CHILDREN TEACHING ADULTS
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Overview
One of the most important goals of learning a foreign language is mastering the language as a mean of communication. Communication of trainees in the classroom is organized in dialogs or polylogues, while communication can take place with morphological, lexical and syntactical errors, which often cannot be corrected by a trainer only, especially in case of simultaneous work of all trainees. One way to increase active usage of the language by the trainees at the lesson is to organize a joint lesson with native speakers – basic school pupils.
Children nowadays have a large deficit in communication with adults on equal terms. The opportunity to communicate with adults on equal terms, and sometimes as an assistant/consultant, is a high motivation for children to participate in such activities. Children do not generally have such a great psychological barrier for contact as adults do. If there are difficulties in communication, children are ready to improvise in reaching an understanding. They are not annoyed, they are persistent.
It is important that children’s speech is not as complex as adults’ speech: children use sentences that are simple in structure, use high-frequency words and expressions. Children readily support simple every day topics that may not be of interest to an adult native speaker. The main thing is that they do not know other languages at such a level as to translate communication into an intermediary language. Adult trainees stay in a comfortable psychological situation: maintaining the status of an adult gives confidence in communication with children, the children’s immediacy creates a positive emotional atmosphere.
In such an atmosphere, communication flows easier and more confidently and the language barrier is more easily overcome. Such form of work is suitable for adult trainees who have already mastered the language for Level A2 and higher.
Competences addressed
The use of the method aims to enhance trainees’:
- Language competence
- Communication competence
- Cross-cultural communication competence
- Socio-cultural competence
- Team work skills
OBJECTIVES
Creating a psychologically comfortable and emotionally rich speech situation to foster communication and oral expression.
GROUP SIZE
8-10 trainees.
TIME REQUIRED
45 – 90 minutes.
RESOURCES
Variable.
PROCESS
1. Keep the ratio of participants: one child for two or three adults. The maximum number of adults is 8-10 people.
2. It is advisable to invite 9-12 y.o. students.
3. The optimal lesson time is 90 minutes without a break.
4. The joint lesson should be held out of school hours for children and with the consent of the child and their parents.
5. Lead the lesson in the form of a game and always in the spirit of competition between teams. Children become active in competitions and motivate even not the most active adults.
6. Provide mini-rewards for winning and participating.
7. Conduct a short preliminary conversation with the children about how to correctly point out an adults speech error.
When planning a lesson, it is necessary to consider educational and developmental goals for each group or participants, children and adults.
2. It is advisable to invite 9-12 y.o. students.
3. The optimal lesson time is 90 minutes without a break.
4. The joint lesson should be held out of school hours for children and with the consent of the child and their parents.
5. Lead the lesson in the form of a game and always in the spirit of competition between teams. Children become active in competitions and motivate even not the most active adults.
6. Provide mini-rewards for winning and participating.
7. Conduct a short preliminary conversation with the children about how to correctly point out an adults speech error.
When planning a lesson, it is necessary to consider educational and developmental goals for each group or participants, children and adults.
VARIATIONS
Children can act not only in the role of a partner or consultant, give them the opportunity to be directly in the role of a teacher and a trainer. Trust!
EXERCISES
- Exercise 1
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Getting to know each other – an interview
Adult learners are randomly assigned to groups. A child joins each group. Within 4-5 minutes, children and adults ask each other questions on different topics: about family, about pets, about school, about hobbies….
Each participant tries to memorize the information received. After the allotted time for work in one group is over, the child moves to another group and the interview is repeated. After all the interview are conducted, learners recall the information received about the children, and children remember the information about the adult learners. The correct information is confirmed by bonuses. The participant with the most bonuses wins. - Exercise 2
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I say, and you draw
Select an object to describe. The trainer reads the description, adult learners draw, children explain unfamiliar words in any way they choose. The trainer has a finished image, which is shown at the end of the activity. The teams themselves determine the winner. Be sure to find out from the adult learners which words were new and who memorize these words.
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Not applicable.
REFERENCES
Developed by Jelena Naumova for the DIVINT project.
