Teaching english to elementary children

Teaching English to elementary children is an engaging and rewarding experience that lays the foundation for their language development and communication skills. As an English teacher for young learners, you embark on a journey of guiding and inspiring children to explore the English language in a fun and interactive way. In this role, you create a positive and supportive classroom environment where children feel comfortable and excited to learn. You introduce them to basic vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through interactive games, songs, stories, and handson activities. By using a variety of teaching techniques, such as flashcards, puppets, and visual aids, you capture their attention and make learning enjoyable. One of the key aspects of teaching English to elementary children is fostering their speaking and listening skills. You encourage students to participate actively in class discussions, roleplays, and pair or group activities. Through these interactive exercises, children gain confidence in using English to express themselves, ask questions, and engage in conversations with their peers. Another essential component is developing their reading and writing abilities. You introduce ageappropriate reading materials, such as storybooks and short texts, and guide students in comprehending the content and extracting key information. Moreover, you help them improve their writing skills by teaching them basic sentence structures, grammar rules, and encouraging them to write simple stories or descriptions. As an English teacher for elementary children, you also focus on building their vocabulary and language fluency. You incorporate thematic units, such as colors, animals, family, or daily routines, to enhance their word recognition and expand their vocabulary. Through repetition and practice, students learn to use new words in context, improving their overall language proficiency. In addition to language skills, teaching English to elementary children promotes cultural understanding and global awareness. You expose students to different cultures, traditions, and customs of Englishspeaking countries, fostering their curiosity and respect for diversity. This opens their minds to a broader worldview and prepares them to be global citizens. Overall, teaching English to elementary children is a dynamic and influential role. You have the opportunity to ignite a passion for language learning, nurture their linguistic abilities, and lay the groundwork for their future academic success. By creating a positive and engaging learning environment, you empower young learners to develop their English language skills while fostering their creativity, critical thinking, and confidence.

Teaching English to Elementary Children

1 Verbal and Physical Development

- Physical Development

Typically, elementary children possess fluent and efficient motor abilities Theircoordination (particularly eye-hand), durability, balancing, and athletic ability vary, too

Similarly, fine motor abilities may differ greatly These abilities can influence a child's ability to write legibly, dress neatly, and do specific activities, such as making beds or washing dishes

There will be significant variations in height, weight, and physique among children in this age range It is crucial to note that a child's growth may be affected by genetics, nutrition, and activity By age 5, the majority of children are ready to begin schooling The first few years are devoted to mastering the basics

In grade three, the emphasis grows more complicated With this shift,

comprehension rather than word recognition becomes the primary goal of

reading Both at school and at home, the ability to pay attention is essential to success A child of this age should be able to concentrate on an activity for at least 15 minutes By age 9, a youngster should be able to concentrate for aroundone hour

It is essential that elementary students learn how to handle failure and

frustration without losing self-respect There are several reasons for academic failure, including Reading disability and other learning issues, Causes of stress like bullying, and Mental health problems include anxiousness and sadness

- Verbal Development:

Children of elementary school age should be able to construct basic but full sentences with an average of 5 to 7 words During the primary school years, the child's grammar and pronunciation become standard As they become older, kids start speaking in longer, more complicated phrases

Language difficulties might be caused by hearing or cognitive issues

Additionally, children who have difficulty expressing themselves may be more prone to violent conduct or tantrums

Typically, a 6-year-old youngster can obey three consecutive orders By age 10,most youngsters can follow five consecutive orders Children with difficulties inthis area may try to hide it by backtalk or clowning about Because they worry about being taunted, kids don't often ask for assistance.

2 Use of flash cards correctly in the classroom

A flashcard is a card with words, numbers, or images that is presented (as by a teacher to a class) as a help to learning This medium is considered suitable for educating young learners, beginning learners, and elementary-level students Because these three levels of schooling remain focused on vocabulary

expansion Children's knowledge, comprehension, and visual memory may all

be improved with the use of flashcards Due to children's relatively short

attention spans, flashcards make it simpler for instructors to present small

information chunks in a vivid and entertaining way

Using flashcards, kids can develop connections When it comes to language learning, they can be used to match a known term with its translation in a

foreign language Similarly, they can be used to correlate a phrase with its corresponding mathematical or scientific notion When you show them both the photographs and the words, their brains create connections that allow them to recognize the object afterward Flashcards are an effective means of boosting a child's learning of new concepts Because they are so successful, the flashcard method has grown popular in schools across the country and around the world Flashcards may transform the learning process into an entertaining and

engaging pastime

Nonetheless, there are factors for teachers to consider in order to use them effectively and productively:

