POST #3: ELT in Primary School.

When it comes to teaching to primary school children, there are some factors that influence the learning process of a second language. We should definitely not overlook those factors if we want our strategies to work effectively.

The first concept to have in mind is the factor of learner beliefs. It is widely accepted that the learners' perceptions of what they are learning influences their attitudes, and consequently, how well they learn. Some researches have proved that there is a inconsistency between students and teachers' view about the role of grammar and corrective feedback in L2. In other words, some students expressed a desire to have their errors corrected, while very few teachers felt this was desirable.
I personally think that if we create a safe environment where the student feels comfortable, then we can easily correct their speech without any negative feelings. However, I do not reckon that interrupting the student verbally is the right way to do it. For example, if a student makes a mistake then I can write down the correct sentence in a paper and give it to them at the end of the class so that this way the conversation keeps flowing and they won't feel frustrated if they are corrected in front of their classmates.

Another concept to have in mind when teaching is motivation. Motivation has been found to correlate strongly with educational achievement. Clearly, students who enjoy language learning and take pride in their progress (integrative motivation) will do better than those who don't. However, that doesn't mean that those who learn a language for immediate goals (instrumental motivation) will not be successful. Instrumental motivation could be found as a better predictor but they both seem to be related to success in L2 learning.

There are several strategies teachers can use to help children remain more fully intrinsically motivated, as "TYLE" suggests. The one I find the most interesting is "using fun and engaging activities". Given that I do agree with the fact that "Fun" and "Motivation" are somehow connected, I think we should encourage the use of kinaesthetic activities, coloured pictures, photos, different kinds of audio-visual aids such as songs or videos or even play games to get students up, moving and laughing.

The last factor we should not forget is the age at which learning begins. There is a popular assumption that the earlier your start studying English, the more successful you will become. It is important to highlight that this is not necessarily true. Children, who already have solid skills in their own language, seem to be in the best position to acquire a new language efficiently but motivated older learners can be very successful too. In fact, some studies of the second language development of older and younger learners learning in similar circumstances have shown that older learners are more efficient than younger learners given that they start off faster and have greater metalinguistic knowledge/problem solving skills. Of course, younger learners catch up with and surpass them in the naturalistic context but not in the instructed context.  

This idea of "age and success" makes me want to come back a little to the concept of "motivation".

I think it is essential to start connecting those two ideas of "Motivation" and "Success" when teaching not only to young learners but also to adult learners. It seems to me that it would build a positive attitude toward English and as I see it that could be the first step to create an space of interest in children which would certainly facilitate our strategies as teachers.

But of course, always having in mind the idea of a learning environment situated in the real world where they can interact with each other, with the teacher and also connect with different cultures because it seems like communication is being set aside, when it should be the other way around. The only place and time learners can hear or use English is the classroom, and that is certainly not enough time per week of exposure to English, not even mentioning the fact that in almost all cases most of the teachers only speak in English in class when it comes to structures, patterns and filling in the blanks on a grammar page, making it even less time of exposure to the language.

Finally, given that primary school pupils tend to be energetic, physically active, spontaneous, curious, imaginative, I believe teachers should have a balance of engaging activities that allow students to express themselves and have different types of interaction, inside and outside the classroom.
Provide situations that give children an acceptable challenge. Activities that are slightly difficult for the child will be more motivating and even provide for stronger feelings of success when they are accomplished. This may take some trial and mistake at first but we will adapt and learn from them.