GOBIERNO DE MENDOZA

DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE ESCUELAS

DIRECCIÓN DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR PROFESORADO EN INGLÉS
I.E.S "DEL ATUEL" Nº 9-011
_________________________________________________________________________

VIRTUAL CLASS # 4: HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN ENGLISH? (PART 2)

A. Is the following statement true or false (justify your answer):

“The earlier a child starts learning a second language, the better”

The statement is true. Although age is not the only factor that
matters, it is well known that it is important. Based on observations on
immigrant families that learn a second language in a new country, those
people that acquire a second language while they are young learners, are
the ones who succeed in adapting the new competences of the language
completely; in contrast, adults and elders might find this process more
difficult, or even get frustrated. This observation has reflected the Critical
Period Hypothesis that proposes the best time for learning a foreign
language is between ages 2 and 12 . It also proposes that humans are unable
to learn a foreign language to a native-speaker standard after the age of
puberty, however there is no scientific evidence to support this hypothesis.
On the other hand, there certainly exists a critical period with respect to
PRONUNCIATION, since there is a period in which people miss the chance to
learn that native competence. All this information allows us to understand
that after puberty, it is totally possible to acquire a second language, but
there is going to be a huge difference when it comes to a native
pronunciation, and acquiring a new accent is going to be almost unreachable
if we are adults or elders. In conclusion, the earlier a child starts learning a
second language, the more meaningful and successful the process is.

B. Mention the 6 key principles and explain number 3

6 KEY PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING VERY YOUNG LEARNERS

1- There is no evidence that learning a new language ‘too early’ might have
a negative impact on L1 development.
2- Young children need more time than adolescents and adults to learn a
new language.

3- They benefit from meaning-focused activities and natural language use -

not from explicit rules.

FLORENCIA RUILOBA 1
GOBIERNO DE MENDOZA
DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE ESCUELAS
DIRECCIÓN DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR PROFESORADO EN INGLÉS
I.E.S "DEL ATUEL" Nº 9-011
_________________________________________________________________________

As they are young learners, what calls their attention is the

natural use of a second language, the one we can find in movies,
series, music they like, TV programs, or even in relatives if they speak
another language. Thus, in order to make them learn a second
language, we need to teach them by using meaning-focused activities,
based on the things they are interested and enthusiastic about, to call
their attention and encourage them to learn from a different
perspective; they are not interested in learning from a textbook or
studying grammar rules; they, for example, want to know how to sing
their favorite song correctly or know what are the characters of a
series saying without having to read the subtitles. Teachers, can also
use games in order to get them interested in the foreign language
while they are having fun and socializing with their classmates.

4- Early language learning can have a positive influence on children’s

cognition.
5- An early start can foster children’s attitudes and motivation, thus have a
positive effect on their proficiency later on.
6- Teachers need to apply an age-appropriate methodology.

C. Mention the other factors the speaker considers important.

➔ A secure, comfortable and relaxed environment.

➔ Making the lessons enjoyable and fun.
➔ A good rapport (student-teacher relation).
➔ An inspiring content.
➔ Positive reinforcement.
➔ Using music, chants and rhymes.
➔ Using stories.
➔ Learning to interact.
➔ Learning to think.
➔ Engaging activities.
➔ Relevant and correct use of language.
➔ Multi-sensory learning (e.g. TPR).

Quantity and quality matters. Language learning needs to be embedded in

the social context of the classroom. There has to be an active participation

FLORENCIA RUILOBA 2
GOBIERNO DE MENDOZA
DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE ESCUELAS
DIRECCIÓN DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR PROFESORADO EN INGLÉS
I.E.S "DEL ATUEL" Nº 9-011
_________________________________________________________________________
to work with input and output (our students are not parrots, they not repeat
or imitate).

D. Mention and exemplify the 8 strategies.

 Strategy Nº1: Use multi-sensory activities to help children to remember

new words.
For example, saying a word and making a typical gesture or saying a typical
sound. For example, if we are teaching them “animals”, we could say the
word ‘cat’ followed by the sound the cat makes. Then, we have to get them
to repeat the sequence and gradually stop making the gesture or the sound
so that the children can make it on their own.

 Strategy Nº2: Use rhythm and auditory sub modalities to help children
to remember difficult words.
For example, we can teach them new vocabulary by pronouncing the
different words following the rhythm of a song and making our students
repeat the word as much time as they can and playing with their tone,
volume, pitch; thus encouraging them to put shyness aside and participate
along with all the students. The more auditory submodalities we apply, the
better the children remember pronunciation.

 Strategy Nº3: Revise lexical sets with the help of memory games.
For example, grouping our students and playing memory games with them,
using the new vocabulary. Putting the flashcards down the floor, pointing at
one of them while we ask ‘what do you think this flashcard says before
turning it up, so that the students’ memory can be stimulated in an
interactive way.

 Strategy Nº4: Revise vocabulary with the help of ‘odd one out’
activities.
For example, if we are teaching fruits, we can give students some lines with
three equal fruit images and one different for them to identify the odd one
out thus they work on categorization and classification.

 Strategy Nº5: Gradually go beyond a mere behavioristic kind of

learning when you do TPR activities.

FLORENCIA RUILOBA 3
GOBIERNO DE MENDOZA
DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE ESCUELAS
DIRECCIÓN DE EDUCACIÓN SUPERIOR PROFESORADO EN INGLÉS
I.E.S "DEL ATUEL" Nº 9-011
_________________________________________________________________________
For example, we can do an interactive activity where the teacher and the
students are active. We can read them The three Little Pigs and make
pauses for them to act when the wolf blows the little house e. g. , say “now
the wolf BLOWS” and encourage them to blow as if they were the wolf, thus
having fun and learning new words.

 Strategy Nº6: Use task listening to check (individual) children’s

comprehension.
For example: listen and point activities, listen and color activities, listen and
say yes/no and listen and use yes/no cards. We can ask our students about
the fruits and vegetables they like or don’t like and they have to use the
flashcards to give their opinions.

 Strategy Nº7: Use ‘backward chaining’ to help children to remember

longer strings of words.
For example, we can give our students a clustered sentence making them
repeat after us from the last to the first word, in order to work on their
memory and to make them notice the importance of word order.

 Strategy Nº8: Use ‘sandwiching’ when giving instructions in the

children’s own language.
For example, we can show them a video about the importance of being
generous and helpful, with some sentences in English and after that, we can
say “Well now I need you to say your opinions about helping others. Bueno,
ahora necesito que me digan sus opiniones sobre ayudar a los demás. Well
now I need you to say your opinions about helping others”, making them
easier to understand what are we asking for and also making them
understand us and giving them input at the same time.

FLORENCIA RUILOBA 4