Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shuigou Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Baoji Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
Teaching EFL in a Kindergarten Environment ITTT CTEYL Course Summative Assignment Martha A. Irwin This material is targeted towards ELL Kindergarten students between the ages of four and five years old. Four and five year olds are physically developed enough to run, jump, climb and maintain bladder and bowel control (Kaiser & Raminksy, 2012). Gross motor skills include establishing hand dominance, cutting with scissors, holding writing implements, and using eating utensils (Kaiser & Raminksy, 2012). Kindergarten learners are very active and are able to walk on their tip-toes, stand and hop on each foot, and catch. Students at this age are identified by Erikson to be in the pre-school psycho-social stage of development (Erikson, 1993). During this stage, egocentric students expand their concept of self and begin to take on the role of another by seeing circumstances and actions from another person’s view (Erikson, 1993). Students are learning to regulate emotions and control behavior in Kindergarten, while interacting with their classmates (Kaiser & Raminsky, 2012). Empathy is a skill that is too difficult for a Kindergarten student to learn on his or her own, but can be acquired through guidance and encouragement from a knowledgeable person (Vytgotsky, 1987). Students at this age are unable to depend heavily on logic skills, but are able to judge whether or not they have succeeded or failed at a task, as well as be able to tell right from wrong (Erikson, 1993). Art projects instill a positive self concept in young Kindergarten learners and encourage students to create without fear of failure associated with disappointing others (Kaiser & Raminsky, 2012). Kindergarten lessons will adhere to Bandura’s Modeling Processs, which focuses on gaining and keeping student attention, retention and reproduction of student learning, while keeping students motivated through positive reinforcement (Bandura & Walters, 1977). According to Piaget’s theory of intellectual development, Kindergarten students are in the pre-operational stage of development (Piaget, 1959). During this stage, children learn through manipulative play and recognize that objects can be represented by symbols (Piaget, 1959). Students become emergent and early readers by utilizing basic concepts of print and use sound-letter recognition, consonant sounds, short vowel sounds to read words aloud and write them down (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Students in Kindergarten are also able to identify rhyming words. Language needs vary from student to student. Some students have had limited exposure to print materials, while others have limited oral language skills and may be English language learners (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Students are able to use words to tell stories and follow simple multistep directions (Kaiser & Raminksy, 2012). Mathematically, Kindergarten students are able to sort objects by color, shape, size and are able to count up to 20 while adding and subtracting single digit numbers 1-9 (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). In science and social studies, students will learn about the five sense, be introduced to the inquiry process, perform simple measurements, identify community helpers while learning about the calendar and life cycles among plants and animals (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Logical consequences and choices are embedded and included in the Kindergartener schedule (Fox & Longhans, 2005). Students will not be able to move onto the next activity until certain behaviors are exhibited (Fox & Longhans, 2005). For example, students will not be able to go to specials until they have picked up ten pieces of trash. Students will also be offered choices to combat challenging behavior (Fox & Longhans, 2005). Students exhibiting chronic, challenging behaviors that are aggressive, resistant, distractible and dependent will be separated from the group and placed in isolation in the classroom to complete work (Kaiser & Raminksy, 2012). Students in isolation will also be placed on a positive behavior plan where their behavior is evaluated every 30 minutes. Solid thirty minute blocks of on-task behavior will be recorded on the sticker chart. When the sticker chart is full, the student will receive a choice of an incentive. All kindergarten students will earn individual points for different good behaviors and ancillary tasks such as bringing in notices, homework, and kind gestures. Points will be traded in for prize items from the classroom treasure box as well as weekly popcorn parties. Kindergarteners who are not getting along with one another or who engage in argumentative behaviors with fellow classmates will go to peer mediation. At peer mediation, students engage in a mediated conversation with a trained peer mediator to explore ways to solve problems peacefully and get along with one another better using words instead of violence (Kaiser & Raminksy, 2012). References Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory. Erikson, E. H. (1993). Childhood and society. WW Norton & Company. Fox, L. & Langhans, S. (2005). Logical Consequences. Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning. Retrieved September 11 from https://myasucourses.asu.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/2016FallA-X-ECD520-77727-77728/Documents/Logical Consequences.pdf Kaiser, B. & Rasminsky, J. S. (2012). Challenging behavior in young children: Understanding, preventing and responding effectively (3rd Edition). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Inc. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Washington, DC: Authors. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Washington, DC: Authors. Piaget, J. (1959). The language and thought of the child (Vol. 5). Psychology Press. Vygotsky, L. (1987). Zone of proximal development. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes, 5291.
