Engaging Children with Action Stories and Storytelling
Action Stories and TPR Techniques
Action Stories or TPR Stories: Children can participate in stories using TPR (Total Physical Response) with a few simple techniques. They can:
- Mime the story as it is read/played on an audio device.
- Perform pre-arranged actions when they hear key words read out.
- Listen and stand up when a character speaks or acts.
- Look and point to key illustrations/frames of the story.
These actions will make the story come to life and help the children internalize the language.
Action
Read MoreTeaching English to Children: Practical Tips and Techniques
Unit 1: Teaching Young Learners
1.1 First Language – Second Language
Knowing how children learn their first language can help us teach them a second language.
Babies:
- Hear voices from the time they are born.
- Listen to a lot of sounds.
- Play with sounds and practice making sounds.
Young Children:
- Only acquire the language they hear around them.
- Need to hear a lot of English.
- Listen to you and try to make sense of what you say.
Teaching Tips: Helping Children Learn a New Language
The teacher should:
- Use English
Effective Language Learning: Strategies for Young Learners
True or False Exam
- When working with very young learners, it is a good idea to change activities frequently: TRUE
- English should be inserted in Basque schools as a separate subject from Basque and Spanish, with different methodologies: FALSE
- The type of activities that we use with very young learners should provide a meaningful context for the children: TRUE
- In the Dip, Dip, Dip project, the main aim is that children learn grammar: FALSE (The main aim is motivation and a positive attitude, not to learn
Mastering English: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening
Mastering English: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening
Reading Skills
Reading subskills:
- Fluency
- Decoding
- Predicting (using cultural background)
- Inferring
- Reading actively (using a dictionary)
- Scanning (for specific information)
- Skimming (for general idea)
- Cohesion
- Reading for detail (intensive reading – to get as many details as possible)
- Reading for general meaning (knowing the meaning of words)
Processes in reading:
- Bottom-up: Decoding a text to understand. Focus is on words and meanings.
- Top-down: Using
Effective Project-Based Learning: Tasks, Types, and Assessment
Projects and Tasks in Education
A project is a written or spoken work, created by one or more students. It involves prior planning and a work process, culminating in a final outcome.
What is a Task?
- It has an L2 (second language) learning goal.
- It is a target for the students.
- It has a final outcome produced by the students.
- It involves students using L2.
- It facilitates L2 learning.
What is a Project?
- Projects should not be a secondary activity done only if there is time.
- Projects need prior planning, time
Implementing CLIL Programs: Key Factors and Materials
Key Factors for Implementing CLIL Programs
Based on the Ikastolas’ experience, four key factors contribute to the successful implementation of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programs:
- CLIL programs require school-wide adoption and promotion, not just support from individual teachers.
- They must be supported by didactic materials tailored to student needs.
- Teacher training is crucial, as teaching through a foreign language involves more than simply changing the language of instruction.