The art of teaching is essentially an art to evoke the natural curiosity of young minds (Anatole France, 20th century).
Young Learners (YLs) refer to children from the ages of four to twelve. Increasingly, though, children as young as three are being formally introduced to English as a foreign language. According to Sarah Phillips (1993), young learners are children from the first year of formal schooling (five or six years old) to eleven or twelve years of age. However, as any children's teacher will know, it is not so much the children's age that counts in the classroom as how mature they are. There are many factors that influence children's maturity: for example, their culture and environment (city or rural), sex, the expectations of their peers and parents.
Young children do not come to the language classroom with empty hand. They bring a 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 characteristics are curious, outspoken, active, inquisitive nature, and like to move around.
While they are skilled in:
- being very good at interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding the individual words;
- having great ability in using limited language creatively;
- frequently learning indirectly rather than directly;
- taking great pleasure in finding and creating fun in which they do;
- creating a ready imagination.
Young Learners (YLs) refer to children from the ages of four to twelve. Increasingly, though, children as young as three are being formally introduced to English as a foreign language. According to Sarah Phillips (1993), young learners are children from the first year of formal schooling (five or six years old) to eleven or twelve years of age. However, as any children's teacher will know, it is not so much the children's age that counts in the classroom as how mature they are. There are many factors that influence children's maturity: for example, their culture and environment (city or rural), sex, the expectations of their peers and parents.
Young children do not come to the language classroom with empty hand. They bring a 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 characteristics are curious, outspoken, active, inquisitive nature, and like to move around.
While they are skilled in:
- being very good at interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding the individual words;
- having great ability in using limited language creatively;
- frequently learning indirectly rather than directly;
- taking great pleasure in finding and creating fun in which they do;
- creating a ready imagination.
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