TEFL Gretna Florida

This research is about teaching children at kindergartens, this age group includes children from babies till the age of 6 years. This age is very critical to learn anything, form languages to moral aspects of life. There are many different ways of teaching. But one of the most important things to do is:“To meet the challenge of teaching children, George Stocker suggests the first step is to stop thinking of them as "short adults"!” Why teaching this young: Teaching children english as a foreign language is a really rewarding thing to do. children have a still developing brain, it works like a sponge,some facts about a young brain are: - A 3-year old toddler's brain is twice as active as an adult's brain. - Talking to young children establishes foundations for learning language during early critical periods when learning is easiest for a child. - Early experience and interaction with the environment are most critical in a child's brain development. Source: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/famsci/fs609w.htm Different ways of teaching young learners: “In general, there are two ways in which children may learn a second language: simultaneously or sequentially (McLaughlin et al., 1995; Tabors, 2008).” Source; http://www.education.com/reference/article/how-children-learn-second-language/ Simultaneous learners include children under the age of 3 who are exposed to two languages at the same time. These children may include those who are exposed to one language by parents at home and another language by providers in their early childhood program. Simultaneous learners are also young children whose parents each speak separate languages to them at home (e.g., mother speaks spanish to child, father speaks chinese to child). Before 6 months of age, simultaneous learners learn both languages at similar rates and do not prefer one language over the other. This is because they build separate but equally strong language systems in their brains for each of the languages they hear. These separate systems allow children to learn more than one language without becoming confused. In fact, the pathways infants develop in their brains for each of the languages they hear are similar to the single pathway developed by children who are only exposed to english. At 6 months, children begin to notice differences between languages and may begin to prefer the language they hear more. This means that parents must be careful to provide similar amounts of exposure to both languages; otherwise, children may begin to drop vocabulary of the language to which they are less exposed (Espinosa, 2008; Kuhl, 2004; Kuhl et al., 2006; Tabors, 2008). Cognitive Benefits of Simultaneous Language Development There are many cognitive benefits for young children who are simultaneously exposed to more than one language. For example, they have greater neural activity and denser tissue in the areas of the brain related to memory, attention, and language than monolingual learners. These indicators are associated with long-term positive cognitive outcomes for children (Bialystok 2001, Mechelli et al., 2004; Kovelman, Baker, &Petitto, 2006). Sequential Second Language Learners Sequential learners include children who have become familiar with one language, but are then introduced or required to learn a second language. The classic example of sequential learning is when a non-english speaking child enters an english-dominant classroom. Unlike simultaneous language learning, sequential learning of languages can occur at any age and can be influenced by factors like the child's temperament or motivation. Sequential Second Language Learners Sequential learners include children who have become familiar with one language, but are then introduced or required to learn a second language. The classic example of sequential learning is when a non-english speaking child enters an english-dominant classroom. Unlike simultaneous language learning, sequential learning of languages can occur at any age and can be influenced by factors like the child's temperament or motivation. Some of the most used technics when teaching to young learns at kindergartens are: Singing songs, flashcards, doing all kind of creative activities, games, videos, music, speaking, etc..all this will help to improve their speech in all ways. Every little thing they enjoy they will remember much quicker, everything is important when teaching, especially at this young age it is important to beenv ethusiastic at all times and understanding.