Teaching Young Learners English - From Theory To Practice

Teaching Young
Learners English
From Theory to Practice
Joan Kang Shin | JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall
Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
Contents
Preface viii
About the Authors ix
Chapter 1 Teaching English to Young Learners around

the World: An Introduction 1
Getting Started 1
Theory, Planning and Application 2
Reasons for an Early Start 2
Planning for Success in English to Young Learners
(EYL) Programs 7
Teacher to Teacher 13
English Education Profiles 13
Chapter Summary 18
To Conclude 18
Over to You 19
Resources and References 20
Print Publications 20
Useful Web Sites 21
References 21
Chapter 2 Basic Principles of Teaching English to Young

Learners (TEYL) 23
Getting Started 23
Considerations for Teaching Young Learners 25
Effective Language Teaching Practice for Young Learners 44
Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) Instruction Chart 46
Designing a Lesson for Young Learners 48
Sample Lesson 49
Effective Approaches for Teaching Young Learners 58
Chapter Summary 62
To Conclude 62
Over to You 62
Useful Web Sites 64
References 64
iii
Chapter 3 Contextualizing Instruction: Creating Thematic
Units and Lesson Plans 65
Getting Started 65
Contextualized Instruction 68
Thematic Instruction 70
Planning Thematic Units 73
Long-Term Planning 80
Planning for the Term or Year 81
Daily Lesson Planning 82
Sample Lesson 95
Evaluating Thematic Units and Lessons 99
Contextualizing Instruction 100
Chapter Summary 102
To Conclude 102
Over to You 103
Useful Web Sites 105
References 105
Chapter 4 Teaching Listening and Speaking 107

Getting Started 107
Considerations for Teaching Listening and Speaking 108
Considerations for Teaching Listening 109
Considerations for Teaching Speaking 120
Effective Listening and Speaking Activities 132
Designing a Listening and Speaking Lesson 144
Sample Lesson 144
Teaching Listening and Speaking to Young Learners 149
Chapter Summary 153
To Conclude 153
Over to You 154
Use Web Sites 156
References 156
Chapter 5 Teaching Reading and Writing 157

Getting Started 157
Considerations for Teaching Reading and Writing 159
Considerations for Teaching Reading 164
Effective Reading Activities 178
iv Contents
Considerations for Teaching Writing 185
Designing a Reading and Writing Lesson 198
Sample Lesson 198
Teaching Reading and Writing to Young Learners 200
Chapter Summary 204
To Conclude 204
Over to You 206
References 207
Chapter 6 Storytelling 209

Getting Started 209
Why We Tell Stories in the Classroom 210
Storytelling Is an Authentic Form of Communication 210
Storytelling Introduces New Cultures to Children 211
Storytelling Teaches Young Learners in an Entertaining Way 212
Storytelling Develops Critical Thinking Skills 212
How We Tell Stories in the Classroom 213
Choose the Right Story 213
Prepare to Tell a Story 214
Effective Storytelling Activities 216
Activities before Storytelling 216
Activities during Storytelling 220
Activities after Storytelling 222
Designing a Lesson with Storytelling 229
Storytelling to Young Learners 236
Chapter Summary 239
To Conclude 239
Over to You 240
Online Resources for Storybooks 241
References 242
Chapter 7 Assessment 243

Getting Started 243
Considerations for Assessing Young Learners 244
Basic Assessment Terms and Concepts 246
Principles of Assessment 251
Purposes and Types of Language Assessments 256
Effective Assessment Activities 266
Contents v
Designing Effective Assessment for a Lesson 275
Teachers’ Perspectives on Assessment 279
Chapter Summary 281
To Conclude 281
Over to You 283
References 285
Chapter 8 Classroom Management 287

Getting Started 287
Why Teachers Need to Be Good Managers 288
Effective Classroom Management Activities 302
Designing a Classroom Management Plan 311
Classroom Management for Young Learners 313
Chapter Summary 321
To Conclude 321
Over to You 321
References 323
Chapter 9 Twenty-First-Century Skills in Teaching English

to Young Learners (TEYL) 324
Getting Started 324
Integrating Twenty-First-Century Skills into Teaching English
to Young Learners (TEYL) 325
Designing a Technology-Based Thematic Unit 343
Sample Lesson 347
Twenty-First-Century Skills for Young Learners 351
Chapter Summary 353
To Conclude 353
Over to You 354
References 355
vi Contents
Chapter 10 Professional Development 356
Getting Started 356
Why Professional Development Is Important 358
Approaches to Professional Development 358
Effective Professional Development 360
Professional Development Activities 361
Continuing to Learn as an English to Young Learners (EYL) Teacher
and Applying That Learning to English to Young Learners (EYL)
Classes 379
Chapter Summary 383
To Conclude 383
Over to You 384
References 386
Worksheets 388
English Education Profile 388
Class Observation 389
Twenty-First-Century Skills Integration 390
Index 391
Contents vii
Preface
Teaching English to young learners or TEYL is an exciting and evolving field within the
larger field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Countries around
the world are lowering the age of English education to the primary school level, and students
are studying English at younger and younger ages. This is a new and big challenge for many
countries, especially those that have traditionally been teaching English and other foreign
languages at the secondary level. As a result, there is a growing need for both pre-service
and in-service teacher education programs that specifically address teaching children at the
primary and pre-primary school levels. The aims of this book are to help teachers of English to
young learners (EYL) understand the foundational concepts for teaching English as a foreign
language in international contexts, and to prepare them to develop lessons and activities that
are developmentally appropriate and that cater to children’s characteristics and cognitive levels.
It can be used as a basic text for prospective EYL teachers, or it can be used as a professional
development tool for teachers and administrators who need to develop the special knowledge
and skills to teach EYL.
Teaching Young Learners English focuses on teaching children at the primary school
level (ages 5–12 years). Although most of the activities can be applied to all ages, we
will make clear when certain activities are more appropriate for “very young learners”
(under 7 years of age) or “young learners” (7–12 years old). We will begin by discuss-
ing the characteristics of young learners and how to create effective lessons that connect
with their lives outside of class and motivate them to learn English. Other chapters will
present effective activities (including storytelling) to help young learners develop oral
(listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) language skills, as well as
ways to help prepare young learners to develop the kinds of skills that they will need in
the interconnected world of the twenty-first century. You will also learn how to assess
your young learners’ progress and your own growth as an EYL teacher, with a number
of suggestions for additional professional development you may want to participate in
for your own success as an EYL teacher.
In addition to providing a theoretical foundation and practical applications for all the
concepts outlined above, every chapter has a sample lesson plan as well as a “Teacher to
Teacher” section in which you will hear the voices of practicing EYL teachers around the
world. This feature will give you the opportunity to see how teachers apply the concepts
and ideas from each chapter in their own classrooms, enabling you to learn from the
experiences and perspectives of other teachers to improve your teaching.
viii
About the Authors
Dr. Joan Kang Shin
Dr. Joan Kang Shin is the Director of TESOL
Professional Training Programs in the Education
Department at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County, and specializes in the training
and professional development of teachers of
English to young learners. In her role she is
responsible for administering professional
development and teacher training programs that
reach teachers in over 100 countries around the
world.
Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall

Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall is Professor Emerita
and former Director of the Language, Literary
and Culture Ph.D. Program, and Co-Director
of the MA TESOL Program at the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County. She has worked
in all areas of ESL/EFL including teaching,
curriculum and materials development,
standards development, and teacher training.
ix
1 Teaching English
to Young Learners
around the World:
An Introduction
Getting Started
This chapter will introduce you to teaching English to young learners (TEYL).
You will learn about the growth of English as a global language, the advantages
of early language learning, the various kinds of program models used around
the world, some of the problems associated with TEYL, and various teaching
practices that have been found to be effective in teaching English to young
learners. You will have the opportunity to reflect on the readings and discuss
key questions related to the chapter. To help you apply new knowledge, you
will respond to written journal prompts and complete hands-on activities. You
will hear the voices of teachers
in the field who share their
experiences teaching English to
young learners.
Blue Jean Images/Alamy
1
Think about your own experiences studying English. How old were
Think About It you when you began studying English? What challenges did you face?
What would have happened if you had started at an earlier age?
Now think about any experiences you have had observing young
learner classes or talking with children who are learning another
language. What are their experiences? Do they enjoy their language
classes? If so, why?
Over the past decade, the age of compulsory English education
has been lowered in many countries. Why do you think this has
occurred? Has the age of English education been lowered in your
country? If yes, why do you think that has happened? If not, why do
you think that is?
T-Chart of Benefits and Challenges

Discovery Activity In the T-chart below, write down what you think are the benefits and
challenges facing English language programs for young learners.
PLUS + MINUS –
Benefits of early language learning Challenges of early English language
programs programs
Theory, Planning and Application

Reasons for an Early Start
Although there are various points of view about the best time to begin English
language instruction (see the discussion below), and minor differences in student
age and program categories, the fact is that in most countries, children are learning
English at younger and younger ages. In many countries, English is a compulsory
subject in the early primary grades (Nikolov, 2009; Pinter, 2006). In a recent survey
of EYL teachers from 55 countries around the world, Shin and Crandall (2011)
2 Teaching Young Learners English
found that more than 50 percent of these countries introduced compulsory English
language courses by third grade. Even in countries where families may choose the
foreign language for their children to study, English is “overwhelmingly the first
choice” (Garton, Copland, & Burns, 2011, p. 5). The growing demand for English,
plus parents’ belief that English skills provide their children with a better education
and better employment opportunities, have led to an increase in the number of
EYL programs (Enever & Moon, 2009; Gimenez, 2009).
There are two major reasons for an early start in English:
■■ The value of English for education and employment

■■ The benefits of early language learning
The Value of English for Education and Employment Today,

an estimated one billion or more people speak some English (Crystal, 2012). The
number of people who are studying English increases every year, beginning at
younger and younger ages.
About 400 million people have learned English as a first or native language
and use English on a regular basis (Crystal, 2012). Most live in countries that
Kachru (1990) calls “Inner Circle” countries, such as the United States, United
Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, where English is the
dominant language of education, government, and other institutions.
Another 300–500 million people live in “Outer Circle” countries (Crystal, 2012).
“in which English has a long history and serves a variety of functions in education,
government, literature, and popular culture” (McKay, 2002, p. 133). In the 70+
countries of the Outer Circle, which include India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Kenya,
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Fiji, the populations have learned English as a
second language (ESL) and have developed their own varieties of English.
But the largest number, estimated at 500 million to a billion English speakers
(Crystal, 2012), live in what Kachru calls the “Expanding Circle.” In these coun-
tries, such as China, Korea, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Sweden,
Chile, Brazil, or Mexico, English has no official function and opportunities to use
English are usually only with those who do not share the same mother tongue.
People in these Expanding Circle countries are studying English as a foreign lan-
guage (EFL) or as an international language (EIL) because of the importance of
English as a “lingua franca” or link language (a common language used by people
who speak different languages) for business, media and communication, air and
sea travel, and science and technology. English is increasingly used as a medium
of instruction in higher education, and with international sporting events like the
Olympics and the World Cup, English has become a major medium for tourism.
1 Teaching English to Young Learners 3
Expanding circle
Outer circle
Inner circle
320–380 millon
300–500 millon
500–1000 millon
In all, according to Crystal (2012), there are three times as many n

onnative
speakers as there are native speakers of English. There are at least 350 m illion
speakers of English in Asia alone—almost the combined populations of the
United States, Canada, and Great Britain. At least 25 percent of the world’s
population can communicate to some degree in English (Crystal, 2012, p. 69).
It is truly a global language.
As English becomes the world’s lingua franca, countries all over the world
have adopted English language instruction as part of their education system.
Many countries begin at the primary level, and students are studying the lan-
guage at younger and younger ages (Jenkins, 2009). New English-medium uni-
versities are being established in many countries to enable students and faculty
to study the latest research and textbooks, which are often written in English.
This requires students to develop academic English proficiency during their
primary and secondary schooling. The global role of English differentiates
the teaching of English as an international language from that of other foreign
languages.
The Benefits of Early Language Learning Early studies of second or

foreign language learning argued that there was a “critical period” (Lenneberg, 1967;
Penfield & Roberts, 1959), or a “critical” or “sensitive period” (Oyama, 1976), prior to
puberty in which children could acquire native-like proficiency in a foreign language.
That perspective found ready acceptance among adults who thought children could
“pick up” a language easily, often remembering their own frustration at not having
mastered another language. While there is evidence for the benefits of acquiring
another language naturally (for example, when two parents each speak a different
language to a child), there is little evidence to support the critical period hypothesis for
learning a foreign language (Garton, Copland, & Burns, 2011; Nikolov & Mihaljevic
Djigunovic, 2011; Pinter, 2006; Read, 2003). A recent review of research on the
critical period (Marinova-Todd, Marshall, & Snow, 2000, p. 10) concluded that
adolescent learners are more efficient language learners (they have already acquired
their mother tongue) and that they can learn a second language “to a very high level
and that introducing foreign languages to very young learners cannot be justified on
grounds of biological readiness to learn languages” (see also McLaughlin, 1984/1985).
However, a number of “language policy documents explicitly state the
advantages of early language learning” (Nikolov & Mihaljevic Djigunovic, 2011,
p. 98). For example, the European Commission identifies “better language
skills” and “favorable attitudes to other languages, people and cultures” as
benefits of early language learning, if conditions such as trained teachers and
small classes are in place (Nikolov & Mihaljevic Djigunovic, 2011, p. 98).
As Rixon (1999) points out, what matters more than the optimal age
are the conditions under which young learner programs are offered. These
include c onditions outside the classroom (for example, the social, cultural, and
economic value of the language) and inside the classroom. Read (2003) suggests
that younger is better when learning is:
■■ Natural
■■ Contextualized and part of a real event
■■ Interesting and enjoyable
■■ Relevant
■■ Social
■■ Belongs to the child
■■ Has a purpose for the child
■■ Builds on things the child knows but also challenges the child
■■ Supported appropriately
■■ Part of a coherent whole
■■ Multisensory
■■ Active and experiential
■■ Memorable
■■ Designed to provide for personal, divergent responses and multiple intelligences
■■ Offered in a relaxed and warm learning atmosphere
(Adapted from Read, 2003, p. 7)

In addition, it can create a “sense of achievement” (Read, 2003, p. 7).
With these optimal conditions in mind, then, there are a number of reasons
for starting language learning early. These include:
1. The value of increased time
2. The possibility of better pronunciation and fluency
3. The possibility of greater global awareness and intercultural competence
4. The value of bilingualism
1. The value of increased time One reason for starting English in the primary
grades is the amount of time that children will have to learn the language. As
noted above, although some researchers believe that adolescents are more efficient
language learners, younger learners simply have more time to learn the language,
and time is an important factor in overall attainment (Carroll, 1975), as any adult
who has tried to learn another language has discovered. As Curtain and Dahlberg
(2010) state, “When language learning begins earlier, it can go on longer and
provide more practice and experience, leading ultimately to greater fluency and
effectiveness” (p. 428). However, duration is not enough. Intensity also matters.
Children need the opportunity to learn English for more than two 30-minute periods
a week.
2. The possibility of better pronunciation and fluency Moreover, some

researchers have concluded that young learners are more likely to attain native-like
pronunciation (Scovel, 1988), greater confidence in speaking the language, and
better oral proficiency (Harley, 1998). These studies do not refute the possibility that
older language learners can achieve native-like pronunciation or proficiency, but
they suggest that younger learners may have an advantage. If children begin learning
another language before age 11 or 12, and they are given appropriate instruction and
input, they “are more likely to acquire English to native levels without an accent”
(Pinter, 2006, p. 29). “Appropriate instruction” requires well-trained teachers with
good English proficiency who can foster the creativity and imagination of young
learners, taking advantage of children’s willingness to imitate or mimic what they
hear and to repeat the language, especially if the activity is fun.
3. The possibility of greater global awareness and intercultural
competence As the world gets smaller and more interconnected through the
Internet and international travel, children have the opportunity to become global
citizens. Through learning another language, children can gain an appreciation for
other languages and cultures. The experience can also make them more aware and
reflective of their own language and culture.
Many years ago, while evaluating a bilingual program in its first year, we
talked with some children in the program and we will never forget when one
little boy said, “I used to think that [another child] talked funny, but now I
know that he’s Spanish.” That kind of cultural understanding may be the most
important benefit of early language learning.

4. The value of bilingualism: mental flexibility Being bilingual provides
many cognitive advantages. Even when children are only using one of their two
(or more) languages, they have access to the other language(s) and to those neural
networks (Bialystok, 1999). For young learners, especially, being able to speak
another language provides a number of advantages such as mental flexibility, the
ability to see a problem from different perspectives. It can also increase a child’s self-
awareness. As Marsh (2000) explains, “What we need to realize is that the ability
to use different languages, even to a modest extent, can have a positive impact on
the youngster’s thinking processes. Being able to see the same phenomenon from
different angles, as though looking through different language ‘spectacles’, can have a
very interesting impact on our ability to think and understand” (p. 3).
Planning for Success in EYL Programs

A number of factors can affect the success of an EYL program. As Pinter (2006)
points out, these include the status of English in the country or region, the goals
of English education, and the motivation for learning English. Perhaps the most
important factors are:
■■ Effective EYL program models

■■ Appropriately trained EYL teachers
■■ Culturally appropriate materials
■■ Continuity of curriculum between primary and secondary English
Effective EYL Program Models Although starting a language in early

grades has many advantages, we cannot rely on an early start alone to increase the
levels of English language proficiency of our students, nor even the selection of an
appropriate program model. As Nunan (1999, p. 3) has reminded us, programs to
teach English to young learners need to be “carefully planned, adequately supported
and resourced, and closely monitored and evaluated.”
Young learner programs may begin in any primary grade, and the number of
classes and the number of hours per week may also vary. Some programs meet
for 20–30 minutes, once a week. Others may meet every day for 30 m inutes.
In still other EYL programs, children are taught subjects such as science or
mathematics in English for as much as a full day, every day. With these different
amounts of time for study and use of English, children’s proficiency in English
will vary. Children who have 30 minutes of English once or twice a week, even if

they begin at age 6 or 7, are not likely to become bilingual by age 12. Those who
use English as a medium of instruction for some of their school subjects will
attain much deeper proficiency.
EYL programs can also take many forms, with different goals or objectives,
depending on national and local educational policy, available resources, cultural
preferences, attitudes toward English and the role of various languages in the
country, and the language(s) spoken by children in the home. Consider the need
for different program models in countries like India or Kenya, where English
becomes the medium of instruction in later grades, and in countries like J apan
or Brazil, where E nglish is a foreign or international language.
Whatever the model, effective EYL programs are those that encourage
interaction, provide engaging activities, and build positive attitudes toward
English language learning. Some program models in the United States that are
also adapted and used in other countries are described below. These include:
1. FLEX programs
2. FLES programs
3. Immersion programs
4. Dual-language or two-way immersion programs
5. Transitional and maintenance bilingual programs
1. FLEX programs FLEX (foreign language exploratory or experience)

programs introduce children to different languages and cultures. Children receive
short sessions in which they learn basic words or phrases in one or more languages,
sometimes in a before- or after-school program. Through music, songs, and stories,
they may learn the numbers, colors, and greetings in a foreign language, but the
major goal of a FLEX program is to increase children’s awareness of other languages
and cultures and thus of their own. The focus is on exploring or experiencing
languages, rather than developing proficiency in these languages (Met, 1991). FLEX
programs can also create a high level of interest and motivate children to want to
study a language.
2. FLES programs In FLES (foreign language in the elementary school)
programs, children study one language as a regular school subject for up to
45 minutes a day, several times a week. The goal of a FLES program is to help
children develop listening and speaking skills in another language, as well as some
proficiency in reading and writing the language, especially in the later primary
grades (4–6). Developing an appreciation of other cultures is also a typical goal of
a FLES program. While there are a number of different FLES programs, all expect

children to study a language for at least two years, often throughout the primary
grades. Through extended exposure to the language, children can develop some
proficiency and also develop “basic language-learning skills” that will help them as
they continue to study the language in secondary school (Haas, 1998, p. 44).
In content-based FLES or content-enriched FLES programs, content from
other subjects from the school curriculum (mathematics, science, social stud-
ies) is taught in the foreign language. By focusing on both language and con-
tent, these programs (referred to more generally as content-based instruction,
CBI, or content and language integrated learning, CLIL) offer the opportunity
for learners to develop academic language and thinking skills in a meaning-
ful context (Crandall, 2012). These programs usually also provide more time
for language learning. Because of this increased time and the enriched content,
learners in content-based FLES programs usually attain a higher level of lan-
guage proficiency than learners in regular FLES programs (Reeves, 1989).
3. Immersion programs Language immersion programs, as the name suggests,

immerse children in another language by using that language as the medium of
instruction, at least for part of the school day. Unlike the programs discussed above,
where English is a school subject, in immersion programs, English is the language
of instruction for at least some courses. However, in effective (often referred to as
additive) immersion programs, students retain their native language, and literacy in
the native language is never abandoned or discarded.
In a total English immersion program, children study all of their subjects (ex-
cept their own language) through English. In partial immersion programs, they
may take half of their subjects in their own language and the other half in
a foreign language. Some partial immersion programs begin with only a few
subjects or hours of instruction in the foreign language and then gradually
increase the number of subjects and the time in the foreign language in later
grades. Some try to provide children with the opportunity to learn mathematics,
science, and social studies in both the local and foreign language over the course
of the six years. In some programs, children continue in an immersion program
in secondary school. Additive immersion programs can begin at any age, even
as late as secondary school, but most begin in the primary grades (Faulkner-
Bond et al., 2011).
The goal of these immersion programs is for children to develop functional
proficiency in another language (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010) without loss of the
native language. Additive immersion students, especially those who participate
in “early” foreign language immersion (beginning at ages 5–7) can become very
good at listening and reading in another language, and they do this without any
harm to their own language. As Harley (1998, pp. 29–30) says, “Studies have
shown that immersion students, without detriment to their [first language] and
subject matter learning, develop excellent listening and reading comprehension
skills,” as well as very strong speaking and writing skills. As might be expected,
the children who begin earlier generally achieve better listening and speaking
skills.
4. Dual-language or two-way immersion programs In dual-language
programs (also referred to as two-way bilingual programs), equal (or nearly equal)
numbers of children who speak one language (for example, Spanish) and those who
speak another language (for example, English) take some of their instruction through
each language. Some programs begin with using one language 90 percent of the
time in K–1, then gradually move to using each language 50 percent of the time in
grades 2–6; others start using 50 percent of each and continue with that distribution
throughout the program. The program may involve two teachers, each speaking one
of the languages, or one teacher who carefully uses only the required language during
each part of the school day. The goal of these programs is additive bilingualism,
wherein children become bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate and retain their home or
heritage language while they are learning another (Faulkner-Bond et al., 2011).
5. Transitional and maintenance bilingual programs The goal of a transitional
bilingual program (also referred to as early-exit) is to help children transition
from their first language into the language of schooling, usually after three years
of bilingual instruction. Children begin with more instructional time in their first
language, learning to read in that language, while they are also learning the new
language. They also receive instruction in major subjects through both languages
over time, helping to establish basic concepts in the first language, but also preparing
for the switch to the language of instruction in upper grades. This program model
does not support continued literacy or development of the native language after
the initial years of native language use. It is subtractive in nature, in that continued
development of literacy and academic learning in the native language is not a goal or
expectation.
Unlike transitional bilingual programs, maintenance (also referred to as de-
velopmental or late-exit) programs continue to provide instruction through the
first language for several (usually six) years of school. The goal of a maintenance
bilingual program (as the name suggests) is to develop deep literacy and aca-
demic learning in the first language, while also providing increasing amounts of
instruction through the second, so that by secondary school, children can make
the transition to another language, though they may continue to study their

first or heritage language as a subject in secondary school (Faulkner-Bond et al.,
2011; Met, 1991).
Appropriately Trained EYL Teachers Educational research continually

reminds us that the most important factor in any child’s education is the teacher.
Effective EYL programs have well-trained teachers with adequate proficiency in
English to help their children learn English. Effective EYL teachers have appropriate
training in teaching young learners, in teaching English, and in teaching through
English (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, 2009). But with
the growing number of EYL programs in the world, a major challenge is finding
enough teachers or teacher training programs to prepare these teachers (Hu, 2005;
Kirkgöz, 2009). Too often, EYL teachers have taught English to adolescents, but
find themselves teaching young learners with no special training on how to teach
children. Other times, EYL teachers are regular elementary classroom teachers
and are assigned the added responsibility of teaching English, even if they do not feel
comfortable using English (Curtain & Pesola, 2000; Garton, Copland, & Burns, 2011).
Most EYL programs are fortunate in having nonnative English-speaking
teachers (NNESTs) who share the cultural backgrounds and educational expec-
tations of their students and understand the contexts in which English is used
in their communities and countries. Teachers who share their young learners’
language and culture will understand the ways that children learn in that country
and will also be able to make connections between what is learned in the EYL
class and what is learned in the children’s other classes. Some programs also have
native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) who can complement the teaching
of the NNESTs through their access to more English resources, a wider English
vocabulary, and greater comfort in using the language in a range of contexts.
Culturally Appropriate Materials If English is an international

language, does that affect how we should teach English to young learners? What
should be our goals in teaching an international language? We will be considering
this throughout the book, but first and foremost, the purpose of teaching English to
young learners is not to expect them to speak American or British English. What we
want is for them to be understood by other speakers of English as an international
language. Nor do we want them to learn only about the cultures of countries in the
Inner Circle. Because English is an international and intercultural language, we
should also include materials from many cultures around the world. The children
we teach will most likely use English with other EIL speakers, and what they really
need is an appreciation of different cultures. We also want to include the students’
home culture. This will help students to talk about their own culture in English

(McKay, 2002) and develop what Kramsch and Sullivan (1996) call a “sphere of
interculturality” in the classroom, one that promotes a healthy process of learning
about cultural differences through reflection on one’s own culture.
Jade Albert Studio, Inc./Getty Images

Continuity of Curriculum Between Primary and Secondary
English When countries adopt early language programs, they also need to think
about how those programs impact the language programs for older learners at
secondary school (Curtain & Pesola, 2000; Gilzow, 2002; Read, 2003). According to
Cameron (2003, p. 105), secondary school language teachers will likely have to “cope
with classes of mixed levels of language skills and knowledge” and also with “the
task of maintaining or restoring motivation over long periods of language learning.”
She continues, “English language programs in the secondary school “may look quite
different from earlier models that served a system in which language learning began
around 11 years of age” (p. 106). Curricula need to be aligned to promote a smooth
transition for students and to help teachers meet the needs of former young learners.
Pitfalls to Avoid in EYL Programs Curtain and Pesola (2000) identify

some “common pitfalls” of early foreign language programs that need to be
considered in developing effective EYL programs:
■■ Scheduling language classes too infrequently or in sessions that are too short
■■ Treating foreign languages differently from other subjects, rather than as “valid
academic subjects”
■■ Implementing a new program in all grades at the same time
■■ Failing to create program cohesion from primary to secondary grades
■■ Planning and scheduling foreign languages in isolation from the general curriculum

To these we could add:
■■ Providing insufficient professional development for EYL teachers

■■ Supplying inadequate or inequitable resources, especially access to technology,
with urban and private schools having greater access to both print and digital
materials (Butler, 2009; Enever and Moon, 2009).
Common Features of Effective EYL Programs Nikolov and Curtain

(2000), in An Early Start: Young Learners and Modern Languages in Europe and Beyond,
identified the following characteristics of effective YL programs from 20 countries.
These programs:
■■ Focused on meaning
■■ Integrated language instruction with mainstream curriculum
■■ Used task-based and content-based approaches
■■ Provided fun in the classroom
■■ Set up children for success
■■ Fostered learner autonomy
■■ Set realistic expectations and assessment
■■ Provided continuity between primary and secondary school language programs
Additionally, according to Gilzow (2002), in some contents, effective young

learner programs:
■■ Used technology appropriately
■■ Had adequate funding
■■ Provided professional development
■■ Advocated for the program
■■ Used a standards-based curriculum
We will be discussing many of these characteristics in the following chapters.
Teacher to Teacher
English Education Profiles
Below are three profiles of English education written by teachers in an online
professional development course from Myanmar, Madagascar, and Romania.
The English education profiles were written to provide information about each
country’s education policy and requirements for teaching English. In addition, the
writers included descriptions of the classroom environment, as well as materials

and resources available. The student profile included provides information about
the students’ age, gender, level of proficiency, and the level of exposure they may
receive outside of the EFL classroom. These examples will show how three different
countries have applied the teaching of English to young learners.
As you read these profiles, consider the following:
■■ What factors of effective programs do you see in these profiles?

■■ What challenges do these teachers face?
■■ What are the similarities between these educational contexts and your own
context?
■■ What did you learn from the policy or the teachers’ classes that you can adopt
in your own teaching?
“year.Every local school in Myanmar began a FLES program in 1970–1971 school

It is designed for students in 5th standard through 10th standard and
is offered as a special program at some high schools in Yangon, Myanmar.
Continuity is offered at another big city like Mandalay two years after. In the
1990s, the government implemented a new education system to develop
standards for foreign language education from kindergarten through
grade 11. The educators and curriculum designers drew well-designed and
standardized curriculum and assessment for students learning effectively. The
goal of education policy for teaching foreign language in primary school is by
using English, students can build up the developed nation to stand shoulder
to shoulder with the other countries in the world. In the late 1990s, there
were a few private schools that offered Immersion programs in their school to
attract the rich families and their children starting from primary level.
In general, students in Myanmar are taught English as a regular school

subject since they are in kindergarten to grade 11 (from 5 years to 16 years)
in local schools. Students are taught English 4 times a week and 45 minutes
in each session. There are more than 50 students in a class. The class has
chairs and desks, a white board, wall posters and a computer, though
some students in other schools are cramped in the room and use table and
benches and blackboard in the classroom, and some classes have more than
70 students.
My Grade 3 Class
I teach in a private school called “Crane International School” located
in Sanchaung Township, Yangon. My class is Grade 3 and there are
20 multinational students aged between 7–10 years. In my school, we teach
in an Immersion program; all subjects are taught in English. We teach English
starting at the age of 3 (in nursery) and they continue to learn it until Grade 12
(at the age of 17–18 years). Children in my school have eight English lessons
per week and 50 minutes in each lesson. My class is not very spacious for

students to move around to do the activities but there is enough room for
teachers to walk around in the class. Each student uses a moveable chair with
desk; we have a white board, a cupboard to keep classroom materials; register,
dictionaries, students’ homework books, a television set and a CD cassette
player. We have a library that has lots of books relevant to students’ level and
teachers’ needs. Every class has to go to the library once a week to borrow a
book and write a book report. We have a computer lab where students can go
once a week and have Internet access. Every student has a colorful textbook
that includes vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, comprehension check
questions and grammar workbook.
There are 20 students in my class, varying in background. The majority of them

are from Myanmar; I also have three Japanese students, two Indian students,
two Korean students and one Australian student. The number of boys is two
times more than girls. Because they are all of different ages, ranging from 7 to
10, and their cultural backgrounds, and different learning experiences, they
have different learning styles and preferences, but all are motivated, curious,
and active. One new learner has only studied English for two months; another
uses English as his native language. Some prefer working in pairs, working
individually, working in groups, playing games, copying from the board,
and repeating after the teacher. Two boys prefer working by themselves,
whereas, the rest enjoy playing games and working in groups. On the whole,
the students’ goal is to improve their use of the language as a means to
communicate with other people and to move to an English speaking country
for their further studies.”
—Sanda Than Pe, Primary English Teacher, Myanmar
“withThetheeducation policy for English in this public primary school falls in line
national education policy for English In Primary (EIP) established
by the Ministry of Education of Madagascar in 2002. This school is one of
the first 42 pilot schools around the country where English education was
introduced in the Malagasy primary education system, beginning in the
4th grade. Before 2002, English instruction began in secondary schools
only, from 6th grade on. The school is currently using the national 4th grade
curriculum, which was revised and finalized by the Ministry of Education
in 2006 for all the pilot programs. The Ministry of Education of Madagascar
provided the following description of its national curriculum for primary
school: ‘This curriculum provides classroom material through 5 thematic units
based on topics which are relevant to Malagasy children’s lives at this age,
falling in line with the Competency Approach that all other school subjects
are to follow. This curriculum is based mainly on listening and speaking skills
and thus features such activities as songs, dialogues and games, which are
also used to promote motivation and interest in children. The objectives of
introducing English at the fourth grade include the possibilities of exposing
children at an early age to the language so that they can obtain better

proficiency and fluency before adolescence, preparing them for entrance to
the secondary school or CEG (College d’Enseignement Général), and finally
preparing them for international communication, business, tourism, and
travel.’ At this initial familiarization stage, EFL is introduced in an enjoyable
way and neither assessments nor grades are required. English is taught as
a separate regular school subject and is time-tabled for two hours a week,
spread out into 20 minutes of instruction a day during the 9-month school
year. There is only one teacher—Marie Rose, a former primary school teacher
who was one of the 42 pilot primary school teachers to be trained to use the
curriculum and to teach the lessons via the Communicative Approach, with
the objective of learning English for communication.
Marie Rose’s 4th Grade Class

Marie Rose’s 4th grade FLES class is made up of 40 nine- and ten-year-old boys
and girls. These children do not have much literacy in English and do not seem
to have much exposure to the language outside the EFL classroom either, as
English is not widely spoken yet and such media forms as newspapers, TV and
radios are mostly in Malagasy and French.
Marie Rose’s fourth graders learn English in a typical concrete-floored

classroom which is quite spacious though basic as it comes equipped with
only a small cassette player, a large chalkboard, a teacher desk, and 20 wooden
student desks. The students sit in pairs on the wooden desks arranged in
5 rows of 4 desks that can be moved easily. Unlike the students and teachers
in primary schools in the US and Europe who have access to audiovisual
equipment, textbooks, a library, a computer lab and to the Internet, Marie
Rose and her students do not in the Analamahitsy EPP. The only resources
available to her are the curriculum accompanied by supporting materials such
as sample lesson plans and pictures provided by the Ministry of Education and
the materials provided by the Teacher Resource Center (TRC) in the downtown
area. As for her students, they do not have any textbooks or workbooks for
reading and writing. They only have copybooks in which they are to keep the
handouts Marie Rose gives them. These are handouts of the songs and chants
they learn and perform in class as well as of pictures they can color at home
and that illustrate vocabulary and grammar covered in class. ”
—Laingo Ramanantoanina, English Teacher, Madagascar
“promoting
Ever since I was a student myself, the Romanian education system has been
foreign language studies. Back then, students started learning the
first foreign language in the 5th grade (at the age of 11) and the second one in
the 6th grade (at the age of 12). Nowadays, the national curriculum introduces the
first compulsory foreign language in the 3rd grade (at the age of 9) and the
second in the 5th grade. All the teachers of English in state schools have to follow
the common national program designed by the Ministry of Education. They
are free to use any of the ministry-approved textbooks which they find suitable

for their needs or their students’ profile. Students are assessed according to the
common criteria; therefore, at the end of each year of study they have to be
assessed according to the competencies mentioned in the national program.
According to the Common European Frame of Reference for Language (CEFR,
2001), by the end of high school students should have reached the B2 level.
Most Romanian schools choose English either as the first or the second
compulsory foreign language. If students start learning English in primary
school, they usually have the same specialist teacher from the 3rd grade until
they are in the 8th grade, when they finish secondary school. During primary
and secondary school years, foreign language studies are allotted 2, maximum
3 hours a week for expanding or improving linguistic competencies. In high
school the number of hours per week stays the same, except for the special
philology classes, which can have 4 up to 5 English lessons per week and have
a special test every semester.
My Class
I teach English as a separate school subject to primary and secondary school
learners at a public school located in the largest university town in eastern
Romania. My school is a state school with 755 primary and secondary level pupils,
built in the first decade of the 20th century, and located in the centre of the
town. It is a very old, but impressive building, with 15 large, tall classrooms. Some
classrooms have individual desks; others have desks for two or three children.
Each of them has a chalkboard and a teacher’s desk in front of it. Every classroom
is shared by two classes of children, as primary school children have lessons in the
morning, and secondary school learners study in the afternoon. All teachers have
at their disposal a CD player, a whiteboard, a laptop and two OHPs. Nevertheless,
the Internet connection is not available in all the rooms. Moreover, because of its
low budget, the school cannot afford to make photocopies of written materials
for students, and teachers have to make them at their own expense.
The school management team has decided to have English as the first
foreign language and French as the second one. Both languages are taught
as separate school subjects in a FLES program, with 2 or 3 lessons a week.
There are three teachers of English (including myself ) working with both
primary and secondary level students, and a teacher of French. All through
the school year the committee has special activities such as open lessons and
presentations of new teaching materials. It also organizes language contests
and celebrations (such as the Foreign Languages Day, Halloween, Christmas,
or Europe’s Day). Every semester we have meetings with all teachers of English
in the region where matters such as effective planning or teaching methods
and materials are discussed.
The children’s environment is favorable to learning English. Their families

encourage them to learn the language, either because they consider it useful
to be proficient in a global language, or because they have older relatives who
study English. They also listen to modern international and Romanian music

extensively, and these days most Romanian dancing songs are in English, so
children are curious about what the lyrics mean. In addition, most pupils in
this class have personal computers and Internet connection at home. Thus,
they are exposed to lots of information or games in English.
To conclude, I could say that I think of my work with the children as a continuous
challenge, but their enthusiastic, inventive and playful nature has won me over.
Therefore, I try to make their experience with English as pleasant as possible,
even if I am aware of the fact there is always room for improvement. ”
—Simona Balan, Primary and Secondary English Teacher, Romania
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Reasons for an early start to English language learning Because of the role of
English as a global language and its potential for providing education and employment
advantages to English speakers, English is being introduced at earlier and earlier ages
around the world. Many children now start English as early as age 6 (or first grade).
While there are many points of view about the best time to start learning another
language, there are potential benefits to an early start, especially if optimal
conditions occur within the language classroom. EYL programs can provide
more time to learn the language and can lead to better pronunciation and fluency,
enhanced intercultural competence, and mental flexibility.
Factors affecting success of an EYL program A number of factors affect the

success of an EYL program. These include the choice of the EYL program model,
the presence of appropriately trained teachers, the availability of culturally and
linguistically appropriate materials, and the continuity of the English curriculum
from primary to secondary school.
Models of effective EYL programs There are a number of models of effective EYL
programs. These include FLEX, FLES (including content-based or content-enriched
FLES), immersion, dual-language, and transitional and maintenance bilingual
programs. Another way to look at program models is in terms of their topics and
amount of time for instruction. Programs can develop their curricula around
traditional topics found in student language textbooks, topics drawn from other
subjects, community-based topics, or actually teaching part of the curriculum in
English.

Need for appropriately trained EYL teachers Appropriately trained EYL teachers
know how to develop engaging, motivating activities and have adequate English
proficiency to help their young learners in learning English. Unfortunately, the
growth in demand for EYL classes has outstripped the capacity of many countries to
provide appropriate TEYL training. There are few specialized training programs or
courses for EYL teachers.
Need for culturally and linguistically appropriate materials and curricula

Materials and curricula need to be culturally and linguistically appropriate. The
local and national culture and cultures of other countries, including the cultures
of the traditional, Inner Circle countries, all need to be included to help children
develop intercultural competence and grow in understanding of their own culture.
Need for continuity of primary and secondary school English curriculum The
primary and secondary school curricula need to be aligned so that students make
a smooth transition in their language learning. Children who have participated in
EYL programs will need higher-level English classes in secondary school than those
who begin at the secondary school level.
Additional factors affecting EYL program success There are a number of

additional factors that programs need to consider if they are to be effective. These
include scheduling, integrating the English class into the overall school curriculum,
and gradually introducing young learner classes, when teachers and materials are
available, as well as providing appropriate resources and professional development
for current EYL teachers.
Over to You
1. What are some reasons why more people around the world
are learning English? What is the main reason your program or
Discussion programs in your country were developed?
Questions
2. What are some differences in studying or teaching English in
countries in the Inner, Outer, and Expanding Circles? In which
“Circle” are you teaching English?
3. What are some goals of teaching English as an international
language? What are your program goals or the goals of programs
in your country?

4. What are some benefits of learning English at a young age? Have
you seen these advantages in your students?
5. What are some of the pitfalls of TEYL? Have you experienced any of
these?
6. What are some program models for EYL and the differences in their
goals and objectives?
7. Discuss how your views apply to the various program models. Would
a FLEX or FLES program be a better fit for your context? Or would a
bilingual program be better? Why?
8. What kind of program do you teach in or will you teach in? Do you
see similarities in your program to the kinds of programs discussed
in this chapter?
9. Do you identify with any of the teachers whose story is told? If so, how?
English ow that you have read about different countries and their uses and policies about
N
Education English, think about your own country. Use the English Education Profile on pg. 388 to
Profile describe the English education profile of your country, region, local school system, and
classroom.
Write Reflection on policies toward English in your country: Write a 1–2 page reflective
About It essay using the prompts below. Explain your views and provide examples for support
based on your own teaching context:
• Has the age of compulsory English education in your country been lowered?
Why or why not?
• What do you think are some benefits of starting English language instruction
early? Are there any disadvantages of an early start?
• What do you think are the most important factors for improving the conditions
for English language learning for children?
• What are some things that teachers, teacher supervisors, teacher trainers, and
curriculum developers can do to create an optimum English language learning
environment for children?
Resources and References

Print Publications
Enever, J., Moon, J., & Raman, U. (2009). Young learner English Garton, S., Copland, F., & Burns, A. (2011). Investigating global
Language policy and implementation: International perspectives. practices in teaching English to young learners. Aston University,
Reading, UK: Garnet Education. UK: British Council.

Genesee, F., Paradis, J., & Crago, M. B. (2011). Dual language devel- McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as an international language:
opment and disorders: A handbook on bilingualism and second Rethinking goals and approaches. Oxford, UK: Oxford University
language learning. Baltimore, MD: Brooks Publishing. Press.
Marinova-Todd, S. H., Marshall, D. B., & Snow, C. E. (2000). Three
misconceptions about age and L2 learning. TESOL Quarterly,
34(1), 9–34.
Useful Web Sites

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages: Center for Applied Linguistics: www.cal.org/resources/digest
www.actfl.org Nandu Early Language Web site: www.cal.org/earlylang
British Council: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teaching-kids National Network for Early Language Learning: www.nnell.org
References
Bialystok, E. (1999). Cognitive complexity and attentional control in Garton, S., Copland, F., & Burns, A. (2011). Investigating global
the bilingual mind. Child Development, 70(3), 636–644. practices in teaching English to young learners. London, UK:
Butler, Y. G. (2009). Teaching English to young learners: The British Council and Aston University.
influence of global and local factors. In J. Enever, J. Moon, Gilzow, D. F. (2002). Model early foreign language programs: Key
& U. Raman (Eds.), Young learner English language policy elements. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
and implementation: International perspectives (pp. 23–29). Available at http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0211gilzow.html
Reading, UK: Garnet Education. Gimenez, T. (2009). English at primary school in Brazil: Challenges
Cameron, L. (2003). Challenges for ELT from the expansion in and perspectives. In J. Enever, J. Moon, & U. Raman (Eds.), Young
teaching children. ELT Journal, 57(2), 105–112. learner English language policy and implementation: International
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2 Basic Principles
of TEYL
Getting Started
This chapter will lay the foundation for the approaches this book supports
for teaching young learners English as an international language. It will
explore the characteristics and learning styles of primary school students
and encourage teachers to make their classrooms an enjoyable place where
children can learn through fun, creative, and social activities. In addition
to providing a theoretical foundation for TEYL, this chapter will introduce
useful activities and teaching ideas specifically designed for teaching young
learners English as an international language.
Before reading about how to teach young learners, try to get into the
mind of a child by imagining yourself when you were six years old. In
Think About It
order to understand the content of this chapter more deeply, it will help
to connect to yourself as a young learner. You might want to take a deep
breath, close your eyes, and picture yourself when you were six years old.
As a six-year-old child, what was your typical day like from start
to finish? Who did you interact with most often—parents, siblings,
grandparents, friends? What activities did you do at home? Did you
often go to the park, beach, field, forest, or other location? What was
your favorite part of the day, and
why? What was your least favorite
part of the day, and why?
Eco Images/Getty Images
23
Now think about yourself at school when you were in first grade.
What kind of student were you? What subjects did you like the most?
The least? What subjects were you the most or least successful in?
What class activities did you most enjoy? Least enjoy? Why?
Adjective Splash and T-Chart

Discovery Activity How would you describe young learners? Write down in the circle below
or on a piece of paper all the adjectives you can think of that describe the
characteristics of young learners. Just splash the words down in the circle in any
order and in any direction.
ADJECTIVE SPLASH
Now read through the adjectives you wrote down and categorize them into
the T-chart below. On one side list the positive adjectives. On the other side list
the negative adjectives.
POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Considerations for Teaching Young Learners
After reflecting on yourself as a child, as well as exploring the characteristics of
young learners, you have probably thought about some of the concepts you will
read about in this chapter. Remembering what it was like to be a six-year-old
child reminds us of how differently we think and learn as adults. In order to
teach young learners effectively, it is important to know them in depth and be
able to put ourselves in their shoes. Children ages 5–12 years are growing and
developing rapidly. Teaching young learners English requires an approach that is
developmentally appropriate, which means that learning is dependent on the stage
of a child’s physical, social, emotional, and mental maturity (Coltrane, 2003; Nissani,
1990). The right approach is to work with their natural tendencies instead of against
them. In order to find the right approach for teaching young learners English, it is
important to explore the following:
■■ Characteristics of young learners

■■ How children learn
■■ How children learn language
For each section, the main points will be explained, followed by examples
showing how teachers can apply this information. Within these three main
categories, there will be 12 considerations for teaching young learners English,
which will be summarized at the end.
Characteristics of Young Learners How a primary school teacher

describes her/his students can depend on the day. On a good day s/he might say
young learners are energetic, social, spontaneous, and curious. On a bad day s/he
may say they are hyperactive, too talkative, can’t sit still, and are easily distracted.
These two different interpretations (both positive and negative) reflect the same
characteristics of young learners, which most teachers agree on. Children are:
1. Energetic and physically active
2. Spontaneous and not afraid to speak out or participate
3. Curious and receptive to new ideas
4. Imaginative and enjoy make-believe
5. Easily distracted and have short attention spans
6. Egocentric and relate new ideas to themselves
7. Social and are learning to relate to others
2 Basic Principles 25
All of these characteristics can make teaching young learners exciting and
inspiring; however, the same characteristics can present challenges for t eachers
who may have anywhere between 15 and 50 students in one classroom. It is
important to look at these characteristics in a positive way and use them to
develop an effective teaching approach.
1. Children are energetic and physically active Teachers at the primary level
need to consider how to harness the dynamic energy of young learners and use
it toward effective learning. Therefore, teachers should utilize children’s natural
tendency to be physically active and not get frustrated with the fact that young
children cannot sit still for long periods of time. You might incorporate kinesthetic
activities that encourage young learners to get up and move around. For example,
Total Physical Response (TPR) is a commonly used method with children because
it connects language to movement (Asher, 1977). In TPR you would give a physical
command, such as “Sit down,” and sit down while saying it. Children at even the
lowest level of English language proficiency can connect the oral utterance with the
movement and can follow the commands through repetition. The game Simon Says
is a perfect example of a fun activity that uses TPR.
Simon Says
Simon Says is a popular children’s game that uses TPR. It is great way to check
comprehension of vocabulary related to body parts and physical movement and
bring lots of laughter to your classroom.
Instructions:
• Tell students that they have to do what Simon says, or they will be out.
• Always begin every sentence with “Simon says. . . .”
• Then give a command to do a body movement while physically doing
that movement. For example:
Teacher: “Simon says . . . touch your toes!” (Teacher touches her toes)
• Students have to do what Simon says. So students should touch their
toes.
• However, the game is to listen carefully. Sometimes the teacher can say one
movement while physically doing another movement. Then if the student
does not do what “Simon says,” s/he is out and cannot keep playing. For
example, Teacher: “Simon says . . . touch your head!” (Teacher touches her
toes)
• If a student touches her/his toes, then s/he is out. The teacher can make
it funny by saying, “But Simon didn’t say touch your toes!”

2. Children are spontaneous and not afraid to speak out or participate
Young learners are not very inhibited. Older learners can be more self-conscious
and concerned with how people judge them. Young learners are much more willing
to participate in activities and speak out in English without feeling embarrassed.
They are good imitators of language, in part because they are not afraid to repeat
after the teacher or sing along to fun songs, even if their use of the language isn’t
exactly right or even if they don’t understand every word. Teachers can use simple
songs, rhymes, chants, and dialogs with kids because they are ready to follow along.
The sample lesson Meet and Greet on pp. 49 takes advantage of young learners’
spontaneous nature by asking them to dramatize a simple dialog in many different
ways—by miming, mouthing the words, and doing their role using different
emotions, such as angrily, happily, fearfully, etc. Because they are not afraid to speak
out and participate, activities like these are very effective for improving students’
oral proficiency through repetition that is not boring and that gives young learners a
chance to be expressive.
3. Children are curious and receptive to new ideas Young learners have a
natural curiosity. The world is a new place for them, and they want to know more
about it. Teachers should prepare activities that arouse students’ curiosity. For
example, the Mystery Bag game is a commonly used activity for fun at parties or in
class to teach English.
Mystery Bag
Instructions:
■■ The teacher can put different objects in any opaque bag, like a brown
lunch bag or a cloth bag.
■■ Students have to reach into the bag, feel the object, and describe it.
■■ Then students have to guess what the object is.
■■ The teacher could prepare a few bags for students to use in groups and
put in objects that have different qualities, like hard, soft, big, small, long,
short, round, square, etc. The students have fun guessing what the
objects are.
In addition, teaching about new and interesting topics like exotic animals and
plants that don’t exist in their local environment can capture young learners’
attention. Unusual animals like kangaroos or bizarre plants like venus f lytraps
can keep learners interested and teach them about the amazing world we live
in. Introducing international cultures can also arouse their curiosity and in-
troduce them to the world where they may be using English in the future. It is
important to expose students to lots of different cultures, not just American and
British cultures that are usually associated with English. Cultural topics that
are p articularly interesting for young learners are food, dress, music, holidays,
celebrations, greeting customs, and folktales.
4. Children are imaginative and enjoy make-believe Young learners love

activities that encourage them to use their imagination. Using role plays and
drama games allows them to play “make-believe” and pretend they are someone
or something else. For example, children can learn new vocabulary about animals
and have fun pretending to be an elephant, lion, or giraffe, making the movements
with their bodies and sounds with their voices. This can be the basis for a fun game
of charades in which the children take turns picking the name of an animal from a
bag and acting it out until their classmates can guess what animal they are imitating.
Teachers can also use stories or plays to create an imaginary world for students
while learning new language. Many popular children’s stories and TV shows take
place in a fantasy world with fairy godmothers, wizards, superheroes, monsters, or
animals that talk. Students can use their imagination and creativity to make and
use their own pictures or puppets to retell a story. They can also play make-believe
by dressing up in costumes and pretending to be characters to reenact a story using
English.
5. Children are easily distracted and have short attention spans Young
learners are known for being easily distracted. Although children have short
attention spans, they can concentrate on longer activities if they are fun and
interesting to them. Teachers should try to engage children with fun activities that
arouse their curiosity and imagination, as the previous sections suggested. Teachers
can also capture their attention with brightly colored pictures, photos, and posters.
Incorporating different kinds of audio-visual aids such as playing songs, TV or
movie clips, or YouTube videos can help keep children’s attention and interest. In
addition, it is a good idea to plan lessons as a series of short activities. Shin (2006)
points out that, “As children get older, their ability to concentrate for longer periods
of time increases. So for students ages 5–7, you should try to keep activities between
5 and 10 minutes long. Students ages 8–10 can handle activities that are 10 to
15 minutes long. It is always possible to revisit an activity later in class or in the
next class” (p. 4). However, these time limits are not written in stone. It all depends
on the particular activity. Although teachers may have longer tasks they would
like their young learners to accomplish, it is recommended that teachers try their
best to break long activities down into smaller steps and check on progress or give
students a short break. For example, if there is a story-writing activity for ten-year-
old students that may take more than 15 minutes, the teacher might break the task
down into parts and check on students’ progress after each part in order to keep
them focused and on track. In addition, teachers could have students take a break
after concentrating very hard on the activity. The break could be one minute long
Bob Ebbesen/Alamy
and would require students to stand up and move their bodies around with some
TPR, or even play a quick game of Simon Says to get students up, moving, and
laughing.
If students have been focused on a writing activity, it is recommended
for teachers to take a quick break and do the “Hand Shakes,” which is a TPR
activity. To do the Hand Shakes, the teacher leads the students in TPR by saying
and doing the following three or four times in a row:
Shake your right hand. One. Two. Three. (Shake your right hand for 3 seconds)
Shake your left hand. One. Two. Three. (Shake your left hand for 3 seconds)
Young learners are still learning to write well, so they often hold their pens
and pencils too tightly and can use a physical as well as mental break from the
activity. Sometimes these are called “brain breaks” and are recommended for
young learners with short attention spans.
Writing the Story from a Video (25 minutes)

In this activity, the class just watched a video (or listened to the teacher tell a story).
The students are responsible for writing the story they watched. The teacher can
break the task down and check progress after students do each of the following steps:
• Brainstorm ideas (3 minutes): In small groups, students brainstorm ideas
for the story in a web.
• List ideas (2 minutes): In small groups, students order their ideas in a list.
• Share ideas (5 minutes): WIth the whole class, students share their ideas
from their list while the teacher writes their ideas in complete sentences
on the board. If students make any grammatical mistakes when
expressing their ideas, the teacher can model the correct sentences as
she writes on the board.
• Write sentences (5 minutes): Individually, students write a sentence for
each idea using the teacher’s model on the board.
• Brain break (2 minutes): The teacher leads the whole class in a TPR brain
break.They do the Hand Shakes three or four times, and then stretch
their hands up high and touch their toes a few times.
• Add details (3 minutes): With the whole class, students discuss what
details to add to make the story more interesting.
• Write story (5 minutes): Individually, students write the story in good
handwriting on a clean sheet of paper.
The teacher can check on progress after each step and tell students to move to the
next step. While students are working in small groups, pairs, and individually, the
teacher can walk around and help students or groups who are struggling.

6. Children are egocentric and relate new ideas to themselves Young
learners are egocentric, centered on themselves and their immediate surroundings.
They have difficulty perceiving things from another person’s perspective. As
they get older, they improve in this area, but they still have a tendency to relate
new ideas to themselves while at primary school ages. Teachers need to provide
opportunities for young learners to personalize what they are learning. This means
to connect new information and language to themselves. For example, if you are
teaching children about adjectives to describe people, they will enjoy writing an
acrostic name poem about themselves. See the example below for a young learner
named Minh.
Musical
Intelligent
Nice
Happy
An activity like this is engaging for children because it is about them, and it helps
them practice new vocabulary by relating it to themselves. The teacher could have
students draw or bring in pictures of themselves to put on the paper with the poem
and have them decorate the poem using their own creativity. Then the teacher can
post students’ acrostic name poems around the room and have them present their
poems and pictures to the class. These activities reinforce the language and cater to
children’s egocentric nature. Not only is personalizing a good strategy to use with
young learners; it is also good to relate cultural topics to their own native culture. If
the teacher uses stories or topics from other international cultures, it helps young
learners when they get a chance to relate it to their own culture or immediate
context. This can help teachers see if students understand the information, help
students remember the information, and build their understanding of cultural
differences.
7. Children are social and are learning to relate to others Young learners are
very social and like to talk to each other. They are learning how to relate to others as
part of their socialization process to their culture. They love to play games with each
other and can cooperate to do activities. Teachers should have a balance of activities
that allow students to have various types of interaction, such as student–student
in pairs, students–students in groups, teacher–student one-on-one, and teacher–
students as a whole class. First, varying the kinds of interaction from activity to
activity, including ones that encourage students to work alone, is important to keep
the class engaging. It is also important for students to experience all types of social
interaction with each other and the teacher, because communicating in different
contexts is like real life. Learning how to communicate with and work with peers
is an important part of personal growth and development for each child. Finally,
plenty of interaction with the teacher is very important for young learners because
the teacher has the role of supporting students through the process of learning
English. This part of social interaction will be discussed further in the next section,
“How Children Learn.”
As the examples associated with each characteristic show, taking advantage of
the characteristics of young learners will create a classroom environment that is
exciting and dynamic. Although a class full of energetic, spontaneous, curious,
imaginative, easily distracted, egocentric, and social learners can be challenging,
teachers can cater to those characteristics to keep learners engaged in order to
teach English effectively.
How Children Learn This section focuses on how children learn, based on
the major educational theorists who have set the foundation for current approaches
for teaching young learners. It will go a step beyond the characteristics of young
learners described earlier, which are easily witnessed even by an untrained observer.
The previous section tried to explain how to keep children engaged based on seven
of their characteristics; this section goes on to explain how children learn and
process new information. Children:
8. Learn by doing and interacting with their environment

9. Need support and scaffolding by the teacher
8. Children learn by doing and interacting with their environment
Confucius said, “I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand.”
This is particularly true for young learners, who are just beginning to make sense of
the world around them. Piaget (1970) emphasized that children are active learners
and thinkers. Children construct knowledge from interacting with the physical
environment in developmental stages. Students in primary school can be found in
Piaget’s Preoperational and Concrete Operational Stages. Very young learners at 5–7
years old who are in the Preoperational Stage are extremely egocentric and highly
imaginative, although they are starting to distinguish between fantasy and reality
compared to younger children in this stage. As young learners reach the Concrete
Operational Stage (7–11 years old), they are able to think more logically but are still
grounded in concrete objects and what is happening here and now. It is not until
adolescents are over 12 years old that children start to exhibit intelligence through
their understanding of abstract concepts.

Brief Review of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Sensorimotor Stage: Children . . .
■■ are 0–2 years old
■■ show intelligence through physical interactions and experience
■■ have limited use of symbols and language
Preoperational Stage: Children . . .
■■ show intelligence through strides they make in language development
■■ are extremely egocentric and have difficulty seeing things from another’s
perspective
■■ develop memory and imagination
■■ do not think logically
Concrete Operational Stage: Children . . .
■■ show intelligence through logical and organized thought related to con-
crete objects
■■ are less egocentric but still have a tendency to relate new ideas to them-
selves and their immediate surroundings
■■ can reverse their thinking through reasoning
Formal Operational Stage: Children . . .
■■ are 11 years old and older
■■ show intelligence through logical use of symbols related to abstract
concepts
■■ can hypothesize and use deductive reasoning
According to Piaget (1970), children learn through their own individual actions
and exploration. For example, a young child does not learn the meaning of a door
by listening to a definition of a door and having someone explain the function of
a door. Children learn what a door is by opening and closing the door repeatedly.
They may slam the door and laugh or cry as they learn that the door separates
two rooms. Creating opportunities for children to learn by doing and to learn by
interacting with their environment is extremely important in the young learner
classroom. Teachers can bring in realia for students to interact with. For example,
if the lesson is about different fruits and vegetables, the teachers can bring in those
fruits and vegetables for students to taste. If the lesson is about animals, the teacher
can have students bring in their stuffed animal toys or even take a trip to the zoo. Or
if students are learning about nature, the teacher could take the students outside to
a local park or a nearby beach or forest, depending on what is available in the local
environment, in order to allow students to interact with real-life objects connected
to the language they are learning.
9. Children need support and scaffolding by the teacher Equally important is

an understanding of how children learn through social interaction. Vygotsky (1962)
found that children construct knowledge through other people, more specifically
through interaction with adults or more competent peers. Adults work actively
with children in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which by definition
is the difference between the child’s capacity to solve problems on her/his own
and her/his capacity to solve them with assistance or “scaffolding.” The adult’s role
is very important in a child’s learning process (Bruner, 1983; Vygotsky, 1962). In
the classroom, the younger the learner, the more important the teacher’s role is in
scaffolding the learning process. Like Vygotsky, Bruner focused on the importance
of language in a child’s cognitive development. Bruner carefully studied how parents
provided effective scaffolding. Cameron (2001, p. 8) outlines in a concise manner
what Bruner’s studies found as effective scaffolding techniques used by parents to
support a child’s learning:
■■ They made the child interested in the task.

■■ They simplified the task, often breaking it down into smaller steps.
■■ They kept the child on track toward completing the task by reminding the child
what the goal was.
■■ They pointed out what was important to do or showed the child other ways of
doing parts of the tasks.
■■ They demonstrated an idealized version of the task.
■■ They controlled the child’s frustration during the task.
Working with a child individually is different from being a teacher with a class
full of young learners; however, we can apply these scaffolding principles to devise
an effective approach for teaching young learners. Below are suggestions for
EYL teachers using the scaffolding techniques listed above. Note that there are five
suggestions rather than six because the fourth and fifth points have been combined
into one.

Create interest in the task First, before a teacher creates interest in the task, s/he
should choose tasks for young learners that cater to their sense of fun, curiosity, and
imagination. It is an uphill battle for teachers to try to create interest in a task that
is not relevant or enjoyable for their learners. Therefore, teachers should know their
learners in depth and should first consider learners’ preferred topics or activities. As
we discovered in the section on “Characteristics of Young Learners,” the following
activities can engage learners and keep them interested: TPR, songs, rhymes, chants,
stories, videos, games, dramas, and role plays. In addition, tasks that encourage
creativity and imagination or those that allow students to express themselves in
relation to their lives, families, and friends usually work well. Also, tasks that entail
talking or cooperating with their peers can create interest since they love socializing.
As mentioned earlier, teachers can spark students’ attention through the use of
brightly colored visuals and use of audio-visual aids. Most of all, the teacher’s
own attitude and demeanor can create interest in the task for children. If you are
enthusiastic and passionate about the topic and activities, your students will be, too.
Simplify the task Teachers must prepare their lessons by examining every task
they will give to students very carefully and consider their level of English language
proficiency and cognitive development. Then the teacher needs to break the task
down into smaller steps in order to simplify it for children. Sometimes the steps that
work for most learners may not work for every learner; therefore, teachers should be
ready to break down the task into yet smaller or different steps. Depending on the
skill emphasized or the specific activity, the process can take different forms. Refer
back to Writing the Story from a Video on p. 30, which showed how a teacher could
break down a writing task into smaller steps to help students succeed with the task.
Singing a New Song

Here is another example of simplifying a task for children. If a teacher wants to
teach students to sing a song, s/he could use the following steps:
■■ Introduce the topic of the song and see if the students know anything
about it or have likes or dislikes related to it.
■■ Review the vocabulary words students already know, using visuals or realia.
■■ Pre-teach the new vocabulary words using visuals or realia.
■■ Sing the refrain of the song in chunks and have students repeat it. (The
refrain is the set of lines in the song that is repeated after each verse.
Most songs have a refrain that is repeated multiple times.)
(Continued)
■■ Ask questions about the meaning of the refrain.
■■ Then teach the tune of the verse using “la la la” instead of the lyrics, but
sing the refrain with the lyrics.
■■ Then teach the verses one by one, always singing the refrain after.
■■ Ask questions about the meaning of each verse.
■■ If there are words that rhyme at the end of each line, point them out and
practice repeating them when teaching each verse.
Notice that the teacher is breaking down the song in different ways: from topic
to isolated words to whole meaning; refrain and verses; tune and lyrics; syllables
that rhyme to words to sentences to song. This is how to simplify the task of
singing a song by breaking it down into smaller parts.
Keep children on task Part of a teacher’s challenge when teaching young learners
is to keep them “on task” by reminding them of the purpose or goal. The phrase
“on task” is often used by teachers in the United States to indicate that a learner is
engaged in a particular activity and working productively toward accomplishing a
particular task. Teachers all over the world struggle to find solutions to this common
challenge. Inherent in the statement is that each task or activity has a real purpose
or goal. If there is no real purpose to the activity, then you will have a difficult time
keeping students engaged. Therefore, creating tasks that are not just interesting
but also have a purpose or goal is very important when teaching children. Having a
reason to use English to accomplish a task will make students focus less on learning
and more on using the language to communicate something real. For example, if
the goal of the activity is to make a valentine for a classmate using an acrostic poem
about her/him, which needs to be ready tomorrow, the activity has a real purpose for
the students. The goal is to finish the activity by the next day, which is February 14th
or Valentine’s Day. This is a fun way to introduce a holiday from a foreign culture
while encouraging a real communicative act, which is expressing something nice to
a friend.
Sometimes children can get distracted from the activity and get “off task,” so
it might be necessary to remind them about the purpose or goal and point out
important parts of the task. The teacher can do this by first praising and encour-
aging the student, then reminding her/him of the goal and giving suggestions to
help the student accomplish the task. If the child is distracted, then the teacher
could say, “Looks great so far! Don’t forget! You have to finish it today. Tomor-
row is Valentine’s Day.” Maybe the student has a blank line and is struggling to
finish. The teacher could point out how to think of a word for a particular letter

by saying, “I like your poem so far! One line needs a nice word. What are nice
words that start with P? Let’s think together: pretty, pal, peaceful. Let’s look up
other P words in our dictionary.” Here the teacher is making suggestions and of-
fering a strategy for finding a good word. Keeping children on task is an impor-
tant part of the scaffolding process, especially since children need reminders for
what they are doing and why.
Model the task, including different ways to do the task Always remember to model
the task and show students what your expectations are. Particularly with language
learning, if students are not given proper models to follow, it is not reasonable
to expect them to perform at the desired level. For example, when students are
first learning to write, teachers can model the product they expect. In Writing
the Story from a Video on p. 30, the teacher models how to write students’ ideas
into sentences correctly. The students use this as a model to write their own
sentences. They have to add more detail and add their own sentences, but they are
given guidance directly by the teacher to put the sentences together accurately. In
addition to giving clear models, it is important to consider that students learn in
different ways; therefore, your modeling should reflect what you know about your
learners and the various ways they can accomplish a particular task. This means
considering and incorporating different learning styles and multiple intelligences
(Gardner, 1983, 1999) into instruction to help students who learn differently to
learn to successfully. The sample lesson Meet and Greet on p. 49 shows how to
incorporate different learning styles and intelligences and how to accomplish the
task of greeting a friend and meeting someone new in different ways. For instance,
there is a chant to appeal to musical learners; the activities encourage interpersonal
intelligence through interaction and emotional expression; there is a focus on
gestures, which appeals to kinesthetic learners; and the activities are introduced
with visuals and a video to appeal to visual learners. This approach makes learning
more effective for different types of learners, helps develop different kinds of
intelligences, and creates an exciting and dynamic classroom environment for
young learners of English.
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences

There are eight widely accepted intelligences that were defined by Howard
Gardner (1999).
■■ Spatial-visual (picture smart): Children may think in pictures and
images and show special abilities in drawing. They may learn through
visuals and organize ideas spatially through graphic organizers.
■■ Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart): Children may learn through gestures
and manipulatives and enjoy activities that involve movement, dancing,
running, jumping, and touching.
■■ Musical (music smart): Children may learn through auditory rhythms
and melodies and enjoy singing, chanting, tapping rhythms, and
listening activities.
■■ Linguistic (word smart): Children tend to think in words and enjoy
reading, writing, discussions, and dialogs. They also have the ability to
figure out grammatical patterns.
■■ Logical-mathematical (number smart): Children do not just show a
propensity toward math but also tend to be more analytical. They learn
through reasoning and enjoy puzzles and experiments.
■■ Interpersonal (people smart): Children like interacting with people and
show ability to relate to others. They enjoy discussing and socializing
with their peers and cooperative activities.
■■ Intrapersonal (self smart): Children have a tendency to be self-
reflective and like to work alone. They may be more in touch with their
emotions, feelings, and abilities.
■■ Naturalistic (nature smart): Children have an affinity toward n ature,
including the environment, plants, and animals. They may enjoy
activities that take place outdoors in nature.

Control children’s frustration during the task Sometimes young learners can get
frustrated with a task. The first step is to take a closer look at what is upsetting the
child. Don’t automatically assume that the child has a problem. Your first thought
should be that the task might be too difficult. See if other students are having the
same issue. Then review your planning and see where your scaffolding may need to
be altered. This probably means you did not break down the tasks into small enough
steps. Or maybe you didn’t cater to enough learning styles or intelligences. However,
it may not be possible to change the activity at that moment, so the teacher needs to
know how to alleviate frustration on the spot. Young learners usually respond well
to attention, encouragement, and praise. If the student or students need some help,
then the teacher should give them the hints they need to succeed without giving
them all the answers. For example, if students are doing a fill-in-the-blank activity,
but they can’t remember the correct vocabulary word and are getting frustrated or
distracted, the teacher can give them two or three choices to select from or give the
first letter of the word and make it into a game. If you have established a comfortable
environment that is lively and fun, then you can more easily move students from
frustration to good feelings. Chapter 8 will discuss classroom management in
more detail and focus on how to build a comfortable and controlled classroom that
encourages student participation and leads them to success.
How Children Learn Language This section is an extension of the

previous section describing how children learn; it looks specifically at the ways
children handle learning language. It describes the important aspects of how
children learn their first language (L1) in order to show how to approach teaching
children another language. Children:
10. Need a learning environment similar to first language acquisition

11. Learn language through lots of meaningful exposure and practice
12. Do not learn language through explicit grammatical explanations
10. Children need a learning environment similar to first language
acquisition As discussed in Chapter 1, there is a popular assumption that starting
English classes at younger ages, before the “critical period,” will produce better
speakers of English because of the ease in which children seem to acquire their first
or native language. However, this is not necessarily true. Success in second or foreign
language learning also depends on the characteristics of the classroom environment.
Children may use similar processes to acquire a first or native language (L1) and a
second or foreign language (L2); however, the environment for L1 and L2 acquisition
can be quite different (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004). Krashen (1987) first
described the difference between L1 acquisition and L2 learning. Typically, we think
of the L1 environment as situated in the real world; therefore, the language used is
always authentic and contextualized. Children are highly motivated to learn and use
the language because it enables them to meet immediate needs and respond to their
surroundings. For example, when a child is hungry and wants milk, s/he will learn
the word for milk in order to ask for it. In contrast, the L2 classroom environment
tends to have the opposite characteristics—that is, the language used and presented
is artificial because it is not based in real life. Traditional L2 classes tend to focus
heavily on form and isolated structures rather than a meaningful context in which
the message is more important than form. If the language used is not in context
and not meaningful to young learners, then it will be difficult to motivate them to
participate and learn. Children will be motivated if there is a real purpose or reason
to use the language, just like the child learning to use the word “milk” because s/he
is hungry. Therefore, teachers should engage learners in purposeful activities that
are appropriate for them and that mirror first language acquisition, like storytelling,
singing, chanting, talking with each other socially, letter writing, e-mailing, reading
recipes, and watching plays, TV shows, and movies.
11. Children learn language through lots of meaningful exposure and
practice In the L1 environment, children are surrounded by their native language.
It is being spoken and used in various contexts all around the child. This constant
source of meaningful exposure to language in authentic contexts helps children
acquire language naturally and quickly. However, when learning English as a
foreign language, usually the only place and time learners can hear or use English
is the classroom. Most EYL classes meet approximately 2–4 hours per week for
30–45 minutes per class (Shin, 2014). Because this is not much time per week
of exposure to English, the challenge of the EYL teacher is to create an English-
speaking classroom environment and use English as much as possible during
the 30–45 minutes s/he has the students. To create an optimal environment for
learning English, the input in the classroom needs to be comprehensible and just
above the students’ current level of English (Krashen, 1981). Teachers can support
comprehension of input by using lots of visuals, realia, gestures, and caregiver
speech. Caregiver speech refers to the adjustment of language done by a child’s
caregiver, which for first language acquisition is the parent or grandparent. Teachers
can also use caregiver speech to help make language input in the classroom
more comprehensible, such as a slower rate of speech, using shorter and simpler
sentences, and repeating or rephrasing utterances.
In addition to giving lots of meaningful, comprehensible input, it is
important to give students plenty of chances to practice using English in
class. This means giving them the opportunity to produce meaningful and

comprehensible output (Swain, 1985). Without enough opportunities to
produce output, students will not be able to test their hypotheses about how
English works. Furthermore, language learners need to have the opportunity
to interact with each other and negotiate meaning (Long, 1987). In addition to
using lots of purposeful, authentic activities to expose young learners to real
English, teachers have to prepare students for the language needed to n egotiate
meaning ( Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010). In other words, teachers should train
students to use classroom language in English, such as:
Why?
What is this?
What does mean?
How do you spell ?
I need help.
Can you help me?
Could you repeat that?
What is the answer for number ?
The answer is .
How do you say in English?
This can increase the amount of meaningful classroom interaction in English

because students will know how to use English for classroom purposes. This will
also help EYL teachers create an English-speaking environment in the classroom.
Young learners may use their L1 in class, especially when they are engaged in an
activity and don’t have the language to express themselves. When students use L1,
teachers should always recast those utterances in English and encourage students to
reformulate their thoughts in English.
12. Children do not learn language through explicit grammatical
explanations Grammatical structures are the building blocks of language, but
the approach to teaching grammar should match the way students learn. The
approach to teaching grammar should be “learning-centered,” which Cameron
(2003) describes as “. . . meaningful and interesting, require active participation
from learners, and will work with how children learn and what they are capable of
learning” (p. 110). As we explored in the previous section, children learn by doing.
With language this means that learners need to experience the language through
lots of exposure. They will not learn through grammatical explanations; rather,
they will gain an understanding of the grammar implicitly through repetition and
recycling of the language in different contexts. As Pinter (2006) and Cameron (2001)
emphasize, this approach to teaching young learners encourages them to “notice”
the grammar rather than being taught the structures explicitly. Pinter explains that
teachers should give plenty of meaning-focused input that will help young learners
notice grammar. For example, in the sample lesson Meet and Greet on p. 49, the
teacher is focusing on greeting someone using the question, “How are you?” and
answering, “I’m ______” using “fine,” “good,” or other words to describe how one
feels. S/he is not teaching the grammar explicitly—that questions are formed by
reversing the subject and verb. When the teacher focuses students on different ways
to express how they are and feel, s/he is getting students to notice the grammatical
constructions and use them correctly.
As Cameron (2003) wrote, “children see the foreign language ‘from the
inside’ and try to find meaning in how the language is used in action, in
interaction, and with intention, rather than ‘from the outside’ as a system and
form” (p. 107). “In action” means learning by doing; “in interaction” means
through social activities; and “with intention” means the activities have a real
purpose to use language. Therefore, teachers should expose children to language
in authentic and meaningful contexts and use repetition and recycling in order
to improve young learners’ ability to understand the new language structures
and use them correctly.
Summary of 12 Considerations for Teaching

Young Learners
Characteristics of Young Learners
Children Are . . . So Teachers Should . . .
1. Energetic and Physically • Use kinesthetic activities, like Total Physical Response (TPR), Simon
Active Says game
2. Spontaneous and Not • Use songs, rhymes, chants, and dialogs

Afraid to Speak Out and • Use drama activities that encourage students to be expressive, like
Participate
the Meet and Greet lesson on pg. 49
3. Curious and Receptive to • Arouse students’ curiosity with games, like Mystery Bag
New Ideas • Use topics like exotic animals and plants and international cultures,
e.g., food, dress, music, holidays.
4. Imaginative and Enjoy • Use role plays and pretend games, like Animal Charades
Make-Believe • Use stories that involve fantasy and imagination
• Have students use their creativity to make their own pictures or
puppets to retell stories
• Let students play make-believe by dressing in costumes and role
playing characters

5. Easily Distracted and • Make learning fun
Have Short Attention • Capture students’ attention with brightly colored pictures, photos,
Spans
and posters
• Use audio-visuals like songs, TV shows, movie clips, YouTube videos
• Move quickly from activity to activity, spending about
5–10 minutes per activity
• Use brain breaks
6. Egocentric and Relate • Encourage students to personalize new information and language,
New Ideas to Themselves like the acrostic name poem
• Relate new information and language to students’ native culture
and local surroundings
7. Social and are Learning • Make learning interactive

to Relate to Others • Incorporate group games and cooperative activities
• Use a variety of different kinds of interactions, i.e., S–S in pairs,
Sts–Sts in groups, T–S one-on-one, T–Sts with whole class
How Children Learn
Children . . . So Teachers Should . . .
8. Learn by Doing and • Make learning active

Interacting with • Use realia like food, toys, and other real objects
Environment
• Organize field trips in the local environment like the zoo, park,
beach, or forest
9. Need of Support and Create interest in the task

Scaffolding by the • Use engaging activities; see nos. 1–8
Teacher
• Be enthusiastic and passionate about tasks
Simplify the task
• Break tasks down into smaller tasks, like Writing the Story from a
Video on p. 30 and Singing a New Song on p. 35–36
Keep children on task
• Have a real purpose and goal like creating a valentine for a friend
which must be completed by Valentine’s Day
• Focus them on the task by praising, encouraging, reminding, and
giving suggestions to students
Model the task, including different ways to do it
• Clearly show your expectations and the ideal end product
• Cater to different learning styles, i.e., visual, audio, kinesthetic,
and multiple intelligences: spatial-visual, linguistic, logical-
mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, naturalistic
Control children’s frustration
• Assess if the task is too hard
• Break task down into smaller steps
• Give students hints or make a game out of figuring out the right
answer
• Create a comfortable classroom atmosphere in which students can
succeed
How Children Learn Language

CHILDREN . . . SO TEACHERS SHOULD . . .
10. Need a Learning • Use authentic contexts and situations that mirror real life
Environment • Use activities with a real purpose and reason to use English, like
Similar to L1
Acquisition storytelling, singing, chanting, dialogs, plays, TV shows, movies,
letter writing, e-mailing, recipes, etc., that present language in a
real context
11. Learn Language • Create an English-speaking classroom environment by using English

Through Lots of as much as possible
Meaningful
Exposure and • Give plenty of comprehensible input (just above students’ current
Practice level)
• Make input comprehensible by using visuals, realia, gestures, and
caregiver speech
• Train students to use classroom language in English
• Recast any use of L1 in English
12. Do Not Learn • Avoid using grammatical terms and rules that young learners will
Language Through not understand
Explicit Grammar
Explanations • Help learners “notice” the grammar by repeating and recycling
new language, i.e., Meet and Greet lesson
Effective Language Teaching Practices

for Young Learners
In this chapter we have outlined the main considerations for teaching young learners
English and have given examples of how teachers might apply those considerations to the
classroom. Effective teaching practices have been explained through those examples; they
can be organized into six main recommendations for teaching young learners English.
Recommendations
Recommendation #1: Use fun and engaging activities Teachers should make
sure that their delivery of language instruction connects to the characteristics of

young learners and the way children learn. First, activities should be fun for young
learners. In addition, students should be engaged and active in the learning process.
Recommendation #2: Students are engaged in a variety of interactions

Teachers should connect learners with a variety of different interactions in the
classroom. Students need to have plenty of chances to interact with each other and
the teacher. In addition, students should also have a balance of activities that they
accomplish individually.
Recommendation #3: Cater to different learning styles and intelligences

Teachers need to also be aware of how they are connecting learners to the language
content using different learning styles and multiple intelligences. The examples
given combine the three main learning styles, i.e., visual, auditory, and kinesthetic,
with multiple intelligences, i.e., spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-
mathematical, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic.
Recommendation #4: Make language learning meaningful and relevant

Teachers need to connect the language they are teaching to real-life contexts that are
meaningful and relevant to young learners and related to their local context. Realia
as well as authentic situations that have a real purpose should be incorporated into
instruction. If possible, students should be able to connect what they are learning to
themselves and get a chance to personalize the new content and language.
Recommendation #5: Introduce learners to different cultures It is important to

connect learners with different cultures. Teachers should use materials that reflect
both home and international cultures. Since young learners will grow up using
English as an international language to speak to people from all over the world,
it is important to learn about all international cultures, not just English-speaking
cultures.
Recommendation #6: Use various teaching strategies that set up learners for
success Connecting learners to success is very important when teaching young
learners. We want them to build a positive attitude toward English and set them
up for success in the English classroom. Some of these strategies can be used in
the planning process, such as preparing plenty of comprehensible input, breaking
the tasks down into achievable tasks, and modeling expectations. Some of them
are general strategies that should be used in class, such as training students to use
classroom language in English, building a positive attitude toward learning English,
and supporting learners through praise and encouragement.
TEYL Instruction Chart
When developing a teaching approach and planning a lesson, it is important to
make the right connections for young learners. Based on the six recommendations
earlier, it is helpful to create a checklist for your lesson plans to make sure you
are making these connections while planning your lessons. Whether you have a
prescribed curriculum or have to create your own lessons from scratch, it can be
helpful to analyze your lessons based on these recommendations.
The TEYL Instruction Chart below can help you make sure you are giving
effective instruction to your young learners. (Note that in the TEYL Instruction
Chart, the last section, based on Recommendation #6, “Connect learners to
success,” includes only the strategies listed for lesson planning.) The chart can also
be used to observe a teacher to assess effectiveness of instruction, in which case
you can include the strategies to use while teaching listed in Recommendation #6.
Teachers should try to have all six of the recommendations in their lessons. You
should be able to check off as many as possible in every lesson or unit plan. If
you can check off all of the items, then you are definitely providing effective and
dynamic instruction to your young learners.
TEYL INSTRUCTION CHART

Use this chart to analyze your EYL lesson plans.
1. Write YES or NO for each item.
2. If you marked YES, briefly describe which part of your lesson reflects that item.
3. If you marked NO, try to incorporate that item into your lesson plan to make your
instruction more effective and dynamic for young learners.
Connect Yes/No Describe Your Lesson

1. Connect delivery with characteristics of YLs
(should have both in every lesson)
a. Fun
b. Active (learn by doing)
2. Connect learners with a variety of interactions

(should have at least 3 different interactions per lesson)
a. Individual work
b. Student to student in pairs
c. Students to students in groups
d. Student to teacher one-on-one
e. Teacher to students whole class

3. Connect learners to different learning styles
(should incorporate at least 5 different learning styles per lesson)
a. Spatial-visual
b. Audio-visual
c. Musical
d. Bodily-kinesthetic
e. Logical-mathematical
f. Linguistic
g. Interpersonal
h. Intrapersonal
i. Naturalistic
4. Connect language with meaningful/relevant contexts

(should have at least 2 per lesson)
a. Use authentic contexts/situations

b. Use realia
c. Encourage personalization
5. Connect learners with culture

(should have all 3 per lesson or unit)
a. Learners to own culture

b. Learners to target language culture
(English-speaking)
c. Learners to international cultures
6. Connect learners to success

(should have all 5 per lesson)
a. Give plenty of comprehensible

input
b. Use techniques to make input
comprehensible (i.e., visuals, realia,
gestures, repetition, rephrasing.)
c. Break down long or difficult tasks
into achievable tasks
d. Model tasks and clarify
expectations
e. No explicit grammar teaching
Note: This TEYL Instruction Chart can also be used to observe an EYL class to give feedback on effectiveness
of instruction.
Designing a Lesson for Young Learners
When designing activities for young learners, it is important to apply all the
recommendations within a lesson. Lesson planning will be explained in more detail
in Chapter 3; however, it will be helpful to see a lesson as an example of effective
instruction for young learners. The basic steps of an effective English language
lesson are: warm-up, presentation, practice, application, assessment, and follow-up.
The steps are briefly described below:
Title of lesson Title that indicates the topic/subject/context of the lesson.

