Teaching English to learners with Special Educational Needs (SENs) – Myths and realities ‘I know I have children with special educational needs in my class, I want to help them and we are supposed to promote inclusion, but I really am not sure how to do this’ Vera, primary teacher from Spain ‘Some of the children in my class are really badly behaved, they can’t sit still, don’t finish their work and are always calling out. I think they might have a learning difficulty, but I don’t know what to do’ Kris, secondary teacher from Poland Do you feel like these teachers? Myth 1 – You have to be a specialist psychologist or specially trained teacher to know how to teach these learners No, you don’t. Myth 2 – other learners in the class make less progress when they are taught with learners with SENs No, this is not necessarily the case. Myth 3 – learners with SENs cannot learn languages No, this does not have to be true. Myth 4 – it takes a lot of extra time and planning No. Myth 5 – a teacher can’t ‘fix’ the learner’s problem so there is nothing I can do Definitely not true. 1. 2. 3. 4.
The Power (and Peril) of Praising Your Kids -- New York Magazine What do we make of a boy like Thomas? Thomas (his middle name) is a fifth-grader at the highly competitive P.S. 334, the Anderson School on West 84th. Slim as they get, Thomas recently had his long sandy-blond hair cut short to look like the new James Bond (he took a photo of Daniel Craig to the barber). Unlike Bond, he prefers a uniform of cargo pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of one of his heroes: Frank Zappa. Since Thomas could walk, he has heard constantly that he’s smart. But as Thomas has progressed through school, this self-awareness that he’s smart hasn’t always translated into fearless confidence when attacking his schoolwork. For instance, in the early grades, Thomas wasn’t very good at spelling, so he simply demurred from spelling out loud. Why does this child, who is measurably at the very top of the charts, lack confidence about his ability to tackle routine school challenges? Thomas is not alone. Why just a single line of praise? Why did this happen?
Being Multilingual: You speak with an accent. I don’t. Accents are things that only other people have. They are, by extension, things that you don’t want to have. Accents are, in short, shortcomings. This is why, if someone tells you that “you speak with no accent”, you can be sure of two things: that you have received words of praise indeed; and that you speak with the same accent as that person. So the person is actually not only praising her own accent, she is also giving evidence that she has no idea she’s got one. We seldom hear people say “We speak with an accent” or “I speak with an accent” – unless we’re talking about our uses of foreign languages. So let’s check out your accent. This is (choose the nearest answer – I was going to say “the best answer”, but I suddenly remembered that “best” has prescriptive connotations): a tomahto a potahto a tomayto a potayto I could tweak this test a little, like this: 1.1 a tomahto 1.2 ay tomahto 1.3 ay toemahto 1.4 a tomahtoe and so on, and I’ve barely started on the vowels. And so on.
Being Multilingual: The natives and the speakers Let me start with the good news. We are, all of us without exception, native speakers. This may come as a surprise to those of us who have had close encounters with the second/foreign language world, but is nonetheless true. It means that we are all competent users of language – more or less competent, of course, depending on all sorts of individual and social factors that make us clumsy or proficient in whatever we do. Now the bad news. Now the obvious news. Now the funny news. And now, the extremely funny news. Near-native-like users of languages could well make ideal candidates to international espionage agencies – barring suspicion that the enemy might also have access to millisecond-detectors, of course. Thomas Paul Bonfiglio’s book, Mother tongues and nations.
I Said I Want the Red Bowl! Responding to Toddlers' Irrational Behavior | Expert Tips & Advice . PBS Parents Pin It Amelia, told that she can’t have a fifth book before bedtime, shouts: “You are the meanest mommy! You are not invited to my birthday party!” Derek, when offered a choice between carrots and cheese, not ice cream, before dinner announces: “I don’t like the choices you are choicing me!” But seen through the eyes of the child, and through the lens of development, these behaviors, while maddening, are utterly normal, and signal important milestones are being achieved. Getting clear on expectations is critical because the meaning we assign to a child’s behavior influences how we manage our own emotions and reactions to the behavior at hand. Here are some important factors that influence young children’s behavior that are helpful to keep in mind when dealing with challenging behaviors: 1) Young children are driven by emotions, not logic, so irrational behavior is normal and to be expected. 3) Toddlers have strong feelings but few tools for managing them at this young age.
Schemas in Children’s Play - N a t u r e P l a y Written by Clare CaroSchemas in Children’s Play are such an important concept when it comes to the development of our children that it’s worth taking the time to understand them so you can facilitate them when you see them.What are these schemas?Well it’s really a fancy word for the urges that children have to do things like climb, throw things and hide in small places. They appear through play; perhaps it is the way they choose to do things, or what they desperately need to do out of the blue! Bringing It All TogetherAfter looking at each schema individually to get to grips with what each 'urge' is all about we may already be able to recognise some of the different ways they can appear in your child.Rotation, Trajectory, Enveloping, Orientation, Positioning, Connection, Enclosure/Container, Transporting and Transformation are urges that show in all children starting as early as their first birthday, some times before.How Can Knowing About These Urges Help Us?
