Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies

2.2.Methods of differentiating teaching of young learners

This chapter is concerned with the methods that can be implemented when teaching young learners in order to differentiate the content of the lessons for the purposes of making it more variable taking into consideration the children’s short attention span and need to be offered various range of activities in order to be able to determine what they do and do not like and where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The activities incorporating different body parts allow for developing different kinds of skills. Scott and Ytreberg mention that it is also important to encompass the whole body and all senses. The word only is not sufficient for the children. They suggest using the language in real life situations, not as something separated from the real world. They also suggest playing with the language, experiment. Make up rhymes, sing songs and tell stories. (Scott and Ytreberg 5) It is desirable to use methods from different categories throughout the lesson, both because children need variability and for teacher to be able to assess what kind of activity they prefer. For encompassing all senses it is also desirable, when it is possible, to present children with natural ways of exploring the world around them – e.g. taking them out and encouraging them to describe what they see, hear, feel or smell, asking them to bring fruit into the lesson and encourage them to touch it and describe it and so on.

For the purposes of this thesis the methods were distinguished by which sense and corresponding body part they incorporate:

2.2.1.Methods incorporating ears

This category includes listening exercises. Most of them entail other activities. E.g. storytelling incorporates both ears and eyes as it is convenient for the teacher to use grimaces or to mime the story to ensure better understanding on the children’s part. Another interesting idea how to make telling the story more enjoyable is to use puppets. Beside storytelling basically everything the teacher says can be perceived as a listening activity. It is advisable to talk to the children in English most of the time and use their mother tongue only as the last resort or when explaining the activity, so that the instructions are clear.

2.2.2.Methods incorporating eyes

This category contains watching videos (even though they also incorporate ears, however most of the activities incorporate more than one sense at once, which is convenient as children learn best by incorporating all senses at once) or presenting pictures to the children. Those can be pictures in the storybook, cartoon strips that are needed to be put in the right order, describing the picture, searching for something in the picture, sorting the pictures into categories and so on.

2.2.3.Methods incorporating mouth

This is for example singing, which usually follows after listening to a song, rhyming exercises, tongue twisters… Basically anything the children say can be perceived as a speaking exercise. Speaking is important for developing the right pronunciation.

2.2.4.Methods incorporating hands

These are the activities during which children make something. That is usually drawing, which can be varied in many ways: children can colour a picture, they can draw something according to instructions, they can draw on a set topic, the pictures can be later described… Also easy folding activities or cutting paper can develop their motor skills.

2.2.5.Methods incorporating the whole body

In this category are mostly “listen and do” exercises: following instruction in a song (as in the case of “If you are happy and you know it clap your hands”), following teacher’s instructions (simple physical exercises or just short commands as “step”, “jump”, “clap” and so on); drama activities; imitating the teacher while listening to them and others. The activities can employ the children’s imagination as in the case of performing a “imagine you are somewhere/someone” story.

3Individualisation

3.1.The reasons for individualisation

In this chapter a list of what the author of this thesis believes are the reasons for individualisation is presented. The reasons are listed at first and then dealt with in detail. The reasons are:

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  healthy mental development
  
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  fulfilled needs lead to better mental state in which it is easier to learn
  
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  focus on knowledge not the assessment
  
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  intrinsic motivation
  
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  lesser peer pressure
  
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  pupils are able to live up to their potential
  
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  fun for both the children and the teacher
  

3.1.1.Mental development

From the perspective of psychology it is important for children to form healthy habits and learn to respect their needs in order to develop as individuals. If, in their childhood, they are constantly trying to accommodate to the majority, it will be troublesome for them to assert themselves as adults. Therefore it is important for the authorities present at their development in childhood to supervise this and to reassure the children that their individuality is not an inconvenience for the majority, on contrary, it is desirable, because each individual is unique and therefore can present a unique input to the society. In childhood and early puberty children‘s ability of self-reflection is not yet much developed and their opinion about themselves [“highly depends on opinions of authorities”] (Prokeš n.p.). It is therefore important that those authorities lead them to self-examination and to respect of their needs.

3.1.2.Pyramid of needs

According to Maslow’s expanded hierarchy of needs from 1970⁵ the need for knowledge is on fifth level. Maslow’s pyramid works on the principle that one has to fulfil basic needs first in order to be able to fulfil those on higher levels. Furthermore, without the basic needs fulfilled one becomes more and more frustrated as the unfulfilled needs become stronger. Therefore it is easier to satisfy one’s thirst for knowledge once one has fulfilled the basic biological needs, the need for safety, for love and belongingness and for esteem.

