-ities between 5 and 10 minutes long. Studentsages 8–10 can handle activities that are 10 to 15minutes long. It is always possible to revisit anactivity later in class or in the next class.

For example, if you are teaching a song ortelling a story, don’t stay on that song or storythe whole class time. Follow up the song orstory with a related TPR activity to keep themomentum of the class going. Then have stu-dents play a quick game in pairs. As shown inthis brief example, varying the types of activi-ties also helps to keep young learners interest-ed. Scott and Ytreberg (1990, 102) suggestcreating a balance between the following kindsof activities:

• quiet/noisy exercises

• different skills: listening/talking/read-ing/writing

• individual/pairwork/groupwork/wholeclass activities

• teacher-pupil/pupil-pupil activities

When teachers mix up the pace of the classand the types of activities used, students will bemore likely to stay focused on the lesson, there-by increasing the amount of language learningin class.

4. Teach in themes.

When you plan a variety of activities, it isimportant to have them connect to each otherin order to support the language learning

process. Moving from one activity to othersthat are related in content and language helps torecycle the language and reinforce students’understanding and use of it. However, movingfrom activity to activity when the activities arenot related to each other can make it easy tolose the focus of the class. If students are pre-sented with a larger context in which to useEnglish to learn and communicate, then attain-ment of language objectives should come morenaturally. Thematic units, which are a seriesof lessons revolving around the same topic orsubject, can create a broader context and allowstudents to focus more on content and com-munication than on language structure.

It is a good idea to use thematic unit plan-ning because it builds a larger context withinwhich students can learn language. Whenteaching English to young learners this way,you can incorporate many activities, songs,and stories that build on students’ knowledgeand recycle language throughout the unit.This gives students plenty of practice using thelanguage learned and helps them scaffold theirlearning of new language. Common themesfor very young learners are animals, friends,and family, or units revolving around a story-book, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar byEric Carle, which includes food and the daysof the week. As children get older, units couldbe based on topics such as the environment,citizenship, and shopping, or based on a web-site or book relevant to them.

Haas (2000) supports the use of thematicunit planning for young foreign languagelearners by pointing out that “Foreign lan-guage instruction for children can be enrichedwhen teachers use thematic units that focus oncontent-area information, engage students inactivities in which they must think critically,and provide opportunities for students to usethe target language in meaningful contextsand in new and complex ways.” A good way toplan a unit is to explore what content your stu-dents are learning in their other classes anddevelop English lessons using similar content.Look at the curriculum for the other subjectsyour students take in their native language(L1) or talk to your students’ other teachersand see if you can create a thematic unit inEnglish class related to what you find.

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5. Use stories and contexts familiar to students.

When choosing materials or themes to use,it is important that you find ones that areappropriate for your students based on theirlanguage proficiency and what is of interest tothem. Because young learners, especiallyVYLs, are just beginning to learn content andstories in their native language in school andare still developing cognitively, they may havelimited knowledge and experience in theworld. This means that the contexts that youuse when teaching English, which may be acompletely new and foreign language, shouldbe contexts that are familiar to them. Use ofstories and contexts that they have experiencewith in their L1 could help these young learn-ers connect a completely new language withthe background knowledge they already have.Teachers could take a favorite story in the L1and translate it into English for students oreven teach the language based on situationsthat are found in the native country, especial-ly if the materials the teachers have depictEnglish-speaking environments that are unfa-miliar to students.

This is not to suggest that stories and con-texts from the target culture should not beused. Certainly one goal of foreign languageinstruction is to expose students to new lan-guages and new cultures in order to preparethem to become global citizens in the future.However, teachers should not be afraid to usefamiliar contexts in students’ L1 in the L2classroom. In fact, even when presentingmaterial from the target, English-speaking cul-tures, it is always a good idea to relate the lan-guage and content to students’ home cultureto personalize the lesson and allow students anopportunity to link the new content and lan-guage to their own lives and experience. Younglearners are still making important links totheir home cultures, so it is important to rein-force that even in L2 instruction.

6. Establish classroom routines in English.

Young learners function well within astructured environment and enjoy repetitionof certain routines and activities. Having basicroutines in the classroom can help to manageyoung learners. For example, to get students’attention before reading a story or to get themto quiet down before an activity, the teacher

can clap short rhythms for students to repeat.Once the students are settled down, theteacher can start the lesson by singing a shortsong that students are familiar with, such asthe alphabet song or a chant they particularlyenjoy. Here is a chant with TPR that can getstudents ready to begin the class.

Reach up high! (Children reach their armsup in the air)Reach down low! (Children bend over andtouch their toes.)Let’s sit down and start the show! (Childrensit down.)Look to the left! (Turn heads to the left.)Look to the right! (Turn heads to theright.)Let’s work hard and reach new heights!

