Module 3: Methods of Teaching Language to Children

This module will help you to:

• Explain what language learning is

• Identify means of dealing with language delays
• Be guided with the different methods of teaching language including some delivery strategies and
assessment tools

Introduction
In the early childhood classroom, silence is not golden. Spoken words are opportunities for
learning that should take place throughout the day • especially during conversations between
children and between teachers and children.
Human language is a remarkable way to communicate. No other form of communication in
the natural world transfers so much information in such a short period of time. It is even more
remarkable that in three short years a child can hear. mimic. explore, practice, and finally, learn
language.

Language Learning
There is no genetic code that leads a child to speak English or Spanish or Japanese. Language is
learned. We are born with the capacity to make 40 sounds and our genetics allows our brain to make
associations between sounds and objects, actions, or Ideas. The combination of these capabilities
allows the creation of language. Sounds come to have meaning. The babbling sound “ma - ma – ma”
or the infant becomes mama, and then mother. In the first years or life children listen, practice, and
learn. The amusing sounds of a young toddler practicing language (in seemingly meaningless chatter)
is really their modelling of the rhythm. tone. volume, and non-verbal expressions they see in us.
Language- with all of its magnificent complexity- is one of the greatest gifts we give our
children. Yet, we so often treat our verbal communication with children in a casual way. It is a
misconception that children learn language passively. Language acquisition is a product of active,
repetitive, and complex learning. The child's brain is learning and changing more during language
acquisition in the first six years or life than during any other cognitive ability he is working to acquire.
How much easier this learning process can be lor children when adults are active participants!
Adults help children learn language primarily by talking with them. It happens when a mother
coos and baby-talks with her child. II happens when a lather listens to the fractured. rambling.
breathless story of his 3-year-old. II happens when a teacher patiently repeats instructions to an
inattentive student.

Working with Language Delays

It is very common for teachers in early childhood classrooms to have children with speech and
language delays. The process of learning language can be Impaired In many ways. These can include
difficulties in hearing. problems in making associations between sight and sound, attention deficits.
and a limited background of experience. A child's language skills are directly related to the number
of words and complex conversations they have with others. In order to learn the relationship
between sounds and objects• a child must hear. And then make the association between the sound
and what ii symbolizes. If a child hears few words, if a child is rarely read to, sung to, or talked with,
he will not have normal language development. Children growing up in verbally and cognitively
Impoverished settings have speech and language delays. In more extreme situations, children
neglected by their caregivers and rarely spoken with can have completely undeveloped speech and
language skills.
 Fortunately, the parts of the brain responsible for language are very malleable. Given
opportunities to hear, talk and have complex conversations, these children can catch up. The
challenge for the early childhood teacher is to make sure that these children have many
developmentally appropriate language activities. It is Important that concerns about delayed
language skills are shared with the family and other school personnel in order 10 properly diagnose
potential causes. Many parents are inexperienced and may not be aware of what is “normal"
language development at any given age, Early childhood classrooms are one of most important
settings for early identification of language problems.

What You Can Do

Create conversation buddies. Talk with children and encourage them to have conversations
with each other. Several times during the day, help children "discuss· various topics with their
conversation buddies. Topics might Include what they did during the weekend, what they thought of
a story. who they know that reminds them or a character in a book you just read to them?
Introduce words by theme. Use word games to help the children learn to rhyme. understand
opposites. find as many words to describe an object as possible, and learn the names of new objects.
You can make this more interesting by picking a theme to guide this. For example. cook up a
delicious snack in the classroom and explore words such as ladle, strainer, colander, and cutting
board.
Engage children in listening exercises. We often forget that language is both receptive and
expressive. Make sure that children don't just mimic words and leam10say things. It is essential that
children are listening, receiving accurately and processing effectively what they hear. Introduce
exercises where children are asked to repeal back what they heard you say (you will often be
amazed at how varied and Inaccurate their Interpretations can be). Have children relate key
elements of a story or an activity. And emphasize 10children the Importance or listening 10 their
conversation buddies. Listed below are brier summaries of some of the more popular second
language teaching methods or the last half century. Fora more detailed analysis of the different
methods, see Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching Richards, J. and Rodgers, T (1986) CUP
Cambridge.

Methods In Teaching Language

The Direct Method

In this method the teaching Is done entirely in the target language. The learner is not allowed
to use his or her mother tongue, Grammar rules are avoided and there is emphasis on good
pronunciation.

Grammar translation

Learning is largely by translation to and from the target language. Grammar rules are to be
memorized and long lists of vocabulary learned by heart. There is little or no emphasis placed on
developing oral ability.

Audio-lingual

The theory behind this method is that learning a language means acquiring habits. There is
much practice of dialogues of every situation. New language is first heard and extensively drilled
before being seen in its written form,

The structural approach

 This method sees language as a complex of grammatical rules which are to be learned one at a
time in a set order. So, for example the verb 10 be" is introduced and practiced before the present
continuous tense which uses "to be" as an auxiliary.