Student profile Your students’ age, grade, and proficiency level.
Skills to be Indicate which language skills this lesson will focus on building: listening,
emphasized speaking, reading, or writing.
Language List the target language structures (i.e., target grammar structures and
vocabulary), including classroom language.
Objectives List the objectives that students should meet by the end of the lesson. Start with
“By the end of the lesson, students will be able to. . . .”
Materials List everything the teacher needs to implement the lesson.
Warm-up In this step, the teacher prepares students for the listening or reading input. S/he
should create interest and connect students to the topic of the lesson by accessing
their prior knowledge and experiences. In addition, the teacher should review
known vocabulary and teach new language found in the listening or reading input.
Presentation In this step, the teacher presents the target language structures within a
meaningful/communicative context. S/he should give listening or reading input,
check comprehension of input, build listening or reading skills, and “teach”
target language structures.
Practice In this step, the teacher prepares post-listening or post-reading activities, which
can integrate speaking and writing activities. These activities should be focused
on practicing the target language structures in context. They should start with
guided exercises and then progress to more independent opportunities for
practicing language communicatively.
Application In this step, the teacher provides opportunities for students to apply new
language to real-life contexts. The activities should be authentic and encourage
students to use the language communicatively.
Assessment In this step, the teacher assesses whether students have met the stated objectives
for the lesson. It could be another activity, or it could be a description of how the
teacher should assess whether the objectives are met during the presentation,
practice, and application steps.
Follow-up In this step, the teacher prepares a follow-up activity, such as homework. It should
practice the target language structures in this lesson and/or connect to the next
lesson in the unit.

Sample Lesson
Meet and Greet The following is an example of a fun and effective lesson for
young learners. The activities and the process for planning the lesson can be applied
to any level. The source of input for the lesson is the following dialog:
Dialog:
Lisa and Rosa run into John on the street.
Lisa: Hi, John! How are you? (Wave hand.)
John: Hi, Lisa! (Wave hand.) I’m fine. How are you?
Lisa: I’m good. This is my friend Rosa.
Rosa: Hi! I’m Rosa. (Shake hands with John.)
John: Nice to meet you. (Shake hands with Rosa.)
Rosa: Nice to meet you, too!
Meet and Greet

Student profile Grades 3–4, beginner level of English language proficiency
Skills to be emphasized Listening and speaking
Language Hi, ____! How are you?

I’m ____. (fine, good)
This is my friend _____.
Nice to meet you (too).
Objectives By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Greet a friend
• Introduce a new friend
• Meet new friends
Materials Name tags, beret, megaphone (or paper megaphone)
Warm-up step When giving listening or reading input, it is important

to warm up students and get them ready for the input. In this example, there is
listening input in the form of a dialog. In this warm-up, the teacher creates interest
in the dialog by showing different ways to greet people in different countries. Then
the teacher breaks the dialog down linguistically by reviewing the known structures
and previewing the new expressions. See how the teacher prepares a warm-up
activity for the dialog.
Warm-up
Capture their Ask students to show how they greet a friend. Ask them if they know how other
attention cultures greet each other. If children are unfamiliar, demonstrate by shaking
hands, bowing, or kissing on the cheek, depending on what is appropriate for
your culture. Ask students to pretend to greet each other with a partner. Ask a
few pairs to demonstrate in front of the class.
Create interest in Introduce topic: Tell students they will learn how to greet a friend in English and
topic how to meet a new friend.
Review known Ask students to review the expression learned last class for greeting a friend.
structures Write the words on the board as students say them out loud. Students practice in
pairs using the different expressions.
Hi, how are you?
I’m ______. How are you?
(fine, good, OK, so-so, great, etc.)
Pre-teach key Round the Circle

expressions a. Turns to the person on her left saying
This is my friend ______. (fill in name of student on left)
Check comprehension of the phrase, allow students to use L1.
b. If you meet someone new, you can say “Nice to meet you.” (Let students
translate the meaning in L1 to check comprehension.) Then have students
practice this expression in a chant with claps on a beat. Repeat it until students
can say it fluently.
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too!
(clap) (clap) (clap) (clap)
c. Now go around the circle and start again “This is my friend Linda.” Cue
students to chant, “Nice to meet you!” Then Linda chants, “Nice to meet you,
too!” Go around the circle student by student.
In this warm-up, the teacher did all six recommendations:
Recommendation #1: Use fun and engaging activities

■■ The teacher made learning new language fun by using a chant and clapping.
■■ Students were actively involved in showing how to greet each other with a
partner.
Recommendation #2: Engage students in a variety of interactions
■■ Student to student in pairs: Students demonstrated how to greet one another in

pairs, using body language and reviewing the material from last class.

■■ Teacher to students, whole class: The teacher introduced the topic and
pre-taught the key expression with students as a whole class.
■■ Spatial-visual: When reviewing known structures, the teacher wrote the words
on the board.
■■ Musical: Students chanted the key expressions with clapping.
■■ Bodily-kinesthetic: Students showed through body language and gestures how
to greet someone. They were moving their bodies to clap with the chant.
■■ Linguistic: When reviewing known structures, the teacher wrote the expressions
on the board. Students could see the grammatical structure with the blank,
which can be helpful for noticing the pattern.
■■ Interpersonal: Students demonstrated greeting each other in pairs.
■■ The teacher used an authentic situation with a real purpose: meet and greet.
■■ The teacher encouraged personalization of the content by asking students to
show how they greet a friend.
Recommendation #5: Introduce learners to different cultures
■■ Students showed how they greet in their own culture.

■■ Students showed what they know about greeting in other cultures. If the
students do not know, then the teacher demonstrates how to greet in other
cultures.
Recommendation #6: Use various teaching strategies that set up learners for success
■■ The teacher used body gestures to aid in comprehension.

■■ The teacher broke the task down into manageable steps by reviewing the
known vocabulary and expressions and teaching the new expressions.
■■ When the teacher was pre-teaching the new expressions, she modeled them
and had students repeat them after her.
■■ The teacher avoided the use of grammatical terms and rules that learners would
not understand.
As seen in this example of a warm-up step, the teacher was able to apply all six
recommendations in different ways. When planning a lesson, even in the warm-up
or introduction, it is important to apply as many of the recommendations as
possible.
Presentation step The next step in an effective young learner lesson is to present
the new language input. The presentation step usually gives some listening or
reading input to learners. In the example here, there is a dialog being presented
as listening input. The dialog is in a meaningful and communicative context that
will expose learners to real language. In the following activities, the teacher will do
a series of fun activities to check comprehension of the input and “teach” the new
language.
Presentation
Presentation of new Play a video of the dialog or demonstrate the dialog with two volunteers (prepare
language in context volunteers in advance). If you have two volunteers, have name tags for all three
characters, so students can follow the dialog easily.
Prepare for group Break students into groups of three. Hand out name tags with John, Lisa, and
work Rosa to stick on students. Tell students to choose one role and put that name
tag on.

Comprehension check Miming Activity
a. Tell students to act out the dialog using only gestures, without speaking out
loud. Point out instructions on a handout or PPT slide
(see p. 53).
b. Model the first line of Lisa before students begin. Wave hand, smiling, and
gesture “How are you?” shrugging your shoulders and hands. Then tell
students to begin.
c. Ask one group to demonstrate their mime of the dialog.
d. Ask students to show their gestures for each line of the dialog.
Demonstrate correct Silent Movie Activity

use of language a. Show students an example of a silent movie from an actual silent movie, a clip
of a YouTube video, or by demonstration with the picture on p. 53 of the silent
movie text screen.
b. Tell students to copy their lines on paper like the silent movie text screen on
the handout or PPT. Each student should have two lines on two pieces of paper.
Check to see if each student has the right lines on two pieces of paper.

c. Tell students to practice the dialog with no speaking, mouthing the words
using an exaggerated movement with the lips. Hold up the paper with the line.
i. Model the part of Lisa, mouthing “Hi, John! How are you?” with
your lips and no sound. Hold up the sign that says “Hi, John! How are
you?”
ii. Tell students to begin their silent movie.
iii. Have one group demonstrate their silent movie.
iv. Tell students to change roles. Take off name tag and give it to the
person on your left. Model it. Then give that person your two lines.
Now do the silent movie again. Tell students to change roles again.
Take off name tag and give it to the person on their left.
MIMING ACTIVITY
ACT OUT DIALOG.
NO SPEAKING.
USE ONLY FACE AND BODY.
ACT OUT DIALOG.

1. SHOW YOUR LINE.
SILENT MOVIE ACTIVITY 2. ONLY MOVE YOUR LIPS.
WRITE YOUR LINES ON PAPER 3. NO SPEAKING.
Photo Researchers/Getty Images
In the presentation step, all six recommendations were applied:

■■ The Miming and Silent Movie Activities were fun, engaging, and kept the
students active. These are examples of activities that incorporate drama into
teaching English to young learners.

■■ Student to student in groups: Students did the miming and silent movie
activities in groups of three.
■■ Teacher to students, whole class: The teacher presented the dialog to the whole
class and gave demonstrations of the activities to the whole class.

■■ Spatial-visual: The teacher used the name tags as visual cues for students to
know their roles. In addition, she gave a sample of a silent movie on a video to
aid in comprehension of the activity and engage visual learners.
■■ Bodily-kinesthetic: The Miming Activity was completely based on movement
and gestures to show comprehension of the main idea of the dialogue. Then
the Silent Movie Activity focused students on the movement of their mouths to
pronounce the words correctly.
■■ Linguistic: The focus on the Silent Movie Activity was to practice pronunciation
without actually speaking out loud. This focused students on how they use their
mouth to form words in English.
■■ Interpersonal: All of the activities in the presentation encouraged students
to communicate in groups, so students were practicing their interpersonal
communication skills.

■■ The whole context of greeting a friend, introducing a new friend, and meeting a
new friend was presented through the dialog. It is an authentic situation with a
real purpose.
■■ Students practiced how to meet and greet friends using body language and
gestures from an English speaking culture. The Miming Activity emphasized the
body language and focused students on that aspect of the communication that
is based on culture.

■■ The teacher broke the task down into manageable steps by first checking
comprehension of the main idea using the Miming Activity.
■■ The Silent Movie Activity encouraged students to copy down just two sentences
from their role in the dialog and mouth those words. Then they got a chance to
read the lines of the other two roles when they switched name tags.
Practice and application steps

In the practice and application steps, students have a chance to practice using
the target structures in context. Young learners need lots of repetition, but too
much repetition can be boring for them. The Movie Stars activity is a fun way to
encourage students to practice the language without getting bored. In addition, the
teacher incorporates different cultures into the lesson to create interest and build
intercultural competence.
Practice
Controlled practice Movie Stars Activity
Tell students that they are movie stars and will speak out now. Tell students to
switch to their original roles. Have students play the characters in different ways:
nervously
fearfully
angrily
happily
laughing
naturally
Point out the handout or PPT slide and tell students that you will be the movie
director and give the actors directions. Tell them to do the scene nervously.
Then interrupt them by saying, “Cut! Cut! No, that’s not right. I want to see
more emotion. Do it with anger this time! ACTION!” You can wear a beret
and roll a piece of paper into a pretend megaphone. Walk around the room
to listen to the students complete the activity and assess whether they are
speaking correctly.
Independent practice Performance Without Script

Have each group demonstrate some of their movie scenes without looking at the
dialog. Usually angrily, happily, and laughing are fun to watch.
Application
Cross-cultural Have students demonstrate the dialog naturally by memory. Ask students to
application show the different ways to meet and greet people in different cultures using
their bodies. Write the words on the board to reinforce the language. Then ask
students to do the dialog with the correct gestures in their country’s culture and
at least two other countries’ cultures:
waving hands
shaking hands
hugs
kiss on one or two cheeks
bowing
MOVIE STARS ACTIVITY

YOU ARE ACTORS IN A MOVIE.
LISTEN TO THE MOVIE DIRECTOR.
ACT OUT DIALOG.
SAY YOUR LINES.
DO IT WITH EMOTION.
NERVOUSLY
FEARFULLY
ANGRILY
HAPPILY
LAUGHING
NATURALLY
In the practice and application steps, all six recommendations were applied:
■■ The Movie Stars Activity was very funny, and students enjoyed speaking out
using different expressions. Although the activity was repetitive, it was not
boring due to the use of drama.

■■ Student to student in groups: Students did the Movie Stars Activity and dialog
practice in groups of three.
■■ Interpersonal: These activities promoted interpersonal communication that also

included emotional expression.
■■ These activities used an authentic situation with a real purpose: meet and greet.
■■ In addition, it prompted students to use different gestures for meeting and
greeting people to make the use of English as an international language more
authentic.
■■ Students practiced how to meet and greet friends using body language and
gestures from an English speaking culture as well as other cultures.
■■ The teacher used an activity that got students to practice a dialog repeatedly,
which will help learners remember the language outside of class.
Assessment and follow-up steps During the presentation, practice, and

application steps, the assessment of the students is included.
Assessment
Monitoring small Silent Movie Monitoring
group work The teacher goes around the room to check whether students wrote their lines
correctly.
Movie Stars Monitoring
The teacher walks around listening to the students do the dialog in groups to
evaluate whether they are able to say the dialog correctly.
Group assessment Having groups demonstrate their movie scenes is another informal way of
assessing the success of the students in the activity.
Follow-up
Homework Tell students to write down the full dialog in their notebook. They can use any
culture and write instructions for the characters in parentheses.
Hopefully, by the end of the lesson you have set your learners up for suc-
cess. After showing comprehension of and practicing the dialog multiple times,
students should be able to complete the homework assignment easily and even
have fun writing the dialog using gestures from any country of their choice.
Teacher to Teacher
Effective Approaches for Teaching
Young Learners
This chapter described effective approaches for teaching young learners. Of course,
different teachers from around the world may apply these approaches in their own
unique way. Below are excerpts from an online course discussion in which teachers
from around the world describe the most important principles for TEYL according
to their experience and local context. Think about how their perspectives compare
to your teaching context.
First, many teachers addressed the topic of creating an English-speaking
environment in the classroom. Read about one teacher describing her selec-
tive use of L1.
“opportunity
In some countries, students are exposed to English and have the
to use it only in the classroom, sometimes this being just
3-4 hours a week; therefore I think the teacher must make an effort to
use English all the time. The teacher is the principal source of useful
comprehensible input, so we should make the most of it; the more time we
spend speaking in English in the classroom, the better. However, we should
consider that in some cases using L1 can be useful, specially when we want to
make sure students understood instructions or explanations, or to compare
certain features of the native language and target language in order to discuss
some common errors or to review how well students understood certain
grammar structures. Of course before resorting to L1 we can always try using
visual aids, mime, gestures and expressions to convey meaning. Personally, as
my partners have mentioned, I use L1 when my students are too anxious or
blocked, or when I look at their faces and I see they are at a complete loss and
they are not following me.”
—Alina Gil, Primary English Teacher, Uruguay
Another teacher describes exactly how she builds communication in English with
her young learners from the first day of class.

“English
One of the most important principles of teaching young learners is using
from the first day of studying. Why is it so important? First, it’s building
an English speaking environment in the class. I remember the children’s reaction
when I said for the first time, “Good morning, children. Sit down, please.” They
were shocked and surprised that I didn’t speak Russian as they were used to
doing with their other teachers. I expected that. In my country when the lesson
starts, the children usually stand up and say “hello” to their teacher nodding
their heads. So, after “Good morning, children,” I nodded my head and showed
with my hands that they might sit down. They understood my gestures. YLs are
very receptive and my students accepted the silent rule to use only English in
the lesson. In order to help them I use gestures. I started my first lesson with
presenting classroom language, the words that are often used in the class and
very helpful for the students. For example, “Can I ask you?”“What does ________
mean?” “How can I translate the word __________?” After drilling I put paper
with classroom language on the walls and my YLs can refer to them any time
because children will forget language unless it is repeated. ”
—Tatiana Pak, Primary English Teacher, Kyrgyzstan
Some teachers may feel that it is impossible to avoid using L1 in their English class.
“class.
I agree with the majority of you when you talk about using L1 in the English
Often we cannot avoid the translation of the words and their meanings
into our native language especially with the beginners. The greeting, farewell
and simple instructions should be in English only, it goes without saying.
Gestures and mime is a usual thing in the classes with young learners, and
the kids like them very much. As for grammar, it should be only in L1, because
pupils are not very good at grammar in their own language. In Kazakhstan
all the pupils study Kazakh and Russian from the first grade, which are
completely different languages. One of the main reason of using L1 is to make
the understanding clearly and accessible. ”
—Sholpan Alimova, Primary English Teacher, Kazakhstan
However, in response to teachers who do not believe they can create a completely
English-speaking environment in class, a teacher in Peru described her experience
teaching Quechua-speaking children in her local context.
“sideOnce I had the experience of teaching in a small community in the country

of my city (Cusco in Peru). It was very challenging getting into a class
where the kids spoke just Quechua which is the native language in the Andes
of South America. Unfortunately I don’t speak any Quechua, so the first day
of class was frustrating for me. I thought I couldn’t deal with this!!! But luckily
we are teachers, so what I did was first drawing kids on the board giving them
names. So I started teaching them greetings, and some other expressions
and let me tell you that every single class was so challenging because I had to
create games and chants just using English. I did not speak Quechua and the
kid did not speak Spanish. At the end I could see that it is possible to create an
English environment in any circumstances. ”
—Cecilia Ponce de Leon, Primary English Teacher, Peru
This chapter also described the characteristics of young learners and how they learn;
for example, children are social learners who are quite dependent on the teacher for
scaffolding and assistance. A teacher from Oman describes these characteristics of
young learners while also illustrating how central the teacher is to young children
and how much students try to get the attention of the teacher.
“willing
First of all I can say that my YLs in Oman are very sociable. They are really
to talk to new colleagues and even teachers without feeling shy. So I
think this helps them develop their personality and be confident. They are also
physically active that they would help a teacher carrying her/his materials,
books or even fetching anything a teacher needs. In addition, I can say that
they are so curious, spontaneous and willing to participate that they would
raise their voices saying “Teacher!” just to answer. They also come to me as I
enter the class to show me their homework or their achievement. I can see all
these characteristics in my previous students and my current students as well.
So I can say that these are the common characteristics of YLs in Oman. ”
—Asma Al Dhahab, Primary English Teacher, Oman
Building a good relationship between a teacher and young learners can be based
on the local context. Read how one teacher in Korea found a way to build a better
rapport with her young learners.
“thatI have been teaching in an elementary school for years and I have found
to engage my students (9–12 years) in elementary school, one important
thing is to establish a close rapport with each student in my classes. I realize
the more students like me, the more they like English. When the students were
11 or 12 years old and the number of them was over 30, I often felt irritated by
some mischievous boys and I yelled at them to be quiet and pay attention to
me, but they were always the same after some seconds. The first year of the
elementary school was a catastrophe to both the students and me. However, I
started trying to have a close relationship and calling their names instead of by
their student number. I could make them engaged in the activities more and
listen to me in the respectful way, though all of the students were not changed
suddenly. Reflecting on the last two years in the elementary school, I found that I
should make them like me to make them like English ”
—Eun Young Kim, Primary English Teacher, South Korea
It is clear from the voices of primary school teachers around the world that a
teacher needs to be confident, versatile, and creative to keep children engaged
in learning English. Teachers need to be as active as their young learners in this
process. This teacher from Mauritius expresses the importance of the teacher’s
effort and attitude in engage young learners.
“is up. . . toa lively class of YLs depends much on the liveliness of the teacher. It
us to deliver the goods by providing all relevant materials, using
appropriate language and different ways to keep the students active and
participating. What is more important is the teacher’s own attitude towards
speaking English at all times with the students, be it in or out of class. ”
—Anitah Aujayeb, Primary English Teacher, Mauritius
Finally, it seems appropriate to end this chapter with words from a teacher in
Tunisia who wrote a poem that is a letter to teachers of young learners everywhere.
It summarizes the main points from this chapter in a creative and inspiring way.
You Are the Kids’ Best Companion

Dear teacher,
Young learners eagerly tend to thrive
Into a foreign language they need to dive
They are naturally zealous, curious, energetic, and alive
And sometimes are hyper and loud as if in a beehive
You should scaffold them all along the drive,
Provide them with adequate tools to survive
And consider the appropriate ways you should contrive
Dear teacher,
Young learners are fragile and vulnerable
With affection and care you should handle
With them into language learning you will travel
To stroll around their world that is not ample
But cozy, overwhelming and still humble
Use your magic to make them twinkle
And make their learning setting real and meaningful
Dear Teacher,
Young learners are individuals with different smarts
Some use their brains, others prefer to see their targets
Some favor auditory styles, others fancy kinesthetic arts
Consider these differences when designing lesson parts
And make your objectives clear as if playing darts
Engage them in activities and assign purposeful projects
Make of their performance a shiny surface that reflects
Your successful mission to embrace those sweet hearts
Chaouki M’kaddem , Tunisia
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Characteristics of young learners It is important to consider the characteristics
of young learners to give effective English instruction at the primary level. Harness
their energy, spontaneity, imagination, curiosity, and social tendencies to make your
classroom an exciting and dynamic place to learn English.
Learning by doing Children learn by interacting with their physical environment.

They learn by doing.
Teacher scaffolding Children learn through scaffolding by adults. Teachers can

support young learners and apply effective scaffolding techniques to their classroom
instruction.
Meaningful input The EFL classroom environment for young learners should
resemble characteristics of first language acquisition, such as language that is highly
contextualized and used for real communication. Teachers should give meaningful
and comprehensible input and provide lots of opportunities for meaningful practice
and interaction.
Effective instruction Effective instruction in the EFL classroom should include

activities that are meaningful and relevant to young learners, engage them in a
variety of interactions, cater to different learning styles and intelligences, and
introduce them to different cultures.
Over to You
1. What are the characteristics of young learners that can make
teaching them fun and exciting as well as challenging?
Discussion 2. How do children learn? How does that affect how teachers should
Questions approach teaching English?
3. What are the key elements to successful English teaching in the
young learner classroom?
4. Scenario: You are an English teacher in a primary school. Your
supervisor comes to visit your classroom and is surprised to see
your students out of their seats playing games and having fun.

In addition, some parents have complained that their children’s
English homework looks like an art project and they aren’t really
learning English. The supervisor thinks that you are not doing your
job and wants to see more grammar and vocabulary exercises. Given
this situation, how would you explain why you are teaching this way?
5. In your opinion, are there cultural differences in the approaches
to teaching English to young learners? Are the characteristics of
young learners different from your experience? Are the approaches
suggested in this chapter different from the approaches used to
teach primary students in your country? How would you incorpo-
rate the principles and approaches described in this chapter into
your classroom situation?
Lesson Use the TEYL Instruction Chart on pg. 46–47 to analyze a lesson plan and see if it is
Planning providing effective instruction for young learners. Choose a lesson for young learners
from your curriculum that you designed or that you were given. You could even find a
lesson for YLs online that you are interested in using. Then, using the chart, label YES or
NO for each item. For all the items you labeled NO, try to revise your lesson to be more
effective for young learners.
Write Philosophy for TEYL: Now that you have read about all the characteristics of
About It young learners, how children learn, how children learn a foreign language, and the
application of all these considerations to the EYL classroom, think about what is most
important when developing an approach for TEYL. Next, think about how you can
apply all of these concepts to your local context and country. Incorporate aspects of
what you have learned in this chapter with your own experience, knowledge, and
local context, and write your own 1–2 page philosophy for teaching English as an
international language to young learners. You can revisit your philosophy for TEYL at
the end of the book and compare your thoughts.

Print Publications
Curtain, H., & Dahlberg, C. A. (2010). Languages and children— Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford, UK:
Making the match: New languages for young learners, 4th ed. Oxford University Press.
Boston, MA: Pearson. Shin, J. K. (2014). Teaching young learners in ESL and EFL settings.
Linse, C. (2005). Practical English language teaching: Young learners. In M. Celce-Murcia, D. Brinton, & M. A. Snow (Eds.), T eaching
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill International. English as a second or foreign language, 4th ed. Boston, MA:
Nunan, D. (2011). Teaching English to young learners. Anaheim, CA: National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.
Anaheim University Press.
Useful Web Sites
British Council, Teaching English: www.teachingenglish.org.uk U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language
/try/teaching-kids Programs, Resource page: http://americanenglish.state.gov
British Council, LearnEnglish Kids: http://learnenglishkids /materials-teaching-english
.britishcouncil.org/en/ Young Learners & Teenagers Special Interest Group of the
International Reading Association (IRA), ReadWriteThink: www International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign
.readwritethink.org Language: http://www.yltsig.org/
References
Asher, J. J. (1977). Learning another language through actions: Long, M. H. (1987). Native speaker/non-native speaker conversation
The complete teacher’s guide book. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks in the second language classroom. In M. H. Long & J. C.
Productions. Richards (Eds.), Methodology in TESOL: A Book of Readings
Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2004). The primary English (pp. 339–354). New York, NY: Newbury House/Harper and Row.
teacher’s guide. London: Penguin. Nissani, H. (1990). Early childhood programs for language minority
Bruner, J. (1983). Child’s talk: Learning to use language. Oxford, UK: students. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual
Oxford University Press. Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED337033)
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Piaget, J. (1970). The science of education and the psychology of the
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. child. New York, NY: Oxford.
Cameron, L. (2003). Challenges for ELT from the expansion in Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford, UK:
teaching children. ELT Journal, 57(2), 105–112. Oxford University Press.
Coltrane, B. (2003). Working with young English language learners: Read, C. (1998, April). The challenge of teaching children. English
Some considerations. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Teaching Professional, 7, 8–10.
Linguistics. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Read, C. (2003, July). Is younger better? English Teaching
EDO-FL-03-01) Professional, 28: 5-7.
Curtain, H., & Dahlberg, C. A. (2010). Languages and children— Scott, W., & Ytreberg, L. H. (1990). Teaching English to children.
Making the match: New languages for young learners, 4th ed. London, UK: Longman.
Boston, MA: Pearson. Shin, J. K. (2006). Ten helpful ideas for teaching English to young
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple learners. English Teaching Forum, 44(2), 2–7, 13.
intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books. Shin, J. K. (2014). Teaching young learners in ESL and EFL settings.
Gardner, H. (1999). Are there additional intelligences? The case In M. Celce-Murcia, D. Brinton, & M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching
for naturalist, spiritual, and existential intelligences. In J. Kane English as a second or foreign language, 4th ed. Boston, MA:
(Ed.), Education, information and transformation (pp. 111–131). National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Slatterly, M., & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers. Oxford,
Haas, M. (2000). Thematic, communicative language teaching in UK: Oxford University Press.
the K-8 classroom. ERIC Digest. EDO-FL-00-04. Retrieved Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of
August 29, 2004, from http://www.cal.org/resources/ comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its
digest/0004thematic.html development. In Gass, S. M. & Madden, C. G. (Eds.), Input
Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second in second language acquisition (pp. 235–253). Rowley, MA:
language learning. New York, NY: Pergamon Press. Newbury House.
Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language Vygotsky, L. (1962). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT
acquisition. Upper Saddle River: NJ: Prentice-Hall International. Press.

3 Contextualizing
Instruction: Creating
Thematic Units and
Lesson Plans
Getting Started
This chapter will help you contextualize and organize your instruction. It will
focus on how to contextualize and organize instruction and create meaningful
activities that help link the classroom with the students’ worlds at home and
in school. It will consider long-term and short-term planning and identify
ways that you, working with or without an assigned textbook, can organize
instruction for the school year, for several class periods (into units), and for
daily lesson plans. You will learn ideas for selecting interesting themes and
organizing them into thematic units that will help children to extend their
knowledge of both language and content. In addition, you will also learn how
to plan for daily lessons within that unit and considerations for adapting,
creating, and evaluating activities for your lessons.
Think about it Think about a successful class for young learners

that you have observed or taught. What do you
think made it so successful? Consider the theme
or topic (in the story, song, poem, or other text),
the kinds of activities, the order in which the
activities were presented, and the ways in which
the children were involved. Were there any
opportunities for children to be creative? Was a
textbook used? If so, were the activities interesting
and relevant to YLs?
KidStock/Getty
Images
65
Now think of a class where you saw bored or confused children.
What do you think went wrong? Was it the theme? Was it the
activities? Was it the way the lesson was organized?
What are some considerations in choosing themes for young learner
lessons and units?
What are some things to consider in planning which activities to
include? (Think back to the characteristics of effective lessons for YLs
discussed in Ch. 2.)
Textbook Analysis
Discovery Activity Look at any EYL student textbook. It can be a textbook published by a
major publisher or one developed by your ministry of education. A good
textbook should have interesting themes that connect several hours of lessons into
units. While you may need to adapt the units and create individual lesson plans for
use with the textbook, some of the organization should be provided. Fill in the sheet
below and then consider how well the instruction has been planned in the textbook.
TEXTBOOK ANALYSIS SHEET

Title of Text:
Author(s):
Publisher:
Date of Publication:
Overall Plan of the Book

Look at the Scope and Sequence to provide the following information. (The Scope and Sequence is
usually in the beginning of the textbook. It lists all the themes or titles of all the units, the grammar and
vocabulary in each unit, etc.) The Scope and Sequence should give you an idea of what the long-term
plan for the school year is. If there is no Scope and Sequence, look at the Table of Contents or through the
pages of the text to identify the major themes of the units.
Unit Themes for the Book (animals, sports, foods, friends, etc.):
Sample Unit
Now look at any unit in the Scope and Sequence or look through pages of a sample unit and identify the
language and other objectives.

Language Objectives
Language Functions (identifying animals and where they live, describing what sports children
like to play, etc.):
Grammar Patterns:
Vocabulary:
Language Skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing):
Other Objectives
(academic/creative-thinking skills, learning strategies, content knowledge, etc.):
Comparing Two Sample Units

Now look through two sample chapters to see what kinds of activities (the short-term plan) are included
and the order in which the activities are planned for the following:
Activities Presented (in order) in Unit X

(list them here in the order of the unit):
Activities Presented (in order) in Unit XX

(list them here in order):
Overall Evaluation of the Student Textbook:

Based on your review of the textbook, answer these questions:
Do you think it is well planned? Why?
Are the themes ones that children will find interesting? Why or why not?
Are there a number of different activities focusing on different language skills (listening, speaking,
reading, writing), different grouping strategies (pairs, small groups, whole class), and appealing to
different learning styles or multiple intelligences? Give some examples of the variety of activities.
Are they well organized?
What changes might you recommend?
3 Contextualizing Instruction 67
As you read through this chapter, think back to the textbook you reviewed
and how you would adapt it or add to it for children you may be teaching.

Contextualized Instruction
Although the processes of learning a first and second language are quite similar, the
contexts in which these occur are very different (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004).
Children learn their first language (their mother tongue) in an environment in
which they have authentic or real reasons to use the language; they are surrounded
by its use and they are highly motivated to use it. In the classroom with the second
language, however, there is much less reason to use the language or to be motivated
to do so.
KidStock/Getty Images
Cengage Learning
The classroom should encourage learners to use the language to express
their feelings and ideas and to have the opportunity to communicate and
interact, using the language with you and the other learners. We want our
learners to use their knowledge of the world, to bring what they know into
the class, and to build our instruction around that (Curtain & Dahlberg,
2010). We need to provide reasons for children to use English, to motivate
them and engage them, and to connect the classroom with their home, neigh-
borhood, and community. Genesee (2000) points out that “instruction for
beginning language learners, in particular, should take into account their need
for context-rich, meaningful environments” (p. 2), providing settings that

foster communication, settings in which new language is understandable and
familiar language becomes more memorable and useful. Very young learners
who are at Piaget’s stage of concrete operations may not be able to understand
abstract concepts even in their own language, unless the teacher provides a
concrete, meaningful context.
An effective, contextualized EYL class involves:
■■ Creating opportunities to use English with a meaningful purpose

■■ Building on the knowledge and skills learned through the first language
■■ Linking the EYL class with home, community, and local environments
■■ Organizing instruction around themes that relate to children’s experiences at
home and in other classes
■■ Providing a variety of ways to make English comprehensible; for example,
through actions, gestures, games, pictures, and objects
■■ Keeping the language level of the activity at a comprehensible level, just above
their current proficiency level
■■ Focusing children’s attention on the game, song, story, or other activity, rather
than directly on the language
■■ Organizing the classroom to facilitate communication among the children
■■ Developing classroom routines to keep communication in English (for example,
at key points in the lesson, such as beginning the class, moving from one activity
to another, giving directions, ending the class)
The use of an engaging theme to organize instruction around a meaningful

context can also help make the language understandable or comprehensible.
As discussed in Chapter 2, children can understand something slightly above
their current language level or level of comprehension—what Krashen (1982;
Krashen & Terrell, 1995) refers to as comprehensible input—because of the
context, the organization around themes, and the various supports that link lan-
guage with actions, such as pictures, gestures, role plays, games, or finger plays.
As Krashen and Terrell (1995) state, “Language is best taught when it is being
used to transmit messages, not when it is explicitly taught for conscious learn-
ing” (p. 55). While they were primarily r eferring to older learners, this is espe-
cially true for young learners, who have few opportunities to use the language to
communicate meaningfully outside of class.
There are a lot of ways in which a classroom can contextualize instruction:
bright and lively posters or pictures related to the theme of the lesson; displays
of children’s drawings, stories, or other work; realia (objects related to the theme
or story); a storytelling corner where children can sit on the floor close to the
teacher while s/he reads or tells a story; maybe even special centers to which
children can move for a new activity.
The most important support is to have carefully planned and organized in-
struction, with clear directions and classroom management strategies. It is very
helpful to develop routines for starting the class, moving to new activities, and
ending the class.
You can also support them during the activities by providing them with
models before doing an activity and assist them when they are having d ifficulty
expressing themselves. As discussed in Chapter 2, training students to use
classroom language in English also helps to keep the class in English.
You may have noticed when you reviewed the EYL textbook that the authors
had tried to find meaningful themes around which to organize the units in
the textbook. They didn’t just provide a series of activities that were unrelated.
But were the themes likely to be engaging to young learners? What makes an
effective theme?
Thematic Instruction
The Importance of Content In his analysis of the key elements in model
early foreign language programs in the United States, Gilzow (2002) found that “a
focus on content” was a major feature, with programs using content to link language
learning “to the immediate context or to specific lessons in the regular curriculum
[classes other than the language class]” (p. 1).
Content-centered, content-related, content-enriched, or content-based
instruction (CBI), also referred to as content and language integrated learn-
ing (CLIL), is a way to contextualize language instruction by integrating it
with other learning, especially what is being taught and learned in other
classes. It provides opportunities to reinforce the academic skills and knowl-
edge learned in other classes, and draws on topics and activities to bring the
experiences of learning another language to those academic content areas
(Crandall, 1994, 1998; Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010). It connects the English
curriculum with other parts of the students’ academic lives. It can also make
the EYL class much more interesting. If we are teaching about wild animals,
learning about where they live (geography) and what they eat (science) will
connect the English class to what they have been learning in other classes.
We can grow beans in a pot when reading Jack and the Beanstalk or create
experiments with magnets in our EYL classes (science). Students can even

plan a simple budget for a class party and calculate the money needed to buy
cake and juice (math). There is so much content that can be used as the basis
for motivating children to learn English and to support what they are learning
in their other classes.
While integrating academic content with English is important for all learn-
ers, it becomes increasingly important as children get older, especially if at
some point they will need to study a subject through the medium of English.
Students cannot develop academic knowledge and skills without access to the
language in which that knowledge is embedded, discussed, constructed, or
evaluated. Nor can they acquire academic language skills in a context devoid
of content (Crandall, 1994). Besides, as Mohan (1986) has reminded us, in the
real world, people learn language and content simultaneously, as can young
learners in EYL classes.
The Value of Local and National Culture But not all content has
to be drawn from other classes or subjects. Some of it can relate to children’s
daily lives or the lives of their families: the jobs their parents have, the ways
their families spend leisure time or live a typical day, the kinds of food they eat.
We can draw on local and national culture for content in the EYL
Rahma Abdul Rahman,
class. It can be a place where local traditions, stories, folktales, games,
Primary English Teacher,
Maldives customs, and holidays are included and children’s experiences in their
“Themes selected based on own language are linked to their new one: English. They can learn to
our folk stories, tourism, talk about their culture in English and share these experiences with
and fisheries create a
variety of opportunities
other English speakers. By showing pictures or videos of people or
for the teachers to take including stories about holidays or traditions in other parts of the
students for field trips, carry world, the EYL class can also broaden children’s cultural knowledge
out interviews with people,
write reports, or draw and and experiences.
name what they saw and
also do presentations.
They can create leaflets
or booklets based on
their findings. Students
can explore and create
knowledge and present it
to the class. Such learning
becomes important because
it creates meaning, interest,
Billy Hustace/Getty Images

and also they are learning
by doing.”
The Importance of Themes A theme is a “big idea” that connects

language with content and culture (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010). We usually
refer to a theme as the focus of a unit that integrates several lessons, and
a topic as the focus of an individual lesson, but the terms are sometimes
used interchangeably. Well-chosen themes are the basis of effective
contextualization, because they help to create a meaningful context, where
the focus is on something of interest, rather than the language itself.
They can help to make language learning relevant and provide a purpose
for learning and communicating. They can also create a rich context that
motivates language learning and links the EYL class with the children’s other
classes and their world outside school. They can create a context for bringing
a variety of activities into the language class, including stories, games,
projects, and tasks, and provide real reasons for children to use English to
communicate their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. They also provide a
context for creative thinking and the use of English for academic learning,
something that is often missing in language classes where the focus is only
on language, not on the use of that language to express ideas through the

language. Themes can help children to keep using the English that they
know and to build on it. They naturally result in recycling of the most
important (content-related or content-obligatory) vocabulary and allow
review or indirect introduction of other (content-compatible) vocabulary
(Snow, Met, & Genesee, 1989).
Planning Thematic Units

A unit that you develop around a theme can be used for several classes or periods
of instruction or for longer periods of time in what is referred to as sustained
content instruction. For young learners, with short attention spans, it may be best
to limit units to two weeks of instruction, but it is always appropriate to return to
these themes and to link later units and themes to ones that you have previously
taught.
Six Steps Toward Thematic Units Here are six steps to follow in
developing a thematic unit consisting of several class periods and lessons:
1. Select a theme OR Select an appropriate text and identify the theme(s) in

the text.
2. Identify the language focus (vocabulary and grammar).
3. Identify content objectives (links to other content areas).
4. Identify learning strategies or critical thinking skills.
5. Develop activities.
6. Sequence the activities.
1. Select a theme OR Select an appropriate text and identify the theme(s)

in the text There are two major ways of selecting themes for your classes; they are
equally effective:
■■ Theme first: Identifying a theme that is either in the textbook or that you want
to use, based on your knowledge of your learners’ interests
■■ Text first: Choosing a story, poem, song, video, or other text that will be
engaging to your children and then identifying the themes that emerge from
that text
A theme should be an umbrella under which you can integrate a num-

ber of coordinated activities—for example, stories, games, and projects—
linking language, content, culture, and thinking skills. Any topic that
connects with children’s learning and experiences can become a theme.
Linse (2005) says that one way to identify potential topics for thematic
units is to see what children carry around or have in their bookbags. Moon
(2000) has developed a simple survey for children to use in identifying
what they are most interested in, either in their first language or by re-
sponding to or drawing pictures. This could be done as a whole class activ-
ity, with simple questions such as “Who likes pets?” “Who likes sports?”
and asking children to raise their hands. An especially productive source of
topics involves those related to what the children are learning in their other
subjects or classes. This can also lead to meaningful interaction and com-
munication, as children transfer some of what they may be learning in their
own language to English. Over time, you will get a sense of what themes
are most interesting to young children. You can also ask your learners what
they like or don’t like about English class, maybe using smiley faces or sad
faces as you ask the whole class or small groups about the things you have
been doing (Moon, 2000).
READING/
WRITING
ACTIVITIES
LISTENING/ ART
SPEAKING
ACTIVITIES
PHYSICAL MUSIC
EDUCATION
(P.E.) THEME
WEATHER
MATH SCIENCE
SOCIAL
STUDIES

Theme first If you identify a theme or want to add to a theme from the
textbook you are using, you can use a number of ways to brainstorm
connections you could make and the kinds of activities you might use. On the
next page is a brainstorming web for planning a thematic unit. Note that the
theme is in the center; around it are the kinds of content areas or activities you
might use. We will be looking at a unit plan around the theme of weather later
in this chapter.
Text first In the other approach you can identify stories, poems, songs, video
segments, or other print or visual texts as the basis of a thematic unit. Later in
this chapter, we will look at a unit plan and a lesson plan using popular children’s
literature written in English as the basis for a unit on healthy eating and life cycles
(The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and the value of trees to animals and people (The
Great Kapok Tree).
2. Identify the language focus (vocabulary and grammar) As you consider

the theme, note the following:
■■ New vocabulary
■■ Vocabulary to review
■■ Grammar patterns
■■ Language functions
Keep the language at the level of the children. This may mean that you
will need to simplify the grammar in some of the texts you plan to use. It will
certainly mean that you will need to pre-teach some vocabulary and also the
target grammatical structure, as well as review grammar and vocabulary needed
to understand the activities or the text.
3. Identify content objectives (links to other content areas) The more you
can link what the children are learning in English to what they are learning in their
other subjects, the deeper their learning will be, both in English and in their other
subjects. Those links might be to mathematics, science, social studies, art, music,
or physical education (gym). Some will come to you naturally as you consider the
theme or analyze the text that is the basis for the theme.
4. Identify learning strategies or critical thinking skills A major criticism

of many language classes is that they focus so much on repetition of language
that they ignore the possibility of building in learning strategies needed in any
academic class—strategies such as previewing or predicting what something
is going to be about (perhaps from a picture or title), listening or reading for a
main idea, classifying information, guessing the meaning of a word from context,
sounding out a word to pronounce it and figure out its meaning, taking notes,
even visualizing a situation. The same is true for developing critical thinking
skills, skills that encourage questioning and developing opinions. Some of these
will not be appropriate for very young learners, but children over 7 should be
provided with opportunities to apply these skills in their language learning. Even
very young learners should be invited to predict what a story will be about, to
visualize a scene, and to ask questions or offer their opinions, especially about
what they like or don’t like.
5. Develop activities We will be spending more time on this later in this

chapter, but at this point we need to remember that a unit should have activities
that provide lots of practice. The unit should also provide opportunities for
children to apply what they have learned, perhaps in developing a project such
as a poster or a collage, giving a brief oral summary with the help of pictures or
sentence starters, or writing a brief e-mail about what they have done. At least one
of these activities, at the end of the unit, should allow you to evaluate students’
progress in meeting the unit objectives.
Ideally, a unit should have activities that:
Andrés Guadalupe
■■ Foster authentic language use
Muñoz Del Rio,
Primary, Secondary, ■■ Involve the use of all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing)
and University English ■■ Draw upon students’ prior knowledge
Teacher, Zacatecas,
Mexico ■■ Lead to higher levels of understanding
“I believe a high percentage
■■ Encourage a variety of learning styles (multiple intelligences)
of success in the classroom ■■ Use a variety of grouping strategies
is undoubtedly the teacher’s ■■ Use a variety of media to make things understandable
attitude. When a teacher is
tired or bored, his students ■■ Motivate learners to use English in a variety of situations and tasks
perceive this, and they will ■■ Engage learners in critical thinking
respond to this and act in
■■ Interest the teacher
the same way. In contrast,
when a teacher feels a
deep emotion, it will be 6. Sequence the activities In sequencing the activities, you will
transmitted to the young
learners, and they will be want to consider the following:
invited to learn through the
work in the classroom.” ■■ Engaging learners in receptive tasks before productive tasks
■■ Presenting language (vocabulary and grammar) before asking students to
practice

■■ Using controlled practice activities before more independent activities
■■ Connecting one activity to the next
■■ Sequencing the content to recycle language
■■ Ordering the tasks to mirror the real-life application of the tasks
After going through these six steps, you are ready to develop your thematic unit.
Theme-First Unit Planning Here is an example of using the

brainstorming web to plan a thematic unit on weather.
READING WRITING
Using a picture or
Read about what drawing of themselves,
children wear who answer What is the
live in different weather like? What
climates are you wearing?
LISTENING/ ART
SPEAKING ACTIVITIES
Draw themselves
Ask and answer “What’s READING/
the weather like today?” enjoying their
WRITING favorite weather
and choose what to wear ACTIVITIES
in different
weather.
PHYSICAL MUSIC
EDUCATION (P.E.)
THEME Teach the
Learn about WEATHER “What’s the
different sports Weather?” song
MATH SCIENCE
Create a bar graph of Identify animals

class favorite who live in
SOCIAL
weather different types of
STUDIES
weather
Learn about different
people wear in
different climates
After brainstorming different topics and activities around the theme of weather, here
is a possible unit plan for several days of instruction.
Unit Plan for Weather
Theme: Weather
Student Profile: Young learners, ages 7–8, in their second year of English
Language Objectives:
Grammar: What’s the weather like today?
It’s _____ (sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, windy) today.
Is it _______?
Our favorite weather is ______________.
________ is wearing _________.
Take off, put on
Vocabulary: Weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, windy, cold, hot
Clothes: hat, jacket, gloves, coat, scarf, umbrella, jeans, shorts, t-shirt,
shoes, boots, socks, sneakers, bathing suit, raincoat
Review names and characteristics of animals
Content Objectives: Review animals
Identify where different types of animals live
Identify differences in the way people dress in different weather (in
different countries)
Do a bar graph of class favorite weather
Sample Activities for Language Skills:

Listening: Listen to a story The North Wind and the Sun
Listen to “The Weather Song”
Listen to a simple news weather report
Speaking: Ask and answer “What’s the weather like today?”
Talk about clothes they wear in different weather
Talk about clothes they wear for different sports
Talk about their favorite weather
Reading: Read story Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Read about animals that live in the Arctic
Answer true/false questions
Read about what children wear who live in different climates
Writing: Using a picture or drawing of themselves, write about what the
weather is like and what they are wearing.
Learning Strategy Activities: Make predictions and confirm or disconfirm them

(where animals live, what children wear in different countries)
Use a graphic organizer (bar graph)

Text-First Unit Planning Now let’s look a unit plan for 6- to 8-year-olds
that begins with a popular children’s story book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by
Eric Carle. The story is about a caterpillar who “pops out” of his egg on a Sunday,
becomes very hungry and gets hungrier every day. On Monday he eats one apple.
He eats two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, four strawberries on
Thursday, and five oranges on Friday, but he is still hungry. Then, on Saturday, he
eats everything he can: cake, ice cream, and all the other things that young children
love to eat (but are not necessarily good for them) until he falls asleep—and then
wakes up as a beautiful butterfly. As you can see, this story would be a fun way to
introduce favorite foods—those that are good for children and those that are not so
good for them. It would also be a meaningful way to review numbers and the days
of the week. And it would link nicely to basic science (the life cycle of a butterfly and
even of other creatures), though most caterpillars would not be eating much of what
this caterpillar eats! It also offers a great way to do some basic mathematics.
Some of the activities you might use with this story include:
■■ Teaching the names of food using the pictures in the story
■■ Matching the names of food with pictures
■■ Asking children about their favorite foods
■■ Creating a class graph of “Our Favorite Foods”
■■ Listening to the story being read
■■ Listening again and chanting the repeated lines
■■ Talking about the life cycle of a butterfly
■■ Acting out the life cycle of a butterfly
■■ Relating the life cycle of a butterfly to other life cycles (humans, pets)
■■ Answering Yes/No questions about what a caterpillar eats
■■ Observing the life cycle of a butterfly from the Internet
Select from among these activities and sequence them, from activities to
present the content and language, to practice language in controlled activities,
and finally to engage students in independent activities. For an example, see the
sample unit plan below.
Unit Plan Using The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Theme: Food and nutrition, life cycles
Student Profile: Young learners, ages 6–7, with beginner level English
Language Objectives:
Grammar: On + days of the week
Past tense
Like/don’t like (Review)
Vocabulary: Fruits: apples, plums, pears, strawberries, oranges, watermelon
Other foods: cake, ice cream, cheese
Caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly
Adjectives: little, tiny, big, beautiful, hungry (Some review)
Days of the week (Review)
Numbers 1–7 (Review)
Content Objectives: Identify the value of different foods
Review days of the week
Create a bar graph for fruit
Identify the life cycle of a butterfly; compare with other animals
Sample Activities for Language Skills:

Listening: Listen to the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Storytelling by author Eric
Carle is available on YouTube)
Act out the stages of a butterfly’s life
Speaking: Talk about foods (favorite foods; good for you/not so good)
Choral read repetitive parts of the story
Develop dialog for the caterpillar and act out the story
Play caterpillar board game
Sing a caterpillar song
Color a butterfly and tell the class the colors you used
Answer true/false questions about a caterpillar and butterfly
Reading: Dictate a language experience story (a story that the teacher will write)
Read and sequence pictures from the story
Match names of fruits with pictures
Writing: Fill out a calendar/graph of caterpillar’s foods
Fill out a chart of foods liked/not liked (drawing/pictures)
Make a caterpillar book and label
Learning Strategy Activities: Sequence information

Make predictions and confirm or disconfirm them
(Do caterpillars eat ice cream?)
(Do caterpillars become butterflies?)
Long-Term Planning
We have discussed the importance of contextualizing instruction and developing
unit plans that integrate activities for several classes, but it is also important to do
long-term planning. It may seem obvious that a good EYL class is carefully planned,

not only for daily lessons and weekly or longer units, but also for the entire year.
Even if you have a textbook, where much of the planning has been done for you,
you will need to adapt the textbook based on your children’s experiences and your
teaching context.
Planning for the Term or Year

Your textbook can provide a basic plan for your school term or year, but you may
want to look at a calendar and think about what would be most appropriate at
various times of the year, such as special holidays or festivals or local, national,
or international sports events such as the World Cup or the Olympics that would
be good to align your units with. Take out a calendar and then look closely at the
themes in the textbook listed in the Scope and Sequence or the Table of Contents.
upstudio/Shutterstock.com
You may want to move a unit on sports to a time when an important sports event
is occurring in your region or a unit on weather during a time of the year when
everyone is talking about the weather. As you look through the textbook, note the
places where local stories, customs, or events might be integrated into the unit,
and then, based on that, you may want to adapt some of these units or insert an
additional thematic unit based on your local context. You may also want to talk
with other teachers in the school to find out what the children will be doing in their
other subjects (working with magnets, studying dinosaurs, learning to make graphs
or tables) and build units or add lessons to the textbook that reflect these other
subjects. If there are standards related to English teaching that must be addressed,
you will also want to review these and make sure the students are being helped to
meet the standards for students at their language level and age.
Awena A. Muhsin,
Daily Lesson Planning
Primary English Teacher,
Kenya
We have already talked about thematic units as one way of organizing the
“There is a wise saying that
EYL curriculum, but after developing units, you will need to develop
goes, ‘If you fail to plan, daily lesson plans for the classes in which you will be teaching the units.
you plan to fail.’ So if you Most administrators will require you to prepare a lesson plan. It is
don’t want to fail, you need
to plan, and plan to the something that they can show parents to help them understand what is
best of your ability. I plan being taught in the language class and to reassure them that their child’s
because there is no job
teacher is well prepared. It is also something that a substitute teacher can
that can be done without a
tool. A teacher’s tool is the use if you are sick or not available to teach your class. But a lesson plan
lesson plan.” also has other benefits:
■■ It builds confidence. You know where you are going and how you are going to
get there. It also assures your students that you know what they will be doing. It
gives them confidence in you and in the structure of the class.
■■ It helps you prepare for the class. You know what materials you need and how
long you will need for each activity.
■■ It provides you with a guide during the class as you move from one activity to
another, from controlled to freer activities.
■■ It requires you to have specific objectives for the class and guides you in
ensuring that these objectives are met.
■■ It helps you to see if you have provided different activities for different learning
styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) and provides you with options if you find that
your initial plan is not working.
■■ It gives something to reflect on for future planning. You can make notes of
changes you would make the next time you teach the lesson (Harmer, 2007;
Moon, 2000).
Planning a Lesson You may be given a lesson planning form that you will
need to complete for each class. Lesson plans may vary a bit, but each will have the
same basic categories and sequence of activities. Here is a sample of a lesson plan for
a thematic unit on food and nutrition using The Very Hungry Caterpillar as the core
text, rather than a textbook.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Student profile Grades 1–2, beginner level of English proficiency

Language • Grammar: like/don’t like
• New vocabulary: fruits (apples, pears, plums, strawberries,
oranges, watermelon); cake, ice cream, cheese, egg,
caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly
• Review vocabulary: days of the week, numbers 1–5

• Talk about what the hungry caterpillar ate
• Talk about some of their favorite foods
• Fill out a food calendar
Materials Fruit that is available; picture cards of fruit and food that
children will probably like or not like; The Very Hungry
Caterpillar book (or a video version in which the story is being
read/told to a class); a small stuffed caterpillar, if possible; a
towel to use as a cocoon
Warm-up
Before-storytelling Activities
Capture their attention Talk to students while rubbing your stomach and acting hungry.
Say, “Oh! I am very hungry! Are you hungry? Who is hungry?
What can we do? Let’s eat food! What should we eat? Let’s see!”
Connect to prior knowledge Show pictures of food or actual food items. Ask the students
and experiences if they like/don’t like these. When you hold up each item, ask
students to give “thumbs up” if they like it or “thumbs down”
Review language students
if they don’t. Record the results next to a picture of that food
have learned
on the board.
Like: 10
Don’t Like: 11
Like: 21
Don’t Like: 0

Pre-teach new vocabulary Show students a small stuffed caterpillar or a brightly

or expressions colored picture of a caterpillar. Say, “What is this? This is a . .
. caterpillar. Repeat after me ‘caterpillar!’ Have you seen this
before? Where?”
Caterpillar Toss
Tell students, “I will call your name and throw the caterpillar.
If you catch it, say ‘caterpillar,’ then throw this to a friend.
Ready? Adriana, catch!” Toss the stuffed caterpillar to
Adriana. When she says “caterpillar,” cue her to say a
friend’s name and throw it. Continue until all students
get a turn.
Preview the cover of the Show the cover of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Say, “What do
storybook you see here? Right! A caterpillar! Today we’re going to read
about this very hungry caterpillar.” (rub your stomach when
you say “hungry” and point to the caterpillar)
Predict what will happen Encourage students to predict. Ask them, “Is this caterpillar
hungry? Very hungry? Very, very hungry? What do you
think?” Give children a chance to guess and answer. Ask,
“What do caterpillars like to eat?” Write down students’
answers on the board to check after the storytelling. Then
say, “OK, let’s see!”
Presentation
During-storytelling Activities
Storytelling with a big book Begin the story, stopping to talk about the foods, the caterpillar,
etc., and asking students if they like/don’t like the foods the
caterpillar eats. Encourage students to chime in on the repeated
parts such as “But he was still hungry.”
Comprehension check using Science Mini-Lesson

their bodies Review the life cycle of a caterpillar. Encourage students to
show it with their bodies. Show the picture of the egg in the
storybook and tell students to show you the egg with their
bodies (curled up in a ball). “What are you now? Right! An
egg!” Then tell them to show you what a caterpillar looks like
with their bodies (slithering around). “What are you now?
Right! A caterpillar!”
Then show a cocoon by taking a towel and wrapping
it around yourself. Ask a few students to come up as a
caterpillar, wrap them in the towel, and ask “What are you
now? Right! A cocoon!” Finally, ask students to imitate you
as you make your arms flutter like the wings of a butterfly.
“What are you now? Right! A butterfly!”

Check predictions Look at the list of food on the board that students
predicted. Ask them, “Did we guess right? What did the
caterpillar eat? Did he eat ____?” (say the first word on the
list) If the guess was right, circle it. If the guess was wrong,
cross the word out. If some food from the story is missing,
ask them which ones. “What else did he eat?” Write their
answers on the board.
Practice
After-storytelling Activities
Review and retell part of Put or draw a one-week calendar on the board.
the story
Ask students to help you fill in what the caterpillar ate each
day. Have volunteers take the picture cards of the food and
put them on the right day. Repeat the story with them while
filling in the calendar.
“On Monday . . . he ate through one. . . . But he was still
hungry.
On Tuesday . . . he ate through two. . . . But he was still
hungry.
On Wednesday . . . he ate through three . . . ,” etc.
Application
Paired Interview Activity Food for Two

Have students work in pairs, filling out the chart called “Food
for Two” on a handout. First, they fill out “My Favorite Food”
with their favorite food. They can draw a picture and/or write
the word. Then they will interview a partner using “Do you
like ___?” asking about their favorite food. Their partner
can answer.
Yes, I do.
No, I don’t. I like _______.
In either case, students draw and/or write the food their
partner likes.
Survey Activity Our Favorite Food
As a whole class, the teacher leads a survey of Our Favorite
Food as a class. Students take turns saying “I like _______.”
Then the teacher asks the whole class, “Do you like ______?”
and counts how many students like that food. The teacher
continues until all the different food in students’ lists are
represented.
Assessment
Monitor progress While the students are working in pairs in the Food for Two
activity, circulate around the room listening to the children
talking about the foods they like. Make a note of what they
are having trouble with and be sure to recast corrections as
you collect answers during the Our Favorite Food activity.
Assessment As students leave class, have each one tell you one thing they
liked/learned today.
Follow-up
Homework Ask the students to tell their parents about the story they
heard in class and to find out one food that
their parents like. If they don’t know the name
of it, they can draw it or bring a picture of it to class. They
will report the food their parents like in the
next class.
Paired Interview Activity: Food for Two
Food for Two

MY FAVORITE FOOD MY FRIEND’S FAVORITE FOOD
Name: ____________________ Name: ____________________
Picture Word Picture Word

Survey Activity: Our Favorite Food (can be drawn on board or put on a flip chart)
Our Favorite Food

Food we like How many like it?
Picture Word
Watermelon ||||
At the next class, you can begin by asking the students about their parents’
favorite foods. You can review the caterpillar’s favorite foods and use that as a
warm-up for the class.
The lesson format you will be expected to use in your school or program
may vary somewhat from the one presented earlier but almost all lesson plans
include objectives and the following stages of a lesson: warm-up, presentation,
practice, and application. Let’s look at each of these.
Writing Objectives Objectives are the most important part of the lesson plan,
since they state the purpose for the lesson and what students are expected to learn
from the lesson. It is important to have objectives that address both content and
language learning. It is also a good idea to include objectives that relate to academic
skills or what are often referred to as learning strategies: the kinds of skills that help
students to achieve academically, such as predicting, sequencing information, or
listening or reading for specific information. Objectives should be measurable—that
is, you should be able to determine if the students have met an objective or are in
the process of meeting it—and refer to what the students should be able to do by
the end of the lesson. They should be as specific as you can make them (avoid using
“understand,” since it is difficult to measure). They might also include a specific
language function, such as describing, asking for, expressing likes or dislikes, stating
opinions, etc. related to the topic or theme.
A typical format for objectives is what has come to be known as SWBAT: Stu-
dents will be able to + the objective. In the previous example the objectives were:
Students will be able to:
■■ Talk about what the hungry caterpillar ate

■■ Talk about some of their favorite foods
■■ Fill out a food calendar
If this were a unit plan, we would have more objectives, some of which might
ask students to:
■■ Create a simple chart with the number of apples, plums, etc. that the
caterpillar ate
■■ Create a chart of favorite fruits
■■ Draw the life cycle of the caterpillar
■■ Relate the life cycle of a caterpillar to the life cycle of people
■■ Bring a caterpillar to school and keep a class journal of the caterpillar’s growth
Choosing Activities After setting objectives, you will need to plan activities
to help children achieve them. Sometimes you will think of activities before setting
objectives, but the activities then need to be tailored to your specific objectives.
Brainstorm as many activities as you can, beginning with those that are included
in your student textbooks, workbooks, or teacher’s manual. Also look for other
materials you have access to, and think about others that your students might find
engaging. You will be using the same theme for several classes, so activities that may
not fit one lesson may be perfect for another.
As explored in Chapter 2, you will want to find activities that:
■■ Provide opportunities for active learning, since children make sense of the world
by interacting with their environment (Piaget)
■■ Provide opportunities for children to interact with each other (in pairs or small
groups) and with the teacher (as a whole class or when engaged in individual
tasks)
■■ Provide opportunities for comprehensible input (through listening and reading)
and output (through speaking and writing)
■■ Are interesting, fun, and relevant to children’s lives (to their interests outside
class, their families and homes, etc.)
■■ Are varied (songs, chants, games, stories, poems, role plays, projects, etc.)
■■ Appeal to different learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic) or multiple
intelligences (logical-mathematical, spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal, natural,
etc.)
■■ Connect to the larger school curriculum (to what is being learned in science,
mathematics, social studies, etc.)
■■ Appeal both to children who are very outgoing and to those who are more shy
or silent (Moon, 2000; Scott & Ytreberg, 1990)
In some textbooks, the activities will primarily focus on presenting and

practicing grammar and vocabulary with limited context or opportunities to use

the language to communicate meaningfully. You may need to provide a theme
that provides a larger context in which to add a variety of activities that meet the
criteria above.
Organizing Activities After brainstorming activities to help children

achieve the objectives, you will need to organize these into a sequence. In general,
for children, you will want to begin with listening and speaking activities, and then
move to reading and writing. The activities should be organized to fit the following
stages in your lesson plan:
1. Warm-up activities
2. Presentation activities
3. Practice activities
4. Application activities
1. Warm-up activities At the beginning of any unit, and of any lesson, you
will want to provide activities that help build learner engagement, set the direction
for the unit or lesson, and link the day’s lesson with previous lessons: activities that
“warm up” the class. Warm-up activities help to:
■■ Activate background (or prior) knowledge about both the content and the
language (grammar and vocabulary) so that you know what the children already
know about the topic and the language and what you will need to teach or re-
teach (because the children have forgotten it)
■■ Create interest and excitement about the unit or lesson
■■ Get students thinking in English
■■ Create transition from what the students were learning or doing in a previous
unit or lesson to what they will be learning and doing this day
■■ Review known (and needed) vocabulary and introduce new vocabulary and
language that will be needed to understand the listening or reading input
that will be presented in the presentation stage. The review can also include
homework from the previous class.
There are a number of activities that can be used in a warm-up. You can do
any of these that relate to the theme of the new lesson:
■■ Ask a question to get children excited, such as “How many of you like ice
cream?”
■■ Show pictures or bring in real objects that they know. Ask, “Who knows what
this is?”
■■ Refer to a known song or retell a short story. For example, “Remember our story
about a beautiful, blue fish? Well, today we’re going to hear a story about a
green caterpillar.”
■■ Play a game, such as a calendar game, with students coming to the front of the
class and pointing to the correct day of the week for that day, for yesterday, and
for tomorrow, or reviewing what they do on special days such as Mondays and
Fridays.
2. Presentation activities In the presentation stage of the lesson, the teacher
presents the relevant vocabulary and language structures in a meaningful context,
usually by having the students listen to (or for older children, read) a story or a
song and determining if the students have understood that input. The focus in this
stage is on providing the students with a lot of repeated input, and then teaching
the target language structures and vocabulary they will need to use that language in
speaking and writing, as well as additional practice in listening and reading in the
practice stage. Presentation activities include:
■■ Talking about a picture

■■ Teaching vocabulary with pictures or objects
■■ Teaching the language structure to understand and talk about the story
■■ “Reading” (or telling) the story to the children (perhaps in adapted form)
3. Practice activities During this stage in the lesson, students need

opportunities to practice using the topic and the new language in predictable
ways, beginning with being provided with a great deal of support (controlled
activities or guided practice) to those in which they take on more of the
responsibility of providing the appropriate responses and using the language
more meaningfully (independent activities). The activities can be post-listening
or post-reading activities that include speaking and writing. You will find lots
of suggested activities in the student workbook or a teacher’s edition (also
referred to as a lesson planner). You can also find lots of ideas online (see the
suggested Web sites at the end of this chapter) or in activity books for young
learners.
In the earlier example, since the presentation was the story of a hungry
caterpillar, the following are the kinds of activities you might include (in order
of most to least support):
■■ Matching (of vocabulary and pictures, characters in the story and activities they
were involved in, etc.)
■■ Circling something (a picture, or for older children, a word)

■■ Sorting pictures or names of foods by category (food that is good for you and
food that is not)
■■ Talking with a partner about favorite foods
■■ Playing a game (Bingo, Old Maid, Hangman, or Concentration) with the names
of foods
■■ Acting out a story (role play of the stages of a caterpillar’s life)
■■ Completing sentences (from the story or a summary of the story)
Some of these activities can be done in a large group; others in small groups
or in pairs. Some can be done in class; others might be assigned as homework.
The time you have in class will help determine how you group students and
what will need to be completed at home (and then become the review in the
warm-up stage of the next lesson).
The following is an example of a controlled practice activity that gives stu-
dents a chance to use the vocabulary and pattern you have presented in very
predictable ways, with a lot of repetition and few chances of making an error
after they have done the activity a number of times. The teacher, with the whole
class, models the grammar and engages in a simple dialog that practices “like”
and “don’t like” + the names of fruits:
T: I like apples. [Student Name], Do you like apples?
S1: Yes, I do.
T: _____, Do you like pears?
S2: No, I don’t.
After a few times with this pattern, the students can work in pairs and
expand the structure:
S1: I like apples. ____, Do you like apples?
S2: Yes, I like apples. ____, Do you like apples?
OR No, I don’t like apples. I like pears.
A guided practice activity, with less support, might be to have the children
draw a picture of their favorite fruit and keep it turned toward them. Their
partner has to guess what fruit the other one has, asking, “Do you like ____?”
until the partner guesses the right fruit. After both have answered correctly,
they wait until the teacher blows a whistle and then find other partners and
repeat the activity.
S1: The first student asks her partner
Do you like apples?
S2: The second student has a picture of a banana, so he answers:
No, I don’t.
S1: The first student asks her partner again.
Do you like bananas?
S2: The second student answers and then asks his partner:
Yes, I do.
Do you like watermelon?
You might have pairs of pictures and when two children each pick up the
same picture, they can turn to the teacher and say:
Ss: We like _________.
An independent (or freer) practice activity might have the students in small
groups pick their favorite fruits from the ones that have been presented (or add
ones that they have learned the words for from their teacher or each other) and
then present these in ranked order to their classmates. From this a class favorite
fruit graph can be developed.
Group 1: We like grapes, apples, and bananas.
Group 2: We like apples, pears, and plums.
Group 3: We like grapes, pears, and apples.
Group 4: We like bananas, apples, and grapes.
Together, the class would decide that their favorite fruit is apples, and that the
second is grapes. The teacher could do a bar chart with 4 apples in the first bar,
3 grapes in the second, and 2 pears and 2 bananas in the last two bars, labeling
the graph: “We Like Fruit” or “Our Favorite Fruit.”
4. Application activities In the application stage of the lesson, students

are acting more independently, using the new language they have learned to

OUR FAVORITE FRUIT
APPLES GRAPES PEARS BANANAS
communicate something that is meaningful to them. Application activities

almost always involve speaking or writing. Sometimes (such as in Reader’s
Theater) they involve both. The goal of the application stage is to encourage
students to use the language authentically or in authentic contexts. Often
application activities involve a project. For example, students might be asked to
create a poster collage of foods that are “good for you” and those that are “not as
good for you.”
They might be invited to work in small groups and then role play the
stages of a butterfly’s life. Or each child could be given a picture from The
Very Hungry Caterpillar which only they can see and they then describe to
the class; on the basis of the description, they will line up in the sequence
of the activities in the story. Older students with more advanced English
proficiency could create dialog for the pictures or episodes of a story and
then read these lines in the sequence of the story (Reader’s Theater), or they
might write a letter to the author.
What about Assessment? Assessment should be integrated into the lesson,

not necessarily a separate activity. While we want children eventually to speak and
write English accurately, as well as fluently, our major emphasis with young learners
(especially those in the first years of English classes) is on fluency, motivating them
to use English, to enjoy doing it, and to feel confident that they can learn and are
learning the language. We want to provide them with an environment in which
they can take risks, in which they can communicate using whatever resources they
have (gestures, actions, drawings, or anything else) while they are using English. We
don’t want to make them afraid of making mistakes or to lose their natural sense
of enjoyment and confidence (Vale & Feunteun, 1998). Moreover, few of us, adults
included, can pay attention to both fluency and accuracy at the same time. When
we ask children to talk or write freely to each other or us, we are asking them to be
as fluent as possible, to use all their language resources, which will usually result
in making some errors. But that is not the time for corrective feedback. We might
note, however, a common error and then add an activity in the next class that helps
develop the accurate vocabulary or grammar pattern.
When students are in the practice stage, especially in the beginning with very
controlled activities where they only have to repeat a target structure (such as “I
like ___” or “I don’t like ___”), we can praise their effort and model the correct
form, keeping the conversation moving. For example, if a student says, “I like
swim,” the teacher can say, “That’s great. Devon likes to swim,” inserting the “to.”
“What do you like to do, Miko?” Then at the end of the activity, you can ask all
the students to repeat the correct form.
Indirect assessment can be built in throughout the lesson, especially in the
practice and application stages. You can determine how well the students are
learning the language and content as they respond in class, or you can circu-
late and listen to them when they are engaged in pair work or independent
activities. You can do a quick review that focuses on a structure or word that
is giving several students trouble or plan on addressing that in the next class.
You might also have a checklist of new structures and vocabulary and a list
of students, where you can jot down notes about those who seem to be hav-
ing the most difficulty and may need additional help. You can also note those
who have seemed to grasp the content and language well and could be paired
with a student who is having difficulty in a kind of peer-tutoring arrange-
ment or plan the next class to have enrichment activities for these students to
do while you are spending more time on the problem areas with the students
who are having difficulty. Some teachers have an “exit strategy,” asking chil-
dren (individually or in small groups) to provide a brief answer as they leave
class—maybe one of several new words they learned that day, the name of
a character in a story, or what they liked best about the story. You will want
to have a formal assessment at the end of a unit, but informal assessment
throughout the lesson. Chapter 7 will provide more discussion of appropriate
assessment activities.
What about Grammar? Although you will be focusing on a specific

grammar pattern during a unit or series of lessons, for young children, it should
not involve the direct teaching of grammatical rules (Cameron, 2001; Pinter, 2006;
Shin, 2014). Instead, by careful repetition in a number of activities, and occasionally

pointing something out, children will “notice” the grammar and slowly acquire
it by using it. That’s why it is so important to provide a number of opportunities
for children to recycle the grammar (and vocabulary) in meaningful and relevant
activities that involve all four language skills. In a successful EYL class, children are
using the language to learn how it works.
As stated above, it is also important not to overtly correct children’s gram-
matical mistakes when they are trying to communicate in class, especially when
you are trying to keep the communication in the class in English. Make a note
of problems that individual or many students are having and provide more
activities to practice that grammar in another class. You can also praise their
contributions and rephrase what they have said using the correct forms.
Sample Lesson
The Value of Trees Following is a sample lesson from a unit on The Value
of Trees for 9–10-year-olds with intermediate English language proficiency. The
centerpiece of the unit is The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, but there are many
children’s books focused on trees that could be substituted, such as The Giving
Tree by Shel Silverstein or The Woman Who Hugged a Tree, an East Indian classic
folktale. (If you do not have access to any of these books, you can find a number
of versions of The Great Kapok Tree on You Tube and continue with an original
or adapted version of The Woman Who Hugged a Tree at http://sunnysidestories.
wordpress.com/the-woman-who-hugged-a-tree/.)
In The Great Kapok Tree, a man walks into a rainforest with an ax and be-
gins trying to cut down a huge tree. Soon, he grows tired and falls asleep. The
sounds of his ax have been heard by many creatures in the forest, and one by
one, they come and tell the man in a dream why the kapok tree is valuable to
them and why he should not cut it down. Each animal comes in a character-
istic way: the boa constrictor “slithers”; the monkeys “scamper”; the tree frog
“crawls.” They also talk in characteristic ways: the jaguar “growls”; the por-
cupines “whisper”; and the toucan, macaw, and cock-of-the-rock “squawk.”
Finally, a young child from the Yanomamo tribe murmurs, “Senhor, when
you awake, please look upon us all with new eyes.” We don’t know what the
man with the ax will do, but after hearing from all the animals and the young
child, we are hopeful that he will leave, and after waking and looking at the
animals and the child, he does.
The Great Kapok Tree makes a wonderful centerpiece for a unit on the value
of trees. (There is also a Spanish-language edition.) It has beautiful illustrations
of each animal, of the vegetation in the rainforest, and even a map of the world,
with areas of rainforest marked, and an illustration of the various layers of a
rainforest. The following lesson plan is only for one class, but it could be the
basis for a long and fascinating unit for children.
In previous lessons, the learners have taken a walk around the school
grounds, pointing to different trees and talking about the leaves, trunk, bark,
flowers, and seeds. They have also collected various leaves and reviewed
vocabulary to talk about them: colors, shapes, sizes, etc. (Note: If it is not pos-
sible to take this walk, then pictures of various forests, trees, and leaves can
be s ubstituted). They have also completed an in-class activity using a K-W-L
graphic organizer, discussing what they KNOW about trees, what they WANT
TO FIND OUT about trees, and later, they will fill in what they have LEARNED
about them.
Title:
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
Student profile Grades 4–5, intermediate level of English proficiency
Language Grammar: Need + tree for _________

Vocabulary: kapok tree; names of the animals in the story; rainforest;
kapok tree; parts of the tree; Amazon River

Talk about the value of the tree in relation to several of the animals in
the story
Materials Beautiful pictures of different kinds of trees from their context

and other countries (printed from the Internet on paper or put in a
PowerPoint slide show)
A graphic organizer of a tree with lines pointing to the roots, trunk,
branches, and leaves of the tree—2 copies for each student
Pictures of animals from the book
Warm-up
Capture their Show students many beautiful pictures of different kinds of trees from
attention their country and other countries. Some of the trees may look very
strange and wondrous to them. Ask them, “What are these? Where
can you find these trees?” Take a globe or a map and point out where
there are rainforests where these trees are found.

