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Teaching English to Children |
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Saturday, 13 March 2004 |
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Page 1 of 2  It was quite difficult to think about what I was going to share with you .But I finally settled on the idea of talking about one of the things I consider to be a big part of my life, both as a professional, and as an individual.
This is one area some of you may have had some experience with. And it’s relevant to all of us as we progress in our M.A. It is, of course, teaching English - teaching English to children in particular.
I came to be an English teacher only by accident. Back in University, my major was in the field of Nursing. But when I came to Thailand, the first job I got was as a teacher of English. And as years went by, I have come to love and appreciate this line of work.
“Why teach kids?” I’ve been asked this question many times. “Why not teach adults instead? Isn’t it that kids run around the classroom, climb on chairs and tables, and speak too much in class?” And I say, “Yes, actually they do.” But those are the very reasons why I think teaching children is a worthwhile experience. I’m going to tell you how this is so…
First, children are spontaneous. They’re not afraid to make mistakes. Their main aim is simply to communicate. So they play around with Language, coming up with imaginative and creative combinations to get their message across.
Let me tell you something that actually happened at work one day. There was this 7-year-old boy who came up to his teacher in class. Apparently, the boy wanted to say something very important; very, very urgent. But, he couldn’t seem to remember the words to say. Finally, after much thought, he raised his eyes to the teacher, and clearly, and carefully said….”I’m a toilet.”
Now that was very funny at first. But when you really think about it, that boy took a chance and spoke up. He was able to use the Language, and in the end, the teacher got the message he was trying to convey, that he actually wanted to go to the toilet.
Oftentimes, we can’t find the same spontaneity with our adult learners. We adults, in general, are afraid to make errors. We’re afraid of getting embarrassed. We would much rather sit quietly in class, and not speak up. The result? We don’t get as much chance to use or practice the Language as children do.
Secondly, children are very active learners. They are more willing to get their hands dirty, so to speak. They’re always enthusiastic to join an activity that would require them to move about.
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