The movements can be substituted to teachnew words. For example, instead of “Look tothe left! Look to the right!” the teacher can use“Point to the left! Point to the right!” Provid-ing some variation can keep this chant engag-ing. Just remember to keep the ending since itstarts the class on a positive note.

Add classroom language to the routines aswell. When it’s time to read a story, the teacherscan engage students in the following dialogue:

Teacher: It’s story time! What time is it,everyone?

Students: It’s story time!Teacher: And… what do we do for story

time?Student: We tell stories!

Build on this language by adding more afterstudents have mastered the above interaction.The teacher can follow up the previous inter-action with: “That’s right! The story is calledThe Very Hungry Caterpillar. What’s the storycalled?” (Students answer.) Whatever the rou-tine is, the teacher should build interactions inEnglish around that routine. As Cameron(2001, 10) points out, “…we can see howclassroom routines, which happen every daymay provide opportunities for language devel-opment.” The example below illustrates howthe teacher and students can have real com-municative interactions in English using someclassroom language.

Teacher: Good morning, class!

Students: Good morning, Ms. Shin.

Teacher: Faida, what day is it today?

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Faida: I don’t know.

Teacher: Okay, then ask Asli.

Faida: Asli, what day is it today?

Asli: Today is Tuesday.

Teacher: Good! And what is Tuesday?

Students: Tuesday is Storytelling Day!

Notice that the communication is real andthat a routine has been established––thatTuesday is Storytelling Day. Once studentsbecome fluid with certain interactions, as inthe example above, you can begin introducingmore language into the daily routines.

7. Use L1 as a resource when necessary.

Because many interpretations of variouscommunicative approaches try to enforce the“English only” rule, teachers sometimes feelbad when they use L1. Teachers these days aremostly encouraged to teach English throughEnglish, especially at the younger ages. Onereason is to give students the maximum expo-sure to the English language. Why not use L1?It is one quick, easy way to make a difficultexpression such as “Once upon a time” com-prehensible. After you quickly explain a diffi-cult expression like that in L1, students willrecognize the expression in English every timeit comes up in a story. Since EFL teachers usu-ally have a limited amount of time with stu-dents in many classroom situations, that timeis too precious to waste. If it is more efficientto use L1 for a difficult expression or word,just use it. Concentrate on building commu-nicative skills. Save your time for the targetlanguage that is actually within students’reach. For words that students can figure out,the teacher can rely on visuals, realia, and ges-tures. Important in the decision to use L1 totranslate new language is carefully defining thelanguage objectives for the activities. Theteacher should spend class time focusing onthose target language objectives rather thanspending time trying to make a difficult wordor expression comprehensible in English.

In addition, some students who have verylow proficiency can easily become discouragedwhen all communication in the classroommust be in English. Sometimes these studentscan express comprehension of English in theirnative language, and this can be acceptable forlower level students. However, whenever pos-sible, take the answers in L1 and recast them

in English. In addition, directions for manyactivities can be quite complicated whenexplained in the L2, so consider using L1when it is more important to spend timedoing the activity rather than explaining it. Inshort, use L1 in the classroom as a resource forforwarding the learning process withoutbecoming too reliant on it.

8. Bring in helpers from the community.

If possible bring in helpers––parents, stu-dent teachers from the local university, orolder students studying English––to tell astory or help with some fun activities. Collab-orate with others who are studying English,studying to be English teachers, or who speakEnglish well in order to expand the Englishlearning community. Having someone newand interesting do a storytelling can get stu-dents more excited and create a break in theregular routine. The best scenario would be tocarefully coordinate the guest with your lan-guage objectives. Using helpers means takingextra time to communicate your expectationswith the guest and working this special eventinto your lesson plan.

Besides storytelling, helpers could assist inthe class when you want to do group work orcooperative activities. With young learners,group activities can be hard to coordinate, soutilize volunteers in the community to helpmanage the class for special activities. Forexample, you may have stations set up aroundthe classroom, each station representing infor-mation about the seven continents. Studentsneed to collect information about the geogra-phy, wildlife, and countries from each conti-nent. If you have English-speaking volunteersat each station, then students will be morelikely to stay on task.

9. Collaborate with other teachers in your school.

As mentioned in #4 (Teach in themes), it isuseful to find out what students are learningin their other classes, in their native language.Collaborate with other teachers in your schoolto make the learning experience richer foryour students. Connect your lessons to thetopics, activities, and stories your students arelearning in their native language by planningrelated thematic units that parallel the learn-ing in other subjects. Since students learn lan-

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guage better when it is connected to their reallife, it is a good idea to consider what else theyare learning in a school day. Most children’slives revolve around home and school, so tryto coordinate with other teachers to find outwhat is relevant to students; then add Englishinstruction on top of that.

