Active learning

Children learn in many different ways and have different learning styles. Opportunities for children to experience language through song and rhyme, storytelling and games offer children ways to interact with the new language and with one another in a dynamic and social environment.

Through active methods and physical response children feel safe to explore and experiment with the new sounds. For those who prefer to listen and observe, they absorb the new language by watching others and gradually increase in confidence, until they too are joining in, responding to what they hear and see and engaging with others in short conversations and role-play.

Pair and group work

Language learning is about interaction. The more often children hear and use the language the more natural they will find it. This may seem daunting to teachers who are developing their language skills and are not subject specialists. The answer is to use small amounts of language regularly and build up gradually. Short, simple and relevant exchanges can be scripted for children and it is highly recommended to make the best use of audio tapes, CD and DVD material to give models for pair work.

Examples of pair work in this section show how whole class learning can provide the stimulus for pair work, building up from whole class repetition with the teacher to individual pairs of children rehearsing language and conversing in a simple, relevant and enjoyable exchange of information. There are examples also of group work where the children act as language detectives and discuss the new language in English in order to understand how it works and how to use it independently.