Teaching English to Very Young Learners: Tips and Techniques

Should Teachers Worry if VYL Students Understand but Speak Little English?

No. If students are very young learners (VYLs), limited speaking is normal. It's a phase in language acquisition. Teachers can encourage speaking as students get older.

Why Are Top-Down Listening Skills Difficult for VYLs?

Top-down listening skills are harder to develop because VYLs typically learn English through a bottom-up approach (lexical recognition). They don't spontaneously use mental schemata and prediction skills due to limited experience and knowledge.

Features of Effective Teacher Talk with VYLs

• Eliciting, recasting, repeating
• Effective voice modulation: chunking, intonation, stress
• Grading language appropriately
• Engaging voice
• Using supporting gestures, visuals, and realia
• Utilizing puppets and cuddly toys

What Are Mental Schemata and Their Importance?

Mental schemata are based on prior knowledge and experience. We use them to make predictions. Activating schemata during the pre-listening stage is crucial for top-down activities.

Lexis to Pre-Teach During Pre-Listening

Pre-teach only essential, unknown lexis that can't be inferred from the context.

Key Characteristics of Receptive Skills Procedure

The receptive skills procedure involves three stages: pre-listening/reading (activate schemata, pre-teach lexis), while-listening/reading (work on content), and post-listening/reading (apply to context).

Feedback vs. Correction

Correction addresses errors, while feedback holistically assesses student practice, including linguistic success and communicative intent.

Types of Feedback for Oral Work

Feedback types depend on the activity: fluency-based or linguistic accuracy-based. Content feedback should precede linguistic feedback in accuracy activities.

Controlled Practice and Its Importance

Controlled practice involves limiting variables like language production, type of feedback, cognitive load, and interaction. It encourages students to use target language. Pure fluency practice alone doesn't ensure English language development. Examples of controlled practice include repetition drills and micro-dialogues.