Connect to prior Think-Pair-Share (T-P-S)
knowledge and Ask the students to think individually about all the ways in which we
experiences use trees—their value to us. Then share their ideas in a pair with one
partner, filling out one of the tree graphic organizers. Then as a class,
share their ideas and fill out a large tree organizer on the board.
Preview the cover of Tell the class that you are going to read The Great Kapok Tree to
the storybook them. Show them the cover picture and ask them if anyone has seen a
kapok tree. Let them describe it and what they see on the cover. Point
to the animals, the man with the ax, and all the flowers. Ask them
where they think the story takes place and what they think the book
is going to be about.
Pre-teach new Using picture cards of the individual animals, with their name on the
vocabulary or card, teach the names of the animals. Introduce the rainforest, show
expressions them a map of the world where there are rainforests, and then point
to the Amazon River and Brazil, where the story takes place. Have
them name the animals.
Give students a Tell the students that as you read, you want them to listen specifically
purpose for listening for the names of the animals and the value of the tree to that animal.
They can take notes as you read.
Presentation
Storytelling using Break students into 10 pairs or groups, so each pair/group has one
the book graphic organizer with WHO? WHAT? WHY? to use together. (Make
sure that the students note the ways that animals communicate; for
example, the boa constrictor hisses as he tells the man with the ax not
to cut down the tree.) Assign each group an animal and tell them to
write the name of the animal in the WHO box.
WHO? WHAT? WHY?
Boa Hissed don’t Ancestors
constrictor chop down lived there,
the tree tree of
miracles
Pause with each page and review what happened with students. Cue
each pair/group to take notes on their graphic organizer as you read.
But also tell the students to listen to the information about other
animals because they will need it later.
Practice
Retell part of the story Draw and Retell

Pairs or groups draw the scene about their animal and prepare to
present “who,” “what,” and “why” based on the story. They take
their notes from the graphic organizer and write the sentences they
will present. Be sure each member of the group or pair presents an
equal amount. Put all of the pictures on the board in the order of
the story, then begin to retell the story, having each group present
what they prepared.
Controlled practice Put up a large picture of the kapok tree. As you name an animal, ask
students to explain the value of the kapok tree and point to the part
of the tree that is valuable to that animal and say, “________ needs
the tree for ________.”
Application
Independent activity: Our Tree

Personalize content Ask students to name the trees in their local context. “What trees do
we have here?” Make a list. Then have students choose one, draw it,
and write their own page modeled after what their animal said, using
their own reasons for needing the tree.
Assessment
Assessment: As each student leaves class, ask them to name one of the animals and
Exit Ticket something that animal needs from the kapok tree. Or they can explain
their own personal reason for needing trees.

Follow-up
Homework Ask the students to search for rainforests on the Internet and to see
what other trees and animals live there. The next class will be about
rainforests.
In subsequent classes, the story will be read again, and this time the class
will listen for how each animal moves and communicates and complete a chart
on the board. Each child will then have a chance to act out one of the animals,
moving as the animal does and imitating the way the animal speaks, as you
read the animal’s lines (or if the students are able to read at this level, they can
read the parts). Later you could have them play a game of Who Am I? with
the class asking questions as a student moves the way the animal moves or
makes the sounds of the animals. They will also be given several short texts
about what is happening to the rainforests and the endangered animals that
live there, and from that, as a class they will write a letter to a forestry official,
asking what the company or agency is doing to protect the rainforest and the
animals that live there.
Ernest Kalotoueu Evaluating Thematic Units

and Lessons
Gbeada, Cote d’Ivoire
(Ivory Coast)
When I was presenting this
lesson on “endangered
After teaching a lesson, you may want to make notes on its success or any
species” 5 years ago, I problems that you encountered. About each activity, you might want to note:
conducted a role play
between a rare wild animal ■■ Did the children enjoy it?
species and a hunter. The ■■ Did they have any problems with it?
animal asked the hunter
“Why always him and ■■ How might you change the activity to reduce the problems?
not another animal?” The ■■ Was the time allotted appropriate?
hunter answered that his
■■ Was the activity in the right place in the lesson, or should it be moved?
skin was of greater value
for humans than other
animals’ skin; and the You might also want to make a note of anything that was confusing
animal answered back that to the class that you should review with them the next time that you
this skin was of more value
for himself than to human
meet. If you have your lessons on a computer, it should be relatively
beings; the discussion went easy to revise your lesson the next time, and over time, as you build
on till the hunter decided up a number of units and lesson plans, your planning will take much
to stop hunting this species
from that day on. The less time.
students really appreciated
and learnt the dialog by
heart.
You will also want to reflect on the relative interest that students have shown
in a unit—in the story, video, song, or other text—to decide if you want to adapt
the theme or even change it the next term or year.
Teacher to Teacher
Contextualizing Instruction
There are many ways of contextualizing instruction through interesting themes.
Sometimes teachers develop their own thematic units and lessons. Other times
they are present in the required textbooks. This teacher from Belarus describes the
themes in her EYL textbooks.
“ourThechildren
textbooks in our country have thematic building. During the first year,
learn such thematic units as:
• Good morning
• My family
• Appearance
• Our pets
• Food
• My room
• At the lesson
• Seasons
• I like animals
The units for the second year are the following:
• My friend
• Family
• Daily routine
• My day off
• Clothes
• School
• My birthday
You see the topics are different and close to young learners. They are inter-
related. Studying the topic ‘My friend,’ children remember the words learnt in
‘ Appearance,’ ‘Food,’ and ‘Our pets.’ I want to offer some themes for the topic
‘My friends’: Things which my friend likes and dislikes:
• My friend’s breakfast
• My friend’s pet
• My friend’s hobbies
”
• We both like. . . .
—Irina Melikhava, Primary and Secondary English Teacher, Belarus
The following teacher explains that thematic instruction is also popular in Sri
Lanka, where English textbooks use interesting content as the basis for language
instruction.
“at Content related language instruction is very popular in the EFL context
present. In Sri Lanka, textbooks have been designed to teach English
through content. Rather than learning decontextualized and isolated
sentences, content related instruction aims in providing language that
helps the learner to comprehend the content while acquiring language
skills. It is important to include several useful and related lessons threaded
under a single theme so that students gain both meaning and language
forcefully. For example, a lesson with the topic, ‘Let’s Play Basketball’ under
the theme of ‘Sports’ will help learners acquire language skills while playing
a game of basketball and will teach children the basic rules and techniques
of the game. The lessons can be organized with a formal discussion inside
the classroom on the game, its history, present status of the game in the
world, international heroes of the game, etc., supported by videos, poster
presentations, etc. Students will speak of their favorite players and teams.
One lesson may consist of a brief training session on the court with an
experienced coach. ”
—Sanath Jayalath, MA TESOL Student and Assistant Director of Education
at the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka
Teachers can also contextualize instruction by taking the content and turning
it into songs that relate to young learners’ lives, as this teacher from Uzbekistan
describes.
“read:
In my young learner class, I like to use songs with actions. For example to
“With the song, ‘This is the way,” I sing and act out the words:”
This is the way we wash our hands,
wash our hands, wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands,
Every day in the morning.
The same with ‘wash our face,’ ‘
clean our teeth,’ ‘
brush our hair,’ ‘
drink our milk’

and other daily routine actions, with students miming with the teacher. Then
I check comprehension by playing the game, ‘Show me.’ I say, for example,
‘Drink your milk’ and students should mime the action. Then we sing this
song again moving in the classroom—using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic
learning. Another example is ‘Morning exercises’:
Hands up!
Hands down!
Hands on hips!
Sit down!
Stand up!
Hands to the sides!
Bend left!
Bend right!
Hands on hips!
One, two, three – hop!
One, two, three – stop!
Stand still! ”
—Natalya Yusupova, Primary & Secondary English Teacher, Uzbekistan
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
The importance of contextualizing instruction Contextualizing instruction is
critically important to make language learning meaningful for young learners and to
motivate them to learn and use English.
Thematic instruction Choosing a central theme that unites the language and
content learning is an important way of providing context. The themes should be
relevant to children’s lives as students, family members, and community members.
They can be drawn from other content areas, from local and national culture,
or from important ideas that emerge from good children’s literature, especially
stories.
Planning thematic units In developing thematic units, it is possible to choose a
theme and then develop the unit (identifying engaging written and oral texts to
include) or to choose a text (usually a story) and identify the thematic focus. After
choosing the theme and the major text(s) for children to listen to, watch, or (if older)
read, the next steps are to identify links to other content areas and learning strategies
that can be included, and to develop and sequence activities to use in teaching the
theme. Classroom observations are helpful in identifying themes and activities to use
or adapt for other learners.
Long-term and daily lesson planning Planning should occur before the term or
year, in order to identify important holidays or events that can serve as unit themes
or be incorporated into units from the curriculum or textbook.
Daily lesson planning is important for a number of reasons: for the sense of
confidence it provides to both the teacher and the student, for the guidance it offers
in managing the lesson, and for reflecting upon the success of the lesson and how to
adapt it for the future.
A lesson plan needs to have clear and measurable language and other (content-
related or learning strategy) objectives, as well as a progression of activities that
help learners move from the warm-up to presentation, practice, and application
stages. These activities should be interesting, varied, and provide for active learning,
interaction, and different learning styles.
Over to You
1. Now that you have read about thematic units and lesson plan-
ning, return to the textbook analysis that you did at the begin-
Discussion ning of this chapter. Look over what you found in the textbook
Questions you reviewed and decide how well it meets the criteria estab-
lished in this chapter. What would you change? What activities
would you add?
2. Choose a theme that you think would be of interest to a group of
young learners. Decide on their age and English language level.
Then, using the web from p. 74, brainstorm ideas for a unit. Can
you think of a traditional story, folktale, or custom that you could
include in the unit?
3. Look at the unit and lesson plans in this chapter. How interesting
do you think these units or lessons would be for your learners?
Are there ways that you could adapt them to make them more
meaningful for them? What other activities could you suggest
for each stage of the unit or lesson: warm-up, presentation,
practice, and application?

4. What are some effective themes you might use with your young
learners? Make a list of these. Look again at the textbook you
analyzed to see what kinds of themes were included. Also think
about your experiences with young learners. What themes
interest them?
5. Look at the list you made for question 4. What activities might
you use in lessons with these themes? List some of them under
each theme. Keep adding to this list for use in future unit or
lesson planning.
Classroom Now that you have read and thought about how to contextualize and organize
Observation instruction, choose themes, and then plan daily lessons that move from
presentation to practice, to application and evaluation, observe a young learner
classroom and complete this form.
1. Find a young learner class to observe and ask permission from the teacher.
2. Meet with the teacher before the class. Share your instructions for the
assignment, and ask the teacher for a lesson plan (if s/he has one).
3. Observe the class and fill out the Class Observation worksheet on pg. 389.
4. Reflect on the experience and write your Class Observation Report.
Write Reflection on classroom observation: Write a two-page report on the following
About It topics:
1. What did you learn from the observation experience?
2. How did the teacher address the following aspects of language teaching?
• Classroom environment
• Sequencing of lesson
• Student participation
• Motivation and interest
• Teaching language in context
• Assessement
3. What could be improved? What would you like to incorporate?

Print Publications
Crandall, J. A. (1998). Collaborate and cooperate: Teacher education Kaufman, D., & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.). (2005). Content-based instruc-
for integrating language and content instruction. English Teach- tion in elementary and secondary school settings. Alexandria, VA:
ing Forum, 36(1), 2–9. Available at: http://exchanges.state.gov TESOL.
/englishteaching/forum/archives/1998.html Moon, J. (2000). Children learning English. Oxford, UK: MacMillan
Crandall, J. A. (2001). Rethinking classroom management: Creating Heinemann.
an effective learning community. ESL Magazine, 4(3), 10–13. Schinke-Llano, L., & Rauff, R. (Eds.). (1996). New ways in teaching
Reprinted in I. A. Heath & C. J. Serrano (Eds.), Perspectives on young learners. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.
teaching English language learners. Newbery, FL: Glanzer Press. Shin, J. K. (2007). Developing dynamic units for EFL. English Teach-
Curtain, H., & Dahlberg, C. A. (2010). Languages and children: Mak- ing Forum, 45(2), 2–9.
ing the match, 4th ed. New York: Pearson.
Useful Web Sites

English Club: http://www.englishclub.com/ International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign
English for Kids: http://www.englishclub.com/kids/ Language, Young Learners & Teenagers Special Interest
Group: http://www.yltsig.org
English for Young Learners: http://englishforyounglearners.org/
MES-English: http://www.mes-english.com/games.php
References
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4 Teaching Listening
and Speaking
Getting Started
The purpose of this chapter is to look at some basic principles behind the
teaching of listening and speaking for young learners. It will explore ways
to make listening input comprehensible and check comprehension. In
addition, it will look into aspects of vocabulary building and pronunciation
work while building communicative abilities of students. This chapter will
give examples of specific techniques and activities that are appropriate and
effective for primary classrooms. This includes fun activities for teaching
aural and oral skills including Total Physical Response, songs, rhymes,
chants, games, and more.
Think about everyday life for a child. What are some real-life examples
Think About It of listening that a school-aged child might hear? Imagine what they are
listening to inside the classroom, outside the classroom, and at home.
Marmaduke St. John/Alamy

Michele Burgess/
Alamy
107
Think about real-life communication that children engage in on a
day-to-day basis. What types of conversations are primary school–aged
children engaged in? What are the kinds of speaking that children do
every day inside the classroom, outside the classroom, and at home.
Brainstorming Table
Discovery Activity Now that you have thought about the kinds of authentic or real-life
listening and speaking the young learners are engaged in on a daily basis,
write down your ideas in the table below. Also consider the kinds of listening and
speaking activities that very young learners versus young learners do every day.
Listening Speaking Both

Example: TV Example: Singing Example: Buying candy
cartoons songs at the store
VYLs
YLs

Considerations for Teaching Listening and
Speaking
Now that you have thought about authentic listening and speaking that children
do in their real lives, it is important to think about how to incorporate these types
of tasks in the classroom. As Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 both emphasize, we should
use activities related to children’s interests and real lives including their lives in
other classes in school. Children may be listening to language while they watch
a cartoon on TV or when they hear an announcement by their teacher at school.

They might listen to their grandmother sing a traditional song or hear a pop song
over the radio while in a restaurant. Teachers should try to bring real-life listening
like these examples that children can relate to into the classroom. Although there
could be some one-way listening, like hearing a song or watching TV, children are
also engaged in different kinds of two-way conversations. It is important to teach
students to communicate orally in real conversations, recognizing that with real
communicative acts it is impossible to separate the skills of listening and speaking.
Children might interact with the cashier in a candy store or have a conversation
about the school day with their mother during dinner. They often have conver
sations with their peers about what they like and don’t like. The foundation of an
effective approach for teaching listening and speaking in the EYL classroom is
the use of meaningful text types and a focus on building oral communication
skills.
In this part of the chapter, we look at important considerations for teaching
listening and speaking in the EYL classroom by defining each skill and estab-
lishing some basic principles for teaching each skill. Of course, it is impossible
to completely separate the two skills, so in each case there is reference to the
other skill.
Considerations for Teaching Listening

First, we will explore how to approach teaching listening. This skill might be
overlooked because it seems passive. When people listen they do not move
their lips or take any outward action that can be perceived. However, as this
chapter will show, it is an active process that requires different kinds of skills and
strategies. It is important for EYL teachers not to overlook this skill even though
is not visible to the eye or audible to the ears. Morley (2001) points out that
listening is actually used more than any other skill. “On average, we can expect
to listen twice as much as we speak, four times more than we read, and five times
more than we write” (p. 70). As the most used of the four language skills, it is
essential to make sure our young learners are able to listen well and gain meaning
from listening input. To find the best way to teach listening, it is important to
gain an understanding of what listening is. This section will address the following
aspects of listening:
■■ What is listening?
■■ Bottom-up and top-down listening
■■ Principles for teaching listening to YLs
4 Teaching Listening and Speaking 109

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What Is Listening? It is important to remember that the process of
listening is active. The listener must interact with what is heard and interpret
the message accurately in order to make sense of it. This is a complex process
that happens so quickly in our native language that we can easily forget all the
steps that must occur for a message to be understood through listening. Peterson
(2001) describes listening as “a multilevel, interactive process of meaning
creation” (p. 88). From a cognitive psychology point of view, Anderson (2009)
defines listening comprehension in three stages: perceptual processing, parsing,
and utilization. In the first stage, there is a sound encoded with language that is
perceived and recognized as language; then the language is decoded and stored
in short-term memory; finally, comprehension occurs in the utilization stage as
the listener matches the language heard with ideas stored in long-term memory.
Of course this process can be quite difficult for a second language learner, who is
still learning the language, and especially for a young learner, who does not have
much information or schemata stored in long-term memory.
Bottom-Up and Top-Down Listening Listening is an interpretive skill,

like reading. Interpreting language is often broken down into two psycholinguistic
processes: bottom-up and top-down. Bottom-up processing starts with interpreting
the sounds linguistically and gaining meaning by decoding parts of the language,
whereas top-down processing refers to interpreting the message through the
context in which the message in being delivered. Think about the popular Berlitz
television commercial that shows a young German Coast Guard radio dispatcher
on duty who has an ill-timed misunderstanding caused by his faulty bottom-up
listening skills.

Sailor on sinking boat: ayday mayday. . . . Hello, can you hear us?
M
Over.
We are sinking.
German Coast Guard: Um . . . hello? Zis is zee German Coast
Guard.
Sailor on sinking boat: We are sinking! We are sinking!
German Coast Guard: What are you zinking about?
The commercial ends with “Improve your English” after this sketch that
makes fun of the Coast Guard dispatcher who cannot hear the difference
between “th” and “s” and responds to “We are sinking!” with “What are you
thinking about?” Of course, in reality this would be an impossible scenario
because within the context of the Coast Guard and communication with
boats, there is no way to confuse the communication. In other words,
top-down processing skills would prevent this scenario from ever
happening! However, it does illustrate the difference between bottom-up
and top-down listening skills and shows the importance of developing
both in our learners.
Bottom-up processing means that listeners are using linguistic knowledge to
make sense of an utterance, starting with the smallest parts of language and put-
ting them together to construct meaning. Listening from the bottom up means a
learner may proceed from sounds to words to sentences to literal meaning. This
means putting the smaller parts of language together to figure out what some-
one is saying. This is what the Coast Guard radio dispatcher was doing; he was
putting together the sounds he heard into an utterance he thought was “We are
thinking.” Thus, bottom-up techniques for teaching listening usually focus on
sounds, words, intonation, grammatical structures, and other discrete compo-
nents of spoken language.
Some examples of listening activities for young learners that focus on
bottom-up processing skills are:
■■ Students listen to a pair of words and circle if the words are the same or different.
■■ Students match a word they hear with its picture.
■■ Students listen to a series of sentences and distinguish the subjects from the verbs.
■■ Students listen to a short dialog and fill in the blanks of a transcript.
However, top-down processing starts with schemata or background

knowledge based on the context of the communication. It also includes the
listeners’ knowledge of the text type within the context. Instead of focusing on

linguistic parts of the utterance, learners learn how to gain meaning from the
context and might be able to predict what will be said. Like the Berlitz com-
mercial, the context of the Coast Guard and the predictability of boats calling
in to the radio dispatcher when there is a problem makes it impossible to be-
lieve that the young dispatcher could have interpreted the utterance “We are
sinking” as the opener for a casual friendly conversation. The text type would
be a distress communication with “Mayday, mayday!” and would already be
known to the listener.
In order to work on top-down techniques that focus on the activation
of background knowledge and the meaning of the text, teachers can do the
following with their young learners:
■■ Before students listen to an announcement, they are shown the context of an

airport and predict what they might hear.
■■ Students listen to some utterances and describe the emotional reaction they
hear: happy, sad, etc.
■■ Students listen to a conversation between a doctor and a patient and choose
a picture showing the correct location of the dialog with the correct people
having the conversation.
It is important to use both bottom-up and top-down techniques when teach-

ing listening. With young learners who are at the beginning stages, it could be
easy to focus more on bottom-up techniques that focus on isolated language
structures, because they are learning the building blocks of language from let-
ter to word to sentence. However, as Pinter (2006) explains, “In comparison
with adults, children have less developed schematic knowledge about many
topics; they know less about the world in general and therefore guess and infer
meaning with more difficulty. The younger the children, the more this applies”
(p. 46). Therefore, for young learners, teachers need to also focus the listening
activities on meaning and help them develop strategies for top-down process-
ing in the foreign language. Teachers of young learners should be sure to strike a
good balance between the two.
Principles for Teaching Listening to YLs In EYL classes there is

an enormous amount of listening. It is the main source of communication for
instruction between teacher and YL students. They are not only learning to
listen but also listening to learn. For VYLs in particular, there is minimal reading
since they are just beginning to gain literacy skills in both the native and foreign

language, so the majority of language input for students is through listening.
Curtain and Dahlberg (2010) state that “Listening is considered by many teachers
and researchers to be the cornerstone of language development. In beginning
classrooms, listening is the main channel by which the student makes initial
contact with the target language and its culture” (p. 71). In fact, the main source of
listening input is the teacher giving instructions and demonstrations. Therefore,
teachers of YLs have to be very conscious about their approach to giving students
listening input.
When designing listening activities for young learners, it is important to re-
member the following seven principles.
1. Prepare teacher talk carefully.

2. Use listening activities that reflect real-life listening.
3. Use listening activities that are developmentally appropriate.
4. Use a variety of techniques to make listening input comprehensible.
5. Check comprehension using a variety of response types.
6. Keep listening active—always give learners a listening task.
7. Equip your students with intelligent guesswork strategies.
1. Prepare teacher talk carefully Children will spend most of their time
listening to the teacher giving instructions, modeling language, singing
songs, doing chants, dramatizing dialogs, and telling stories (Brewster, Ellis,
& Girard, 2004; Pinter, 2006). Therefore, teachers need to carefully plan how
they use language in the classroom. In fact, Brewster, Ellis, and Girard (2004)
comment specifically about the use of L1: “The teacher will have to decide how
much of the general ‘classroom language’ such as instructions, questions or
praise will be in the pupils’ L1 and how much in English” (p. 98). The decision
to use L1 to give more complicated instructions for an activity or for classroom
management purposes should be very deliberate and absolutely necessary to
give optimum time for YLs to listen to and use English that is at an appropriate
level for them.
However, when preparing teacher talk in English, think about both the level
and the amount as you prepare for your lessons. It can be overwhelming to have
long stretches of explanations when students have low levels of proficiency. In
addition, YLs have short attention spans, so long stretches of input that is not
comprehensible will likely be the cause of students zoning out or acting up.

Teachers can start by teaching YLs to understand
and respond to some basic classroom language:
■■ Come in. ■■ Great!
■■ Sit down. ■■ Come to the board.
■■ Be quiet. ■■ Open your books.
■■ Listen carefully. ■■ Turn to page . . .
■■ Let’s begin! ■■ What is the answer?
■■ Look here. ■■ What is . . . ?
■■ This is . . . ■■ Where is . . . ?
■■ That is . . . ■■ Who is . . . ?
■■ Are you ready? ■■ When is . . . ?
Try to prepare short segments or comprehensible listening input when giving

instructions, doing demonstrations, or explaining language.
2. Use listening activities that reflect real-life listening Activities should

involve authentic language and real-world contexts as much as possible to make
the learning more meaningful, motivating, and useful for students. As Chapters
2 and 3 established, using real-life text types helps YLs use English to mirror and
contextualize language instruction. The following are some often-used examples of
text types that reflect real-life listening and are motivating for YLs:
■■ Songs (traditional songs, children’s songs, pop songs)

■■ Chants and raps
■■ Stories
■■ Plays
■■ TV shows (game shows, comedy shows, soap operas)
■■ TV commercials
■■ Radio ads
■■ News reports
■■ Weather reports
■■ Announcements (school, airport, train station)
■■ Cartoons
■■ Movies

■■ Documentaries
■■ Jokes and riddles
■■ Tongue twisters
■■ Dialogs (conversations)
3. Use listening activities that are developmentally appropriate If the

activities are developmentally appropriate (see Chapter 2), they will be more
intrinsically motivating and comprehensible. All activities should take into
consideration learners’ age, background knowledge, and interests. For example,
for VYLs you can use children’s songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” or nursery
rhymes like “Hickory Dickory Dock.” However, with older YLs in grades 4–6,
you may start to use pop songs or rap instead of traditional songs and chants.
It helps to find out what cartoons, TV shows, and movies interest children at
different ages and try to incorporate them or similarly themed activities into
instruction. A good place to find appropriate materials that are grouped by age
is the Web site of Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org).
This is an American organization whose mission is to provide trustworthy
information about the media to help families make good decisions about the
media children are exposed to. They suggest good cartoons, TV shows, movies,
books, and so on for children by age, and it could be a good place to see what
kinds of media are attractive as well as appropriate in terms of content and
delivery by age group.
4. Use a variety of techniques to make listening input comprehensible

Preparation for a listening activity: Because young children are still new to our
world and do not have a lot of background knowledge, it is important for
teachers to help make input comprehensible by preparing students for the
context. In other words, the teacher needs to consider how to tap into students’
background knowledge and build schemata that may not be there in order to
understand the listening context in an activity. In addition, young learners of
English do not have a high proficiency in English and their English vocabulary is
limited. Therefore, teachers should prepare students with vocabulary needed to
understand the listening activity. Preparing context clues like pictures and realia
are helpful, too. Marley and Szabo (2010) did a comparison with kindergarteners
and first graders to see if there was a difference in listening comprehension
during storytelling when pictures were shown versus when students were given
objects that they could manipulate. They found that physical manipulation of
objects that are described in the story enhanced listening comprehension and

increased recall of information more than the use of pictures that depicted the
story. This supports the use of realia and hands-on activities with young learners
to support listening comprehension. As Chapter 2 explained, children are active
learners and will gain more comprehension and remember more when hands-on
activities are used.
Interactional modifications In addition to preparing ways to help students

understand the listening input in a lesson, teachers should be ready to make
interactional modifications during the activity—for example, repetition,
comprehension checks, and gestures. These interactional modifications have
been studied in young learner EFL classrooms, and research found them to
be highly effective in promoting comprehension of listening input (Cabrera &
Martínez, 2001; Peñate & Bazo, 1998). Peñate and Bazo found in their study
of primary EFL teachers that repetition, comprehension checks, and gestures
were the main interactional modifications used. Cabrera and Martínez found
that teachers who used these three interactions in a primary EFL class increased
young learners’ understanding of oral discourse, specifically storytelling. They
found statistically significant differences in levels of comprehension between
groups of 10-year-olds when the teacher used repetition, comprehension checks,
and gestures as interactional modifications during storytelling and when the
teacher did not.
5. Check comprehension using a variety of response types Often we ask

students, “Do you understand?” Of course, the response is always, “Yes, Teacher!”
But how can you know if students truly understand without something concrete or
observable? Teachers can check comprehension using a variety of response types
that should be both verbal and nonverbal. For young learners who have a beginning
level of proficiency, it can be very stressful to show comprehension by having to
produce language and respond verbally using new language. There are many ways
that a learner can respond.
Lund (1990, p. 259) provided a comprehensive list of ways to check students’
comprehension:
■■ Doing: Listener responds physically (i.e., TPR, making a recipe)

■■ Choosing: Listener selects from alternatives such as pictures, objects, texts,
or actions (i.e., matching, placing pictures in right order, picking up objects
according to description)
■■ Transferring: Listener transfers information into another form (i.e., drawing,
tracing a route on a map, constructing a table or chart)

■■ Answering: Listener answers questions about the message
■■ Condensing: Listener reduces the message (i.e., outlines, notetaking, oral or
written summaries)
■■ Extending: Listener provides text that goes beyond what is given (i.e., giving
the end of a story, solving a problem, filling in missing lines)
■■ Duplicating: Listener repeats exact message (i.e., dictation, translation, oral
repetition)
■■ Modeling: Listener uses text as a model for imitation (i.e., ordering a meal after
listening to a model)
■■ Conversing: Listener is active in face-to-face conversations
This is a useful taxonomy for conceptualizing the ways teachers can check
comprehension of a listening activity. Detailing Lund’s (1990) taxonomy more
specifically can give lots of practical ideas to teachers for planning appropriate
ways to check comprehension for young learners. For teaching young learners,
many sources express the activities using a “Listen and . . .” format (Brewster,
Ellis, & Girard, 2004; Cameron, 2001; Scott & Ytreberg, 1990; Slatterly & Willis,
2001). In this chapter, we will suggest “Listen and . . .” activities that are com-
monly used in EYL classrooms. They are classified into three main categories
that take into account level of difficulty:
■■ Nonverbal demonstration of comprehension, such as listen and do, point,

move, mime, choose, etc.
■■ Nonverbal demonstration of comprehension but require some reading,
such as listen and choose, transfer, sequence, match, classify, etc.
■■ Demonstration of comprehension with production, either oral or written,
such as listen and transfer, answer, condense, extend, duplicate, model,
converse, etc.
6. Keep listening active—always give learners a listening task Every listening

activity should give YLs a purpose for listening and, better yet, a task to complete.
All too often teachers will say “Listen to this,” and then sing a song or play a tape
without giving learners a task or a reason to listen. YLs have short attention spans
and can’t always focus themselves on a learning activity. Instead, teachers should say
“Listen and . . . ,” filling in the blank with an appropriate task. For example, a teacher
could ask students to listen and then point to the correct picture, with three pictures
of different contexts to choose from. If the students know they must point to the
correct picture after listening, then they will pay attention to the listening in order to
figure out which picture is right. It will focus them on the listening and make them
more active in the listening process.

7. Equip your students with intelligent guesswork strategies In order to
develop students’ ability to listen more effectively, it is important to incorporate
various listening strategies in your instruction. Peterson (2001) wrote, “When
things are going well, the listener is not conscious of using skills at all. At the point
when the comprehension breaks down for some reason, the listener becomes aware
of the need for repair and seeks an appropriate strategy for comprehension” (p. 90).
Equipping our YLs with a whole range of strategies can actually help them improve
their listening comprehension beyond the classroom, which is one of our goals.
Using prediction strategies will help learners make intelligent
guesses and then check whether their predictions are correct. Even
In terms of listening if the students do not know all the vocabulary or language structures
strategies for YLs, Brewster,
Ellis and Girard (2004) presented, they can still make sense of the listening text using these
wrote that developing strategies and guess meaning based on the context. The more you can
“intelligent guesswork”
is a very important skill
connect these strategies with real-life listening, the better it will be for
for young learners (p. listening that happens outside the classroom.
99). They suggest the
following strategies: • Predict what a listening text will be about: Any real-life
predicting, working listening will be embedded in a context. For example, in a
out the meaning from
context, and recognizing candy store, the clerk will probably ask if you need help finding
discourse patterns and something, if you are ready to pay, and tell you how much the
markers (p. 100). Within
these important listening
candy costs. If students are presented with a context, they can
strategies, we can put probably predict what they will hear.
together a list of the
most helpful ones for YLs • Predict what will happen next (or the ending): In most
to develop in order to contexts, it is possible to predict what someone will say next. In a
gain meaning from the
listening. conversation between a student and a school nurse, after the school
nurse asks the student a series of questions, students can probably
predict the school nurse will make a prognosis or give some advice.
se discourse markers or signal words to guess what happens next:
• U
Real discourse makes use of signal words such as first, then, finally,
but, so, etc. to guide the listener. For example, when students are given
instructions on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, they can
follow along each step, which is introduced by a marker: “First you take
the peanut butter, and you spread it on the bread. Then you take the jelly,
and you. . . .” Helping students automatically recognize these signal words
is a strategy they can use to improve their listening.
• Use background knowledge of the context: Students’ own

background knowledge of the context can help them make sense of
the story. For example, in a story like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the
students can understand the meaning of the new words, like caterpillar,
cocoon, and butterfly, based on their background knowledge of the life
cycle of a butterfly. If not, then the teacher has to build the background
knowledge before the story or through the story.
• Listen for the main idea: We listen for the main idea of a listening text
to help gain comprehension. For example, if you are telling your YLs the
story The Tortoise and the Hare, even if students do not understand all the
vocabulary, they can still understand the gist of the story, which is that
the tortoise wins the race even though the hare is a faster animal. Then
the teacher can help build comprehension of the language starting with
students’ understanding of the main idea.
• Listen for specific details: If the activity is to listen to a description of a

person and figure out in a picture who is being described, then students
can listen for specific descriptions that match the different people in the
picture, i.e., gender, height, hair color, clothes, etc.
• Listen for key words: In real-life listening, we can pick out key words
that we understand which can help us comprehend the message. For
example, if the listening text is a weather report, then you can get your
YLs to listen for certain key words, like sunny, rainy, cold, warm, hot, etc.
• Look for nonverbal cues to gain meaning: In real life, there are
usually nonverbal cues from the speaker, such as facial expressions,
hand gestures, and body language, that can help interpret meaning of
the language input. For example, when people learn simple greetings,
students can understand from body language cues, like shaking hands or
waving hello.
• Guess the meaning of unknown words: Using a variety of strategies

in combination, YLs can guess the meaning of unknown words. For
example, if YLs are listening to a commercial for a department store,
which might be a familiar context, they can catch the gist of the
commercial, which is to make you want to buy toys at the store. Then
they may notice there are higher and lower prices for each toy. From
these different strategies working together, they may be able to guess
the meaning of difficult unknown words used repeatedly, like sale or
clearance.
These are some intelligent guesswork strategies that teachers should help
young learners develop through listening tasks. If learners can develop the use
of these strategies independent of the teacher, then they will be improving their
ability to listen effectively on their own.
Considerations for Teaching Speaking

Next let’s explore how to approach teaching speaking. Although we have divided
this chapter into teaching two skills, listening and speaking, it is impossible to
separate the two. Much of the listening we do in real life occurs as part of a
two-way conversation that requires speaking in response. Even many of the
so-called one-way listening text types, such as TV shows, movies, and cartoons,
actually depict two-way conversations. For many reasons, speaking is often
considered a very difficult language skill to learn to do well. As Pinter (2006)
points out, “This is because to be able to speak fluently, we have to speak and
think at the same time. As we speak, we have to monitor our output and correct
any mistakes, as well as planning for what we are going to say next” (p. 55). In
addition, for many people, speaking out in a classroom or interacting in everyday
conversations, even in the native language, is not easy. There are affective factors
that can create anxiety in students that will prevent them from speaking out.
In addition, in some cultures around the world speaking out in class is not
customary or valued. For example, a Japanese proverb reflects the value of not
speaking out: “He who speaks has no knowledge and he who has knowledge does
not speak.”
We will look at considerations for teaching speaking as an integral skill work-
ing in tandem with listening for oral communication. In addition, the activities
we will explore will include oral presentation skills:
■■ What is speaking?
■■ Fluency vs. accuracy
■■ Principles for teaching speaking to YLs
What Is Speaking?
“theAcat
mouse saved her young from a ferocious cat by barking “bow-wow.” After
ran away, the mouse said to her offspring “See, children, it pays to know
a second language.
”
— Efstathiadis
This story illustrates the power of being able to speak another language, even if it is
only one word. If you understand the context, know the appropriate use of the word,

Ryan McVay/Rise/Getty Images
and can pronounce it well, then you can communicate effectively and achieve your
objective!
For most people, speaking is the language skill that represents the main
mode of communication. In the native language, the first skill parents work on
teaching their babies is speaking. It is the skill that helps children become an
interactive part of a family and a community. In most cases the point of speak-
ing is two-way oral communication. Young learners are still learning how to
communicate effectively in their native language, and when they are VYLs,
they are still working on their ability to respond appropriately to questions and
explain their ideas. Therefore, EYL teachers have to consider what kinds of
oral communication are appropriate activities for learners at certain ages, in
addition to helping them communicate orally in English. Teachers should
check with YLs’ regular classes to see what kinds of speaking skills are expected
at different age levels (Pinter, 2006).
First language listening and speaking skills It is important to check what kinds
of listening and speaking skills are expected at different ages. In the United States,
teachers have a set of standards they can refer to known as the Common Core
Standards. They show the knowledge and skills school-age students should be
able to master at each grade level in the U.S. Similar standards in your country
could be helpful to figure out what children are capable of. With respect to oral
communication (listening and speaking), here are the standards for a kindergartener
versus a fifth grader:

Common Core Standards—Listening and Speaking
Kindergarten 5th Grade
Comprehension and Collaboration Comprehension and Collaboration

SL.K.1. Participate in collaborative SL.5.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative
conversations with diverse partners discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led)
about kindergarten topics and texts with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts,
with peers and adults in small and larger building on others’ ideas and expressing their own
groups. clearly.
– Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions – Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied
(e.g., listening to others and taking required material; explicitly draw on that preparation
turns speaking about the topics and and other information known about the topic to
texts under discussion). explore ideas under discussion.
– Continue a conversation through – Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry
multiple exchanges. out assigned roles.
– Pose and respond to specific questions by making
SL.K.2. Confirm understanding of a text
comments that contribute to the discussion and
read aloud or information presented
elaborate on the remarks of others.
orally or through other media by asking
– Review the key ideas expressed and draw
and answering questions about key
conclusions in light of information and knowledge
details and requesting clarification if
gained from the discussions.
something is not understood.
SL.5.2. Summarize a written text read aloud or
SL.K.3. Ask and answer questions in
information presented in diverse media and formats,
order to seek help, get information, or
including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
clarify something that is not understood.
SL.5.3. Summarize the points a speaker makes and
explain how each claim is supported by reasons and
evidence.
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

SL.K.4. Describe familiar people, places, SL.5.4. Report on a topic or text or present an opinion,
things, and events and, with prompting sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts
and support, provide additional detail. and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas
or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
SL.K.5. Add drawings or other visual
displays to descriptions as desired to SL.5.5. Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics,
provide additional detail. sound) and visual displays in presentations when
appropriate to enhance the development of main
SL.K.6. Speak audibly and express
ideas or themes.
thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
SL.5.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks,
using formal English when appropriate to task and
situation.

Clearly these standards for English language arts cannot be used as standards
for the English as a foreign language class. However, they can show a teacher
what students at a certain age or grade level are capable of in terms of com-
munication. These Common Core Standards could be useful to gauge what
kind of oral communication students at each grade level should be able to do at
their cognitive level. To find out more about the Common Core Standards as an
example, see http://www.corestandards.org.
When teaching oral communication skills, teachers should not forget how
complex the process of communication can be. As Cameron (2001) notes, “Lis-
tening can be seen as the active use of language to access other people’s mean-
ings, whereas speaking is the active use of language to express meanings so that
other people can make sense of them” (p. 40). When using English as an inter-
national language to communicate across cultures, it increases the difficulty in
understanding one another. Read the passage below written by French writer
Bernard Werber (in both French and English).
Entre ce que je pense, ce que je veux dire, ce que je crois dire, ce que je dis, ce que vous
voulez entendre, ce que vous entendez, ce que vous croyez en comprendre, ce que vous
voulez comprendre, et ce que vous comprenez, il y a au moins neuf possibilités de ne
pas se comprendre.
Between what I think, what I want to say, what I think I am saying, what I say, what
you want to hear, what you hear, what you think you understand, what you want to
understand, and what you understand, there are at least nine chances that we will not
understand each other.
Mixed into this message are the different steps of communication, including
what you think and want to say, how to encode the thoughts into language,
how the listener decodes what you have said, and all the mishaps that
can happen based on the intentions and expectations of both sides. Even
when there are two people who are native speakers of the same language,
there can be many opportunities for misunderstanding. In addition to
teaching how to listen and speak, to improve oral communication skills,
teachers also have to give students skills to negotiate meaning and clarify any
misunderstandings.
Fluency vs. Accuracy With speaking as a productive skill, the main

concerns are issues of fluency versus accuracy. Teachers are always concerned with
both, and with young learners there is no exception. We want our students to speak
accurately with respect to grammar and pronunciation and to speak fluently with
respect to speed and natural flow of the language. Brown (2007) states that “The
fluency/accuracy issue often boils down to the extent to which our techniques

should be message oriented (or, as some call it, teaching language use) as opposed
to language oriented (also known as teaching language usage)” (p. 324). With young
learners, our approach is not focused on grammatical explanations, so the approach
should be more message-oriented or based on meaningful activities within a realistic
context. At the beginning levels, the language being taught is in small chunks, so
the possibility of repetition and drilling for accuracy is just as possible while doing
activities to build vocabulary and practice meaningful expressions. It is possible and
necessary to teach YLs short, fixed chunks of language. As Pinter (2006) explains,
“The first building blocks that allow children to move from listening to speaking
and to begin to participate in interactions with others are so-called ‘unanalysed
chunks’” (p. 56). This is also known as “formulaic language” (Brewster, Ellis, &
Girard, 2004, p. 105) or “formulaic sequences” (Cameron, 2001, p. 50). For example,
“How are you?” is a fixed chunk that can be taught as a greeting and repeated at the
beginning of class. Students don’t have to analyze this fixed chunk of meaning and
understand it when the teacher uses it every day to greet the class. The teacher can
get students to respond with another chunk, “Fine, thank you.”
In terms of pronunciation, we have established that young learners have an
advantage because they are excellent imitators. Their ability to repeat after a
model accurately is one aspect of speaking that should be easy to develop with
YLs. So providing them with plenty of models and chances to imitate is im-
portant. Repetition is very important for YLs, but teachers have to make it fun,
engaging, and as meaningful as possible through activities like songs, chants,
rhymes, and games to help them start to memorize new chunks and use them
correctly.
Principles for Teaching Speaking to YLs In EYL classes teachers

find it challenging to build a nurturing and comfortable environment for YLs that
is motivating and encourages maximum participation from students. The teacher
needs to find every opportunity to build real communication into the classroom
since EFL contexts have a shortage of opportunities for communication in English
outside the classroom. Teachers of our youngest learners have to create fun activities
that keep learners active; even if they use repetition, it has to be meaningful.
Remember that our goal is to build a classroom that is English speaking, provides
plenty of opportunities for practice, and is engaging for YLs.
When designing speaking activities for young learners, it is important to re-
member the following seven principles:
1. Build classroom routines in English.

2. Use speaking activities that reflect real-life communication.

3. Use speaking activities that are developmentally appropriate.
4. Use a variety of activities to improve both accuracy and fluency.
5. Build classroom interaction by giving students plenty of opportunities to
participate.
6. Keep the speaking environment active—do not correct errors explicitly.
7. Equip your YLs with negotiation strategies.
1. Build classroom routines in English Young learners need to speak out in

order to build their oral proficiency in English. It is important to give time every
class for all students to practice speaking. Building classroom routines in English
will ensure that every day you have students using the language communicatively,
such as greeting you and each other, saying the day’s date, sharing what they did
yesterday, and saying farewell to everyone. If the classroom is a warm, inviting
place to learn, and the teacher sets up routines to communicate in every class,
then students will feel more comfortable and confident about speaking out and
trying to communicate in English. YLs will remember these routines in English
better than some course content because of all the repetition in a meaningful
context. Here are some examples of classroom language for what Winn-Smith
(2001) refers to as “social rituals” (p. 22).
Hello!
Hi!
How are you?
I’m fine. And you?
Who is missing?
Where is Adam?
Good-bye!
See you tomorrow!
2. Use speaking activities that reflect real-life communication Appropriate

text types for YLs will be the same as the list given in the listening section. That
list included songs, chants, rap, storytelling, plays, TV shows and commercials,
news and weather reports, announcements, cartoons, movies, documentaries,
jokes, riddles, and dialogues. These are all oral text types that teachers can use
to encourage students to practice speaking. In most EFL classrooms, teachers
use lots of dialogs to practice speaking, particularly ones found in the textbook.
These dialogs usually reflect real-life tasks, like greetings, buying something at a
store, visiting a doctor, asking for directions, asking for the time, etc. In addition,
the different modes of one-way input, like TV shows and commercials, news and
weather reports, and movies, are actually models of communication among two or

more people. For YLs, who like to be active and move around, it is very helpful to
use role play and drama to practice the language. These scenarios can be brought to
life and practiced in a way that mirrors real life.
3. Use speaking activities that are developmentally appropriate As stated

before, if activities are developmentally appropriate they will be more intrinsically
motivating to students. All activities, both listening and speaking, should take into
consideration learners’ age, background knowledge, and interests. As Cameron
(2001) explains, “Discourse in young learner classrooms should follow patterns
children find familiar, from their home and family, or from their school experience,
and should not demand more of children than they can do, in terms of imagining
someone else’s state of mind or expressing causes and beliefs” (p. 53). Checking
out the standards and expectations for communication at each grade level in the
native language can be helpful in defining realistic expectations for what kinds
of interaction YLs are capable of. It is also important to consider the types of
conversations and discussions young learners would be having at their age or
would find interesting:
■■ Conversation with friend about favorite things: “What is your favorite . . . ?”

(color, animal, season, etc.)
■■ Asking someone for directions: “Where is the . . . ?” (school, grocery story,
library, etc.)
■■ Games like Telephone, 21 Questions, or Jeopardy
■■ Discussion about a shopping list for a classmate’s birthday party
There are also one-way speaking presentations that young learners like that
can give them plenty of practice with the language. Activities like songs, chants,
and plays provide good practice based on clear models. In terms of extended
discourse, narrative and description are the discourse types considered most
appropriate for YLs based on their cognitive level (Cameron, 2001). In addition,
presentational activities that are about YLs’ personal lives are very appropriate
because they are still at a very egocentric stage. The following are some good
activities for one-way speaking practice:
■■ Sing a fun song (as a whole class, small group, or individual)

■■ Retell a story (narrative)
■■ Show and tell presentation (description)
■■ Make a presentation to class about the members of your family, your favorite
celebrity, etc., with a picture or poster (personalization)

These are just some examples of different speaking activities, both interactive
and presentational, that are appropriate for YLs.
4. Use a variety of activities to improve both accuracy and fluency In order

to give YLs plenty of practice that also builds both accuracy and fluency, teachers
should use a variety of activities. These activities can be classified as controlled
practice, guided practice, and independent activities (see Chapter 3). Speaking
activities that focus on accuracy can be quite mechanical or controlled, which means
students are practicing structure, but it is not necessarily meaningful. For example,
repetition is considered very mechanical. When a teacher says “Repeat after me.
It’s a horse.” and then students repeat “It’s a horse,” it is possible for students to
practice pronunciation of “It’s a horse” without knowing the meaning. Even with
flashcards showing the meaning of the word horse, this would be considered a very
mechanical drill. This is the most controlled type of activity, practicing accuracy
of sentence structure (It’s a . . .) and pronunciation (horse). The responses are
completely predictable, with very little chance of making a mistake, and the use of
target language structures is completely controlled by the teacher. Activities that are
still structured but give students some choice are considered guided. See the Sample
Lesson Plan later in this chapter for an example of guided practice.
At the opposite end are independent or free activities that are open-ended
and do not have predictable responses. These are message oriented and more
focused on meaning and communication than correctness. Free activities help
build fluency and give students a chance to be creative with the language on
their own. This is the most challenging because there are more chances for er-
ror. For example, the teacher might have students do a short presentation role
playing a farm animal. The model would be: “I am Dorothy Duck. Quack quack.
I live on a farm. Quack quack. I am in the pond. Quack quack!” In this example,
learners get a chance to choose their own animals and create with the language
based on what they have learned. These activities usually come after students
have had a chance for more controlled and guided practice; they encourage real-
life communication. Once students can use the language independently, it is
important to give them opportunities for speaking activities that are applied to
real-life, authentic situations or to personalize.
5. Build classroom interaction by giving students plenty of opportunities
to participate In EFL settings, usually the only place where students can use and
practice English is in the classroom. If this is just once or twice a week, then teachers
need to make sure that they provide as much opportunity as possible for students
to practice using English in the classroom. The teacher should have as a goal that

every student has a chance to speak out and practice during every class. There
are a number of teacher-directed, whole-class techniques and student-centered,
cooperative learning activities that can be used.
The teacher-directed, whole-class techniques are more controlled and can
be used to check comprehension and for controlled practice in speaking.
The following techniques are based on a content-based proficiency-oriented
approach by Ron Schwartz (book in preparation). Look at the following
examples based on a map of a town:
• Repetition: The example below shows a controlled interaction with

students repeating after the teacher. The teacher is providing a model of
the Q&A interaction.
T: Repeat after me. Where is the school?
Ss: Where is the school?
T: It’s on Main Street.
Ss: It’s on Main Street.
• Question and answer (Q&A): Below are three examples of the

different types of Q&A teachers can encourage students to do: teacher to
student(s), student to student, and students to teacher.
Teacher–Student(s)
The teacher is getting everyone involved by asking them to repeat the student’s answer.
T: Marwa, where is the library?
M: It’s on Center Street.
T: Everyone, where is the library?
Ss: It’s on Center Street.
Student–Student
In order to encourage paired interaction that is controlled, the teacher can break
students into pairs at the beginning of class: Partner A and Partner B. Then you can
encourage quick paired Q&A any time during the class.
T: Class, where is the museum?
Ss: It’s on Pratt Street.
T: Partner A, ask Partner B “Where is the museum?” Partner B,
answer.
Students–Teacher
The student-to-teacher interaction can help the teacher give a new model. See the
example below, where the teacher cues students to ask a question.

T: Class, ask me, “Where is the mall?”
Ss: Where is the mall?
T: It’s on the corner of Pratt and Charles.
• Paraphrasing: Students can practice multiple ways of answering the

same question. The teacher can give multiple examples and models, so
students can try using their own words instead of exact repetition.
T: S ee the mall? It is on Pratt Street [point to Pratt Street on map],
and It’s on Charles Street [point to Charles Street]. Where is the
mall?
S: It’s on Pratt and Charles.
• Giving examples: The teacher can elicit examples from students

based on their lives. This is a way that they can participate with new
information.
T: What streets are in our neighborhood?
Ss: Al Khan Street! Al Arouba Street! Corniche Street! Jumeirah
Street!
T: Where is our school?
Ss: It’s on Al Khan Street.
• Personalizing: The teacher can elicit examples based on students’

personal lives. This is a way to check comprehension and give them a
chance to express something about themselves.
T: Where is your house?
S: It’s on Jumeirah Road.
In addition to teacher-directed techniques to increase classroom interac-

tion, student-centered, cooperative learning activities can be used to increase
the amount of time students speak English. These are best utilized for less
controlled, more independent activities. First, it is important to realize that
YLs do not have long attention spans and cannot focus their own learning.
The younger they are, the less independent they can be. Therefore, coopera-
tive learning activities need to be short in length and monitored carefully.
In addition, students need to have clear instructions and a model to follow.
Teachers may have to explain instructions for a cooperative activity in the
native language in order for students to spend their time in class practicing
the target language instead of wasting time trying to figure out what to do.
See the box for tips for teachers to meet with success when using cooperative
activities.
TEYL Tips—Success with Cooperative Learning
■■ Choose a short activity with a clear goal and end product.
■■ Avoid complicated activities with multiple steps.
■■ Plan groups in advance and select groups rather than letting students
select them.
■■ Give each group a fun name, e.g., name them after words from a
previous lesson, like Sun Group, Moon Group, Star Group, Sky Group.
■■ Give clear instructions, written and verbal if possible.
■■ Give instructions with pictures and examples.
■■ Give clear models that show the end product.
■■ Give a time limit.
■■ Use a signal to indicate the start and end of the activity (e.g., alarm,
whistle, lights off, bell, etc.).
■■ Assign roles when necessary (e.g., reader, recorder, time keeper,
presenter, etc.).
■■ Monitor the groups; walk around the classroom and check progress.
■■ Always share end products after the activity, e.g., for assessment
purposes and to hold students accountable for quality of product.
6. Keep the speaking environment active—do not correct errors

explicitly Because the language output should be message oriented or meaning
focused, it is not a good idea to correct errors of individual YLs explicitly. First, if
the activities are focused on meaning more than form, as is customary for an EYL
classroom, then making frequent grammar or pronunciation corrections can interrupt
the flow of class. In addition, although children can be less inhibited compared to
adults and will speak out in class more readily, they also have fragile egos and can
close up if you embarrass them in front of their peers. Since YLs learn a foreign
language best by mirroring first language acquisition and building an English-
speaking environment, teachers should create a classroom atmosphere that makes YLs
comfortable speaking out and working with the language. If correction is necessary for
a common error or a difficult word, then a teacher can use choral repetition instead of
individual repetition, so everyone gets practice and no one is singled out.
7. Equip your YLs with negotiation strategies For speaking, students need
strategies for negotiation of meaning. For the EFL classroom, this includes use

of classroom language and knowing how to ask questions and make clarification
requests. Young learners can learn these chunks of language to help them clarify
meaning with the teacher in the whole class or when working with peers in
cooperative groups for less controlled activities. Here are some ideas:
I don’t understand.
I don’t know.
I’m sorry, could you repeat that?
Can you help me, please?
Can/could you repeat that?
Can/could you say it again?
I have a question.
What does ____ mean?
What does it mean?
How do you say ____ in English?
How do you spell ____?
What do you think?
What do you mean?
Really? Why?
Really? Then what?
These are typical classroom expressions that help promote the learning
process and are good strategies for real conversations when students use Eng-
lish outside the classroom. Of course, teachers can encourage students to use
“Excuse me . . .” before each expression to be more polite.
TEYL Tips—Real Language for Responding

Teachers often forget to teach YLs to give responses to conversations.
Usually they follow a strict Q&A routine, such as:
■■ Student A: What’s your favorite food?”
■■ Student B: It’s pizza!
Teachers can liven up the classroom and teach real language to give a
response. These are fun and mirror real-life conversations:
■■ Really? Me, too!
■■ Really? That’s interesting!
■■ Really? That’s terrible!
(Continued)
■■ That’s great!
■■ That’s funny!
■■ Wow, that’s cool!
■■ Wow, that’s too bad!
■■ Oh, I see!
■■ Oh no, really?
■■ No way!
■■ Great!
■■ Super!
■■ Excellent!
So the Q&A above would become:
■■ Student A: What’s your favorite food?”
■■ Student B: It’s pizza!
■■ Student A: Really? Me, too!
Effective Listening and Speaking Activities

When developing listening and speaking activities, teachers can conceptualize
them in three distinct stages: before, during, and after listening. Activities before
listening prepare students for the listening input in the presentation step of the
lesson. The activities for during listening consist first of ways to make listening
input comprehensible as the listening input is being presented. Then there are a
number of “Listen and . . .” activities that give the teacher different ways to check
comprehension both verbally and nonverbally. Finally, after-listening activities will
be suggested, which are speaking activities that move from more controlled to more
independent.
Here are some activities that can be incorporated into a listening and speak-
ing lesson for young learners, which will be shown in the following section.
Activities before Listening (Warm-Up Stage) Before the listening

activity, prepare students for the activity by activating schemata, connecting the
activity to their background knowledge, getting them to predict what they will be
listening to, and introducing useful words and concepts.

Examples of activities:
■■ Prepare students for listening by contextualizing and/or personalizing to make it
more accessible and more realistic.
■■ Activate prior knowledge by showing pictures or realia (e.g., menu, movie
schedule).
■■ Involve students in the specific topic by brainstorming what students know
about it with a graphic organizer (e.g., word map, T-chart, listing).
■■ Review known vocabulary.
■■ Pre-teach unknown vocabulary.
To review and pre-teach vocabulary, teachers can use any of the following
techniques to make the vocabulary items comprehensible:
■■ Use realia
■■ Use pictures
■■ Use flashcards
■■ Use facial expressions
■■ Mime/act out the item
■■ Draw on the board
■■ Define
■■ Translate
■■ Give examples of the item
■■ Personalize the item
■■ Give synonyms
■■ Give antonyms
■■ Use item in a sentence
■■ Help students examine morphemes to figure out the meaning and use of the
item (e.g., review can be broken into “view” = to see and “re” = again)
■■ Tell what an item is not (e.g., a moose is not a person)
Activities during Listening (Presentation Stage) While students

are listening, be sure that they are actively listening by using visuals, such as
pictures, facial expressions, body movement, asking them questions and eliciting
answers, having them respond to the listening by doing, choosing, etc. Give them
chances to understand the text through multiple exposures. Teachers should try to
sequence the multiple exposures from easier to more challenging.

First is a list of ways a teacher can make listening input more comprehensible.
Techniques for making input comprehensible:

■■ Use visual cues, like pictures and flashcards
■■ Use gestures and body movement
■■ Use realia
■■ Use graphic organizers (e.g., T-charts, Venn diagrams, mind maps, timelines)
■■ Translate difficult words (only when necessary)
■■ Give a definition, synonym, antonym
■■ Explain the word or expression
■■ Demonstrate
■■ Give an example
■■ Use item in a sentence
■■ Pronounce words clearly
■■ Speak slower (without distorting the natural flow)
■■ Repeat
■■ Rephrase
■■ Use shorter and simpler sentences and phrases
■■ Connect students to background knowledge
Below is a comprehensive list of listening activities. They are listed based on

difficulty for students in terms of the following categories:
1. Students listen and show comprehension through action

2. Students listen and read and show comprehension through action
3. Students listen and show comprehension through production (speaking
or writing)
1. Students listen and show comprehension through action: This is the least
demanding on young learners because it does not require production, either oral or
written.
■■ Listen and point: Students point to correct picture or object.

■■ Listen and move: Students respond by moving their body, i.e., Total Physical
Response.
■■ Listen and do: Students complete a simple task, like putting a sticker or placing
an object in the correct place.
■■ Listen and raise your hand: Teachers can cue students to raise their hand if
they agree, then raise it if they disagree; or if a particular sound is heard, “Raise
your hand when you hear th.”

■■ Listen and show your fingers: Students can show the number of fingers to
answer a question. For example, the teacher could ask, “How many animals are
in the story?”
■■ Listen and perform actions: Students can perform or mime what they hear, such
as animal movements, how to play sports, the steps for making a sandwich, etc.
■■ Listen and follow directions: The teacher may give instructions to close the
door, turn lights off, turn the page, etc.
■■ Listen and color: The teacher gives students a picture of a boy. S/he gives
instructions, such as “Color the hair brown. Color the shirt red. Color the
pants blue.”
■■ Listen and draw: Students listen to the teacher describe a picture of a house
and have to draw it correctly. For example, the teacher might say, “There are
two windows. One is on the left side. The other is on the right side. The door is
in the middle.”
■■ Listen and make: Students listen to the teacher explain how to make a paper
plate mask with holes for the eyes and mouth.
Renee Keith/Vetta Collection/iStockphoto.com
■■ Listen and follow a map: Students are given a map and draw a line on the
map showing they can follow directions from point A to point B.
■■ Listen and circle the correct picture: Students are given pictures of the
context of a dialog or story. They listen and circle the correct picture.
■■ Listen and match: Students can listen to a description and match it to the
correct picture, person, place, object, etc.
■■ Listen and sequence pictures in the correct order: Students are given a
series of pictures. The teacher could have large pictures on the board or a series
of pictures on a handout. Students have to put the pictures in the correct order.
■■ Listen and pick the next picture: Students are given a choice of various
pictures that show different endings of a story. They can choose the picture
showing what they think happens next.
■■ Listen and detect mistakes in a picture: Students listen and pick out the
mistakes in the picture that was described. For example, if the description is of a
person, the teacher could say “The girl has brown hair” when the picture is of a
girl with red hair.
2. Students listen and read and show comprehension through action: This
is a bit more demanding for young learners because it requires some reading in
addition to listening.
■■ Listen and discriminate: Students circle the correct word with minimal pairs
presented, such as pin and pen.
Video still provided by Joan Kang Shin

Students can also listen for a word and use a fly swatter to
hit the correct word on the board. This makes the listening
exercise more fun and active for YLs.
■■ Listen and circle: Students can circle the key words on a page of text or the
correct word with a multiple choice.
■■ Listen and sequence words or sentences: The teacher can provide word
cards or strips of sentences for students to put in the correct order on their desks.
■■ Listen and detect mistakes in sentences: Students can listen and detect
mistakes in sentences provided on a handout or on the board.
■■ Listen and mark multiple choice: Students can answer a set of
comprehension questions by choosing the correct answer in a set of multiple
choice questions.
■■ Listen and mark true or false: Students can read (or listen to) a series of
sentences and decide if they are true or false.
■■ Listen and mark stress or intonation: On a handout, students can mark
the stressed words or syllables as they listen to the teacher or recording. For
example, in a simple dialogue “Hello! How are you?” The stressed syllables can
be marked like this:
[Stressed syllables]
/ /
Hello! How are you?
3. Students listen and show comprehension through production (oral or
written): This is the most demanding because it requires YLs to produce language
in order to show their comprehension of the listening input.
■■ Listen and repeat (orally): This is a mechanical exercise in which the teacher
says, “Repeat after me!” It can be used to practice pronunciation and is a good
tool to correct errors through choral repetition
■■ Listen and write (dictation): This is a mechanical exercise in which the student
has to write every word the teacher says on a piece of paper
■■ Listen and translate information: This is used to check comprehension and
should not be used often in an EYL classroom.
■■ Listen and label: The teacher can give students a picture, and students have to
label it correctly. For example, students could have a picture of a house and they
have to listen and label the rooms correctly.
■■ Listen and fill in the blanks: The teacher could give the listening text with
blanks in the text. If the text is a song, the students can listen to the song and
write the missing words in the blanks.
■■ Listen and complete a graphic organizer: The teacher can give students
a map, diagram, table, chart, etc. and have students fill it out to show
comprehension. For example, the diagram could be of the life cycle of a frog.
EGG MASS
ADULT FROG
TADPOLE
YOUNG FROG TADPOLE

WITH LEGS
■■ Listen and fill out a form: Students can listen to instructions and fill out a
form with their personal information, such as registering for a library card or
filling out the form at the doctor’s office.

■■ Listen and write true or false: Students can listen to or read statements and
write whether they are true or false. The teacher can also prompt students to
take the false statements and change them to make them correct.
■■ Listen and correct text with mistakes: Students can correct a dialog with
mistakes to show they understand what they listened to. In the example below,
the mistakes are in italics.
Doctor: Hi, John. What’s wrong?

John: I’m great! My throat feels good.
Doctor: Are you coughing a lot?
John: Yes, I am laughing a lot!
Doctor: You have a cold. Drink a lot of water, and take one pillow
every day.
John: Thank you, doctor!
Doctor: You’re welcome. Take care!
■■ Listen and say/write responses: Students say or write a response to the

listening to show their comprehension, from a few words to extended discourse,
depending on their level. The teacher can elicit the following kinds of responses
orally or in writing:
■■ Key words: Show recognition of the main vocabulary words.

■■ Specific information: Pick out the most important information.
■■ Predict what happens next: Express what will happen next or what the
ending of the dialog or story will be.
■■ Main idea: Express the main idea of the listening activity.
■■ Answer questions: Answer comprehension questions with one word,
phrases, or full sentences.
■■ Paraphrase: Say it again in your own words.
■■ Summarize: Say it again in your own words expressing, only the main
idea.
■■ Converse: Engage in a two-sided conversation.
Teachers can use these lists of different types of responses to plan a variety of
listening activities that will check comprehension in multiple ways. There are
different kinds of responses that can be used for learners with different learn-
ing styles and intelligences—for example, pictures for visual learners, graphic
organizers for spatial learners, translating for linguistic learners, realia and
miming for kinesthetic learners, and marking stress and intonation for auditory
learners.

Activities after Listening (Practice and Application Stages)
After the listening activity, be sure to follow up with some comprehension checking
activities, which can include the same types of activities mentioned above. In
addition, the post-listening activities can flow smoothly into a speaking activity that
practices the language learned in the listening activity. They can integrate listening
with other skills as well. These activities will reinforce students’ understanding of the
text and new vocabulary and grammar by getting them to apply the new language
through controlled, guided, and independent activities. Students can personalize the
topic as well as apply the language to a real-life situation.
Examples of more controlled practice:
■■ Listen and repeat.
■■ Read aloud to practice pronunciation (see Chapter 5).
■■ Sing a fun song, say rhymes, chant or rap as a whole class, small group, or
individual to practice pronunciation, stress, and intonation.
■■ Practice and/or dramatize a dialog with substitution: Students practice and/
or dramatize a dialog with blanks that require them to recreate parts of the dialog.
■■ Use jokes: Teachers can use jokes to liven up the classroom. Teachers can find
different kinds of jokes for children at www.ahajokes.com/kids_jokes.html. One
category of jokes that is fun for young language students is Knock Knock jokes.
Example #1:
A: Knock knock
B: Who’s there?
A: Abe!
B: Abe who?
A: Abe C D E F G H . . . !
Example #2:
A: Knock knock
B: Who’s there?
A: Banana
B: Banana who?
A: Knock knock
B: Who’s there?
A: Banana
B: Banana who?
A: Knock knock
B: Who’s there?
A: Orange
B: Orange who?
A: Orange you glad I didn’t say banana?
■■ Use riddles: Teachers can use riddles to connect to content and have students
make up their own. These are fun ways to practice questioning and answering.
Wherever possible, teachers should find funny riddles that match the content for
the day’s lesson. More riddles can be found at http://iteslj.org/c/jokes.html.
Examples:
What has four legs but can’t stand? Answer: A table or chair
What has two hands but can’t clap? Answer: A clock
Which month has 28 days? Answer: All of them, of course!
What begins with T, ends with T and has T in it? Answer: A teapot
What word is spelled wrong in every dictionary in the world?
Answer: The word WRONG
■■ Use tongue twisters: Sentences that have words that begin with the same
letter are great for practicing pronunciation. The following are some famous
ones in English, but students can make up their own, too. More tongue twisters
can be found at www.funenglishgames.com.
Examples:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
She sells seashells by the seashore.
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck
could chuck wood?
■■ Use language games: Teachers can use different games to make practicing
listening and speaking more fun and active. More games can be found at http://
iteslj.org/games.
Examples:
Running Dictation: Students work in groups. One student
runs to the teacher at the front of the classroom, listens to the
teacher whisper the sentence, runs back to team, and dictates
the sentence. The group has to work together to write the
sentence. After every student has had a chance to dictate a
sentence, the teacher goes over the sentences to see which
group has the most sentences correct.
Telephone: Students work in groups. They can be grouped by
the rows that they are sitting in or groups can stand in a line. The
first student in the row or line goes to the front of the classroom,
listens to the teacher whisper the sentence, runs back to the
next person in line, and whispers the sentence. Each student in

Brand New Images/Getty Images
the row whispers the sentence to the next person until the last
person hears the sentence. The last person writes the sentence
or whispers the sentence to the teacher. The teacher reveals the
original sentence and sees which team has communicated the
correct sentence all the way down the row.
Hot Seat: Choose a student to be in the hot seat. That student
sits on a chair with her/his back to the board. The teacher writes
a word on the board (or prepares flashcards and sticks the word
or picture on the board). Students have to describe the word
without saying the word until the person in the hot seat says the
word out loud. For example, if the word is “dog,” they can say “It
is an animal” or “It is like Snoopy” or “You have it.” They can use
the word in a sentence but substitute the word with a “blank.” For
example, if the word is “dog” they can say, “The (blank) barks.”
Examples of more independent activities:
■■ Perform a role play or dialog: Students can prepare and use realia or props to
dramatize the dialog (e.g., doctor and patient, store clerk and customer, mother
and child).
■■ Perform real-life tasks: Students can complete tasks that mirror real life (e.g.,
buying a movie or theater ticket ordering at a restaurant).
■■ Interview a native speaker or someone from another country in English:
Students practice using English as an international language (e.g., the teacher
can set up Skype pals with a class from another country).
■■ Perform a play: Students can perform a play or create a dramatization of a
story they have read, i.e., Reader’s Theater (see Chapter 5).
■■ Retell story after a storytelling: Students can retell a story after they engage
in a storytelling led by the teacher (see Chapter 6).

■■ Show and tell: Students bring in an object from home that is meaningful to
them and present it to the group (e.g., the teacher prepares for a unit on toys,
and asks students to bring in their favorite toy and describe it).
Jim Jordan Photography/Taxi/Getty Images

■■ Presentation to the class that personalizes the lesson content: Students
prepare a presentation related to their real lives based on the lesson content.
This can be done with pictures or a poster, such as a family tree poster to
show the members of their family; a collage with pictures from magazines to
tell about their favorite celebrity; a poster with a drawing of their home and
neighborhood to tell about their home.
■■ Pretend to be a TV presenter: Students pretend to be a TV presenter to
show how to play their favorite sport or game, demonstrate how to make their
favorite food, do a weather forecast, etc.
■■ Make a poster presentation: Students create a poster for a movie
advertisement, public service information, research about a country, etc. and
present it to the class.
■■ Discuss or do task in groups: Students work together in small groups to
discuss a topic or complete a task (e.g., planning a class party, recipe for making
favorite food in home culture, favorite animal)
■■ Do an information gap activity: Students work in pairs to complete a task in
which each student needs some information from the other student in order to
complete the task.

Example:
Give students two pictures of a farm. Student A has a farm
with no animals. Student B has a farm with animals in
different locations. Student A has to ask Student B questions
to fill his farm with animals correctly.
Student A
What’s in the _______?
Student B
A (animal name) is in the _______.

■■ Conduct a questionnaire or survey: Students are given a survey and have to
go around the classroom and ask/answer questions with various classmates.
In the following example, the students will survey the favorite class sport. After
students ask all their classmates, they will count the total and determine which
sport is the most popular.
Example:
Survey of Favorite Class Sport

Q: Do you like ________?
A: Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.
Name
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Designing a Listening and Speaking Lesson

Here is a sample lesson plan for a listening and speaking lesson.
Sample Lesson
Fun with Farm Animals
Title:
Fun with Farm Animals
Student profile Grade 2, beginner level of English language proficiency

Language What is this?
It’s a . . . horse/cow/pig/duck/chicken/dog.
Where is it?
In the . . . barn/field/mud/pond/coop/house.
Animal sounds: neigh, moo, oink oink, quack quack, bawk, ruff

• Identify farm animals
• Identify where animals live
Materials Pictures of a farm

Pictures of different farm animals
Pictures of different locations on a farm
Handouts with pictures of a farm and farm animals
Warm-up
Before-listening Activities
Review “What did we learn last class?” Point to the calendar. Point to
the pictures from the previous lesson. “Right! Pets.” Review the
animals: dog, cat, mouse, rabbit, parrot, house.
Capture their attention “Look at this picture!” Show picture of a farm. “What is this? It’s a
farm. Today we will learn about . . . farm animals.” Point to farm and
point to animals. “Repeat after me, ‘farm animals.’”
Connect to prior knowledge “What sounds do these animals make?” Elicit the animal sounds
and experiences from the native language.
Pre-teach new vocabulary Word Time: Five Seconds Game

“What time is it? It’s Word Time! Let’s play the Five Seconds Game.
You have 5 seconds to. . . .”
•L
ook: Show one flashcard per second. “5–4–3–2–1!” Show
flashcard of horse, cow, pig, duck, chicken.
•L
isten and look: Show one flashcard and say the word each
second. “Horse! Cow! Pig! Duck! Chicken!”
•L
isten and point: Put the flashcards in a row on the board or
wall in the same order left to right. “Now 5 seconds to listen
and point to the picture. Fingers up! Go! Horse! Cow! Pig! Duck!
Chicken!”
•L
isten and repeat: “Now 5 seconds to repeat after me. Go!
Horse! Cow! Pig! Duck! Chicken!”
•L
isten and point: Put the picture cards on the board or wall in
a different order. “Now 5 seconds to listen and point. Ready? Go!
Horse! Cow! Pig! Duck! Chicken!”
Play the game again to teach the location words.

Presentation
During-listening Activities
Present text Chant with Lap-Clap-Point-Clap

The teacher points to each animal in its correct place on the farm
and teaches the chant (see below).
Listen and chant:
Ready? (Lap-Clap)
Go! (Point-Clap)
What is this? (Lap-Clap)
It’s a . . . horse/cow/pig/duck/chicken/dog. (Point-Clap)
Where is it? (Lap-Clap)
In the . . . barn/field/mud/pond/coop/house (Point-Clap)
Comprehension check Q & A (Listen and respond)

The teacher points to an animal and asks questions with the
following responses:
T: What’s in the barn?
Ss: It’s a . . . horse.
T: What does a horse say?
Ss: Neeeeeeigh!
Practice
After-listening Activities (Speaking activities)
Controlled pair work Picture Perfect
(1)
(2) (6)
(5)
(3)
(4)

Students work in pairs to take turns asking “What is this?” and
answering “It’s a. . . .” They are given a picture of a farm with the
following animals on it which are numbered 1–6: (1) horse;
(2) cow; (3) pig; (4) duck; (5) chicken; and (6) dog. When the
teacher goes over the answers, she reviews the animal sounds,
“A horse says, Neeeeigh!” So the progression will be “What is
this? It’s a horse. A horse says, Neeeeigh!”
Guided practice Silly Animals!
Students work in pairs back to back. Student 1 puts the animals on

the picture in any place (not the correct place). The horse could be
in the mud, the cow in the house, the duck in the chicken coop, etc.
The dialogue is:
S1: What’s in the mud?
S2: It’s a horse!
Both: A horse says, “Neeeeeigh!”
Then Student 1 has to make her/his picture match Student 2. At the
end of the activity they compare pictures.

