1. Laboratorio di lingua inglese 3
Lesson 1
Teaching young learners

2. Knowing how children learn their first language can help us teach them a second language. Sociocultural theories of first language development lay emphasis on language being learned through interaction with others, with knowledge becoming internalised during this social activity.

3. Caretaker talk
Young children will
- only acquire the language they hear around them
- need to hear a lot of English
- look on you – their teacher – as their new carer
- listen to you and try to make sense of what you say
- sound like the people they listen to

4. What the teacher/parent does:
- Repeats phrases said earlier
- Keeps children’s attention by asking them questions
- Reacts positively to what children say even if words are not complete or perfectly pronounced
- Adds to or improves what children say

5. Helping children learn a new language
Use English in class as the main language for communication.
Use gestures, actions, and pictures to help children understand.
Children often need to talk in order to learn – let children use their mother tongue for communication, especially to start with.
Recast in English what children say to you in their mother tongue.

6. Answer children in English as much as possible.
Use their mother tongue for support when you do a new activity or if no one understands.
Talk a lot in English to your pupils – they need to hear English.
Talk about where things are; pictures or things children can see; what you and your pupils are doing in class; what you want your pupils to do next.

7. Starting your lessons in English
Do something different so that everyone knows it’s time for English, e.g. sing a special song.
Wear something special during the lesson, e.g. a badge, a hat…
Stand in a different place or arrange the room differently.
Put up a picture or get out toys that children associate with English.

8. Ways of starting lessons
Sing a song
Do question routines
Say hello
Take the register
Rearrange the classroom
Say a rhyme
Play a game

9. Starting your lessons Greetings teacher: Good morning.
children: Morning, teacher.
teacher: How are you today?
children: Very well. How are you?
teacher: Fine. Thanks.
Clara with eight to nine year olds.
Slattery / Willis English for primary school teachers. Oxford: OUP. Page 12 / CD track 4
Page 12 / CD track 4

10. Greetings Teacher Good morning, Good afternoon, Hello, children.
everybody.
boys and girls.
girls and boys.
Children
Miss/Mrs/Mr/Ms [surname].
Hello, [first name].
Teacher.

11. Starting your lessons Routines teacher: Good morning. Is today Monday?
children: No.
teacher: Or maybe Tuesday? Or Sunday?
teacher: Oh I wish it was Sunday. OK, what day is it today?
children: Thursday.
teacher: Great!
Cristina with nine to ten year olds.
Slattery / Willis English for primary school teachers. Oxford: OUP. Page 12 / CD track 5
Page 12 / CD track 5

12. Starting your lessons Taking the register
teacher: OK, let's check the roll. Now, remember to answer “I'm here”.
teacher: Giupone, Lorenzo.
lorenzo: I'm here.
teacher: Pierrotti, Jonathan.
(silence)
children: Not here.
teacher: What about Jonathan. Where is he? “I don't know”. Can you say that?
children: (repeating) I don't know.
teacher: OK, everyone's here except Jonathan.
Clara with eight to nine year olds.
Slattery / Willis English for primary school teachers. Oxford: OUP. Page 13 / CD track 6
Page 13 / CD track 6

13. Taking the register Let's… call the roll / …take the register /
…check to see who is here.
Remember to answer “I'm here”.
Is everybody here?
Oh good, Paula, you're back. Nice to see you. Are you all right now?
Is anyone away? No-one absent today? Who is missing?
Oh, John's away. Who knows why? Is he ill?
Maybe he's gone to the dentist. What do you think?
Let's all count to see if everyone is here - girls first, then boys.
So, how many is 13 and 15? OK... Yes? So that is 28 altogether.
Is that more than yesterday? Or less than yesterday? Or the same?
Thank you, everybody.
So, everyone is here except...
So, only two people away.

14. Starting your lessons Starting with a song teacher: Morning.
children: Morning.
teacher: OK. Can you stand up now? Please. OK, Amanda can you stand up too? Thank you. OK, let's sing a song. But do you remember how to put your hands on your heads? Yes? Like this.
(Teacher puts his hands on his head.)
teacher: OK, do you remember this song? OK... Head and shoulders, knees and toes...
(All sing together)
Juan with eight to nine year olds.
Slattery / Willis English for primary school teachers. Oxford: OUP. Page 13 / CD track 7
Page 13 / CD track 7

15. Activity - song Head, shoulders, knees and toes
Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
And eyes and ears and chin and mouth and nose

17. Using English in class
Page 15 / CD tracks

18. Ending in English
What do your children normally do after your English lesson? Do they
stay in the same room?
go to another lesson in a different room?
have a break?
go home?
How do you normally finish your lessons?
What might you say?
Write down three things.

19. Ending in English Ending a lesson
teacher: Right, we have no time for anything else. Don't do any more. We don't have any more time today...
Cristina with seven to eight year olds.
Finishing up
teacher: That's all for today. OK, on Monday there will be more. OK, OK, now children, now, make a line to say good bye... following the leader...
Juan with six to seven year olds.
Page 16 / CD tracks

20. Ending in English
Read the examples below. They all come from real lessons.
OK, that's all for now.
Right. We've no time for anything else - don't do any more - we don't have any more time today.
OK-just one more time before going out for a short break.
OK, now stop! We haven't enough time to finish the monster today. So stand up...
OK-just one more time - and then that's it.
OK, pick up all your things - and put the books in the cupboard.
That's all for today. On Monday, there'll be more.
OK, children, make a line to say good-bye-following the leader. Bye bye.
OK, it's break-time. So you can go out to play. But first-line up quietly by the door.
Find four pairs of phrases that have similar meanings.
Change the underlined word or phrase for another one

21. Activity – farewell routine
See You Later (poem with actions)
See you later alligator, (open and close your arms, like scissors)
Bye bye butterfly, (link hands at thumb and ‘flap your wings’)
Give a hug ladybug, (hug yourself)
Be sweet parakeet, (flap your arms like a big bird)
Blow a kiss goldfish, (make “fish breathing” face, like kissing)
See you soon raccoon, (wave goodbye with one arm)
Take care polar bear, (make praying gesture)
Out the door dinosaur! (make “go away” gesture)