By
Mayra Yaranga
.
Teaching English as
a foreign language in early years is a particularly challenging undertaking.
Unfortunately, in our country this responsibility seems to be taken for granted
and is affected negatively by a number of misconceptions which, in the end, may
transform it into a missed opportunity.
First of all, there
seems to be a problem with the choice of English teachers for young children.
When schools choose staff to be in charge of such classes, there is a tendency
to select teachers whose proficiency in English is quite limited, perhaps
because youngsters are assumed not to understand much. However, it is generally
accepted that children aged between ages 4 and 7 are highly sensitive to oral
input, and this sensitivity favors their acquiring suprasegmental features such
as stress, intonation and accent. Phonological awareness is, therefore, a
crucial element of language acquisition from a very early age and should be
well-led from the very beginning. Teachers who lack a high command of the
language may not be truly aware of such features themselves, and they are
likely to be providing poor spoken language models for children.
A second, and
perhaps even more important aspect, is that of methodological expertise. School
authorities are sometimes unaware of the foundations of language acquisition
and may regard teaching English in early years as merely a matter of singing
songs, dancing and colouring, as it is frequently considered so simple; the
requirements to teach English in kindergarten often overlook a thorough
knowledge of language teaching methodology and language acquisition theory. For
instance, let us consider the use of songs in the classroom: some teachers play
them and just expect a propitious reaction from
children (“they love it and start dancing without me telling them”) whilst
others carry out comprehensive language work leading to and deriving from the
songs: a variety of drills, activities to relate sounds and words, and
intensive feedback to foster good pronunciation of very simple items, which can
be recycled and re-applied in subsequent lessons. Note that such aspects are
related to oral practice, because obviously kindergarten children cannot write
yet, but they do understand and produce spoken language. For this reason,
activities that involve linguistically unrelated skills, such as drawing,
colouring and tracing should be given comparatively less time in class. It can
therefore be argued that teachers in charge of early-year language teaching
should be the best, since it is
their duty to establish good learning habits, such as following instructions,
using language to request items, and responding to certain situations – all in
English.
In conclusion, the
role of English teachers in early-year education should not be underestimated
due to its distinctive level of challenge. By guaranteeing that talented and committed professionals are in charge of those classes, we are also
guaranteeing that young children will have a successful first encounter with
the English language and will definitely be on the way to achieving
proficiency.
Reference:
Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford
University Press
Cameron, L. (2011).
Teaching languages to young learners.
Cambridge University Press
Do you think the
tendency of assigning less proficient teachers to instruct small children can
be reversed? If so, how should it be carried out?
Biodata
Mayra Yaranga (1985) has completed Doctorate studies in Education at UNIFÉ; she holds a Master’s Degree in Media, Culture and Identity from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by PUCP, a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from UPCH and the Professional Title of Licenciada from IPNM. Currently she works as Pedagogical Specialist and Member of the Research Area for Universidad del Pacífico Language Centre. She is also Associate Professor at UNIFÉ. She has published papers in the fields of English Language Teaching and Cultural Studies.