Independent activity That’s not right!
Tell students to give each animal a name that starts with the same
letter, such as Harry Horse, Carol Cow, Peter Pig, Dorothy Duck,
Chuck Chicken, and Donald Dog. Then students listen to the teacher
dictate which animal goes in which location. The teacher will tell
students to put the wrong animals in each place, like: “Put the dog
in the barn. Put the duck in the mud. Put the horse in the house,”
etc. Then students will do a chant in pairs with their own animal
names. When the animal is in the correct place, they will make the
animal noise. For example,
S2: It’s Dorothy Duck.
S1: That’s not right!
S1: It’s Peter Pig.
S2: Oink oink oink
Application
Personalization Role Play: I Live on a Farm

Choose an animal and prepare a presentation about yourself as
that animal. Be sure you make the animal sounds in between each
sentence.
“I am Chuck Chicken. Bawk bawk. I live on a farm. Bawk bawk. I am
in the chicken coop. Bawk bawk!”
Assessment
Monitoring activities For each activity, the teacher will assess how well students are using
the target language structures. The chant rhythm will ensure that
the students build their fluency.
Assess for accuracy and The next class, students will have their presentations prepared,
give feedback and the teacher can assess both fluency and accuracy of the target
language for this lesson and make any corrections through choral
repetition and reviewing all the different chants.
Follow-up
Homework Finish preparing the role play I Live on a Farm at home (see above).
The next class they will have to perform in front of the class.
Next class Song: “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”

Students are ready to learn “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”

Teacher to Teacher
Teaching Listening and Speaking to Young
Learners
This chapter described effective approaches for teaching listening and speaking
to young learners. Below are excerpts from an online course discussion in which
teachers from around the world describe the ideas and issues related to teaching
listening and speaking to YLs according to their experience and local context. Think
about how their perspectives compare to your teaching context.
First, a primary school teacher from Taiwan shares how she uses TPR every
day in class.
“it forTPRyounger
provides authentic and meaningful language. I strongly recommend
learners. I always start with TPR (it would normally last for
3 minutes) in my grade 2 classes (They have only one lesson per week.). ‘Point
to the ceiling! Point to the floor! Point to the window! Point to the door!’ I ask
them to listen and point only (Teachers have to point to show them). I add
two more items in each lesson. Children are so thrilled with the movement
and the rhyming words. AND THEY ARE PERFECTLY QUIET! Thus knowledge of
classroom items and instructions is learned by listening to the teacher. At the
end of a semester we end up with the following pointing rhyme:
Point to the ceiling / Point to the floor / Point to the window / Point to the
door / Point to the blackboard / Point to the lamp / Point to the television
/ Point to the fan / Point to the computer / Point at your desk / Point to the
speaker / Point to the clock / Point to the mirror / Point to the box. . . .
And the list can go on and on. It works because: 1. They don’t have to talk.
2. They love rhymes. 3. They love the pointing movement. ”
—Huichen Chang, Primary English Teacher, Taiwan
This application of TPR would work well with young learners of all ages who are at a
beginning level, and as the teacher explains, students don’t have to talk but can show
their listening comprehension by pointing to the correct object. Next is an example
of an activity that is interactive and requires both listening and speaking.
“activity,
[One] listening activity which is worth mentioning is the information-gap
which I used in the 3rd grade (9 year olds). The activity practices
the use and meaning of everyday objects, furniture and prepositions. The
students worked in pairs. Each of them is given two pictures of rooms: room A
and room B. First, they are to draw 5 objects (for example, a ball, a guitar,

a pen, etc.) in room A, so that their partner could not see it. Then, they have
7 minutes to tell their partner to draw the objects from their rooms in room B.
The students are provided with model sentences to help them; for example:
‘There is a ball under the table’ or ‘There are four pens on the chair.’ The goal is
to finish with the same pictures. This activity combines listening and speaking
and is authentic, as it has a clearly defined purpose. In order to complete
the activity students have to exchange information, which makes them truly
involved and motivated. ”
—Anna Kocur, Primary English Teacher, Poland
As discussed in this chapter, information gaps are great communicative activities

that make sure students are practicing new language in a meaningful way. In
addition, the activity was motivated by the pictures of rooms, and students were
active in drawing the objects in the rooms. Teachers can also use puppets as a way to
introduce vocabulary and give students some hands-on visuals to manipulate.
“teacher
Using puppets in presenting and practicing vocabulary. A student
introduced some new vocabulary related to items of clothing
(children, first graders, already knew some) using paper puppets
representing a girl and a boy and paper items of clothing; then groups
of four got puppets and paper pieces of clothing to color and each child
in the group ‘dressed’ either a ‘boy’ or a ‘girl’ and described what ‘he’ or
‘she’ was wearing, using new vocabulary and recycling already known
(items of clothing and colors). All children were engaged in the activity
and motivated to make own combinations of ‘clothes’ for the puppets
and to describe them. The activity worked perfectly with student teacher
monitoring and facilitating group work. To my mind it was so successful
because the activity was enjoyable, learner-centered, involved guided
practice with some sort of choice in a familiar context, children had enough
language to do the task, the atmosphere of a small group was relaxed,
teacher control was minimal (Scott & Ytreberg, 1990). ”
—Vera Savic, Teacher Educator, Serbia
The next few comments are related to using songs in the EYL classroom. This is a
very popular technique that teachers enjoy using.
“presenting
The first listening experience I got with my students was a song; after
a lesson on school subjects I composed a song by myself; using
the melody of an old song I put the vocabulary of the new lesson as the
lyrics; the students had to listen and write the names of the school subjects
they heard; after listening twice they wrote the list of the subject they heard
in groups; after the feedback I wrote the whole song on the board and we

sang together. It was a good experience as the students kept the song and
vocabulary in mind. It made the learning experience both enjoyable and
educational. ”
—Ernest Kalotoueu Gbeada, Primary English Teacher, Cote d’Ivoire
In the next example, a teacher describes her fear of singing in the classroom, but she
found a way to overcome it and even gives advice to other teachers who may share
her initial feelings of embarrassment.
“model
I was once one of those teachers who was embarrassed when I had to
singing or chanting in the classroom. I was afraid that my students
might make fun of my ‘out-of-tune’ voice and my inability to follow an
upbeat tempo. I am musically inclined but I had a traumatic experience with
singing when I was in Grade 5, hence my ‘fear’. In spite of my fear of singing
and chanting aloud, I used them a lot in my classes because I really like
music. And I found it useful in teaching. A teacher can always ask one of the
students to sing in her/his place or use a music player to present the song.
S/he can also record somebody singing the song. Bringing a musical
player in the classroom can be a novelty for the students. (At least in the
Philippines). Music is very popular among the young so playing a song by a
popular artist can be a help in teaching language through songs. That way,
s/he does not need to sing. I remind the teachers that it is just like modern
rap music so they can let the students follow to the beat of a rap song or
prepare their own rap materials. Students prefer upbeat tempos so chants
will be popular with them. They even converse in rap style so asking them
to chant will be an easy task. At first, it is difficult to break the mind set of
learners when something they normally do in their daily lives is done in the
classroom. What a teacher can also do is explain what the content of their
dialogue should be. ”
—Maria Elizabeth Austria, Primary English Teacher, Philippines
In the next example, a teacher used an audiotape of a song sung by someone else
instead of singing the song herself.
“myI have an interesting listening exercise to share. I played an audio tape for
students—a song sung by a native English speaker. I distributed sheets
where 10 lines from the song were written in a jumbled manner. While
listening to the song they had to indicate the correct sequence by putting
numbers 1 to 10 one against each line. They were very enthusiastic and
mid-way through the song some of them got confused and asked the song
to be replayed. Once the song was over I replayed and all of them were able to
complete the work. They were all giggling at the end. Later for the same song

I again distributed sheets where the song was written in correct sequence but
1 or 2 words per line were incorrect and they had to underline the incorrect
word while listening to the song. This was a really interesting experience for
both my students as well as me.”
—Syedah Fawzia Nadeem, Teacher Education, India
In addition to songs, many teachers like to use TV shows or movies. This teacher
incorporated a movie into her thematic unit, but had an interesting way to create
interest in the lesson and encourage prediction with a creative game.
“using
One successful listening activity I did with my fourth grade students was
movies. I chose a movie that was connected to the thematic unit I was
working with at that time and I selected some scenes that I found appropriate
for my lesson objectives. Before watching the scenes, I covered the TV with
a blanket and I asked my students to listen and make a list of all the noises
that they could hear. After that, they had to discuss in groups what the
situation might be and what movie they could be listening to. I think it was
successful because they were not only ‘watching’ a movie in a different way
but also playing a game. Each group had to explain their ideas about what
was happening. At the end we contrasted each group’s ideas with the movie
without the blanket. They loved it and it was wonderful to see how hard they
”
tried to listen in order to win the game.
—Silvia Iglesias, Primary English Teacher, Uruguay
Finally, many teachers have some restrictions in their classroom based on their
curriculum. Some teachers are required to use a textbook, which is not always
motivating for students and often does not reflect best teaching practices for TEYL.
This teacher from Korea explains how she uses drama and role playing in her
classroom based on the unit materials in her textbook.
“role-play
I use a textbook which is composed of 16 units and each unit has a short
as a speaking activity using the key expressions. The students
watch the animation presented by the textbook CD-rom and revise the
expressions they learned. Then, I give each group of 4–5 students about
10 minutes to practice the role play with action. Even if the English
expressions of the role-play are very limited so that the students can
enjoy the activity without much pressure about language, it seems to be
an effective way of teaching with respect that it gives children chances to
speak English in the communicative context. Sometimes, their acting is a
lot beyond my expectation, and I am amazed to find that they don’t just
mimic what they watch but they act out the roles in a creative way. Plus, I
teach them how to respect others by good manners while other groups are

performing, telling that they are being graded by their manners as well as
their performance. As time goes by, role-play becomes one of the favorite
activities among the students in my class. ”
—Eun Young Kim, Primary English Teacher, Korea
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Listening is an active skill In order to interpret a message, learners must use both
bottom-up decoding skills and top-down contextual skills in order to make sense of
listening input. At the beginning, YLs should have plenty of chances to show their
listening comprehension without needing to produce language.
Speaking is an interactive skill Most speaking is one part of a two-way

conversation. It is a complicated process that requires speaking and thinking at the
same time. YLs need a comfortable environment that encourages them to speak out.
They can begin learning to speak in “chunks” or “formulaic language” that can be
memorized and not analyzed for use in certain contexts.
There are 7 principles for teaching listening and speaking
Listening Activities Speaking Activities
1. Prepare teacher talk carefully. 1. Build classroom routines in English.
2. Use activities that reflect real-life communication.
3. Use activities that are developmentally appropriate.
4. U
se a variety of techniques to make 4. Use a variety of activities to improve
listening input comprehensible. both accuracy and fluency.
5. C
heck comprehension using a variety of 5. Build classroom interaction by giving
response types. plenty of opportunities to participate.
6. K
eep listening active—always give 6. Keep the speaking environment
learners a listening task. active—do not correct errors explicitly.
7. E
quip your students with intelligent 7. Equip your YLs with negotiation
guesswork strategies. strategies.
The listening and speaking activities can be integrated into a lesson plan The
warm-up step of a lesson plan can consist of various before-listening activities
that connect learners to the context, activate their background knowledge, and
review and pre-teach vocabulary. Then the presentation step can consist of a wide
range of during-listening activities that follow the “Listen and . . .” format. These

“Listen and . . .” activities can be used in both the warm-up and the presentation
steps to teach new language and check comprehension. Then the practice step
will include after-listening activities, which will provide plenty of practice with
speaking.
Speaking activities should move from controlled to independent practice In

the practice step, the speaking activities should start more controlled, meaning
there is not much choice in the language used. The most controlled practice
is to listen and repeat. Then the practiced language can gradually become less
controlled and more guided, which allows students to have more choice in the
language used. The goal is to reach a level of independence or creativity with the
language. The independent activity should give learners the chance to use the
new language freely, and then show they can apply the language in a new or more
authentic situation.
Over to You
1. Watch a children’s TV program that is in English, like Sesame
Street or SpongeBob SquarePants. Then watch a children’s pro-
Discussion gram that is popular in your country. What are the characteristics
Questions of those TV programs that make YLs enjoy watching them so
much? Make a list and see how many of those characteristics you
can use when you present a listening activity in class.
2. Using songs and chants is a fun way to engage young learners in
the EYL classroom. However, YLs can easily repeat and memorize
songs they like without fully understanding the meaning. What
can teachers do to avoid this common problem?
3. Listen to the interactions between your students in their native
language between classes, in the cafeteria, on the playground,
in the hallway, etc. What topics do they discuss? What kind of
vocabulary and expressions are they using? How much of the
topics and language can you incorporate into your class in English
to give them authentic tasks to accomplish?
4. Why is it important to give a task before every listening activity?
How does this principle for listening activities mirror real-life
listening?

5. On your first day of class, you plan to prepare a poster with some
basic classroom language expressions that your students will need.
What would be your first ten chunks of language that will go
on that poster? Choose five expressions for teacher talk and five
expressions for students to negotiate meaning.
6. If you want to plan a cooperative activity for your young learners,
what are the essential steps you should take to make sure they get
good practice in English rather than get distracted and/or speak in
the native language?
Lesson Choose any lesson for young learners from your curriculum that you designed or
Planning that you were given. Incorporate the following into this lesson using the lesson
plan format:
• One vocabulary game for the warm-up
• Two “Listen and . . .” activities for the presentation
• Three practice activities that are controlled, guided, and then independent
• One application activity that encourages YLs to personalize the content or
puts the language in a real-life context
Write Reflection on Repetition: Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants
About It that are repeated. Children love them, and they can be used to teach vocabulary
and grammar in a fun and engaging way. These can be very useful for improving
students’ oral skills; however, “When children repeat set phrases it does not
necessarily mean language acquisition is taking place” (Slattery & Willis, 2001). Write
about how a teacher can make sure language acquisition is taking place in her/his
EYL classroom, particularly with respect to oral communication. Wherever possible,
connect your main points to your own teaching situation and give examples to
support your point.

Print Publications
Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2004). The primary English teach- Slatterly, M., & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers: A hand-
er’s guide. Essex, UK: Penguin English. book of activities and classroom language. Oxford, UK: Oxford
Lewis, G., & Bedson, G. (1999). Games for children. Oxford, UK: Ox- University Press.
ford University Press. Wright, A. (2001). Arts and crafts with children. Oxford, UK: Oxford
Read, C. (2007). 500 activities for the primary classroom. Oxford, UK: University Press.
Macmillan.

Useful Web Sites
Common Core Standards: www.corestandards.org Joan Kang Shin Resource Page: https://sites.google.com/
Common Sense Media: www.commonsensemedia.org site/shinjinshil/resources
Games & Activities for the ESL/EFL Classroom: http:// Songs for Teaching: www.songsforteaching.com
iteslj.org/games/ Super Simple Songs: www.supersimplesongs.com
Fun English Games: www.funenglishgames.com
References
Anderson, J. R. (2009). Cognitive psychology and its implications Morley, J. (2001). Aural comprehension instruction: Principles and
seventh edition. New York: Worth Publishers. practices. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second
Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2004). The primary English or foreign language (pp. 69–85). Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage.
teacher’s guide. Essex, UK: Penguin English. Peñate, M., & Bazo, P. (1998). Ajustes en la interacción e input
Brown, D. H. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach comprensible en el aula de inglés. Lenguaje y Textos, 12, 27–39.
to language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Longman. Peterson, P. W. (2001). Skills and strategies for proficient listening.
Cabrera, M. P., & Martínez, P. B. (2001). The effects of In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign
repetition, comprehension checks, and gestures, on primary language (pp. 87–100). Boston, UK: Heinle Cengage.
school children in an EFL situation. ELT Journal, 55(3), Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford, UK:
281–288. Oxford University Press.
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Schwartz, R. (in preparation). Fundamentals of teaching and
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. learning English as a foreign language using classroom
Curtain, H., & Dahlberg, C. A. (2010). Languages and children: interactions.
Making the match, 4th ed. New York, NY: Pearson. Scott, W. A., & Ytreberg, L. H. (1990). Teaching English to children.
Lund, R. J. (1990). A taxonomy for teaching second language listening. Harlow, UK: Longman.
Foreign Language Annals, 23, 105–115. Slatterly, M., & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers: A
Marley, S. C., & Szabo, Z. (2010). Improving children’s listening handbook of activities and classroom language. Oxford, UK:
comprehension with a manipulation strategy. The Journal of Oxford University Press.
Education Research, 103, 227–238. Winn-Smith, B. (2001). Classroom language. English Teaching
Professional, 18, 12–14.

5 Teaching Reading
and Writing
Getting Started
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the teaching of reading and writing
to young learners. It will present some of the challenges young learners
face in learning to read and write in English and some approaches to help
them to meet the challenge. It will also provide suggestions for a number
of activities to motivate very young and young learners to read and write in
English, to assist them while they are reading and writing, and to encourage
them to do more.
Can you recall a favorite book that you read and re-read when you were
a child? Why was it your favorite? What was it about? Who were the
Think About It
characters? Who read it to you? Now think about what characteristics
will guide your choice of books to include in your young learners classes.
Also, think about the kinds of writing you did as a child. Are there any
that were memorable? Why do you think you remember them? What
were you writing about? Who were you writing for? Who were you
writing to? Now think about the kinds of writing that you will include for
your very young learners. What will be some of the earliest opportunities?
In contrast, what kinds of writing might you ask
your young learners to do?
What are some ways to motivate young
learners to read and write?
Are there ways in which you can integrate
reading and writing activities?
Visage/Stockbyte/
Getty Images
157
Reading and Writing Chart
Discovery Activity In the chart below, list all the types of reading and writing activities that
you can think of that you might use with both very young (5–7) and young
(8–11) learners. You may want to look through some EYL textbooks to see the kinds
of reading and writing activities they have included. After listing them, indicate
which ones are most likely to motivate your learners to read and write and also, in a
few words, why or why not. What makes a reading or writing activity engaging for
young children?
READING AND WRITING ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
VYLs
READING ACTIVITIES MOTIVATING OR NOT?
WRITING ACTIVITIES MOTIVATING OR NOT?
YLS
READING ACTIVITIES MOTIVATING OR NOT?
WRITING ACTIVITIES MOTIVATING OR NOT?
If you have the opportunity to visit EYL classes, note the different read-
ing and writing activities that are included in the lessons (and homework)
for very young and young learners. What are some of the reasons for the
differences?

Considerations for Teaching Reading and
Writing
You may think that when you are reading, you are simply getting meaning from
the text, but actually you are also bringing meaning with you. Reading is an
interactive process involving the reader, the text, and the writer. And when you are
writing, you are likely to read (or even re-read) what you wrote to make sure you
are communicating your intended meaning to your audience (the reader). You will
notice as you read through this chapter that when we are discussing reading we
also are mentioning ways in which reading can lead to writing, and when we are
discussing writing, we are also mentioning ways in which these writings can serve
as texts to be read, not only by the students who wrote them, but also by others
in the class. Reading can be thought of as preparation for writing, and writing as
producing something to be read.
But in some ways, listening and reading are similar: They are both receptive
skills, processing what others have said or written, but doing so in an active way.
Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com
5 Teaching Reading and Writing 159

We bring all that we know about the world, about oral and written texts or
discourse, and about language to our attempts at understanding what someone
has said or written. Speaking and writing are also similar: They are both pro-
ductive skills, where we take what we know about the world, about texts, and
about language to express an idea or opinion, to make an observation, to pro-
vide information, to communicate our thoughts or needs, or to create a poem,
a story, or a song. Many listening activities can also be reading activities, and
many speaking activities can become writing activities as well.
First and Second Language Reading and Writing Most EYL

programs focus on oral activities until the children have learned to read and write
in their own language, or at least have enough oral English language development
to build on for literacy. There will be beginning reading or writing activities such
as using flashcards to match key vocabulary from the story with pictures or putting
labels on pictures or drawings to support the story, but it will usually be the teacher
who does the actual reading aloud (of a story or poem or other text) and also the
writing of what children say on the board, though children will be encouraged to
join in at predictable places.
Learning to read and write is complex and difficult enough in a language the
child already knows; doing it in another language is even more difficult. But
the good news is that when there is sufficient English language development,
many of the child’s skills and strategies used in reading and writing in the first
language will transfer to another language (Cummins, 1979). One only has to
become “literate” once. Very young learners are probably still learning to read
and write in the home or first language. Older young learners have probably
already learned to read and write in their own language, and when their E nglish
proficiency is sufficient they will be able to transfer those skills into their
reading of English.
All children, whether first- or second-language readers, go through the same
five initial literacy steps:
1. Awareness and exploration

2. Experimenting with reading and writing
3. Early reading and writing
4. Transitional reading and writing
5. Conventional reading and writing
(International Reading Association & the National Association for the
Education of Young Children, 1998)

When children learn literacy skills in the first language, they develop several broad
areas of knowledge that they can access in English. These are:
■■ Visual knowledge: about print and text direction

■■ Phonological knowledge: about sounds represented by symbols (though children
will usually think of this as the sounds that symbols make)
■■ Lexical knowledge: about words and collocations
■■ Syntactic knowledge: about meaning construction and making sense of words
■■ Semantic knowledge: about social use of language as discourse
(Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004)
They have learned that reading and writing can be used for different purposes, and
they have likely developed a number of strategies for understanding reading and
making themselves understood through writing.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges awaiting young learners as they
begin reading and writing in English. The first is the writing system. Children
whose language is written in the same Roman alphabet as English (such as
Spanish, French, German, or Portuguese) will have much less difficulty learn-
ing to read and write in English than those whose language is written in another
alphabet (such as Arabic, Russian, or Greek) or in a language that is written in
characters, such as Chinese (Cameron, 2001; Nunan, 2011).
Besides differences in writing systems, there are also differences in how
text is presented on the page and whether one reads and writes from right
to left (Arabic) or top to bottom and right to left (traditionally Chinese and
Korean), or from left to right as in English. Children in EYL classrooms will
also face the challenge of having a more limited vocabulary, different back-
ground (cultural) knowledge than may be required to interpret a text, and
differences in text structure (Lenters, 2004/2005).
When we are developing literacy activities for young learners, then, we need
to consider at least the following:
■■ Has the child learned to read and write in her/his own language?
■■ Is the child just beginning to learn to read in her/his own language?
■■ Is that language written in the Roman alphabet, another alphabet, or
characters?
■■ How does one read and write a text in that language (from left to right,
right to left, top to bottom)?
■■ What skills and strategies has the child developed in making meaning from and
with text?

One challenge facing all children (including English-speaking children) is to learn
the different ways in which English represents sounds. There are 26 letters in the
Roman alphabet, but they represent the 44 sounds in English (Moats, 2001). For
example, even a child who reads Spanish or German (which are much more regular
and predictable languages to read, since one letter usually represents one sound)
will have to learn that in English, there are many ways the same sound can be
represented. According to Geva and Wang (2001) in their review of the differences
in learning to read in different languages, English has a “deep” orthography, one
in which it can be difficult to sound out many words from the way in which they
are written or spelled, in contrast to Spanish or German, which have “shallow”
orthography and more predictability in how a word sounds based on how it is
written. Note the number of ways that the sound /i/ in English can be represented in
letters: be, bee, sea, ski, skied, receive. Just as there are many ways in which a sound
is represented in print (its spelling), there are many ways of pronouncing the same
set of letters. Consider the following: read, bread, break where the “ea” is decoded
as three different sounds! The following poem gives some idea of the difficulty of
decoding English. (Note: You can hear this poem, with all its unusual pronunciation,
being read at: http://international.ouc.bc.ca/pronunciation/poem01.html)
I take it you already know

Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word,

That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead, it’s said like bed, not bead.
For goodness sake, don’t call it “deed”!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.)
A moth is not a moth in mother,

Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear, or bear and pear.
And then there’s doze and rose and lose,

Just look them up
And goose and choose,
And cork and work, and card and ward,
And font and front, and word and sword.
And do and go, and thwart and cart.
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start!
A dreadful language, man alive.

I’d learned to speak it when I was five.
And yet to write it, the more I sigh,
I’ll not learn how ’til the day I die.
Author unknown
Why Include Reading and Writing in Young Learner

Classes? If you have visited EYL classes, you will likely note that the majority
of time is spent on oral language activities. If there is any reading or writing, it is
done by the teacher. Some of these decisions may be dictated by the amount of time
that is set aside for the EYL class. If one has only 45–60 minutes a week, there is not
much time for children to read and write. Another factor is class size: It is difficult
to manage reading in large classes and time-consuming to read what children write.
For very young learners, oral language will take precedence over written, since
for reading and writing in English to be meaningful for children, they must know
enough English to be able to “make intelligent guesses” (Pinter, 2006, p. 67).
Although reading and writing “are very demanding and take time and
patience to learn,” they “are extremely important for the child’s growing awareness
of language and their own growth in the language” (Scott & Ytreberg, 1990, p. 5).
EYL teachers need to include reading and writing wherever and as early as pos-
sible, for a number of reasons:
■■ Reading and writing can reinforce what is being learned orally

■■ Reading expands the sources of input, and writing helps in remembering that input
■■ Writing provides a way to consolidate learning from the other skills, and reading
helps students to see the conventions of writing
■■ Children enjoy reading and writing if the texts are meaningful and related to
their experiences (including using the many resources of the Internet)
■■ Reading and writing help link the EYL class with home, as children bring home
writing they have done to share with their families or do homework requiring
reading and writing
■■ Reading and writing can also link the EYL class with other classes in school,
where written language plays an important part
■■ Writing provides another means of self-expression and, when read by others, a
sense of confidence and pride
(Pinter, 2006; Scott & Ytreberg, 1990)
As Barone and Xu (2008) state, “In all discussions about exemplary teachers,
especially exemplary teachers of ELLs [English Language Learners], one central
discovery is that they provide language-rich classrooms where children have
opportunities to talk about and write about their learning” (p. 17). Teachers can make
their classrooms especially “print-rich” by labeling objects in the classroom; posting
calendars, maps, or class birthday charts; creating word walls as new vocabulary is
introduced; engaging the children in drawing and labeling pictures to post in the
room, and as they write more, to produce class books that can be read by children
during independent reading time (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010; Pinter, 2006; Collins,
2004). For young learners to become effective and engaged readers and writers, they
must have multiple opportunities to explore, read, and write a variety of texts and to
talk about what they are going to read or write or what they have read or written.
Considerations for Teaching Reading

What Is Reading? Reading is a process of relating written symbols to oral
language, of constructing meaning from written text (Goodman, 2005), or “making
sense and deriving meaning from the printed word” (Linse, 2005, p. 69). When we
read, we interact with the text, bringing our knowledge of the world, of language,
and of discourse or specific text types (a fairytale, newspaper article, poem, essay,
or report) to what we read. Our understanding increases or lessens depending on
our background knowledge, knowledge of the language, and our experience with
discourse and text structure.
To be able to read, a child has to:
■■ Understand the alphabet

■■ Decode
■■ Develop sight vocabulary to read fluently (with automaticity)
■■ Develop strategies to help with comprehension and fluency
■■ Read texts that match her/his reading level and interests
■■ Engage in extensive reading (independent reading of a variety of texts)
(Adapted from Lenters, 2004/2005, p. 331)
English-speaking children know that fairytales begin with “Once upon a

time.” Children hearing these words (and maybe even repeating them with the
person saying them) have a whole set of experiences and understandings that
help to guide their understanding of the text. Those experiences and that back-
ground information are known as schemata (plural of schema). They help us to
make sense of the world and of what we read. It is because of more developed
schemata that we are able to understand and remember much more about a
cultural tradition in our own country. It is much harder to understand and re-
member what we are reading when the topic is a cultural tradition of another
country. One of the reasons for building units around topics, where language
and content are recycled (as discussed in Chapter 3) is that these help students
to develop the background knowledge, the vocabulary, and the structures (the
schemata) to make sense of written texts.
Approaches to Teaching Reading When we read, we activate two types

of knowledge: what we know about making meaning (top-down processing) and
what we know about language (bottom-up processing). With reading instruction,
there is an ongoing debate about where to begin: Should we focus first on helping
children see the relationship between sounds and letters, beginning with decoding
letters and words, and then move to larger units to focus on meaning (the approach
used in phonics instruction)? Or should we begin with context and meaning, and
then move to analyzing and interpreting smaller segments of the language (the
approach used in whole language)? Clearly we need to do both.
When we are reading to children, we usually begin with context and meaning,
relating what we read to the children’s lives and knowledge. From there, we may
explain particular words, have fun with pronouncing some of them (for example,
with rhymes or animal sounds), and attend to the smaller units of a text. But
we don’t want to neglect practice in letter and word recognition. They play an
important role in comprehending a text. Children need to understand sound–
letter correlations (that the initial sound of dog and doll is the same and is repre-
sented by the letter “d,” and that other words that begin with that letter, such as
desk, are pronounced with the same initial sound), so that when they encounter
another word that begins with that same letter they can decode it. But this is only
useful if they know what a dog, or a doll, or a desk is. If children do not know how
to decode and have not learned the regular sound–symbol correspondences in
English, when confronted with a new word, they are likely to skip over it, and
doing that many times renders a text meaningless. The solution is to include
phonics, discussed below, but to do it in a meaningful context (not using nonsense
words nor focusing on words out of context). Ideally, in any unit, students will
have opportunities to practice using both bottom-up and top-down processing
skills, in a balanced approach to reading (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2002).
As Cameron (2001) explains, children need to develop both top-down and
bottom-up processing: “The child who picks up a set of words that she rec-
ognizes as whole words, and uses this sight vocabulary to read simple texts,
needs to also develop knowledge of grapho-phonemic relationships within
words to progress to more difficult texts. On the other hand, the child who
has learnt the names and sounds of the letters and can read simple, regular
words by ‘sounding them out’, needs also to recognize morphemes by sight
and to draw on grammatical information at sentence level if progression is
to be made.” (p. 151). Asher (1998) also believes that differences in learning
styles make it important to incorporate both approaches: Auditory learners
will find phonics more appropriate, while visual learners will prefer the whole
word or look–say approach.
In balancing an approach to reading, at least the following three approaches
should be considered for young learners:
1. Phonics
2. Whole language
3. Language experience
1. Phonics Phonics is a bottom-up approach to processing a text. It focuses on the

smallest unit of text: the letters. It teaches children the relationships between sounds
and letters, how a particular sound is symbolized in print, and how to “sound out”
a word, given those sound–symbol relationships. It usually begins with individual
sounds (such as /m/ or /s/ in initial position) or short words that rhyme or share
a common sound (for example, cat, rat, hat or can, ran, man). The goal is to help
children decode written language, using the sound–symbol relationships they have
learned, either in isolation or from other words. So, for example, when children see
the word bat, they can recognize the letters of the alphabet and understand the way
sounds are represented in writing. They can also refer back to words they have already
learned that are written with similar patterns (Heilman, 2002). In this way they can be
successful at decoding, since that is key to early reading success (Beck, 2006).
Recent reading research has identified instruction in phonics (as well as pho-
nemic awareness, reading comprehension, vocabulary development, and fluency)
as necessary for children to become effective readers (National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development, 2000; Rose, 2006). The “Rose Report” (Rose,
2006) concluded that the best practices in teaching reading provide:
■■ Clear guidance on developing children’s speaking and listening skills

■■ Direct teaching of phonics as a primary means of teaching decoding (reading)
and encoding (writing/spelling)
■■ A “broad and language-rich curriculum” (p. 16) that takes full account of
developing the four interdependent strands of language—speaking, listening,
reading, and writing—and enlarging children’s stock of words within which to
include phonics
■■ Multisensory phonics instruction that engages, motivates, and excites young learners
■■ A focus also on word recognition (sight vocabulary) and comprehension
Both the National Reading Panel and the Rose Report conclude that children need
direct teaching of phonics, embedded in a language-rich curriculum that also
teaches word recognition and comprehension.
Phonemic awareness activities Before focusing on letter–sound relationships through

phonics, children need practice in discriminating English sounds—what is referred
to as phonemic awareness. This involves, for example, separating the spoken word
big into three distinct phonemes, /b/,/i/, and /g/. Phonemic awareness training helps
children to understand the rules of English and, over time, helps build reading fluency.
The following are some activities to help young learners to become aware of
English phonemes. Learners should listen and:
■■ Identify the first sound in a word (/b/ in boy)

■■ Identify the last sound in a word (/t/ in kite)
■■ Identify the common sound in a series of words (/i/ in see, me, tree)
■■ Identify the word that doesn’t rhyme (dog, fog, leg)
■■ Change one sound for another in the beginning (cat to hat), middle (cat to cut),
and end of words (cat to can) to create new words
■■ Separate the sounds of a word (sat into /s/, /ae/, /t/)
■■ Blend separate sounds into a word (/s/, /ae/, /t/ into sat)
■■ Delete a sound (sat to at)
■■ Blend initial consonant clusters (/st/ in stop)
■■ Identify final consonant blends (/st/ in first)
Phonemic awareness activities can be fun. Kauffman (2007) provides a number of

ways to make phonemic awareness instruction enjoyable and motivating for young
learners. She suggests, for example:
■■ Using traditional rhymes: Three Little Kittens (who “lost their mittens”) or
Hickory, Dickory, Dock (“The mouse ran up the clock.”)
■■ Going on a Rhyme Hunt: Looking for objects in the class that rhyme
■■ Playing Match Mates: Giving picture cards to each child and then having the
children find a picture that begins or ends with the same sound or rhymes with
the word they have

■■ Developing riddles:
“I rhyme with sled.
You sleep on me.
I am a _____ (bed.)”
■■ Playing Odd Man Out: Posting pictures of objects that begin or end with the
same sound or have the same medial sound, as well as some that do not. Let
the children find the pictures of things that don’t share a sound. This can also be
done in pairs or small groups.
■■ Playing Bouncing Ball: Toss a ball to a student after saying a word such as sit.
The student has to think of a word that begins with the same sound. When the
students can think of no new words, begin another sequence with another word.
This can also be done with words that end with the same sound or rhyme.
■■ Playing Rhyming Words Walk-About: Arrange students in a circle. Have them
listen for rhyming words. When they hear two words that rhyme, they take one
step forward. When they hear two that do not rhyme, they step back or stand still.
(Adapted from Kauffman, 2007)
Phonics activities While phonemic awareness focuses on oral language, phonics

focuses on written language, with the goal of learning the relationships between the
sounds and letters (spelling) of English. Typically, children learn the sound–symbol
relationships and then apply what they have learned in decoding words in a text.
Some phonics activities include:
■■ Identifying the number of syllables in a word
■■ Pointing to words that share a common letter-sound (As children become
more familiar with English, this can include irregular spellings.)
■■ Sorting pictures or making a collage of objects that begin with the same
letter-sound (book/ball/boy ) or rhyme (cat/hat/rat )
■■ Sorting words that share a common letter-sound
■■ Matching words that share a common letter-sound
■■ Creating words from letters that have a common letter-sound
■■ Repeating chants with common letter-sounds that are written on the board
■■ Using predictable or patterned books
Phonics activities can also be fun. Some of the activities used for phonemic
awareness can be adapted for phonics by including the written word. For example,
Odd Man Out could be played with a set of picture cards with words written on
them. Children find the word that does not belong because of a difference in the
initial, medial, or final sound. Other engaging activities include:
■■ Singing or chanting familiar songs, chants, or rhymes while you point to the
words in the song or chant displayed on chart paper, the board, or from a DVD.

Afterwards, have children come to the board and point to rhyming words or
create new verses with new rhyming words.
■■ Creating fill-in-the-blank activities with clues
The horse lives on a _______. (farm)
arm
■■ Playing Bag-It: Matching letter or word cards with pictures displayed in
the class. One way to make this fun is to write the letters for a picture on
the outside of a small paper bag. Children find the picture that matches the
letters and put the picture in the bag. (Note that this also keeps the activity
manageable, as the pictures are then stored in their appropriate bag.)
■■ Playing Hang-Up: Hang a picture card on a clothes hanger with a clothespin.
Students have to find a letter that matches the picture (such as the initial sound)
and hang it on the same clothes hanger, but facing the other way. Display these
in the class.
(Adapted from Kaufmann, 2007)
Even young learners who already read a language with a similar alphabetic system will
benefit from systematic, explicit instruction in sound/symbol correspondences in English
(Carrell & Grabe, 2002). However, to be meaningful, phonics instruction should focus
on words that children have already learned orally within a meaningful context, not in
isolation (Peregoy & Boyle, 2004). Otherwise, children may get the idea that reading is
“sounding out” words, even if they don’t understand their meaning. The same is true of
the names of the letters: Teach them as they fit into the context and content of the lesson.
2. Whole language A whole language approach begins with meaning and then
uses language in context for further word or language study. It involves top-down
processing, in which children bring their knowledge of the world, their experiences
with oral language and texts, and their knowledge of the written language to
constructing comprehension of written texts, using four types of clues:
■■ Grapho-phonemic clues: referring to expected sound–symbol correspondences
■■ Semantic clues: referring to what word(s) would be expected, based on the
meaning thus far
■■ Syntactic clues: referring to the part of speech that would be expected in a
given place in the sentence
■■ Pragmatic clues: referring to what would be expected given the purpose of the text
(Goodman, 1976, 2005)
In early literacy, the whole language approach might begin with a focus on common
words (sight words) that the children have already heard and said, perhaps in a story
or song or even in popular media, in what is often referred to as a sight-word or
“look-say” approach (Slatterly & Willis, 2001). Sight words are taught because they
are meaningful to the children and can then be used in a variety of activities. These
words and “chunks” (collocations such as have fun, take a bath, or catch a ball)
can be written on individual flashcards and then matched with pictures, objects,
actions, or held up and used with repeating refrains or songs. They may be posted
alphabetically on a word wall, where they can be called upon to help with reading or
in writing. Learning sight vocabulary helps children to see the connection between
meaning and visual representation. Over time, children build up a large vocabulary
of high-frequency words, including the little words that form a large portion of the
1000–2000 most frequently used words, especially in written English, as identified
by the General Service List (originally compiled by Michael West and updated by
James Bauman; available at http://jbauman.com/aboutgsl.html), and the Dolch sight
vocabulary lists of the 200 most common written words and 95 additional common
nouns, sorted by frequency and grade level (available at http://www.mrsperkins
.com/dolch.htm). A large sight-word vocabulary also helps children to read with
automaticity (faster and more fluently). It is ironic, but true, that the more that we
read, the larger our vocabulary will be, and the larger our vocabulary, the better
readers we will be (and the more likely we will want to read).
One early sight-word activity might involve helping children to recognize
their own names, especially if their language is written in the Roman alphabet
or if they are using English nicknames written in that alphabet. Their names
provide the context for meaningful phonics activities in which children focus on
the initial letter-sounds in their names. The teacher might begin by writing the
children’s first names as they say them, then pointing out the names that begin
with the same letter and sound, and subsequently posting the names in alpha-
betical order. That might be followed by asking children to point to their names
and to respond by standing up when the initial letter and sound of their names
is made. Then the class could play a game, an adaptation of the jazz chant “Who
is Sylvia?” that begins with “Who has a name that begins with S?” Children
answer “I do,” and then spell their names.
Teachers using a whole language approach to reading may take their learners
through the following sequence of reading activities which are complemented
by a similar sequence of writing activities (to be discussed).
Stage of a Lesson Activity

Presentation Reading aloud
Controlled practice Shared reading
Guided practice Guided reading
Independent activity Independent reading

Reading aloud Beginning readers need multiple opportunities to hear stories,
poems, songs, chants, and other texts read aloud, with opportunities to chime in
where words or lines are repeated. With songs, where both repetition and rhyme are
present, it is easy for children to learn parts and to participate after the teacher has
sung the song, pointing to the words written on the board or as they are projected.
Some songs provide many opportunities for children to participate. For example,
when singing “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” children can make the sounds of
the animals (using either the sounds as they are represented in English, or how
ducks “quack” or pigs “oink” in their own language). They will be able and want to
participate (even acting out the ways that the animals communicate), and the song
provides a good opportunity to practice three of the long vowel sounds and letter
names in English.
Old MacDonald had a farm,

E-I-E-I-O
And on this farm he had a duck,
E-I-E-I-O
With a quack-quack here, and a quack-quack there,
Here a quack, there a quack,
Everywhere a quack quack.
Old MacDonald had a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.
(Continue with a pig, a horse,
a cow, a rooster, etc.)
Another way for children to participate is through echo reading. In echo reading,
children repeat key lines after the teacher—for example, the line “But he was still
hungry” in The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle, 1994), as discussed in Chapter 3.
This works best if you pause and gesture to the children, inviting them to join in.
Shared reading Shared reading (Herrell, 2000; Holdaway, 1979) is the next step
after reading aloud. In shared reading, the teacher involves the students in reading
together, using something as a pointer (a long stick, a laser pointer, or even the
bouncing ball of a karaoke song in some EYL videos) with a big book (if the class
is small), a video of a book, a PowerPoint, or a book projected on an interactive
whiteboard or from a document reader. If multiple copies of a small book are

available, they work well, since in shared reading, all children and the teacher need
to be able to read (or follow along) together (Herrell, 2000; Gibbons, 1993). Pointing
to the words while reading them helps to establish the relationship between spoken
and written language. Often the text is one that has been read aloud before, so that
when you read and point to the words, the children are already familiar with the
story or song.
The purpose of shared reading is to involve students in enjoyable reading,
to demonstrate good (or strategic) reading, and provide support while children
are reading along. Another goal of shared reading, of course, is also to motivate
children to pick up a book (perhaps in the reading center) and read indepen-
dently. For that reason, you need to read the entire story or text before reading
it to the children, to be able to read fluently and with appropriate emphasis and
emotion.
It helps if the book has lots of clear pictures that help the children understand
the story, even if they don’t understand all of the text. (Those pictures will serve
as the basis for a number of wonderful follow-up activities as well.) In shared
reading, it is important to introduce the book and set the scene for the children,
to show them the cover; to read the title, author, and illustrator to them; and
in the beginning, to model reading from left to right, from top to bottom, and
from the front to the back of the book (Herrell, 2000). Asking a few questions
such as the following will activate their background knowledge:
■■ What do you think the book is about?

■■ What do you see in the picture (on the cover)?
■■ Have you ever seen one of these?
■■ Have we read any other books like this one?
■■ Do you think this book will be fun?
Sometimes, allowing children to discuss this in pairs before they respond to the
questions will give them time to think and rehearse what they want to say. The
questions about the cover, title, etc. can be followed by a picture walk (talking about
the pictures in the story to familiarize the children with the story before reading it),
stopping occasionally to ask children what they see and revisiting predictions about
the text. The picture walk will also help in reviewing important vocabulary and
identifying other vocabulary that needs to be taught for the text to be understood.
During the reading, the teacher can stop occasionally and talk with the children
about what has happened and ask them to predict what’s coming next (this can also
be done in pairs), but this should not be done so often that it spoils the story or
bores the children (Scott & Ytreberg, 1990).

After finishing reading, another set of questions can be asked:
■■ Did you like the story?

■■ What was your favorite part?
■■ Who was your favorite character?
■■ Do you want to read it again?
■■ Do you want to see the pictures again?
At this point, it is possible to go back, page by page, through the story or text,
pointing to the pictures or illustrations and asking the children to talk about what
happened, and providing help with vocabulary as needed. Repeated reading of the
same book, story, poem, or text will help in developing the children’s vocabulary and
make them more fluent readers (Samuels, 2002). Some teachers also ask children to
select a new word from the story or point out a new word that becomes the “word
for the day.” During the next classes, you may want to follow this by asking the
children to draw their favorite scenes or characters and label them and then make
an illustrated “book” that they can take home and use to “read” the story to their
parents (Herrell, 2000). Older young learners might want to write their version of
the story, or write about their favorite character or scene to read to the class.
With more advanced readers, one approach to increase children’s attention to
favorite parts of a short text or poem is to use choral reading. In choral reading,
children follow along while the teacher reads the text aloud, highlighting two or
three places that they particularly enjoy, and on a second reading, they join in
on the lines they have highlighted.
Guided reading In guided reading, the teacher works with small groups of children
who are at the same reading level, providing support or scaffolding while they read.
The goal is to let the children read, noting problems they have with specific words
or punctuation, and providing support and modeling reading strategies for the
children to practice (Herrell, 2000). This is also a time when children can have extra
practice in decoding, word recognition, or grammatical structures that affect their
understanding of the text. For example, children may be having some difficulties
decoding a particularly difficult set of words in English (such as sounding out
consonant clusters /ch/ or /th/) or ones that are pronounced differently in different
words (such as the /gh/ in tough or taught), or vocabulary words that are confusing
(such as homophones like read/red or there/their). Guided reading activities can
also be undertaken as whole class work, engaging children in comprehension,
vocabulary building, or other reading activities. Predictable books, with repeated
patterns, can be very helpful in building children’s decoding skills and fluency,
and also help them to develop confidence in their reading. The types of activities
discussed here, helping to increase “learners’ knowledge of language features and
their control of reading strategies,” is sometimes referred to as “intensive reading”
because of the focused attention to language features (Nation, 2009, p. 25).
Independent reading A major goal of any reading program for young learners is to
encourage and enable them to read independently and to motivate them to want to
read a variety of texts (Day & Bamford, 1998). In some schools, independent reading
(also known as “extensive reading” or “sustained silent reading”) is so important that
time is set aside for all children and their teachers to read, in what is referred to as
DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time. Children need time to read and to choose
materials from a class library or reading center that contains a variety of print and
digital texts to read alone, with a partner (buddy reading), or while listening to an audio
version of the text. Listening to someone read a text aloud, while they follow along
silently, can be a good activity for struggling readers, but it is also engaging for good
readers, who like to hear what a story sounds like when read fluently. There are lots of
good stories being read aloud available on the Internet, especially through YouTube, or
you may record your own reading of texts in the class reading collection.
You can encourage independent reading by giving each child a reading log to
fill in when they have read something. An example is provided below:
My Reading Log My Name: ________________________________________
Rating
J Great
K OK
L Not so good
Date Book Title & Author Rating Pages Comments

Children can also be given time in class to share their reactions to books or other
texts with the class, encouraging other children to read what they have enjoyed.
One approach that has become popular is to divide the class into small book clubs
or literature circles, with each group reading a book and then creating a poster or
other product that they share with the class. It is important to help your learners
select books or other materials that are at their reading level. One approach is to ask
children to look at any page of the story. If there are more than a few words on that
page that they don’t know, the text is probably at too high a level for independent
reading (though it might be appropriate for shared or guided reading).
Texts for reading The texts that children can read in shared, guided, or independent
reading should be ones that encourage children to read, are enjoyable, have a variety
Karawari
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Provided by National Geographic Society

A D I SAP P EAR
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by Jenn ifer
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of purposes and text structures, and offer opportunities for a range of activities
(Allen, 1994). They include:
■■ Songs, chants, and poems

■■ Comic strips or cartoons
■■ Folktales and fairytales
■■ Short stories
■■ Graded readers (see next page)
■■ Letters, e-mails, and text messages
■■ Greeting cards
■■ Maps
■■ Menus
■■ Picture books
■■ Plays and Reader’s Theater scripts (see p.183–184)
■■ Recipes
■■ Schedules and other charts or displays of basic information

■■ Short informational texts (such as those included in Explorer magazine,
published by National Geographic, and many others available online)
■■ Signs (international road signs, signs for hospitals, etc.)
Some of the best texts will be those written by other young learners, so be
sure to keep copies of stories, poems, greeting cards, and other texts that your
young learners will enjoy reading.
3. Language experience Language experience is an approach that uses learners’

oral language as the basis of a written story. The learners (a class, small group,
or individual student) dictate their “story” to someone who is a more
Graded Readers competent writer (usually the teacher, but it may also be an older, more
Graded readers are small proficient student), who writes what the learners dictate. The language
books or booklets (often experience story can be a summary, an e-mail to the author of a story
based on traditional stories)
that the class has read, an invitation to parents to come to a school event,
that are written at different
levels of language proficiency a thank-you note to someone who has visited the class, or even a message
(in grammar, syntax, and to a student who has missed an important event (Ashton-Warner,
vocabulary). Many publishers
offer these, and some EYL
1963; Dixon & Nessel, Nessell & Jones, 1981; Van Allen & Allen, 1976).
textbook series have them Anything that is meaningful to the learners can be the basis for the
available as well. They may language experience approach (LEA). With LEA, young learners follow
even be written about the
same topic as the unit in these steps:
the textbook, reinforcing
the unit vocabulary and
grammar in the meaningful
and engaging context of
a story. Graded readers
are especially helpful for
children to acquire the most
frequent vocabulary words
(as in the West or Dolch lists,
Jamie Grill/Iconica/Getty Images
mentioned previously in this

chapter) and can provide a
systematic way of developing
vocabulary through reading
(Day & Bamford, 1998;
Nation & Meara, 2002).
1. Participate in a common experience (a field trip, a story, a celebration, a

visitor, a picture that evokes feelings)
2. Have a discussion
3. Decide what to write, using a brainstorming web or other graphic
organizer
4. Dictate the “story” to the teacher, who writes it so all can see
5. Read back what the teacher has written (The teacher may read it first,
with students following along, and then they read it together.)
6. Decide if they want to edit anything
7. Copy what is written on the board into their notebooks
At this point, children can engage in a number of follow-up activities to develop their
reading and writing skills, as well as their vocabulary (and even grammar). They can:
■■ Cut up the copied sentences into sentence strips and sequence them
■■ Add new sight words to the class word wall (an alphabetic listing of important
words that the class has learned) or their vocabulary notebooks
■■ Find rhyming words or words that begin or end with the same sound (phonics
activities)
■■ Complete a gap-fill, filling in important words from the story
■■ Play vocabulary games such as Concentration or Bingo with the vocabulary words
■■ Create a new ending for the story or text
The possibilities for follow-up activities are endless, now that learners have
seen their own words in print. There are a number of benefits to using LEA with
young learners, but perhaps the most important is the production of a meaningful
text from learners’ ideas expressed orally and then encoded in written language.
One question that always emerges with this approach is whether to write
exactly what the children dictate or to correct what they say into “good” English:
Exact words:
■■ Validate the children’s language
■■ Make a clear relationship between speech (sound) and print
■■ Will not likely lead to other errors or fossilization
A teacher-edited text:
■■ Provides a good model
■■ Reflects the differences between spoken and written texts
■■ May be viewed more positively by parents or administrators
Some EYL teachers do both. When the children are dictating the text, they write exactly
what the children say. They then ask the children to “read” what they have said and
ask if anyone wants to make any changes. After the children have finished suggesting
changes, the teacher suggests some changes to make, editing the most serious errors,
particularly if the children are going to copy the text and take it home to their parents.
Here is a partial example of how a class adapted the song “Peanut Butter and
Jelly,” based on a class poll of favorite foods (with substantial help from their
teacher, Les Greenblatt). The children have fun with rhyme, while they are also
noticing the different ways in which /i/ is spelled in common English words.
Pepperoni Pizza
Apples and bananas are really, really neat,

But
Pepperoni pizza is our favorite thing to eat.
Mario eats ice cream while standing on his feet,

But
Silvia likes hot dogs while sitting in her seat,

But
(The chant continues with other students’ names and ends with:)
Mr. Greenblatt brought us to his room; he said he had a treat.

It was pepperoni pizza, our favorite thing to eat!
Following this, the children drew pictures of the various foods and made their own
book, titled, naturally, Pepperoni Pizza.
Effective Reading Activities

A number of reading activities have been discussed in relation to various approaches to
reading and stages in the lesson. In this section, activities are categorized according to:
■■ Activities for beginning and more advanced (and generally older) readers
■■ Pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading activities
■■ Reading strategies
Because reading, like listening, is a receptive skill, many of the listening activities
mentioned in Chapter 4 can be adapted for use with reading. Many of the following
activities also involve writing as a means of indicating understanding, as well as
continued language development.
Activities for Beginning and More Advanced Readers Children

go through stages in their reading and writing. In the earliest stages, before they are
able to get meaning from words, they get meaning from the pictures and express
meaning by drawing. At this stage, it is important to read aloud to children and engage
in shared reading, using picture books and predictable stories so that they can join in.
As they begin developing literacy, young learners still need pictures and other sup-
port (from the teacher and other students), but they are able to get some meaning
from words and are able to use some letters or words in copying or labeling. At this
stage, language experience will be a helpful instructional approach, since children will
see their words become print and will then be able to “read” what they have written,
but some attention to both phonics and sight words will also be needed.
As they continue to progress, they will begin to read aloud (but not
comprehend everything they are reading) and write simple texts, though they
will use invented spellings (see example below) and words from their first lan-
guage and will make grammatical errors. You can help them to decode (through
phonics) and to use their knowledge of the world and their growing knowledge
of English to comprehend (through sight words) with guided reading.
Example of invented spelling.
As their reading progresses, so will their comprehension, and they will be less
reliant on pictures or visual support. Their use of reading strategies (predicting, con-
firming, correcting, etc.) will increase, and they can engage in some independent
reading and writing, using writing workshop and focusing on revising and editing.
The following activities can be done with individual students; in small,
guided reading sessions; or with the whole class.
1. Activities for beginning readers (word level):
■■ Pointing to or circling initial or final letters in words
■■ Pointing to or circling words
■■ Sorting pictures of objects (or the objects) with the same initial sound
■■ Sorting or matching words that rhyme
■■ Labeling pictures
■■ Matching words with pictures, with the same words, or with words with the
same initial or final letters

■■ Sorting and categorizing words by type of object or similarity of sound
■■ Guessing a word partially completed (first and last letter, first letter)
■■ Completing a word or word and picture puzzle
■■ Playing alphabet or word games
■■ Noting patterns in songs or chants
■■ Filling in a missing letter with picture cue (e.g., ca_ with picture of a car)
■■ Creating words with letters
■■ Posting words to a word wall
■■ Creating letter collages
Here is an example of a sequence of activities for beginning readers that can also end
with a beginning writing activity using the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”:
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes,

And eyes, and ears, and mouth, and nose
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes.
The teacher might begin this as an oral activity, using Total Physical Response.
The first time, children listen to the song and watch as the teacher uses both hands
to point to the body parts. After a few times, the children follow along, doing the
actions, and saying the words with the teacher. Following this, the teacher puts
drawings of the body and face of a child on the board, asking children to help in
labeling the various parts. This is followed by a number of activities to make sure
children recognize the names of the body parts. Next, children hold up flashcards
with body parts at the right time in the song. Flashcards can also be placed on the
board, out of order, for children to sequence, or given to children to line up in the
right order as the class sings the song. This might lead to a writing activity such
as labeling the parts of the body and face on a drawing that is titled “My Head,
Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” or drawing and labeling the body parts of a monster
(with several heads, one eye, or three huge toes).
2. Activities for more advanced readers (from word to sentence and text
level):
■■ Unscrambling words (What animal words can you find here? Cta, hifs)
■■ Filling in word puzzles
■■ Choosing among multiple choice items and pictures
■■ Arranging words in proper sequence in sentences and sentences in proper
sequence in a text (sentence strips)

■■ Matching texts with similar formats (schedules, lists, e-mails)
■■ Following along with a text while listening to it being read (on CD or by the
teacher)
■■ Correcting mistakes in a text (while the teacher reads the correct version)
■■ Sorting true and false sentences
■■ Skimming a text to get the major idea(s)
■■ Scanning a text for specific information
■■ Answering comprehension questions about short texts
■■ Looking up the meaning of unfamiliar words
■■ Taking notes in a graphic organizer
■■ Scanning a text for known word chunks (bus stop, soccer ball)
■■ Engaging in jigsaw reading, with each group responsible for different parts of a
short text
■■ Writing in a reading response journal or log (see p.182)
The last items in this list illustrate that, as young learners become more proficient
English readers, their activities move from a focus on learning to read to a focus on
using reading to learn (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2002).
Pre-Reading, During-Reading, and Post-Reading

Activities While it is possible to use a number of activities throughout the
reading process, the following presents some that seem especially suited for before,
during, or after reading. Note that some of them involve writing, thus integrating
reading and writing activities.
1. Pre-reading activities There are a number of activities that help learners

activate their background knowledge and prepare them to read or follow along
when someone else reads. These include:
■■ Taking a picture walk through the story of a fictional text

■■ Predicting what a story or other text will be about
■■ Pointing to and discussing the titles, subtitles, and graphics of
an informational text
■■ Talking about what is already known about the topic and the text (perhaps
filling out a K-W-L advance organizer as a class)
■■ Asking a question to be answered by the text
■■ Engaging in a variety of vocabulary activities
2. During-reading activities When reading aloud to children or engaging in

shared or guided reading with them, it is important to model good reading strategies
for them to use when they are reading independently. These include:

■■ Visualizing a scene
■■ Drawing a picture of a scene
■■ Paraphrasing or summarizing at several places in the text
■■ Predicting what will come next
■■ Re-reading for better comprehension
■■ Filling in a graphic organizer (a chart, a table, or a web)
■■ Correcting a text with errors
■■ Comparing two texts
3. Post-reading activities Upon completion of a read-aloud or shared or guided

reading, there are a number of ways of helping learners to remember or extending
what they have read:
■■ Labeling or writing sentences with illustrations from the text

■■ Drawing scenes and labeling or writing sentences with them
■■ Putting a set of illustrations in order and then talking about each
■■ Answering a series of questions that lead to a summary of the text
■■ Arranging words in sentence strips
■■ Sequencing sentences (strip stories)
■■ Forming small groups to discuss a favorite character or animal (using cooperative
learning corners)
■■ Talking about likes and dislikes
■■ Completing a graphic organizer
■■ Describing a character or scene
■■ Writing a new ending
■■ Creating a mini-book (see Chapter 6)
■■ Filling in cloze activities (see next page)
■■ Engaging in Reader’s Theater (see next page)
■■ Writing in a response journal (see example below)
Reading response journals The following response journal provides a convenient

way for children to record their thoughts and feelings about texts they have read
independently.
DOUBLE-ENTRY RESPONSE JOURNAL
What is the story or article about? Did you like it?

Why did you like it?
What did you like best?
What is one thing you learned?

Cloze activities One way to reinforce understanding of a text or provide vocabulary
practice is through the use of cloze activities. Cloze activities are a special type
of gap-fill, with words omitted from a unified, coherent paragraph. Learners use
context clues to help them in filling in the missing words. In a good cloze activity,
the first and last lines are complete and no more than every fifth to seventh word
is omitted. For beginning readers, only a few words should be omitted. Here is a
sample cloze activity:
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, ______ and toes,
And eyes, and ears, and mouth, and ______,
Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes.
Students can also be provided with the words to choose from for each
blank, or they may have to determine the word from context clues, as in the
above example. Cloze activities can also be designed to provide grammar
practice; for example, if prepositions of place (by, in, under) or adverbs of
frequency (never, sometimes, always) are a focus, only those words would be
omitted from the text.
Reader’s Theater Unlike other dramatic productions, Reader’s Theater does not require
costumes, props, or scenery. All it needs are the learners, who read lines in sequence,
following along in the script as others read their lines. For young learners, the teacher
will want to help with or even write simple scripts to use with picture books. Older
students can work in small groups (using Writing Workshop, discussed on p. 192–193)
to write their lines, deciding what a character might say in a particular scene. Reader’s
Theater would work especially well with The Great Kapok Tree, discussed in Chapter 3,
with each child reading a line in the way that the animal “spoke” to the lumberjack and
moving in the way described as they read the animal’s lines. Reader’s Theater makes
a great ending for any unit that has included a good story or informational text with
possible characters. It can be a very engaging activity for parents’ night at the school.
(The Education World Web site, http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/
profdev082.shtml, and James Davis’ Drama in ESL Web site, http://esldrama.weebly.
com/index.html, have lots of ideas for Reader’s Theater.)
Reading Strategies We read many different types of texts for different

purposes in a day, or even in an hour, and we do so in different ways. We read for
information, for enjoyment, or to keep up to date with news of our friends, family,
or country. When looking for the time a TV show is on the air, we scan the schedule
until we find the title of the show, and then note the time and station. When we read
an e-mail, we probably look quickly to see who sent the e-mail and at the subject
line, and then decide whether to read it at all. If we decide to read it, we may skim
the message to get the gist (the major idea) of the e-mail and then, maybe, we will go
back and read it more closely. When we read a novel, we might read parts of it fast,
slowing only when there is a memorable passage. When we read an academic article
or book, we might first skim the text to determine the main ideas and then read
much more slowly, stopping to think about what we are reading, and maybe taking
notes. When we are reading a story aloud to a child, we read with a lot of drama,
hoping to engage the child.
Children differ in their reading strategies, largely based on where they are in
their literacy development. Some are “code breakers,” focusing on decoding each
symbol; some are “meaning makers,” trying to construct meaning from the text;
some are “text users,” who understand that different texts have different purposes
and vary their reading strategies accordingly; and some are “text analysts,” who
understand that authors of texts have a particular perspective that needs to be
critically analyzed (Luke & Freebody, 1997; Zhang, Gu, & Hu, 2008). We will need
to help our learners, especially the older ones, to vary their reading strategies
based on their purposes for reading and the nature of the text and become strate-
gic users of these various approaches to reading. Some reading strategies include:
■■ Predicting: finding clues to what might come next in a text (from the cover, the
title, pictures, headings, or prior knowledge of the content)
■■ Monitoring: determining whether one’s reading makes sense, and if not,
re-reading to understand
■■ Confirming: finding evidence of an accurate prediction

■■ Connecting: making connections to prior readings, information, or experiences
■■ Questioning: asking questions about a text while reading, which may include
predicting the next parts of a text
■■ Skimming: reading to get the general topic or main points of a text
■■ Scanning: reading to find specific information such as dates or names or
answers to questions
■■ Distinguishing between important and less important information
■■ Using context clues: looking at the context (the pictures, other words, the
place in the sentence, punctuation) for better comprehension
■■ Paraphrasing or summarizing: while reading and after reading a text
■■ Visualizing: forming images about what has been read in order to facilitate
comprehension
Considerations for Teaching Writing

What Is Writing?
Writing is the most neglected skill in EYL (and in most EFL classes). There are a
number of reasons why writing is not more present in EYL classes: time, number
of students, a mistaken notion that children cannot begin writing in English until
they reach a significant level of proficiency in the language, or a belief that children
must learn to read before they can write. Sometimes, teachers think of essays or
reports when thinking about writing, and these texts take a long time to write and
a long time for the teacher to evaluate. But if we consider the many purposes of
writing, we will note the wide range of texts that an adult writes over a day. We write
Andrea Chu/Stone+/Getty Images

to communicate ideas, to interact socially with others (e-mails, invitations, greeting
cards, thank-you notes), to remember (lists, diaries, journals), as well as to get
information and learn. In a similar fashion, the range of texts that children can write
is broad, but in general, writing for children should be seen primarily as a means of
self-expression, with a focus on meaning, or as a means of reinforcing oral language
development. In this section we will explore a variety of texts that can easily be
integrated into a unit or lesson plan that will engage children and also be possible
for teachers to use when they have many students and limited time to evaluate.
Some of that writing may consist of activities in which children fill in a blank
or create sentences with some words provided. These can be good beginning
writing activities, but children also need the opportunity to engage in creative
writing and to write authentic texts for authentic purposes. When we write out-
side of the classroom, we write because we have something we want to commu-
nicate, a purpose for our writing, and a real audience we want to communicate
with. But we sometimes forget that when we assign writing in language classes.
A way to help us remember to assign authentic writing assignments is to use
FAT-P in explaining those assignments.
Every writing assignment should have a specific:
Form The type of writing text or genre—a letter, an

e-mail, a journal, a list, a story, or a poem
Audience Someone who will read the writing (other

students, parents, or oneself, for example, in a
diary or journal)
Topic Something to communicate
Purpose A reason to write—to inform, entertain, remember,

express feelings
Approaches to Teaching Writing Children learning to write go through

a number of stages in their first language, and they are likely to go through these
stages as well when they begin writing in English: drawing, scribbling, tracing and
writing letters (not necessarily forming words), using invented spelling as they
attempt to write words, and finally using more conventional writing and spelling.
Throughout this process, they are creating their own meaning (even when we don’t
understand what they have written). Even very young children have ideas about
how texts are written, and they attempt to create texts based on those ideas; over
time, as their understanding of these texts changes, so does their writing.
If they have learned to write in their own language, they already know
something about the purposes for writing and how to bring what they know

about the world, about language, and about discourse or texts to that writing,
though they may need to learn new conventions (some of what was discussed
with reading: a new alphabet or a new directionality, but also conventions con-
cerning spelling, capitalization, and punctuation). If they haven’t learned to
write in their first language, they will also have to learn how to hold a pencil
or pen and over time to develop the fine motor skills required to form letters.
Learning to make letters and use them to spell are to writing what learning to
distinguish sounds and relate sounds and letters are to reading: They are the ba-
sics required to learn to write or read (Slattery & Willis, 2001).
While our goal with our young learners is to help them to construct original
texts using their “intellectual and linguistic resources” (Hudelson, 1988, p. 1),
we will also want to help them to revise these texts to make them as clear and
understandable as possible. The question is, How do we accomplish this? Just as
there are controversies about the best way to teach reading, there are controver-
sies about how to teach writing. There are two major approaches:
1. A product-based approach—one that focuses on the final product
2. A process-based approach—one that focuses on the process of writing
A product-based approach focuses on accuracy, providing controlled or

guided activities to help children learn the basics of writing, working on
spelling, grammar, and mechanics, in a bottom-up fashion. A process-based
approach focuses on fluency, encouraging children to write and express them-
selves freely, without too much worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation
until the final stage of the process, when they “publish” their work. In the end,
both of these approaches are needed (Raimes, 1993).
1. A product-based approach A product-based approach, as the name implies,

focuses on the final writing product, seeking to create as accurate a text as possible:
one in which the grammar, spelling, and even punctuation and capitalization are
accurate. To achieve this, students are given a series of activities (controlled and
guided) that serve as small steps to complete before they move to constructing
an entire text. Like phonics, a product-based approach to writing consists of a
bottom-up approach, where accuracy with the various pieces of language (letters,
words, sentences, paragraphs) is the focus.
Writing activities are usually referred to as controlled, guided, or free. Both
controlled and guided writing activities focus on reinforcing learning of some
level of language: vocabulary, grammar, or mechanics (spelling, punctuation,
capitalization). The difference is in the amount of independence provided for
the writer. The goal of controlled activities is to have students practice writing
the language with careful control. Most of the text is provided for the student.
These activities only ask the student to copy or fill in a blank with possible
words provided, or for older students, to make minor choices or changes in a
text (for example, changing a text about one boy to one about several boys, or
changing a paragraph written in present tense to past tense). The goal of guided
writing is to help learners experience success while they also learn the relation-
ship between their ideas, words, and writing. Support is provided (for example,
in the form of questions to consider, or a graphic organizer with some of the
information provided). Free activities, as the name implies, encourage creativ-
ity, providing only the writing prompt (from FAT-P) or allowing the student
to choose what to write. The following sections discuss controlled and guided
activities; free writing will be discussed under Writing Workshop.
Controlled writing activities:
■■ Forming letters by tracing, creating them physically (with arms, hands, or even
full bodies with other children), connecting dots
■■ Underlining stressed words as they are spoken
■■ Counting the words in a sentence or clapping with each word
■■ Copying words or sentences
■■ Completing word puzzles with the words provided
■■ Playing word games (Bingo, Concentration)
■■ Unscrambling words or sentences
■■ Filling in gaps with the words or sentences provided
■■ Creating a poem with words provided
■■ Building a personal word list
■■ Contributing words to a word wall
Guided writing activities:

■■ Brainstorming topics or words to include
■■ Completing word puzzles with clues
■■ Filling in blanks
■■ Completing sentences with picture clues or sentence starters
■■ Responding to questions about a picture, a scene, or a text
■■ Describing a picture with some vocabulary provided
■■ Creating a poem with model formats
■■ Completing language bubbles in cartoons
■■ Writing from dictation (including a dictogloss, a summary that students write, with
the aid of a list of key words, after hearing a text read twice; Wajnryb, 1991)

■■ Writing from a (partially) completed graphic organizer
■■ Responding to a series of questions in writing
■■ Completing cloze activities
■■ Participating in the language experience approach
■■ Creating sentences with some of the words provided (for example, in a word grid)
■■ Rearranging sentences in a paragraph
■■ Rewriting familiar songs or stories (such as “Pepperoni Pizza”)
■■ Writing a new ending for a familiar story
■■ Writing a text (invitation, poem, e-mail, etc.) from a model
Nunan (2011) reminds us that even controlled or guided activities can be fun,
especially if they are turned into games or competitions, and some of these can also
reinforce reading skills. Children can be asked to copy something that is relevant to
the lesson or unit—for example, copying only the names of animals from a list that
includes other objects, or unscrambling words that are the names of children in the
class. Even lists can be made meaningful. Mary Tabaa, a primary English teacher and
teacher educator, suggests the following ways to make lists meaningful: If a unit is
about daily activities, students can list what they do every day (copying from a list on
the board or the text that includes brush my teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed, or walk to
school). If it is about food, they can cut out food items from a magazine or newspaper
and make a list of what they want to buy at the store. For guided activities, children
can complete a text that has been partially filled out: an invitation, a thank you, a
recipe or even a song or chant, with predictable rhyme. They can use pictures and
sentence starters to introduce themselves, members of their family, or workers in the
school. A simple introduction of themselves could then be posted, with pictures, for
children to use as reading texts and to get to know each other:
Hi, My name is __________________________ .
I am ________ years old.
I like ____________ . I don’t like ___________ .

It is also possible to include guided writing activities for children who are working
on creative or free writing in small groups. Nessel and Jones (1981, pp. 85–87)
describe a sample brainstorming conversation that a teacher is having with a small
group of students who are preparing to write about a storm. In that conversation,
she asks each child what they want to write about the storm, and in a series of
scaffolding questions, helps them to put a few ideas on paper. As they begin writing,
she moves from child to child, giving individual help and prompting additional
words or ideas.
Poetry Poetry can be a wonderful source of guided writing activities. Children

love to listen to poetry, but they can also write poetry if given models to imitate.
Poetry can be written by the entire class, by children working in small groups,
or by individual students.
• Name Acrostics: Some of the simplest poems are ones that use names.
Children can find words (from the word wall or with help from others) to
describe themselves:
Y oung H appy
U nique A thletic
K ind N ice
I ntelligent G irl
Acrostics can also be made for any topic or occasion. Children can send them
to each other for Valentine’s Day (as described in Chapter 2) or create a Happy
Birthday or other acrostic poem to send to family or friends.
• Three-Line Poems: Some simple but clever poems can be made with
single words on three lines:
Noun Cats Children
Verb Meow Play
Adverb Softly Happily
• Cinquains: These five-line poems (note cinq, the French word for
five) are more appropriate for advanced young writers, but they
follow a simple pattern and can be created by younger learners with
considerable discussion, vocabulary practice, and clear directions,
especially if they work in small groups. In the following example,
children were told to write the name of an animal on the first line; to
choose two colors or words to describe the animal in the second; to

think of things that their animal likes to do and list these, adding -ing;
to complete the fourth line with the name of the animal and “are our
friends”; and then to either use the same name or another name for
that animal in the last line:
Title or topic Panda
2 Adjectives Black White
3 Words ending in -ing Playing Sleeping Eating
4-word sentence Pandas are our friends.
Topic Bear
• Shape Poems: In a shape poem, the words are written in the shape
of the major topic or feeling. A famous shape poem is “r-p-o-p-h-e-s-
s-a-g-r” (grasshopper) written by e. e. cummings, a poet who liked to
play with language (available at http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php
/prmMID/15402). In the title and the poem, he captures the way that
grasshoppers are constantly moving and hopping.There are also poems
in the shape of ski slopes, roller coasters, or leaf piles. You can provide
the shape or an object for the children and have them write words
around the shape. Examples of shape poems can be found at http://www
.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/shape-
poems-30044.html.

• Poems from Prose: A fun class activity is to divide the class into
groups and make each group responsible for finding words to fit one of
the senses. For example, in a tree unit, one group might look at the tree
and write down what they see; another group can record what they hear;
another what they smell; etc. When they come back, they can finish each
of these lines:
We see
We hear
We smell
We feel
We taste (if appropriate)
They will be writing strings of words, but when the sentence starters (“We see,”
“We hear,” etc.) are removed, what will remain is poetry.
2. A process-based approach In a process-based approach to writing, the

primary goal is for children to express their ideas, to construct meaning, and to
explore their linguistic and other resources. Writing is a thinking process, and in
that process, children will be learning. All process-based approaches take children
through a series of steps to help them construct and communicate their ideas,
focusing on expression in the early stages, and only being concerned with accurate
grammar or mechanics in the final stages. The most common approach to process-
based writing is Writing Workshop, but other free or independent writing may use a
process-based approach as well.
Writing Workshop Writing (or Writers) Workshop is a series of activities that help
children to become authors, beginning with free writing, and then moving through
a series of writing steps or stages until they have produced a work that they want to
share, by “publishing” it in a class book, posting it on a bulletin board, or creating
their own book (Calkins, 1983; Hachem, Nabhani, & Bahous, 2008). This workshop
is both interactive and individualized, with students receiving support from the
teacher and other students as they work through the process of writing (Federer,
1993). Through a series of stages, Writing Workshop helps learners become both
more fluent and accurate writers. Computers have made Writing Workshop much
more feasible, but even without them, children can be helped to become authors
with pride in their work.
The stages of Writing Workshop are:
■■ Brainstorming and discussing: identifying possible topics to write about

individually, with a partner, and as a class, and talking about them with others

to activate background knowledge and obtain ideas for the first draft, using a
brainstorming web to capture ideas
■■ Drafting: writing a rough draft, focusing on getting ideas on paper, and not
worrying about spelling, grammar, or even word choice; fluency is the goal of
this stage
■■ Peer reviewing and conferencing: sharing the draft with another student
with a focus on the content, helping the writer to see what his or her audience
likes, understands, or needs to make the writing clearer
■■ Revising: taking the suggestions of others and also one’s own thoughts and
improving the content and organization of the paper
■■ Reviewing and conferencing: sharing the revised text with the teacher
■■ Editing: checking spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and improving the final
version of the paper; accuracy is the focus here. Controlled and guided writing
activities can help with this stage of the process.
■■ Publishing: sharing the writing with a real audience by posting it on a bulletin
board or online, including it in a class book, creating an individual book, or
putting it into an e-mail. It is also possible to invite children to read or share their
writing with the class or groups of students in an “author’s chair” while the
other children listen to the text being read aloud.
Note that the language experience approach, discussed previously, can be used
as a way of introducing children to Writing Workshop, where the brainstorming,
drafting, revising, and editing are done as a whole-class activity. Language
experience can also be used to guide children through writing their own books on
a common theme or by encouraging children to create a new ending or changing
the text in some other way, allowing them some independent writing that might be
shared with others (Karnowski, 1989).
Sometimes, teachers only include one stage of reviewing or conferencing,
with other students or with the teacher. One value of conferencing with peers
or the teacher is that it provides an authentic audience and helps the learner
to understand how her/his writing is being understood. Students of all ages
need to be taught how to be effective peer reviewers and what kind of feed-
back to provide. It helps to have a form such as the following Praise-Question-
Polish form. There are many versions of this form, depending on the age and
English proficiency level of the student, and also on the type of writing being
reviewed, but the following form (adapted from Lyons, 1981) can help begin-
ning writers in providing appropriate comments for their partners during peer
review:

PRAISE — QUESTION — POLISH
Author’s Name
Title of Paper
Reviewer’s Name
PRAISE
What do you like about my paper?
QUESTION
What is one question you have? OR
What is one thing you want to know more about?
POLISH
What is one thing I can do to make this better?
It is also helpful to provide children with simple checklists to guide their edit-
ing in preparing their final draft. (Note: Older students might be given a check-
list to guide their revision—usually referred to as an editing checklist—and
another one to guide their preparation of the final draft—usually referred to as a
proofreading checklist. For younger learners, one checklist to use before prepa-
ration of the final draft is sufficient.) The following is one that can be adapted to
reflect different levels of English proficiency and writing experience:
EDITING CHECKLIST
1. Does my story have a beginning, middle, and end?
2. Does it have a title?
3. Did I listen to what other students said?
3. Did I check my spelling?
4. Did I capitalize the first word in each sentence?
5. Did I end each sentence with a period or exclamation point mark?
6. Did I end each question with a question mark?
7. Can people read my handwriting?

Shared and interactive writing Shared writing, similar to shared reading, provides
learners with a model of how to go about writing. Unlike language experience,
where the teacher is a scribe recording the students’ words, in shared writing, the
teacher writes on the board or chart paper, asking for input from the students
and explaining her decisions (thinking aloud). The shared writing lessons, with
a small group or the whole class, are usually brief (a few minutes) and focused
on particular challenges that face young learners and precede an opportunity for
the students to write a similar text. Before writing, the teacher and the students
engage in a discussion to activate background knowledge and arouse interest
in the task and also establish a purpose for writing. During writing, the teacher
may note words that s/he wants to look up later, make small revisions (adding or
deleting a word) as they occur, re-read the emerging text several times, and discuss
what needs to be written next. S/he may also note words to look up later in the
dictionary. After the text is completed, the teacher reads it to the students and may
ask them to orally summarize what they have learned. The text is also displayed
in a place where the students can refer to it when they draft a similar text. It is
important that the text be an authentic effort. The teacher should not introduce
errors that s/he would not normally make, since this is an opportunity to observe
and interact with an expert. As McKenzie (1985) explains, with shared writing,
“Children begin to get in on the craft of writing” (p. 8). The next step after shared
writing is interactive writing, in which the teacher and students collaborate on
developing the text, determining together the words, phrases, organization, layout,
and other considerations (McCarrier, Pinnell, & Fountas, 2000).
Dialog journals Dialog journals, another interactive writing experience, are a

written conversation between a student and teacher that involve both free and
guided writing. In a dialog journal, the student writes about something that
interests her/him (the free or independent writing) and the teacher responds,
using about the same amount and level of language (the guidance). In the
beginning, children may just draw in their journals (Peyton, 1993). A teacher’s
response may be labeling what they have drawn and asking a simple question to
encourage the student to continue responding. Sometimes a child will copy a list
of words from the textbook, and the teacher’s response might be to add to the
list or choose some of the items and add a simple comment. There is no overt
correction, though a teacher may provide a model in the next entry. For example,
if a student wrote “I go zo Satirday” the teacher might respond, “How exciting!
You’ll go the zoo, Saturday. What animals do you want to see?” Before the student
responds, s/he will read the teacher’s entry and may self-correct with the next
entry. With this regular and positive feedback, students become more confident

of themselves as writers. They also improve their writing over time as they engage
in meaningful communication at their own language level and have a private
conversation with the teacher. Urzua (1987) found that through process writing and
dialog journals, young learners develop a better sense of audience, voice, and the
power of language. Teachers benefit by getting to know individual students and
their writing strengths and needs and by being able to offer individualized support.
One concern teachers have with dialog journals is the time it takes for the stu-
dents to write and for the teacher to respond. Many teachers use dialog journals
only once a week (if classes meet two or three times a week) and limit writing
time to the first five or ten minutes of class as a means of quieting the students
and also keeping the journal response manageable. Other teachers, especially
those with large classes, let the students write several entries, and then provide
one response for all these entries. Some teachers collect and respond to one-half
or one-third of the journals every week, rotating until all students have received
feedback. The important point is to provide children with an opportunity to
write freely and to receive individual feedback in authentic communication.
Texts for writing Children can be invited to write a wide range of texts. Many of these
will have already been introduced as reading texts. The following list is only a beginning:
■■ Address labels
■■ Alphabet books
■■ Brochures
■■ Dialog journals
■■ Diaries
■■ Digital texts (e-mail, texts, blogs, e-pals)
■■ Greeting cards
■■ Invitations
■■ Lists
■■ Menus
■■ Mini-books
■■ Name cards
■■ Plays or scripts for Reader’s Theater
■■ Poems
■■ Posters
■■ Recipes
■■ Response journals
■■ Signs
■■ Stories
■■ Thank-you notes
Reading and Writing Digital Texts The world of reading and writing
has changed markedly in the last decade, with “literacy” now thought of in terms
of many “literacies” (New London Group, 2000; Leu, 2000, 2002). Young learners
may find that they do increasing amounts of their reading and writing online.
Certainly the need for print dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works
will only continue to decline as these are freely and easily available on the Internet.
At least some of the texts older young learners write, as well as read, should be those
that communicate information to others through e-mail, blogs, texts, or paired
class assignments. If actual Internet access is not available, assignments can model
Internet communication with documents that resemble e-mail or other online
communication. As the following example from
a teacher in Greece indicates, some of our young
Georgia Maneta, Primary
learners are so involved in online communication English Teacher, Greece
that they don’t know about regular (postal) mail! “Last year I was part of a
We need to keep up with our learners! project where my students
had to exchange e-mails
Some digital writing activities include: about simple topics (family,
hobbies, subjects, music,
1. E-pals and paired classes etc.) with students from
other European schools.
2. Photo-autobiographies
It worked really well as
they were excited every
1. E-pals and paired classes Georgia Maneta, time they got a reply and
the teacher from Greece, described two ways in eager to learn about their
e-friends’ lives! I also
which she paired her students with others, one of worked on another project
them using the Internet. E-pals (or e-friends) are a where a class of mine
had to write on 3 or 4
modern adaptation of pen pals. Instead of writing postcards (which depicted
to each other and sending the message through the our city) things about the
postal service, pairs of English learners (in other weather in Greece and
things that students like
schools or even other countries) write to each other doing! The strangest thing
regularly, often after discussing as a class the types for me was that most of
them did not know how
of topics that would be interesting for others to read
conventional letter writing
about. The topics usually begin with introductions, worked!!!! They didn’t
then move to likes and dislikes, and even to know that envelopes with
stamps would arrive at
descriptions of favorite games, sports, or foods. school from different parts
Some teachers decide to make this a class of the world! As soon as
they realized that they
activity, pairing with another EYL class to ex- checked the post box every
change class e-mails (Cummins & Sayers, 1997). day! So, exchanging letters
Children discuss what they want to know about was a very good way to
make my students write in
the other class as well as what they want to com- English.”
municate, and through online discussion, the
children and teachers decide on a series of brief topics to write about. Older
learners can serve as “tourist guides,” introducing their communities to each
other and focusing on what they think makes their community a fun place
to live.
2. Photo-autobiographies With digital cameras in many phones or the

presence of a digital camera at the school, older children can take pictures of family
and friends, or of things that are important to them (pets, toys, favorite games)
to develop small digital or print books. (If a child doesn’t have access to a digital
camera, pictures can be scanned for inclusion.) Children can create their own book,
with each picture serving as a page in the book and, depending on their level of
literacy, provide a brief caption (dictating it to someone who can write it for them—
the teacher or an older and more proficient English speaking student, if necessary).
A smaller version of this would be to have each child contribute one picture for an
online class newsletter or to send to their e-pals in another class.
Designing a Reading and Writing Lesson

As discussed in this chapter, reading and writing are often integrated in a lesson.
The following is a lesson plan for 7- to 8-year-olds who are in their second year of
English. The children will be participating in Reader’s Theater for Parents’ Night.
They want to invite school administrators and children from other classes in the
school to come to their rehearsal.
Sample Lesson
Invitation to Our Performance
Invitation to Our Performance

Student profile Grades 3–4, high beginner level of English proficiency
Skills to be emphasized Reading, writing, speaking
Language Form: Invitation

Vocabulary and expressions:
You are invited (formulaic chunk); RSVP; rehearsal; Reader’s Theater
Objectives By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Read and analyze sample invitations
• Talk about possible invitees
• Write an invitation

Materials 2 sample invitations
1 blank invitation
Paper and markers
Warm-up
Capture their attention Remind children of Parents’ Night and Reader’s Theater. Say to them, “Class,
in 2 weeks . . . what will happen at school?” (Elicit their answers.) “Right!
Parents’ Night! And what are we doing on Parents’ Night? Reader’s Theater!
It’s going to be so much fun!”
Connect to prior Discuss classes and people to invite. “Class, who do we want to invite to our
knowledge and Reader’s Theater?” (Make a list on the board.) “How will they know when
experiences it is? How will they know where to go?” (Elicit the answer.) “Right! An
invitation!”
Presentation
Reading invitations Present two examples of simple invitations.

