“Good
morning/afternoon, teacher” precedes a class full of “May I go to the
toilet, please?” or “May I sharpen my
pencil please”. These are just some
of the phrases children learn in
initiating the Learning of
English, at age 6, and some of them even at an earlier
stage. They are also their
real 1st contact with the language,
though some may be introduced by some parents or come into contact with it
by the media.
Starting with these small interventions uncovers the
child's interest in learning more, sharpens up their
curiosity to achieve and learn more
vocabulary, and we have the obligation of developing
this curiosity in the following classes, with new themes and phrases in
order to keep it.
We can move on to the “Alphabet song”, where we teach the alphabet along with the sounds, in a playful manner,
reinforcing the difference between the
sound "I", which in
addition to being a letter of the alphabet is also a personal
pronoun, and we may finish the
class with the same melody, so that we can review it in next class.
I do not neglect the
importance of children’s happiness, so I teach them the meaning
of "happy", "sad" or "upset"
or "bored" through images and mime games which are
part of my routine, culminating with "If you 're happy”.
Over the following classes we can play with different themes, but I particularly quite like the "Transportation" theme as I am
allowed to teach them different means of transport, and we can end the class with the
rhythm of "The wheels on the bus", and even "Row, row, row your boat", but I have to make it clear that is just my personal
choice. Through the idea of flying, I introduce the animals, first with
two ravens, as the “Walter” and “Mary” ravens in the Tower of London’s story. I
keep them interested by the storytelling and their participation, which brings
me up to the interactive story of “The
three little pigs”, ended with the
famous and timeless "Old Macdonald",
with which I do not stop imitating animals with the children, and sometimes introducing ourselves new characters to the
lyrics.
By this time, I do not forget to teach them a little
bit of the English culture, by introducing the Yeomen Warders, or simply the
Beefeaters. And here comes the part where parents help us making a real seize
Beefeater, which has the advantage of interacting with the parents.
“The big giant turnip” leads
us to Food, permeated with "The healthy food song" and "Fruit and vegetables: the good
food," which leads us to
a healthy diet class.
The Teaching/Learning of English in primary schools is a wealth of
information aimed at children, eager for knowledge, true learning sponges,
desirous of a constant breath of knowledge. The child’s contact with a foreign
language is a way of enriching for all people involved, but I can’t deny that
it is a demanding and exhausting job that does not end in school or when it
closes its doors every day. Any foreign language teacher at all levels of
education, has the obligation of keeping the flame of curiosity for a new
language in students alive, but in primary schools’ children it is something
that surprises and revitalizes us every day. I don’t have the perfect recipe
class, but I do love what I do and what I conquer is a reflection of that, and
I stress the importance of directing the child to the use of the language, in
any circumstance, whether in the classroom, or not ... Every child has to know
how to say something in English, so it is important to direct it to the
question "How do you say ... in
English?", for instance, or instead of answering a “Boa tarde” greeting in the same language
used in the first place, we must answer “Good
afternoon”.
This targeting is very
important in the context of the child’s language learning, and it is crucial to
teach children by satisfying their curiosity in the language you are teaching/learning.
Every moment is of learning and teaching, so seize every second of it with your
children/students.
Marisa Neiva Afonso
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