Suggestopedia

The theory underlying this method is that a language can be acquired only when the learner is
receptive and has n omental backs. By various methods itis suggested to the student that the
language is easy- and in this way the mental blocks to teaming are removed.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

TPR works by having the learner respond to simple commands such as “stand up", "Close
your book·, "Go to the window and open It." The method stresses the Importance or aural
comprehension.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

The focus of this method is to enable the learner to communicate effectively and
appropriately in the various situations she would be likely to find herself in. The content of Cl T
courses are functions such as Inviting. suggesting, complaining or notions such as the expression of
time, quantity, location.

The Silent Way

This is so called because the aim of the teacher is to say as little as possible in order

that the learner can be in control of what he wants to say. No use is made of the mother tongue.

Community Language Learning

In this method attempts are made to build strong personal links between the teacher and student so
that there are no blocks to learning. There ls much talk in the mother tongue which Is translated by
the teacher for repetition by the student.

Immersion

This corresponds to a great extent to the situation we have at our school. ESL students are
immersed In the English language for the whole of the school day and expected to learn math,
science. humanities etc. through the medium of the target language, English.

Immigrant students who attend local schools find themselves in an immersion situation; for
example. refugee children from Bosnia attending German schools, or Puerto Ricans in American
schools.

Task-based Language Learning

The focus of the teaching is on the completion or a task which in itself is Interesting 10 the
learners. Learners use the language they already have lo complete the task and there Is little
correction of errors.

(This is the predominant method in middle school ESL teaching at Frankfurt International
School. The tasks are subsumed in a major topic that is studied for a number or weeks. In the topic
of ecology, for example, students are engaged in a number or tasks culminating in a poster
presentation to the rest of the class. The tasks include reading, searching the internet, listening to
taped material. selecting important vocabulary to teach other students ale.)

The Natural Approach

This approach. propounded by Professor S. Krashen, stresses the similarities between learning
the first and second languages. There is no correction of mistakes. Learning takes place by the
students being exposed lo language that is comprehensible or made comprehensible to them.

The Lexical Syllabus

This approach Is based on a computer analysis of language which identifies the most common
(and hence most useful) words in the language and their various uses. The syllabus teaches these
words in broadly the order of their frequency, and great emphasis Is placed on the use of authentic
materials.

Second Language Teaching Methods for Teachers

Teachers can make use of the information on language learning strategies and styles lo create
and design their lesson or course plan. Since teachers play a big role in their students' language
learning process, the tools, teaching methods and classroom environment adopted will ultimately
affect their students' progress.

Having talked about the language learning strategies and styles in the previous sub• chapters,
teachers can now use that Information and consider that different people have different
predominant Strategies that they use and that different people learn In a different way. Knowing this
will help teachers plan their lessons to benefit each and every student in language learning. It will be
advantageous if teachers raise awareness and train the students to adopt the language learning
strategies so as to enable them to use a wider range of strategies. “Stretching students” learning
styles by making them try out strategies outside their primary preference can also be beneficial.
Eventually, we will also talk about the various assessment methods and introduce some tools suited
for different language learning strategies and styles.
Classroom Environments

In this section, we will be looking at the classroom environments that each personality style
continuum works best In or prefer. Considering these. it is good that teachers mix the preferences so as
to benefit all types of learning styles of students.
Extraversion Introversion
• Discussions in the second language • Individual projects
• Role-playing In the second language • Independent reading in the second
• Conversations with other students in language
the second language
• Sett-introductions in the s e c o n d
• Writing tasks in the second language
language • Listening tasks i n the second
• Presentations about the culture of language
the • Observational tasks such as to write
second language a
• Interactive learning composition in the second language
• Space and time to think in

Sensing
. assessments
Voluntary participation in class
Intuitive
 • Loaming involving senses (hear, • Problem-based learning
touch, see, smell, taste)

.• Hands--on activities
Audio-visual
materials
second language
.• • Autonomy in learning
Independent learning
Group woks
• Materials that are relevant and in•
depth • Individual works
• Real life applications
• Class expectations to be presented
clearly
• Theories presented clearly

Thinking Feeling
• Logical second language teaching e.g. • Positive rapport with instructor
grammar rules • Positive rapport with other students
• Step.by-step guide e.g., in • Positive feedback and corrections
applying grammar rules
from Instructors and peers


. • Logical reasoning presented
objective instructor feedback e.g. In
•
•
Rewards/Appreciation
Relate class materials or topics to
pronunciation people or human values

.• • Objective peer feedback

Constructive criticisms
Respectful class
• Fair class

. Judging
Clear, detailed Instructions
and guidelines
.
Feeling
Likes variety of assignments and
assessment
e.g., grammar rules
• methods
• Course outline presented
• • Reason the purpose o f
Logical reasoning presented
• Step-by-step guide study,
assignments or assessments
• to them
• Pop Quizzes

Class activities for strategies

In this section. we win propose what are some activities that fall under the strategies mentioned
above.