Analyze the parts of an invitation:
Please come to:
Date:
Time:
Place:
From:
RSVP:
Ask students, “What are the parts of an invitation? Are there differences
between the two invitations?”
Practice
Controlled practice Give students a fun template for an invitation.
Q&A
Then have students ask you questions and fill in the invitation properly.

Guided practice As a class, the students write an invitation for their Reader’s Theater
performance using the language experience approach. After they give their
ideas, and the teacher writes them on the board, children copy the major
information from the board. They address the invitation to the teacher and
class that they have selected from the list. Then they design the invitation to
make it look attractive.
Application
Independent activity Invitation

Students individually write an invitation for their parents or relatives, using
the model provided, but changing the date and time to match Parents’ Night.
They discuss how to present this to their parents or relatives who don’t speak
English.
Assessment
Formative assessment In the controlled practice activity, the teacher can check to see if students can
make the invitation correctly given all the party details.
Feedback and correction The teacher will collect their independent activity and correct them.
Follow-up
Next class After the teacher returns their invitations with corrections, students will
make the corrections for the invitations to their parents or relatives. Then
they make a nice design for the invitation and add the language to make the
invitation complete.
Teacher to Teacher
Teaching Reading and Writing to Young
Learners
This chapter described effective approaches and activities for teaching reading and
writing to young learners. Below are excerpts from online discussions by teachers
from around the world who are teaching young learners. As you read their entries,
which discuss the ways in which they integrate reading and writing into their
classes, think about how they might also be useful in your context.
This teacher, from Qatar, talks about how she uses both the phonics and
whole word (look–say) approach in teaching beginning reading. Notice how she
makes both fun.

“teaching
Teaching phonics is fun for me. I personally adapt two famous programs in
sounds and letters. I use the Jolly Phonics program and Letter Land.
They are wonderful in teaching sound through stories such as /sh/ and /ch/
sounds through characters and stories. Children are having fun and learning.
Here is an example for learning the /sh/ sound:
/S/ is a very noisy snake, while /h/ Henry is a very quiet man. He doesn’t like
noise, so when they are walking together /s/ snake is always making that noisy
sound /sssssss/. What do you think Henry will do? Yes, Henry is looking at him
saying /shshshshshsh/. So whenever you see the friends /s/ and /h/ remember
this /shshshshsh/ story.
(This story was taken from Letter Land stories, but using my own words.)
If you would like to have more information please feel free to visit the
websites: www.letterland.com and www.jollylearning.co.uk.
I apply the whole word approach using flashcards and word recognition activities.
• Select a group of words
• Show the flashcard and say the word
• Elicit pronunciation for class repetition
• Put all the words on the board
• Play the camera game by asking the children to imagine they have a camera to take
a picture of the words
• Ask them to shut their eyes
• Take one word out
• Ask them to open their eyes and find the missing word
• Then have the children find the picture of that word in their book to connect word
and its meaning.”
—Najat Al-Kuwari, Primary English Teacher, Qatar
Both phonics and meaning-based approaches such as the whole word approach have
a place in the very young learner’s classroom. Phonics is needed to help children
understand the relationship between letters and sounds and also to sound out
unfamiliar words in the future.
This teacher from Haiti was skeptical of using sight words in the look–say
approach, but became convinced of its usefulness.
“toWhen I used to teach second grade my supervisor told me it was okay

use the Look and Say approach at times. I was skeptical so one day she
brought a series of things to my class. Mostly it was things like different logos
of various products. She held up the Coca Cola logo and asked the kids what
it said. They all screamed ‘Coca Cola!!!!’ There were others like Sprite, Kellogg’s,
and even some in Creole and French but the kids knew them all. The point is

even if the kids were not aware that they were reading, they recognized the
words because they had seen them so many times. ”
—Lorraine Taggart, Primary English Teacher, Haiti
Beginning with words in the environment, including those in a print-rich

classroom, will help children see the relationship between written words and
those that they have heard or said.
The following teacher trainer, from Poland, describes her choice of texts and
the many activities that she uses with her class as she moves from reading aloud,
to shared reading, guided reading, and ending with a play:
“pieces
I sometimes choose longer pieces for reading, but then they are usually
my students know in Polish and then I read the story in English, of
course with the support of pictures. Then, we read together. I read the story
from the big book and students have their small books. Then, the following
step is to watch the story on DVD and then listening to the CD. We end our
work with a drama. It takes a month to do so, but my students like it and
they do not mind working. I provide them with many exercises: searching,
matching, crosswords, drawing pictures, filling the gaps and so on. Every year
we work on two longer stories. ”
—Urszula Kropaczewska, Teacher Trainer, Poland
Using a story that the children already know in Polish allows the teacher to choose a
longer text and also to engage students in a range of engaging activities.
Next, a teacher from Costa Rica explains how she uses a game with small
groups that involves both reading and writing, as well as listening and speaking.
“paper
The 3R technique (run, read and retell) is done in groups. The teacher pastes
around the classroom in places where they are not easily seen. One
student runs and reads the sentence or phrase and has to retell it to a writer in
the group. Then, another student is the runner and another one is the writer.
”
This is a very good activity because they read, write, speak and listen.
—Roxanne Vargas Lopez, Primary English Teacher, Costa Rica
This running dictation game is always fun for students. Adding competition to reading
and writing makes being accurate more important and helps motivate students.
As we know, getting children to write can be a challenge. This teacher from Croatia
discusses how she motivates very young learners (in grade 1) and older learners (in
grade 5) to write using pictures, in an activity like photo-autobiographies.

“what
On Friday I asked my first and fifth graders to report on Monday (today)
they did over the weekend. They could use pictures and words. And
what did I see today? First graders brought pictures of their weekend activities
(playing football, watching TV, eating, riding a bike). Some even included words
that we learned like ball, bike, pizza, sandwich, dog. The focus in grade 5 is the
Past Simple tense. I got amazing sentences of what they did over the weekend
with correct formation of regular and irregular verbs. There were even some
sentences with the verbs we didn’t cover, so this means they looked for some
other sources to express themselves. Of course, in both cases there were
occasional L1 words, but I didn’t correct one single thing. I was so happy to
see their work and awarded them with stamps and stickers. ”
—Darija Sostaric-Zuckermann, Primary English Teacher, Croatia
This teacher decided not to correct the children’s use of their first language since
she was asking children to write freely or independently and not through the longer
Writing Workshop process. The children were very responsive, which was her goal.
Here is another teacher who asked students to take photos and use them as
the basis for writing about a meaningful topic that they had been reading about:
pollution and deforestation.
“warming
I often choose reading pieces that relate to real life, like articles about global
or marine animals that are becoming extinct. Last week I asked my
second graders to walk around their home environment and take photos that
prove the existence of pollution and destruction of forests and trees; at the
end the students had to label the photos and present them to the class. The
pupils exceeded my expectations on that project. They all put their hearts in
doing it, simply because it was an interesting topic to them and because it
”
related to their tangible reality.
—Line Rehayem, Primary English Teacher, Lebanon
Next, a teacher from Brazil talks about how she gets all of her children to write, by
using simple and enjoyable tasks.
“of Writing certainly isn’t an easy skill to teach, but maybe because we think
writing as something long and elaborate. When we start teaching writing
with simple tasks like making a list, writing a recipe, an invitation, a card, a
note, it may become easier. Many students are not used to writing in their
native language, so they find it even harder to write in a foreign language.
However, with careful planning, modeling and guidance everybody is capable
of writing. Besides, making writing interactive and meaningful plays a crucial
role in motivating students. A possible way to encourage our students is to do

what other teachers have suggested—ask them to write an e-mail or a text
message. This is something they are used to doing in their native language.
”
Therefore, it will probably be easier for them.
—Ana Maria Scandiuzzi, EFL Instructor, Brazil
As discussed in this chapter, children can be asked to write many different texts, and
Ana Maria is thinking of adding e-mail or text messages, since this is something her
children “are used to doing in their native language.”
Inviting children to share their entries with the class helps keep all writing,
not just dialog journals, focused on communication and makes writing much
more enjoyable.
Sometimes an event will stimulate children to write. This teacher used a letter
addressed to the principal as a class writing assignment.
“were
To work out creative writing I asked my pupils to write a letter. When they
in the second form I prepared a surprise for them: during the lesson
the School Principal knocked on the door and gave me a letter. And she
said that she didn’t understand what was written there. She said that she
hadn’t studied English at school. I showed the letter to the children and they
could read it! It was a letter ‘from an English boy who wrote about himself,
his friends and his family.’ The children were happy: the School Principal
couldn’t read the letter and they could! I offered the children to write an
answer to that boy at home and promised that we should send him the
best letter. This motivated the pupils to write something interesting, to be
neat and tidy, to have clear handwriting. Sometimes I give the pupils a task
to write about the weather or about what they did in the morning or on
the weekend. They make small groups and write short letters to each other
within the group.”
—Ella Krotova, Primary English Teacher, Russia
All of these teachers have adapted their EYL reading and writing assignments to
meet the children’s interests and needs and to encourage their children in continuing
to develop their reading and writing skills in English.
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Reading and writing are active and complementary activities We often think,
mistakenly, that reading is a passive activity. But reading is an interactive process,
involving the reader, the text, and the writer. Similarly, writing is an interactive
process, involving the writer, the text, and the reader. When we write, we think
about our reader and often re-read what we have written to ensure that our
message is clear to the reader. In a young learner classroom, children can read
and then write about what they have read (in a range of activities) and they
can read what they or other children have written. Reading can be thought
of as preparation for writing and writing as producing something for others
to read.
Reading and writing activities should be meaningful, but also provide
controlled and guided practice to support learners in their reading and
writing development Children need to develop basic reading and writing
skills that can best be addressed in a bottom-up approach. For reading, this will
involve the systematic use of a variety of controlled and guided phonics activities
that help children understand the relationship between print and oral language.
For writing, this will involve a variety of controlled and guided product-based
activities to help teach language structure (grammar), vocabulary, spelling, and
writing mechanics.
They also need to do this in a meaningful context that can best be estab-
lished through a top-down approach. For reading, this can be established
through reading aloud or the language experience approach. For writing,
this can be established through a process-based approach using Writing
Workshop.
As much as possible, in each new unit or lesson plan, a meaningful con-
text for reading and writing should be established before children focus on the
smaller elements of written language.
A range of reading and writing activities and texts should be integrated
into unit and lesson plans Too often, reading and writing are reduced to
short, simple, controlled or guided activities in EYL classes. But children
need opportunities to engage with a range of reading and writing activities,
including ones that are supported by the teacher, as well as ones that encourage
independent reading and writing. Time should be set aside for children to choose
books or other materials appropriate to their age and English proficiency to
read (extensive reading) and to create a range of writing texts, including poems,
stories, and journals. Digital texts, for reading and writing, should also be
included wherever possible as well as opportunities for children to read with and
write to other children, both in their EYL classes and remotely, through online
communication.

Over to You
1. Now that we have discussed approaches to teaching reading
and writing and some examples of activities to use, look back at
Discussion the list you made at the beginning of the chapter. Look at the
Questions activities that you thought would NOT be motivating to young
learners. Are there ways that you can make them more motivating
or engaging? What are some new activities that you would want
to try using with your young learners?
2. What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of both phonics
and whole language approaches? How can you incorporate the
best of each of these approaches in designing a reading program
for young learners? Would there be differences for very young
learners and young learners?
3. Look online at any one of the word frequency lists referenced in
the chapter. Then compare these with what you would expect to
teach to young learners. You may want to consult EYL textbooks
prepared by the Ministry of Education or commercial EYL
textbooks to see how the vocabulary that is included in the books
or materials matches the words in the frequency lists.
4. What kinds of texts do children read and write in your commu-
nity? Which of these could be used for encouraging authentic
reading and writing in English?
Lesson Select any lesson you have planned or one that you have observed or reviewed and
Planning identify the reading and writing activities that are included. Are these bottom-up
activities (phonics or product-based writing activities) or top-down (whole language
or process-based activities focused on meaning)? Add activities to the lesson to
include at least one of the four categories (controlled or guided reading and writing
activities and independent reading and free writing activities).
Write Reflection on Learning to Read: Think back to when you were a child learning to
About It read in your first language. What are some ways that your parents and teachers
helped you? Can you recall a favorite book that you read and re-read as a child? How
might you apply this to teaching reading in English to young learners?
How did you learn to read in English? Can you recall some of the activities that your
teacher and others used to help you make the transition from reading in your first
language to reading in English? Could you use these in teaching EYL?

Print Publications
Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2002). The primary English teach- Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford, UK:
er’s guide , 2nd ed. Essex, UK: Penguin English. Oxford University Press.
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Slattery, M., & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers: A hand-
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. book of activities and classroom language. Oxford, UK: Oxford
Peregoy, S. G., & Boyle, O. F. (2004). Reading, writing, and learning in University Press.
ESL: A r esource book for K–8 teachers , 4th ed. White Plains, NY:
Longman.
Useful Web Sites

Mother Goose nursery rhymes that can be used for Comic strips: comics.com (for strips which can be used with
phonics activities: http://www.zelo.com/family beginners, because they are short, several strips could be
/nursery/ used for a lesson or a unit)
44 sounds of English: http://www.youtube.com/ Songs, chants, rhymes: http://www.ifayed.net/Main_Folders
watch?v=-g35OvlNu-A /Resources/SPEER_02/TEAS_CH4.PDF
National Geographic sites: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com Reader’s Theater: http://esldrama.weebly.com/index.html
/kids/ or http://www.kidsgeo.com/index.php (for nonfiction Reader’s Theater Editions: http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html
or informational texts) (for folktales and other stories by Aaron Shepard, often with
Short biographical texts: http://www.biography.com wonderful illustrations that can be used with the story)
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6 Storytelling
Getting Started
Think about your childhood. Do you remember a family member
reading you stories before bedtime? Or do you remember sitting
Think About It around a table listening to a family member tell stories? Close your
eyes, imagine the situation, and think about how you felt while
listening to these stories.
Now think about telling stories yourself. Perhaps you are a parent
and you like to tell bedtime stories to your children. Maybe you are
an aunt or uncle who enjoys telling your nieces and nephews funny
stories about their mom and dad. Perhaps, as a teacher, you like telling
fairytales to your students to light up their imaginations. What kinds of
stories do you tell others? Close your eyes and think about what you
do when you tell stories.
As a teacher, what are your strengths as a storyteller? What aspects
of storytelling do you find challenging? Which stories do you like to tell
your students? Why do you enjoy
telling these stories?
Mark Gail/The Washington Post via Getty Images
209
In the chart below, write down what you think are the most important
Discovery Activity aspects of storytelling for a storyteller and for a listener.
Storyteller Listener
Why We Tell Stories in the Classroom

Sharing stories is an exciting and entertaining way to engage learners and present
new language structures and vocabulary. It is important to provide a meaningful
context in which the target language is used and taught. Stories can also be used
as the basis for a thematic unit plan, as described in Chapter 3. Storytelling allows
students to communicate in the language in authentic ways and introduces students
to their own culture as well as to other cultures. Narrative activities develop learners’
critical thinking, listening, and speaking skills, and can be integrated with follow-up
activities for teaching reading and writing. Ultimately, storytelling is most beneficial
for young learners of English for the following reasons:
■■ It is an authentic form of communication.

■■ It introduces new cultures to children.
■■ It teaches young learners in an entertaining way.
■■ It helps develop critical thinking skills.
Storytelling Is an Authentic Form of

Communication
Storytelling is an authentic form of communication that is a part of every culture.
There are many people who are famous for crafting tales, and we still read their
stories today. The legendary Aesop of ancient Greece is probably one of the most
famous storytellers; his fables are still told to children to teach moral lessons.
In many cultures, storytelling is also a tradition used to communicate culture
from one generation to the next. For example, the elder Pueblo Indians in
New Mexico pass down their culture and values to the younger generation
through songs and stories (Bahti, 1996). Children are actively involved with the
storyteller and genuinely enjoy this traditional form of communication between
generations.
In fact, many schools often use storybooks and storytelling as part of an ele-
mentary (primary) school curriculum because stories teach valuable lessons and
literacy to children while also entertaining them. As Pinter describes, “Listening
to stories is the most authentic and popular activity for all children, and primary
English teachers can use storytelling as additional listening practice. Children
will learn new language as well as having enjoyable listening practice. Language
is picked up easily because stories contain repetition which makes linguistic
input more noticeable” (2006, pp. 52–53).
Storytelling Introduces New Cultures to

Children
Stories are a carrier of culture. What better way to expose children to the values
of various cultures than to use storytelling? As Curtain and Dalhberg state, “Story,
or narrative, is a powerful vehicle for experiencing culture. Values and concepts
of the culture that are embedded in myths and folktales can be shared through
storytelling, story reading, and dramatization” (2010, p. 266). For example, there
are many different versions of the Cinderella story that can be explored using
English. In addition to the Cinderella story, which comes from German and French
tradition, there is Rhodopis from Greco-Egyptian tradition, Yeh-Shen from China,
Pear Blossom from Korea, Nyahsa from Zimbabwe, Domitila from Mexico, Rough-
Face Girl from the Native American Algonquin tribe, and many other versions.
All of these stories are about a poor girl who is good and hardworking and ends
up marrying a prince or king. However, there are many variations in each story
that give insight into the different cultures that these Cinderella stories come from.
Teachers could use several Cinderella stories from around the world in a thematic
unit to highlight cultural diversity. Comparing and contrasting Cinderella stories
can highlight similar values as well as cultural differences through the plot details.
This is just one example of how teachers can introduce children to people from
other cultures through stories.
6 Storytelling 211
Storytelling Teaches Young Learners in an
Entertaining Way
Well-written stories can capture the interest and imagination of children over multiple
generations. For instance, many Dr. Seuss books, such as The Cat in the Hat and Hop
on Pop, were written decades ago yet are still favorites among children. Children ask to
hear these stories again and again because they are fun, and many teachers like them
because they help children learn the rhythm and sounds of the English language. (They
also provide a good basis for developing phonemic awareness leading to phonics and
initial reading in English, as discussed in Chapter 5.) Stories like these ignite learners’
imaginations and creativity while challenging them to learn new language or understand
language in a new context. They particularly cater to young learners who have short
attention spans and learn best through play and entertainment.
When done effectively, storytelling is an enjoyable activity in which the lan-
guage learning process is undetectable to children. As Slatterly and Willis (2001)
point out, “Young learners acquire language unconsciously. The activities you
do in class should help this kind of acquisition. Stories are the most valuable
resource you have. They offer children a world of supported meaning that they
can relate to” (p. 98). If teachers skillfully incorporate storytelling into the cur-
riculum, young learners will pick up new vocabulary and language structures
within the context of an engaging world.
Storytelling Develops Critical Thinking Skills

Storytelling lends itself well to helping students of all levels develop critical
Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills. Chance (1986) defines critical thinking as “the ability
learning domains originally
included knowledge,
to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make
comprehension, application, comparisons, draw inferences, evaluate arguments, and solve problems”
analysis, synthesis, and (p. 6). These are important skills for young learners to develop in a primary
evaluation. In the 1990s, a
former student of Bloom’s school curriculum because they help students gain a deeper understanding
named Lorin Anderson of texts, including those that provide information from a variety of cultures.
revised Bloom’s taxonomy
to feature the following
Teachers can help students develop critical thinking skills by
levels of questioning in asking questions that require students to analyze and make infer-
the educational process: ences, and by encouraging students to compare themselves and their
remembering, understanding,
appearing, analyzing, cultures to the stories they have heard. Through this process, students
evaluating, and creating. can be encouraged to form their own opinions and evaluate a story
for both content and delivery. When teachers encourage students to
retell a story, they must also “summarize, edit, and develop” the story, not just
repeat the story word for word (Spiro, 2006, p. 7).
Typical critical thinking activities, which are described in more detail in
the next section of this chapter, increase the learners’ level of understanding
of a story while allowing them to make connections between the story and the
real world, the story and their personal lives, and the story and their culture.
Young learners also develop the ability to sift through new stories and cultural
information through a process of critical reflective thinking. Ultimately, critical
thinking activities with storytelling pose issues of cultural differences and give
young learners the chance to improve their ability to communicate intercultur-
ally, using English as an international language.
How We Tell Stories in the Classroom

Storytelling is an art or a skill that can be developed. In the previous chapter, about
teaching reading and writing, different ways of reading are highlighted, such as reading
aloud, shared reading, and guided reading. Like reading aloud, storytelling is a listening
activity. However, reading aloud is usually associated with the storybook, and teachers
can point to pictures and the text while reading the story out loud. However, storytelling
is not limited to the book. A teacher can tell a story without the book, using other visuals,
costumes, realia, and drama in order to make the story come alive for the children.
Skilled storytellers breathe life into the characters and plot and adapt the nar-
rative with each reading. They re-create the story so that the listener will want
to hear the story again and again. In order to be a successful storyteller, it is
important to consider your audience and what will capture their attention and
imagination. The more engaged you are with the story and the experience of
recounting it, the more connected the students will be and the more easily they
will follow. As you develop your storytelling skills, consider the following points:
Choose the Right Story

Choosing the right story is the first step in successful storytelling. Curtain and
Dahlberg (2010) suggest that stories that meet the following criteria can provide
an effective storytelling experience for young learners, even at beginning levels of
English. Stories should:
■■ be highly predictable
■■ be familiar to the home culture
■■ have a high percentage of known vocabulary
■■ include repetitive and predictable patterns
■■ provide opportunities to apply drama and Total Physical Response
■■ lend themselves well to use of visuals and realia to make input comprehensible
6 Storytelling 213
If stories meet these criteria, then it is possible to present an engaging
storytelling experience that will keep young learners’ attention and allow them
to follow along in English without using their native language. If students have
difficulty following the story, it is possible that the story needs to be adapted to
the learners’ English level, or replaced altogether. For suggestions of good stories
to use with young learners, see the list of Web sites on p. 240.
Prepare to Tell a Story

Once you have chosen the right story, the next step is to prepare to tell the story
effectively. As Brewster, Ellis, and Girard (2004) point out, “Simply reading a
story aloud to a class without preparation could be disastrous, with a loss of
pupil attention, motivation, and self-confidence. Pupils’ enjoyment will increase
enormously if we ensure their understanding is supported in several ways.
Pupils will also need to feel involved and relate the story to aspects of their own
experience” (p. 192). This section will explore how to prepare for
successful storytelling.
Alton Chung is a famous Hawaiian storyteller of Korean and
Japanese heritage who uses body movement, facial expressions,
and voices to make stories come alive. This multicultural story-
teller engages listeners with his theatrics. Chung describes his style
of storytelling as being influenced by “talk story,” a form of oral
history found in Hawaiian culture. Talk story is the way Hawaiian
Photo courtesy of Anne Shimojima
people converse and share stories, a style that emphasizes collabo-

ration and cooperation. In talk story, a person shares a story while
others corroborate or add to it as it is being told (Taosaka, 2002).
Chung embraces this act of collaboration in his storytelling.
Although talk story is specific to Hawaiian culture, this ex-
ample of storyteller Alton Chung shows how important it is to
Storyteller Alton Chung describes
his style thus: “When performing,
use storytelling techniques that appeal to your audience. The
I try to connect and be fully human connection between storyteller and audience is key for
present with the audience—to be holding the audience’s attention. As such, teachers should con-
in the here and now. At times,
audience members, especially sider the characteristics of their young learners and use story-
young people, seem to hunger telling techniques that are relevant to them.
for the connection and stories,
as if they can never get enough.
Some teachers feel anxiety over storytelling because they
I believe that there is a need feel that they have no natural talent for it, or they lack con-
for true human connection and fidence in their own English language skills. However, with
story in our society.” (www
.altonchung.com) thoughtful preparation and practice, all teachers can create a
successful storytelling experience for their students.
To make your storytelling engaging, prepare these four elements: theatrics,
props, script, and rehearsals.
Aim to include aspects of these four elements in every storytelling session.
If this is a new concept, start small and build up your skills slowly. As you gain
confidence using one aspect, add another to your repertoire. The theatrics and
props are particularly important as they help to generate interest and enjoyment
in learners, and they make input comprehensible.
Consider the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Children love to
hear stories told with different character voices, so you could use a young girl’s
voice for Goldilocks; a squeaky voice for Baby Bear; a sweet, soothing voice for
Theatrics Props
■■ Gestures ■■ Visuals for setting and characters
■■ Body movement ■■ Realia
■■ Dramatic pauses ■■ Masks for role play
■■ Character voices ■■ Costumes for role play
■■ Facial expressions ■■ Hand or finger puppets
■■ Speaking slowly and clearly ■■ PowerPoint slides or storyboards
STORYTELLING
PREPARATION
Rehearsals Script
■■ Memorize the text, including ■■ Use illustrations from the
questions for students storybook
■■ Use cue cards if necessary ■■ Adapt the script to learners’
■■ Practice in front of the mirror levels
■■ Record/videotape yourself ■■ Create roles students can play
■■ Rehearse using props ■■ Integrate songs or chants
■■ Practice, practice, practice! ■■ Prepare places in the storytelling
for questions and predictions
6 Storytelling 215
Mama Bear; and a rough, deep voice for Papa Bear. In addition, you could use
hand puppets and a drawing of the Bears’ house on a poster or in a PowerPoint
presentation along with the character voices. The combination of voices, pup-
pets, and the background drawing would make the storytelling fun and enter-
taining and would also help students understand the story better. Use a variety
of theatrics and props to keep each storytelling fresh and new for learners.
Another storytelling element to consider is the script, which should be care-
fully prepared to be just above the learners’ level of English and to incorporate
both new and known vocabulary and grammatical structures. Furthermore,
script preparation should also build in time for student participation and com-
prehension questions throughout the storytelling, which will help keep the level
of student engagement high. Children can role play with the script by playing
the character parts in skits or Reader’s Theater activities. The script can be
simplified to adjust to the learners’ level to help with this.
Finally, it is vitally important to rehearse the storytelling before class.
Although it is best to memorize as much of the text as possible, it can be h elpful
to prepare cue cards (cards with key words and plot elements from the script) to
help guide your “performance.” In fact, preparing cue cards that are colorful and
have pictures that relate to the story can actually add more excitement to the
storytelling process. Preparation for the first time you tell a particular story can
take time; however, the props and activities can be reused, so you will find that
the next performance of that story takes much less preparation. In the end, the
smiles on the faces of your young learners will make all the effort worthwhile.
Effective Storytelling Activities

In order to design effective storytelling activities, it is important for teachers to
think about activities before, during, and after the storytelling. In addition to the
preparation for making the story come alive, the teacher needs to prepare students
with the language to understand the story. Activities to keep students active and
engaged in class at every stage of the storytelling should also be planned.
In the next sections, numerous activities are suggested for use before, during,
and after the storytelling.
Activities before Storytelling

Before-storytelling activities are designed to aid comprehension, create interest and
enjoyment, make the storytelling more meaningful, and encourage critical thinking.

Capture their attention:
Use pictures or realia to introduce the story For example, for the story The
in a fun and interesting way. You can use Rainbow Fish, the teacher could use an
the cover of the storybook to capture the underwater scene from the storybook
attention of students or create fun visuals. To and popsicle stick puppets of the fish.
make the characters come alive, the teacher The brightly colored puppets would
could make finger or popsicle stick puppets include different-colored fish and a
of the characters and introduce them to the multicolored Rainbow Fish with shiny
class. To draw students into the scenery of the silver scales. The puppets can be used
story, the teacher could make a background with the background to excite the
on poster paper and put it up on the students for a storytelling that has a
classroom wall, or project the scenes bright scene and puppets to hold and
from a laptop onto the wall. play with.
Connect to prior knowledge and experiences:

It is important to connect For example, if the story is Cinderella, the teacher may
students’ lives to the prepare students by introducing the concept of family
story. This includes since the story’s main characters are Cinderella, her
introducing the main stepmother, and stepsisters. In addition, the story includes
ideas, concepts, or interaction between different classes of people (i.e., royalty
characters to students. and common people), and the teacher could explain this
The choice of concepts by introducing the characters and their backgrounds.
the teacher introduces Another way to connect to students’ background
depends on the students’ knowledge could be to ask students about their own
background, experience, country or culture’s Cinderella story since many countries
and culture. have similar fairytales or folktales.
6 Storytelling 217
Review language students have learned:
If a story contains vocabulary and structures that In Chapter 3, The Very Hungry
students have already learned, it can help to Caterpillar was used as the basis of
review this language before telling the story. This a unit on nutrition and foods. It is a
is especially important when the story is a part commonly used storybook for young
of a larger thematic unit and recycles language learners. It has vocabulary for food,
previously learned. The review of language is numbers, days of the week, and the
often related to background knowledge and life cycle of a butterfly. The teacher
experiences. Since young learners don’t have may connect to students’ background
much experience in the world, they often learn knowledge of food, numbers, and
language, both native language and English, days of the week, which is also a
while learning about concepts. review of the vocabulary associated
with those concepts.
Pre-teach new vocabulary or expressions:

If there are key words For example, in the story Goldilocks and the Three
or structures that are Bears, the teacher could make a bright colorful poster or
necessary to comprehend PowerPoint slide of the house with the different rooms,
the story and cannot be then review the known vocabulary and pre-teach new
inferred from the context, vocabulary. Students may already know words like chair,
it is better to teach them bed, and bowl. However, they may not know the room
before the storytelling. Try names, like kitchen, living room, and bedroom, and may
to do this in the context not be familiar with porridge. In this way, the teacher can
of connecting to prior capture attention, introduce the context, review known
knowledge. words, and then pre-teach vocabulary.

Ask students to predict what will happen in the story:
It can be fun and helpful to encourage For example, for Aesop’s fable about the
students to predict what will happen Lion and the Mouse, the teacher could
in the story. Prediction is a good critical give these three sentences for students to
thinking skill to encourage. Be sure to choose and write:
record the predictions to check whether • The lion eats the mouse.
they are correct later. Students could
• The mouse saves the lion.
write one sentence they think will be in
• The lion saves the mouse.
the story and put it in a prediction box.
Then at the end of the story, the teacher Making a prediction helps young learners
can read the sentences out loud for pay attention to the story and think
fun. If students are at a lower level, the critically to check their predictions during
teacher can write three sentences on the storytelling. This is not necessary for all
the board, then students can choose the stories, but it can add a level of interest and
ending by writing one of them. engagement where appropriate.
Give students a purpose for listening:

Before you begin telling a story, give For example, when students listen to the story
students a purpose for listening (in of Chicken Little, the teacher can ask them to
addition to pure enjoyment). This make an animal sound when they hear the
can help them stay engaged and name of an animal.
make them more active listeners • Henny Penny: “Cluck cluck”
during the storytelling. Perhaps the
• Ducky Lucky: “Quack quack”
purpose is to check their prediction
• Loosey Goosey: “Honk honk”
as mentioned earlier. If the story has
a lesson (or moral) to learn from, tell • Turkey Lurkey: “Gobble gobble”
your students to listen for it. In the storytelling, the teacher will say lines
Be sure to ask them for it at the like, “Along the way she met Henny Penny,” and
end of the story. If there are songs, then students can say “Cluck cluck!” Then when
chants, or lines from the story that the teacher says “Soon they met Ducky Lucky,”
children can repeat, teach them students can call out “Quack quack!” This keeps
before the story. Then give students students listening for the animal, shows their
a cue for participation that they can comprehension of which animal it is, and makes
listen for. the storytelling more active and fun.
6 Storytelling 219
Activities during Storytelling
During-storytelling activities are usually used to check comprehension. They can
also be used to keep students’ interest and allow students the chance to interact and
practice using English.
Q & A:
Use questions during For example, if the teacher is telling the Aesop’s fable The
the storytelling to check Hare and the Tortoise, it could progress like this:
comprehension of the • “Point to the hare.”
story and keep students
• “Point to the tortoise.”
engaged. The teacher
• “A hare is also called a. . . .” (rabbit)
should keep a balance
between asking questions • “A tortoise is also called a. . . .” (turtle)
to keep the learners • “Is a hare slow or fast?”
engaged but not so many • “Is a tortoise slow or fast?”
questions that it detracts • “Who will win the race?”
from the storytelling. • “What is Hare doing?” (hopping fast)
The questions should • “Is Hare hopping slowly or fast?”
check comprehension of
• “What is Tortoise doing?” (walking slowly)
the characters, setting,
• “Is Tortoise walking slowly or fast?”
and plot. The questions
• “What is Hare doing?” (sleeping)
could also ask students to
predict what comes next. • “Is Tortoise sleeping, too?”
• “And the winner is . . . !” (Tortoise)
Repetition:
Repetition of key For example, from the story The Gingerbread Man, it could
phrases or chants in a be a call and respond, like this:
story can keep students • Teacher: Run, run, run,
active and give them a • Students: As fast as you can.
chance to practice set
• Teacher: You can’t catch me,
phrases or language
• Students: I’m the Gingerbread Man!
structures. Teachers
can cue students in the Alternatively, the teacher and students could chant the lines
right places for them to altogether and clap a beat to keep a rhythm. Since many
join in. children’s stories have repeated structures, it is easy to add
repetition to a storytelling.

TPR (Total Physical Response):
Movement and actions can be built For example, Five Little Monkeys (Jumping on
into most children’s stories. Some the Bed) has physical actions of changing into
stories have movement embedded pajamas, brushing teeth, jumping, falling,
in the story. Doing TPR with students calling, and sleeping. These actions can be
during the storytelling appeals to practiced before the storytelling and then
kinesthetic learners and makes the done during the storytelling by both the
experience more active and fun. This teacher and the students. Whenever possible,
also supports comprehension of the the teacher should look for movement to
story. accompany a storytelling.
Create your own ending:

Teachers can tell the story up to the climax and ask For example, the
students to predict the ending before they finish telling pictures below could
the story. Students can draw a picture of their own ending accompany the story
or demonstrate it using the puppets from the storytelling. of the Hare and the
For lower-level students, the teacher can prepare pictures Tortoise.
of alternate endings and have students make sentences for
each, to create their own ending.
6 Storytelling 221
Activities after Storytelling
After a storytelling, you can do follow-up activities to check comprehension of the
story. Post-storytelling activities should also give learners plenty of practice using
the new language structures and vocabulary. Be sure to use all four language skills,
cooperative activities, scaffolded instruction, and activities that cater to different
learning styles and intelligences.
• Check predictions: Check the predictions that students made in the

before- or during-storytelling stages. Doing this helps students explain
what happened in the story as they reflect on whether their predictions
were correct. If students wrote a prediction and put it in the prediction
box, then the teacher can take out the predictions and read them.
If the students chose a picture that predicts an ending, like the Hare
and the Tortoise example in the previous section, the teacher can
bring out the three pictures and have the students confirm the
correct one.
• Group retelling: Teachers can have students work with them to retell the
story. It could be as simple as retelling the story with students saying the
character parts with you. Where appropriate, a retelling can include role
play. Students can act out the story, or parts of the story. Or students can
retell the story on their own, with the teacher filling in the gaps when they
encounter difficulty.
• Games: Many different games can be used to check comprehension

following a storytelling. In the game Start & Stop, you can retell the story
with mistakes and have students stop you when they hear a mistake.
You can then choose a number of errors to check comprehension: using
the wrong vocabulary word or pronouncing a word incorrectly, putting
pictures of major plot events out of order, or changing characters’ actions
to see if children truly understood the story.
• Storyboarding: Have students make simple drawings in boxes

that show the plot of the story sequentially, like a comic book. The
teacher can give a blank storyboard template like the one on the
following page.

Blank Storyboard Template
Storyboard
Title:
Author:
Illustrator:
If students need more support, the teacher can give them pictures to use
in the storyboard template.
For example, for the Hare and the Tortoise, the teacher could hand out
the following to the students:
6 Storytelling 223
In order to give students an opportunity to practice language in a different way
and to be creative, the drawings can be accompanied by blank text or dialog bubbles.
Students can write the characters’ dialog or thoughts into the bubbles.
• Story mapping (story analysis): Teachers can check comprehension

of the storytelling by giving students a graphic organizer to map out
the plot of the story or to compare the characters of the story. Students
can show deeper levels of comprehension of the story by analyzing
the characters, ending, or moral of a story where appropriate. Below
is an example of a story map that shows comprehension of the setting,
characters, and plot.

Title:
Author:
Illustrator:
Setting (Draw and describe)
Characters (Draw and label)
Illustrate and write the story events.
6 Storytelling 225
The teacher can check students’ comprehension of a story by analyzing the main
characters. Students can draw a character and describe him or her on a piece of
paper. In addition, students can compare two characters in a story.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
Title:
Author:
Illustrator:
CHOOSE 2 CHARACTERS.
DRAW THEM BELOW
CHARACTER #1 CHARACTER #2
NAME: NAME:
POSSIBLE SENTENCE STARTERS:

She/He is... She/He isn’t... I like... I don’t like...
For example, students could compare the tortoise and the hare by drawing
them and describing them with sentences like: The tortoise is slow. He is hard
working. I like the tortoise. He won the race.

• Mini-books: Let students create their own storybooks. Teachers can
show students how to make different mini-books (see Chapter 5). Then
students can add their own text, pictures, or both.
For example, the mini-book below was made by a student after her class
had read , Itsy Bitsy Spider. She used the pages to illustrate the story and
to write a few lines about the story.
• Personalized or parallel story: Have students write a story similar

to the one in the storytelling but with details that draw from their own
experiences, culture, and imagination. This is effective guided practice
that helps students use the language learned in a creative way. For
example:
Parallel story: Instead of “The Hare and the Tortoise,” the students
can write a story about two new animals. They can brainstorm fast
and slow animals and make a list. Then they can choose a context, like
the jungle, rainforest, or the ocean and write a similar story
with their new animals. For example, they might write a new story
about the Cheetah and the Porcupine or the Dolphin and the Starfish.
Cultural connection: Students can tell a similar or parallel story
set in their native country or culture. As mentioned earlier, there
could be a fairytale or folktale similar to the story, like Cinderella.
If there is a similar story or a contrasting story, students can use the
language from the storytelling and tell their own country or culture’s
story.
Personalized story: If possible, have students create a new story that
mirrors the story studied but relates to their lives. For example, a cute
finger play story:
Here is a turtle. (Make fist with thumb tucked inside)
He lives in a shell.
6 Storytelling 227
He likes his home very well.
When he gets hungry, he comes out to eat. (Pull thumb out and
wiggle it)
Then goes back to his house to sleep. (Push thumb back into fist)
Students could personalize this simple story by substituting the words

about the turtle with their own lives:
Here is Maria.
She lives in a house.
She likes her home very well.
When she gets hungry, she goes to the kitchen.
Then goes back to her bedroom to sleep.
• Projects: Have students work together in small groups to complete a

project that shows comprehension of a story. The project can be a part of
a thematic unit requiring students to learn more about the story topic or
context, author, culture, etc. You could invite students’ families or other
classes to see the students’ work. Some examples could be:
Creative storytelling with story maps: Groups can work together
to create a poster with pictures of the characters and scenes to show
the plot of the story. It could be a larger version of a story map or
character file. Then the poster can be used as the starting point for
creative retellings. A creative retelling of the story could have the same
plot but different characters, or the same characters with different
plots. In either case, the language learned would be recycled and
practiced in new and creative ways.
Explore the context: If the topic or context is related to a broader
topic, then the story could be a part of a larger project.
For example, Goldilocks and the Three Bears might be a story that is
part of a larger unit on houses. Students could do a project to research
the different kinds of homes of children from around the world. They
could create posters or mini-books with pictures of different types of
homes from various cultures and regions.
Research the author: Students could also research information about
the author with the teacher’s guidance.

For example, students could do a research project about Aesop and
make a collection of different fables with illustrations.
Perform a play: If there is a chance to put on a play, then students
can work on making and producing a play to perform. They could
role play different characters in a play or put on a puppet show. The
project could include making the costumes, masks, or puppets as well
as writing a play version of the story.
Eco Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Designing a Lesson with Storytelling
In order to conduct a storytelling lesson, it is important to prepare activities for
before, during, and after the storytelling. These can be incorporated into a lesson
plan. Using the lesson plan format from previous chapters, teachers can use this
form to prepare their storytelling. Preparing for storytelling is not limited to these
ideas, but this is a good start for any teacher.
Stage Type of Activities Suggested activities

Warm-up Before-storytelling activities • Capture their attention
• Connect to prior knowledge and experiences
• Review language students have learned
• Pre-teach new vocabulary or expressions
• Ask students to predict what will happen
after this line.
• Give students a purpose for listening
6 Storytelling 229
Presentation During-storytelling activities • Q&A
• Repetition
• Total Physical Response
• Create your own ending
• Keep Ask students to predict in Warm-up
Practice After-storytelling activities • Check predictions
• Group retelling
• Games
Application
• Storyboarding
• Story mapping (story analysis)
Assessment • Mini-books
• Personalized or parallel story
Follow-up • Projects
• Play performance
Here is an example storytelling lesson plan using a story called, A Big Lesson
for Little Frog (Korey O’Sullivan, 2013).
Provided by National Geographic Learning

A BIG LESSON FOR LITTLE FROG
One day Little Frog looks up. He sees Monkey in a tree. Monkey says, “Look at
me! I can swing through the trees! Can you swing, too?”
Little frog says, “No. I can’t swing through the trees.”
Parrot flies down to the tree. Parrot says, “Look at me! I can fly from tree to
tree. Can you fly, too?”
Little Frog says, “No. I can’t fly.”
Giraffe walks up to the tree. Giraffe reaches up with her long neck and eats
leaves at the top of the tree.
Little Frog is sad.
Giraffe sees Little Frog and asks, “Why are you sad, Little Frog?”
Little Frog says, “Monkey can swing through the trees. Parrot can fly. You can
eat leaves at the top of the tree. I am sad because I can’t do those things.”
Giraffe says, “But Little Frog, you can do things we can’t do.”
“Really?” says Little Frog.
“Can Parrot hop like a frog?”
“No.”
“Can I hop?”
“No.”
“Can Parrot swim?”
“No.”
“Can I swim?”
“No, but I can,” says Little Frog.
“Can we catch flies with our tongues?”
“No, but I can,” says Little Frog.
“There are many things Monkey, Parrot, and you can’t do, Giraffe. I’m very
sorry for you! Please don’t be sad!”
Little Frog is happy now. He hops away to swim and to catch some flies.
A Big Lesson for Little Frog

Student profile Grade 2, beginning level of English language proficiency
Language Grammar: can/can’t; Can you . . . ? I can . . . I can’t . . .

Vocabulary:
• Animals: frog, giraffe, monkey, parrot
• Animal actions: swing, fly, hop, swim
• Expression: Look at me!

• Explain what animals can and can’t do
Materials Puppets
Background scene which includes a tree
Flashcards of different animals from previous lessons
Word cards for all the actions
6 Storytelling 231
Warm-up
Before-storytelling Activities
Capture their attention Make a popsicle stick puppet and introduce your new friend “Little
Frog” to the class.
As the teacher: Class, meet my friend. His name is Little Frog.

Say Hello, Little Frog!
As the frog: Hello, Kids! How are you? I’m soooooo happy
to be here—ribbit ribbit! (in a cute frog
voice)
As the teacher: Class, say hello like Little Frog! Ribbit ribbit!
We are going to
read a story about Little Frog. (Show the
cover of the book)
What do you see on the cover?
As the frog: That’s right! It’s me! Ribbit!
Connect to prior knowledge Look through the pages of the storybook secretly. “I see Little Frog
and experiences has some animal friends. What animals do we know?”
Make an Animal Web with pictures and/or text. The teacher can use
Review language students
flashcards to review the animals. When the child names an animal, the
have learned
teacher can put the flashcard on the board in the web.

Pre-teach new vocabulary “How do these animals move?” Do a TPR activity to
or expressions teach different actions, including the ones in the
story: swing, fly, hop, swim, etc. Use word cards for
each movement and show the word card with
each movement.
Ask students to predict what will Show the Little Frog puppet and the background with a tree. Using
happen in the story the puppet, ask students:
As the frog: Can I swing through the trees?
As the teacher: Can Little Frog swing through

the trees?
Then go through each action:
fly, reach the top of a tree, hop, swim, etc.
As you ask questions as the Little Frog and the teacher, put the word
cards for swing, fly, hop, swim, etc., on the board in a T-chart. Then for
each action, put a check if the students say, “yes,” and an X if they say,
“no.”
Give students a purpose for While pointing at the T-Chart, say, “Let’s listen to the story and see
listening what Little Frog can and can’t do!”
Presentation
During-storytelling Activities
Storytelling with puppets Do the storytelling with the puppets and the background. Use
different voices for each animal and show the movements with
your body.
6 Storytelling 233
Listen and respond/ First storytelling:
TPR “When you hear an animal, do the action.”
• Frog: (Fist hops on hand twice)
• Monkey: (Arm movement with hands moving toward

armpits twice)
• Parrot: (Make wings with hands, flap twice)
• Giraffe: (Hold arms up, then make the head with hands.)
Listen and respond/ Second storytelling:

TPR “When you hear actions, then do it!” Point to the words on the
T-chart (swing, fly, hop, etc.) and practice once.

Practice
Check predictions/ Pairwork Q&A to check predictions

Q&A • Put students in pairs: Partner A and Partner B. For each
action on the T-chart, tell Partner A to ask Partner B “Can
Little Frog ____?”. Partner B has to answer:
“Yes, he can.”
“No, he can’t.”
Then switch roles.
• After the pair work, ask students to confirm each
prediction on the T-chart. Check off the correct answers to
confirm their predictions.
Storyboarding/ Storyboard jigsaw

Group retelling Prepare a large storyboard with pictures of the different scenes in the
story. In the scenes the animals have speech bubbles.
• First students put them in order.
• Together with the students retell the story.
• Works with the student to write the dialog in the speech
bubbles.
• Students copy the storyboard pictures and text in speech
bubbles on their own paper.
6 Storytelling 235
Application
After Storytelling Activities
Mini-books/personalized/parallel Students make mini-books about themselves. They should be the

story main character instead of Little Frog. The other characters can be
anyone the students want. Brainstorm who the other characters
could be:
• sibling
• friend
• parent
• grandparent
• neighbor
• teacher
Assessment
Monitor progress Walk around the classroom and give one-on-one assistance to
students who are struggling to finish their mini-books.
Collect books Collect the mini-books when they are finished and give students
feedback.
Follow-up
Homework Continue working on mini-books about themselves at home and at

the beginning of the next class, if necessary.
Next class Ask a few students to volunteer to share their mini-book stories by
doing a short storytelling using the pictures in their mini-book to
help tell their story.
Teacher to Teacher
Storytelling to Young Learners
Most teachers find storytelling to be a very effective way to engage learners
in real language. Different teachers from around the world describe—through
an online discussion board—their experience using storytelling in their classes
for young learners. Reading about their experiences may help you decide how
to use storytelling in your class. First, read how two different teachers from
Poland and Costa Rica capture their students’ attention with storytelling
activities.
““feelings”
Drawing and painting may be used as a way to present “students” &
in the connection with the story they have already listened to.
Students may feel like real artists and offer their own pictures as ones used
to present the story. It may also lead to creating their own story based on
pictures students have drawn. I sometimes read part of a story and then ask
students to think about the ending and present it in the form of pictures and
then other students tell the ending by looking at the others’ pictures. Then I
sometimes read the real ending and we spend some time on comparing the
endings. A lot of fun together with learning. ”
—Urzula Kropaczewska, Primary School Teacher, Poland
“storytelling
Storytelling is not a part of every unit or every lesson I develop. I must include
in only one unit of my program. When I do it with known stories
such as fairly tales, students ask me to tell the story in Spanish, so I told them,
no you know it in Spanish, let’s learn it now in English. As soon as I start with the
activities they are engaged, pay attention, participate, repeat, do the sounds or
say some phrases.
Definitely I would like to use them more often because students really like
storytelling and also because the vocabulary they learn in this activity last for
a long term.
For instance, with first graders I use the Ugly Duckling tale. Students have to
repeat the phrase ‘ugly duckling, ugly duckling’ when the duckling is rejected
by different animals from the farm. So this year, they are in second grade and
in a civic act about the book day, a teacher showed a book about the Ugly
Duckling tale and all my second grade students started saying in English ‘ugly
duckling, ugly duckling!!! ”
—Roxanne Vargas Lopez, Primary School Teacher, Costa Rica
Next, a teacher from Uzbekistan responds to the ideas expressed by Roxanne

and emphasizes the importance of preparation for effective storytelling.
“lackI believe that many difficulties teachers face while storytelling are caused by
of proper lesson preparation. Thorough lesson planning is really important
for storytelling as young learners have short attention spans and easily get
bored and de-motivated. In this case a lesson is likely to be ruined. Thus, all
the stages of a lesson are to be connected logically and lead one to another.
Learners need language support, otherwise they won’t be able to understand
the story, so words or grammar constructions you feel your students will be not
able to cope with on their own are to be pre-taught. You were also right, saying
that the aim and the purpose for storytelling are to be explained by a teacher
in advance. While telling the story teacher and students should work together
and there are a number of ways for this. Roxanne wrote about learners saying
a repetitive phrase instead of a teacher, a very good example. Consequently,
a teacher decides which activities to use for practicing language after
storytelling. There is no universal way for preparation, as teachers are different
6 Storytelling 237
as well as their classes. Only you can design a lesson plan ideally fitting your
learners. My only advice is to think critically and creatively before the lesson
”
and to reflect upon it after it’s over.
—Victoria Demidova, Primary School Teacher, Uzbekistan
Every teacher has to develop his/her own approach and be creative to engage
YLs in storytelling activities. Here is an approach taken by one teacher, includ-
ing the use of technology to engage learners.
“what
Children are those open-minded little people who are always ready to do
you want them to do. As regards story telling in the classroom this is
what worked for me; however, you have to bear in mind that groups differ
constantly and what might work for one, might be a failure for others. I chose
a story, preferably one students were not so familiar with and a short one.
I sat them in a semicircle. If there were unknown words or difficult

expressions in the reader, I adapted them to already taught vocabulary. I
started the reading section and every time a new character appeared in
the story, I changed my voice and used a lot of mimicry so that students
would immediately identify them in the story later on. Once I finished the
reading, I told my students they were going to listen to it again, but this
time they would join me in the story. In a matter of seconds their faces
and bodies turned into whatever the character demanded them to be. You
can’t imagine how happy and excited they were! I think teaching reading
through a story is nice, especially using technology. There are a lot of ways,
for example, having a power point presentation of the story using cartoons,
animation and voices. This way is attractive to children as they like to watch
”
it and interact with it.
—Faisal Shamali, Primary English Teacher, Jordan
For many teachers, effective storytelling includes considering the seating

arrangement in the classroom. Read how one teacher from Brazil arranges her
students for storytelling using a big book.
“all,The seating arrangement for a storytelling is an important point. First of

the teacher should make sure s/he can be seen by everybody, so I really
like to arrange my students in a semi-circle. We sometimes go to the resource
center, where there is a special corner for the children. In the classrooms for
very young learners, there is also a corner for circle time and that is where
most teachers sit down to tell stories. In the classrooms for older students we
don’t have a corner for stories, but we can open space and sit on the floor.
When we stay in the classroom, I prefer to have students sitting on the floor in
a semi-circle too. I think that by being closer, they feel more comfortable and

I am able to check if everybody is following the story. Then, for the follow-up
activities we change the seating arrangement as appropriate for each activity.
I also like signaling it’s story time. We can do that by singing a song, or by
putting on a hat or another accessory, or having a chant, anything that sets
the mood. ”
Finally, a teacher in South Africa describes how he uses the storytelling tradition
from his native culture to engage learners in storytelling in English.
“culture.
Story telling is an important communication ingredient in my own Nguni
Therefore, I often draw from the Oral Tales Tradition to bring an ESL
story to my learners. The arrangement is semi-circular, the narrator sits in
the middle point of this sphere. I seldom use chairs. The oral-lore tradition
uses mats, so to echo and emulate that scene-setting, I use the mats in the
classroom. This is ideal in the summer. The desks are pushed to the back and
we move forward similar to the Front-Stage of a theatre set-up. This is very
different from the reading corner. Students are often excited because many
can anticipate that this is ‘story time!’ They then take to the pre-setting bustle
with all excitement. They enjoy the change of scene. ”
—Zodwa Motsa, Primary School Teacher, South Africa
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Storytelling is a fun and authentic approach Storytelling is a fun, exciting way to
present English in a meaningful context and to expose children to other cultures.
Storytelling is an authentic form of communication for young learners in all
cultures.
Storytelling promotes critical thinking Storytelling can help teachers

incorporate the development of critical thinking skills while developing language
skills in children. Storytelling can help children develop these critical thinking
skills and deepen their understanding of how stories are connected to their lives,
their culture, and other cultures.
Teachers should prepare storytelling carefully Since storytellers are performers,

teachers should meticulously prepare their theatrics, props, and storytelling script
beforehand, and then rehearse until ready to perform.
6 Storytelling 239
Good storytelling involves preparing before-, during-, and after-storytelling
activities. These activities capture the attention of learners while making input
comprehensible. The activities check student comprehension of the story and
encourage learners to practice using the new language.
Storytelling can promote thematic learning Storytelling is a great centerpiece for

a thematic unit that develops the four language skills in an integrated manner and
encourages communication among students for an extended period of time.
Over to You
1. In what ways is storytelling an authentic form of communication?
2. Which four elements should you prepare to make your storytelling
engaging?
Discussion 3. What are some important steps a teacher should take before,
Questions during, and after storytelling? What are activities that you can and
can’t do in your classroom context?
4. How does storytelling help to increase critical thinking skills?
5. How can storytelling help students understand their culture and see
similarities with other cultures?
6. Do you think there are cultural differences in the style, form, or
structure of storytelling? Do a search on YouTube for videos of
storytellers from different countries and regions of the world, and
watch them perform. See some examples below:
Alton Chung (Hawaiian storyteller):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Am6Ycn6eG8
Gregg Howard (Cherokee storyteller):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlHtzU133NI&feature=related
Comfort Ero (African storyteller):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP_LTtFYt3A&feature=PlayLi
st&p=FEE4EF61F3F06CCE&index=0
Japanese storyteller:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_ON7QyLjQ

Choose a story and make a lesson plan for storytelling in your class. Prepare for the
Lesson storytelling by planning out the script, props, and theatrics. Then plan your pre-,
Planning during, and post-storytelling activities and write a lesson plan using the lesson plan
in this chapter as an example.
Effective storytelling in your context: Think about your own use of storytelling in
Write your English classes. Reflect on the ideas discussed in this chapter that you have
About It already mastered in your teaching. Are there aspects of storytelling that you hadn’t
considered before reading this chapter? If you are currently teaching, what are your
biggest challenges using storytelling? Reflect on ways to resolve these issues and
improve your ability to tell stories effectively in your classroom. Write a 1–2 page
essay describing your application of storytelling in your classroom context. Base your
response on what you have read in this chapter.

Print Publications
Brewster, J., & Ellis, G. (2002). Tell it again: The new storytelling Paran, A., & Watts, E. (2003). Storytelling in ELT. Whitstable, UK:
handbook for primary teachers. London, UK: Penguin. IATEFL.
Hines, M. (2005). Story theater. English Teaching Forum, 43(1), 24–29. Wright, A. (2009). Storytelling with children. Oxford, UK: Oxford
Mixon, M., & Temu, P. (2006). First road to learning: Language University Press.
through stories. English Teaching Forum, 44(2), 14–19.
Online Resources for Storybooks

When resources are an issue and storybooks in English are hard to find, • Five Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed) by Eileen Cristelow
online resources can be a huge help. You will find lesson plan ideas, • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
activities, printable handouts, and videos of the stories that can be used • The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
in class. Try doing searches for the following stories to see how easy it is
to find resources online for your lessons:
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin (For example, type
“brown bear brown bear” into the search line in Google and
YouTube.)
Useful Web Sites

International Children’s Digital Library: http://en.childrenslibrary Children’s Books: http://www.childrens-books.com/
.org/ Shen’s Books: http://www.shens.com/
PBS Kids: Between the Lions: http://pbskids.org/lions/stories/ Story Arts Online: http://www.storyarts.org/
Scholastic Interactive Storybooks: Clifford: http://teacher Storyline Online: http://www.storylineonline.net/
.scholastic.com/clifford1/
TPR Storytelling: http://www.tprstorytelling.com/index.php
Read Aloud America: http://www.readaloudamerica.org
Storybird: Collaborative Storytelling: http://storybird.com/
/booklist.htm
6 Storytelling 241
References
Bahti, M. (1996). Pubelo stories and storytellers. Tuscon, AZ: Rio Curtain, H., & Dahlberg, C. A. (2010). Languages and children:
Nuevo Publishers. Making the match. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Bloom, B. S., & David, R. K. (1956). Taxonomy of educational Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford, UK:
objectives: The classification of education goals, by a committee of Oxford University Press.
college and university examiners. Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. Korey O’Sullivan, J. (2013). A Big Lesson for Little Frog. Boston, MA:
New York, NY: Longman, Green. Heinle-Cengage.
Brewster, J. (1991). Listening and the young learner. In C. Brumfit, Slatterly, M., & Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers. Oxford,
J. Moon, & R. Tongue (Eds.), Teaching English to children: From UK: Oxford University Press.
practice to principle. London, UK: HarperCollins Publishers. Spiro, J. (2006). Storybuilding. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2004). The primary English Taosaka, S. (2002). Let’s talk story: Professional development in the
teacher’s guide. London, UK: Penguin. Pacific. Honolulu, HI: Pacific Resources for Education and
Chance, K. S. (1986). Thinking the classroom: A survey of programs. Learning.
New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.

7 Assessment
Getting Started
When you hear the word “assessment,” what do you think of? For
most of us, assessment is synonymous with formal testing, especially
Think about it those end-of-course exams or standardized tests required by schools or
educational institutions.
How did you feel about those tests when you were at school? Do
you think they provided a full picture of what you could do? Did they
make you feel confident with your learning?
Are there other ways in which we might assess the English
development in young learners that build confidence and also serve as
learning experiences?
Doug Corrance/Taxi/Getty Images
Students taking
traditional high stakes
test.
243
If you have an opportunity to talk with an English for Young Learners (EYL)
teacher, ask about the kinds of informal assessments that the teacher uses and
the kinds of formal assessments (tests) that are required.
If you are unable to talk with a teacher, see if you can get a copy of a teacher’s
manual for an EYL series and analyze the types of assessment that are discussed
there. They may be integrated into a unit or discussed in the front or end matter.
Here are some interview questions you might ask the EYL teacher. You might
begin by saying that you think assessing young learners may be challenging and
you would like to get the teacher’s perspectives on the assessment strategies s/he
uses. If you are analyzing a teacher’s manual, see what answers are provided there.
Interview Questions
Discovery activity
ist below some of the informal ways in which we might assess children’s
L
English learning on a continuous basis.
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
1. W
hat tests are required for young 1.
learners?
2. W
hat are some ways you informally assess 2.
your young learners?
3. D
o you have any examples of assessments 3.
that you use?
4. W
hat are some of the challenges in 4.
assessing your YLs?
5. A
re there suggestions for assessments or 5.
tests provided by your textbook and/or by
your school or the Ministry of Education?
If so, can you describe these assessments?

Considerations for Assessing Young Learners
Throughout this book, we have been stressing the importance of providing young
learners with engaging activities that motivate them to continue to learn English.
Where does assessment fit in with this approach? Assessment can have negative
consequences (Shohamy, 2001). If standardized tests are the only assessments used,
then the result is likely to be a view that assessment causes anxiety.
While TEYL programs may need to use formal, standardized tests, they also
need to assess their learners through alternative or informal assessments that
monitor students’ progress. Assessment is part of the learning process; in prac-
tice, teachers assess learners all the time. When learners participate in class or
pair work, teachers note those who are successfully using new vocabulary words
or grammatical structures and those who are having difficulty and need more
practice or may require re-teaching. By listening to learners as they participate
in class or pair work, by noting a student who is having difficulty decoding a
new word, by talking informally with a student before or after class, teachers
learn a great deal about their learners’ progress and their own teaching.
In assessing young learners, we need to remember the characteristics of
young language learners discussed in Chapter 2. Because of their age, maturity,
experience, and cognitive, linguistic, and literacy development, young learners
need carefully designed assessment tasks that they can perform either individu-
ally or with other students. There are a number of issues that make the assess-
ment of young language learners complex. Among these are:
■■ The age of the learners and their overall motor, linguistic, social, and conceptual
development
■■ The language focus of the EYL classroom, with more attention on oral skills in
connected discourse, especially in the early years
■■ The types of activities used in teaching and learning such as games, songs,
stories, and rhymes
■■ The goals of the TEYL program, which may include intercultural or social goals
■■ The overall approach to teaching and learning, emphasizing learning as a social
activity with support from more knowledgeable teachers
(Cameron, 2001; McKay, 2006; Pinter, 2006)
Hasselgren (2000) notes that in assessing young learners, one has to remember
that “they have a particular need and capacity for play, fantasy, and fun; they have
a relatively short attention span; [and] they are at a stage when daring to use their
language is vital, and any sense of ‘failure’ could be particularly detrimental” (p. 262).
McKay (2006) notes that EYL assessment is also a relatively new field. In a
collection of research articles on TEYL (Moon & Nikolov, 2000), not one article
was focused on assessment; nor was there an article or even a section of an article
on assessment in the collection of articles on young language learners published
for the 2003–2004 “Year of the Young Learner” by Ellis and Morrow (2004).
7 Assessment 245
Still, there is growing interest in young language learner assessment, not only to
provide better information on young language learners’ English proficiency, but
also to bring the same attention to the EYL class that is given to other primary
school subjects.
In this part of the chapter, we will look at important considerations for
assessing young learners. We will begin by defining some of the basic assess-
ment terms and concepts, then look at the different purposes and types of
assessment that you might use in your EYL class.
Basic Assessment Terms and Concepts

Understanding the broad topic of assessment involves becoming familiar with a
number of basic terms and concepts. Among these are:
■■ Assessment, testing, and evaluation (and their role in teaching and learning)
■■ Informal and formal assessment
■■ Formative and summative assessment
■■ Criterion- and norm-referenced tests
■■ Integrative and discrete point tests
Assessment, Testing and Evaluation Assessment, testing, and

evaluation are often used synonymously, but they actually represent different
practices.
TESTING
ASSESSMENT
EVALUATION
Assessment is a process of identifying learning goals and determining how

well students are meeting them (Linn & Gronlund, 2000). It is something that
is ongoing, a process of monitoring learning and teaching. It encompasses the

multiple ways that teachers gather information about learners’ knowledge, abilities,
attitudes, and motivation (Ioannu-Georgiou & Pavlou, 2003) and note the progress
or difficulties that students are having in learning English (Rea-Dickins & Gardner,
2000; Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010). “Whenever a student responds to a ques-
tion, offers a comment, or tries out a new word or structure, the teacher sub-
consciously makes an appraisal of the student’s performance. . . . A good teacher
never ceases to assess students, whether those assessments are incidental or
intended” (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010, p. 3). Assessment is directly related
to teaching and learning, but that does not mean that all learning should be as-
sessed. Children need time to play with language and experience the joy of lan-
guage learning without feeling that their every move is being judged or graded.
At the same time, while children are having fun with English, teachers can also
be thinking about directions for future lessons or special help that a student
might need.
Testing is one type of assessment that formally measures learners’ English
language performance (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010; Cameron, 2001). It is
usually given at set times during the term: at the end of a unit, or the middle
or the end of a term. It involves a set of clearly developed procedures for giving
and scoring the learners’ performance. A test can measure specific knowledge
(for example, accuracy with specific vocabulary words, grammatical structures,
or writing mechanics) or overall proficiency in using the language. It can be
developed by a teacher or be a high-stakes, standardized test given by an edu-
cational institution or ministry. It can involve choosing among multiple-choice
items, filling in blanks, completing sentences, writing texts, or giving short oral
answers and yielding a score (for example, 90 percent), a grade (for example, an
A or B), or, in the case of standardized tests, an overall (composite) score, scores
on subtests, and often, a ranking of each student’s performance compared to all
who took the test.
Evaluation involves the use of test scores or assessments for some kind of
decision making (Bachman, 1990; Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010). It often
involves the gathering of information “to determine the extent to which a
language program meets its goals” (Ioannou-Georgiou & Pavlou, 2003, p. 4).
Usually, test scores or assessments are only one source of information to deter-
mine the success of a particular program, course, or approach to instruction.
Other sources might include curriculum, objectives, materials, methodology,
or teachers. They might also include classroom observations, interviews with
students or parents, and student evaluations as evidence.
7 Assessment 247
A comprehensive or ideal assessment system consists of all three. Assessment,
testing, and evaluation help:
■■ Learners to know how they are progressing

■■ Teachers to know how effective the instruction is
■■ Administrators to know how well the program is making progress toward
program goals
■■ Funders to see the results of their investment
Informal and Formal Assessment As teachers, we assess our learners

informally more often than we might think. We look over the shoulders of two
students engaged in completing an exercise to see how they are doing; we provide
brief comments like “Good job!” or “Want to try that again?” when our learners are
speaking; and we write on their papers, praising their efforts and making suggestions
for improvement. We actually are assessing much of the time that we are teaching,
noting where students seem to be having difficulties and trying new approaches.
Formal assessments, however, are less frequent. They are systematic ways that
we gauge student achievement. We use them periodically to inform both our
learners and ourselves about how much students are learning. Tests are one type
of formal assessment, but not all formal assessments are tests. Tests are usually
short assessments, but we might ask students to keep a portfolio of their work
that we then assess systematically at the end of a term; or to create a project that
we can formally assess, using a rubric (defined below). While formal assess-
ments are important (some are so important that they determine future place-
ments or enrollments), informal assessments are more useful in daily teaching.
Formative and Summative Assessment The primary purpose of

classroom-based assessment is to provide teachers and programs with information
to help in making decisions. We can do that by assessing learners during the course
of instruction (formative assessment) or after the end of some portion of their
course (summative assessment). Both of these are important, since they provide
information about student learning. The most important for teaching may be
formative, but the most critical for learners is likely to be summative.
Formative assessment Formative assessment is the (usually informal) assessment

that occurs during teaching and learning (McKay, 2006). This classroom-based
assessment provides an ongoing picture of students’ language growth and
development (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010; Rea-Dickins & Gardner, 2000). Its
primary function is to monitor students’ learning and to provide teachers with
information needed “to make appropriate decisions concerning modifications
to teaching procedures and learning activities” (Weir, 1993, p. 167). However, it
can also be used to provide students with feedback on their learning progress and
to help motivate learners (Gattullo, 2000; Torrance & Pryor, 1988). Formative
assessment is usually embedded in instruction; it is “assessment for learning” (Black
et al., 2004). Through a range of alternative assessments such as portfolios, projects,
or story retellings, formative assessment also helps learners to monitor their own
learning in “assessment as learning.”
Formative assessment may consist of:
■■ Observing students and noting strengths and difficulties in doing class work
■■ Maintaining a checklist of student progress in using key vocabulary or grammar
structures
■■ Asking questions and noting students’ responses
■■ Asking for clarification to promote self-repair
■■ Making suggestions or modeling correct forms orally or in writing
■■ Engaging in dialog journals with students (see Chapter 5)
■■ Creating portfolios with samples of students’ work over time
■■ Noting student progress on written or oral performances
■■ Praising or rewarding good performance or effort
■■ Marking homework
A number of alternative assessments, used formatively, are discussed later in

this chapter.
Summative assessment Summative assessment, as its name implies, “summarizes”

a student’s learning at the end of a year, a term, a course, or a unit of study. It
involves “assessment of learning.” It is formal in nature, frequently undertaken with
tests that measure specific language skills or overall proficiency in the language.
These tests may be chapter or end-of-term tests developed by the teacher or
provided with the curriculum. They may also be high-stakes, standardized tests
developed by an educational body to measure each child’s English against a set
of standards or expected benchmarks and to compare children’s performances.
These assessments are often used to report on students’ language learning progress
and also to help evaluate the effectiveness of a program, curriculum, materials, or
student placement procedures.
The trend today is toward less focus on formal, summative assessment
(which can lead to substantial anxiety and an incomplete picture of what a stu-
dent knows or can do) and more attention to informal, classroom-based, forma-
tive assessment that provides a fuller picture of a student’s performance and also
more useful information to teachers (Black et al., 2004; Black & William, 1998;
Rea-Dickins & Gardner, 2000; Ross, 2005).
7 Assessment 249
Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Assessment
Norm-referenced assessment ranks each individual learner in comparison to all
others who were assessed. Standardized, formal, high-stakes tests are usually norm
referenced, with each test taker’s score ranked in relation to the average score (the
mean), the middle score (the median), and the percentile (rank) of the scores of all
who took that test.
Criterion-referenced assessment compares a student’s performance to a set
of specific criteria, usually related to a curriculum or a course. The criteria may
also be related to a set of descriptors such as benchmarks related to a set of stan-
dards or along a scale (McKay, 2006). The following is an example of criterion-
referenced assessment using scaled descriptors for assessing oral fluency:
6 Speaks fluently
5 Speaks with near-native fluency; any hesitations do not interfere

with communication
4 Speaks with occasional hesitation
3 Speaks hesitantly because of rephrasing and searching for words
2 Speaks in single-word utterances and short patterns
1 Repeats words and phrases

(Adapted from O’Malley & Pierce, 1996, p. 68)
If all students were to do well on a well-constructed criterion-referenced test,

both the students and the teachers would be happy.
Discrete Point and Integrative Assessment Discrete point assessment

focuses on individual items, such as a particular word or grammatical structure, in
isolation rather than meaningful contexts. Many paper-and-pencil (or computer-
based) tests for young learners will be discrete point tests, involving multiple-
choice items or filling in blanks as evidence that children have learned a particular
vocabulary word or grammatical structure. These tests are relatively easy to
administer and score, but they provide limited information on a student’s language
skills or overall proficiency.
Integrated assessment is a more holistic approach to assessing learners’
knowledge and skills, involving the four language skills of listening, speaking,
reading, and writing through the use of interactive activities such as chants,
songs, games, role plays, writing tasks, or projects (Ioannou-Georgiou & Pavlou,
2003). Integrated assessment more closely mirrors authentic language use and

classroom instruction and is more likely to create a more positive, anxiety-free
classroom atmosphere that encourages children to take risks.
Principles of Assessment
Developing or identifying appropriate assessments for young learners involves
(1) understanding the basic criteria that guide all assessment, as well as (2) the
special guidelines for assessing young learners.
Basic Assessment Guidelines Bachman (1990) and Bachman and Palmer

(1996) identify five criteria to guide the development of language assessments,
especially tests. These are:
1. Reliability
2. Validity
3. Practicality
4. Authenticity
5. Washback
We will define each of these and then discuss how they apply to assessment
instruments that you might use in your EYL class.
1. Reliability For a language assessment to be reliable, the results should be
accurate and consistent. According to Bachman (1990, p. 25), reliability “has to
do with the consistency of measures across different times, test forms, raters, and
other characteristics of the measurement context.” A student should receive the
same score on the assessment if it is given on the next day or if it is scored by two
different raters. If students who demonstrate the same basic proficiency in listening
or reading in class score very differently on an assessment, then that assessment’s
reliability is questionable. If two teachers score a student’s writing or speaking with
very different scores, then reliability is also a problem. It may be that the directions
were unclear or the scoring criteria were confusing.
2. Validity For a language assessment to be valid, the decisions made by

the test must be meaningful appropriate, and useful. It also has to assess what
it purports to assess (Bachman, 1990; Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Brown &
Abeywickrama, 2010; McKay, 2006; Messick, 1989). If a test is assessing children’s
ability to talk about what they did over the weekend or to read a short text about zoo
or farm animals, then we need to be sure that the task is at the appropriate level for
the children and that they are not being asked to use language or content that they
haven’t encountered. The task should also be appropriate for assessing the desired
7 Assessment 251
skill. Asking a student to read a passage aloud does not assess reading, except for
decoding and pronouncing individual words. A writing test that only considers
vocabulary, spelling, and mechanics is not a valid assessment of a child’s writing.
The uses of an assessment also need to be valid (Messick, 1989). Assessments have
social and educational consequences; they must be fair, and what they are used for
must match their intended purpose to be valid assessments.
3. Practicality An assessment task is practical if needed resources (including

time and place) are available for the assessment task. Even a brief one-to-one talk
with a student may not be practical if the class has 30 students and they only meet
a few hours a week; but if class size is small and the time for instruction greater, it
may be practical (McKay, 2006). One also has to consider the amount of time and
training needed for scoring the assessment.
4. Authenticity A language assessment is authentic if the language being assessed

is used in ways that are appropriate and relevant to young learners (McKay, 2006). For
example, creating a greeting card, playing a word game, or collaboratively writing a
new verse to a song or chant are basically authentic, as they are ways that children
use language and ways in which they are instructed. To be authentic, an assessment
should also be “child-friendly” (Saricoban & Kuntas, 2010). In general, paper-and-
pencil tests do not meet the criteria of authenticity for young learners.
5. Washback Washback refers to the effects that tests have on teaching and
learning (Wall & Alderson, 1993). Its impact can be positive or negative. Ideally,
a test should promote more effective instruction: What is tested should be what
is agreed upon as the most important language knowledge and use. As Cameron
(2001) explains, “Teaching and learning needs should dictate the form and timing
of assessment” (p. 213). However, in practice, “the scenario is quite different:
assessment seems to ‘drive’ teaching by forcing teachers to teach what is going to
be assessed” (p. 213). It can also influence the language curriculum and policy.
Cameron provides several examples of how national and international tests can
change the focus of instruction from communication to more grammar-based items
that can be easily assessed through paper-and-pencil tests, an example of negative
washback.
The above criteria apply especially to summative assessments or tests that are
used to compare children’s language abilities and to make educational decisions.
When focusing on alternative or formative assessment (see below), their inter-
pretation may change (Black & William, 1998; McKay, 2006; McMillan, 2003).
For example, according to McKay (2006), a classroom assessment such as a proj-
ect or portfolio may be valid if it “has resulted in more student engagement” or

“when progress can be identified” (p. 116). Likewise, rather than determining
if a particular assessment would result in the same score over time or with
different raters, reliability might be determined by collecting data from a num-
ber of alternative assessment tasks. These ideas are only now being discussed,
and additional research will be needed to determine the criteria for informal
or alternative assessments.
Guidelines for Effective Assessment of Young Learners In addition

to meeting the five fundamental criteria discussed above, assessments for young
learners should:
1. Mirror learning (what is taught is what is assessed)
2. Contribute to learning (for both learners and the teacher)
3. Motivate learners and build learner confidence
4. Include a variety of techniques for learners’ different intelligences and
learning styles
5. Allow all learners to experience success, while providing advanced
learners opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency
6. Be contextualized and reflect relevant tasks and language for young
learners
7. Take place over time
1. Assessments should mirror learning Assessment should reflect the goals
and objectives of the curriculum and provide children with the opportunity to
demonstrate what they know and can do with the language in tasks that are similar
to the ones they have engaged with in learning. If they are principally taught
English orally through songs, chants, stories, and games, then they should be
assessed through similar activities, not through paper-and-pencil tests that focus
on individual vocabulary and grammar items out of context, in single sentences.
However, Rea-Dickins and Rixon (1999) found that the most frequent type of
language assessment was a paper-and-pencil test of grammar or vocabulary items
in single sentences (rather than connected discourse). This was in contrast to the
way that the children had been taught: through songs, stories, games, and other
connected discourse where the emphasis was on oral skills and the focus on content
and communication.
It is important “that the way young learners learn best be reflected in the
way they are assessed” (McKay, 2006, p. 47). If language learning involves
social interaction, so should at least some assessment focus on children as they
engage in communication with each other (Cameron 2001; Hasselgren, 2012;
7 Assessment 253
McNamara, 2001). Cameron also notes that scaffolded support from the teacher
or other students should be considered not only in teaching young learners, but
also in assessing them.
2. Assessments should contribute to learning (for both learners and
teachers) Effective assessment should help both teachers and learners. It should
provide information to learners (and their parents) on their progress in learning
English. The results of homework or class assignments can make students
(especially older young learners) aware of their progress, and help them to become
more independent learners (Kirsch, 2008). It should also provide teachers with
information on which to base subsequent instruction, especially modifications that
are needed for some or all students. As Cameron (2001, p. 115) suggests, assessment
should “serve” teaching by providing feedback on pupils’ learning that would make
the next teaching event more effective, in a positive, upward direction.
3. Assessments should motivate learners and build learner
confidence “Assessment in children’s language learning, as part of their early
experience, can influence whether or not pupils choose to continue learning the
foreign language or whether they lose interest and motivation” (Cameron, 2001,
p. 226). With formal testing, especially through standardized tests, students are
understandably anxious about their performance. But much assessment takes place
routinely in class instruction and on homework assignments. These assessments
need to encourage learners and provide them with ways of demonstrating what they
know. A word of praise for learners’ performance in oral or written tasks can help
learners become more confident and provide much-needed motivation. Stickers
or rewards can also be used to motivate young learners and acknowledge their
accomplishments. If we believe that teaching young learners should be motivating
for them, then even classroom tests should have that result. If a test only measures
students’ performance with grammar in isolated sentences or multiple-choice
vocabulary items, young learners are likely to find the assessment boring and not
very motivating. Since much of the emphasis in EYL classes is on encouraging
learners to develop fluency in English, too heavy an emphasis on assessing
individual grammar or vocabulary items could be inappropriate.
Even high-stakes, standardized tests can be motivating. The University of
Cambridge in their tests for young learners identifies the following desirable
characteristics that encourage and motivate learners and build confidence:
We want our tests to be:
■■ fun for children to take so the tasks are varied and some look like games or puzzles
■■ attractive and colorful to look at so all tasks are based on colorful graphics

