ADVANTAGES

They are use their individual language-

learning strategies to acquire
their language, they'll find they can use
these to pick up English

They can learn through play-like activities

shared with adults. They firstly make
sense of the activity and then get meaning
from the adult’s shared language.

They have more time to fit English. since

children have school programmes are more informal and
children’s minds are not cluttered with facts
to be stored and tested. They may have
less homework and are less stressed.

They have the Those who can pick up a second language

ability to imitate
pronunciation and work out
the rules
They are self-motivated to
pick up language Without
conscious learning
they don't see learning
English as something difficult
unless an adult suggests it
NATURAL while they are young appear to use the
LANGUAGE innate language-learning strategies
throughout life with other languages.
ACQUIRERS Picking up 3rd, 4th, or more languages is
easier than the second.
they are
Those who acquire language rather than
consciously learn it have better
HOW YOUNG pronunciation and feel for the language
and culture. When they reach puberty, they
CHILDREN feel they have to consciously study English
through grammar-based programmes.
LEARN ENGLISH AS
ANOTHER LANGUAGE Though they may not understand everything, they understand the important
words and decipher the rest using different clues to interpret the meaning.
UNDERSTANDING
they go through With encouragement they will transfer their ‘gist’ understanding skills to
interpret meaning in English.

After the initial English sessions, some young children become frustrated by their

Looking, listening, may be

STAGES IN PICKING inability to express their thoughts in English. Others want to speak quickly in English
as they do with the native one.
communication through facial
SILENT PERIOD first stage
UP LANGUAGE FRUSTRATION
expression or gestures
Spoken dialogues should be one-sided Frustration can be overcome by providing children with ‘performance’ pieces
or very simple rhymes, which consist of ready-made phrases.

the adult has to use an adjusted form of

there are some Children should not be told they have made a mistake because any correction immediately
speech to facilitate learning
second stage
demotivates.
Mistakes may be part of the process of working out the grammar rules of English or they may be a
BEGINNING TO TALK MISTAKES fault in pronunciation.
Depending on the frequency of English sessions, each child
begins to say single words (‘cat’, ‘house’) or ready-made short If children have a chance to hear the adult repeat the same piece of language correctly, they will self-correct in their
phrases. own time.
third stage

They use single words as a short cut to dialogue before they

Boys’ brains develop differently from girls’ and this affects how boys
are ready to create their own phrases.
pick up and use language.

BUILDING UP IMPORTANT Sometimes mixed classes make boys to be overshadowed by girls’

ENGLISH LANGUAGE natural ability to use language.
They gradually build up phrases consisting of a single FACTORS
memorised word to which they add words from their GENDER
vocabulary. DIFFERENCES
Young boys need some different language experiences with girls and
their achievements should not be compared with them.
Children gradually begin to create whole sentences.

Children need know that there is a reason for using

English.

Activities need to be linked to some interesting

everyday activity about which they already know.
LANGUAGE-
LEARNING
ENVIRONMENTS Activities are accompanied by adult language giving a
running commentary and dialogues with adjusted parentese
language.

Activities are backed up by specific objects: this

helps understanding and increases general interest.

Before decoding English, young children need to know the alphabet. Introducing
the remaining sounds is better left until they have more experience in using language
and reading.

Beginning reading in English goes easily if young children already know the language
they are trying to read. Reading what they know by heart gives children opportunities to
READING work out how to decode simple words by themselves.

Once children have built up a bank of words they can read, they feel
confident and are ready for a more structured approach.

Children need continual encouragement as well as praise for good performance, and parents are in the ideal
position to motivate them, even if they have only basic English themselves
PARENTAL SUPPORT
By sharing, parents can influence their young children’s attitudes toward language learning and other
cultures. It is known that most lifelong attitudes are formed by the age of eight or nine.