What to consider when teaching English in large classes. How many students do you teach? Do you feel that your classes are too big? Author and education consultant Jason Anderson looks at the issues and offers some potential solutions. For many of us, our classes are larger than we would like them to be. They can present a number of challenges that teachers of smaller classes are less likely to face. But what exactly do we mean by large classes? Definitions of a large class What we label a ‘large class’ depends mostly on context and expectations. In this article, we will take the midpoint between these two figures. Where teachers work in large classes today Perhaps the two continents where teachers most commonly work in large classes are Africa (especially sub-Saharan Africa) and Asia (especially the Indian sub-continent and China).
This is not a uniform picture. Large classes are not unique to low-income countries. Whole Child Development Is Undervalued. The question is how to make such an approach both systemic and sustainable. Whole Person Socio-emotional, physical, creative, and cognitive capacities are deeply intertwined and equally important in ensuring a child's wellbeing, learning, and growth. (That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone studying or supporting children's learning.) Nobel laureate James Heckman, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, has shown that the non-cognitive skills emerging in early childhood are among the strongest predictors of adult outcomes. And Paul Tough, author of How Children Succeed, has continued to emphasize the crucial role that soft skills play in character formation and building on persistence, curiosity, and even grit -- the "passion and perseverance for very long-term goals," according to psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth.
The most impactful way of supporting such skills is associated with helping children feel in control of their learning process. Whole Communities. Poems for kids. Nursery Rhymes and Songs - BBC Teach. Music and Movement Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers. 50+ Quick & Easy Kids Crafts that ANYONE Can Make!
Songs for kids. Short stories for kids. Pub D467 Storytelling handbook FINAL web. How to teach children English using illustrated storybooks. What makes illustrated storybooks such a good resource for teaching young learners of English? The British Council’s Gail Ellis, co-author of a storytelling handbook for primary English language teachers, explains. Listen to an interview with Gail in our podcast and register for her webinar taking place on Thursday, 2 October. Illustrated storybooks provide an ideal resource for helping children learn English. This is because children love listening to stories. Storybooks present language in familiar and memorable contexts, and high quality illustrations help children understand as they match what they hear to what they see.
Why use storybooks in the classroom? Teachers can use storybooks to complement an English language course or as the main teaching resource. Storybooks can meet a variety of learner needs Selecting the right storybook The key to successful storytelling is having the right story for the linguistic and cognitive ability of the children. Children under 5 years. Children under 5 walking. Nihms175063. Ey making mark matters76708 1. The Art of Control.
Executive function — our ability to remember and use what we know, defeat our unproductive impulses, and switch gears and adjust to new demands — is increasingly understood as a key element not just of learning but of lifelong success. Researchers at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University describe executive function as an air traffic control system for the mind — helping us manage streams of information, revise plans, stay organized, filter out distractions, cope with stress, and make healthy decisions.
Children learn these skills first from their parents, through reliable routines, meaningful and responsive interactions, and play that focuses attention and stirs the beginnings of self-control. But when home is not stable, or in situations of neglect or abuse, executive function skills may be impaired, or may not develop at all, limiting a child’s success in elementary school and later life. Imaginary Play Support it by: Storytelling “Children love to tell stories. How to help your child learn English with YouTube videos. Tracey Chapelton, education consultant and materials writer, has some advice for parents of young English learners, whose home language might not be English. To learn a language we need a lot of exposure to it.
YouTube is beneficial if you are not a fluent English speaker, and want a more fluent model of English for your child. Helped along by the visuals of their favourite cartoon, children can watch their favourite characters involved in adventures, while absorbing the language. Repetition is also important for language learning. It helps us remember important words and expressions. The more they watch, the more they will understand, eventually using the language themselves. Where to start? Learning Time with Timmy. Practical tips. By Opal Dunn, educational consultant and author Introduction Young children learn English differently from most adults.
Most have an innate ability to pick up English while taking part in activities, by making sense of what they are doing and picking up the adult’s language that accompanies the activity. You can find out more in the British Council booklet ‘How young children learn English as another language’, also available on the parents pages of the LearnEnglish Kids website. Ten ways to support your child’s English-learning at home.
As the British Council opens a new Learning Time with Shaun & Timmy centre in Mexico for two- to six-year-olds, senior teacher Sarah Reid offers some useful tips for supporting your child’s learning at home. Sound Words: Examples of Onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is a fun, linguistic tool used in literature, songs and advertisements.
Now that you've seen examples of the individual words, consider the following examples of onomatopoeia words in use. Take a look at the different onomatopoeia examples in Todd Rundgren's song, appropriately named Onomatopoeia. Learning through play ey.