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Teaching children is very different from working with adults, especially when training online. For one thing, adults tend to be more motivated to learn another language. They have decided that they want to learn English. A child is usually taking classes in English because the parents wants them to expand their horizons. Another difference is that children typically have shorter attention spans. To help a younger person learn, there are some techniques that can be used, especially when teaching online. These techniques are: using visual aids, being silly, and total physical response. Total physical response is a way of teaching language by using physical gestures to respond to verbal input. TPR is a visual way for kids to learn a language. If the teacher starts off a class with long sentences explaining a topic, the student is going to be overwhelmed. TPR gives teachers common physical gestures to communicate with children without the teacher talking too much. For example, if the teacher is explaining a unit about brushing teeth. They would gesture brushing their teeth while saying, “I am brushing my teeth”. Then the teacher would have the student repeat the action. As amazing as TPR is, remember that most of the students taking English online have already had a full day. They already have gone to school and very likely just finished other activities. Making the class fun will help the kids focus even if they are tired. Do not be afraid to make silly faces and funny voices. The sillier the better. Puppets are a great tool to break the ice with shy students. If the teacher is at the beginning of the lesson, and the student hesitates to say their name. The teacher could use a monkey puppet to help the child say their name. The student may feel safer interacting with a puppet then with a new teacher whom they have never met ask the question, “What is your name?” For example, the teacher could have the monkey puppet say, “My name is monkey.” Next the puppet would ask the student their name. If the child says their name, the puppet has captured the student’s attention. The monkey and teacher would say the student’s name. The important thing is that the children are comfortable while being entertained and learning. Visual aids are also important to have when teaching English online. They make understanding and remembering concepts easier while reducing teacher talk time. Just imagine learning how to speak Japanese for the first time. It would be much easier to understand the difference between the words, in Japanese, “big” and” small” if the teacher had pictures of a “big” and “small” dog then if the teacher tried to explain the concept of “big” and “small” verbally. A helpful visual aid to have in the class is realia. Realia are objects from the real world that teachers can use to explain specific concepts. For example, if a teacher wanted to teach their students about apples and bananas they could bring an apple and banana from home and have the students guess the names. When teaching English remember that adults and children learn differently. Teachers will want to use techniques to reduce teacher talk time and increase student talk time. Both TPR and visual aids limit teacher talk time while helping their students learn new concepts. Keep the child’s interest by being energetic and silly. These examples are important to make the student’s learning enjoyable and more relaxed.
