The Distance Delta

MODULE 3 PROPOSAL

Which specialist
area I have chosen
from the Young Learners (7-10 y.o)
Cambridge rubric
(see Delta
handbook)

Why I have chosen  I have been teaching YLs since the beginning of my teaching career and
this area have a lot of experience in this area
 In my future career I would like to continue working with YLs and later get
involved in children’s material design
 in our centre I have taught and will teach this age group
 I enjoy working with young children and would like to continue learning about
this area.

Background  Moon, J. 2000 Children Learning English, Macmillan Heinemann

reading I have  Nunan, D. 2011 Teaching English to Young Learners, Anaheim
done/intend to do University Press
in relation to this  Cameron, L. 2001 Teaching Languages to Young Learners, CUP
specialism  Pinter, A. 2006. Teaching Young Language Learners, OUP
 Gardner, H. 1993. Multiple Intelligence. The Theory in Practice, Harper
Collins
 Garvie, E. 1990. Story as Vehicle, Multilingual Matters.
 Ioannou-Georgiou S & Pavlou P. 2003 Assessing Young Learners, OUP
 Egan, Kieran. 1992 Imagination in Teaching and Learning: ages 8-15,
Routledge
Key issues that In general:
have arisen from  Children need engaging, fun activities that address different intelligences.
the reading and  It is important to implement a holistic approach when working with children.
from my They are still developing their own world and need activities that help them
experience develop not only language skills, but also motor skills, social habits,
collaboration, etc.
 Children are great (if slower) language learners. They have no inhibition
and are not afraid of making mistakes. They are happy to experiment with
language and are great imitators.
 Their attention span is very short so they need a variety of activities to keep
them engaged.
 They don’t have a need to learn a new language. This means that they
need to be motivated by the teacher.
 Assessment of YLs progress isn’t simple. It’s often difficult to judge what
one child has learned/how he/she has improved.

Omani students:
 Arab children don’t have a habit of reading. Even in Arabic. It is a very ‘oral’
culture. As a result, children do not learn to read until later even in Arabic.
Learning to read in English is a big challenge for them.
 There are students in our centre who can speak quite well but can’t read at
 The Distance Delta

all in English (even in teenager classes). We don’t have classes that focus
on reading and in the current syllabuses there is simply no time for it.
 My students love stories and we often read them together in class,
however, it would be great to enable them to read by themselves. It would
help them to learn English and it would help their overall development.
Which specialist Junior Bronze (7-10 years old), beginners.
group I have
chosen and why I believe that it is very important for children to start learning to read at the very
beginning. At this age children are curious and eager to express themselves.
They have great imagination and can be very creative.

In our centre, beginner class for this age only opened last year. I was the one to
teach them and I realized that there was a need to at least supplement the
textbook with stories and crafts. After discussing this with our YL manager, we
decided that the syllabus needs improvement and that it would be valuable for
the centre.
How I will identify: Needs Interviews Diagnostic Observation Other (state
Analysis Tests/Samples of what e.g. data
i.Systems/skills Questio Oral questions Work  Observe from parents
needs nnaires to the students placement etc)
with a teaching  Diagnostic tests testing
assistant who (at the beginning sessions Questionnaire
ii.Learner can translate of the course)  Observe a for the parents
preferences and ______ the questions  Written and Senior Bronze (translated into
affective needs and answers recorded (audio (10-13 y.o. Arabic) on
and, possibly, beginner class) reading habits in
video)placement lesson for the family
tests comparison

Why I have chosen  Needs analysis doesn’t really apply to children of this age
this/these methods  They can’t yet read and they do not speak English yet, so they need
translation. From my experience though, they already can talk about their
experiences (they love to share) and preferences.
 Diagnostic tests in our centre (placement testing interviews) are very child-
oriented. This is when we can find out a lot about the children, what they
know and what they can do. Audio/video would help to analyse the data
more fully retrospectively.
 To see the differences between the two age groups at the same level.
 To find out more about their home environment and their interests. At the
later stages, to involve parents more.
Any specific I’m not sure if I need to write it here, but I wanted to ask if this will be
questions for your acceptable.
Course Tutor I would like to design a syllabus based around stories for children. It would
include phonics to help them learn to read faster. Vocabulary and structures
(chunks) will be taken from the stories. Children will make up their own stories
and chants. I believe this would encourage creativity and stimulate their interest.