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EFL in a kindergarten class is a unique opportunity to bring a new language into the lives of children who are just beginning their formal education career. There are many challenges along the way to make a comfortable and effective classroom, but how to most effectively teach English to kindergarteners is a contested topic. Building rapport with students is a crucial step from day one to build trust with the student. Children respond well to games and are receptive to activities that reward them with success, which is an important motivator in a class of such young students. Since kindergarteners most likely have little or no experience with the English language, introducing basic vocabulary with a common reference point such as a picture, photograph, gesture, or props in the classroom are essential to encouraging contribution from the students from the start. Choral repetition is also important during the lesson to expose them to an English speaker and how to properly pronounce vocabulary. Also, EFL in a kindergarten class will have structured activities and lessons based around specific topics to keep the attention of the students, and group work and pair work are important tools for organizing a class of kindergarten children. It is important to not put too much pressure on kindergarteners in EFL since they are just beginners and do not respond well to negativity. Also, rewarding students when they are successful with stickers or encouragement goes a long way to ensure future successes. However, there are times that there may be a need for discipline and teachers must treat students equally and follow the code of conduct of the school they are located. Fairness is the key to creating trust between students and teachers in the classroom. Teaching grammar will be challenging to students that have not even perfected their native language yet, but providing clear instructions to students in formal or group activities will go a long way to help them begin to create a foundation of English grammar. Also, children are easily distracted and problems that may arise in the classroom could derail an activity, so making realistic aims for a lesson or week leaves the flexibility to focus on unforeseen problems. In a typical lesson for kindergarten EFL classes, there should be a variety of activities for multiple reasons. First, students will need to be engaged in order to understand what's going on if the activities are varied, and students practice many different skills and are exposed to different types of language like productive skills or receptive skills. The materials and classroom setting are also vital to most effectively teach a kindergarten EFL class. Since students of a younger age are mainly visual learners, posters and pictures in the classroom create a comfortable atmosphere for students. If the school provides certain materials of students at that age, teachers can supplement some of the activities from the book with other visual activities to more effectively help the students absorb the lesson material. There are many ways to effectively teach a kindergarten EFL class, but a comfortable atmosphere and a focus on a variety of activities to expose them to different forms of the English language go a long way to successfully teaching students the foundation of their language ability.
