Some teachers use reward systems to motivate their pupils. Personally, I’m not very keen on this idea- if children only pay attention in order to get some sweets or stickers, they will soon forget whatever they may have learnt. Teachers should find ways to trigger their intrinsic motivation, that is, the desire to learn should arise from within the individual.
The key to teaching children effectively is to capture their attention. As they’re naturally interested in the world around them, this shouldn’t be too difficult. If you display genuine passion for what you’re doing, they be glad to join you in anything that’s fun. Have a look at this video for some great tips on classroom management.
Do they like singing? Sing with them. Are they keen on arts and crafts? Make things with them. Just make sure you keep speaking and get them use the target language too.
While adults often get labelled as visual, auditory or kinesthetic learners, I don’t think children should be looked at this way. The best lessons, in my experience, have a varied repertoire of activities and cater to all learning styles. Try to appeal to all their senses and keep switching from one activity to another.
For example, you may start off a lesson by teaching the main vocabulary of a story using flashcards (cat, dog, park, rain, museum, paintings). They’ll look at the pictures and repeat the words.
Then you can tell them the story step by step while sticking the flashcards on the board. Get them to repeat each sentence after you:
– The cat wanted to go for a walk.
– The dog wanted to go for a walk too.
– So they went to the park.
– They were walking
– and walking
– and walking
– when it began to rain.
– There was a museum in the park.
– They ran into the museum.
– They saw some beautiful paintings there.
– The dog and the cat had a lovely day.
When telling the story, try to include a particular movement for each sentence. For example, show the raindrops with your fingers or imitate running. Your pupils will love a bit of acting and this will also help them remember the target language. By the end of this particular lesson, they should be able to tell the story on their own as you point at the flashcards on the board.
If you need more tips and inspiration, check out the British Council ’LearnEnglish Kids’ website, you’ll find plenty of fantastic songs and games there. If you’d like to ask questions or share your ideas with us, please leave a comment.