Figure - Maslow's pyramid of needs

As for the biological needs, the examined group of children is allowed to use the toilet whenever they ask and they are allowed to drink during the lessons, even though the rules of the classroom does not allow them to eat during the lesson. As the lessons only take one hour it is however highly improbable that they would be starved to such point they would not be able to learn.

The importance of security is stressed in chapter 2 of Teaching English to Children by Wendy A. Scott and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg as well:

“Once children feel secure and content in the classroom, they can be encouraged to become independent and adventurous in the learning of the language. Security is not an attitude or ability, but it is essential if we want our pupils to get the maximum out of the language lesson” (Scott and Ytreberg 10).

Ytreberg and Scott comment also on the topic of feeling accepted:

“As teacher you have to appear to like all your pupils equally. [...] Children learning foreign language or any other subject need to know that the teacher likes them. Young children have a very keen sense of fairness” (Scott and Ytreberg 9).

Children not only need to feel loved and accepted they need to feel that they are as accepted as the others. As their self-acceptance depends a lot on others (as stated in point Mental development), it is important that they do not feel inferior, because they feel they are less accepted than others.

The need for esteem is also connected to this. Their self-esteem depends highly on opinion of others and on the feeling of being accepted. It is therefore really important to make them feel accepted in order for them to feel they are able to learn something new especially in a group.

3.1.3.Focus on knowledge not the assessment

As children’s self-esteem is dependent on acceptance by others, their motivation too is affected by it. They want to be praised by their parents and as good marks is usually the reason for praise, children’s goal is to have good marks. Even though marks are not necessarily the indicator of child’s actual knowledge. They can be affected by children’s lack of concentration or by other reasons that are usually the grounds for sending the child for examination in pedagogy-psychological centre. It is therefore crucial to stress the importance of learning and knowledge over the importance of the assessment. Also, to focus on the knowledge is less stressful. When one concentrates on what they want to know the assessment represents the actual extent of their knowledge and it no longer holds importance to being accepted by others.

3.1.4.Intrinsic motivation

In his “Motivational Factors in Students’ Approaches to Learning” Noel Entwistle (2) distinguishes extrinsic and intrinsic motivation:

“Extrinsic motivation:

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  is instrumental in form.
  
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  focuses on satisfactory completion of the course.
  
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  is strongly influenced by external rewards and pressures.
  
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  leads to a surface approach to learning and fear of failure.
  
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  produces learning outcomes which are inflexible and not readily transferable to other contexts.
  

Intrinsic motivation:

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  reflects a personal goal.
  
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  derives from interest in the subject area.
  
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  depends on personal engagement with tasks chosen.
  
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  depends on feelings of competence and confidence.
  
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  leads to a deep approach and conceptual understanding.
  
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  produces learning outcomes which are flexible and transferable.”
  

As has been suggested at the previous point (Focus on knowledge not the assessment) students are usually extrinsically motivated. They are driven by the desire to be accepted and by fear of punishment. As has been stated in one of the previous points (Pyramid of needs) the feeling of security is important for students in order to be able to gain knowledge. Even though in the age that is the target of examination children are still extrinsically motivated (as stated in the first point: Mental development), it is important to lead them to develop intrinsic motivation. It is therefore desirable to remember the goal of the course and to remind the pupils of it regularly. The examined group of children responded well to a ritual of starting the lesson with reminding the group of the goal of the course and ending it with assessing whether the lesson led to approaching the goal.

3.1.5.Peer pressure

Apart from wanting to fulfil expectations of their parents children can also feel pressured by their peers. Being considerably less advanced than the rest of the class can be really stressful, because they are expected to keep up and they will not receive special treatment. It is usually the reason why such pupils (or rather their parents) search for one to one coaching: because it offers individual approach. With one to one coaching the teacher is able to focus on areas in which the student’s knowledge is weak and to help them develop their full potential.

3.1.6.Fulfilling one’s potential

Students who are more advanced than the rest of the group struggle with similar problem. They often find themselves bored, because the lessons are not enough challenging for them or they are ahead in their workbooks as they find the exercises easy. The advantage of individualised teaching is that the teacher is able to provide these students with more challenging exercises and tailor them to the level of their advancement. Even students that are weak in some areas have strengths in other areas. Owing to the constant observation and examination of their pupils the teacher is able to spot these strengths and to develop them. This is also beneficial for the student‘s self-esteem as they might have strengths they never realized they have and never developed them.

3.1.7.Fun

Finally, individualised teaching is more enjoyable for both the students and the teacher. As has been claimed before, it is less stressful. It works with pupil’s strengths and interests. It takes into consideration student’s needs. It is tailored to the individual. And, it is approaching the student as humanly as possible. It is also using games and interesting tasks as means of teaching. At the same time it offers an opportunity for the teacher to express their creativity in devising such tasks.