Teaching English to Young Learners Using TPR

A lot of techniques have been proposed to teach English for young learners. One of them is Total Physical Respons (TPR). TPR is the easiest way to implement in elementary school. Here is the reference used to write a research about TPR in elementary school. Download here

Guidelines to Teach English in Elementary School

I'm sure this kind of topic is one of important things for teacher in teaching English. Elementary school is special other than Junior and Senior High School as the students in that level have different characteristics. For the first time, teachers must set the goal of why they teach English in Elementary level, after that making some activities that are appropiate is considered needed. Here, I suggest what is actually the goal of teaching English and how to reach it.

GUIDELINES FOR THE TEACHINGOF ENGLISH IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE ENGLISH CLASS?

• The goal of the English class, through the use of beautiful texts, is to gain an understanding of human nature.
• This knowledge acquired through good literature will be a powerful help for our spiritual life (teachers should read what Dr. David Allen White has written on this subject).
• It also helps us become accustomed to express beautifully, either orally or in writing, ideas and sentiments which are accurate and personal.
• The goal of the English class is not to form scholars or specialists, but to acquire some mastery of our own tongue.
• As a consequence, spelling and grammar do not come first in teaching English. They have to be understood as tools, never disconnected from the expression of ideas. Language is an instrument to communicate thought.

1. READING ALOUD TO THE CLASS

Language is primarily spoken. This is why the teaching of language, as an art imitating nature, must use the spoken or phonetic form of words as the primary means for teaching reading. Reading aloud should be the first way of testing reading comprehension, of making the learner familiar with the role of punctuation marks, or engaging the learner in the full emotional experience that literature ought to yield, or providing an appreciation for the cadenced and hence ordered character of all works of the mind. One can teach a pupil to put a period at the end of a sentence by first identifying the end of a sentence as a place where one drops one’s voice.

Not only should the students read aloud, but the teacher should also read to the class. This can be done at the end of the day. The children always look forward to a good story. It is also an excellent way to train them to thoughtful listening. Once, Father Finn, SJ, was given a difficult class. He found that the best way to obtain discipline was to read them a story as a reward for good behavior.

Reading aloud can be an excellent homework assignment as well. Parents and other siblings can easily listen for five minutes a day. This is an excellent way to show children that reading is important to the family, too.