- Seated comfortably in front of pupils

- Arrange the flashcards in the presentation sequence

- Raise the flashcards card so that all kids can see them clearly Moreover, makesure the teacher's face should not be hidden by the flashcards

- Require pupils to listen, teachers repeat the pronunciation of the flashcards five times

- Repeat pronouncing the flashcards 5 times and ask them to follow along

- Individual and group flashcard repetition is required

- The key is to keep flashcards enjoyable When young learners are having so much fun that he or she is unaware of how much they are learning, it is the idealtype of learning.

- If a student gives the right response, place the flash card in a pile on your left

- If pupils respond incorrectly or do not respond within three seconds, provide the right response and return to that flashcard later

3 Academic development

Young children enter the English classroom with a variety of challenges to overcome in order to reach their full potential Teachers work hard to assist all children in utilizing their abilities and knowledge to thrive in primary school so that they may also excel in higher education or the workplace in the future This

is known as academic development

Offering personalized services and activities, study sessions, language learning, and other different learning opportunities are a few examples of how to assist kids in their academic development Academic growth impacts other aspects of

a person's life, including family life, job life, and the community in which they reside When a youngster begins to learn, he or she lays the foundation for future achievement

However, there are some elements that may influence the academic

development of primary school students

- Low parental support

- Inappropriate learning styles that lead to not understanding the language

- School bullying

- Mental and physical problems

Creating an environment that stimulates learning and improves academic

achievement is mainly the responsibility of instructors

- Provide practical activities

Incorporating many learning styles into the curriculum will encourage student engagement Because each student has a unique learning style, standard trainingmay not engage all of them Providing hands-on learning activities and projects will provide kids with a change of pace and promote physical activity, hence reducing boredom and poor concentration

- Encourage the pupils and have faith in them

Having faith in children and providing them with assistance throughout the school year can help raise their accomplishment levels When kids misbehave and cause disruptions in the classroom, it may be due to a lack of confidence and support in their talents Children are more likely to achieve academically if they feel their teachers are helpful, care about their progress, and evaluate their faults and strengths genuinely It is simpler to sustain motivation when pupils get sincere feedback and assistance in overcoming their shortcomings.

4 Cognitive skills development

There are 5 main cognitive skills: reading, learning, remembering, logical

reasoning, and paying attention We may use all of these to improve our

capacity for acquiring new knowledge and growing as humans

Children can develop cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, and the ability to reason, through time over a process of gradual learning and practice These critical abilities allow toddlers to interpret sensory information and later learn to assess, interpret, remember, compare, and comprehend cause and

consequence Some cognitive development is based on a child's genes, but most cognitive abilities are acquired via experience and practice This implies that with repetition and the correct instruction, thinking and learning skills can be positively affected

- Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development:

Understanding the cognitive development of elementary students would help the teacher to design better activities for improving cognitive skills

According to Piaget, elementary learners are in The Concrete Operational Stage

of Cognitive Development This is an important stage where kids will learn how

to think more abstractly and hypothetically At this age, youngsters start to thinkmore logically about concrete and specific topics, but they still have a hard timeunderstanding abstract concepts Egocentrism also starts to go down during the concrete operational stage Children in the stage before this one (the

preoperational stage) find it hard to see things from other people's points of view However, children in the concrete stage are able to do this

In other words, children can start to think about how other people see and

experience the world They can also start to use this kind of decision-making or problem-solving At the concrete-operational stage, one of the most important things is being able to focus on many different parts of a problem They can payattention to many different parts of a situation at once, which is a key part of understanding conservation

- Physically active learning - Get students moving

Physical activity has been shown to improve cognitive processes, including memory Regular exercise has been shown to have a profoundly positive effect

on cognitive performance The most important one is that engaging in physical activities challenges your ability to think on your feet and make rapid decisions.Before beginning class, it is important for teachers to have their pupils engage

in some type of physical activity or brief warmup This will ensure that their brains remain active during the class

