BREWSTER, ELLIS AND GIRARD

(2007)PRACTICE II, 2012.

Chapter 3: “How Children learn English”

Learning-centred

EFL: not simply putting fun into learning. (Nunan&Lamb, 1996; Cameron, 2001)

Need to maximize learning. Provide both: support and challenge.

How children think and learn Physical Emotional Conceptual Educational characteristics of YLE.

What is different about teaching children? YLE are different from older learners

because: They have a lot of physical energy. Are emotionally excitable. Are developing conceptually/ early

stages of schooling. Are still developing literacy akills in L1. Learn more slowly and forget things

quickly.

And more…

Tend to be self-oriented/worried with their own world.

Get bored easily. Are excellent mimics. Can be easily distracted but also very

enthusiastic. Can concentrate for a longer tiem if they

are interested.

Learner differences

Chronological age is not the same as developmental age.

Age bands: 3-6, 7-9, 10-12 year olds.

Degree of parental support.

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL DIFFERENCES At Primary school level learners are:

Developing self-esteem and confidence in learning.

Very egocentric: 6-7, unable to cooperate with others.

Developing motor skills. Physically restless: short , varied activities. Unstable emotionally: tantrums, need to

learn how to overcome frustration.

Teachers need to provide: A supportive

environment.

Activities to share and play with other learners.

A variety of activitities.

Routines that provide a sense of security.

Praise.

A warm and encouraging classroom atmosphere.

Conceptual, educational and linguistic differences 3-6 year olds: symbolic thought, a

picture can be substituted by ther eal thing.

7+: capable of realistic and rational thought.

How children think and learn Behaviourism: transmission model of

learning.

Piaget: Constructivism. Clearly defined stages of intellectual development:

4 to 8: concrete-operational stage. 11+: formal thinking. His research: study how children think and

learn through their behaviour in relation to given tasks.

Bruner (1983)

Why is school difficult for learners? It is too different from their real lives. CONSTRUCTIVIST VIEW:o Child as active agent in constructing

KOL: selecting, learning, retaining and transforming information.

SCAFFOLDING Comparison between children learning and

building a house: Broken up into stages: foundations, walls

and ceiling: BUILDING BLOCKS.

Plumbing and electrics: how everything is put together and connected. LINKS AND NETWORKS.

SCAFFOLDING is removed when the hosue can support itself.

Child’s learning as a process: 3 Modes of Representation: 1. Knowing something through doing it.

2. Working with a picture or image of it.

3. Working with a symbolic representation: language.

VYGOTSKY (1978)

Mental development at two levels: Present. Future or potential. ZPD. Differences between Piaget /Vygotsky:

1. Role of adults/ teachers. 2. Role of language. Social-constructivist model.

Ellis (1999)

The role of Metacognition.

Helping children to think, plan and remember aids them to develop confidence in similar tasks.

Discuss:

Learning and sequential stages.

Learning, egocentrism and the role of play: social competence. Play as cognitive challenge.

The role of the L1. short-story telling, rhymes, songs, oral activities/traditions.

The uniqueness of learners

NLP (1970´s)

LEARNING STYLES.(Berman, 1998).Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic.

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES.

Howard Gardner (1993) : 1. Linguistic Intelligence. 2. Logical-mathematical Intelligence. 3. Spatial Intelligence. 4. Kinesthetic Intelligence. 5. Musical Intelligence. 6. Interpersonal Intelligence. 7. Intrapersonal Intelligence. 8. Naturalistic Intelligence. (See activities to be promoted, pp36)

Methods that work well with YLE

TPR Total Physical Response (Asher, 1960)

TBL.

Project Work.

How teachers generate their own learning theories:

Memories of childhood learning. Teacher training. Reading. Reflection upon classroom practice. Professional development activities. CRITICAL PROCESS.

Bruner’s videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2H_swMUlOg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeUUJ7SrMVg&feature=related