■■ interesting in content so topic areas which are relevant to children’s lives are
chosen; e.g. school, food, animals
■■ encouraging and confidence building so the tests are short and plenty of time is
allowed for each task; the tests have a simple format with simple instructions for
the students
■■ relaxed and non-threatening so all listening tasks are heard twice; speaking tasks
are activity-based; oral examiners give lots of encouragement.
(cited by Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004, p. 252)
4. Assessment should include a variety of techniques for learners’ different

intelligences and learning styles Many standardized tests focus on linguistic,
logical-mathematical, and spatial intelligences, which prevent many learners with
other learning styles or intelligences (Gardner, 1983, 1999) from demonstrating
their language ability (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004). These tests also tend to
focus on individual language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing),
though in real life we tend to use several of these at once. We need to make sure
that assessments provide all learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their
diverse skills and abilities. Just as students have multiple opportunities to learn to
listen, speak, read, and write English, they should also be provided with multiple
opportunities to demonstrate their progress in applying the knowledge, skills, and
strategies they have used in their learning (O’Malley & Pierce, 1996).
5. Assessments should allow all learners to experience success,
while providing advanced learners opportunities to demonstrate their
proficiency Assessment, like teaching, often focuses on the “middle” student,
without providing opportunities for those who are above or below that middle
to demonstrate what they know and are able to do with English (Crandall &
Greenblatt, 1999). Just as teaching needs to provide differentiation of tasks for
different learners, so does assessment.
6. Assessments should be contextualized and reflect relevant tasks and
language for young learners Too often, quizzes and tests ask students to respond
to a set of items that are not thematically related or relevant to their lives. To
increase the authenticity of assessment and encourage young learners to relate both
learning and assessment to their lives, assessments should provide an integrated set
of items focused on a central theme (one that has been taught) that is relevant to the
young learners. The language assessed should be language that children would use
in their real lives. Good test items should reflect and use similar tasks and activities
that are used in instruction. The topics, text types, language functions (in listening,
speaking, reading, and writing), and the conditions should match what has been
7 Assessment 255
used in classroom instruction. They should be based on what children can do and
usually do in class. Where possible, assessments should also focus on both language
and content.
7. Assessments should take place over time In order to provide evidence of

growth, assessment should not be thought of as occurring only occasionally or at
times when important tests are given. Instead, it should occur over time, to provide
longitudinal evidence of growth (Hurley & Blake, 2001). Portfolios, observational
checklists using dates, and homework notebooks can all be used to collect that
evidence.
Purposes and Types of Language Assessments
David Grossman/Alamy Limited

We assess students for many purposes:
■■ To make decisions about where to place students
■■ To monitor students’ performance and achievement and note what else we
need to focus on
■■ To identify students who need special support
■■ To measure and report students’ progress
■■ To monitor our own effectiveness as teachers and make appropriate instructional
modifications
(Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004; Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010; Rea-Dickins &
Rixon, 2000)
The types of assessments we use vary according to these purposes. They can
briefly be categorized as traditional or alternative assessments.
Traditional and Alternative Assessments Traditionally, assessment
has taken the form of tests or quizzes with multiple-choice items, matching, filling-
in-the-blank, and true-false questions, sometimes in standardized tests that measure
whether students have met specific objectives or outcomes, and other times created
by the teacher (Saricoban & Kuntas, 2010). In addition to these traditional forms
of assessment, there are a number of “alternative” or performance assessments
that require the learner to apply the knowledge, skills, and strategies used in
learning (Bailey, 1998; O’Malley & Pierce, 1996; Puckett & Black, 2000; Shabaan,
2005). Pierce and O’Malley (1992) define alternative assessment as “any method of
finding out what a student knows or can do that is intended to show growth and
inform instruction and is not a standardized or traditional test” (p. 2). Alternative
or performance-based assessment (also known as assessment for learning) uses
activities that reveal what students can do with the language, emphasizing their
strengths rather than their weaknesses in using English for meaningful purposes.
These performance assessments are classroom-based, involving tasks in which
language is used in authentic ways or through simulations of real-life language use
(McKay, 2006). Generally, performance assessments are formative and integrative
in nature; they may occur over an extended period of time and involve the use of
several language skills. A major goal is to link instruction and assessment, providing
continuing feedback to learners and improvement of instruction. Alternative or
performance assessments can be incorporated into daily classroom activities with
appropriate procedures in place, though some will take time to review and mark.
Purposes and Types of Formal Tests The purposes for formal tests
include:
1. Diagnostic tests: Diagnosing student learning difficulties or areas in

need of further instruction, for example, with particular sounds or
writing features
2. Placement tests: Initially placing students in the proper language level
3. Achievement tests: Measuring and reporting student progress in
learning the curriculum
4. Proficiency tests: Providing an overall picture of a student’s language
development
(Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010)
1. Diagnostic tests Diagnostic tests are formative assessments used to identify

features of English that are problematic for individual learners. They might consist
of a brief speaking test to identify particular sounds that are difficult for the student
7 Assessment 257
to pronounce or a writing sample that can be used to identify areas that need to be
addressed. These tests are not commonly used with very young learners, or even
young learners, unless a student demonstrates ongoing difficulties.
2. Placement tests Placement tests are usually repurposed achievement or
proficiency tests that are used to determine the right language level for placement.
The test uses portions of the content of the curriculum as the basis of the
assessment, finding the appropriate place where material is neither too easy nor too
difficult for the learner.
3. Achievement tests Achievement tests are usually what both teachers and
students think of when they think of tests. They are curriculum-based: They
measure learning of the specific content of a unit or course. They are also summative
in nature, but can provide formative feedback to teachers and administrators on
instructional changes for that unit or course.
4. Proficiency tests Unlike an achievement test, which tests mastery of a
curriculum, a proficiency test provides an overall picture of a student’s English
language ability. It is almost always summative and norm-referenced. Usually, a
proficiency test provides an overall score and subscores on each section of the test
(often specific language skills such as listening, reading, etc.)
The results of all of these formal student assessments are used by teachers in
monitoring their performance and by administrators in evaluating teachers and
programs. They are also frequently used as part of an overall evaluation of an
institution (Rea-Dickins & Gardner, 2000).
Purposes and Types of Alternative or Performance

Assessments Alternatives to traditional assessment for young learners include:
1. Observations
2. Conferences and oral interviews
3. Story or text retellings
4. Writing samples
5. Projects
6. Portfolios
7. Other performances
8. Self- or peer-assessments
1. Observations “Incidental observation” of classroom learning (McKay, 2006,
p. 153), also known as “kid watching” (Goodman, 1978; Gordon, 2007) occurs all the

time in a young learner classroom. According to Puckett and Black (2000), “During
story time, for example, the teacher scans the listeners for facial expressions and
body language and listens for verbal responses indicative of enjoyment, language
development, and comprehension” (p. 217). You can observe young learners as they
engage in pair work, draft an e-mail, engage in shared reading, or work individually or
collaboratively on a project. Such observations are “helpful when you are interested in
finding out whether your students have the know-how needed to complete a certain
task or whether they can help themselves while dealing with the challenges posed by
a language learning activity” or to see if they have “the strategic competence essential
for completing certain tasks. By observing how your students resolve the challenges
presented by the acts of speaking, reading, or writing in a second language, you can
learn the extent of their students’ strategic competence and ascertain what type of help
would benefit language learners” (Gordon, 2007, pp. 208–209). Performance checklists
can be developed to record the observations of individual students and to monitor
their progress in specific listening, speaking, reading, or writing skills, or their growth
in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary. It might be useful to develop a checklist
with the objectives for each unit or for a term. It also might be helpful to identify one
or two children to observe each day during times when children are interacting with
each other in their learning tasks, using an observation checklist, or taking notes to
record their oral language performance.
2. Conferences and oral interviews During writing conferences, when teachers

talk with individual students about their drafts, giving guidance or revising them,
it is also possible to note children’s ability to communicate their ideas effectively
in English. Since oral language development is usually the focus of EYL programs,
especially for very young learners, it is important to provide opportunities for
students to demonstrate their progress in listening and speaking. Simple questions
during independent reading, such as “Why did you choose this book?” or “Can you
tell me about a part that you really like?” can provide information on a child’s oral
language development. Although formal interviews may not be necessary, they can
be an appropriate end-of-term/year oral proficiency assessment.
3. Story or text retellings In story or text retellings, students read or listen to

the original text and then retell the major events, selected details, or the main ideas
(O’Malley & Pierce, 1996). It is even possible to assess a beginning English learner
whose listening skills are stronger than his/her speaking skills by telling the story in
English, but allowing the learner to retell the story in L1.
4. Writing samples During the year, students can be asked to write a range of
texts, as discussed in Chapter 5. These writing samples can be assessed and placed in
7 Assessment 259
a student’s portfolio. Students can also be asked to self-assess their writing (and have
a peer also assess it), by using smiley faces or numbers of stars for beginners, then by
checklists, and, when appropriate, through a sentence or short paragraph.
5. Projects Projects may include creating posters, drawings, student books,

charts, or role plays, and may be undertaken individually or in groups. They
are often an excellent integrated assessment, since they usually involve the use
of the four language skills, especially when they are developed collaboratively.
Even individual written projects usually require some type of oral presentation.
Collaborative projects with carefully defined roles can also provide opportunities
for learners at different levels to demonstrate their English language and other
skills such as drawing or acting (Pinter, 2006). Some EYL series use projects as the
summative assessment for textbook units. These projects provide an authentic way
of assessing overall learning of the language and content of the unit.
Reader — only person who can read

off the paper
Writer — only person who can write

and draw on paper
Presenter — only person who can present

the answers
Jobs switch after each activity.
You may not repeat the same job.
6. Portfolios “A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work” that

documents a student’s “efforts, progress, and achievement” over time (Paulson,
Paulson, & Meyer, 1991, p. 60). Portfolios may include drawings, writings,
posters, journal entries, craft items, photographs (or videotapes) of projects, or
participation in role plays or Reader’s Theater (O’Malley & Pierce, 1996; Pierce &
O’Malley, 1992). They can be used for both formative and summative assessment.
For formative purposes, during the term, learners can be invited to present their
portfolio to parents as a demonstration of their progress. They can also select one
item they are particularly proud of to present to a small group of peers. Older
young learners can also be asked to comment on work that is included in the
portfolio, as a form of self-assessment. Usually, a summative portfolio
Darija Sostaric-
is a “showcase portfolio” (Gordon, 2007, p. 209) that includes the best
Zuckermann, Primary
School Teacher, Croatia work of a student, selected by the student with guidance from the
“My school is small. We teacher. Young learners develop autonomy as they decide which pieces
have one grade per year, to include. The portfolios can provide a full representation of a student’s
grades 1 to 8, so I teach all
the children there. Student
language abilities. Some programs also pass students’ portfolios on to
portfolios are passed on the teacher of the next level, providing valuable information to the new
to me! My pupils collect teacher on each student’s progress.
all their work in one big
notebook and when it is 7. Other performances Role plays, oral reports, and demonstrations
filled, they save the old
one and start a new one. I also offer opportunities to gauge learners’ speaking proficiency. Students
teach them to always have can be asked to play the part of a character in a story, give a brief report
the old one by their work
area at home to find and
of their or their group’s project, or demonstrate something they know
refer to something they how to do. These can also be audiotaped or videotaped to preserve their
need. And I’m quite happy performance. The audiotapes or videotapes can be part of the students’
how they do it. Students
who are now in secondary overall portfolios.
schools often say thank
you to me for teaching 8. Self- or peer-assessments Older young learners can
them how to use their participate in self-assessment, or in assessing each other, if care has
portfolios, although not
many secondary teachers
been taken to provide a structure for the comments (similar to the
continue this practice. Praise-Question-Polish (PQP) approach discussed in Chapter 5).
Usually, at the end of a Pairing children who work well together will also help to establish
school year, we go back
to the beginning of the appropriate cooperation (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2002). Learners
year and go through the younger than 8 years old are not likely to be able to reflect on their
portfolios to see what they
performance, or if they do, they are likely to be overly optimistic about
have done. In the notebook
I also write notes to the their own learning. But their ability to self-reflect and self-assess
parents and some do read improves around age 8 (Butler & Lee, 2010; Paris & Newman, 1990).
them and report back.”
There are a variety of ways of encouraging young learners to assess
themselves. These include asking them to check off a series of “can-do”
statements, such as the following, which are at different levels of English
proficiency:
I can follow directions in English. (Listening)
I can name the days of the week and tell the current day. (Speaking)
I can describe the clothes I am wearing. (Speaking)
I can match pictures with words. (Reading/Listening)
I can read sentences about animals and answer questions. (Reading and Writing)
I can retell a story. (Listening/Reading and Speaking/Writing)
I can label a drawing of a classroom. (Writing)
I can write a poem with my name. (Writing)
I can describe my family. (Writing)
7 Assessment 261
To provide even more information, students can be asked to indicate whether
they can do this “Very well/easily,” “Not very well/easily,” or “Not at all.” This can
also be done as a class activity, with students giving examples of each of these
after they have completed their can-do inventory. Students can also be asked to
respond to a series of questions related to how they feel about learning English,
about the class, and about specific activities in the class. (Note: Can-do state-
ments have been developed for large-scale language testing in the United States
and Europe. See the Web resources at the end of this chapter.)
“Exit tickets,” where children are asked to report on something they learned in the
class that day, can also promote self-assessment. Providing sentence starters, such as
“One new thing I learned today is/was . . .” can provide the structure and support for
children to report on their learning. Another possibility is to use sentence starters to
ask children (perhaps in groups) to reflect on the day’s lesson and write “3-2-1 sum-
maries”: “3 facts they have learned, 2 questions they have or wonder about, [and]
1 personal connection they can make to the information” (Dodge, 2009, pp. 22–23).
Rating Alternative Assessments Differences in the type of assessment

also result in differences in the ways in which these assessments are scored. Some
ways of scoring or rating alternative assessments include:
1. Brief feedback
2. Checklists
3. Rubrics
1. Brief feedback Classroom assignments such as filling in a graphic organizer
can be scored by a three-part system:
[List with symbols +, check mark, and −]
+ For excellent work
√ For acceptable work
− For work that needs improvement
Brief statements such as “Good job” or “Great, but you need work here” will
individualize the assessment.
2. Checklists Checklists provide a simple way of keeping a record of students’
performance in class.
Observations can be noted on a checklist that provides the names of the students
on the left-hand side and the types of performances or outcomes desired at the top.
For example, a student engaged in pair work using verbs such as “like to” and “don’t
like to,” or key vocabulary such as “windy,” “snowy,” or “rainy” in discussion, would
receive a check, indicating that this student has successfully used the grammatical
structure or key vocabulary. The checklist could also use numbers 1, 2, and 3 to
indicate where a learner is on any task. It could be dated and then added to or
revised when a learner moves to the next level. This is a simple way of keeping a
record of students’ performance in class.
The following is an example of a simple “recording ladder” that could be used
to monitor children’s development of early spelling and handwriting:
Copies letters neatly and correctly when watched
Copies letters neatly and correctly independently
Copies a small number of familiar words accurately
Can use a simple picture dictionary or word book
Can spell accurately most words in the coursebook units covered thus far
(Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2002, p. 249)
A simple individual assessment form/checklist can be developed for each stu-

dent that records the student’s progress in meeting the instructional objectives.
This form can be placed in the student’s portfolio. Here is an example:
Student name: _______________________________________________

1 = Exceeds objective
2 = Meets objective
3 = Needs improvement
4 = Does not meet objective
Objective/Skill Date Date Date Date
Responds to Y/N 3 10/3 2 12/4 1 2/14

questions
Responds to
Wh-questions
Follows oral directions
Participates in chants
and songs
Interacts with other

students in English
7 Assessment 263
The following is another example of a checklist used to rate a learner’s oral
language:
ORAL LANGUAGE CHECKLIST

M = Most of the time S = Sometimes N = Almost never
Student name: _______________________________________________
Task Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating
Describes things 10/3 S 11/6 S 1/5 M
Answers questions
Expresses likes/dislikes
Follows oral directions
Uses greetings and farewells
Uses present tense
Uses past tense
Responds to Yes/No Qs
Responds to Wh- Qs
The following is a similar checklist for assessing writing:
WRITING CHECKLIST
M = Most of the time S = Sometimes N = Almost never
Student name: _______________________________________________
Task Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating
Copies name 10/5 S 12/2 M
Copies words from board 10/5 N 12/2 S 1/4 M
Fills gaps with words 12/2 S 1/4 S 2/14 M

Teachers can write the dates and rating in a color as a child performs the task. It
can then be sent to the teacher of the next level, who can use a different color so
“everyone can see at a glance how much progress has been made over the year”
(Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004, p. 249).
3. Rubrics Rubrics are scoring guides that are used in assessing students’ oral or
written performance on a range of criteria. Rubrics are usually provided to students
before they engage in the task, enabling them to know how their speaking or writing
will be assessed. As young learners become older (age 10+) and more proficient in
English, they can help identify the important features to include in the rubric and
how these should be evaluated. In doing so, they can become much more aware of
the importance of various features.
There are two types of scoring rubrics: holistic and analytic. Holistic
rubrics, which are much more common for classroom assessment, provide a
single overall score indicating how well the student has used these features.
Analytic rubrics provide points for each feature and then add these up for a
composite score (usually on the basis of 100 points as a perfect score)
(Bailey, 1998; O’Malley & Pierce, 1996). A holistic writing rubric might
assess organization, communication of ideas, grammar, vocabulary, and
mechanics (spelling, capitalization, punctuation). The following holistic
writing rubric (adapted from Fleurquin, 2003, p. 21) is intended for use as a
standardized assessment of writing. It could be simplified for classroom as-
sessment and also adapted for assessing speaking, substituting pronunciation
for mechanics.
HOLISTIC WRITING RUBRIC
Points Descriptor
9–10 Communicates all the requested information. Grammar, vocabulary, and

mechanics do not interfere with the message.
7–8 Communicates the requested information. Mistakes in grammar, vocabulary,

and mechanics slightly interfere with getting the message across.
5–6 Communicates most of the requested information. Mistakes make the message
hard to understand.
3–4 Much of the requested information is not included. Mistakes hinder

comprehension.
1–2 Attempts at expressing ideas in writing are unsuccessful.
7 Assessment 265
Below is an example of an analytic rubric for narrative writing for young learners.
Narrative Writing
Possible Points Score
1. Three complete sentences 9
2. Spelling is understandable 2
3. Capitals at the beginning of sentences, “I”, proper nouns 2
4. Periods, exclamation marks and question marks 2
5. Spacing between words 2
6. Descriptive language 3
Total 20
The following analytic writing rubric is adapted from one used by the
Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano (ICPNA) in Lima, Peru:
RUBRIC FOR WRITING SKILLS
SCORES
WRITING
0 1 2
Accuracy Student was unable Student was able to Student was able to
to use target form(s). use target form(s) use target form(s)
successfully some of successfully most of
the time. the time.
Communication Student demonstrates Student provides Student maintains
little or no focus some focus on the consistent focus
on the topic, and topic, and some ideas on the topic, and
ideas are not clearly are clearly connected. ideas are clearly
connected. connected.
ADAPTED FROM YOUNG STUDENTS PROGRAM, ICPNA, LIMA, PERU
Effective Assessment Activities

Assessing Oral Language For very young learners, the major focus
of assessment will be on oral language development. Even after children have
developed some literacy in English, assessment of oral language will continue to be
important, since much of their learning will involve interacting with others orally.
But what features of oral language should be assessed? Bachman and Palmer (1996)
identify four types of knowledge that we draw on in oral interaction and that we
should note in our assessment of children’s developing oral communication:
1. Grammatical knowledge: the ability to use vocabulary, syntax, and

phonology to speak clearly, with appropriate pronunciation and intonation,
and to understand others’ pronunciation, intonation, and word choice
2. Textual knowledge: the ability to speak in organized and expected ways,
linking ideas together, and to listen and participate in conversations and
other oral tasks
3. Functional knowledge: the ability to use language for different purposes
and to understand other people’s purposes
4. Sociolinguistic knowledge: the ability to use oral language appropriate
to the context and the person(s) spoken to
Some specific activities for assessing listening and speaking are provided b
elow.
Note that almost any listening or speaking activity discussed in Chapter 4 can
be used to assess, as well as teach, oral language.
Assessing listening Listening skills can be assessed almost from the beginning of
a young learner’s English development. Children can follow simple commands such
as “Stand up” or “Point to the window,” and their performance can be noted in a
checklist. Or they can be asked to listen and identify something by circling a picture.
For example, after having taught the names of wild animals or animals in the zoo,
the teacher could say, “Listen. Circle the elephant.”
Listen and Circle
a.) b.) c.)
Brief listening assessments can take place during any oral discussion or when
a story is being read aloud. For example, older young learners can take notes
during the first few minutes of a story or discussion and then engage in a “turn
7 Assessment 267
and talk,” discussing what is most important in what they have heard, or asking
and answering questions about what happened, the main events or ideas, and
important details (Dodge, 2009). This not only builds listening skills, but also
helps develop active and purposeful academic listening.
Listening consists of a number of subskills to be assessed, including:
■■ Discriminating between individual sounds and words

■■ Comprehending differences in grammar (singular–plural; present–past)
■■ Identifying the main idea(s) in a story or oral text
■■ Identifying specific information
Children can demonstrate their listening ability nonverbally by:
■■ Circling the different sound or the same sounds

■■ Pointing to a picture or object
■■ Pointing to a word
■■ Responding to simple commands (as in basic TPR or a song like “Head,
Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”) or following oral directions
■■ Selecting the appropriate picture
■■ Drawing or coloring a picture
■■ Matching two pictures or a word and a picture
■■ Indicating Yes/No with thumbs up/down
■■ Numbering or putting pictures in sequence
They can also demonstrate their listening ability in speaking or writing by:
■■ Supplying missing words in a listening cloze

■■ Selecting the appropriate verbal response
■■ Predicting what comes next
■■ Retelling major episodes in a story
■■ Filling in a graphic organizer (as a class or in small groups or pairs)
■■ Identifying and correcting mistakes in a story retelling
■■ Providing short answers to questions
■■ Completing a cloze activity
■■ Taking dictation
In assessing listening, it is important that students know why they are listening:
the purpose of the task. We should also try to make the tasks as communicative
as possible, enabling us to judge how well students understand what is being
said in conversation or discussion.

Assessing speaking Many assessment specialists believe that speaking is the
most complex skill to assess. In assessing speaking, we are really assessing
comprehensibility and communication in terms of pronunciation, grammar,
vocabulary, and overall fluency.
Speaking can be assessed holistically or analytically using rubrics. Children’s
speaking can be assessed during class discussions, pair or small group work,
conferences, or oral presentations.
Speaking assessment tasks include:
■■ Repeating key words or phrases (to assess pronunciation and vocabulary)
■■ Chanting or singing a song from memory or written text
■■ Engaging in information gap activities
■■ Using classroom language
■■ Retelling story episodes with pictures
■■ Repeating only true sentences
■■ Describing a picture
■■ Playing a guessing game
■■ Answering questions
■■ Presenting a project to the class
■■ Participating in role plays
Information gap activities provide an excellent opportunity to monitor

children’s oral language (both listening and speaking) as pairs of students work
together. Some of these include:
■■ Describing successive items in an array or sequence (for example, clothes on a
clothesline)
■■ Describing objects or pictures for the partner to locate its matching pair
(repeated until all items have been matched).
■■ Following a set of directions to make something (such as making a
monster’s face)
■■ Choosing and placing objects in their right places (from a picture cue)
■■ Following directions to map a route
■■ Identifying the minor differences in pairs of pictures
(Adapted from Education Department of Western Australia, 1997,
cited in McKay, 2006, p. 205)
The time following speaking assessment can be spent on indirect error
correction of grammar or vocabulary errors. Examples of common mistakes can
be written on the board, read aloud by the teacher or students while s tudents
7 Assessment 269
listen for mistakes, and then students can be asked to make corrections. This
can also become a review for the beginning of the next class. Rather than
correcting pronunciation errors, it is better to model the correct forms and have
everyone repeat. With repetition, they will improve their pronunciation.
McKay (2006) gives an example of a checklist that students can use to self-
assess their speaking. It asks children to check how well they think they ask
or answer questions, talk about their family, introduce themselves, etc., with
options of “not so well,” “OK,” “quite well,” or “really well.” She also suggests
that following a self-assessment, learners can ask their peers to “check” their
self-assessment, noting that engaging in peer-assessment not only increases
children’s “language awareness and ability to talk about language (through
discussion of what makes a good performance)”; it also makes learners more
responsible for their work and strengthens their “sense of being part of a
classroom community” (p. 166). A way of capturing students’ speaking is by
audio- or videotaping them for later assessment.
Assessing Written Language Although oral language is the foundation for

written language and is more important for young learners, especially very young
learners, standardized assessments (“high-stakes tests”) usually involve reading and
at least some basic writing, since written tests are much easier to administer and
mark. Even standardized tests of listening involve some reading and writing. So
assessing reading and writing, with both alternative and traditional assessment, is
important. Alternative assessment (especially observation) of the beginning learner
can note the incidental learning of written vocabulary or language chunks as well
as initial writing tasks, such as copying or printing one’s name. As children’s written
language proficiency increases, assessment tasks can become more comprehensive,
including the use of rubrics for texts written from prompts related to unit themes
and portfolios of written work.
Assessing reading Assessment of reading tasks should match the tasks used in
instruction: They should also match the ways in which readers actually read. The
assessment should be authentic (O’Malley & Pierce, 1996). If we want to assess how
well children can skim a text for its central theme or scan it to find a specific piece
of information (such as a date, the name of a character or person, or a place), then
the assessment task needs to require the children to use these same processes. In
designing reading assessment activities, text selection is also important. The texts
should motivate the children to read, be written at the children’s reading level, and
be relevant. Besides stories, which are enjoyable and central to TEYL, texts can also
include greeting cards, charts, poems, e-mails, or any other text that has been used
in teaching.
Assessing reading, like assessing listening, is indirect, since it involves the
use of actions, speaking, or writing (Pinter, 2006). Reading assessment tasks can
include:
■■ Circling the right sound or word

■■ Sorting or grouping words into categories
■■ Matching pictures with words, phrases, or sentences
■■ Matching dialogs with pictures or names of characters
■■ Reading and coloring or labeling a diagram or picture
■■ Filling in words
■■ Rearranging letters in words or words in sentences
■■ Rearranging phrases or sentences of a known story or text
■■ Completing sentences
■■ Following written directions
■■ Answering T/F, multiple-choice, or Wh- questions
■■ Predicting what comes next
■■ Finding specific information (scanning)
■■ Getting the main idea (skimming)
■■ Using context clues to guess meaning of unknown words
■■ Filling in a graphic organizer (chart, table, diagram, etc.)
■■ Completing a cloze passage
■■ Retelling (parts of) a story
There are also a number of informal ways of observing children’s reading:

during story time, during shared reading, during oral reading, or when they
are reading independently. During these times, as well, it is possible to ask
children questions to determine what reading strategies they are using (and
checking these off on a reading strategy checklist). For example: Are they pre-
dicting what is coming next? Do they sound out unfamiliar words? Do they
re-read when they encounter a comprehension problem? Do they self-correct?
Questioning can also help determine children’s vocabulary knowledge. Reading
provides a meaningful context for assessing vocabulary. Children can be asked about
the meaning of words in the text, and their progress can be monitored with a vo-
cabulary checklist. During oral reading, it is also possible to keep a “running record”
of children’s reading, noting the “miscues” or errors that they make (Clay, 2000).
Assessing writing While the major emphasis in English classes for very young
learners is on oral language, it is important to introduce writing gradually, using oral
language as a basis, and to assess that writing from the beginning, when copying letters
or words may be all that the learners can do. As their writing ability increases, they
7 Assessment 271
Pre-K Assessment Form
15AII of the time
25lmproving on this skill (w/h=with help)
35Needs more time
PHONICS/READING READINESS
• Interested in letters.
• Can recognize own name.
• Knows first and fast name.
• Sings songs and does finger plays and rhymes.
• Likes stories and books.
• Enjoys being read to.
• Understands that reading is done from left to right and is able to turn the pages
for you in the right direction.
• Points to pictures in the book when asked questions about the pictures. (“Where is
the dog?”... “the blue ball?” etc.)
• Can say the alphabet without singing it.
• Memorizes several short poems (nursery rhymes).
can be asked to write longer and more complex texts and also be expected to achieve
greater fluency and accuracy. The range of texts that they write will also increase, as will
the types of texts that are used in assessment. These can range from shorter and more
predictable texts such as forms, greeting cards, notes, and e-mails to texts requiring
more creativity and wider language (especially vocabulary) use. Eventually, children
can be asked to write the following range of texts: narratives, descriptions, explanations,
reports, summaries, or arguments, though in language structures and vocabulary that
they have been taught and learned. We want to make writing interesting and enjoyable
for children, so in evaluating children’s written texts, focus first on providing feedback
on the content, only correcting errors that interfere with understanding. Later, add
assessment of organization, then grammar, and finally mechanics.
The following list includes writing assessments for young learners from very
limited to much greater English writing ability:
■■ Copying letters or words

■■ Unscrambling letters to spell a word
■■ Filling in missing words (to assess vocabulary or grammar in writing)
■■ Labeling or describing pictures

■■ Doing word puzzles
■■ Completing sentences with sentence starters
■■ Writing speech bubbles for cartoon characters or characters in a story
■■ Rearranging sentences
■■ Transferring information to or from a graphic organizer
■■ Answering simple questions (one word, multiple choice, etc.)
■■ Writing a short text (such as a thank-you note, invitation, friendly e-mail, poem,
or chant)
■■ Correcting false sentences from a story or picture
■■ Self-assessing using an editing or proofreading checklist
■■ Revising from written comments
■■ Responding to a writing prompt
■■ Describing a picture
■■ Writing a range of texts
■■ Summarizing a story or other text
■■ Participating in writing conferences with peers and the teacher
(McKay, 2006; Weigle, 2002)
Assessing Vocabulary and Grammar The best way to assess

proficiency in vocabulary and grammar is within the context of assessing oral or
written language skills, where students demonstrate their ability to understand
or use English vocabulary and grammar in meaningful ways (Hughes, 2003).
However, vocabulary and grammar are often tested separately in standardized tests
because of the ease of administering and scoring these tests and thus, students need
to be prepared for these types of assessments in their classes. Directly assessing
vocabulary and grammar can also provide useful information in diagnostic
or placement testing, or in achievement testing, where a set of vocabulary and
grammar items are specified in the curriculum objectives.
Many of the assessment procedures discussed under “Assessing Oral Language”
or “Assessing Written Language” also assess vocabulary and grammar. But the fol-
lowing activities can be used specifically to assess vocabulary and grammar.
Assessing vocabulary Because vocabulary comprises a large portion of what we

teach young learners, it needs to be assessed using the same activities that are used
to teach that vocabulary, such as the following:
■■ Matching pictures with words

■■ Labeling pictures
■■ Unscrambling words
7 Assessment 273
■■ Providing missing letters in words
■■ Completing word puzzles
■■ Sorting words by content
Students can also be asked to self-assess or report their own growing English
vocabulary (McKay, 2006). They can keep a vocabulary notebook, writing down
new words they encounter and indicating whether they:
■■ Have seen the word before

■■ Have seen the word, but do not know what it means
■■ Think that the word means _____ (using synonyms or translation)
■■ Know that the word means _____ (using synonyms or translation)
■■ Can use the word in a sentence: ___________ (writing a sentence)
They can be encouraged to return to their vocabulary notebooks and mark

their own progress when they have learned what a word means or can use it in a
sentence.
Assessing grammar Although grammar may be taught to young learners more

implicitly (through repeated patterns and some discussion of these patterns, rather
than through grammatical rules), we can still assess how well our students are
acquiring English grammar, both in oral communication and in writing. We can also
ask brief grammar-related questions when teaching a story. For example, children can
be asked to describe three things a character does (verbs), the names of three animals
(nouns), or three descriptive words about a character or animal (adjectives). We also
can use an observational checklist of all the structures children are expected to learn
during a term (such as “Can use the present tense to describe routines”), as a way of
monitoring grammatical knowledge and accuracy in oral language activities. (Note
that in the early stages, children will be using formulaic chunks of language, without
having any knowledge of the grammar underlying their use.)
A checklist can also be used to note children’s development of grammar used
in speaking:
■■ Uses single words

■■ Uses chunks of language (two or more words)
■■ Uses phrases
■■ Uses simple sentences
■■ Uses coordinated sentences (using and, but, or, etc.)
■■ Uses complex sentences

Uses chunks of language (two
Uses coordinated sentences
Uses complex sentences

(using and, but, or, etc.)
Uses simple sentences
Uses single words
or more words)
Uses phrases
Student Name
Mohamed Hassan 9/3/12
Naimah Al Haiki 9/3/12 9/10/12
Ali Al Kaissy 9/3/12
Samir Nasri 9/3/12 9/10/12
This can be expanded by noting how often the learner does these, using what
Brewster, Ellis, and Girard (2004, p. 249) refer to as the NOFAN 5-point scale
(Never, Occasionally, Frequently, Always, or Naturally), when they use a check-
list that assesses how well learners perform when:
■■ Circling the correct verb (tense, number, etc.) or filling in blanks

■■ Changing a false sentence to true
■■ Transforming a sentence to a question
■■ Changing sentences from singular to plural or present to past tense
■■ Sequencing events with yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Designing Effective Assessment for a Lesson

In the following lesson plan (taken from Chapter 3), which is part of a thematic
unit on Rainforests and the Value of Trees, there are a number of places where
alternative, informal assessments can take place. These assessments provide
feedback to learners; they also help the teacher make decisions about needed
adjustments in instruction.
7 Assessment 275
Student profile Grades 4–5, intermediate level of English proficiency
Language Grammar: Need + tree for _________

Vocabulary: kapok tree; names of the animals in the story; rainforest;
kapok tree; parts of the tree; Amazon River

• Talk about the value of the tree in relation to several of the animals
in the story
Materials Beautiful pictures of different kinds of trees from their context

and other countries (printed from the Internet on paper or put in a
PowerPoint slide show)
A graphic organizer of a tree with lines pointing to the roots, trunk,
branches, and leaves of the tree—2 copies for each student
Pictures of animals from the book
Warm-up
Capture their attention Show students many beautiful pictures of different kinds of tress from
their country and other countries. Some of the trees may look very
strange and wondrous to them. Ask them, “What are these? Where can
you find these trees?” Take a globe or a map and point out where there
are rainforests where these trees are found.
Connect to prior knowledge and Think-Pair-Share (T-P-S)

experiences Ask the students to think individually about all the ways in which we
use trees: their value to us. Then share their ideas in a pair with one
partner, filling out one of the tree graphic organizers. Then as a class,
share their ideas and fill out a large tree organizer on the board.
Assessment: As the children work in pairs, circulate and observe how
well they are doing, providing assistance to those who need it.

Preview the cover of the Tell the class that you are going to read The Great Kapok Tree to
storybook them. Show them the cover picture and ask them if anyone has seen a
kapok tree. Let them describe it and what they see on the cover. Point
to the animals, the man with the ax, and all the flowers. Ask them
where they think the story takes place and what they think the book
is going to be about.
Pre-teach new vocabulary or Using picture cards of the individual animals, with their name on the
expressions card, teach the names of the animals. Introduce the rainforest, show
them a map of the world where there are rainforests, and then point
to the Amazon River and Brazil, where the story takes place. Have
them name the animals.
Assessment: As the children name the animals, note pronunciation
and later, if necessary, teach pronunciation by providing words with
similar sound patterns.
Give students a purpose for Tell the students that as you read, you want them to listen specifically
listening for the names of the animals and the value of the tree to that animal.
They can take notes as you read.
Presentation
Storytelling using the book Break students into 10 pairs or groups, so each pair/group has one
graphic organizer with WHO? WHAT? WHY? to use together. (Make
sure that the students note the ways that animals communicate; for
example, the boa constrictor hisses as he tells the man with the ax not
to cut down the tree.) Assign each group an animal and tell them to
write the name of the animal in the WHO box.
WHY?
WHO? WHAT? Ancestors
Boa Hissed don’t lived there,
constrictor chop down tree of
the tree miracles
Pause with each page and review what happened with students. Cue
each pair/group to take notes on their graphic organizer as you read.
But also tell the students to listen to the information about other
animals because they will need it later.
Assessment: Observe the pairs/groups as their turn comes to see if
they are on task and able to do the work.
7 Assessment 277
Practice
Retell part of the story Draw and Retell

Pairs or groups draw the scene about their animal and prepare to
present “who,” “what,” and “why” based on the story. They take
their notes from the graphic organizer and write the sentences they
will present. Be sure each member of the group or pair presents an
equal amount. Put all of the pictures on the board in the order of the
story, then begin to retell the story, having each group present what
they prepared.
Assessment: While the students are drawing their scenes, check the
graphic organizers to be sure the information is accurate and to let
students know if changes are needed.
Controlled practice Put up a large picture of the kapok tree. As you name an animal, ask
students to explain the value of the kapok tree and point to the part
of the tree that is valuable to that animal and say, ________ needs the
tree for ________.
Assessment: Write the students’ responses on the board (creating
a number of sentences) and make needed changes in vocabulary,
grammar, etc. Review these where needed.
Application
Independent activity: Personalize Our Tree

content Ask students to name the trees in their local context. “What trees do
we have here?” Make a list. Then have students choose one, draw it,
and write their own page modeled after what their animal said, using
their own reasons for needing the tree.
Assessment: Collect these and briefly review each student’s work.
Provide praise.
Assessment
Assessment: As each student leaves class, ask them to name one of the animals and
Exit Ticket something that animal needs from the kapok tree. Or they can explain
their own personal reason for needing trees.
Follow-up
Homework Ask the students to search for rainforests on the Internet and to see
what other trees and animals live there. The next class will be about
rainforests.

Teacher to Teacher
Teachers’ Perspectives on Assessment
Countries and educational institutions have various policies and practices related to the
use of traditional and alternative assessment, and the importance of appropriate
assessment for young learners, as the following teachers from Oman and Croatia indicate.
“(6–9As years
for assessment at the primary level in Oman which is from grades 1 to 4
old), there is a requirement of assessment, but they don’t care that
much about the traditional tests. They only assess by observation, different
motivating activities, etc. However, I teach in an elementary school which has
levels from 5 to 10 (9–15 years old) and here the assessment is necessary and
we should follow the MOE assessment methods. In English, we have informal
assessment which consists of continuous assessment and includes writing,
reading, speaking, listening and vocabulary and grammar and informal
records which are descriptive reports of each student’s behavior, attitudes and
progress and formal assessment which includes the short tests and the final
tests from the MOE. ”
—Asma Al Dhahab, Primary English Teacher, Oman
“levelI usually design my own assessment materials, taking into account the
and age of my learners, the aims I have set for them, and activities they
feel comfortable and familiar with. I sometimes resort to the published tests
I have if I find them appropriate to what I want to assess. I use published self-
assessment materials. I practice both formative and summative assessment.
I can’t imagine proceeding to another unit or activity if I see that some
students didn’t understand what was to be done or if at least they didn’t
get the message right. I sometimes even change my lesson plan spot-on
because of that. Summative assessment is somewhat obligatory, usually in a
written form. I place summative assessments at the end of each unit. I used to
have diagnostic tests and end-of-year tests but not anymore. I started using
portfolios, i.e. my students carry notebooks where they write, draw, paste all
given materials and their work. I try to check it regularly and write feedback to
them and the parents. There is also an observation process, but the feedback
is written to the school registry. The feedback from the observation process is
usually orally presented to the parents by the class tutor, but sometimes I also
”
write it in the portfolios.
Portfolios are a particularly effective form of alternative assessment, providing

information to students and their parents, as well as the teacher, as this teacher
from Ukraine discusses.
7 Assessment 279
“alternative
I also use portfolios for assessment. They have recently become an
to traditional assessment in Ukraine. The content is selected to
show the growth of the students’ achievement over time. My students and I
select the work samples that go in portfolios. Such work engages students in
self-assessment, showing them possibilities for reflection. Then in pairs or in
groups students evaluate a sample they want to put in their portfolios. They
discuss their strengths and weaknesses, thus improving their work. I usually
involve students in meaningful activities that will be worth sharing with other
students, teachers, parents. By the way, parents are great collaborators at
home and at school.
[Recently, my students] were writing letters to their pen pals. I did not mark
the mistakes in my students’ portfolios; however, they were able to write some
notes beforehand and ask me to check. Those letters were checked in the
exercise-books; then the students worked individually and ‘designed’ their
own letters, rewriting the content. There are some advantages in this process:
■■ students felt confident and secure;

■■ they practised their rewriting skills; and
■■ they could make some changes. ”
—Nataliya Nayavko, Primary English Teacher, Ukraine
Teachers also play an important role in preparing children for tests, as this
teacher from Brazil discusses.
“definitely
I believe lots of things can influence a child’s performance on a test, and
the teacher’s methodology may be one of them. I wouldn’t say it is
the teacher’s fault, but if most students in a class don’t do well on a test, there
is something wrong with the test or with the teaching. Before testing, we
must be sure we have explored the topics thoroughly, providing every child
with the opportunity to learn, which means exploring different intelligences.
When testing children I think we have to bear in mind that they might not
understand the instructions. Therefore, it’s important to go through the test
with them, explaining what they should do in each exercise. . . . Another
important point is that teachers must know how their students are going
to be tested so that they can prepare similar types of exercises to be done
in class. It’s different from preparing classes based on what students will be
tested. It means our students will feel confident because they are familiar with
that kind of activity; their anxiety will be under control. When teachers are
not the ones who design the tests, it’s essential to show them the test before
students take it and listen to their opinions. Tests should reflect what we
teach; there can´t be any surprises. ”

Teachers also need to provide a variety of assessments. This teacher from
Belarus talks about the range of assessments that she uses with her students.
“myAsexperience
for me, I use various types of assessment in my work. I want to share
of testing with you. Our books have thematic planning. At
the end of the unit students write a test. It can be a vocabulary and grammar
test. It includes five tasks, starting with less demanding word-level tasks and
moving on to creative writing. I use speaking tests as well. . . . The first task
encourages prepared speaking whereas the second task encourages children
to speak spontaneously. My students like listening tests. Pictures, examples,
lexical, grammar structures help young learners to cope with tests. I make
sure that children understand instructions before they start doing the test.
As we develop all-round communicative competence it’s better to use oral
tasks. Project work gives children an opportunity to use the language more
freely and to communicate a message of their own. Projects involve creativity,
”
drawing skills, develop basic presentation skills.
—Irina Melikhava, Primary English Teacher, Belarus
This teacher trainer has found a number of ways to assess students’ speaking.
“reflect
If assessment implies a cycle of progress where teachers and learners
upon how to improve certain performance, speaking should be a
progressive gathering of while-speaking information. . . . Collecting speaking
evidence can be done through recordings. I remember my first collections of
spoken evidence about 14 years ago were notes on students’ performance
and their written or oral reaction after having done a speaking activity such
as an interview or a thematic presentation. Later, I started to take notes on
checklists and rubrics so that students could have immediate feedback after
some selected spoken interaction. They used to keep that sheet where we had
written down comments on their performance and they decided by the end
”
of the course if it had been helpful or not.
—Luis Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, Teacher Trainer, Mexico
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Considerations for assessing young learners There are a number of issues that
make the assessment of young language learners complex. These include (1) their
age and overall development; (2) the degree of focus on oral skills in the classroom;
(3) the types of activities used in teaching and learning; (4) the goals of the program;
and (5) the approach to teaching and learning.
7 Assessment 281
Understanding the broad topic of assessment involves becoming familiar with
a number of basic terms and concepts Some of the important basic assessment
terms and concepts include (1) assessment, testing, and evaluation; (2) informal
and formal assessment; (3) formative and summative assessment; (4) criterion- and
norm-referenced tests; and (5) integrative and discrete point tests.
Fundamental criteria to guide the development of language assessments In

developing or selecting language assessments, it is important to determine their
reliability, validity, practicality, authenticity, and washback.
Guidelines for effective assessment of young learners In addition to meeting

the five fundamental criteria discussed above, assessments for young learners
should: mirror learning, contribute to learning, motivate learners and build learner
confidence, include a variety of techniques for learners’ different intelligences and
learning styles, allow all learners to experience success, be contextualized and reflect
relevant tasks and language for young learners, and take place over time.
Purposes and types of formal tests The purposes and types of formal tests include
diagnosing student learning difficulties or areas in need of further instruction
(diagnostic tests); initially placing students at the proper language level (placement
tests); measuring and reporting student progress in learning the curriculum
(achievement tests); and providing an overall picture of a student’s language
development (proficiency).
Purposes and types of alternative assessments These alternatives to

traditional assessment for young learners include: observations, conferences
and oral interviews, writing samples, story retellings, projects, portfolios, other
performances, and self- or peer-assessments.
Rating alternative assessments Differences in the type of assessment also result in

differences in the ways in which these assessments are scored. Some ways of scoring
or rating alternative assessments include: brief feedback, checklists, and rubrics.
Assessing oral language The major focus of assessment for young learners is on
oral language development. Even after children have developed some literacy in
English, assessment of oral language will continue to be important, since much of
children’s language learning will involve interacting with others orally. A number of
activities are available to assess young learner listening and speaking skills.
Assessing written language Although oral language is the foundation for

written and is more important for young learners, especially very young learners,
standardized assessments (“high-stakes tests”) usually involve reading and at least

some basic writing, since written tests are much easier to administer and mark.
Therefore, assessing reading and writing, with both alternative and traditional
assessment, is important. A number of activities are available for assessing young
learner reading and writing skills.
Assessing vocabulary and grammar The best way to assess proficiency in using
vocabulary and grammar is within the context of assessing oral or written language
skills, where students demonstrate their ability to understand or use English
vocabulary and grammar in meaningful ways. However, because vocabulary and
grammar are often tested separately in standardized tests, learners need to be
prepared for these types of assessments in their classes.
Over to You
1. What are some types of alternative assessments you might use
with young learners? What are the advantages and disadvantages
of each? If you interviewed an EYL teacher, what did you learn
Discussion about the types of assessments used in the class and the reasons
Questions for each. Were there any alternative or classroom-based assessment
that the teacher uses?
2. Imagine you are an EYL teacher who is going to be evaluated on
the basis of a teaching portfolio. What items would you want
to include? What kinds of student work would you place in the
portfolio and why?
3. What is the value of standardized assessments? What are their limita-
tions? If possible, gather information about one of the commercial
international English language tests for young learners—such as the
Cambridge Young Learners English Test (YLE) or the Pearson Test of
English Young Learners (PTE)—or a test given by a regional or national
educational body (such as a Ministry of Education) and examine it
in terms of the criteria for effective assessments for young learners
discussed in this chapter. What language skills are assessed? How
are they assessed? Are there any integrated tasks?
4. Think back to your experiences as a language learner. Which types
of assessments were most useful to you? Which were least useful?
Why?
7 Assessment 283
Lesson Choose any lesson from your curriculum or from a teacher’s edition of an EYL series
planning and indicate the assessment techniques you would use. Focus especially on alternative
assessments you can use while you are teaching the lesson. If there is no end-of-class
or end-of-unit assessment, create one that integrates several of the four language
skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).
Write Planning Assessments: Now that you have had the chance to think about the
about it special considerations we need to make when assessing young learners, what types
of assessments do you plan to use with your young or very young learners? Write a
plan of assessments that you wish to use and why. If you know of standardized tests
that are used in your local schools (for placement, achievement, or proficiency), be
sure to include these as well.

Print Publications
Alternative Assessment. (2001). Special issue. Language Testing 18(4). McKay, P. (2006). Assessing young language learners. Cambridge, UK:
Assessing Young Learners. (2000). Special issue. Language Testing, 17(2). Cambridge University Press.
Brown, H. D., and Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language assessment: O’Malley, J. M., & Pierce, L. V. (1996). Authentic assessment for
Principles and classroom practices, 2nd ed. White Plains, NY: English language learners: Practical approaches for teachers.
Pearson Longman. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Useful Web Sites

Authentic Assessment Toolbox by J. Mueller: A practical Rubrics for Teachers: www.rubrics4teachers.com/
approach for developing authentic assessment: http:// Understanding Assessment: A Tutorial on Assessment for
jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm Foreign Language Teachers: http://www.cal.org/flad/tutorial/
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Can-Do Web Sites: The WIDA CAN-DO descriptors used in
Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR): http://www.coe United States: http://www.wida.us/standards/CAN_DOs/
.int/t/dg4/linguistic/cadre_en.asp The Junior English Language Portfolio based on the Common
Language Testing Videos with a focus on validity and reliability European Framework of Reference for Languages: http://
by G. Fulcher and R. Thrasher: http://languagetesting.info www.primarylanguages.org.uk/resources/assessment_and_
/video/main.html#list recording/european_languages_portfolio.aspx
Shaping the Way We Teach English: Alternative Assessment:
http://oelp.uoregon.edu/shaping.html

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8 Classroom
Management
Getting Started
This chapter explores the teacher as manager from different
perspectives. It outlines different aspects of managing the classroom
Think about it that will help teachers reconsider their current approach and develop
new strategies to cope with the challenges of teaching young
learners. In addition, it encourages teachers to incorporate English
into classroom management routines that will create an English-
speaking environment.
Who was your favorite teacher in primary school? Why was s/he
your favorite teacher? Describe her or him in a paragraph using the
words in the Word Bank below.
WORD BANK
Personality Rules
Control Manage
Time Organized
Patience Routine
Who was your least favorite

teacher in primary school? Why was
s/he your least favorite teacher? Describe
her or him in a paragraph using the
words in the Word Bank above.
Justin Guariglia/Getty Images
What do you think the biggest

challenges are in managing young
learners in the EYL classroom? Make
a list that you can refer to at the end
of the chapter.
287
Brainstorming Web
Brainstorm all the different ways a teacher is a manager. Complete the

Discovery activity sentence in the center of the web: “An effective teacher is a good manager
of _______.” Try to think of as many different words as possible. One
example has been given: “An effective teacher is a good manager
of time.”
time
An effective teacher is a
good manager of__________.
If possible, observe a fellow teacher who is considered a model primary

school teacher. S/he does not have to be an English teacher. See what strategies
and techniques s/he uses to manage young learners in her/his classroom. Write
them down and decide which ones you could use to improve your classroom
management skills.

Why Teachers Need to Be Good Managers
Managing classrooms has always been a challenge for teachers. Whether the class
has 15 students or 60 students at one time, or whether the class has students of
the same age or many different ages, teachers everywhere find it challenging to

keep YLs (Young Learners) engaged in the learning process without distraction.
A well-known image from a Norman Rockwell painting depicts a common scene
within a traditional American classroom where a boy is writing out his misconduct
on the board as punishment for misbehaving. Although teachers today do not
typically use this method of discipline any more, it shows the prevalence of
managing learners through a system of punishment which still exists today,
albeit in different forms.
Take a look at the rules established by an anonymous teacher. Think about
whether this reflects how you approach your classroom.
Obviously this is a joke, one which is well known among teachers in the
United States. You can find many stores that sell this on t-shirts, coffee mugs,
and notepads because all teachers feel the common frustration of our young
students being out of control in the classroom. This chapter will help you avoid
feeling like the anonymous teacher who first wrote this comical classroom
management joke.
Classroom management is an essential part of teaching young learners. The
goals are “fostering student engagement and securing cooperation so that teaching
8 Classroom Management 289

and learning can occur” (Evertson & Emmer, 2013, p. 1). It is not enough to
understand methods and approaches for teaching and learning a foreign language
without paying attention to the basics of managing learners of a certain age. Unlike
adults and even teenagers who can manage their own learning process and have
the ability to understand why they are sitting in English class, children are ruled by
their own immediate needs and desires, which usually do not include learning a
foreign language. Therefore, English teachers of young learners need to develop a
plan for managing their classroom that will keep learners engaged and on task and
avoid giving them opportunities to misbehave and get out of control. After all, if
your YLs are out of control, then they will not learn much English.
Managing a class full of YLs can be very difficult, particularly for new teach-
ers or for experienced teachers who are teaching young learners for the first
time. YLs have so much energy, are so easily distracted, and tend to be very
egocentric. They can get rowdy fairly easily if you give them the chance. How-
ever, there are ways the teacher can keep control of the classroom while still
giving students the chance to interact and be active in the learning process. The
goal is to create a positive and productive atmosphere for learning to take place.
In order to do this, teachers have to become good managers.
Teachers as Managers In the discovery activity, you brainstormed the

different ways teachers are managers. Classroom management is often thought of
as controlling the behavior of students, but there are so many aspects of teaching
that can affect the behavior of students. This chapter will first explore different
ways teachers are managers and give some practical tips for creating an effective
environment for teaching.
Effective teachers need to be good managers of the following aspects of
teaching:
■■ Time
■■ Activities
■■ Transitions
■■ Student behavior
■■ Conflict with and among students
■■ Atmosphere in the classroom
■■ Student feelings and emotions
■■ Teacher’s own behavior
■■ Teacher’s own feelings and emotions
■■ Students’ use of L1 (native language)
■■ Teacher’s use of L1

A skilled teacher consciously manages every aspect of the items above.
Although every teacher must master them, a teacher of young learners has a
greater challenge because, compared to adults, children have more difficulty
managing their own behavior. In addition, a teacher of English as a foreign lan-
guage has the added challenge of controlling the class in a language students
may not respond to. In the following sections, the various items listed above will
be grouped into the major aspects of classroom management that teachers need
to explore:
1. Managing the pace of class

2. Managing behavior with routines
3. Managing behavior with rules
4. Managing the classroom climate
5. Managing the language used in class
1. Managing the pace of class Because young learners have short attention
spans, teachers need to move quickly from activity to activity. Staying too long on
one activity can make young learners bored and restless and cause some students
to misbehave. In order to keep your students engaged, teachers need to master
managing the following:
■■ Time
■■ Activities
■■ Transitions
Managing time The teacher should keep the class moving from activity to activity
and interject fun activities throughout the class period. If the class is engaging with
never a dull moment, the time will fly and your YLs will not have long stretches of
time to start misbehaving. Although the teacher has to maintain the pace of class,
s/he should also remember to give enough “wait time” for students to answer. Wait
time is the amount of time a teacher waits for a student to answer a question. For
students learning a foreign language, it is necessary to give them enough time to
formulate their answers in their heads before saying them out loud. The teacher can
ask a question, provide sufficient wait time, at least 3–5 seconds, and then call on a
student to respond. Although most teachers seem uncomfortable waiting more than
1 second for a response, waiting about 3–5 seconds can increase the quantity and
quality of responses (Crooks & Chaudron, 2001; Nunan, 1991).
Managing activities Planning the materials and instructions for all activities ahead
of time will help you keep the pace of your class. Fumbling around looking for
materials or trying to think of ways to explain the activity directions on the spot
can waste considerable time in the classroom and encourage your YLs to misbehave
or become disengaged. If your activities need some supplies, like paper, markers,
scissors, and glue, then you should organize the materials before the class and plan
for some time to be spent passing out the supplies to each student. If the activity
requires complicated instructions, then it will be important to prepare simplified
instructions with a model to demonstrate. Particularly with group activities, teachers
need to prepare carefully for every aspect of the activity.
Using transition activities Moving from one activity to the next takes planning and
some creativity. For example, if you have students working in pairs on a dialog, you
will need to get their attention before moving on to the next part of the activity. Use
attention getters like whistles, bells, or even turning off the lights. Getting students’
attention quickly and efficiently is important to keep the pace of the class. In
addition, it is important to incorporate brain breaks. If you have a physical activity
that requires students to move around, then you may want to transition to a quiet
activity by using a brain break such as having YLs rest their heads in their arms on
the desk. This will calm them down before you begin explaining the next activity.
Later in this chapter you will find many suggestions for fun and snappy attention
getters as well as effective brain breaks.
Experienced teachers seem to keep a good pace effortlessly, filling each
moment of the classroom with engaging activities and smooth transitions.
Undoubtedly these teachers have built-in purposeful routines that they have
mastered after years of practice and experimentation. The next section will
describe the kinds of routines that an EYL teacher can build.
2. Managing behavior with routines One of the main ways to manage a class
full of young learners is to develop classroom routines. As Brewster, Ellis, and Girard
(2002) explain: “Young children gradually become familiar with established routines
that help them feel confident. Anxious or immature learners will tend to react
negatively to changes in the normal classroom pattern, so it is a good idea to develop
familiar patterns with young learners in their first year of schooling” (p. 219). For
example, the teacher should establish daily routines such as:
■■ Starting the class with a greeting

■■ Designating classroom helpers (“helping hands”)
■■ Taking attendance (“roll call”)
■■ Establishing the date and day
■■ Establishing objective(s)

■■ Cleaning up the room
■■ Giving homework
■■ Ending the class
If a teacher establishes certain routines that YLs can expect, then students
will have a sense of security every time they walk into the classroom. Some
teachers put a routine map on the wall, so students have a visual cue of every
part of the class period.
1. GREET THE 2. SEE WHO ARE 3. DO ROLL

TEACHER HELPING HANDS CALL
6. START THE 5. READ TODAY’S 4. WRITE DOWN

LESSON! OBJECTIVES TODAY’S DATE
In addition, the teacher can designate certain parts of the board to communicate
the day’s objective(s) and the homework. In the example below, the teacher uses
the abbreviation SWBAT, which stands for “Students will be able to” (see Chapter 3).
Monday, September 10, 2012

OBJECTIVES: SWBAT . . .
Identify different kinds of weather
Sing the weather song
HOMEWORK:
Draw your favorite weather

In this example, the teacher writes the date, objectives, and homework assignment on the
left side of the board every day. Students know where to find the information every class.
Or, if students are at a lower level, the teacher can build the same routine using visuals.
Monday, September 10, 2012

Say & Sing
Later in this chapter, the section on Effective Classroom Management Activities will
describe in detail lots of practical ideas for establishing classroom routines.
3. Managing behavior with rules Teachers of YLs always have rules. How
you set up those rules and how you enforce them will determine your success as a
teacher. Of course, appropriate rules depend on the school or classroom culture and
could differ from country to country, region to region, or even school to school. We
will look at the following aspects of using rules to manage your class effectively:
■■ Be sure you know the school rules and incorporate them into your classroom.
■■ Clearly communicate the rules and co-construct rules with students whenever
possible.
■■ Be sure that the rules incorporate consequences for both positive and negative
behavior.
■■ Enforce rules consistently and mediate conflict with and among students fairly.
■■ Involve parents or family members to help manage YLs’ behavior.
Enforce school rules First, it is important for teachers to know what the school
rules are and incorporate them into their classroom. For example, some schools
have rules about students leaving the classroom to use the bathroom or to go to the
school nurse. Many schools require students to carry a “hall pass” or some other
object to indicate that they have permission to be out of the classroom. In addition,
most primary schools have rules like no running in the hallway or no chewing gum
in class. English teachers, like all teachers in a school, need to follow school rules
and enforce them consistently.
Rules are clearly communicated and co-constructed Children actually like working
within a framework of rules. The teacher should set up boundaries of acceptable
and unacceptable behavior that are reasonable and consistent. YLs will feel more
comfortable when rules and expectations for behavior are communicated clearly.
This means establishing what these rules are at the very beginning of the school
year. It could mean explaining the rules in students’ native language and then
establishing them in English. Teachers can even co-construct class contracts or
class rules with older children, which helps them become more responsible for their
own behavior (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2004; Moon, 2000). When a list of rules is
created as a class, and all students can participate in this process, teachers can more
easily enforce the rules because students have a hand in making them. In fact, if
the teacher and all students sign them like a contract, students will be more likely
to abide by those rules. See the examples from Darija Sostaric Zuckermann in the
Teacher to Teacher section of this chapter.
Consequences for positive and negative behavior When establishing the rules,
teachers should communicate the expectations based on both positive behavior and
negative behavior. Here are some basic rules that can be set by the teacher or co-
constructed with the teacher’s guidance:
Rules:
1. Do not talk when someone is talking.
2. Raise your hand if you want to say something.
3. Be kind to others.
4. Work hard.
5. Share.
6. Cooperate.
Once the rules are communicated, the teacher can establish consequences
for certain actions. If there are no consequences, students won’t follow the
rules.
Many teachers like to hold students accountable to the group for their
behavior. Teaching children that being disruptive affects the whole class is a
good lesson in behavior. Here is an example in which students are not pun-
ished individually. Points are taken from a group rather than from each stu-
dent individually. This is to encourage students to monitor each other and
help the teacher enforce the rules. Then good behavior is rewarded for the
groups of students who follow the rules. The teacher can keep track using
points and smiley faces on the board or on a poster on the wall. Some teach-
ers let students make up group names and keep points for their group. For
example, each group could name itself after the members’ favorite animal,
video game character, or pop star. Then the group that has the least number of
points for misbehaving at the end of the week gets their favorite song played
for a 2-minute dance party, gets candy or stickers, or can line up first for re-
cess. Depending on your country or school culture, you can decide on the ap-
propriate reward. This could be a way to reward positive behavior instead of
only punishing bad behavior.
In order to co-construct the consequences or to check comprehension of the
rules, the teacher could create a presentation that highlights each situation
one by one and elicits actions that are both positive and negative that will have
the two different results. For example, the teacher could establish the rule:
Rule #1: Do not talk when someone else is talking.
The teacher can give a situation and then elicit the different behaviors students
might exhibit.
SITUATION / L
J ACTION RESULT
Your group receives

J 1 point (or smiley face).
The teacher is
talking.
L Your group loses 1 point.

Students might give the following behaviors:
SITUATION / L
J ACTION RESULT
YOUR GROUP IS QUIET.

YOUR GROUP IS LISTENING. Your group receives
J YOUR GROUP IS PAYING 1 point (or smiley face).
ATTENTION.
The teacher is
talking. YOU ARE TALKING.
YOU ARE LISTENING TO
L YOUR FRIEND. Your group loses 1 point.
YOU ARE LOOKING OUT
THE WINDOW.
This activity helps teachers establish the rules at the beginning of the class. If it is
necessary to use L1 to help establish the rules, then the teacher should prepare for
this and supplement the activity with visuals.
SITUATION / L
J ACTION RESULT
The teacher is talking.
J +1 point
L −1 point
In addition, the teacher can create certificates for good behavior that students can
earn over time. There are many free certificate maker Web sites that are made for
teachers. You can type in students’ names and text describing what the certificate
is for. The certificates can be printed out and used as a reward for students to

reinforce good behavior. Parents love to see their children receive certificates, and
your YLs will feel proud of their achievement and most likely keep up their good
behavior.
tificate of Achieveme
r nt
Ce
Maria Lopez
has earned this certificate for
BEING RESPECTFUL TO OTHERS
ALL STAR
STUDENT
Keep up the great work!
Ms. Mercado
December 10, 2012
Grade 2 English
Enforce rules consistently and fairly It is very important to make sure you
always enforce the rules consistently and fairly. This task will be easier if students
have co-constructed the rules and consequences, because everything has been
communicated openly and clearly. In addition, if students are given points in
groups, they will also be “policing” their classmates to follow the rules and behave
positively for the rewards. Sometimes teachers get tired of enforcing rules, so it may
be necessary to establish a limit to the number of times rules can broken.
Involve parents in managing YLs’ behavior It is possible to involve parents actively

in managing YLs’ behavior. One popular way teachers manage classroom behavior
is with colored cards: green cards, yellow cards, and red cards. Everyone starts with
a green card at the beginning of the day.

Students are told what each card represents:
G
reen card: You are doing well. Keep going!
Y
ellow card: You broke a rule and had to turn your card to yellow.
R
ed card: You broke the rules more than once and had to turn
your card to red.
The teacher sets up cards on the wall—one set per student with their name on it.
Students must turn their own card when they break a rule. This will make a YL
more conscious of their responsibility for managing their own behavior.
If a student reaches a red card, then the teacher can send home a notice to the
parents. The teacher can create a form for parents like the one below to facilitate
a discussion about classroom behavior between the child and his family. This
letter will explain what rules the child broke and describe the behavior that is
inappropriate. This could be for very extreme, unmanageable behavior like getting
into fights, taking other students’ belongings, or distracting other students by
continuously talking to them during activities.
RED CARD LETTER

Date:
Class:
Dear (parent’s name):
(child’s name) had to turn her/his card to red. S/he broke the
following class rules and exhibited inappropriate classroom behavior:

Please discuss appropriate classroom behavior with your child, check the box to confirm, and sign
below.
❑ I have read this letter and discussed appropriate classroom behavior with my child.
Parent’s signature: Date:

Of course, this letter will need to be written in the parents’ native language instead
of English. With any communication from teacher to parents, the teacher should
explain ahead of time what the system of discipline is and what the classroom rules
are. The teacher could also develop a system of communication by e-mail and send
the information directly to the parent instead of sending a letter home through the
students.
4. Managing the classroom climate Managing the atmosphere in the

classroom is one of the biggest challenges teachers face. In this section we will look
at the physical environment as well as the emotional atmosphere of the classroom.
Physical environment The first aspect of the physical environment is the room
and seating arrangement. For many teachers, the way the classroom is set up is
completely out of their control. If you have the freedom to arrange the room, it is
very important to create an arrangement that will have the following qualities:
■■ You can easily see all students from the front of the room.
■■ All students can see the front of the classroom including any presentation tools
you may use, i.e., screen for projecting presentations, TV for videos, flip charts,
white board.
■■ You can walk through the room with ease to check on students and monitor
their progress during activities.
■■ The seats can be moved to be conducive to pair and group work.
■■ There is a designated area for supplies needed for various types of YL activities
(markers, crayons, paper, scissors, glue).
However, if arranging the room is not possible because the seats are nailed to the
floor or the room is too crowded to create enough space for walking around freely,
then the teacher should consider planning activities that require lots of movement
to be done outside or in the gym. Planning a class in a different location might be
necessary to incorporate physical games or activities or even the use of technology
like video or computers.
It is also important to make the space for YLs colorful and text-rich all
around. If the teacher can use the wall space for brightly colored posters and pic-
tures or samples of English language, it can help create an engaging environment
for YLs. The class rules and classroom language could be made into posters and
displayed on the walls. Another way to make the classroom a motivating place
for YLs to learn is to display student work on the wall. This will give students
a sense of accomplishment and also give you pictures and language to refer to
while teaching. For information about how to utilize wall space, watch the videos
called If Walls Could Talk (see link in Useful Web Sites at the end of the chapter).
Emotional atmosphere In addition to the physical environment, the teacher can
manage the classroom climate by creating a positive emotional atmosphere, one
that is comfortable for YLs to speak out in English. Ideally, the atmosphere should
be engaging and motivating. The key is to build good relationships with students.
Evertson and Emmer (2013) give these suggestions for teachers of YLs: “. . . while
teachers need to work at building positive relationships with students, they need
to be conscious of the tendency to favor those students who are most engaged.
Teachers also need to manage ‘boundaries’ in the development of their relationships;
teachers should be supportive adults, not buddies or pals” (p. 9). Although the ways
in which teachers manage those “boundaries” is culturally based, the main idea is
that the teacher is a supportive adult rather than a friend to students.
Another important aspect of the teacher’s behavior is to manage student
behavior by example. Treating all students equally and fairly is very important
because we want to encourage all students to do their best, and we also want to
be a model for YLs on how to be kind and respectful to all people. Weinstein,
Romano, and Mignano (2011) explain, “Indeed, classroom management has
two distinct purposes: It not only seeks to establish and sustain a caring, o rderly
environment in which students can engage in meaningful learning, it also aims
to enhance students’ social and emotional growth” (p. 5). All teachers of YLs
are responsible for helping them grow into good, productive people and be-
come good citizens in their country as well as the world. If the teacher has an
approach that is consistent and treats all students equally and fairly and with
kindness and understanding, then students will feel more secure and comfort-
able in class. Teachers should avoid having favorites and instead create a feeling
of trust with all students.
Finally, teachers can create a good classroom atmosphere by catering to YLs’
interests. This can be achieved by incorporating topics and activities that the
students enjoy. Teachers can give students a survey at different times in the
school year to find out what kinds of topics, projects, and materials they are in-
terested in incorporating into the lessons. Even if you can only incorporate a few
of their favorite songs in a semester or use clips from their favorite TV shows
or cut-outs of their favorite cartoon characters every other unit, they will know
that you are bringing in materials based on their requests, and this will help
them stay engaged in class.
5. Managing the language used in class When teaching English to young

learners, teachers also have to manage the language spoken in the classroom—both
student and teacher use of L1 (native language). It is important for teachers to
remember that their goal is to create an English-speaking environment. Of course,
sometimes use of L1 is unavoidable, but it is wise to use the native language as a
resource only when necessary:
■■ To make a very difficult expression understood quickly

■■ To explain instructions for an activity
The important thing is to use L1 only when a particular expression cannot be

easily shown through visuals or explained simply. For example, the beginning of
every fairytale starts with “Once upon a time,” which would be almost impossible
to explain in English to beginner-level students. In this case it is better to translate
the expression and then recast it. Then every time it is used at the beginning of a
story, the students will recognize it and know that they are about to hear a fantastic
fairytale (Shin, 2006).
When planning the use of the L1, teachers should carefully examine their
language content and objectives for the day’s lesson. If the instructions for a
game are well beyond the current level of students’ proficiency, then it would be
better to use L1 to explain the activity. This will make the most of the limited
time in class for students to practice using English at their level and achieve the
language objectives set for that day.
Effective Classroom Management Activities

Most of classroom management is based on the characteristics of YLs and the fact
that they are easily distracted and can’t sit still. However, there is an added challenge
for the EYL classroom because teachers are trying to conduct class in a language
that is not the students’ native language. Managing behavior while using a foreign
language means that teachers have to teach classroom routines in English step by
step. If students do not comprehend teachers’ instructions and classroom routines in
English, then the teacher won’t be able to keep their attention. This section provides
many ideas for managing your class successfully.
Add English to Classroom Routines and Procedures Here is a

list of many different classroom routines and procedures. Add classroom language
in English to them, and you will have a very rich English language environment.
First, make a list to establish your classroom routines, then link them to certain
expressions, and use them as much as possible. As mentioned in Chapter 4, it is very
important to build classroom routines in English which are referred to as “social
rituals” by Winn-Smith (2001, p. 22). These rituals can help YLs build real language
in the classroom, especially if teachers take the time and effort to keep these routines

consistent and train students in how to use English to accomplish these routines.
Here are ten suggested routines:
1. Starting the class
2. Designating classroom helpers (“helping hands”)
3. Taking attendance (“roll call”)
4. Establishing the date and day
5. Establishing objectives
6. Preparing attention getters
7. Preparing brain breaks
8. Cleaning up the room
9. Giving homework (introducing the next class)
10. Ending the class
1. Starting the class The teacher greets students every day. The repetition of the
greeting will help students use this real-life language with automaticity.
Teacher: Good morning class!
C
lass: Good morning, Teacher!
T eacher: How are you today?
C
lass: Good. And you?
T eacher: I’m fine. Thank you!
Then start the class with a cheer or a song to get them ready and excited for the
lesson. For example, you can do an English Cheer. Each “X” stands for one clap.
ENGLISH CHEER
by Joan Kang Shin
English is fun! (Move to the right) X – X – XX – X
English is cool! (Move to the left) X – X – XX – X
I speak English! (Point to yourself with your thumbs) X – X – XX – X
And so do you! (Point out to your class) X – X – XX – X
Yaaaaaaay English! (Bend down and shake your hands near the floor. Start softly,
then get louder and jump in the air with your arms up cheering “English!” like
waving pom-poms in the air.)
Or perhaps students have a favorite song they just learned and want to practice. Just
make sure you prepare some way for your students to start the day in a positive way.

2. Designating classroom helpers Students can use classroom language while
helping you manage the classroom. You can designate students for various roles or
jobs for the class. It could be a job for a day or a week. Here are some jobs that YLs
can do in the classroom:
■■ Roll Caller: Take attendance by calling out students’ names and mark them
present or absent after the student says, “Here!”
■■ Paper Manager: Pass out and collect papers, e.g., handouts, assignments,
flashcards, picture cards.
■■ Supplies Manager: Pass out and collect supplies, e.g., colored paper, markers,
crayons, scissors, glue.
■■ Book Manager: Pass out and collect books, e.g., textbooks, storybooks,
readers.
■■ Time Manager: Keep track of time for a group activity or remind the teacher
if it is a few minutes before the class is over. Students have to learn polite,
respectful language to use, such as “Excuse me, Ms. Shin. We only have
1 minute.”
■■ Word Keeper: Keep the class dictionary at her/his desk and look up a word
when necessary.
Some teachers designate “Helping Hands” for each class. It goes with the expression
to “lend a hand,” or help someone out. In the picture below, the teacher posts the
Helping Hands on the wall of the classroom.
Photo Courtesy of Terry Cook
Next to each hand is an envelope or pocket that has numbers corresponding to a

numbered chair. So if #9 is the pocket for Supplies Manager, then the student sitting
in chair #9 will help the teacher monitor the supplies that are used in class. For
example, if the activity requires markers or crayons to draw a picture, the Supplies
Manager in chair #9 will have to say “I’ll lend a helping hand!” and then get up and
pass out the supplies to each student. The teacher can require the Supplies Manager
to use English, such as “Here you go” or “One for you, and one for you,” or even
count how many markers are being passed out and keep track of how many need to
be collected at the end of the activity.

3. Taking attendance (“roll call”) The teacher can designate one of the helping
hands to be a roll caller. This person can call out students’ names and mark them
present or absent. The teacher can cue the roll caller and students to use English in
different ways.
T eacher: oll Caller, please come here. Call each name nice and
R
loud. Everyone, respond: “Yes, I’m here!”
Or the teacher could encourage a repetitive exchange.
R oll Caller: Eugenia! Hello, how are you?
E ugenia: Hello! I’m good. Thank you!
4. Establishing the date and day Before every class, it is important to establish
the date. First, it will help with automaticity of the questions and answers for a
commonly used communicative act. In addition, the teacher can model the correct
way to write the date. After a while, the teacher can ask for volunteers to write the
date on the board and lead that part of the class structure.
For beginner YLs it is important to distinguish the difference between the
day and the date in English. Before saying the day, the students can sing the
Days of the Week Song, which is fun and gets them ready to say what day it is.
DAYS OF THE WEEK SONG
(To the tune of The Addams Family)
There’s Sunday and there’s Monday.
There’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday.
There’s Thursday and there’s Friday.
And then there’s Saturday.
Days of the week (snap snap)
Days of the week
Days of the week
In addition, class will be more fun and interesting if there are special days that
students can look forward to. Maybe Friday is always Storytelling Day. Or maybe
Monday is Song Day. Students know it and can be excited about it.
5. Establishing the day’s objectives It is important that teachers always go over

the day’s objectives. It will have the same form every day: SWBAT, and is a standard
form of objective writing. Keep the objectives simple and write them on the board to
refer to and assess progress during the class. It is a good habit for teachers to do this
right before starting the lesson. Students will start to recognize the form “SWBAT”
and will know what is expected of them during the class period. See Chapter 3 to
review how to write objectives.
6. Preparing attention getters The teacher should prepare different strategies

for getting students’ attention during the lesson. Some teachers count down
backwards “5–4–3–2–1!” and then punish students who did not quiet down. Some
teachers clap rhythms and students repeat the rhythms. However, it is always more
fun to get students to respond with their attention and say something in English. For
example, teachers can use a Call and Response strategy. Here are a few popular ones:
1–2–3 EYES ON ME!
T eacher: 1–2–3 eyes on me!
S tudents: 1–2 eyes on you!
Then students should have their eyes on the teacher.