- Use Brain-Training Games

It is widely accepted that games are among the most effective tools for boosting pupils' cognitive skills Games like crossword puzzles, sudoku puzzles and board games encourage students to think on their feet, conduct in-depth

analyses, and make snap decisions This is a great opportunity for teachers to incorporate gaming into the classroom This will help make the classes more enjoyable and meet the intellectual demands of kids

- Foster Students' Imagination

Students are challenged to think in new and original ways by completing

Englishcreative assignments The result is that students are free to experiment with their own identities English classes involving arts and crafts are the

answer They encourage kids to use their imaginations and express their

originality by providing a platform for doing so

5 Activities to enhance learning

The key focus of an elementary school teacher is to motivate kids to take part inlearning activities that will most enhance their English learning Every learning activity should be purposeful, relevant, and applicable Teachers might wish to implement these kinds of activities in the classroom:

- Content Focus Activity

The term "content focus activity" refers to any activity in which students

actively interact with the material, such as listening to and/or watching a

videotaped lecture, reading or seeing a written or visual text, or interacting with multimedia After each 5 or 15-minute 'chunk' of knowledge, it is helpful to ask questions, or incorporate another activity type, as this increases the likelihood that students will recall the material

- Interactivity Focus Activity

Every lesson should provide chances for active learning and learning activities that encourage open dialogue and group cohesiveness (as means of promoting social presence) Elementary school-aged kids would benefit greatly from these kinds of educational activities

- Production Focus Activity

When teachers want their students to really connect with the ideas and concepts they're presenting, requiring them to create something can help It has the

potential to promote "deep" learning

6 Teamwork and preparation in the classroom

Teamwork is when students work with a group of different people to achieve a certain objective Team members know how to resolve disagreements in a positive way, how to listen attentively and express themselves articulately, how

to work together, and how to ask for and give assistance Working together as a team is beneficial for children because it teaches them to appreciate and respect the unique qualities of their peers They gain skills in teamwork and social negotiation as a result of this

- Working as a team is an important life skill

Because it is such a crucial ability in adulthood, teaching students how to work together effectively as a team is a worthy effort Students who work together to solve an issue have a far greater chance of success In life, students will

encounter a wide range of challenges, some of which will require them to work together By working together on problems, students will develop problem-solving abilities They'll learn to communicate clearly and listen attentively in order to solve problems

- Teamwork is a great learning tool for improving students' English

communication skills

One of the keys to successful teamwork is an open and honest exchange of information Students will improve their communication skills as a byproduct ofdeveloping their collaborative skills Also, working in groups helps students learn to be good listeners

Students will learn to listen carefully to one another as they collaborate on projects They need to tune in to what their partners are saying and give them feedback Good team players make their teammates feel appreciated and valued

- Steps for preparing lesson plan before class:

● Choose objectives for learning

● Plan learning activities

● Develop a suitable schedule: Plan for a little extra time in between each activity after you've estimated how long it will take

● Wrap up your lesson: Check students' understanding of the material, and use that information to shape future lessons

7 Understanding Professor Rassias's methodology for children

The Rassias Method, often called the Dartmouth Intensive Language Model, was created by American professor John Rassias He attended university at Bridgeport, earned his Ph.D from Dijon, and continued his education and research at the Sorbonne For the Peace Corps, he began his career as a

language educator in 1964 when he accepted a role as Dartmouth's Director of Language Programs His method is meant to "make the participant feel

comfortable and natural with the language in a short amount of time." It uses

"teaching procedures and dramatic techniques that aim to get rid of inhibitions and create an atmosphere of free expression from the first day of class." The process broadens a person's opinion and teaches us to better interact with others

in different settings It helps students learn how to behave, communicate, and educate themselves within the framework of a different culture

Educators can benefit from Rassias's methods since they allow them to focus entirely on the topic at hand and put the young students in the spotlight The young student's ability to learn and grow will be stunted if they feel unsafe In order for students to feel at ease when expressing themselves in front of their peers or the entire nation, they must first feel at peace within themselves The pace and energy in the classroom are always thanks to the teachers The

Rassias-drill approach emphasizes repetition and manipulation to encourage the usage of the learned language with freedom and creativity from the very first weeks of instruction onward

The Rassias approach encourages instructors and students to make use of their passions and all of their senses

