Málfríður - 15.03.2012, Blaðsíða 24

In.the.fall.2011.I.took.part.in.an.online.course.Primary
Essentials,. recommended. by. the. English. Teachers´.
Union. in. Iceland. (FEKÍ) .. Primary Essentials, provided.
by.British.Council,.spans.over.a.period.of.three.months.
and. covers. six. areas. that. are. substantial. to. English.
teachers.of.young.learners.aged.between.5-12 ..
The. areas. covered. are:. Introduction,. First. steps,.
Songs.and.games,.Learning.styles,.Syllabus.and.lesson.
planning,.and.Classroom.management ..
1. Introduction
Each.module.takes.approx ..6.hours.to.finish.plus.work.
on. final. assignments .. The. objectives. and. learning
outcomes. are. stated. in. the. beginning. of. every. mod-
ule ..The. tasks. include. reading.short. texts,. answering.
questions. into. a. personal. reflective. journal,. watching.
short.videos,.taking.tests,.creating.wikis,.group.work,.
contributions.in.various.forums,.and.finally,.preparing.
activities.for.the.classroom.with.the.application.of.the.
new.knowledge .
My.colleague.teachers.from.Slovenia.were.as.enthu-
siastic.as.me.and.our.cooperation.and.exchange.were.
continuously. intensive .. Our. moderator,. resident. in.
Casablanca,. did. a. wonderful. job. supporting,. advis-
ing,.guiding,.encouraging.us.and.commenting.on.our.
assignments .. For. personal. communication. we. used.
Social forum. and. for. pedagogical. exchange. we. had.
Plenary forum .. Supportive. feedback. on. other. partici-
pants´.work.was. expected,. as.well. as. regular.partici-
pation ..Beside.these.forums.that.were.like.a.red.thread.
throughout. the.course,. there.were.other. forums.open.
for.topics.at.hand ..
Primary Essentials
– Essential for English teachers at primary schools
2. First steps
This.module.posed.the.classical.questions:
•. Who.is.a.young.learner?
•. Is. “younger. better”. in. teaching. a. second. lang-
uage?
•. What.does.a.young.learner.need?
•. What. implications. do. learner´s. needs. have. for.
the.teacher?
The.answers.to.these.questions.are.substantial ..Young.
learners.have.specific.needs.and.only.teachers.who.are.
aware. of. them. can. provide. quality. lessons .. Children.
learn.by.doing,.they.need.to.move.and.they.enjoy.TPR
activities. (Total.Physical.Response) ..Children.need.to.
strengthen. their. social. relations. in. the. class. and. they.
welcome.pair.and.group.work ...Children.mostly.learn.
by. listening. and. speaking .. They. forget. fast. and. need.
a.lot.of.repetition ..And.they.love.to.use.their.imagina-
tion .
.
Here.is.one.of.my.first.assignments.–.a.word.chain.on.
the.topic.“teaching.children”:
fun ~ nursery rhymes ~ stories ~ sharing ~ games
~ songs ~ senses ~ self ~
friendly ~ young learners ~ start ~ training ~ goals
~ simple ~ energy ~ yes
Icebreakers in. the. beginnings. of. lessons,. or. even.
in. the. first. lessons. with. new. classes,. are. important.
because. they. establish. learning. atmosphere,. engage,.
catch. interest,. revise. or. introduce. a. new. topic .. They.
could.be.song,.games,.short.activities,.stories.or.pieces.
of. information .. However,. there. is. no. best. activity. in.
an.English.class ..Every.teacher.makes.his.own.choices.
and.finds.ways.that.suit.him,.and.his.classes,.best ..His.
decisions,.though,.should.always.be.informed.ones ..
3. Songs and games
Songs.and.games.belong.to.TPR.activities ..As.popular.
and. frequent. as. they. are. in. the. English. classes,. their.
use.must.obey.certain.rules ..Every.game.and.song.in.a.
classroom.has.to.have.a.purpose.and.an.expected.out-
come ..We.have.to.know.why.we.play.a.particular.game.
or.why.we.sing.a.song ..Often.these.have.to.be.adapted.
to.specific.circumstances ..Language.development.has.
to.be.involved.–.primarily ..
Renata Emilsson Pesková
English and German teacher at
Hlíðaskóli
Renata Emilsson
Pesková.
24 MÁLFRÍÐUR