Senior teachers, Kazakh State Women`s
Teacher Training University
The
peculiarities of junior school children
Teacher should be aware that developing child needs more attention in
learning language. Without a knowledge of a child’s various stages of
cognitive, emotional, physical, social and language development, and an ability
to recognize these changes, it is difficult for a teacher to plan an effective
programme. Piaget’s view that all children pass through the same stages of
cognitive development but at different rates, still provides a comprehensive
outline for the study of intellectual development.
Experienced
teachers of young beginners are conscious of these different stages and know
how to recognize developmental changes as they take place. Changes can take
place within a week or even within a lesson, which means that teachers need to
be flexible, adjusting lesson plans where necessary to cope with new
developments. In some cases there seem to be periods of concentrated and
sometimes rapid development followed by periods of little advance.
The rate of development may not
necessarily indicate a young child’s ability. An intelligent child may be a
slow developer or even a late developer. Children who make little progress may
have some physical difficulty which may not have been recognized.
The length of time a child can concentrate on
doing one activity also varies from child to child. Some young children can
only manage to concentrate for about five minutes, others for very much longer
periods of up to fourteen or fifteen minutes. Once children have lost interest
in an activity and their attention has wandered , little or no more learning
takes place. It is best to change an activity before children lose interest so
that they are left wanting more and looking forward to the next opportunity to
do the same activity. Over-exposure to an activity leads to boredom. As
children develop, so their span of concentration lengthens. It is important to
confuse a child’s span of concentration with his need to move physically.
Language development
The
first language development is a major subject in its own right. It is, however, important to realize that a
child’s ability to use his first language is crucial factor in the learning
process. The degree to which he can use Language 1 to communicate will reflect
on his ability to acquire Language 2. Teachers need to know the level of Language 1 development of each child they
teach. Where a child’s Language 1 ability is not sufficiently developed,
teachers can jointly plan activities common to Language 1 and the English
lesson. They can also advise parents on suitable language experiences which
should help improve the child’s use of language.
Cognitive
development
A
child’s language-learning skills are not isolated from the rest of his mental
growth. It appears that concepts that he has learned in Language1 can be transferred
to Language 2.
Children find it easier if learning a new
concept takes place in Language 1 rather than in Language 2. It is also easier
for the person explaining the concept, as the child’s use of Language 1 is more
developed and thus explaining is easier. Teachers who have no other way but to
explain in Language 2 will find it helpful consult books that deal with
introducing concepts to young children in a structured way. They also need to
plan a longer learning programme, as children will need more experiences and
time to learn a completely new concept. “Until a child is ready to take a
particular step forward it is a waste of time to try and teach him to take it:
(HMSO – the Plowden report 1967). Teachers of young children are conscious that
children reach a certain point when they are ready to learn something new. This
“readiness” stage is very clear in activities like numbers, reading, and
writing. If a child is asked to learn a certain skill before he is ready, he
cannot do it. This failure results in disappointment and sometimes loss of
interest. It is, therefore, very important for a teacher to be able to
recognize children’s “readiness” to learn a certain concept and make use of the
enthusiasm that often accompanies it.
Teachers also need to know what concepts
children in their class already know and what concepts they are likely to learn
during the school year. Some textbooks for learning English include concepts
which are too difficult for young children. Where teachers are faced with this
type of problem, they can substitute different activities which are right for
the developmental age of the child and at the same time give the same language
experience.
Since the individual differences and
especially cognitive differences between young children of the same age are so
great, to teach a class as one unit does not give a child the individual
attention he needs. Where classes are very large, teachers can divide the
children into small groups and within each group give them individual attention.
However, young children until about the age of eight are still dependent on
adult support for much of what they do. This is especially so in the English
classroom and although they may work in groups their relationship still has to
be with the teacher. Only when they are older are they ready to have less
contact with the teacher and relate more with the group leader.
It is essential to be able to judge how much
new material children can absorb at one time. The amount that they are capable
of taking in depends on their developmental level, enthusiasm, interest and on
the teacher’s skill in presenting material. It also depends on a factor that is
often overlooked: the class’s mood. Children are excitable; snow or heavy rain,
a birthday to be celebrated or an approaching festival can excite them. If they
are excited they cannot concentrate for as long as usual. Mood is infectious;
if one or two children are excited, this can spread to the rest of the class.
When a class is in such a mood, they generally do not want to settle down to
quiet activities. In this case it is better not to force the children, but to
leave the quiet activities until the next lesson when things have usually got
back to normal.
Some teachers worry that they
may be making youg children work too hard. If a child is learning by taking
part in activities, it seems to be impossible to push him further than he wants
to go. Once he has reached saturation point, he “switches off” his interst; he
no longer concentrates on what he is doing and lets his mind, and in some cases
even his body, wander to toher activities. However hard a teacher tries to
attract his attention back to the original activity, once he has “switched
off”, she is not successful.
It is
impossible for children to learn everything perfectly in each lesson. For this
reason part of every lesson should consist of going over precious work to help
children to exposed to. Failure to consolidate any one stage of learning
affects the next stage of learning. If new activities are presented before
sufficient consolidation of previous activities which are right for the stage
of development and are properly consolidated give a feeling of being
successful, which in turn motivates. If children can go from one successful
activity to another, motivation takes place naturally.
Many parents are eager to know what
is going on in the English lesson and some want to help in the teaching by
listening to cassettes with their children at home. It is important to sustain
this interest and enthusiasm as, apart from motivating, it helps to
consolidate. It also gives an added opportunity for interpersonal communication
in both Language 1 and Language 2. Children without parental support are
undoubtedly at a disadvantage.
REFERENCE
1.
Dickinson,L. 1987 “Self-instruction
in Language Learning” Cambridge
Cambridge University Press.
2.
Holec, H 1988 Autonomy and
Self-directed Learning Present Fields of Application Np Council of Europe.
3.
Jones, F R 1993 “Beyond the fringe a
framework for assessing teach yourself
materials for ab initio English-speaking learners” System 21 453-69.
4.
Jones, F R 1994 “The lone language
learner a diary study” System 22 441-54
5.
Kenny, E 1993 “For more autonomy”
System 21 431-42
6.
Little, D 1990 “Autonomy in language
learning” in Gathercole (1990)
7.
Meara, P 1993 “The bilingual lexicon
and teaching of vocabulary” in R Schreuder and
B, Weltens The Billingual Lexicon Amsterdam Benjamins.