8 Activity-based methodology activities for all skills

In activity-based learning, students are allowed to work on their own while being supervised by a teacher while participating in a variety of types of active learning There is a greater chance for memorization and learning because of theincreased interaction Speech, motor capabilities, social abilities, and

coordination may all be assessed using this method

It's a fun way to learn because it keeps kids' brains growing by giving them newthings to think about and ask them to do Exploration, experimentation, and expression are the three main pillars of activity-based learning

- Kinds of Activity-Based Learning

There are basically two distinct kinds of activity-based learning

student-centered teaching, where students are the main focus This encourages

independent study The second form places the instructor in charge and has them guide the student through the entire procedure

- Activity-based learning has many advantages

One, it fosters in them a sense of curiosity and independence It encourages children to develop analytical skills They become more engaged and

enthusiastic as a result of their newly piqued interest The children grow more observant The "learning by doing" approach is emphasized

Two, it helps a person grow in their interpersonal abilities Aside from boosting self-assurance, this activity also strengthens students' communication abilities, group-working skills, and cooperative skills The kids get used to solving

problems on their own and learning to accept challenges

Three, students are more likely to remember and retain information with

activity-based learning

Four, to some extent, this is the most important advantage Unlike traditional classroom teaching, activity-based learning doesn't run the risk of students not paying attention The kids can't wander off since they are actively participating

in every stage

Five, Activity-based teaching is useful to any level of the young students

As a result, activity-based learning is the optimal teaching method for reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, especially for young students This

strategy has become so prevalent in English classes for children nowadays

9 Teaching Pronunciation skill

- Using phonics to help students learn how to pronounce English words:Phonics-based instruction is the most common and well-known approach to improving students' command of the English language Phonics is an approach

to teaching pronunciation in which students are taught to associate a specific sound with each letter, vowel, and consonant Visual phonics is a cutting-edge method of teaching English pronunciation via the use of visual aids, including animated texts, films, and music Learning to pronounce in a second language can be challenging, but visual phonics can help students absorb what they see and hear so that they can begin to make distinctions between sounds, words, andmeanings

- Using the different mouth positions to teach English words correctly.Vowel phonetic symbols in English may not be present in students' home

language, thus it's crucial for them to learn them One teacher says, 1.) Show them what to do with their mouths to make the sound 2.) Give them drills to help them build muscle memory 3.) Give them feedback along the way

Teaching your children how to make a certain sound correctly requires showing them where to position their tongues and lips

10 Teaching Listening skill

- Pre-listening instruction methods for elementary learners

● Choose the right answers

● Following up in writing and speaking

There are three primary audio resources for the different learning styles of young students

- Auditory Children: Sounds of nature (rain, automobiles, trucks, animals, vacuum cleaners, computer printers, people exercising), chants, poetry, read-aloud tales

- Visual Children: Visual depictions such as those seen in drawings, sketches, photographs, paintings, posters, artwork, and infographics

- Tactile children: Toys, puppets, and real-world objects that kids can interact with (it's vital to make sure the kid can really touch the item, not just look at it)

11 Teaching Speaking skill

Elementary learners will probably have trouble speaking because they are

"young" and their speech tools haven't fully developed yet In contrast to

popular belief, younger students of English as a foreign language do not go through the language acquisition process more rapidly than their older

counterparts But if kids start studying English as a foreign or second language

at a young age, they will have a significant edge when it comes to

pronunciation

- Audio-Linguistic Approach (ALM)

This method is based on the idea that you can learn a language by getting used

to its patterns and making them into habits Drilling with choral response and dialogues are two important aspects of ALM that can be easily adapted for the classroom of young learners

- Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

When students learn a language, they should be able to communicate effectively

in that language Communicative language teaching (CLT) aims to aid in the development of fluency in young learners There may be times when the

language has to be modified to suit the young students' linguistic abilities On the other hand, youngsters may need to use a language for the task that they have not yet acquired

- Tongue Twisters

Use this approach to bring a playful approach to the task of teaching

pronunciation Some sounds in English might be particularly difficult for kids tomaster Asian youngsters may have trouble pronouncing the English /r/ and /l/ since these sounds do not often appear in their original languages or are

pronounced differently Tongue twisters are especially popular with kids

because they see it as a fun challenge to speak words and phrases

12 Teaching Reading skill

- Mark readings with notes and highlights

Make it a habit to instruct pupils to underline and highlight key points in their reading Have pupils take notes on the pages they are reading to increase their concentration and retention Students can take notes while they read and jot down questions they have about the text, such as seeking clarification on a difficult term or idea

