Articles in the ‘Young Learners’ Section
As we are at the start of the academic year, and it is a time to think about establishing routines, I thought we could take a look at homework. To set or not to set homework, how much, what to do with it once it has been done, etc. How the Context Impacts on Homework Here in Portugal, ...
Children love stories. Stories are magic, they can create other worlds, emotions, ideas and make the everyday seem incredible. They can teach us empathy and take us on terrific journeys. They can make us laugh, cry, jump with fright and then comfort us with a happy ending. From a very young age we learn how to ...
What do Young Learners (YLs) really want from a language lesson? Have you ever wondered? I have asked colleagues, both experts and newly qualified, who confirmed ‘YLs just want to play’. Yes, play games. Possibly, play games and learn something new? Surely, YLs want to learn something new while having fun and playing games. This is what really motivates them and motivation is a key factor in order to learn ...
In 2015, we were fortunate enough to have held the annual IH Young Learner Conference in Torres Vedras. They were celebrating their 25th Anniversary, and so, in the spirit of the conference theme ‘Looking forward, Looking back’, we took the opportunity to do some celebrating of our own as an ‘IHYL’ family, via a presentation ...
Congratulations International House Journal of Education and Training. 20 years of sharing information with educators and trainers around the globe! In honor of this achievement, this issue’s YL Column is… Five Ways for Young Learners to Share their Work Roll out the red carpet It’s the end of year/semester performance. The parents are seated in neat rows. ...
With the 20th Anniversary of the IH Journal and the launch this year of #MyTEFLstory it seemed right for this issue’s Five in a Flash to be about Teacher Development for YL Teachers. Whilst this issue’s column is more of a fleshy five and not exactly a flash to read, I hope the longer than ...
Can we teach speaking to YLs? One of the most frequently asked questions on YL training sessions I have been to or that I have run is ‘Can we teach speaking to YLs?’. While many ESL/EFL teachers agree with the idea that ‘it is not necessary (or even possible) to teach speaking in any real sense’ ...
How many times have we flicked through the coursebook and thought “My teenagers won't be interested in this” and yet, we go ahead and base our lesson around it anyway? In just a few minutes, you can create much more meaningful contexts which should engage your students more, and hopefully provide a few laughs along the ...
Benefits of Games for YLs (3 – 17 years) Games are an essential part of any YL teacher toolkit. The reason for this is understood when we compare adult and young learners. YLs are in the process of learning how to learn, and games assist YLs in cognitive, social and linguistic development (McKay, 2006). There are ...
If you have any experience teaching our littlest of English learners, the under 6 set, you’ll know only too well that there is arguably little else more important (or more difficult) for us than classroom management. One can never be too organised or vigilant when teaching these amazing little minds. No matter how exciting the ...