If other teachers at your school are willing,visiting each others’ classrooms can be a won-derful way to get to know what is beinglearned in each others’ classes and how. It canaid in the creation of more effective lessons forstudents and can increase their ability to makeconnections between language and content. Ifteachers have some anxiety about beingobserved, Crandall (1998, 4) suggests that, “Afocus on shared students and their attempts tonegotiate meaning and construct understand-ings in both classes can help keep the atten-tion focused on student learning, rather thanon teacher effectiveness.” Then the EFL andcontent teacher can view the observation as agreat opportunity to build bridges betweenthe language and content for their students.

10. Communicate with other TEYL professionals.

As helpful as it may be to collaborate withthe other teachers at school to see what con-tent is most relevant to students, it is alsoimportant to keep in contact with other

TEYL professionals, both in your local areaand internationally. Doing so through localand international professional organizations,in-service programs, or special teacher educa-tion courses, such as an online TEYL course,helps to keep you current with trends in thefield. Most importantly, keeping in contactwith other TEYL professionals helps keepyour classroom fresh with new ideas, and col-laboration can help to construct new ideasand solutions to the common problems thatteachers face.

The importance of community and collaboration

Finally, one of the most important ideas totake from this article is the importance ofcommunity for learning. Learning a languageis never an individual endeavor, and neither isteaching. Although teachers can feel quite iso-lated in their classrooms, it is important toremember that openness, collaboration, andsharing are the keys to enrich your teachingand your students’ learning. The last threeideas presented in this article encourageexpanding this community of learning. It iswhat I call the TEFL Community Triangle,which refers to a community of English-speaking and English-teaching members ofboth local and international communitiesthat EFL teachers belong to that can help

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TEFL COMMUNITY TRIANGLE

English Speaking Community(parents who speak English well, studentEFL teachers from the university, highschool students, etc.)

Fellow School Teachers(subject/content or grade level teachersand other EFL teachers at your school)

Fellow TEYL Professionals(professional organizations, in-serviceprograms, or special teacher educationcourses, etc.)

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enrich their English-teaching practices––inthis case, to enhance the teaching of EFL toyoung learners.

Since TEYL is a relatively new field world-wide, it is important to utilize these variouscommunities as much as possible as resourcesfor improving the YL classroom. No matterwhere you are, what type of class or curricu-lum you have, who your students are, or howlimited your budget may be, the availability ofpeople and ideas most certainly abound. It isimportant for those in the TEYL profession tostay connected with each other and with thelocal community in this most importantendeavor of educating our children.

Conclusion

As this article demonstrates, the ideas thatcome out of a collaborative learning situationlike an online TEYL course whose participantscome from many different countries aroundthe world can be very helpful towards improv-ing classroom practice. All of the ideas givenabove stood out––after reflection by and dis-cussion among many professionals in thefield––as some of the more helpful ideas forteaching EFL to young learners. These activi-ties should prove helpful to all teachers ofEnglish to young learners.

TEYL is a dynamic field that is sure tochange in the years to come as Ministries ofEducation around the world keep lowering theage of compulsory English education, as estab-lished TEYL programs become better devel-oped, and as teachers of English to younglearners become better trained. Therefore, wemust continue this dialogue through our pro-fessional communities to find more helpfulideas for Teaching English to Young Learners.

References

Asher, J. 1977. Learning another language throughactions: The complete teacher’s guidebook. LosGatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions.

Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching languages to younglearners. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.

Crandall, J. 1998. Collaborate and cooperate:Teacher education for integrating language andcontent instruction. English Teaching Forum 36(1): 2–9.

Haas, M. 2000. Thematic, communicative lan-guage teaching in the K–8 classroom. ERICDigest EDO-FL-00-04. http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0004thematic.html

Moon, J. 2000. Children learning English. Oxford:MacMillan Heinemann.

Nunan, D. 1999. Does younger = better? TESOLMatters 9 (3): 3.

Rixon, S. 2000. Optimum age or optimum condi-tions? Issues related to the teaching of languagesto primary age children. http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/eyl/article01/html

Scott, W., and L. H. Ytreberg. 1990. Teaching Eng-lish to children. London: Longman.

Slatterly, M., and J. Willis. 2003. English for pri-mary teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

JOAN KANG SHIN is the developer andinstructor for Teaching English to YoungLearners, an online course in the U.S.Department of State’s E-Teacher Program.She is a doctoral candidate in the Language, Literacy and Culture PhD Program at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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