Teaching English!

Here we Are! Teaching English to Young Learners!

to teach them, we must know what their characteristics first. so...

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUNG LEARNERS?

The characteristics of young learners :

1. Children are already very good in interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding the individual word.

2.   Children already have great skill in using limited language creativity.

3.  Children frequently learn indirectly rather than directly.

4.   Children take good pleasure in finding and creating fun in what they do.

5.   Children have a ready imagination, children words are full of imagination and fantasy, and it is more than simply matter of enjoyment.

6.   Children are physically active while acquiring and learning languages.

7.   Children have short attention span and they respond well to praising.

8.   Children are less shy than older learners.

9.   Children enjoy learning through playing.

10. Children enjoy imitating and skillful in listening accurately and mimicking what they have heard.

11.       Children respond well to rewards from the teacher.

The characteristic of young learners mentioned by Clark (1990: 6-8):

a.    Children are developing conceptually: they develop their way of thinking from the concrete to the abstract thing.

b.  Children have no real linguistics, different from the adult learners that already have certain purpose in learning language, for instances, to have a better job, children rarely have such needs in learning a foreign language. They learn subject what school provide for them.

c.    Children are still developing; they are developing common skill such as turn talking and the use of body language.

d.    Young children very egocentric, they tend to resolve around themselves.       

e.    Children get bored easily. Children have no choice to attend school. The lack of the choice means that class activities need to be fun interesting and exciting as possible by setting up the interesting activities.