3, 2, 1 Action ... English Lessons With Young Learners

It is very important for young learners to enjoy their lessons in order to get the most out of them. As adults we understand the theory behind teaching and learning and it is our task to put it into practice so that young students embrace new knowledge and absorb it without any extra thinking about it. If we create an environment that invites pupils to actively participate in lessons, we can achieve high levels of knowledge. That type of knowledge is functional and useful in everyday life not just in the classroom. I believe that is what we strive for when teaching a foreign language – the capability of using it in real life situations, maybe not knowing the perfect grammar but being able to make the best of what you know. Just learning a certain dialogue from student’s book by heart and not playing with the words, changing it, making new ones … just isn’t enough anymore. Not with the world and technology around us where you can make (foreign) friends in a blink of an eye. I have learned that teaching a foreign language (English in our case) through games and role play is very efficient in my classes with children aging from six to nine years old. Students enjoy participating, are willing to play with the new language and are not afraid to make mistakes – we even encourage them to try something different so we can see the way their mind flow works.