Memory Get students to create a word bank from their own reading materials, synthesis
exercise, cloze exercise. grouping words into categories (e.g., positive
adjectives, neutral adjectives. negative adjectives). song writing, using
flashcards. Story- telling, spelling tests

Cognitive Watch videos or movies, discussions (on line and offline), reading, summary
writing, synthesis exercises

Comprehension Reading. comprehension exercise, listening comprehension exercise, dictation

Metacognitive Explicit teaching, word games (e.g., scrabble), reading, discussions (online or
offline), oral presentations

Affective Story-telling. show and tell, oral presentations. discussions (online and in class),
role-playing, online skyping, peer evaluations

Other tools for language teaching

Corpora

Learning the most frequently used words in a language is beneficial in the early stages.
Corpora have been used for the making of dictionaries and reference works such as the Collins
Cobuild series, published by HarperCollins. Corpora can be used to Identify the frequent words used
by the native speakers in a language. As in the case of English. the words may be obtained from
corpus studies of the British National Corpus {BNC) for British English and Corpus of Contemporary
American English (COCA) for American English. At present. the English language (and its varieties)
has a more established corpus, while this may not be the case yet for other languages.

Teachers can tap on the patterns from the corpora to teach L2 vocabulary. This can also be
done in scaffolding, where teachers Introduce a certain number of words at the beginning stage
(e.g., English) and gradually introduce more as learners advance. This may, for Instance, be a
relevant source for the learners who primarily adopt the Memory strategy, where they are guided to
memorize sets of vocabulary list and then be tested on them. Also. other corpus can be used to
study the common mistakes made by second language teamers in their attempt to achieve native-
like writing and speech (Biber and Conrad, 2010). By studying the common mistakes, the teachers
can plan their lessons to minimize them.

Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL)

The computer can be used as a tutor aid, tool, and/or for communication. Computer assisted
language learning (CALL) is the computer applications in language teaching and learning. Teachers
can use CALL for content delivery {e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint) or classroom activities (e.g.,
WebQuests, grammar drills, etc.). Additionally, CALL could also be used for task• based group work
or activities and computer-mediated communication between students in class such as synchronous
online discussions.

One advantage of using computers is that it efficiently allows for learning when the teacher is
not present. Delivery of content can still be done through an online medium. Certain computer tools
allow for feedback to be given when learners make a mistake, unlike the conventional paper-and-
pen homework system in which mistakes can only be corrected in the following class. Furthermore,
this online content can be used by the students to revise or get back to at home or for when the
student cannot attend class. This Is due 10 the possibility or asynchronous learning, in which the
learner can learn without the constraints or lime and space.

The founder of Vivaling (an online language academy for children learners), Bernard Goldstein,
mentioned in a guest lecture al Nanyang Technological University (NTU) that the computer, despite
playing a significant role in helping learners learn language. Is stillunable10 replace the physical
teacher entirely. Rather, the computer Is a medium that can enhance and aid the teaching process.
Thus, we propose that CALL be used as a support for a physical teacher. a means of revision between
a lesson and another or. in fact. as a medium for communication, where the hassle of travelling can
be overcome as proven in the case of Vivaling.

Examples or CALL:

1. Asynchronous discussions (such as blogs. discussion forums/boards)

2. Synchronous learning (such as online chats. Skype)
3. E-learning
4. YouTube videos
 5. Microsoft Word. PowerPoint. Excel
6. CO/DVDs for language learning
7. Web based language learning software/programs {such as Vivaling)
8. Podcasts
Assessment methods
 Oral Assessments
1.Engage in dialogue
2. Storytelling
3.Self-introductions

 Projects
1. Video-making
2. Story-writing
3. Skits

 Written Tests
1. Situational writing
2. Letter-writing
3. Narrative writing
4. Grammar test
5. Vocabulary test
6. Spelling1es1
7. Comprehension/Listening comprehension Test

There are many types of methods of assessing students’ language learning. II is beneficial to
adopt a variety due to the varied nature of students. Varied learning styles and personalities will
affect the performance levels on the different method of assessing. For example, there is a higher
chance or extroverts doing better in oral examinations as compared to introverts. Above and beyond
test performance, what we aim to achieve is the pleasure of learning for various learner types and
personalities. A rigid assessment method risks turning learners away from language learning as they
may conclude that the process is too difficult rather than opting to adopt different learning
strategies for their objective.

Quiz

1. Differentiate Task-Based and Natural approach language leaching.

2. What does CALL stand for? How Is it done?
3. How is Aural Comprehension stressed in TPR?
4. Under the new normal due to pandemic distant learning is the practice, what do you think are the
class activities applicable in our area, and how would you assess them?