The benefits of toy blocks © 2008-2016 Gwen Dewar, all rights reserved It's universal, and it's powerful: Toy blocks and other construction toys can change the way kids think. Building projects stimulate creativity, and sharpen crucial skills. As developmental psychologist Rachel Keen notes, parents and teachers "need to design environments that encourage and enhance problem solving from a young age" (Keen 2011). And construction toys seem ideally suited to the purpose. motor skills and hand-eye coordination,spatial skills, a capacity for creative, divergent thinking, social skills, and language skills. Moreover, children can integrate their own constructions into pretend play scenarios. Here I review the cognitive benefits of playing with toy blocks. Toy blocks promote spatial skills Several studies have reported links between spatial skills and construction play. For example, when Yvonne Caldera and her colleagues observed the construction activities of 51 preschoolers, they discovered a pattern. The results? 1. .
How can parents and teachers best educate young children? What principles can both teachers and parents bring to the education of very young children? Gillian Craig, who was part of the Learning Time with Shaun and Timmy writing team, explains. As teachers and parents, we follow certain principles in our roles. Often though, these principles overlap and all we need to do is recognise and reinforce these areas. Ask (the right) questions When my daughter came out of her class one day shortly after her course started, I asked her, 'What did you do in class today?'. Although my daughter is only two years old, (and more experienced parents than me would not have asked such a broad question to start with), questioning our children at any age about what they have done in class is a natural thing to do. Similarly, a child’s artwork can provide a prompt for asking questions: 'What (or who) is it?' Teachers also want their students to reflect on their lessons, but with young children especially, this is a learned skill. Reinforce desirable behaviour
5 Examples of Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is a fun, linguistic tool used in literature, songs and advertisements. Now that you've seen examples of the individual words, consider the following examples of onomatopoeia words in use. Take a look at the different onomatopoeia examples in Todd Rundgren's song, appropriately named Onomatopoeia. "Onomatopoeia every time I see yaMy senses tell me hubbaAnd I just can't disagree.I get a feeling in my heart that I can't describe. . .It's sort of whack, whir, wheeze, whineSputter, splat, squirt, scrapeClink, clank, clunk, clatterCrash, bang, beep, buzzRing, rip, roar, retchTwang, toot, tinkle, thudPop, plop, plunk, powSnort, snuck, sniff, smackScreech, splash, squish, squeakJingle, rattle, squeal, boingHonk, hoot, hack, belch."
Ten ways to support your child’s English-learning at home As the British Council opens a new Learning Time with Shaun & Timmy centre in Mexico for two- to six-year-olds, senior teacher Sarah Reid offers some useful tips for supporting your child’s learning at home. More and more parents want their children to learn English from a young age. I often meet parents of children as young as two or three who say that proficiency in speaking English will help their child 'get ahead in a globalised world'. In other words, the sooner their children get started, the better. The single most important factor in a child’s success with English is their parents' interest and encouragement, no matter what their child’s age. 1. To build a positive attitude towards learning, and towards English as a language, the best place to start is with yourself. The British Council recently polled 2,000 adults from the UK and found that 40 per cent of them were nervous about speaking in a foreign language when on holiday. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ‘Could you pass me the glue, please?’
Practical tips By Opal Dunn, educational consultant and author Introduction Young children learn English differently from most adults. Most have an innate ability to pick up English while taking part in activities, by making sense of what they are doing and picking up the adult’s language that accompanies the activity. You can find out more in the British Council booklet ‘How young children learn English as another language’, also available on the parents pages of the LearnEnglish Kids website. Planned English sessions You can plan regular sessions which will usually take place: at home on regular days for about ten to twenty minutes adjusted to fit your child’s increasing English ability and ability to concentrate as a planned programme that reviews and builds on known activities and introduces new ones. Short English sessions These are more informal and can take place: any place – in the car, at bathtime, in a supermarket queue any time in response to a mood or special experience. Basic programme Crafts
How to teach children English using illustrated storybooks What makes illustrated storybooks such a good resource for teaching young learners of English? The British Council’s Gail Ellis, co-author of a storytelling handbook for primary English language teachers, explains. Listen to an interview with Gail in our podcast and register for her webinar taking place on Thursday, 2 October. Illustrated storybooks provide an ideal resource for helping children learn English. This is because children love listening to stories. Why use storybooks in the classroom? Teachers can use storybooks to complement an English language course or as the main teaching resource. Storybooks can meet a variety of learner needs The expansion in the teaching of English around the world to ever younger ages, and the variation in policy from one country to another, means that teachers are finding themselves teaching classes of children with diverse learning needs and varying levels of English. Selecting the right storybook What to consider when reading a story aloud
Whole Child Development Is Undervalued The question is how to make such an approach both systemic and sustainable. Whole Person Socio-emotional, physical, creative, and cognitive capacities are deeply intertwined and equally important in ensuring a child's wellbeing, learning, and growth. (That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone studying or supporting children's learning.) Nobel laureate James Heckman, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago, has shown that the non-cognitive skills emerging in early childhood are among the strongest predictors of adult outcomes. The development of these qualities, which rely on an individual's self-worth and self-control, critically outperform any other positive measures of children's long-term outcomes, whether academically or intellectually. The most impactful way of supporting such skills is associated with helping children feel in control of their learning process. Whole Communities Whole Societies