WHEN I SAY —, YOU SAY —!
Whole Brain Teaching by
Chris Biffle (2012) has Teacher: When I say peanut, you say butter! Peanut!
numerous strategies for
Students: Butter!
getting the attention of
your class: Teacher: Peanut!
CLASS! YES! Students: Butter!
Teacher: Class!
The teacher can use new words to call and respond or let students
Students: Yes!
decide the words at the beginning of class.
Students have to say
“Yes” in whatever way the In addition to call-and-response strategies, teachers can use
teacher says “Class.” For attention getters to signify the beginning of pair or group work.
example,
Here are two ways that are fun for YLs:
Teacher: Class, class!
Students: Yes, yes!
I LOVE ENGLISH!
by Joan Kang Shin
Or the teacher could
(To the tune of Frère Jacques)
try to make it funny by
exaggerating the call and I love English!
response.
Teacher: Ooooooh class! I love English!
Students: Ooooooh yes! Yes, I do!
These suggestions and
more from Chris Biffle Yes, I do!
can be found in his
Come and be my partner.
booklet called Whole
Brain Teaching: Lesson Come and be my partner.
Design and Delivery
and on the following Let’s begin!
Web site: http://www
.wholebrainteaching.com. Let’s begin!
READY? OK!
Students can look at each other and say, “Ready? OK!”
Teachers can come up with a whole range of attention getters that are fun
and help signify the start of an activity, the end of an activity, or simply help
the teacher redirect attention toward her/him in order to give some important
information.
7. Preparing brain breaks It is important to give young learners periodic brain
breaks. You can put a break into a difficult activity to keep learners from getting
frustrated or bored. You can give students a chance to stretch themselves out if they
have been sitting for too long. For example, if students have been sitting and doing

a writing activity, the teacher can play a popular song and have students
Sometimes you want to
get up and dance next to their desk. Or you can give students a chance to
call attention to something
great a student has done, rest if they have been up and active for a while. Maybe after students have
especially if it is something been singing a song with lots of movement, they can relax and put their
nice for the class. Maybe
the child drew a picture of
heads down on their desk for some quiet time, as discussed in Chapter 2,
the class or brought in some where students do Hand Shakes, after they have been writing and need
cake for a special occasion. to shake out the muscles in their hands. See the box for 20 different ideas
Maybe it is a student’s
birthday, and the teacher for brain breaks.
wants students to give
some positive attention to 8. Cleaning up the room The teacher should always have a
her/him. The Appreciation designated time to clean up the room before the class is done. Usually
Cheer can be used.
YL classes use manipulatives, markers, scissors, paper, handouts, and
WHO DO WE APPRECIATE? books, so there needs to be about 2–3 minutes designated for clean up.
2–4–6–8 If the teacher has designated helping hands, such as a Paper Manager,
Who do we appreciate? Supplies Manager, and Book Manager, s/he can instruct them to be
(Student name), (Student in charge of collecting any paper, supplies, and books that need to be
name)! collected or put away.
Yaaaaaaaay (Student name)!
1. Head Down: Students put their heads down on their arms on

their desks.
2. Meditation: Students close their eyes and breathe in and out on the
teacher’s cue.
3. Head Roll: Students roll their heads around clockwise a few times
and then counterclockwise a few times on the teacher’s cue.
4. Hand Shakes: Students shake their hands one at a time.
5. Arm and Leg Stretch: Students stretch their arms and legs standing
up or sitting down. They can stretch their arms up, out to the side,
out front clasping their hands, and out back clasping their hands.
6. Back Stretch: Students sit at their desks and turn around grabbing
the back of their seat, and then turn the other way grabbing the
back of their seat.
7. Arm Circles: Students stand up and swing their arms in circles going
forward a few times and then backward a few times.
8. Foot Circles: Students stretch their legs and move their feet in
circles, moving outward a few times and then inward a few times.

9. Jumping Jacks: Students stand up and do 10 jumping jacks
(arms swing up to touch hands together with feet jumping apart,
then jump back with feet together and arms at one’s side).
10. Right Hand, Left Foot: Students stand up and spread their legs
about shoulder length apart. They bend down touching their right
hand to their left foot. Then stand up and bend down touching their
left hand to their right foot.
11. Seat Running: Students sit at their desks and run with their legs
faster and faster at the teacher’s cue.
12. Seat Swimming: Students sit at their desks and pretend they are
swimming with their arms and upper bodies.
13. Rhythm Repetition: The teacher claps a rhythm and students repeat,
over time, doing more and more complicated rhythms for students
to follow.
14. Wiggle It: Students wiggle their whole body for 10 seconds. The
teacher can mix it up and have them wiggle their bodies like a
caterpillar or like a lion or like a fish.
15. Yoga: The teacher does yoga poses while describing them, such as
lotus position, downward dog, cobra. Or the teacher and students
can make up poses, such as shapes of letters, animal imitations, or
any other pose that visualizes something students are interested in.
16. Get Up and Sing: The teacher leads students in one of their favorite
songs, especially ones that use physical movement like Head,
Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.
17. Simon Says: See Chapter 2 for instructions for Simon Says.

18. Dance Party: The teacher plays dance music in English that is
popular with students and have them sing and dance for the length
of the song as a break.
19. Freeze Frame: Play music and let students stand by their desk and
dance. When you stop the music students have to freeze.
20. I Spy: Pick an object in the room. Say, “I spy with my little eye,” and
then give some description of the object, such as “I spy with my little
eye something red” or “something small” or “something round.”
Then students have to guess what the object is. The person who
guesses it correctly can pick the next object for others to guess and
say, “I spy with my little eye. . . .”
9. Giving homework (introducing the next class) Before ending the class,
the teacher might assign homework to students and tell students what to expect
next class. If teachers use thematic unit planning, then the next class is likely to
be connected topically to the class students just had. For YLs, homework should
be kept very simple. For example, it could be to encourage students to bring their
favorite toy to class for Show and Tell or to use in the next lesson. Or it could be
to bring a picture of their family to the next class to learn the words for family
members. For VYLs, it might be helpful to send a note home to their parents to
make sure the homework is completed. See below for an example:
Date:
Class:
ENGLISH HOMEWORK
Next class (date): ______________________________________________________
Homework: __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
o I have read this paper and helped my child complete the homework
assignment.
Parent’s signature: __________________________________ Date: _____________
Note: This should be translated into parents’ native language.

10. Ending the class Mark the end of the class time with a routine. In the
example, the teacher has established a routine of using a chant for the end of the day:
END OF THE DAY CHANT
by Joan Kang Shin
You were awesome!
Hip hip hooray!
See you next class!
And have a great day!
This marks the end of the class, sends a positive message about students’
performance in class, and gives them authentic language that they can use when
saying good-bye in real life.
Designing a Classroom Management Plan

Here is a sample class structure plan that can help any teacher with classroom
management. This can help you become a master at managing the structure and
pace of your class and plan the routines you will establish.
CLASS STRUCTURE PLAN

1. START CLASS
2. HELPING HANDS
3. ROLL CALL
4. DATE/DAY
5. OBJECTIVES
6. ATTENTION GETTER
THE LESSON
7. BRAIN BREAK
8. CLEAN UP
9. HOMEWORK
10. END CLASS

In this class structure plan, “THE LESSON” is your lesson plan. It could be
the lesson in the required textbook for your school or a lesson plan you cre-
ated yourself based on your school’s curriculum. Regardless of the lesson you
have planned for the day, you should also have a plan for the class structure
that you follow routinely from day to day. This helps students know what
to expect and helps them to follow the flow of class. The following example
shows how to use a plan like this to help manage the pace of your class. After
examining the example below, read the explanation for all seven parts of the
class structure plan.
EXAMPLE CLASS STRUCTURE PLAN

TEACHER: Hello, Class!
CLASS: Hello, Teacher!
TEACHER: How are you today?
1. START CLASS CLASS: Great! How are you?
TEACHER: Let’s start class with a cheer!
ENGLISH CHEER
TEACHER: OK class. Before telling stories . . . please look at the wall.

See who are my Helping Hands today. (Say them each out loud.
2. HELPING HANDS When you need the Supplies and Paper Managers, tell them to pass
out supplies and students have to tell them “Thank you!”)
TEACHER: Roll Caller, please come here. Call each name nice and
3. ROLL CALL loud. Everyone, respond: “Yes, I’m here!”
TEACHER: What is today’s date?

CLASS: Today is September 3rd, Two thousand twelve.
TEACHER: (Write “September 3, 2012” on the board as students say
the date correctly.)
DAYS OF THE WEEK SONG
4. DATE/DAY TEACHER: What day is it today?
CLASS: It’s Monday.
TEACHER: And . . . what is Monday? (with excitement)
CLASS: Monday is Storytelling Day!
TEACHER: What do we do on Storytelling Day?
CLASS: We tell stories!
TEACHER: Class, let’s read the objectives for today. “SWBAT. . . .”

5. OBJECTIVES CLASS: SWBAT . . . Identify different sea animals. And tell a story
called The Rainbow Fish.
6. ATTENTION GETTER
TEACHER: When I say rainbow, you
say fish.
THE LESSON
7. BRAIN BREAK
The Hand Shakes
(after working on mini-book)

TEACHER: Supplies Manager, please collect the markers and glue.
Say “Thank you” to each student. Paper Manager, please collect
8. CLEAN UP everyone’s mini-book. Say “Thank you” to each student. Students,
please respond, “You’re welcome!”
TEACHER: Class!
CLASS: Yes!
9. HOMEWORK TEACHER: Next class: Bring your favorite toy. It’s Show and Tell!
Here is your Homework Slip. (Give students the homework slip for
their parents to check and sign.)
END OF THE DAY CHANT

10. END CLASS TEACHER: Good-bye, class!
CLASS: Good-bye, Teacher!
In the example, the teacher decided to use the title of the story being told in
the lesson for the Call and Respond: “When I say rainbow, you say fish” in order
to give students practice with those words.
During the lesson, the students were given an assignment to create a mini-
book (see Chapter 6), which required them to sit for a while and draw and
write. The Hand Shakes got students to shake their hands out. The teacher
leads them: “Shake your right hand 1–2–3. Switch! Shake your left hand 1–2–3.”
The teacher repeated this five times, so students could move a little and shake
out their hands, which had probably been working hard, making their muscles
tense.
Finally, remember to change your songs, chants, and attention getters
periodically. You have to keep your class fresh and fun, and you will be teaching
your students more English. It is important to build real language into the class-
room. The repetition of these routines in English will help your young learners
improve their ability to use English while keeping the pace of class.
Teacher to Teacher
Classroom Management for Young Learners
Classroom management is tricky because the approaches teachers use can depend
on their country and culture. Here are some ways different teachers around the
world find solutions to managing YLs in the classroom. First is a teacher from
Turkey who takes into account YLs’ characteristics to engage them successfully in
the EYL classroom.

“ I teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades which are really active not only linguistically
but also physically so it demands hard work for me to settle them down
and direct their whole interests to English lessons. One of the ways that I
use for managing young learners’ classes is to bring real-life objects into the
classroom because it takes their attention immediately and I keep it hidden
until the lesson reaches its peak. As an example of this, I was going to teach
my third grade students vegetables and fruits in two lessons but they were
very noisy and uninterested in the first lesson during which the only thing
I was able to do was to keep them silent. I brought a basket of fruits into
classroom after the break-time for the second lesson and I kept it aside and
after I presented them their names and I gave them all fruits and said to them
‘If you can say their names and form a sentence with that fruit in your hand,
you can eat it’ and they went crazy to name the fruits and form a sentence.
That is to say, bringing the real world in class is one efficient way of both
managing your class for positive atmosphere for learning and teaching
English to young learners. ”
—Ümit Cebeci, Primary English Teacher, Turkey
An expert teacher from Brazil gives a comprehensive explanation of the main

concerns for classroom management for an EYL teacher.
“theI feel classroom management is one of the hardest parts of our jobs, and it is
most important aspect to be considered if we want to succeed. Whenever
something goes wrong in relation to classroom management, chances are
everything will go wrong in that particular class. Classroom management
involves much more than just misbehavior. Eliciting some rules and the
consequences for not following those rules from our students enables us to
share the responsibility with them. Establishing the rules which we think are
really important and explaining why these rules are important demonstrates
the teacher is an authority in class and someone they can count on. However,
what I feel is that children need to be constantly reminded of the rules
established at the beginning of the year, which requires lots of persistence
and patience. This can be done at the beginning of every class. One idea is to
say a rule to students and they have to mime it. Later when they are familiar
with the language of the rules, the teacher can mime and they come up with
the rule.
Another important aspect when talking about classroom management is

being consistent. A teacher who establishes the rule of raising hands before
speaking, but who responds to a student’s demands even though s/he has not
raised his/her hand is showing that the rule is not to be followed. A teacher
who says that only students who do their homework will get a happy face or
a sticker and rewards someone who has forgotten the homework because
s/he is a ‘favorite’ student is showing that the consequences depend on

who breaks the rules. Finally, the consequences we establish need to be in
accordance with the school policy, and once established they need to be
followed.
Finding the balance between being nice and friendly and being firm and
consistent is one of the secrets for succeeding in classroom management. ”
—Ana Maria Scanduzzi, EFL Instructor, Brazil
Many of the teachers find it effective to co-construct a set of classroom rules for
students to follow. One teacher describes co-constructing rules with students
and putting them on a poster in the room for easy reference.
“always
I usually start the first class by making a poster-sized list of classroom rules. I
discuss rules my Ss think are reasonable regarding classroom behavior &
consequences for breaking these rules. When my Ss agree on certain rules &
consequences after voting, we hang up the final copy of classroom rules. I
try to avoid using ‘don’t’ or any word that implies a negative meaning when
writing rules. Once the rules are set, they should be enforced consistently.
I mean we should keep our words & do as we say. Sticking to rules & being
consistent are paramount to being successful in managing the class and
earning our Ss’ respect. Once we lose our Ss’ respect, we will consequently lose
their attention.”
—Oula Hamwieh, Primary English Teacher, Syria
Instead of a set of classroom rules on a poster, some teachers prefer to use a class
contract on paper. Here a teacher from Croatia describes contracts she makes
for different grade levels that are co-constructed, signed by all students and
teacher, and kept in students’ notebooks for easy reference.
“4 toHere are two examples of a class contract. The first one I use from grades
8; the second one I use in grades 1 and 2, and occasionally grade 3,
depending how well they progress in reading.
I don’t have my own classroom so displaying a list/poster of classroom rules

is not really possible. But I make a classroom contract with the list of the
things I find necessary to obtain a level of discipline and other responsibilities
required from my students. They sign it and me too and they stick it into their
notebooks. I do this on the first lesson of the course.
We go through the rules on the first lesson of the school year (sometimes
students suggest some of the rules themselves, as was the case with the
mobile phones or we rearrange the rule appropriately to a certain class).
After discussion they and I sign it and date it. The contract goes (is pasted) to
the first left blank page of the notebook and the right page is left blank for

eventual comments on behavior, ‘violation of contract’ or praise on following
the rules and contributions to the class. Also, if needed, the right page is used
for eventual consequences when rules are broken or changes of the rules. ”
Darija’s class contract for grades 4–8
Other teachers do not co-construct the rules, but enforce the class rules fairly
and consistently.
“it may
I don’t discuss classroom rules with children, although as your posts show
work. I just start using them with a new class and I am persistent about
following the rules. For example, I’ll never ask a student who doesn’t have his
hand up or chews a chewing gum. It doesn’t take a lot of time—2–3 lessons
are enough for students to remember and observe these regulations.
It’s very difficult for me to write about punishments, as we actually don’t have
this practice in the centre. Punishment depends on an action committed
by a student and may include an additional exercise to do. In any case I
would be very careful about punishment and I’d prefer talking to a student
separately about his/her behavior. I mentioned once Glasser’s theory of basic
psychological needs: freedom, belonging, safety, fun and success. Students’
rebellious behavior may be caused by deprivation of any of these needs.
Darija’s class contract for grades 1–3

Classroom management in its wider sense is a system of relationships
between a teacher and students, and as any system based on human
relationships it is to be ethical punishment. ”
—Victoria Demidova, Primary English Teacher, Uzbekistan
Some teachers try to make students responsible for enforcing the class rules
themselves. This teacher from Georgia encourages students to be responsible in
small groups to help monitor student behavior.
“is that
Classroom management is very challenging indeed. What I try in my classes
my students create their rules how to behave and act during the lesson.
They are responsible for their behavior as they create these rules themselves.
It really works with students. One of the most effective techniques I use in my
class is group responsibility. As students mostly sit individually but in rows,
we have a competition called ‘The Best Row.’ The winner is the row which is
the most of all organized and well behaved. During the lesson students try
their best to be as attentive and mobilized as possible as they are not only
responsible for their own behavior but the group as well. ”
—Marika Galdava, Primary English Teacher, Georgia
Another innovative way to manage the classroom is to use different zones in the
room for different types of communication. This creative teacher from Costa
Rica explains how she uses different positions in the classroom to indicate
different classroom actions.
“ At the front of the class I use different spaces to specific purposes: at the
right I give the instructions, at the middle I explain and at the left I call the
attention. So, when students look at me at some of these spots, they become
silent and pay attention to what I say.
I don’t have a classroom, so I change the position in some classrooms
depending on the furniture arrangement. I divided my space in front of the
class into three spots indicated by the numbered stars.
BOARD
DESK 2
3 DOOR
1
STUDENTS

Position #1
The first is to check the attendance, check homework and review class work.
This spot can vary in a classroom depending on the desk’s position. It is
located at the right of the classroom or near the desk.
Photo courtesy of Roxanne Vargas

Position #2
The second one is to do the Daily Routine, to do the Brain Gym, to sing and to
explain the activities and to develop them. It is located at the middle or center
of the front part of the class.

Position #3
The third one is to call their attention when I am going to explain something
and they are doing something else, when I need to say something while they
are doing an activity or when I need to stop an activity and when I need to
call somebody’s attention due to misbehavior. It is located at the left, near the
door. ”
—Roxanne Vargas Lopez, Primary English Teacher, Costa Rica

Finally, since so much of the discussion among teachers regarding classroom
management revolves around establishing classroom rules, whether it be
teacher-determined or co-constructed with students, it seems fitting to end with
the sentiments of one teacher in Sri Lanka.
“word
The word RULES should be replaced with a more meaningful and pleasant
like AGREEMENTS! Infact, we as good classroom managers have to adopt
a strategy where the pupils are a part of the management. We must share
responsibilities, however small our members are. How pupils understand
their responsibilities solely depends on how much they are given the
opportunity to be responsible. If a teacher gets the pupils’ support when
framing the agreements, the pupils are more aware of what is expected from
them in return. They will feel responsible and confident about them. These
agreements can be more clearly explained as Essential Agreements. The
teacher and the pupils sit together and discuss with regards to the essential
agreements before they are enforced. The pupils will get a comprehensive
idea as to what is expected from them. The teacher, in return, will understand
that the pupils are fully aware of the situation. As such, Essential Agreements
will keep everyone alert and responsible. Such a classroom will be managed
by its owners: the pupils and teachers alike!”
—Neelika Edirisinghe, Primary English Teacher, Sri Lanka

Chapter Summary
To Conclude
EYL teachers are managers in different ways Classroom management for young
learners is challenging because of their natural characteristics. EYL teachers need
to learn how to manage the pace of the class, YLs’ behavior with routines and rules,
the classroom atmosphere, and the language used in class to make an effective
environment for learning English.
Establish classroom rules and be consistent YLs need rules to function in a
classroom environment successfully. Teachers should clearly communicate these
rules and be consistent in enforcing them with both rewards and punishments. If
appropriate, teachers can co-construct the rules and consequences with students.
Create classroom routines YLs feel secure when they know what to expect during
every stage of class. Build in classroom routines to help students know what is
happening step by step. Even when your classroom routines are consistent, don’t let
your YLs get bored; introduce new songs, chants, or call and response within the
class routines to keep students on their toes.
Integrate English into your routines Be sure to use classroom language in English
and build routines that will help your students practice real English within the
context of your classroom.
Prepare routines carefully with your lesson plans Be sure to prepare your class
structure and routines as carefully as you plan your language lessons. Remember
that YLs need a clear structure and routines that lead them from one step of your
lesson to the next. In addition, the classroom routines can be integrated with the
language in your lessons if you take the time to plan them together.
Classroom management is culturally based Remember that appropriate rules,
routines, environment, and teacher–student relationships should be based in the
culture of the local context.
Over to You
1. What are the characteristics of YLs that make classroom manage-
ment more challenging than with adult and teenage learners?
Discussion
Questions 2. What are some routines and rules that you will apply to ensure a
well-managed EYL classroom?

3. If you cannot rearrange your classroom to facilitate pair and group
work, what are some ways you can still do cooperative learning
activities effectively?
4. What should be the role of a teacher? Authority? Friend? Parent?
Something else? Based on your experience, culture, and new
knowledge from this chapter, explain the appropriate role of a
teacher in the EYL classroom.
5. Classroom cultures can be different from country to country as
well as within a country. What strategies do you think would work
well for your context? Explain what differences in culture or context
would prevent certain strategies from working in your situation.
6. After reading the Teacher to Teacher section, do you think you
could apply any of these classroom management strategies in your
context? Which ones would make your classroom more effective
for meaningful learning?
Choose any lesson for young learners from your curriculum or a textbook and use the
Lesson class structure plan in order to prepare time for various classroom routines appropriate
planning for your class. Fill in the class structure plan given in this chapter, and then think about
how you might adjust it to create your own class structure relevant to your context.
Teacher as Classroom Manager: Look at the list of challenges that you wrote before
Write reading this chapter in the section called Think about It. As you read the chapter, did
about it you identify some additional challenges that you hadn’t thought of? What are some
ways of meeting those challenges based on what you read in this chapter? What are
some strategies that you plan to apply to your own classroom and why? How will
implementing those strategies help you overcome the challenges of managing a
class of YLs?

Print Publications
Biffle, C. (2012). Whole brain teaching: Lesson design and delivery. Evertson, C. M., & Emmer, E. T. (2013). Classroom management for
Retrieved from http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/downloads. elementary teachers. Boston: Pearson.
html Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2011). Elemen-
Green, T. (2010). How to be successful in your first year of teaching tary classroom management: Lessons from research and practice.
elementary school: Everything you need to know that they don’t New York: McGraw-Hill.
teach you in school. Ocala, FL: Atlantic Publishing Group.

Useful Web Sites
123 Certificates: www.123certificates.com National Education Association, Classroom Management: www
Certificate Maker: www.certificatemaker.com .nea.org/tools/ClassroomManagement.html
If Walls Could Talk videos: https://sites.google.com/site/ Teaching Channel: https://www.teachingchannel.org (click on
shinjinshil/resources the section called Behavior for classroom management tips)
Education World: www.educationworld.com Whole Brain Teaching: www.wholebrainteaching.com
(click on the subheadings under School Climate for classroom
management tips)
References
Biffle, C. (2012). Whole brain teaching: Lesson design and delivery. Moon, J. (2000). Children learning English. Oxford, UK: MacMillan
Retrieved from http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/downloads Heinemann.
.html Nunan, D. (1991). Language teaching methodology. A handbook for
Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2004). The primary English teachers. New York, NY: Prentice Hall.
teacher’s guide. London, UK: Penguin. Shin, J. K. (2006). Ten helpful ideas for teaching English to young
Crandall, J. A. (2001). Rethinking classroom management: Creating learners. English Teaching Forum, 44(2), 2–7, 13.
an effective learning community. ESL Magazine, 4(3), 10-13. Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2011).
Crooks, G., & Chaudron, C. (2001). Guidelines for language Elementary classroom management: Lessons from research and
classroom instruction. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
English as a second or foreign language (pp. 29–42). Boston, Winn-Smith, B. (2001). Classroom language. English Teaching
MA: Heinle & Heinle. Professional, 18, 12–14.
Evertson, C. M., & Emmer, E. T. (2013). Classroom management
for elementary teachers. Boston, MA: Pearson.

9 21st Century Skills
in TEYL
Getting Started
The twenty-first century is not just different in number from the previous
centuries. We are facing a new world in almost every area—education,
technology, population, environment, politics, economics, etc. It is an
interconnected world, in which education will play a major role in providing the
skills needed for success. Teaching those skills is a requirement for all educators,
including English language teachers. This chapter introduces the basic concepts
of teaching twenty-first-century skills in the EYL classroom. It emphasizes the
connection between
teaching English as an
international language
and the skills YLs
need to be successful
global citizens who
are prepared for our
rapidly changing world.
Without building
skills for the new
century, such as global
citizenship and values,
communication skills,
active learning skills,
and technology skills,
our young learners
will not be adequately
prepared to use English
in the modern world,
Steve Bloom/Getty Images
which is becoming
more interconnected
each day.
324
Before reading this chapter, think about the skills that you believe are
Think About It the most important for young learners in your country. What skills
are needed for them to become successful people and citizens in
your country? What skills are needed to become successful people
and citizens in our world? Which of these skills have become more
important since the turn of the century? Why? Which of these skills will
be even more important 20 years from now? Why?
Twenty-First-Century Skills Chart

Discovery Activity
Make a chart that lists five important twenty-first-century skills that you
believe are necessary for the education of our children. Be as specific as
possible (see example given). Then put a check in the next column to show which
ones you think you can integrate into your EYL class. Then check off the ones that
you are currently integrating into your EYL class.
Can Already
Integrate integrating
into My EYL into My EYL
Twenty-First-Century Skills Class Class
Example: Using Internet search engines (e.g., Google) V V
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Integrating Twenty-First-Century Skills
into TEYL
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who
cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
—Alvin Toffler
9 21st Century Skills 325

The world we live in is changing rapidly. The twenty-first century requires a
new set of skills to keep up with our fast-paced, technology-driven world. Our
children are growing up in a time of globalization in which our world is growing
increasingly interconnected every day. Trilling and Fadel (2009) describe the shift
we perceive in the following way: “This monumental shift from Industrial Age
production to that of the Knowledge Age economy—information-driven, globally
networked—is as world-changing and life-altering as the shift from the Agrarian
to the Industrial Age three hundred and fifty years ago” (p. 3). This shift requires
our young learners to prepare themselves to be more connected with people and
products from around the world and skilled at searching and processing new
information independently. Children growing up in the “Knowledge Age” will not
be successful unless they learn how to process all the information that they will
be inundated with throughout their lives. McCain and Jukes (2001) noted, “In the
past, when information had a much longer shelf life, learning was something that
was done once in your youth. Then you were done with learning for life. In the
good old days, what you learned in your youth prepared you for your single career.
Today, learning has become a lifelong process. Given the rapidly changing nature
of our world, people of all ages must constantly learn and relearn what they need
to know. What they learned yesterday may no longer be valid in tomorrow’s world.
Tomorrow, they will have to learn again because today’s information will already be
out of date” (p. 89). As Toffler noted in the quote at the beginning of this section,
our students will need to be able to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
As described in Chapter 1, one twenty-first-century skill that has been
identified by many countries as imperative for their young learners is
proficiency in English. As we learned in Chapters 2 and 3, when teaching
English as an international language, it is important to contextualize language
instruction and incorporate real-life situations into the classroom that are
relevant to children. This is impossible without addressing various twenty-first-
century skills which are necessary for life in our modern world.
Dawn Shearer-Simonetti/Shutterstock.com
Sanjay Deva/Shutterstock.com

What are Twenty-First-Century Skills? First, twenty-first-century
skills require taking a global perspective and integrating real-life skills when
approaching all subjects in the educational curriculum. The Partnership for
21st Century Skills (2011), a U.S. educational organization that created a framework
for twenty-first-century learning, believes that schools have to incorporate
certain themes into the core subjects (i.e., English, world languages, arts,
mathematics, economics, science, geography, history, and government/civics).
These themes are:
■■ Global awareness
■■ Financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy
■■ Civic literacy
■■ Health literacy
■■ Environmental literacy
Furthermore, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills or “P21” (2011) out-
lined skills that are essential to incorporate into the curriculum for students
in the United States to prepare them for life in this century. These skills are
categorized into three main sets of skills: learning and innovation skills, digital
literacy skills, and career and life skills.
21st Century Skills
Critical thinking and problem solving
Learning and innovation skills Communication and collaboration
Creativity and innovation
Information literacy
Media literacy
Digital literacy skills
Information and communication
technologies (ICT) literacy
Flexibility and adaptability
Initiative and self-direction
Career and life skills Social and cross-cultural interaction
Productivity and accountability
Leadership and responsibility

In 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, Trilling and Fadel (2009)
created a list referred to as the “7 Cs Skills” (p. 176):
■■ Critical thinking and problem solving
■■ Creativity and innovation
■■ Collaboration, teamwork, and leadership
■■ Cross-cultural understanding
■■ Communications, information, and media literacy
■■ Computing and ICT literacy
■■ Career and learning self-reliance
In Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills, Binkley et al. (2012), based
in Australia, also outlined the high-priority twenty-first-century skills, which
are similar to P21’s but conceptualized in a different way, breaking down the
skills into four categories: ways of thinking, ways of working, tools for working,
and living in the world.
Ways of Thinking
1. Creativity and innovation
2. Critical thinking, problem solving, decision making
3. Learning to learn, metacognition
Ways of Working
4. Communication
5. Collaboration (teamwork)
Tools for Working

6. Information literacy
7. ICT literacy
Living in the World

8. Citizenship—local and global
9. Life and career
10. Personal and social responsibility—including cultural awareness and
competence (pp. 18–19)
These ten high-priority skills are organized in a way that can be helpful for
teachers when integrating twenty-first-century skills into their curriculum.
Heidi Hayes Jacobs (2010), author of Curriculum 21: Essential Education
for a Changing World, believes that to prepare our students for the twenty-first
century, “we need to overhaul, update, and inject life into our curriculum and
dramatically alter the format of what schools look like to match the times in
which we live. Our responsibility is to prepare the learners in our care for their
world and their future” (p. 2). Therefore, Jacobs recommends reviewing the
content of curriculum in all areas for the following:
■■ A global perspective is developed and presented in the content area, where

natural and viable.
■■ A personal and local perspective is cultivated so that each student can create
relevant links to the content.
■■ The whole child’s academic, emotional, physical, and mental development is
thoughtfully considered in content choices.
■■ The possibilities for future career and work options are developed with an eye to
creative and imaginative directions.
■■ The disciplines are viewed dynamically and rigorously as growing and integrating
in real-world practice.
■■ Technology and media are used to expand possible sources of content so that
active as well as static materials are included.
■■ The complexity of the content is developmentally matched to the age and stage
of the learner. (p. 31)
No doubt it is essential for all schools around the world to prepare their
YLs for life in our modern world. These main tenets from Curriculum 21 are a
very helpful guide when applying twenty-first-century skills to the EYL class-
room. In the next section, we will consider the content and skills that are de-
velopmentally appropriate for YLs and integrate well into the English language
classroom.
How to Integrate Twenty-First-Century Skills into TEYL

When teaching children how to use English as an international language, it
is important to integrate twenty-first-century skills that are associated with
their use of English. For example, our young global citizens will grow up using
English to communicate with people around the world, often through use of
e-mail and social networking. They will use English to search for information
and study different subjects such as science, medicine, and technology. Many
will use English to do business with people around the world. Others will be
involved in global problem solving with people from different countries. Young
learners are not yet at the stage of life where they are considering their future
careers. However, EYL teachers should focus on twenty-first-century skills that
can be applied to young learners’ real lives, and they should build skills at the
young learners’ developmental level that will be needed as they grow older. As
our young global citizens grow in a world that is increasingly digitized and ever
changing, it is important to prepare them to use English by applying the following
considerations to your EYL curriculum:
1. Global perspective: global citizenship and values

2. Communication skills: communication and collaboration across
cultures
3. Active learning skills: critical thinking and lifelong learning strategies
4. Technology skills: computer, information, and digital literacy
These considerations are all interconnected and overlapping. It would be

impossible to discuss building communication skills without considering a
global or intercultural perspective. Likewise, it is impossible to build skills in
information literacy without discussing the need for critical thinking skills to
interpret the infinite amount of information that can be found on the Internet.
These considerations will be introduced one by one, but clearly they are interre-
lated, and teachers will find themselves infusing more than one in activities that
they develop to build twenty-first-century skills.
1. Global perspective Globalization has made the world more interconnected,
and English has become the world’s main language for communication. When
teaching English as an international language, it is important to help your students
recognize that using English in real life means interacting with people from many
other countries. First, they should be taught that they are not just learning English
to communicate with Americans, Britons, Australians, or people of other Inner
Circle countries. They may be using English as a lingua franca to communicate
with people from all other countries and cultures. Therefore, a twenty-first-century
skill associated with learning English is to become more interculturally aware and
sensitive. EYL teachers have to take every opportunity to include information about
other countries and cultures. This means using target culture materials from Inner
Circle countries and international target culture materials from all other countries
around the world in the Outer and Expanding Circles (see Chapter 1). Students need
content and instruction that takes a global perspective, teaches about all cultures,
and promotes positive attitudes toward people from all countries and walks of life.
In addition, it is important for teachers to help students become aware
of their role as global citizens. Our children will grow up using English to
contact others for various purposes, such as tourism, study, research, business,
or diplomacy. Therefore, it is essential to instill good values and intercultural
understanding so that young global citizens can be good, productive members
of the global community in which they will be active participants. This includes
building their respect not just for other people, but also for animals and the
environment, recognizing that we are an integral part of a global ecosystem. This
includes values such as caring about, respecting, and protecting our world. Below
are some examples from a primary school English language series called Our World
that integrates values such as respecting animals and protecting the oceans.

2. Communication skills Communication and collaboration skills are

important for all students. Teachers in all subject areas should be helping YLs
develop their ability to work together in teams and communicate effectively. This
is important in terms of YLs’ general education, not just for the EYL classroom.
However, when taking a global perspective, EYL instruction has to build effective
communication and collaboration skills across cultures. One of the best ways
teachers can equip students with good intercultural communication skills is to teach

them how to express their own culture in English. It is an extension of encouraging
students to personalize what they are learning. In addition to connecting new
language and content to themselves, students can also connect new content to their
culture. Teachers can take target culture material and rewrite it with students to
reflect their home culture. For example, a popular song to teach young learners in
English is the Peanut Butter and Jelly Song.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Song
Refrain:
Peanut, peanut butter—and jelly!
Peanut, peanut butter—and jelly!
First, you take the peanuts and you crunch ’em, you crunch ’em. (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the grapes and you squish ’em, you squish ’em. (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the bread and you spread it, you spread it. (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the sandwich and you eat it, you eat it. (Repeat.)
Mm mm mm mm mm mm—mm mm mm!
Mm mm mm mm mm mm—mm mm mm!
See https://sites.google.com/site/shinjinshil/resources to watch a video of
the song.
This particular sandwich is very popular in the United States and is an ex-
ample of introducing students to target culture materials. Students love singing
this song because it is very funny at the end when they have to sing pretending
their mouth is full of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s a great lesson to
teach about a particular food that is popular with American kids; however, it is
also important to connect this lesson to students’ real lives. Peanut butter is not
commonly found in many countries, so students may need some realia, if teach-
ers can find it. In addition, teachers can either create a new song or encourage
students to write a new song with food from their own culture using the same
fun tune and chant. Here are two new versions of the song from a teacher in
Cape Verde:
Chicken Burger Song
Refrain
Chicken, chicken burger—and salad!
Chicken, chicken burger—and salad!

First you take the chicken and cook it, cook it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the salad and prepare it, prepare it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the bread and you fill it, fill it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the burger and you eat it, eat it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Orange Juice and Cake Song

Refrain
Orange, orange juice—and cake!
Orange, orange juice—and cake!
First you take the orange, and you cut it, cut it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the sugar and add it, add it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the cake and divide it, divide it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the juice and drink it, drink it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Then you take the cake and you eat it, eat it! (Repeat. Refrain.)
Created by students of Elsa Furtado from Cape Verde.
Teaching students how to express their own culture and preferences in

English is a good start to help them communicate with others. After all, the
first step closer to someone from another culture is to be able to express the
wonderful things about your own culture in English. This is a beginning step
toward e ffective intercultural communication.
Another important aspect of building good communication skills is to teach
young learners how to work in groups and teams successfully. Collaboration
skills are an extremely important twenty-first-century skill because children will
grow up in our globally interconnected world. They will inevitably be working
collaboratively in their future jobs, so any way that we can encourage teamwork
among students is a great idea. However, this does not just mean putting them
in groups and saying, “Go!” Teachers need to provide students the language
skills and models needed for students to participate in group work successfully.
See “TEYL Tips—Success with Cooperative Learning” in Chapter 4 for good
suggestions, including:
■■ Planning groups in which the teacher can select students with different
strengths
■■ Giving groups fun names so students can feel a sense of belonging to the group

■■ Assigning roles in the group like reader, recorder, time keeper, and presenter
■■ Providing a clear end product so students know what they are working toward
These are some ways teachers can help students build skills for
collaborating effectively with one another. In addition to these helpful tips,
it is important to teach and model courteous language and behavior. Below
are examples of behavior and language you might model and encourage from
students.
If you ask for something, say “Please.”
If you receive something, say “Thank you.”
If someone needs help, ask “May I help you?” “Do you need help?”
If someone helps you, say “Thanks for your help!”
If you do something that hurts someone, say “I’m sorry.”
If you need the teacher’s attention, say “Excuse me, Mr./Ms. ______.”
If you want to do something, like go to the bathroom, ask “May I use
the bathroom?”
If someone does a good job, say “Good job!” “Great work!”
If someone has a good idea, say “Good/great/excellent idea!” “Good
thinking!”
Even if the native language must be used first to explain the scenarios and the
language, it is important for teachers to establish courteous behavior and lan-
guage that will help young learners communicate politely in English.
3. Active learning skills As the quotation from Alvin Toffler at the beginning
of the chapter suggested, literacy in the twenty-first century means having the
ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Our ever-changing world that has become
so technology and knowledge driven makes it possible for us to access so much
information and communicate with people from all over the world. As Curtis
Bonk (2009) said in The World Is Open, “Anyone can now learn anything from
anyone at any time” (p. 7). However, this means that children need critical
thinking skills to sift through all the information that they will find through all the
new information sources. In addition, they will need to learn how to learn because
the information of today will likely change tomorrow. With young learners who
are still developing cognitively, it is still possible to develop them into active
learners by teaching them how to ask and answer questions about information
at different levels. See the box for examples of question words for each level of
questioning based on Bloom’s taxonomy.

Categories of questions and typical classroom question words based on
Bloom’s (1956) taxonomy (Brown, 2007). These are listed by level of critical
thinking from lowest to highest.
1. Knowledge questions: Eliciting factual answers, testing recall and

recognition of information
Common questions words: define, tell, list, identify, describe, select,
name, point out, label, reproduce. Who? What? Where? When? Answer
“yes” or “no.”
2. Comprehension questions: Interpreting, extrapolating
Common question words: state in your own words, explain, define,
locate, select, indicate, summarize, outline, match.
3. Application questions: Applying information heard or read to new
situations
Common question words: demonstrate how, use the data to solve, illustrate
how, show how, apply, construct, explain. What is ___ used for? What
would result? What would happen?
4. Inference questions: Forming conclusions that are not directly
stated in instructional materials
Common question words: How? Why? What did ___ mean by? What
does ___ believe? What conclusions can you draw from . . . ?
5. Analysis questions: Breaking down into parts, relating parts to the
whole
Common question words: distinguish, diagram, chart, plan, deduce,
arrange, separate, outline, classify, contrast, compare, differentiate,
categorize. What is the relationship between? What is the function of?
What motive? What conclusions? What is the main idea?
6. Synthesis questions: Combining elements into a new pattern
Common question words: compose, combine, estimate, invent, choose,
hypothesize, build, solve, design, develop. What if? How would you test
. . . ? What would you have done in this situation? What would happen
if . . . ? How can you improve . . . ? How else would you . . . ?
7. Evaluation questions: Making a judgment of good or bad, right or
wrong, according to some set of criteria, and stating why
Common question words: evaluate, rate, defend, dispute, decide
which, select, judge, grade, verify, choose why. Which is best? Which
is more important? Which do you think is more appropriate? (Brown,
2007, p. 220)

Very young learners may not be able to reach higher levels of critical t hinking
because they are not at a cognitive stage that can handle logical reasoning.
However, young learners from 7 to 12 years old are developing their r easoning
abilities, and teachers should use all levels of questioning as appropriate to
encourage students’ critical thinking skills. Remember, it is important to ask
young learners both closed and open-ended questions. Open-ended questions
won’t have one right answer and can encourage students to think critically. For
example, when checking both knowledge and comprehension of a story like
Cinderella, a teacher could ask the following questions:
Does Cinderella have a mother?

Does Cinderella have a father?
What is a stepmother?
Is the stepmother kind to Cinderella?
There is just one correct answer for all these questions, so they are closed
questions and are only based on recalling information from the text. They are
considered at the knowledge and comprehension levels and are the lowest levels
in terms of Bloom’s taxonomy. Of course, these are important questions for
checking comprehension. However, the teacher could also ask the following
questions:
Does the stepmother love Cinderella? Why do you think so?

Is Cinderella happy? Why do you think so?
Why is the stepmother mean to Cinderella?
These are open-ended questions that create opportunities for children to

think critically about the situation. Students have to infer from the text and
show a higher level of thinking to come up with answers. These questions may
also get them to apply Cinderella’s situation to their own life or analyze other in-
formation in the story. Using only closed questions based on recalling informa-
tion from the text won’t help children build critical thinking skills.
Eventually YLs should learn how to ask themselves questions in order to
help them become more independent learners. If they will need to unlearn and
relearn knowledge and skills, then they need practice at questioning and build-
ing strategies for learning. Teachers can use the “think-aloud” strategy to help
model the kinds of questions students might ask themselves as they accomplish
tasks in English. A think-aloud is a popular strategy for improving students’

reading comprehension where teachers verbalize their thinking process as
they gain comprehension from text (Davey, 1983; Wilhelm, 2001). The teacher
asks questions about the text or information out loud and then verbalizes her/
his thinking process and answers. S/he may still continue to have unanswered
questions about the text and information and should verbalize those throughout
the process. This will show students how to approach a text or activity with a
critical mind and see the process of learning and gaining comprehension
from text.
After the teacher does a think-aloud, students practice it by thinking aloud
following the teacher’s model. “As they think aloud, students respond to the text,
identify big ideas, ask self-questions, make connections, figure out how to solve
problems that arise, and reflect on their use of strategies” (Tompkins, 2010,
pp. 473–474). Teachers can use this strategy to model any kind of task to help
scaffold students’ ability to be active learners who can function independently.
Teachers have to plan think-alouds carefully, including the language they will
use to demonstrate their thinking and learning strategies. Below are some ques-
tions and sentence starters a teacher might use and say out aloud, so students
can see a good model to help them become more independent readers and
learners.
■■ What is the title?

■■ This makes me think of. . . .
■■ What does it mean?
■■ What does this word mean?
■■ I think it means. . . .
■■ What does this remind me of?
■■ This is just like/similar to. . . .
■■ What do I know about . . . ?
■■ This author also wrote. . . .
■■ Why did the author write . . . ?
■■ I think the story (text, activity) will be about. . . .
■■ I think the big idea is. . . .
■■ I am not sure about. . . .
■■ I am confused by. . . .
■■ I re-read this part because. . . .
■■ I wonder if. . . .
■■ I don’t understand. . . .

■■ Why did this happen?
■■ This is different from what I expected.
■■ What will happen next?
■■ I feel . . . about this story (text, activity) because. . . .
■■ I still don’t understand. . . .
■■ Some questions I still have are. . . .
Teachers can use Post-It or sticky notes and attach them to the text to remind
themselves of the language they will use for the think-aloud. If students need
some parts of the think-aloud in their native language because of their profi-
ciency level, teachers should use it sparingly in order to build students’ strategies
for learning. The importance of this technique is to demonstrate critical think-
ing and learning strategies, so strategies modeled in the native language to build
comprehension in English do model real life and should be incorporated by
teachers as appropriate.
4. Technology skills English in the twenty-first century includes computer-

mediated communication. Learning how to communicate using new technology,
such as Web 2.0 or user-generated content, social media or social networking tools,
and online Internet searching, goes hand-in-hand with learning English, since the
language most often used in Web sites worldwide is English. According to a survey
conducted by World Wide Web Technology Surveys (W3Techs; http://w3techs.com)
in September 2012, 55.1 percent of Web sites are in English. The next highest is
German, with only 6.4 percent. See below for a list of the other most used languages
in terms of Web content.
English 55.1%
German 6.4%
Russian 5.1%
Japanese 4.9%
Chinese 4.7%
Spanish 4.7%
French 4.3%
Portuguese 2.2%
Italian 2.0%
Polish 1.5%

Turkish 1.2%
Dutch/Flemish 1.1%
Arabic 1.1%
Others Under 1%
The most popular sites using English, according to W3Techs are: Google,
Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Live, Twitter, Amazon, LinkedIn, and
Google.co.in. Since English is still the dominant language on the Internet,
when students are researching information or communicating with people
through various social networking sites, the predominant language being used
is English.
This also means that it is important for teachers to help students improve
their information and digital literacy, which entails using Internet search
engines and basic skills for navigating Web sites effectively. Improving their
ability to sift through so much information and make good decisions about
which Web sites have good, reliable information and which ones may have
certain biases, students need to apply critical thinking skills as described above.
Teachers can use think-alouds when showing Web sites or teaching students
how to conduct good Internet searches and use the same strategies for helping
students learn how to learn.
Teachers should bring the real world into the language classroom and
encourage students to participate in social networking, Web content creation,
and sharing through wikis and blogs in English as appropriate for their YLs.
To prepare students for this century in the EYL classroom, teachers should
take the responsibility to improve their own knowledge and skills using the
Internet and Web 2.0 tools and incorporate computer-mediated communica-
tion into E
nglish language instruction. However, Prensky (2011) warns that
teachers should not get too caught up in technology tools as the key to improv-
ing students’ twenty-first-century skills. He uses a helpful “verbs vs. nouns”
metaphor (p. 7).
. . . the “verbs” are the unchanging skills of education, such as thinking critically,
communicating effectively, presenting logically, and calculating correctly. The “nouns” are
the tools of education—the technologies that students use to learn and practice the skills.
In the 21st century, nouns change with increasing rapidity. For example, for learning the
underlying skills (verbs) of presenting, communication, and getting information, nouns (tools)
currently used include PowerPoint, email, and Wikipedia. But while the verbs will not change
over the course of a student’s education, the nouns certainly will. Our pedagogy needs to
focus on the underlying verbs, while providing students with, and employing, the best, most
up-to-date nouns (tools) to do so. (p. 7)

Therefore, EYL teachers should incorporate the up-to-date technology tools
students need for communication in English without forgetting that these tools
constantly change; in fact instruction should focus on the skills and functions
they are using the tools for. Some describe these skills as “new literacies” which
are essential to teach young learners for success in this century. Tompkins
(2010) outlines four Internet reading strategies:
• Navigating: Students navigate the Internet to search for and locate

information
• Coauthoring: Students coauthor online texts as they impose an

organization on the information they are reading
• Evaluating: Students evaluate the accuracy, relevance, and quality of

information on Web pages
• Synthesizing: Students synthesize information from multiple texts

(p. 7)
Fisher and Frey (2010) created a useful list of the “verbs” (or skills) students
in the twenty-first century need to build with the “nouns” or tools that are cur-
rently being used for those functions. The list on pg. 341 mirrors Fisher and
Frey’s list; however, it includes updates based on the tools that are most com-
monly used at the time of this publication. This list also makes a distinction
between tools that are computer-based versus Web-based tools. It is clear that
the tools for accomplishing various functions are becoming more Web based
and are easily accessible through the Internet. Hopefully this list will be helpful
for EYL teachers in recognizing which tools can be used for various skills and
applying them to their English language classroom.
Teachers can develop projects with young learners that include some of the
tools listed above. For very young learners around 5–6 years old, you may Skype
with a class in another country and have students say hello to each other or sing
songs together. You could also take a video of your students singing a song in
English and post it on YouTube with the lyrics. Then the teacher can send the
link to parents and have them practice the song with their child at home for
extra practice or even exchange links with another class (possibly in another
country) and learn each other’s songs.
For young learners around 7–8 years old, you could encourage them to do
Internet research on another country by typing in “food in Thailand” or “clothes

Functions/Skills Computer-Based Web-Based
Storing MP3 players, servers, flash drives Dropbox, iCloud, Box
Listening Podcasts, iTunes Streaming media
Presenting PowerPoint, Keynote Prezi
Producing GarageBand, iMovie, Final Cut, Wordle, Storybird, ToonDoo,

Jing, CamStudio ArtisanCam, Animoto
Communicating E-mailing, text messaging, Skype,

ooVoo
Sharing YouTube, Pinterest, Flickr, blogs,

vlogs, Scoop.it
Collaborating Google docs and sites, Google

calendar, Doodle, wikis,
Delicious, VoiceThread
Networking Facebook, Ning, MySpace,

Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Google+
Searching Google, Yahoo, Bing,

StumbleUpon
in Peru” into Google Images and have them describe the pictures that come up.
Or you could have students write a poem and teach them how to post it on a
class wiki or blog. This is a product that you can show parents and share with
your school community.
For your older young learners who are 9–11 years old, you could encour-
age them to make digital stories to post on YouTube by using images combined
with PowerPoint, with their narration recorded using a screencast such as Jing.
Or they could create a simple class slide show using PowerPoint, in which each
student is responsible for one slide that includes an image (photo, drawing, clip
art, etc.) and text (description, poem, quote, etc.). The theme for the digital sto-
ries or slide show can be connected to whatever the content of your class is. For
example, it could be food from around the world, wildlife in different regions
of the world, or just a personal expression of themselves after a unit on writing
acrostic poems.

Teachers should explore the kinds of tools that are available and appropri-
ate for their learners and begin incorporating technology tools as a part of the
EYL curriculum in order to build real use of English in the twenty-first century,
which is increasingly digitized and networked.
Designing a Technology-Based
Thematic Unit
The following unit plan is based on an ongoing project using a class wiki to
encourage students to use English for real communication. See below for the home
page of a sample wiki for an English class in grade 4. This wiki was made using
www.wikispaces.com.
Provided by Jodi Crandall and Joan Shin

Use of Wikispaces is free, and teachers can create a new wiki for each new
class. This wiki has four pages representing four different class projects:
• Our Class: This page will include a picture of each student and a personal
poem written by each student. This project will be the culmination of a
unit that introduces different types of poems.

Example of Our Class page:

• Our School: This page will put up basic information about the school
and a video tour of the school. The teacher will facilitate the process of
making a video of the school and classroom. This project will be the
culmination of group and whole-class discussions on who, what, when,
where, and how to videotape a 5-minute introduction to your school.
Example of Our School page:

• Our City: This page will be a virtual tour of the city in which students
live. Students will work in groups and decide what their city is famous
for. Then they will take pictures with a camera, mobile device, or smart
phone of places in the city that are considered landmarks, famous food
or produce, typical architecture, typical clothes or crafts, sport teams, etc.
Then they will, as a class, decide which pictures to put on the page and
work in groups to write sentences about each. In addition, they will search
the Internet for hyperlinks to other pages with pictures and information
about their city and landmarks.
Example of Our City page:

• Our Country: This page will show their country’s Top Ten List. Students
will work in groups and decide the top ten things to do in their country.
For example, in the United States, the Top Ten List could include: Go
to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City; visit the
Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.; hike through the Grand
Canyon in Arizona; eat a Philly cheesesteak in Philadelphia, etc. In
addition, students have to create at least one hyperlink to an official Web
site on that landmark or about that particular activity. All groups will post
their top ten lists with hyperlinks on the wiki. In addition, the teacher
can show students how to use Google Maps to put markers in the exact
locations for each of the top ten things to do.
Example of Our Country page:
Once the wiki is completed, the teacher will exchange wikis with another
4th grade class from another country. Students will do a series of read-
ing activities with the other class’s wiki. If teachers want to look for other
classes and other projects to get involved in, ePals (www.epals.com) is a good
resource.

Sample Lesson
Class Wiki: Our City
Below is a lesson for the third project called Our City.
Class Wiki: Our City

Student profile Grade 4 or 5, high-beginner level of English language proficiency
Skills to be emphasized Listening, speaking, reading, writing
Language Vocabulary: city, virtual, tour, landmarks, museum, statue, market,

harbor, food, famous, link, hyperlink
Grammar: prepositions (in, on, at, across)
(New vocabulary will depend on the source of your Web page.)

• Explain and show the location of their city
• Describe famous landmarks in their city
• Describe famous things (e.g., food, locations) from their city
• Read about another city on another class wiki
Materials Computer with Internet

Wikispace class page at wikispaces.com (or use another wiki online)
Picture of another class in another country (contact a teacher in advance
to set up this class-to-class project)
Handout with the text from the example Our City page.
Whiteboard or flipchart
Warm-up
Before-reading Activities
Capture their attention Show a picture of another class in another country. Ask students, “What
is in this picture? Who are these people?”
Tell them it is a picture from another 4th grade class from another
country. “This is another 4th grade class. Can you guess where it is?”
Tell them what country the class is from. “After we make Our City
page, we will share our wiki with them!”
Connect to prior knowledge “Let’s look at our class wiki. What did we already do on our wiki?” Elicit
and experiences the following answers from students:
• Made pictures and poems about us
• Made a video of our school and classroom
• Sang a song on the video
• Posted pictures on wiki
• Posted video on wiki
See wiki home page for ongoing project information.

Introduce lesson “Today we are going to make another wiki page. It will be about Our
City. It will be a virtual tour of our city.”
Review vocabulary Review the meaning of “tour” and prepare students for instruction on
the word “virtual.” “Do you know what a tour is?” Show picture of
people on a tour in your country at a famous landmark. Elicit responses
to these questions until students can verbalize that the people in the
picture are on a tour. “What are these people doing? They are visiting
from. . . . They are looking at. . . . They are on a tour.” Next, review the
video as a tour of the school. “What did we do on our wiki last time?
Right, we made a video of our school and classroom. That was a tour of
our school and classroom.” Now try to elicit what “virtual” means. “But
is the tour in person like this picture? No, it was ‘virtual’; that means not
real. It is not in person. It is ‘virtual’ because it is through the Internet
and through video.”
Presentation
During-reading Activities
Present text and check Show students an example of a class wiki made by a class in Baltimore.
comprehension See the Our City example page. Have students read the page and fill
in a graphic organizer to check their comprehension of the following
text (without the pictures). If there is only one computer in the room,
project the wiki page on the screen or wall. If it is not readable, prepare
a handout with the text for students to read at their desks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WIKI PAGE TEXT
Virtual Tour of Baltimore
Get to know our city! Here is information about our beautiful city. We
hope to give you a tour in person one day!
Location: East Coast of the U.S. in the state of Maryland
Baltimore is the biggest city in Maryland. Maryland is located on the East
Coast of the United States next to Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
and Virginia. It is northeast of Washington, D.C. Baltimore is on the
Chesapeake Bay.
[Picture of map of Maryland]
Famous landmarks: Inner Harbor, National Aquarium, and Fort McHenry
One famous place is Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. See picture below. There
you can eat, shop, see the National Aquarium, and visit Fort McHenry.
[Picture of Inner Harbor]

Food: Maryland-Style Crabs
Try our Maryland-Style crabs! They are famous across the United States.
We eat them with a mallet and knife. We steam the crabs and put
Old Bay Seasoning on them.
[Picture of crabs]
Sports teams: Orioles Baseball Team and Ravens Football Team
Here is a picture of the Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Nearby is the
Ravens Football Stadium. People from Baltimore love their sports teams.
The names of their teams are both names of birds: the oriole and the
raven.
[Picture of Camden Yards]
Famous Baltimore people: Francis Scott Key and Edgar Allan Poe
Francis Scott Key is a famous American. He wrote our national anthem,

called the “Star Spangled Banner.” He wrote the words during the War
of 1812. Here is a video of the national anthem at Camden Yards before
an Orioles baseball game.
Edgar Allan Poe is another famous American. He was a writer and poet.
He wrote many scary stories and a famous poem called “The Raven.”
Because of Poe’s poem, the Baltimore football team is named the
Ravens.
Graphic Organizer
Read the Our City page about Baltimore.
Write the key words in the chart about Baltimore.
1. Baltimore 2. ___________________
a. Location
b. Landmarks
c. Food
d. Sports teams
e. Famous people
f. ________________

Teach wiki page form Go over answers to the graphic organizer above. While explaining unknown
and unknown words words and phrases, such as Old Bay Seasoning, mallet, oriole, raven, etc.,
familiarize students with the hyperlinks on the page. Show them how to get
more information by clicking on the words that are underlined.
Practice
After-Reading Activities (Speaking and Writing)
Controlled practice Whole-Class Brainstorm

The teacher has a brainstorming session on WHAT MAKES OUR CITY SPECIAL?
Make a list of about five or six ideas and spell them out correctly on the board
or on flipchart paper. This will help prepare them for the next activity.
Guided practice Pair Work

Students fill out the third column in the graphic organizer. Ask them to write
their city name at the top in blank #2 (next to Baltimore). Then have students
work in pairs to fill out one piece of information per row. Students can also
think of another category and write it in blank #f (below e. Famous people).
Your city may have a special kind of clothing, architecture, river, etc. The
teacher will collect answers and make a big list for each category on the board
or flipchart.
Independent activity Group Work

The teacher will break the students into six groups, one for each category:
location, landmark, food, sports teams, famous people, and other. Then each
group must write down four sentences about their category.
Application
Create wiki Group Work

In groups, students take turns typing information into the class wiki page
called Our City. They will follow the format:
Category: Subheading Title
Four Sentences: Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Example
Food: Maryland-Style Crabs
Try our Maryland-Style Crabs! They are famous across the United States.
We eat them with a mallet and knife. We steam the crabs and put Old
Bay Seasoning on them.

Assessment
Monitoring activities The teacher must assess during all parts of the practice and application stages.
Students will need immediate feedback on their choice of information and
help constructing sentences that are comprehensible and accurate.
Assess for accuracy Option #1: The teacher can highlight in yellow the parts of the wiki text that
and give feedback have errors or mistakes. The class as a group can make corrections with the
wiki page projected on the screen or wall. The teacher can make corrections
on the wiki as students figure out the correct way to write the text (with the
teacher’s help).
Option #2: The teacher can make corrections on the wiki. If students are
too sensitive to correct each other’s sentences, then the teacher may do the
corrections outside of class, and then have students read through the correct
version.
Follow-up
Homework Students will have one week to take the pictures they need to go with their
text. The pictures will be uploaded to the wiki in one week.
Next class In one week, the next project lesson will be on how to create hyperlinks.
Students will do Internet research to find hyperlinks to other pages with
pictures and information about their city and landmarks. Then they will create
their hyperlinks in their text.
Teacher to Teacher
Twenty-First-Century Skills for Young Learners
Most teachers would agree that addressing twenty-first-century skills for young learners is
a must in education. However, not all teachers find it easy to incorporate these skills in the
EYL classroom. The following teachers explain their point of view related to incorporating
these skills. First is a teacher from Belarus who describes the integration of social
responsibility and problem solving into the curriculum.
“school
I strongly believe that 21st century skills are important for our students, and in our
we try to include them in the curriculum. For this we have a special lesson—a
class hour where we discuss and solve different social problems, train children’s
personal skills and simply talk friendly solving their own problems. We have Self-
Ruling days, when kids can train themselves in our roles, developing their leadership
qualities. And we have a very good psychologist who is always there to help. She
holds lessons and does tests to help us learn more about the kids. ”
—Julia Khokhlova, Primary and Secondary English Teacher, Belarus

A teacher from India describes how twenty-first-century skills are already
integrated into the primary school curriculum.
“application,
Today to survive in this digital era critical thinking, problem solving ICT
team work and innovation are the skills we need. Our curriculum
should include the above skills as they are the skills the employers need
and they are the skills necessary for our learners’ future. To keep at par with
the need of the age, our curriculum should give importance to projects,
individualized instruction, collaborative learning, Web Based learning and
Lifelong learning. Our school curriculum gives importance to all the
21st century skills. ICT application and web based teaching are included in
the school curriculum itself. To develop the critical thinking skills of learners
project based teaching is followed. Importance is given to enquiry based
learning. Asking questions, defining a problem, analyzing, peer learning,
cooperative learning are promoted through the curriculum.
Most of the lessons have quizzes, projects and assignment to build team work
among the students. To teach the lesson Animals on the Track a field trip is
arranged to encourage enquiry based learning. After the field trip learners are
asked to submit a project as a group work. ”
—Joycilin Shermila Azariah, English Teacher Trainer, India
One teacher describes how he integrates twenty-first-century skills into the EFL
classroom by using project-based learning.
“The 21st century skills that English Teachers should develop in YLs are;
• IT skills
• Problem Solving
• Critical Thinking
• Creativity
• Identifying own self
• Communicating skills
• Listening skills
• Living in Peace
• Co-operation
These skills can be developed through activity based learning where

students get involved themselves willingly. Using technology in teaching and
promoting high standards of student involvement in the lesson and creating
opportunities for the learner to widen their horizon in the area of topics that
they learn is one step. Creating experiment based learning is another way of
awakening their thinking power.
When planning the lessons, the teacher can make use of 3Hs,
• Head (Cognitive),
• Hand (Psycho-motor) and
• Heart (Affective/Feelings)
and the specific objectives of the lesson can be divided under these 3 sections
where the student gets all the necessary abilities at the end of the lesson to
become a knowledgeable, capable and worthy citizen for the country. ”
—Vidarshani Lalanthika Wijesinghe, Primary English Teacher, Teacher Trainer,
and Lecturer in English, Sri Lanka
Some teachers may find it challenging to find support for building twenty-
first-century skills, but as one teacher from Brazil describes, the English language
classroom can be an ideal place to hone certain twenty-first-century skills.
“believe
Although all 21st century skills are important for children’s development, I
that English teachers are very close to communication skills and global
languages. As the world has become smaller, due to technology, it’s essential
to be able to communicate clearly these days, and the use of English as an
international language gives this opportunity to many people around the world.
It’s also important to teach children that nowadays we are all citizens of the world.
We are all inserted in this cultural melting pot, in which countries and nationalities
seem to lose their boundaries, in order to create a society that is connected
worldwide through a range of communication tools in a very large scale.
Collaboration is also important, as it is known that we are all interdependent,
in a world where economic policies are not isolated issues of a certain country
or region, but affects all others in a chain of events, sometimes unpredictable.
As English teachers we can offer children a passport into this globalized world, using
a language that, presently, can open doors to different cultures, not only to English
speaking countries, but a whole society that speaks English around the globe. ”
—Carina Alice De Oliveira, English Teacher, Brazil
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
Our rapidly changing world requires certain skills The world is changing quickly
into a knowledge-based, information-driven global society. This requires an
educational foundation that builds skills for our rapidly changing world.
Proficiency in English is one twenty-first-century skill Given the worldwide
push to teach English at the primary school level, being able to use English as an
international language for communication is clearly one twenty-first-century skill
being emphasized in primary school curricula across the globe.
Global citizenship and values Ultimately the world will need citizens who care about its
future and can work together to resolve global issues. Learning how to care for one another
and the environment will help YLs be positive and productive citizens of our world.

Communication and collaboration across cultures YLs need to learn how
to communicate effectively across cultures. One important way to help them
communicate interculturally is to teach them how to express their own culture in
English. In addition, teachers need to provide plenty of opportunities for group and
team work to promote good collaboration skills.
Critical thinking and lifelong learning strategies Because the information of
today will likely change tomorrow, YLs need critical thinking skills and must learn
how to learn independently to help them cope with our rapidly changing world.
Computer, information, and digital literacy YLs will need computer, information,
and digital literacy skills in English for their future studies and careers. Because of
the quantity of information exchanged online, it is necessary for YLs to learn how to
apply critical thinking skills.
Over to You
1. Why are people in the world more interconnected in the
twenty-first century than ever before?
2. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills lists ten skills that students
Discussion need to have. What are they?
Questions 3. Which three of the ten skills do you think are the most essential
for YLs in your context? Why?
4. Why must taking a global perspective be an integral part of the
EYL curriculum?
5. If English language proficiency is an important twenty-first-century
skill, why do you think it was not included in the twenty-first-
century skill frameworks presented in this chapter? Are there other
languages that your students should learn?
6. For very young learners who are not highly developed cognitively,
what are ways you can apply twenty-first-century skills in the
curriculum for each category?
a. Global perspective
b. Communication skills
c. Active learning skills
d. Technology skills
Checklist for
On pg. 390 there is a worksheet that has been made to help you assess how well
Curriculum
Development your EYL curriculum infuses twenty-first-century skills. This can be used for the
curriculum as a whole, one unit of instruction, or a lesson plan.

Twenty-First-Century Skills and English: What is the link between teaching English
Write as an international language and twenty-first-century skills? Write about the con
About It nection between the use of English in global contexts and the skills needed to
become a successful and productive citizen of our world. Give one or two examples
of how you would address twenty-first-century skills in your EYL class on a regular
basis in relation to your main points.

Print Publications
Beers, S. Z. (2011). Teaching 21st century skills: An ASCD action tool. Jacobs, H. H. (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a
Alexandria, VA: ASCD. changing world. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Bellanca, J., & Brandt, R. (Eds). (2010). 21st century skills: Rethinking Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). P21 framework
how students learn. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. definitions. Washington, DC: Author. Accessed at www.p21.org/
Collins, M. (2008). Global citizenship for young children. London: documents/P21_Framework_Definitions.pdf on August 18, 2012.
Sage Publications.
Useful Web Sites

Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills: http://atc21s.org Curriculum 21: www.curriculum21.com
The Critical Thinking Community: www.criticalthinking.org Partnership for 21st Century Skills: www.p21.org
References
Binkley, M., Erstad, O., Herman, J., Raizen, S., Ripley, M., McCain, T., & Jukes, I. (2001). Windows on the future: Education in
Miller-Ricci, M., & Rumble, M. (2012). Defining 21st century the age of technology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
skills. In P. Griffin, B. McGaw, & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). Framework for 21st
teaching of 21st century skills (pp. 17–66). Dordrecht: Springer. century learning. Washington, DC: Author.
Bloom, B. S., & David, R. K. (1956). Taxonomy of educational Prensky, M. (2011, January 24). The reformers are leaving our
objectives: The classification of education goals, by a committee of schools in the 20th century: Why most U.S. school reformers are
college and university examiners. Handbook 1: Cognitive domain. on the wrong track, and how to get our kids’ education right for
New York, NY: Longman, Green. the future. Strategic News Service Newsletter, 14(4). Retrieved at
Bonk, C. J. (2009). The world is open: How Web technology is http://marcprensky.com/writing/+Prensky-The_Reformers
revolutionizing education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. _Are_Leaving_Our_Schools_in_the_20th_Century-please
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive _distribute_freely.pdf
approach to language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Longman. Shin, J. K. & Crandall, J. A. (Eds.) (2013). Our world. Boston, MA:
Davey, B. (1983). Think-aloud: Modeling the cognitive processes of National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning.
reading comprehension. Journal of Reading, 27(1), 44–47. Tompkins, G. E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2010). Preparing students for mastery of 21st approach. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon/Pearson Education.
century skills. In J. Bellanca & R. Brandt (Eds), 21st century skills: Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in
Rethinking how students learn (pp. 221–240). Bloomington, IN: our times. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Solution Tree Press. Wilhelm, J. D. (2001). Improving comprehension with think-aloud
Jacobs, H. H. (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a strategies. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
changing world. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Marzano, R. J., & Heflebower, T. (2012). Teaching and assessing 21st
century skills. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.

10 Professional
Development
Getting Started
Teaching is “the learning profession” (Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 1999).
As teachers, we naturally develop over time as we gain experience, especially
if we enjoy teaching (Foord, 2009). In the beginning, you may find that
just becoming comfortable as an EYL teacher takes most of your time
and energy. But over time, you will want to take advantage of available
professional development activities or even to set up a short-term or long-
term action plan for your own development.
As an EYL teacher, you may also find that your role changes over
time: You may become the chair of your department; you may be asked
to coordinate testing or professional development for your program or
a number of schools; you may even decide to pursue a graduate degree
and become a university EYL teacher educator. Each of these roles offers
an opportunity for gradual, continuous professional development and
for participation in new professional development activities. The same
is true if you remain an EYL teacher. You may be asked to participate in
teacher training programs of-
fered by your school, but you class
will also want to identify profes- program
activities make share
find
young
students English plans others
professional teacher
classroom
sional development activities EYL
you choose to participate in,
learners
work course different
children possible
conference
group research que
teachers
teaching
sometimes in cooperation with action experience way
classes TEYL
become one mentoring
learn
ways discussion workshops help
may
colleagues at your institution knowle
or in settings around the world

plan
new language see
we
development want also

lesson online
(Crandall, 1998; Edge, 1992, effective participating
Teacher
Teachers
reflection
reflective first
like colleagu
ideas
2002). This chapter introduces a
learning school
experienced use example
provide
number of these options. learned time
356
As you finish this book (and possibly a course in Teaching English for
Think About It Young Learners), think about what you have learned about teaching
young learners. What questions do you still have? What challenges do
you think you will face? Briefly fill out the following chart and share
your ideas with another student or colleague.
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED QUESTIONS POSSIBLE CHALLENGES
Brainstorming Web
Discovery Activity
Now look at the questions and challenges you listed. How will you
answer these questions? Where can you turn to get help with the
challenges? What are some types of professional development that might be
available? Who might be able to help you?
Brainstorm the people you can turn to and the kinds of professional devel
opment (PD) activities that you might be able to participate in. Be sure to con-
sider activities available through technology. If possible, you may also want to
interview an EYL teacher to find out what challenges s/he has faced and the
resources (people and activities) s/he has found to help her/him in meeting
those challenges.
PD
PEOPLE ACTIVITIES
10 Professional Development 357

Why Professional Development Is Important
Teaching is lifelong learning. One of the joys of teaching is the opportunity to
explore new ideas and new ways of teaching as we try to meet the needs of an
ever-changing group of learners. If you have never taught young learners, then you
will be learning a great deal during your first years about how to plan, manage,
teach, and assess young learners. Some you will learn from experience. Some you
may learn by talking with or observing more experienced colleagues. You may also
continue to grow as a teacher of young learners by participating in professional
development activities sponsored by your school or by a professional association,
some of it face-to-face and some of it through online sources. If you are an
experienced teacher, you may find that working with colleagues on curriculum or
lessons or participating in a conference will enable you to share your experiences,
develop a larger network of colleagues, and provide some new ideas or activities
for your classroom (Crandall, 2001; Egbert, 2003).
The field of TEYL is constantly changing and growing, and you will want
to find appropriate ways to keep current. Being an effective EYL teacher re-
quires “the knowledge, skills, and sensitivities of a teacher of children” and “of
a teacher of language,” and the ability to balance these effectively in teaching
(Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2010, p. 269). You may want to create a professional
development action plan for your first year of teaching to enhance your “knowl-
edge, skills, and sensitivities,” and then refer to it throughout the year to see how
you are progressing. In that action plan, you may want to set goals that focus
on techniques of teaching as well as goals focused on English language devel-
opment and the use of the first language. Even English-speaking teachers may
need to reflect on their use of the first language and of English in their class-
rooms (Brewster, Ellis, & Girard, 2010).
Approaches to Professional Development

When thinking about some possible people and activities that could help you
develop as a teacher, they likely could be grouped under one of the following three
approaches to professional development, as identified by Wallace (1991):
■■ Theory-to-practice approach
■■ Coaching or mentoring approach
■■ Reflective approach

Theory-to-Practice Approach A theory-to-practice approach (or teaching
as science) is one in which teachers learn from experts by reading about their theories
or listening to them speak at major conferences or in online webinars or podcasts,
and then apply what they have learned in their teaching. This is likely the major way
that you learned in a teacher education program. And though current approaches to
professional development (as well as teaching) are more focused on experience, and
less on the transmission of ideas, one still can learn a lot from this approach by taking
graduate classes, participating in workshops or seminars, or engaging in online
discussion groups where experts and colleagues engage in discussion.
White Packert/Getty Images

Coaching or Mentoring Approach A coaching or mentoring approach
(or teaching as craft) is one in which less experienced teachers (or those with less
experience in a particular skill or activity, such as using technology resources)
learn from those with more experience and then apply that to their own teaching.
Sometimes this involves collaborative coaching or even team teaching (Joyce &
Showers, 1995; Knight, 2009).
Jack Hollingsworth/Getty Images

Reflective Approach A reflective approach (or teaching as critical thinking)
is one in which teachers critically analyze or research, reflect upon, and adapt their
own practice (Farrell, 2007, 2012; Richards & Lockhart, 1994; Wallace, 1996).
Tara Moore/Getty Images

Key to all three approaches is reflection. As Wallace (1991, 1996) and others
(Crandall & Finn Miller, 2014; Freeman, 1998; Murray, 2010) have indicated,
critical reflection is an important component of any approach to professional
learning, including the approaches that consider teaching as a science or an art.
Taking a graduate course, participating in an online discussion board, or being
part of a study circle at your school or with colleagues from a number of schools
all require critical analysis and reflection about what one has read or discussed.
Likewise, participating in a coaching or mentoring relationship involves not
only observing and discussing teaching and learning with a colleague, but also
reflecting upon what has been observed or discussed. Technology has made it
possible to engage in many more professional development activities and to net-
work with other EYL teachers around the world. In the end, of course, you will
construct your own conception of effective teaching and learning through mul-
tiple avenues, and you will want to share that with other teachers through the
range of professional development activities discussed below.
Effective Professional Development

If you have been teaching for some time, you probably have been involved in
professional development activities that are organized by your program or school.
While your attendance at these was likely to be required, you may not have had any

input into determining the topic or the types of activities that were involved. If you
are a new teacher, you may still find that you will be expected to attend workshops
that are planned by administrators, but you may also have the opportunity to help
plan your own professional development activities. In fact, creating a professional
development action plan with your own short-term and long-term objectives and
some of the ways you plan to achieve these objectives is an excellent idea, even if
your institution does not request it. “The most effective professional development
begins with your concerns and your classroom. Just as effective language lessons
address the needs of learners, professional development for language teachers
should be relevant to your particular needs” (Crandall & Finn Miller, 2014). Each
teacher has unique strengths and needs. If you are an experienced teacher, you are
likely to want and need different opportunities for professional development than
those of a beginning teacher.
In general, effective professional development:
■■ Takes place over time; it does not consist of isolated, unrelated workshops
■■ Emphasizes concrete activities, not abstract theory
■■ Involves teachers in the planning
■■ Provides teachers with opportunities to share their knowledge and experiences
■■ Focuses on the classroom and student learning
(Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; Desimone, 2011; Guskey & Yoon, 2009;
Timperley et al., 2007)
Effective professional development also requires key attitudes on the part
of the teacher, such as being open to new ideas, taking responsibility for one’s
learning, and reflecting on professional development experiences (Foord, 2009).
Professional Development Activities

One way of thinking about opportunities for professional development is through
the five categories identified by Foord (2009, p. 14), which he describes as concentric
circles, with “You” at the center and “You and your profession” on the outside:
■■ You: reading alone or reflecting upon your own classes

■■ You and your students: getting feedback or new ideas from students
■■ You and your colleagues: learning or getting support from other teachers
through mentoring, peer observation, or team teaching
■■ You and your school: carrying out projects and interacting with administrators
■■ You and your profession: participating in professional associations or learning
communities and writing for publication

These are not necessarily the order in which you will engage in effective
professional development. Nor are they necessarily in the order that will be
most effective. Nor are they mutually exclusive. You may be engaged in learn-
ing from your colleagues and then reflecting upon what you have learned in a
teaching journal. Or you may work collaboratively on a curriculum develop-
ment project with other teachers and then present that curriculum at a meeting
of a national or international professional association. But they are one way of
thinking about the teacher development resources available to you, and in time
you will want to explore all of these possible directions. Some of the ways of
developing yourself as a teacher include:
■■ Engaging in reflective teaching and practice—including keeping a teaching

journal, participating in a reflective teaching group, or developing a teaching
portfolio
■■ Coaching and mentoring—including team teaching
■■ Observing classes—including collaborative peer observation and
self-observation
■■ Engaging in teacher research—including action and collaborative action
research
■■ Participating in continued formal and informal learning—including participating
in workshops, podcasts, seminars, webinars, online discussion lists, graduate
classes, and learning communities
■■ Participating in professional associations and conferences
■■ Networking through social media and blogs
■■ Learning from your students
■■ Developing instructional materials and curricula
■■ Writing for publication
Engaging in Reflective Teaching or Practice According to Farrell

(2012), “There is growing recognition within the field of language education that
individual teachers must constantly reshape their knowledge of teaching and
learning throughout their careers,” and “There is also a need to reflect on our
knowledge about language teaching throughout our careers in order to stay fresh
and avoid burnout. Thus, language teachers must take on the role of reflective
practitioners in order to continue to develop professionally” (p. 23).
Reflection helps us to learn from our experiences, to become more conscious
of what we do and why we are doing it, and to analyze the results through sys-
tematic collection and analysis of information (Richards & Lockhart, 1994;
Zeichner & Liston, 1996).

