TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRESCHOOLERS IN A MULTILINGUAL COMMUNITY

Edita Hornáčková Klapicová (Trnava, Slovakia)

The present paper is part of an ethnic research project carried out in a multi-ethnic community in Lower Austria. One of the ways to access the community in order to study some of its cultural and linguistic aspects was through teaching English to the youngest members of the community, i.e. 3 to 6 year-old children, who attend the local kindergarten. Coming from families with different ethnic background and mother tongues, the children used German as lingua franca in kindergarten. During their English lessons, however, the English language was used exclusively as the language of communication. The aim of this paper is to show some of the teaching techniques and classroom activities through which the foreign language, i.e. English was taught to this group of preschoolers in a natural way and with effective results.

The teacher of a foreign language may often struggle with the question “How much mother tongue should I use in my foreign language classroom?” This question is legitimate especially when the teacher and the students share a common mother language. However, in a mixed-language group of students, the question might be “What language should be used to teach and explain the foreign language?” The answer is simple. It is the foreign language itself. Children between 3 and 6 are still developing language skills in their mother tongue and the exposure to another language at this age may come through as something natural and unstrained. Therefore, it is highly advisable that the foreign language teacher use the foreign language as the only language for communication in the classroom. Adopting this approach, the teacher may come to surprisingly outstanding results.

The teaching strategies in the present research were based on several theories. The first was the behaviourist theory, according to which “learning means creating habits, developing automatic responses (conditioned reflexes) to selected stimuli, and using reinforcement” (Pokrivčáková 2012, 35). Adopting this theory, the teacher selected activities focused on memorization, using a lot of repetition and drills. In the classroom consisting of very young learners, this type of teaching techniques can be effectively used to enhance memorizing vocabulary and chunks of language.

The second approach applied in the present research was based on Vygotsky, who claims that learning is reinforced by social interaction (Cf. Gadušová 2004, 14). Learners were constantly engaged in pair and group activities which helped them acquire the social dimension as well as to practice the social function of the target language.

The third approach was based on Bruner’s idea of a ‘spiral curriculum’, which is based on the idea of focusing on essential concepts of what is being taught/learned and return to them several ways, each time on a higher level (Cf. ibid. 13-14). For instance, numbers 1-10 where first introduced through simple counting: the fingers on each hand, the balls in the classroom, building blocks, pencils, etc. Later, pictures with a certain number of items on them were used to practice numbers. Moreover, flashcards with numerals for the corresponding number were used to practice the symbols for numbers 1-10. Throughout the whole course, numbers were practiced in different ways through various activities, whose aim was not necessarily to practice numbers but some other linguistic element. In a similar fashion, other linguistic items were learned and practiced several times during the course.

Last but not least, the language acquisition theory was adopted in the sense of Schuman’s (1996) view that “whatever concept/cognitive development a child masters in the native language is transferred to the second language” (ibid. 35). Teachers “create meaningful communicative situations in the classroom, as close to mother language acquisition as possible, while learners are exposed to a variety of printed, auditory, and visual materials in the target language” (ibid. 35-36). Very young learners are “more sensitive than rational” (ibid. 41). Therefore, a foreign language should be presented and learned in context, in the most natural way possible (through real objects, actions, situations, etc.). Classroom activities should be designed “to catch learners’ immediate interest, since they are still not used to classroom conventions and school discipline” (ibid. 41). Chunks of language were presented to learners through nursery rhymes, poems, songs, stories and physical activities, such as motion games and Total Physical Response activities, for example The wheels on the bus song, The Hokey Pokey song, the Simon says game, etc.

The teaching strategies used in the present research included visual (real objects, pictures, and illustrations), auditory (songs, nursery rhymes, listening to sound materials and pronunciation drills), kinaesthetic (movements as memory aids, examination of object, TPR activities, motion games, and making products), social (practicing short dialogues, simulations and role-plays), and emotional1 (using attractive and colourful objects, illustrations, musical background).

In the present research, learners were viewed as partners, individual and democratic explorers. That assumed mutual trust and respect between the learners and the teacher, learners were provided with the opportunity to explore information and develop self-reliance as well as practice cooperation with other learners via task-based activities organized in pairs and groups, for example The blindfolded friend2 game through which learners not only learned new vocabulary, but also explored the sense of sight as one of the five senses and practiced reliance on their friend.

The teacher adopted the role of an organizer (managed and planned the course), controller (controlled the teaching and learning processes in the classroom), assessor (assessed his and his students’ actions and work mainly by correction and providing feedback), participant (combined the positions of a teacher and an equal partner), facilitator (provided appropriate learning environment), resource (provided information for learners, parent and colleagues), tutor (gave advice) and investigator (developed research activities and continued with self-development).

Designing and planning the whole course and each lesson individually was crucial. The teacher first became familiar with the number of classroom hours and the number of learners in the classroom. In several cases, the mother language(s) of the learners was not the same. A specific topic was selected for each lesson, for instance family, friendship, colors, numbers, the weather, Christmas, etc. The teacher had to carefully think about and prepare the teaching materials used in the classroom, e.g. songs, musical instrument, nursery rhymes, flashcards, objects used to teach vocabulary, objects used in games, pictures for coloring, color pencils, etc. Creating a positive classroom atmosphere as well as using the appropriate classroom equipment and materials the teacher was able to build a language-friendly environment.

By varying the activities, the teacher was able to keep the learners’ attention and interest throughout the whole lesson. The alteration of singing, dancing, moving, coloring, playing games, speaking, listening, etc. assured that the learners were disciplined and actively participated in the different activities with interest and without getting bored.

Giving and getting feedback was also very important. The teacher continuously praised the learners for their achievements in the foreign language classroom. Expressions, such as “Well done, Kathy!” or “Wonderful, thank you!” were an effective way of motivating the learners and helping them become more confident in the foreign language. Feedback from learners, colleagues, and other observers (e.g. parents) enhanced a successful teaching-learning process.

Even though the teaching techniques and classroom activities presented in this paper proved effective in a multi-ethnic English classroom, they may also be applied in any foreign language classroom with very young learners. As children learn most effectively through real-life experience, setting the learning process in context and combining teaching strategies provided that the teaching/learning process was vivid, interesting, and amusing for both the students and the teacher.

Bibliography

Gadušová, Z. Teória a prax osvojovania cudzích jazykov. Nitra, UKF, 2004. ISBN 80-8050-736-8

Janíková, V. a kol. Výuka cizích jazyků. Grada, 2011. ISBN 978-80-247-3512-2

Pokrivčáková, S. Modern Teacher of English. ASPA, 2012. ISBN 978-80-89477-08-1