- Customize the content

Students' comprehension improves when they make personal connections to the information Motivate pupils to engage in the reading topic by having them record their own reflections on the reading Bringing the material into context with current events is another strategy for boosting pupils' comprehension

- Use problem-solving skills

Integrate learning how to solve problems in the actual world Get your pupils to solve the problem on paper and then discuss their thoughts in class or in small groups

- Increase the use of sensory input

Improve students' understanding and retention by encouraging them to engage more of their senses when reading Instruct pupils to use a pen or pencil and paper when reading so that they may make notes as they go Students can take

turns reading aloud to the class For the benefit of your visual students, use projectors to lead your class and to record queries

- Make a plan to read more

Get students to take responsibility for their own learning by having them create reading objectives Students will be more aware of their progress and better able

to take steps to strengthen their reading abilities

- Break up reading passage into chunks

Subdividing a lengthy or complicated text into manageable chunks might

improve comprehension and retention Students will be better able to recall the information spoken in class if it is broken up into shorter chunks It can also provide pupils the assurance they need to tackle difficult material

13 Teaching Writing skill

- Before letting pupils write, have them discuss their thoughts in groups

As a teaching strategy, having students discuss in groups is highly beneficial Listening to the perspectives of others might spark new ideas for those who are stuck It's helpful to have numerous youngsters in a group environment if they'reall struggling to come up with an idea

- Offer a sentence starter to pupils

Students who say they have no idea what to write about greatly benefit from theuse of a writing prompt or an opening sentence, which both motivates and directs them to get started

- Offer pupils a writing warm-up

Give children a few minutes to write freely without worrying about spelling or grammar (for now) to stimulate their imagination

- Plan out the tasks and use visual aids

Divide the five-paragraph essay into smaller writing assignments Give your pupils a visual guide to the essay's structure, breaking it down section by

section

- Give examples of well-written pieces

Show the pupils an example of the desired outcome and explain the criteria teachers will be using to evaluate their work

14 Teaching Grammar skill

A major challenge in teaching grammar is the importance of doing it right Without a firm grounding in grammar, pupils will struggle in writing and in developing their language skills Grammar, including the difference between different parts of speech and the proper use of modifiers, is something that students acquire during the course of their formal education As they progress through the skills, the challenges they face will get more difficult Some studentare visual learners, while others prefer aural or tactile ones Therefore, English grammar instruction should include a wide range of strategies

- Teaching grammar in context

Grammar is taught to children through explicit instruction A grammatical aim

is presented to the class as a whole, with the instructor providing an

explanation, examples, and rules Utilizing technological aids during this stage

of teaching can help students learn more efficiently

- Including Visual aids

Visual aids is a great chance to show the grammar teaching content to students Also, they could be used to demonstrate common grammatical errors in writing and teach kids how to edit their work before submitting it

- Free Writing

Children can improve their proficiency in the language by writing with an understanding of proper grammatical structure The instructor can provide individualized corrections for grammatical faults in more casual writing, such asstudent diaries Providing writing assignments with general guidelines for

developing a certain skill or guiding pupils toward a certain goal

- Effective Lesson Plans as Routine Sequence

Plans for instruction can also be seen as a series of actions to be taken in the classroom Instructors rely on routines to make some aspects of their lessons more automatic In doing so, they are able to save their working memory for themore challenging aspects of teaching

- Visualizing the lesson is a good way to teach it

Before entering the classroom, teachers may do well to practice the lecture several times in their minds This will have the dual benefit of helping them both prepare for any issues they could have while teaching the lesson and select the most effective steps to take before those challenges even arise

Therefore, it is reasonable to define lesson preparation as the educator's ability

to imagine and predict the process of delivering the lesson

supplementary activities planned in advance helps

It is my goal to inspire and motivate my students in the classroom I strive to make each and every one of my students' classroom hours a memorable and stimulating experience, full of new information, inspiration, and difficulty I try

to imagine what it's like to be a student and evaluate the tasks from their

perspective Since I am a second-language English learner, I am able to foresee many potential snags in the process I make sure I keep my skills sharp by joining professional groups and going to conventions and seminars geared toward my field I keep up with what's going on in the field of ESL/EFL studies.I've found that kids respond positively to educators who are both passionate about their subject matter and open to new ideas and perspectives