There are three main types of reflective practice:
• Reflection-in-action: thinking about what we are doing while we are

doing it, in the classroom
• Reflection-on-action: thinking about the class after it is over
• Reflection-for-action: using what we have learned from our reflections
to plan for future classes
(Schon, 1983, 1987)
The last, of course, is the ultimate goal of reflection: to help us plan for and
implement more effective teaching and learning in our classes. Our reflections
can be captured in a teaching journal or teaching portfolio, or in discussions
with our peers (for example, in a reflective teaching group).
Keeping a teaching diary or journal As you complete a class, you may want to
make some notes about what went well or what you might want to change next
time. You could do this on your lesson plan, but you may also want to engage in a
bit more analysis and reflection. Keeping a teaching diary or journal encourages
active reflection and provides a place where you can record these reflections
(Appel, 1995; Bailey, Curtis, & Nunan, 2001; Richards & Farrell, 2005). It will also
allow you to go back through a year (or more) and see what progress you have
Maya Choi/Getty Images

made—what new insights you have about your teaching, your students, and their
learning. It will also help you in making instructional decisions (Bailey, 1990;
Moon, 2000; Pinter, 2006).
One way of organizing the information is to develop a set of questions to
answer, such as:
■■ What is one thing about the class that

Nada Kujundžić, a primary
pleased me? Why? English teacher and Ph.D.
■■ What is one thing that did not go well? student from Croatia,
reflects on her lesson at the
Why? end of the day, noting on
■■ What might I do differently next time to the lesson plan what was
address the problem? successful, whether she has
achieved her objectives, and
how she might improve it:
You might also want to make a list of aspects
“Prior to this learning
of teaching and learning to consider, such as: program, I perceived lesson
plans as no more than lists
■■ Planning the lesson of activities, and reminders
■■ Beginning the lesson of which materials I need
to bring with me to the
■■ Giving directions
classroom. I would usually
■■ Making yourself understood in English glance at them before the
■■ Managing the class beginning of the lesson,
and rarely referred to them
■■ Encouraging participation by all learners during the lesson itself.
■■ Providing feedback Reading the texts and my
■■ Helping learners to develop listening, colleagues’ posts, as well
as preparing the thematic
speaking, reading, or writing skills unit plan, helped alter my
■■ Introducing and practicing vocabulary perspective for the better.
I am beginning to take
■■ Reducing teacher talk and increasing student
lesson planning much more
talk seriously. Furthermore, I
■■ Other goals that you have now use lesson plans as a
means of self-evaluation
and self-monitoring. At the
It is best to write down your thoughts as soon end of the day, I go through
after the class as possible, at least during the same each lesson plan and try
day. to assess (as objectively as
possible) how successful
At first, it might be best to record your impres each activity was and
sions of only one class or perhaps to compare two whether or not I managed
to achieve all the teaching
classes in which you taught the “same” lesson. objectives; I also try to
Over time, you may only want to record insights determine the strong and
on classes that were particularly meaningful, either weak point of the lesson,
and come up with ways to
because they went so well or because something improve it.”
that you had thought would be successful turned

out not to have worked. One advantage of a teaching diary is its privacy: You can
record your concerns, criticism, and praise without fear of anyone else reading
it. If you want, however, you can also share some of what you have recorded with
your colleagues as they go through similar phases in their careers.
Participating in a reflective teaching group You may want to start meeting

with a group of colleagues to discuss problems or issues you are having with
your teaching and, with your colleagues’ help, think through ways of addressing
these. In a reflective teaching group, at each meeting one teacher talks about
a concern, then answers questions from other colleagues, thinks about some
possible directions, asks colleagues for other options, and then decides on a
course of action, tries it out in subsequent classes, and reports back to the group
at their next meeting. The group should be small, and it’s best to have a facilitator
to guide the discussion. It’s important that colleagues not provide advice until
the teacher has both completed the discussion of the problem and offered some
ideas that s/he has to address it. Teachers who have participated in these groups
find not only that they change some of their teaching practices, but that they also
change their thinking about teaching, so that they become more inspired and feel
greater connection with their colleagues.
Developing a teaching portfolio If you were in a teacher education program

or applied for teacher certification, you undoubtedly had to keep a teaching
portfolio—a collection of documents, with written reflective commentary, that
helps you to better understand your own teaching and provides others with an
opportunity to review it as well. According to Brown and Wolfe-Quintero (1997),
portfolios are “a purposeful collection of any aspect of a teacher’s work that tells the
story of a teacher’s efforts, skills, abilities, achievements, and contribution to her/
his colleagues, institution, academic discipline or community” (p. 28). Portfolios
are often used for evaluation, but they can also be powerful ways to understand
and document your professional growth (Porter & Cleland, 1995; Tanner, 2003).
Your portfolio should contain examples of both your own work (for example, lesson
plans, materials you have created, and proposals you have written for conference
presentations) and your students’ work, with commentaries about each. The
comments you write about each document are entered in your portfolio, and a
look back through previous documents can provide concrete evidence of your own
growth. Over time, you can add and remove documents. You may also want to scan
these and make yours an e-portfolio for easier maintenance.
Coaching and Mentoring If this is the first time you have taught EYL or
you are in a new school, you may want to see if you can find a more experienced

teacher who can help you get oriented to both the EYL program and the school.
This teacher may also be someone you can turn to when you have questions
or are facing challenges in your teaching. You will also want to meet with this
teacher on a regular basis to discuss what you have observed and any concerns
you might have (Crandall & Finn Miller, 2013; Holcomb & Green, 1998;
Malderez, 2009).
As you become more experienced, you will want to offer to help other new
teachers. You will find that in doing so, you will also learn a great deal about
your own views of teaching and learning (Richards & Farrell, 2005). Even early
in your career you may find yourself in a mentoring or coaching role. For ex-
ample, you may find that you have much more experience and knowledge about
how to integrate technology into your teaching than many of the other EYL
or content teachers; offer to share that expertise with other teachers, perhaps
through informal mentoring or longer-term coaching as they try to implement
some of your suggestions.
Coaching and mentoring are particularly effective because they provide ongo-
ing professional development that is teacher-directed, collaborative, and focused
on immediate concerns and contexts. It has been shown to increase the use of
new teaching strategies, improve student achievement, and provide teachers
with an increased sense of confidence in their teaching (Joyce & Showers, 1995;
Knight, 2009; Teemant, Wink, & Tyra, 2011).
Team teaching You may also want to engage in co-teaching as a means of both
mentoring others and receiving mentoring (Bailey, Curtis, & Nunan, 2001; Crandall,
1998). This can be especially productive when each of you has something special
to share and to learn. You could collaborate with another EYL teacher or with a
mainstream or content area teacher who shares your students. If the other is another
EYL teacher, you can work together to prepare a lesson and collaborate in teaching
it, learning from each other the various types of activities, feedback, classroom
management, and other strategies that you use. You may even want to divide the
instruction to showcase each of your strengths.
If you co-teach with a mainstream or content area teacher who shares your
students, you may want to focus your attention on the students who are hav-
ing difficulty in your English class—those who are shy, who seem bored, who
present classroom management problems. Notice how this other teacher works
with these students. In the process of teaming, you can also learn more about
the knowledge and skills that your students are learning in their other classes,
as well as some classroom activities that other teachers use. In turn, you can
provide the other teacher with knowledge about how languages are learned and
taught, and even give some English language equivalents of the vocabulary and
topics that are being taught (Crandall, 1998).
Observing Classes Observations are usually a part of a mentoring or

coaching relationship. They can also be engaged in as a means of self-reflection.
Unfortunately, observation has often been thought of only as a means of teacher
supervision or evaluation. However, it can also be a meaningful way of expanding
your knowledge of teaching and learning (Bailey, Curtis, & Nunan, 2001; Malderez,
2009). As you observe other teachers’ classes, see how they introduce new topics,
recycle vocabulary or grammar, engage in formative assessment, motivate shy
students to participate, manage different grouping patterns, deal with disruptive
students, or almost anything about which you have questions. You may want to look
at the number of suggestions provided by Wajnryb (1992) for classroom observation
tasks and ways to analyze these.
Sometimes “master” or experienced teachers will have an open-door policy
or set aside particular times when they welcome observers. If you are in a men-
toring relationship with one of these teachers, you may want to talk with the
teacher before observing the class, to understand the teacher’s objectives as well
as decisions concerning activities, types of grouping, or other factors in the
lesson plan. You may want to set a time to meet after the class to discuss your
observations and to ask any questions you might have. In your discussions, the
teacher you observed will also have an opportunity to reflect and to learn from
the experience (Richards & Lockhart, 1994).
spe/Shutterstock.com

sheff/Shutterstock.com
Collaborative peer observation You may also want to set up paired observations
with other teachers in the school. In the case of a regular classroom teacher
or a teacher of another subject (such as math, science, or social studies), you
can observe your students in that teacher’s classes, noting how they respond to
different activities that may be conducted in their first language. If they are in
English-medium subject-matter classes, you can note the difficulties students
are having with those content classes and plan to integrate more of that content
(specialized vocabulary, types of written texts, tests) into your classes. That
content teacher can also observe your classes and note the various ways that you
make new vocabulary and topics understandable through use of visuals, gestures,
role plays, and the like (Crandall, 1998). If the teacher is another EYL teacher, you
may want to focus on an area of your own teaching that you have questions about,
such as how to provide effective feedback or how to differentiate instruction to
accommodate all students, including those who are having difficulty as well as
those for whom the lessons are easy (Crandall & Greenblatt, 1999; Gebhard &
Oprandy, 1999; Richards & Farrell, 2005).
Self-observation With access to video or audio recording equipment, you can

also record your own classes, then analyze and reflect upon how you used the time,
how your lesson progressed, whether you interacted with all the children, or how
much time you spent talking and how much time you had the children engaged
in talking or writing. You may want to draw a seating chart of your classroom
and then note each time that each child spoke when the students were engaged in
whole-class activities. You could even see which ones volunteered and which ones
you called upon. If you want to get into even more detail, you can note whether the
children asked or answered questions by placing a Q or A next to each student’s
name. You can even note whether a student raised her/his hand by putting a V (for
Volunteering) next to the Q or A. With a video, you can also look at individual
students to see how many times they talked in pairs or in small group work. (Thanks
to colleague Ron Schwartz for this system.)
Board/Front of Class
DOOR
A VA A VQ QA A VQ A VA
AA A VA A VA A A VA
A A A A VA
VA
You may also want to look closely at several 5-minute segments to see how
much time you were talking and how much time the children were using
English (in both speaking and writing). Making a number of recordings over
the span of a term or a school year and analyzing and reflecting on them will
help you to see how much you have grown as a teacher during the year.
Another way to learn from videos of your teaching is to organize your analysis
by your lesson plan. This might involve answering questions such as:
■■ Did I anticipate the problems my students had?

■■ Did I achieve my lesson objectives?
■■ Did the students understand my directions?
■■ Were all students engaged?
■■ How much time did I talk?
■■ How much time did my students talk?
■■ Did I provide feedback to my students?
■■ Was the learning environment supportive?
(Adapted from Foord, 2009, p. 32)

You might want to award yourself points or evaluate yourself on each
category, and from that, identify an area in which you might want to improve.
Engaging in Teacher Research As you teach, you will naturally begin

reflecting on your classes and learners and think about things you might want
to consider adding or changing. For example, based on the results of your self-
observations or your reflections in your teacher journal, you may want to see if
there are ways in which you can encourage more children to interact using English.
Or you may want to try out a new activity or a new way to informally assess your
learners and see the results. Teacher research can range from this informal look at
and adaptation of your own teaching to more formal action research. By engaging in
teacher research, you will become a more reflective teacher, evaluating your teaching
and seeking ways of improving it and growing professionally (Allwright & Hanks,
2009; Burns, 2011; Freeman, 1998; Johnson & Golembek, 2011).
Action research Action research focuses on understanding the causes of a problem

or asking a question to answer and then, as the name implies, taking action to address
the problem or to answer the question. It may be undertaken by an individual teacher
who wants to find a way of improving instruction, or by a group of teachers with a
common problem, or even by an entire school (often in response to testing results).
Action research provides a concrete focus, often on a particular type of classroom
activity. It usually involves a cycle that begins with identifying a problem or question,
collecting information, planning ways to address it, trying it out, collecting data, and
then reflecting upon its success and identifying ways it might be improved even further,
which can often lead to another cycle of planning and implementation (Wallace, 1991).
Identify
Gather
Act again
information
Evaluate
Plan
and reflect
Act

An action research project might involve taking the results of the self-
observation, discussed on p. 392, and then identifying ways of decreasing the
amount of teacher talk and increasing the amount of student–student interac-
tion in English, perhaps by talking with other teachers or reading about how
other teachers have attempted to increase the amount of student participation.
The following are some other possible questions for action research in early
language programs:
■■ What themes or content topics are most interesting to children at particular

grade levels?
■■ What differences exist between successful and less successful language learners
in these area(s)? Select one or two only:
a. Attitudes toward the target language and culture
b. Access to/use of L2 outside of school (e.g., parents, community, television)
c. Use of appropriate language learning strategies
d. Level of achievement in L1 language arts
e. Transfer of knowledge, skills, or strategies from L1
f. Level of self-confidence in own language learning ability
■■ What are students’ reactions to/acceptance of particular instructional techniques
(e.g., cooperative learning, information gap activities, instruction in learning
strategies, grammar explanation and practice, Total Physical Response, teaching
to different learning styles)?
■■ What types of assessment measures (e.g., oral interviews, role plays, multiple
choice, cloze exercises, writing samples, portfolios) are best suited for assessing
children’s language proficiency in a particular area or in general?
(Chamot, 1994, p. 6, cited in Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010, p. 508)
Action research can lead not only to improved teaching and learning, but
also to greater self-confidence as a teacher and often, as the results are shared
with others, to more recognition of you as a teacher.
Collaborative action research Action research can also be undertaken by a
group of teachers who discover a common problem. The introduction of a new
curriculum, textbook, or assessment or a change in procedures may require changes
in teaching, but to determine what these should be requires research, discussion,
reflection, and then implementation of a new approach. The results of collaborative
action research are not only improved teaching and learning, but also the
development or strengthening of a community of practice (Ferrance, 2000). Pairing
new teachers with more experienced teachers in collaborative action research can
benefit both: New teachers learn from their more experienced colleagues, and more

experienced teachers benefit from both the enthusiasm of new teachers and new
theories or practices (Burns, 2011; Samaras, 2010).
Participating in Continued Formal and Informal

Learning Today there are almost too many ways to continue to learn as
a teacher. As mentioned above, it is possible to participate in local, regional,
national, or international workshops and seminars, some of which are available
as podcasts or webinars (virtual seminars). With current technology, it is
also possible to take online graduate courses or even get an advanced degree
fully online or in hybrid programs, with some online and some face-to-face
courses. These courses may not only increase your knowledge about teaching
and learning, but may also provide you with concrete activities for your classes
or ideas to research in your own classes. They also link you with a network of
professional colleagues whose experiences and teaching contexts may enrich
your own perspectives on teaching and learning. You may begin primarily as a
learner, but over time, you may find that you are leading one of these yourself.
In some cases, participating in these (especially graduate classes) can lead to
new employment opportunities (Crandall & Finn Miller, 2014).

Becoming part of a learning community With the incredible range of resources
available through the Internet, it is possible to read current articles or to explore
an area of interest that you were not able to do previously. You can do this
independently, but dialoging with other colleagues may make the experience
much richer. (See Sato, 2003, for a discussion of how her participation in a teacher
study group as a high school teacher in Japan led her to develop an informal group
when she moved to university teaching.) You may even be able to do this with
colleagues in other countries, sharing your ideas with them as well as learning
from them.
Joining an e-mail discussion group You might want to become part of an online
discussion group focused on an area in which you are particularly interested (for
example, integrating technology into language teaching or language assessment). In
these groups, teachers and other educators post questions or concerns that are then
discussed by whoever is interested. Usually there is a moderator who may initiate
the discussion or even invite a recognized expert who has thought about an issue
to answer questions and suggest readings for further learning. This is also a good
place to receive quick advice when you are facing a challenge. You can find dozens
of discussion lists through Dave’s ESL Café. Simply scroll down to “Teacher Forums”
and you will find several lists of interest for TEYL.
You can also attend workshops or register for podcasts or other online pro-
fessional development opportunities that are often available without cost. Short-
term online professional development courses or certificate programs offered
by universities, the TESOL International Association, or the U.S. Department of
State can also be good opportunities to learn more about best practices in TEYL
while also building a community of practice with other teachers who face the
same or similar challenges. Studies have shown that these online learning envi-
ronments can be very effective in building professional connections and finding
solutions to teaching challenges through the social interaction that occurs in the
discussion forums in online courses (Shin & Bickel, 2008, 2012). One obvious
example of this is the Teacher to Teacher section in each chapter of this book.
The source for all of the ideas and examples shared by teachers around the
world were taken from the discussion board posts and assignments from online
professional development courses on TEYL.
Participating in Professional Associations and Conferences

One of the best ways to keep up to date as an EYL teacher is to participate in
professional associations or organizations. Two international associations that are
focused directly on English language teaching are Teachers of English to Speakers
of Other Languages (TESOL) and the International Association of Teachers of
English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) (their Web sites are provided at the
end of the chapter). Both have special interest groups on teaching English to
primary or elementary school children. Besides an annual conference, they also
provide publications, extensive online teaching resources, and other professional
development opportunities such as symposia, workshops, podcasts, or webinars.
There is also a professional association focused specifically on teaching young
learners: the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL). Although
its membership is principally foreign language teachers in the United States,
their issues and concerns are likely to be relevant to TEYL as well. There may
also be local, regional, or national English language teaching associations that
you can participate in; because you may share similar contexts, students, and
curricula, you may find that these are more helpful, especially in your first years
of teaching. They can help you keep in touch with other EYL teachers (which
will be especially important if you are the only EYL teacher in your school) and
to learn from others and share your teaching insights both informally and more
formally through conference presentations.
After you have attended a conference and become familiar with the partici-
pants and their experiences, you should also consider making conference pre-
sentations. You might want to begin by giving a workshop or a poster session,
perhaps with another teacher, on some instructional materials or curricula that
you have developed. You may want to share the ways in which you manage dif-
ficult activities (such as Readers’ Theater) or encourage students to write. Over
time, you may also want to get more active in association activities and leader-
ship—serving on committees, volunteering during conferences, working on a
publication, or developing teaching standards.
Networking Through Social Media Such as Facebook and
Blogs Another way to share ideas with colleagues is through social media sites
such as Facebook. Often these are created as a result of conferences or online
courses, so teachers can continue to discuss TEYL topics, share helpful teaching
ideas or resources (such as Web sites), and provide information about upcoming
professional development events, or announcing their own PD events and
publications.
TEYL Facebook Group An example is the TEYL Facebook group, which has
approximately 1300 members and growing. It was created in 2005 in conjunction
with an online TEYL professional development course at the University of
Maryland Baltimore County, but the group is open and anyone can join. There is an
assignment in the last course unit for teachers to join the group and post a message.
The members of this group are very active, posting questions and classroom
ideas about TEYL. They also post announcements and photos about conference
presentations they do and PD events they participate in.
Blogs also provide an amazing resource for teachers to find and share infor-
mation with others and to become members of virtual communities of practice
with colleagues from around the world. Blogs not only provide useful resources
(such as articles, lesson plans, videos, and podcasts); they also provide a place
where you can talk with colleagues and contribute to an online community.
Bloggers also list the blogs they follow on their web sites, so you can easily locate
other blogs of interest (Crandall & Finn Miller, 2014).
Learning from Your Students Students are our most important source of
information about our success as a teacher, but with young learners, getting direct
feedback may be difficult. However, there are a number of ways in which we can
get informal feedback. For example, all teachers have “bad days” in which whatever
we try with our students doesn’t seem to work. We can follow that class with one in
which we begin by asking students to rank a series of activities from those they like
best to those they like least. Or you can talk with a small group of students (turning
the interview into a small group discussion, where children can respond to each
other’s ideas) while others are engaged in other activities about things they like or
don’t like about learning English (for example, their textbook or activities) or the
ways that they best learn (for example, asking them how they remember vocabulary)
(Pinter, 2006). Interviews with very young learners (and perhaps with all young
learners) will require the use of the first language. Questionnaires may also need to be
provided in the first language, though Pinter (2006, p. 148) suggests that children can
be asked to evaluate activities by circling their answers (“I like listening to stories” or

“I can count to 100 in English”) or placing a checkmark next to things they would like
to do again (such as “Sing a song?” or “Make a puppet and talk about it?”)
YES NO
J L
Making puppets
Singing a song
Drawing pictures
Reading stories

The more you can learn about each of your students, the more likely you will
be able to provide a range of activities to appeal to all of your students’ learn-
ing style preferences (or multiple intelligences). At a minimum, learning about
their likes and dislikes, their hobbies and interests, and some of their reasons for
learning English will help create a more learner-centered, inclusive EYL class-
room (Foord, 2009).
You can also invite your students to teach you or the class something. This
might involve sharing a game or activity that they do at home. In settings with
children from several different cultures, you could also invite parents to share
with the class. While this may involve using a language other than English, you
could follow up with key words in English and frames by which to remember
what they have seen and heard:
__(Name)_______ shared a __(game, song, etc.)_______ with us.
__(Name)_______ likes ____________.
If your students all speak another language or languages, and you do not, you
can also learn some of their language(s), perhaps even creating a chart of vo-
cabulary in one or more languages spoken by your students.
Finally, you can alter aspects of your teaching, the classroom environment,
the organization of your lesson, or the materials, and get students’ responses,
while remembering that young learners like and feel more confident with rou-
tines. Still, a small adjustment might increase learner engagement and also help
you to fine-tune your own teaching (Fanselow, 1987).
Developing Instructional Materials and Curricula Although

you will probably be assigned a curriculum or a textbook that you are expected
to use in your teaching, you will likely find that as you get to know your learners,
you will have some good ideas for different or additional activities that your
learners will find interesting and motivating. Some of these may have been tried in
class, or they may be activities other teachers told you about. Adapting these and
creating materials helps to keep teaching fresh. Developing these with colleagues
will enable you to share your ideas and learn from your colleagues about classes,
students, and activities that have been identified as successful. You may want to
post these materials to a local EYL blog or share them with a larger audience,
through a discussion list or blog. You may also want to work with other teachers
in identifying technology resources and adapting these for use in your classes.
Writing for Publication As you become more confident of yourself as a

teacher, you may want to consider not only presenting your ideas at professional
conferences, but also writing about these ideas for publication. You may want to
begin by writing for a newsletter or teacher magazine (or even starting a newsletter
for your institution, if one has not been published). You could also coedit or
coauthor a publication with someone who has previously published or as a way of
dividing up the task. Even experienced and expert teachers and teacher educators
often choose to collaborate on articles or books, since the conversations that emerge
in planning and writing for publication often result in more and better ideas.
Offering to write a review of a textbook or other TEYL publication may provide you
with your first publication, and usually a complimentary copy of the book.
Conclusion You are a member of what may be the most demanding profession
of all. We often hear about how difficult it is to be a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer.
But teachers need to make hundreds of decisions during the day, as they decide
on what needs to be reviewed, what needs to be repeated, what kinds of feedback
to provide, how to encourage a student who is having difficulty, how to prevent
another student from taking too much class time, and the like. Being a professional
means continuing to learn to maintain or even improve your knowledge and skills
as a teacher. You can learn so much from others—
from reading or listening to experts, talking to Aleksandra Popovski
or observing other teachers, listening to your Golubovikj, a school
director and active member
students and, most of all, from reflecting on your of her professional
own experiences. Over time, as you continue in association in Macedonia,
your career in English language teaching, you may says:
“Every teacher learns
find that you begin to take on more administrative
something new from every
or leadership tasks such as managing a program, class he/she teaches every
serving on a textbook selection committee, or single day, from every
article that is read, every
helping to write TEYL standards. Take advantage of workshop or conference
these opportunities to become a teacher leader, as that is attended. Teachers
you will continue to learn and grow and remain an are life-time learners who
never grow too old to teach
active member of the teaching profession. If you are someone younger than
an experienced teacher of adults, there is still much them.”
to learn about teaching young learners.
A colleague, Ron Schwartz, often begins his workshops and talks with the
following warning (adapted from Buddha):
Don’t believe a word I say.

Don’t believe a word you hear.
Don’t believe anything that you read,
Until you think about it, personalize it, and try it out.
If it works, use it.
We would add: Talk about it with others, make presentations about it at
conferences, write about it for publication, and, most of all, continue to
experiment and learn from your teaching.
Teacher to Teacher
Continuing to Learn as an EYL Teacher and
Applying That Learning to EYL Classes
As teachers completed their online TEYL courses provided by the University of
Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), they were asked to reflect on the experience
and how they were going to apply what they had learned from the readings and the
online discussions with teachers from many other countries. Here are some of their
responses:
Many teachers learned ways to change the curriculum and instruction to
motivate young learners better and provide for a range of learning styles, as this
teacher educator from Japan discussed.
“many
Creating a positive and meaningful learning environment is imperative for
Japanese schools. Thus, I would like to redesign and strengthen the
curriculum to provide a solid foundation, practical techniques, and various
activities (games, songs, chants, storytelling, etc.) that I learned in this course.
Children are full of physical energy and physically active. . . . Many target
children are visual and kinesthetic learners, so using realia and physically
active activities addresses the needs of many target children. . . . Learning
by doing is imperative for teacher education, too. . . . As a teacher educator,
I would like to prepare quality teachers who are confident in conducting
English activities and can create a positive and meaningful learning
environment for all children through a well-designed curriculum providing a
solid foundation and practical experiences. ”
—Chie Ohtani, Teacher Educator, Japan
This next teacher, from Ecuador, entitled her reflection “A Really Young
Learner English Teacher,” summarizing much of what she has learned. Note
her emphasis on the relationship between the teacher and the students, as
well as the importance of understanding the characteristics of young learn-
ers, the classroom environment, the focus on meaningful content, and the
kinds of activities to use. Training to become a foreign language teacher of
adults is not enough.

“lotsIf we really want to be an English teacher of young learners we must learn
of things, like how to do a class plan, YL characteristics, the environment
they are in, theories, methods and strategies, and overall how to strengthen
the relationship between the teacher and the YL. . . . We are working with
kids, we could be qualified teachers, with new techniques, but we learn
in our universities the procedures for teaching adults, and if we work with
YLs we must prepare ourselves to become a YLs teacher. Teachers when
planning have to know that is easier for YLs to learn when they have the new
knowledge in context, when it’s meaningful for them, with realia, with stories,
with movements of their bodies, with gestures and recycling in different ways
everything they learn. Younger learners in general are active, very receptive,
creative, social. They like to play, they learn by doing and their attention
span is very short. They need clear rules and routines to develop their
confidence. Teachers must create an environment for communication, so
students communicate in English because everything has meaning for them,
and it could be in a natural form. . . . We can work all the four skills, integrating
the skills around a theme to make the students enjoy the learning process. It
could be through drawing, playing, doing plays or drama, singing, cooking,
or doing any thing that has meaning for them. [We can use] thematic
units according to their real life situations, instead of teaching grammar or
vocabulary in isolation. ”
—Monica Carrera S., Primary and University English Teacher, Ecuador
This school director from Macedonia reflects on what she has learned and
how she is going to use that information to change her school. She also plans
to share that information with colleagues in her professional association,
ELTAM (English Language Teachers Association of Macedonia) through
workshops and newsletter articles, and she plans to submit proposals not
only to the next ELTAM conference, but also to the TESOL and IATEFL
conferences.
“of Being a school director, an active member and General Secretary
ELTAM—English Language Teachers’ Association of the Republic of
Macedonia—will enable me to spread the message and share the knowledge
about young learners I have gained during this course. Teaching English to
young learners is the least talked about topic in Macedonia although it is
of the utmost importance because of the lowering of the compulsory age
for English language learning. Teachers are not familiar with the theories
and methods of teaching English to learners at a young age. That is why
I have already made plans for the first cycle of workshops on classroom
management around the country and that will only be the beginning. Other
workshops will deal with other aspects of teaching young learners.

Also, my article for ELTAM Newsletter will allow me to explain to the readers
how beneficial courses such as this can be for them and their professional
development regardless of the number of years they have been teaching.
Since I am the newsletter editor as well, the Practical Tips section will be
devoted to tips on teaching this specific group of students. In order to reach a
greater, more international audience, I plan to submit a proposal on teaching
young learners for the next TESOL and IATEFL conferences, and of course, the
ELTAM international conference. I would like to show my colleagues that there
”
is nothing to be afraid of.
—Aleksandra Popovski Golubovikj, School Director and General Secretary,

English Language Teachers Association of Macedonia
Another teacher and teacher educator from Azerbaijan also plans to share what
she has learned with all of her language teaching colleagues, from primary
through secondary grades. She has already told them some of what she was
learning by taking an online graduate course with participants from around the
world. Now she plans to share that knowledge more broadly with other teachers
at the AzETA (Azerbiajan English Teachers Association) conference.
“myAllteaching
the experience gained at the UMBC course I am planning to apply into
and teacher-training program for Azerbaijani teachers. . . . I can
share gained experience with my school colleagues. [Already] at one of the
school meetings I’ve made a speech about UMBC units and their importance
not only for English teachers but also for all subject teachers as it teaches
all about different strategies of pedagogy, instruction, and curriculum
development. The students of primary, secondary and high schools don’t
study at separate buildings in Azerbaijan. They study at the same school
building and therefore all subject teachers can participate at school
meetings. I’ve been teaching at a school which is in the biggest district
of Baku. I’ll give presentations in some of meetings there and at other
district schools and education departments. I am member of the Azerbaijan
English Teachers’ Association. I’ll participate in AzETA workshops, seminars,
conferences, methodology meetings, and round table tasks and share my
gained course experience there. I am intending to visit regions together
with other AzETA members, giving presentations at regional schools so
they could benefit from this and use it in their teaching . . . [in] the areas
perceived as in most need for teachers of Azerbaijan schools. ”
—Gamar Rustamova, Primary and Secondary English Teacher and Teacher
Trainer, Azerbaijan
Even if one has completed an English language teacher education program and
had some opportunity to observe and do some practice teaching, there is still so
much more to learn. Continuing professional development has been important
to this teacher from Croatia, and she, like several others above, plans to share
what she has learned with others and to continue her “self-development” by
reading, attending workshops and seminars, and giving presentations and work-
shops on what she has learned.
“obligatory
In Croatia, teacher training is part of the methodology course, which is
for all students in their third year of studying English. In the first
semester, students go to elementary schools, and in the second semester, to
private or public high schools. Each semester one has to sit in for ten lessons,
and then teach one lesson him/herself. Somehow, this does not seem to be
enough. . . . Having successfully completed my training, did I feel competent
and eager to shape young minds? Sadly, no. I soon got a job at a foreign
language schools and had to learn (from more experienced colleagues, but
mostly from my own mistakes) as I went along. But all the time I felt the need
to somehow expand and improve my knowledge and training. It was with this
aim in mind that I applied for the UMBC course.
The online teaching program exceeded all my expectations. Not only did I
accomplish my primary goal (i.e. learn about different teaching techniques
and activities appropriate for young learners), I gained so much more, both
in terms of professional and personal development. I rarely get a chance to
converse with other teachers; staff meetings at my school are few and far
between, and most of my college friends moved back to their hometowns
after graduation, so we do not communicate very often. Therefore, I
relished the opportunity to discuss various aspects of teaching and share
ideas and experience with colleagues from around the world. Not only
did I meet exciting new people, but also became a part of a community of
professionals with whom I hope to continue communicating in the future
as well. The interesting and stimulating discussions we had helped relieve
much of my professional anxiety, as I came to realize that I was not alone in
having these feelings, and that others faced similar problems and dilemmas
as well. My colleagues have taught me so much, and their supportive and
positive responses and comments helped increase my confidence. . . .
Developing a more profound understanding of the rationale for lowering
the age for compulsory foreign language instruction, and the nuances of
teaching English to young learners made me reconsider my role as a teacher.
Considering what a positive experience this form of professional development

has been, I am keen on participating in similar programs, workshops and
seminars. Prior to this course, I was never in the habit of reading journals or
other types of publications concerned with foreign language instruction, but
now I intend to keep myself more informed and up to date.
Having learned the importance of creating a dialogue with my professional

community (both in my own country and abroad), I wish to give something
back to that same community by talking about my experience with the
course, and encouraging others to apply as well. I have already discussed
this with the head teacher at my school, and she has agreed to let me give
a short lecture on the program after the next school meeting. In case my
colleagues should be interested, I would also like to give additional lectures
and/or workshops on the characteristics of young learners, effective activities
for developing the four language skills, and assessment for young learners.
I am especially keen on this last topic, as I believe that, by getting my
colleagues familiar with and (ideally) enthusiastic about alternative methods
of assessment, I may be able to bring about positive changes in this respect.
Finally, looking back on my experience of the teacher-training program that
I described at the beginning of the essay, I would like to address teacher
trainees at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, and talk about the
challenges of working with young learners. Finally, I would do my best to
encourage them to continue working on their professional self-development
after they graduate.”
—Nada Kujundžić, Primary English Teacher and Ph.D. student, Croatia
Chapter Summary
To Conclude
The importance of continuing professional development Teaching is lifelong
learning. The field of TEYL is constantly changing. It is important to find ways of
keeping current, learning new theories and techniques to meet the needs of an ever-
changing group of young learners.
Three approaches to professional development Although there are many

approaches to professional development, most of them can be grouped under one
of three approaches: theory-to-practice, coaching and mentoring, or reflection.
Teacher reflection may consist of independent activities, but it is also a part of the
other two approaches.
Characteristics of effective professional development In general, effective

professional development takes place over time; it does not consist of isolated,
unrelated workshops. It should be planned by teachers and focus on the classroom
and student learning. It should also provide teachers with opportunities to share
their knowledge and experience. If it involves theory, it should emphasize how to
apply that theory.
Effective professional development activities There are countless ways to

continue to grow as an EYL professional. These include: (1) reflection in the form of
teaching journals and portfolios and participating in a reflective teaching group, or
developing a teaching portfolio; (2) coaching and mentoring; (3) observing classes,
including your own; (4) engaging in teacher research; (5) participating in continued
formal and informal learning through online and face-to-face workshops, podcasts,
seminars, webinars, online discussion lists, and graduate classes; (6) participating in
professional associations and conferences; (7) networking through social media and
blogs; (8) learning from your students; (9) developing instructional materials and
curricula; and (10) writing for publication.
Over to You
1. What are some reasons for engaging in professional development
activities? If you were to select one professional development
activity from this chapter, what would it be? Why do you think it
Discussion would be helpful to you?
Questions 2. What are some challenges you face in participating in professional
development (limited time away from teaching, limited access to
the Internet, etc.)? What are some alternative ways you can meet
your professional development needs?
3. If you are currently teaching, what are some principles or activi-
ties from this book that you have tried with your young learners?
What was effective? What were the problems? Reflect on those
experiences and discuss what you learned from the experience. If
you have not taught, what have you learned from this book that
you think will be important when you begin teaching?
4. If you have attended a professional conference or participated in
a professional organization, what were the benefits? What have
you learned from the experience? What would you tell another
EYL teacher who is thinking about attending a professional
conference? What might s/he learn?
5. If you have observed an experienced EYL teacher, what did you

learn from the observation? If not, what would you like to focus
on if you were to observe an EYL teacher?
6. Have you conducted any classroom research? If so, what did you
learn? If not, what might be some aspects of teaching and learn-
ing that you would like to research?
7. If you were to make an action plan for your professional develop-
ment, what would be some short-term goals? What would be
some long-term goals?

Think about an activity that you have used either in your teaching or in a teacher
Lesson education class. If you wanted to share this with other colleagues, how might you
Planning do so? Write a brief plan for a workshop that you could give to other teachers,
perhaps at your school or at a local conference. In the workshop provide the
following:
• The audience for the workshop and what they probably know about TEYL
• What you will be adding to their knowledge
• The students who will participate in the activity (age and level of English)
• A description of the activity
• How you would prepare students for the activity (especially the vocabulary)
• The kinds of informal assessment you might use with the activity
Write Challenges: A number of teachers and teacher educators have attempted to list
About It
the major challenges facing teachers. Here are some that they have identified:
1. Managing classes
2. Motivating students
3. Assessing student work
4. Organizing work
5. Meeting the needs of different students
6. Obtaining needed resources
Compare these with the challenges you listed at the beginning of the chapter and
select one from either or both lists to discuss. Why do you think this would be most
challenging for you? Based on the range of professional development possibilities
discussed in this chapter, how might you extend your knowledge about and your
skills in dealing with this challenge?

Print Publications
Bailey, K. M., Curtis, A. & Nunan, D, (2001). Pursuing professional Foord, D. (2009). The developing teacher: Practical activities for
development. Boston, MA: Heinle Cengage. professional development. Surrey, UK: Delta ELT Publishing.
Burns, A. (2011). Doing action research in English language teaching: Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. C. (2005). Professional development for
A guide for practitioners. New York, NY: Routledge. language teachers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Egbert, J. (Ed.). (2003). Becoming contributing professionals. Wajnryb, R. (1992). Classroom observation tasks: A resource book for
Alexandria, VA: TESOL. language teachers and trainers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni-
Farrell, T. S. C. (2004). Reflective practice in action: 80 reflective versity Press.
breaks for busy teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Useful Web Sites
http://busyteacher.org/12058-tips-for-staying-fresh-as-a-teacher http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/
.html http://www.yltsig.org/
http://iteslj.org/links/ http://www.tesol.org/
http://languageteachingtips.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/ http://www.iatefl.org/
keeping-a-reflective-teaching-diary/ http://nnell.org/
http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/PDMethodsMatrix http://www.eslcafe.com/
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Worksheets
English Education Profile
Use this worksheet to help you write your own English Education Profile for your country
or region.
English language policy (for country/region)

What are the major features of that policy?
Is there an official English/language policy? If so, who
developed it (the Ministry of Education?) and when?
At what age is English introduced in public schools?
How many years of English are required?
What are the objectives of teaching English to young learners?
What type(s) of English programs are required or permitted?
Is there a national curriculum? Please describe it briefly.
Are there required textbooks? If so, what kinds of activities

are included in the EYL books?
English requirements and environment at your school

Describe the English class environment and your opinion on its effectiveness.
Describe your classroom environment.
Describe your students (age, gender, level of English

proficiency).
How many hours per day is English taught?
How many days per week do children receive English

instruction?
Does this differ/increase in later grades?
What kinds of materials and resources are available to you?
Is there Internet access?
What opportunities do your students have to use English

outside the classroom?
What do you feel is most effective about the language

policy and the environment in your school?
What do you think is most challenging?
What changes would you make?
388
Class Observation
I. Describe the profile of the class.
Before you observe the class, meet with the teacher
and establish the class profile.
1. Grade/age(s) and proficiency level of class
2. Number of students in class (male and female students)
3. Content and objectives of the lesson being observed and how it relates to previous lessons or
following lessons (Is it part of a t hematic unit?)
II. Describe the physical environment.

Before the lesson begins, notice how the room is set up.
4. Does the teacher have her/his own classroom? Or does s/he share the room with other
teachers?
5. How are the chairs, desks, and other furniture arranged?
6. What do you see on the walls?
7. What other materials and objects are in the room?
III. Describe the lesson.

As you observe the class, take notes on what you see.
8. Do students have a required textbook? What textbook is being used and what level is used for
the class you observed?
9. What are the lesson objectives? Do the objectives relate to language, content, or both? Were
they predetermined by the required school or state curriculum?
10. How does the teacher begin the lesson?
11. How is new vocabulary introduced?
12. How are new language structures presented?
13. How do students practice new language?
14. Do students have the opportunity to listen/speak/read/write?
15. What techniques does the teacher use to make input comprehensible?
16. Do students interact with the teacher? With other students?
17. How often do students participate? In what ways do they p

articipate? Are all students actively
involved in the class?
18. How does the teacher assess student progress? How does the teacher assess achievement of
objectives?
19. How does the teacher give students feedback? How does the teacher correct errors?
20. How does the teacher end the lesson?
21. Does the teacher assign homework or give other follow-up activities?
Worksheets 389
Twenty-First-Century Skills Integration
Use this worksheet to analyze your EYL curriculum for twenty-first-century skills.
1. Write YES or NO for each item.
2. If you marked YES, briefly describe which part of your curriculum r eflects that item.
3. If you marked NO, try to incorporate that item into your curriculum and describe it.
Describe Your
Does Your EYL Curriculum . . . YES/NO
Curriculum
1. Global perspective: global citizenship and values
a. Take a global perspective and present content about
different international cultures?
b. Promote intercultural sensitivity and positive attitudes
toward people from other cultures and all walks of life?
c. Help students to be good global citizens who value,
respect, care for, and protect our world and environment?
2. Communication skills: communication and collaboration across cultures

a. Improve students’ intercultural communication skills?
b. Give students the opportunity to express aspects of
their own local culture in English?
c. Provide chances for students to work in groups or
teams to practice their collaboration skills?
d. Give students practice using courteous language and
behavior?
3. Active learning: critical thinking and lifelong learning strategies

a. Develop students’ critical thinking skills to interpret
information in texts and media?
b. Use different levels of questioning appropriately
to encourage higher levels of critical thinking (i.e.,
knowledge, comprehension, application, inference,
analysis, synthesis, evaluation)?
c. Model using think-alouds to teach learners how to
think and learn independently?
4. Technology skills: computer, information, and digital literacy

a. Incorporate different technology tools to help build
students’ skills in computer-mediated communication
(both computer-based and W
eb-based applications)?
b. Encourage students to create projects using Web
tools (for storing, listening, presenting, producing,
communicating, sharing, collaborating, networking,
and searching)?
390 Worksheets
Index
A self- or peer-assessments, 261
Abeywickrama, P., 247, 248, 251, 256, 257 story or text retellings, 259
achievement tests, 258 writing samples, 259–260
acrostics, name, 190 analysis questions, 336
action research, 370–372 Anderson, J. R., 110
collaborative, 371–372 Appel, J., 363
early language programs, questions for in, 371 application activities (lesson planning), 92–93
active learning skills, 335–339 application questions, 336
activities. See also specific types Asher, J. J., 26, 166
after listening, 139–144 Ashton-Warner, S., 176
before listening, 132–133 assessment
before-storytelling, 216–219 alternative. See alternative assessment
for beginning and more advanced authenticity, 252
readers, 178–181 basic guidelines, 251–253
cloze, 183 consideration for, 244–246
controlled writing, 188 criterion-referenced, 250
digital writing, 197–198 defined, 246
during listening, 133–138 discrete point, 250
during-reading, 181 effective, 253–256
during-storytelling, 220–221 and follow-up steps, 57–58
effective reading, 178–185 formal, 94, 248
effective storytelling, 216–229 formative, 248–249
guided reading, 173–174 guidelines for effective,
guided writing, 188 young learners, 253–256
literacy, 161 indirect, 94
managing, 291–292 informal, 248
narrative, 210 integrated, 250
oral, 160 lesson planning and, 93–94
phonemic awareness, 167–168 of lessons, 99–100
phonics, 168–169 norm-referenced, 250
post-reading, 182 principles of, 251–256
post-storytelling, 222–229 purposes and types of language, 256–266
pre-reading, 181 rating alternative, 256–266
additive immersion programs, 9 summative, 249
additive immersion students, 9–10 terms and concepts, 246–251
Aesop (legendary storyteller), 210, 229 of thematic units, 99–100
Alderson, J. C., 252 traditional, 257
Allen, C., 176 Assessment and Teaching of 21st
Allen, V. G., 175 Century Skills (Binkley), 328
Allwright, D., 370 assessment guidelines, 251–253
alternative assessment, 257. See also assessment authenticity, 252
conferences, 259 practicality, 252
observations, 258–259 reliability, 251
oral interviews, 259 validity, 251–252
portfolio, 260–261 washback, 252
projects, 260 attendance, taking. See roll call
purposes and types of, 258–262 attention getters, preparing, 306–307
rating, 262–266 authenticity, assessment, 252
391
B Brown, J. D., 365
Bachman, L., 247, 251, 267 Bruner, J., 34
Bahous, R., 192 Burns, A., 3, 4, 11, 370, 372
Bahti, M., 211 Butler, Y. G., 13, 261
Bailey, K., 257, 265
Bailey, K. M., 363, 364, 366, 367
Bamford, J., 174 C
Barone, D., 164 Cabrera, M. P., 116
Bauman, James, 170 Calkins, L. M., 192
Bazo, P., 116 Cameron, L., 12, 34, 41, 42, 94, 117, 123,
Beck, I. L., 166 126, 161, 166, 245, 247, 252, 253, 254
before-storytelling activities, 216–219 career and life skills, 327
capturing attention, 217 caregiver speech, defined, 40
connecting to prior knowledge Carrell, P. L., 169
and experiences, 217 Carroll, J. B., 6
giving students a purpose for listening, 219 The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss), 212
prediction about story, 219 Chamot, A. U., 371
pre-teaching new vocabulary or Chance, K. S., 212
expressions, 218 Chaudron, C., 291
reviewing language, 218 Chicken Burger Song, 333–334
behavior(s) choral reading, 173
courteous, 335 Chung, Alton, 214
with routines, managing, 292–294 Cinderella stories, 211
with rules, managing, 294–300 classroom cleaning, 308
Bialystok, E., 7 classroom climate, managing, 300–301.
Bickel, B., 373 See also classroom management
Biffle, C., 307 emotional atmosphere, 301
bilingualism, 7 physical environment, 300
additive, 10 classroom environment
cognitive advantages of, 7 English-speaking, 40, 41, 58
global awareness and, 6 for L1 and L2 acquisition, 39–40
intercultural competence and, 6 classroom helpers, 304–305
mental flexibility and, 7 classroom interaction
value of, 7 giving examples, 129
Binkley, M., 328 paraphrasing, 129
Black, J. K., 257, 259 personalizing, 129
Black, P., 249, 252 question and answer (Q&A), 128–129
Blake, S., 256 repetition, 128
blogs, 375 classroom language, 113, 114
Bloom, B. S., 336 classroom management, 287–323
Bloom’s taxonomy, 335–337 activities, 302–311
bodily-kinesthetic (body smart) intelligence, 38 behavior with routines, managing,
Bonk, C. J., 335 292–294
book manager, 304 behavior with rules, managing, 294–300
bottom-up listening, 110–112 classroom climate, managing, 300–301
Boyle, O. F., 169 effective activities, 302–311
brain breaks language used in class, managing,
preparing, 307–308 301–302
young learners, 30 pace of class, managing, 291
brainstorming (Writing Workshop), 192–193 activities, 291–292
Brewster, J., 39, 68, 113, 117, 124, 161, 165, time, 291
181, 214, 255, 256, 261, 263, 265, 275, using transition activities, 292
292, 295, 358 plan, 311–313
Brown, D. H., 123 purpose of, 301
Brown, H. D., 247, 248, 251, 256, 257, 336 teacher to teacher, 313–320
392 Index
classroom observation, 367–370 Copland, F., 3, 4, 11
collaborative peer observation, 368 courteous language, 335
self-observation, 368–370 Crandall, J. A., 2, 9, 70, 71, 230, 255, 331, 332, 356,
classroom questions, categories of, 336 358, 360, 361, 366, 367, 368, 372, 375
classroom routine, 292–294 criterion-referenced assessment, 250
classroom rules, 294–300 critical reflection (professional development), 360
class structure plan, 311–313 critical thinking, 330, 335, 336–337, 339, 340
Clay, M., 271 defined, 212
cleaning, classroom, 308 critical thinking skills, 75–76
Cleland, J., 365 storytelling and, 212–213
closed ended questions, 337 Crooks, G., 291
cloze activities, 183 Crystal, 2012 [not found in references], 3, 4
coaching (professional development), 365–367 culturally appropriate materials, 11–12
cognitive development, 33 culture, storytelling and, 211
Piaget’s stages of, 33 Cummings, E. E., 191
scaffolding, 34 Cummins, J., 160, 197
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), 34 curriculum continuity (primary and secondary
collaboration skills, 334 English), 12
collaborative peer observation, 368 Curtain, H., 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 41, 68, 70, 72, 113,
Collins, K., 164 164, 211, 213, 371
colored cards, 298–299 Curtis, A., 363, 366, 367
Coltrane, B., 25
common core standards, 121–123
Common Sense Media (American organization), 115 D
communication, authentic form of, 210–211 Dahlberg, C. A., 6, 9, 41, 68, 70, 72, 113, 164, 211, 213, 371
communication skills, 332–335 daily lesson planning, 82–95
comprehensible input, 69 benefits of, 82
comprehension questions, 336 choosing activities, 88–89
concentric circles (professional development), 361 organizing activities, 89–93
conferences, writing, 259 writing objectives, 87–88
confirming, as reading strategy, 184 Darling-Hammond, L., 356, 361
Confucius, 32 date and day, establishing, 305–306
connecting, as reading strategy, 185 Davey, B., 338
content Day, R. R., 174
importance of, 70–71 Days of The Week Song, 305–306
objectives, identifying, 75 DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) time, 174
content and language integrated learning (CLIL), 70. See also deductive reasoning, 33
content-based FLES programs; content-based instruc- Desimone, L. M., 361
tion (CBI) developmental bilingual programs. See maintenance
content-based FLES programs, 9 bilingual programs
language proficiency and, 9 diagnostic tests, 257–258
content-based instruction (CBI), 70. See also content and lan- dialog journals, 195–196
guage integrated learning (CLIL); content-based FLES digital literacy skills, 327
programs digital texts, 197–198
content-based proficiency-oriented approach, 128 reading, 197–198
content-enriched FLES programs. See content-based FLES writing, 197–198
programs digital writing activities, 197–198
context clues, use of, as reading strategy, 185 e-pals and paired classes, 197–198
contextualized instruction, 68–70 photo-autobiographies, 198
elements of, 69 discrete point assessment, 250
controlled practice, examples of, 139–141 distinguishing, as reading strategy, 185
controlled writing activities, 187–192 Dixon, C., 176
examples of, 188 Dodge, J., 262, 268
goal of, 187–188 drafting (writing workshop), 193
cooperative learning, 128–130 dual-language programs, 10
Index 393
during-reading activities, 181–182 evaluation questions, 336
during-storytelling activities, 220–221 Evertson, C. M., 290, 301
creating own ending, 221 “Expanding Circle” countries, 3, 4
questions, use of, during, 220 Explorer magazine, 176
repetition, 220 extensive reading. See independent reading
TPR (Total Physical Response), 221 EYL curriculum, 330
EYL program models, 7–11
dual-language programs, 10
E effective, 7–11
early-exit bilingual programs. See transitional bilingual FLES programs, 8–9
programs FLEX programs, 8
early language learning language immersion programs, 9–10
benefits of, 4–7 transitional and maintenance bilingual programs, 10–11
optimal conditions for, 5 EYL programs
reasons for, 5–7 characteristics of, 13
An Early Start: Young Learners and Modern Languages in common features of, 13
Europe and Beyond (Nikolov and Curtain), 13 effective models, 7–11
echo reading, 171 factors affecting success of, 7–12
Edge, J., 356 pitfalls to avoid in, 12–13
editing (Writing Workshop), 193 planning for success in, 7–13
editing checklist, 194 EYL teachers, appropriately trained, 11
education, value of English language for, 3–4
effective assessment, 253–256
activities, 266–275 F
build learner confidence, 254–255 Facebook, 375
contextualized, 255–256 Fadel, C., 326, 328
contribution to learning, 254 Fanselow, J., 377
learners to experience success, 255 Farrell, T. S. C., 360, 362, 363, 366, 368
mirror learning, 253 Faulkner-Bond, M., 9, 10, 11
motivate learners, 254–255 Federer A., 192
take place over time, 256 Ferrance, E., 371
variety of techniques Feunteun, A., 93
for learners intelligences, 255 Finn Miller, S., 360, 361, 366, 372, 375
for learners learning styles, 255 Fisher, D., 341
e-friends. See e-pals FLES (foreign language in the elementary school) programs, 8–9
Egbert, J., 358 content-based, 9
Ellis, G., 39, 68, 113, 117, 124, 161, 165, 181, 214, 245, 255, content-enriched, 9
256, 261, 263, 265, 275, 292, 295, 358 goal of, 8–9
Emmer, E. T., 290, 301 Fleurquin, F., 265
emotional atmosphere, 301 FLEX (foreign language exploratory or experience) programs, 8
employment, value of English language for, 3–4 fluency vs. accuracy, 123–124
ending class, 311 Foord, D., 356, 361, 369, 377
Enever, J., 3, 13 formal assessment, 248. See also assessment
English as a foreign language (EFL), 3 formal learning, 372–373. See also learning
English as an international language (EIL), 3 e-mail discussion group, joining, 373
English as a second language (ESL), 3 learning community, becoming part of, 373
English cheer, 303 participating in, 372–373
English language formal tests
benefits of early language learning, 4–7 achievement tests, 258
as classroom language, 302–311 diagnostic tests, 257–258
value for education and employment, 3–4 placement tests, 258
English vocabulary, 115 proficiency tests, 258
e-pals, 197–198, 346 purposes and types of, 257–258
Erstad, O., 328 formative assessment, 248–249. See also informal assessment
European Commission, 5 formulaic language, 124
evaluation, 247. See also assessment Fountas, I. C., 195
394 Index
Freebody, P., 184 Hanks, J., 370
Freeman, D., 360, 370 Harley, B., 6, 10
Frey, N., 341 Harmer, J., 82
functional knowledge, 267 Harrison, C., 249
Hasselgren, A., 245, 253
Heilman, A. W., 166
G helping hands, 304
games, as post-storytelling activity, 222 Herman, J., 328
Gardner, H., 37, 38, 255 Herrell, A. L., 171, 172, 173
Gardner, S., 247–249, 256, 258 high-priority skills, 328
Gardner’s eight intelligences, 38. See also specific types high-priority twenty-first-century skills. See also
Garton, S., 3, 4, 11 twenty-first-century skills
Gattullo, F., 249 living in the world, 328
Gebhard, J., 368 tools for working, 328
General Service List, 170 ways of thinking, 328
Genesee, F., 68, 73 ways of working, 328
Geva, E., 162 Holcomb, S., 366
Gibbons, P., 172 Holdaway, D., 171
Gilzow, D. F., 12, 13, 70 holistic writing rubric, 265
Gimenez, T., 3 homework, 310
Girard, D., 39, 68, 113, 117, 124, 161, 165, 181, 214, 255, 256, Hop on Pop (Dr. Seuss), 212
261, 263, 265, 275, 292, 295, 358 Hu, G., 11, 184
The Giving Tree (Silverstein), 95 Hudelson, S., 187
globalization, 330 Hughes, A., 273
Golembek, P., 370 Hurley, S. R., 256
Goodman, K. S., 164, 169
Gordon, T., 258, 259, 261
Grabe, W., 169 I
Graded readers (easily reading books), 176 immersion programs. See language
grammar immersion programs
assessing, 274–275 independent activities, 141–142
language learning and, 41–42 examples of, 141–144
lesson planning and, 94–95 independent reading, 174–175
thematic units and, 75 industrial age, 326
grammatical knowledge, 267 inference questions, 336
grapho-phonemic clues, in whole language, 169 informal assessment, 248. See also formative assessment
The Great Kapok Tree (Cherry), 95–99, 184 informal learning, 372–373. See also learning
Green, M., 366 e-mail discussion group, joining, 373
Greenblatt, L., 255, 368 learning community, becoming part of, 373
Gronlund, N. E., 246 participating in, 372–373
group retelling, as post-storytelling activity, 222 information gap activities, 269
Gu, P. Y., 184 “Inner Circle” countries, 3, 4, 11
guided reading, 173–174 Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano
guided writing activities, 187–192 (ICPNA), 266
examples of, 188–189 instruction
goal of, 188 contextualized, 68–70
poetry as a source of, 190–192 thematic, 70–73
guidelines instructional materials and curricula, developing, 377
basic assessment, 251–253 integrated assessment, 250
effective assessment of young learners, 253–256 intensive reading, 174
Guskey, T. R., 361 interactional modifications, 116
comprehension checks, 116
gestures, 116
H repetition, 116
Haas, M., 9 interactive writing, 195
Hachem, A., 192 intercultural competence, 6
Index 395
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign language teaching practices, young learners, 44–45
Language (IATEFL), 373–374 late-exit bilingual programs. See maintenance
International Reading Association, 160 bilingual programs
internet reading strategies, 341 learning
coauthoring, 341 formal, 372–373
evaluating, 341 informal, 372–373
navigating, 341 and innovation skills, 327
for older young learners, 342 strategies, identifying, 75–76
synthesizing, 341 from students, 375–377
for very young learners, 341 and technology skills, 339–343
for young learners, 341–342 Lee, C., 249
interpersonal (people smart) intelligence, 38 Lee, J., 261
intrapersonal (self smart) intelligence, 38 lend a hand, 304. See also helping hands
Ioannou-Georgiou, S., 247, 250 Lenneberg, E., 4
Lenters, K., 161
lesson planning
J application activities in, 92–93
Jack and the Beanstalk (folktale), 70 assessment and, 93–94
Jacobs, H. H., 329 assessment and follow-up steps in, 57–58
Jenkins, J., 4 benefits of, 82
Johnson, K. E., 370 choosing activities, 88–89
Jones, M. B., 176, 190 daily, 82–95
Joyce, B., 359, 366 grammar, 94–95
Jukes, I., 326 long-term, 80–81
organizing activities, 89–93
practice activities in, 90–92
K practice and application steps in, 55–57
Kachru, B. B., 3 presentation activities in, 90
Karnowski, L., 193 presentation step in, 52–55
Kauffman, D., 167, 168 storytelling and, 229–236
kid watching, 258. See also observations, alternative assessment for the term or year, 81
Kirkgöz, Y., 11 TEYL Instruction Chart, using for,
Kirsch, C., 254 46–47
Knight, J., 359, 366 warm-up activities in, 89–90
knowledge, grammatical, 267 warm-up step in, 49–51
knowledge age economy, 326 writing objectives, 87–88
knowledge questions, 336 for young learners, 48
Kramsch, C., 12 lesson plans. See lesson planning
Krashen, S. D., 39, 40, 69 Leu, D. J., Jr., 197
Kuntas, E., 252, 257 Lewis, G., 125
life and career skills, 327
linguistic (word smart) intelligence, 38
L Linse, C., 74
L1 (native language), 297, 301–302 Linse, C. T., 164
language class, managing, 301–302 listening
language experience approach (LEA) to reading, 176–178 assessing, 267–268
language games, 140–141 bottom-up, 110–112
language immersion programs, 9–10 defined, 110
additive, 9 stages of, 110
effective, 9 subskills, 268
goal of, 9–10 top-down, 110–112
partial, 9 listening activities
language learning comprehensible, listening input, 115–116
first language acquisition and, 39–40 comprehensive list of, 134–138
grammatical structures and, 41–42 listen and read and show through action,
meaningful exposure and, 40–41 students, 136–137
396 Index
listen and show action, students, 134–136 Murray, A., 360
listen and show through production, students, 137–138 musical (music smart) intelligence, 38
developmentally appropriate, using, 115 Mystery Bag game, 28
effective, 132–144
intelligent guesswork strategies, 118–120
interactional modifications, 116 N
keeping listening active, 117 Nabhani, M., 192
preparing teacher talk, 113–114 name acrostics, 190
real-life listening, using, 114–115 narrative writing, 266
variety of response types, using, 116–117 Nation, I. S. P., 174
for young learners, 113–120 National Association for the Education of
listening skills, first language, 121, 123 Young Children, 160
Liston, D. P., 362 National Institute of Child Health and
local and national culture, value of, 71–72 Human Development, 166
Lockhart, C., 360, 362, 367 National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), 374
logical-mathematical (number smart) intelligence, 38 National Reading Panel, 167
Long, M. H., 41 native English-speaking teachers (NESTs), 11
Luke, A., 184 naturalistic (nature smart) intelligence, 38
Lund, R. J., 116, 117 Nessel, D., 176
Lunn, R. L., 246 Nessel, D. D., 190
Lyons, B., 193 networking, through social media, 375
neural networks, 7
New London Group, 197
M Newman, R. S., 261
maintenance bilingual programs, 10–11 Nikolov, M., 2, 4, 5, 13, 245
Malderez, A., 366, 367 Nissani, H., 25
Maneta, Georgia, 197 nonnative English-speaking teachers (NNESTs), 11
Marinova-Todd, S. H., 5 norm-referenced assessment, 250
Marley, S. C., 115 Nunan, D., 161, 189, 291, 363, 366, 367
Marsh, D., 7 Nunan, D. C., 7
Marshall, B., 249
Marshall, D. M., 5
Martínez, P. B., 116 O
McCain, T., 326 observations, alternative assessment, 258–259
McCarrier, A., 195 O’Malley, J. M., 255, 257, 259, 260, 265, 270
McKay, P., 245, 248, 250–253, 257–258, 269–270, 273–274 open-ended questions, 337
McKay, S. L., 3, 12 Oprandy, R., 368
McKenzie, M. G., 195 oral interviews, 259
McLaughlin, B., 5 oral language, assessing, 266–270
McMillan. J. H., 252 listening, 267–268
McNamara, T., 254 speaking, 269–270
mental flexibility, 7 Orange Juice and Cake Song, 334
mentoring (professional development), 365–367 our city, wiki page, 345
Messick, S., 251, 252 our class, wiki page, 343
Met, M., 8, 11, 73 our country, wiki page, 345
Meyer, C. A., 260 our school, wiki page, 344
Mignano, A. J., 301 Our World, 331
Mihaljevic Djigunovic, J., 4, 5 “Outer Circle” countries, 3, 4
Miller-Ricci, M., 328 Oyama, S., 4
mini-books creation, as post-storytelling activity, 227
Moats, L. C., 162
Mohan, B., 71 P
monitoring, as reading strategy, 184 pace of class, managing, 291
Moon, J., 3, 13, 74, 82, 88, 245, 295, 364 activities, 291–292
Morley, J., 109 time, 291
Morrow, K., 245 using transition activities, 292
Index 397
Palmer, A. S., 251, 267 poems from prose, 192
paper manager, 304 shape poems, 191
parallel story writing, as post-storytelling activity, 227 as a source of guided writing activities, 190–192
paraphrasing or summarizing, as reading strategy, 185 three-line poems, 190
Paris, S. G., 261 Porter, C., 365
partial immersion programs, 9 portfolio, performance assessment
Paulson, F. L., 260 defined, 260
Paulson, P. P., 260 described, 260–261
Pavlou, P., 247, 250 positive and negative behavior, rules, 295–298
Peanut Butter and Jelly Song, 333 post-reading activities, 182
peer observation, collaborative, 368 post-storytelling activities, 222–229
peer reviewing and conferencing (Writing Workshop), 193 checking predictions, 222
Peñate, M., 116 games, 222
Penfield, W., 4 group retelling, 222
pen pals, 197 mini-books, creating, 227
Peregoy, S. G., 169 personalized or parallel story, writing, 227–228
performance assessment. See alternative assessment projects, 228–229
personalized story writing, as post-storytelling storyboarding, 222–224
activity, 227–228 story mapping (story analysis), 224–226
Pesola, C. A., 11, 12 practicality, assessment, 252
Peterson, P. W., 110, 118 practice activities (lesson planning), 90–92
Peyton, J. K., 195 practice and application stages (listening), 139–144
phonemic awareness activities, 167–168 practice and application steps, in lesson planning, 55–57
defined, 167 pragmatic clues, in whole language, 169
playing Bouncing Ball, 168 Praise-Question-Polish (PQP), 261
playing Match Mates, 167 predicting, strategies, 118–120
playing Odd Man Out, 168 ending, 118
playing Rhyming Words Walk-About, 168 guessing meaning of unknown words, 119
Rhyme Hunt, 167 listening for key words, 119
riddles, developing, 168 listening for main idea, 119
traditional rhymes, using, 167 listening for specific details, 119
phonics, 166–169 listening text, 118
photo-autobiographies, 198 looking for nonverbal cues, 119
physical environment, 300 reading, 184
Piaget, J., 32, 33 using background knowledge of context, 118–119
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, 33 using discourse markers or signal words, 118
concrete operational stage, 32, 33 Prensky, M., 340
formal operational stage, 33 pre-reading activities, 181
preoperational stage, 32, 33 presentation activities (lesson planning), 90
sensorimotor stage, 33 presentation stage (listening), 133–138
Pierce, L. V., 255, 257, 259, 260, 265, 270 presentation step, in lesson planning, 52–55
Pinnell, G. S., 195 professional associations and conferences, 373–374
Pinter, A., 2, 4, 6, 7, 41–42, 94, 112, 113, 120, 121, 124, 163, participating in, 373–374
164, 260, 271, 364, 375 professional development
placement tests, 258 activities, 361–379
planning approaches to, 358–360
daily lesson, 82–95 effective, 360–361
long-term, 80–81 importance of, 358
for the term or year, 81 professional development, approaches to, 358–360
text-first unit, 79–80 coaching or mentoring approach, 359
thematic units, 73–80 reflective approach, 360
theme-first unit, 77–78 theory-to-practice approach, 359
poetry professional development activities
acrostic poem, 190 classroom observation, 367–370
cinquains, 190–191 coaching and mentoring, 365–367
398 Index
continued formal and informal learning, participating in, lesson design for, 198–200
372–373 shared, 171–173
instructional materials and curricula, developing, 377 texts for, 175–176
learning from students, 375–377 reading activities, 178–185
networking through social media, 375 for beginning and more advanced readers, 178–181
professional associations and conferences, participating in, cloze activities, 183
373–374 during-reading activities, 181–182
reflective teaching or practice, engaging in, 362–365 post-reading activities, 182
teacher research, engaging in, 370–372 pre-reading activities, 181
writing for publication, 377–378 Reader’s Theater, 183–184
proficiency tests, 258 reading strategies, 184–185
projects, alternative assessment, 260 reading aloud, 171
projects, as post-storytelling activity, 228–229 reading response journals, 182
creative storytelling with story maps, 228 reading strategies, 184–185
exploring context, 228 confirming, 184
performing a play, 229 connecting, 185
researching the author, 228–229 context clues, using, 185
props, as an element of storytelling, 215–216 distinguishing, 185
Pryor, J., 249 monitoring, 184
publications, writing for, 377–378 paraphrasing or summarizing, 185
publishing (Writing Workshop), 193 predicting, 184
Puckett, M. E., 257, 259 questioning, 185
scanning, 185
skimming, 185
Q visualizing, 185
questioning, as reading strategy, 185 real-life listening, 109
reasoning, deductive, 33
red card letter, 299
R Reeves, J., 9
Raimes, A., 187 reflection-for-action (reflective practice), 363
The Rainbow Fish (story), 217 reflection-in-action (reflective practice), 363
Raizen, S., 328 reflection-on-action (reflective practice), 363
rating, alternative assessment, 262–266 reflective approach, to professional development, 360
brief feedback, 262 reflective teaching group, participating in, 365
checklists, 262–265 reflective teaching or practice, 362–365
rubrics, 265–266 reflective teaching group, participating in, 365
Read, C., 4, 5, 12 teaching diary or journal, keeping, 363–365
readers teaching portfolio, developing, 365
activities for advanced readers, 180–181 types of, 363
activities for beginning, 179–180 rehearsals, as an element of storytelling, 215–216
Reader’s Theater, 183–184 reliability, assessment, 251
Rea-Dickins, P., 247–249, 253, 256, 258 repetition, as during-storytelling activity, 220
reading. See also specific types research
activities. See reading activities action, 370–371
approaches to teaching, 165–178 collaborative action, 371–372
choral, 173 teacher, 370–372
considerations for teaching, 164–178 reviewing and conferencing (Writing Workshop), 193
defined, 164 revising (Writing Workshop), 193
digital texts, 197–198 Richards, J. C., 360, 362, 363, 366, 367, 368
echo, 171 riddles, 140
first and second language, 160–163 right story, choosing, 213–214
guided, 173–174 Ripley, M., 328
inclusion in young learners class, 163–164 Rixon, S., 5, 253, 256
independent, 174–175 Roberts, L., 4
intensive, 174 roll call, 305
Index 399
roll caller, classroom helper, 304 self-observation, classes, 368–370
Romano, M. E., 301 self- or peer-assessments, 261
Rose, J., 166 semantic clues, in whole language, 169
Rose Report, 166, 167 sentence starters, 338
Ross, S., 249 7 Cs Skills, 328
routine map, 293 Shaaban, K., 286
routines, classroom, 292–294 shape poems, 191
attention getters, preparing, 306–307 shared reading, 171–173
brain breaks, preparing, 307–308 purpose of, 172
cleaning up the room, 308 shared writing, 195
date and day, establishing, 305–306 Shin, J. K., 2, 29, 40, 94, 230, 323, 331, 332, 373
day’s objectives, establishing, 306 Shohamy, E., 245
designating classroom helpers, 304–305 Showers, B., 359, 366
ending class, 311 sight words, 169–170
English as classroom, 302–311 Simon Says (children’s game), 26–27
homework, 310 skimming, as reading strategy, 185
roll call, 305 Slatterly, M., 117, 155, 169, 187, 212
starting the class, 303 Snow, C. E., 5
suggested ten, 303–311 Snow, M. A., 73
rubrics, 265–266 social interaction, 31–32, 34
for writing skills, 266 social media
rules, classroom, 294–300 blogs, 375
communicated and co-constructed, 295 Facebook, 375
consistently and fairly enforcing, 298 networking through, 375
enforcing school rules, 295 TEYL Facebook group, 375
involving parents in YLs’ behavior, 298–300 sociolinguistic knowledge, 267
positive and negative behavior, 295–298 spatial-visual (picture smart) intelligence, 38
Rumble, M., 328 speaking
assessing, 269–270
defined, 120–123
S speaking activities
Samaras, A. P., 372 accuracy and fluency, improving, 127
sample lesson building classroom interaction, 127–129
class wiki: our city, 347–351 building classroom routines in English, 125
designing listening and speaking, 144–148 developmentally appropriate, using, 126–127
sample lesson, for young learners, 49–58 effective, 132–144
assessment and follow-up steps, 57–58 keeping environment active, 130
practice and application steps, 55–57 negotiation strategies, equipping, 130–131
presentation step, 52–55 real-life communication, 125–126
warm-up step, 49–51 speaking skills, first language, 121, 123
Samuels, S. J., 173 Spiro, J., 212
Saricoban, A., 252, 257 storyboarding, as post-storytelling activity, 222–224
Sato, K., 373 story mapping (story analysis), as post-storytelling activity,
Sayers, D., 197 224–226
scaffolding, 34 story or text retellings, 259
effective techniques, 34 storytelling
young learners and, 34 activities after, 222–229
scanning, as reading strategy, 185 activities before, 216–219
schemata, defined, 165 activities during, 220–221
Schon, D. A., 363 as an authentic form of communication, 210–211
Schwartz, R., 128 in the classroom, 210–216
Scott, W., 163, 164, 172 critical thinking skills, developing, 212–213
Scott, W. A., 88, 117, 150 cultural introduction, 211
Scovel, T., 6 designing a lesson with, 229–236
script, as an element of storytelling, 215–216 elements of, 215–216
400 Index
functions of, 210–213 teaching
and lesson planning, 229–236 action research and, 370–371
right story, choosing, 213–214 as craft, 359
teaches young learners, 212 as critical thinking, 360
telling a story, preparing for, 214–216 portfolio, developing, 365
to young learners, 236–239 reflective, 362–365
storytelling activities, 216–229 as science, 359
before-storytelling activities, 216–219 team, 366–367
during-storytelling activities, 220–221 young learners through storytelling, 212
post-storytelling activities, 222–229 teaching approaches to writing, 186–197
students’ comprehension, checking, 116–117 process-based approach, 192–197
Sullivan, P., 12 product-based approach, 187–192
summative assessment, 249 teaching diary or journal, keeping, 363–365
supplies manager, 304 teaching English to young learners (TEYL)
sustained silent reading. See independent reading basic principles of, 23–63
Swain, M., 41 effective approaches for, 58–61
SWBAT (Students will be able to), 293, 306 Instruction Chart, 46–47
Sykes, G., 356 reasons for an early start, 2–7
syntactic clues, in whole language, 169 recommendations for, 44–45
synthesis questions, 336 teaching listening
Szabo, Z., 115 bottom-up listening, 110–112
considerations for, 109–120
listening defined, 110
T principles for, to YLs, 112–120
Tabaa, Mary, 189 top-up listening, 110–112
talk story(ies), 214 to young learners, principles for, 109–120
Tanner, R., 365 teaching portfolio, developing, 365
Taosaka, S., 214 teaching speaking
target culture materials, 330, 333 considerations for, 120–132
task(s) fluency vs. accuracy, 123–124
controlling children’s frustration during, 39 principles for, to YLs, 124–131
creating interest in, 35 speaking defined, 120–121
keeping children on, 36–37 team teaching, 366–367
modelling, 37–38 technology skills, 339–343
simplifying, 35–36 Teemant, A., 366
teacher(s) telling story, preparing for, 214–216
aspects of teaching, 290 Terrell, T., 69
effective professional development of, 361–362 TESOL International Association, 373
as good managers, 290–302 testing (assessment), 247
reflective teaching group and, 365 text-first unit planning, 79–80
research, 370–372 texts for writing, 196–197
team teaching and, 366–367 textual knowledge, 267
teacher-directed techniques, 128–129 TEYL Facebook group, 375
teacher research, 370–372 TEYL Instruction Chart, 46–47
action research, 370–371 theatrics, as an element of storytelling,
collaborative action research, 371–372 215–216
engaging in, 370–372 thematic instruction, 70–73
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages content, importance of, 70–71
(TESOL), 373 local and national culture, value of, 71–72
teacher to teacher themes, importance of, 72–73
on assessment, 279–281 thematic units
classroom management for young learners, 313–320 brainstorming web for planning, 77
teaching listening and speaking, 149–153 developing activities, 76
twenty-first-century skills for young learners, evaluating, 99–100
351–353 planning, 73–80
Index 401
thematic units (continued ) W
sequencing activities, 76–77 wait time, 291
six steps toward, 73–77 Wajnryb, R., 188, 367
theme-first unit planning, 77–78 Wall, D., 252
themes Wallace, M. J., 358, 360, 370
importance of, 72–73 Wang, M., 162
selection of, 73–75 warm-up activities (lesson planning), 89–90
theory-to-practice approach, to professional development, 359 warm-up stage (listening), 132–133
think-aloud strategy, 337–338 warm-up step, in lesson planning, 49–51
time, managing, 291 washback, assessment, 252–253
time manager, 304 Weigle, S. C., 273
Timperley, H., 361 Weinstein, C. S., 301
Tompkins, G. E., 338, 341 Weir, C. J., 248
tongue twisters, 140 West, Michael, 170
top-down listening, 110–112 whole-language approaches to reading, 169–176
Torrance, H., 249 wikis, 340, 342, 343, 346–349, 350–351
Total Physical Response (TPR), 26 our city, page, 345
as during-storytelling activity, 221 our class, page, 343
traditional assessment, 257 our country, page, 345
transition activities, 292 our school, page, 344
transitional bilingual programs, 10–11 wikispaces, 343, 347
Trilling, B., 326, 328 Wilhelm, J. D., 338
twenty-first-century skills. See also high-priority William, D., 249, 252
twenty-first-century skills Willis, J., 117, 155, 169, 187, 212
active learning skills, 335–339 Wink, J., 366
chart, 325 Winn-Smith, B., 125, 302
collaboration skills, 334 Wolfe-Quintero, K., 365
communications skills, 332–335 The Woman Who Hugged a Tree (folktale), 95
global perspective, 330–331 word keeper, 304
high-priority, 328 worksheets, 388–390
integrating, into TEYL, 325–343 The World Is Open, 335
teacher to teacher, 351–353 World Wide Web Technology Surveys, 339
technology skills, 339–343 Writers Workshop. See Writing Workshop
two-way bilingual programs. writing. See also specific types
See dual-language programs considerations for teaching, 185–198
two-way immersion programs. described, 185–186
See dual-language programs digital texts, 197–198
Tyra, S., 366 in EYL classes, 185–186
first and second language, 160–163
inclusion in young learners class, 163–164
U interactive, 195
Urzua, C., 196 lesson design for, 198–200
U.S. Department of State, 373 purposes of, 185–186
shared, 195
teaching approaches to, 186–197
V texts for, 196–197
Vale, D., 93 writing activities, 187–192
validity, assessment, 251–252 controlled, 187–192
Van Allen, R., 176 digital, 197–198
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle), 79–80, guided, 187–192
82–87, 93, 171, 218 Writing Workshop, 192–194
visualizing, as reading strategy, 185 writing samples, 259–260
vocabulary, 75. See also grammar Writing Workshop, 192–194
assessing, 273–274 computers, use of, 192
Vygotsky, L., 34
402 Index
individualized, 192 effective language teaching practices for, 44–45
interactive, 192 first language acquisition, 39–40
stages of, 192–193 initial literacy steps, 160
young learners and, 192 interactional modifications, 116
written language, assessing, 270–273 language learning, 39–44
reading, 270–271 level of difficulty, 117
writing, 271–273 listening activities for, 113–120
literacy activities for, 161
principles for teaching listening to, 112–120
X principles for teaching speaking to, 124–132
Xu, S., 164 reading approaches for, 166–178
real-life listening for, 114–115
sample lesson for, 49–58
Y speaking activities for, 124–132
Yoon, K. S., 361 storytelling to, 236–239
young learners. See also listening activities; speaking activities teacher scaffolding and, 34
assessment, 243–284 teaching through storytelling, 212
“brain breaks,” 30 YouTube, 341
characteristics of, 25–32, 42–43 Ytreberg, L., 88, 117, 150, 163, 164, 172
classroom management, 287–322
complexity in assessing, 245
considerations for assessing, 244–246 Z
considerations for teaching, 25–44 Zeichner, K. M., 362
cultural differences and, 45 Zhang, L. J., 184
designing a lesson for, 48–58 Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), 34
Index 403

Teaching Young Learners English - From Theory To Practice

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Teaching Young

Joan Kang Shin | JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall

Chapter 1 Teaching English to Young Learners around

Chapter 2 Basic Principles of Teaching English to Young

Chapter 4 Teaching Listening and Speaking 107

Chapter 5 Teaching Reading and Writing 157

Chapter 6 Storytelling 209

Chapter 7 Assessment 243

Chapter 8 Classroom Management 287

Chapter 9 Twenty-First-Century Skills in Teaching English

Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall

T-Chart of Benefits and Challenges

Theory, Planning and Application

■■ The value of English for education and employment

The Value of English for Education and Employment Today,

In all, according to Crystal (2012), there are three times as many n

The Benefits of Early Language Learning Early studies of second or

(Adapted from Read, 2003, p. 7)

2. The possibility of better pronunciation and fluency Moreover, some

6 Teaching Young Learners English

Planning for Success in EYL Programs

■■ Effective EYL program models

Effective EYL Program Models Although starting a language in early

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 7

1. FLEX programs FLEX (foreign language exploratory or experience)

8 Teaching Young Learners English

3. Immersion programs Language immersion programs, as the name suggests,

10 Teaching Young Learners English

Appropriately Trained EYL Teachers Educational research continually

Culturally Appropriate Materials If English is an international

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 11

Jade Albert Studio, Inc./Getty Images

Pitfalls to Avoid in EYL Programs Curtain and Pesola (2000) identify

12 Teaching Young Learners English

■■ Providing insufficient professional development for EYL teachers

Common Features of Effective EYL Programs Nikolov and Curtain

Additionally, according to Gilzow (2002), in some contents, effective young

We will be discussing many of these characteristics in the following chapters.

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 13

■■ What factors of effective programs do you see in these profiles?

“year.Every local school in Myanmar began a FLES program in 1970–1971 school

In general, students in Myanmar are taught English as a regular school

14 Teaching Young Learners English

There are 20 students in my class, varying in background. The majority of them

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 15

Marie Rose’s 4th Grade Class

Marie Rose’s fourth graders learn English in a typical concrete-floored

16 Teaching Young Learners English

The children’s environment is favorable to learning English. Their families

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 17

Factors affecting success of an EYL program A number of factors affect the

18 Teaching Young Learners English

Need for culturally and linguistically appropriate materials and curricula

Additional factors affecting EYL program success There are a number of

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 19

Resources and References

20 Teaching Young Learners English

Useful Web Sites

1 Teaching English to Young Learners 21

2. Spontaneous and Not • Use songs, rhymes, chants, and dialogs

7. Social and are Learning • Make learning interactive

8. Learn by Doing and • Make learning active

9. Need of Support and Create interest in the task

11. Learn Language • Create an English-speaking classroom environment by using English

a. Use authentic contexts/situations

a. Give plenty of comprehensible