20111205 Sophie's lecture
- 1. How to Teach Children Teacher: Sophie Wu Date: 2011.12.5
- 2. Five Categories Intellectual Development Attention Span Sensory Input Affective Factors Authentic and Meaningful Language
- 3. Intellectual Development Don’t explain grammar using term like “present progressive” or “relative clause”
- 4. Intellectual Development Rules stated in abstract term should be avoided
- 5. Intellectual Development Some grammatical concepts can be called to learners’ attention by showing them certain patterns.
- 6. Intellectual Development Certain more difficult concepts or patterns require more repetition than adults need.
- 7. Attention Span Activities should be designed to capture their immediate interest.
- 8. Attention Span A lesson needs a variety of activities to keep interests and attention alive.
- 9. Attention Span A teacher needs to be animated, lively, and enthusiastic about the subject matter. (Children need this exaggeration to keep spirit buoyed and minds alert.)
- 10. Attention Span A sense of humor will go a long way in keeping children laughing and learning.
- 11. Attention Span Children have a lot of natural curiosity. Make sure you tap into that curiosity whenever possible.
- 12. Sensory Input Children need to have all five senses stimulated.
- 13. Sensory Input Pepper your lesson with physical activities.
- 14. Sensory Input Projects and other hands-on activities go a long way toward helping children to internalize language.(Group work)
- 15. Sensory Input Sensory aids help children to internalize concepts. (The smell of flowers, the touch of plants, and fruits, the taste of food, videos, pictures, tapes, music.)
- 16. Sensory Input Remember that your own “nonverbal language” is important because children will indeed attend very sensitively to your facial features, gestures, and body language.
- 17. Affective Factors Children are extremely sensitive, especially to peers. *What do others think of me? *What will so-and-so think when I speak in English?
- 18. Affective Factors Children are in many ways much more fragile than adults.
- 19. Affective Factors Help your students to laugh with each other at various mistakes that they all make.
- 20. Affective Factors Be patient and supportive to build self-esteem yet at the same time “be firm” in your expectations of students.
- 21. Affective Factors Elicit as much oral participation as possible from students, especially the quieter ones, to give them plenty of opportunities for trying things out.
- 22. Authentic, Meaningful language Children focused on what this new language can actually be used for here and now. They are less willing to put up with language that doesn’t hold immediate rewards for them.
- 23. Authentic, Meaningful language Children are good at sensing language that is not authentic. (Canned or stilted language will like be rejected.)
- 24. Authentic, Meaningful language Language needs to be firmly context embedded.
- 25. Authentic, Meaningful language A whole language approach is essential. If a language is broken into many bits and pieces, students won’t see the relationship to the whole.
- 26. Authentic, Meaningful language It takes a very special person to be able to teach children effectively.
- 27. Teaching Teens The “Terrible Teens” are an age of transition, confusion, self-consciousness, growth, and changing bodies and minds. What a challenge for a teacher.
- 28. To keep self-esteem high by Avoiding embarrassment of students at all cost.
- 29. To keep self-esteem high by Affirming each person’s talents and strengths
- 30. To keep self-esteem high by Allowing mistakes and other errors to be accepted.
- 31. To keep self-esteem high by De-emphasizing competition between classmates
- 32. To keep self-esteem high by Encouraging small-group work where risks can be taken more easily by a teen.
- 33. Writing Ask groups to brainstorm other considerations
- 34. Activity Reading Writing Listening Writing Drawing Listening Drawing
- 35. Activity There is a vase on the table. There are three flowers on the table.
- 36. Activity I Group-work Reading One day, a lion was sleeping on the grass. A little mouse ran around in the grass looking for food. He ran over the lion’s head and down his nose. The lion woke up with a loud roar and caught the little mouse. The mouse cried “I’m so sorry. Please let me go. Maybe I could help you someday.”
- 37. Activity I Group-work Reading Q1: Where was the lion sleeping? Q2:What did the mouse cry? Q3:Why was the little mouse caught by the lion?
- 38. Activity II Group-work Reading What’s your name? Where are you from? Where do you live now? How old are you? When’s your birthday?
- 39. Thanks for your attention by Sophie