Teaching English to young children is a rewarding but challenging task. It requires patience, organization, and full dedication to providing a fun and stimulating learning environment for your little students.
This type of teaching can be especially effective if you are able to connect with and devote your undivided attention to each child.
While teaching can sometimes be demanding, the rewards that come from seeing children grow and learn are undeniable, and sometime exhilarating.
I was recently reminded of that by a message my colleague, teacher MaryT, sent just before Christmas. It’s so nice I had to share it:
Hi Letizia,…
I also want to thank you for this great opportunity! I’m really enjoying this new adventure at Learn with Mummy!
Children that meet me and greet me with the songs of playgroups is simply amazing!
It really makes me feel proud of being part of this team!
Thank you!
MaryT
teacher in CatanzaroLet’s look at some of the challenges associated with teaching English to young children as well as some of the rewards that make it all worthwhile, shall we?
The Challenges of Teaching English to Young Children
Teaching young kids can pose a unique set of challenges, even more so when you cannot/should not use their mother tongue. For one thing, it’s important to create lesson plans that are both educational and entertaining (spoiler alert, at Learn with Mummy we take are of that).
You also need to be able to manage groups of children who may have different levels of understanding or competences.
And most importantly, you must be able to connect with each student in order for them to really absorb what you’re teaching them.
All in all, teaching young children requires someone who is comfortable multitasking while also being sensitive and attentive enough to recognize when a child needs extra help or attention.
The Rewards of Teaching English to Young Children
While there are certainly challenges associated with teaching English to babies, toddlers and children, there are plenty of rewards too!
Watching your students come alive as they start making connections between words and meanings is incredibly gratifying – not only for you but for the students themselves!
Seeing your students develop language skills that will serve them throughout their lives is priceless, as is witnessing their growth in confidence as they become more comfortable speaking in front of others.
When you’ll first see them coming to you, doing their best to speak English, because they want to talk to YOU, you’ll be over the moon, and most likely you’ll find it hard to believe.
Additionally, for women (or anyone really) looking for life-work balance or a career change, this form of teaching offers flexible hours and an opportunity for personal growth and development – something that cannot be found in many jobs today.
Is this for you?
All in all, if you
- love children
- love the English language (and master it with proficiency, whether you are native or not)
- love being independent but not alone
you’ll find teaching English to young children such a rewarding job!
From developing language skills in your students and watching their confidence blossom before your eyes, to discovering and developing your own skills, there are countless benefits that come from this role – both professionally and personally!
Find out more:
If you’re looking for an exciting new challenge with plenty of rewards along the way – this could be just the job for you.
Do you want to find out how Learn with Mummy can help you become a successful and very much respected teacher for young children? You’ll find more information here:
Or you can just get in touch so we can talk about it…
If you still have doubts, you might find some answers below…
The best way to teach English to children and toddlers is by full immersion, i.e. by immersing them into meaningful and emotionally rich experiences that happen exclusively in English.
For full immersion to work it must be supported by the right quantity and quality of repetition and by strong relationships.
Young children do not care about learning foreign languages, of course, they have no need for foreign languages. To make learning enjoyable it is essential that the experience of learning satisfies their real needs, it must be interesting and stimulating and structured in a way to elicit spontaneous responses from them.
It must be emotionally rich, answering to children’s basic need to communicate, to feel safe, to have their emotions acknowledged and to learn at their own speed.
Every child is different and every group of children is different, but here are some common pitfalls:
1. children do not pay attention to you and spend their time wandering around
2. children keep speaking their first language during the lesson
3. children learn to understand what you say in English but not to speak it actively
4. parents try to hard to help and end up putting too much pressure on the children
5. you feel exhausted
Every teacher experiences these situations from time to time, but they should be exception, not the norm.
If you want to teach English to young children and overcome the inevitable challenges, you’ll need: Training, Tools, and Support.
Training should cover how children learn a second language (which is different from how grown ups learn) and how to motivate children.
Tools should be adequate for the children ages and for the objectives you want to achieve: grammar lessons won’t teach them anything, just reading books will not teach them to talk.
Support should come from someone with experience and from peers, other teachers who face similar challenges.
Benefits for children: they’ll grow up considering English part of their life, they’ll keep using it and improving it and they’ll grow into young adults who can communicate with the rest of the world.
Benefits for the teacher: you’ll change lives, for good.
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