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tellersquill
Joined: 08 Apr 2016
Posts: 94
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 Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 12:21 pm Post subject: Teaching 1st Grade with almost no English comprehension |
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I'm a teacher with only a few months experience who has just begun to work with a public school in Saigon, Vietnam. I'm teaching grades 1, 3, 4, 5 - and while grades 3, 4, and 5 have been straight forward the grade 1 class is pretty awful thus far.
I made the mistake of thinking that they would know basic things like numbers and colours because of kindergarten but I was mistaken. Doing tasks with them was a bit of an ordeal and I had to rely on my TA to do translations (which is somewhat frowned upon if done to much).
Has anyone got any decent activities for kids who are 6 years old with little English comprehension? (also: they cannot read or write in English)
So far I have:
-Word Drills
-Slap the board
-Hello song
-Chant Vocab
-Point at the flashcard
-Teacher says
-Stand up sit down
I've been looking around online and its actually quite hard to find tasks that are suited for public schools with little English. |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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At this age, I am a big fan of choosing a daily "helper" and using this song for absolute beginners:
Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
Good morning to (name of special helper),
Good morning to you!
(Happy birthday)
As for overall tasks/activities, I highly suggest you search regular pre-K and kinder activities. They will generally work well for grade ones who are completely new.
As for slap the board, reduce it down to the essential sight words of grade 1 (I, am, the) and in that order - but minimal. 2 or 3 instead of 10 (like regular English speakers).
You may want to consider an animated literacy program like Jolly Phonics to help with basic letter introduction. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Google kindergarten teacher websites; there are a lot of ideas for this grade level. Plus, you'll find websites by individual US kindy teachers who often post activities on their sites. PBS has teacher resources as well, including a Sesame Street collection on pbslearningmedia.com. |
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papuadn
Joined: 19 Sep 2016
Posts: 131
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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Pinterest, in a word.
0 beginners from seven different countries were my graduate course practicum and phonemic awareness is months of exploration-- None can say what they have not heard. |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 5:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I've been looking around online and its actually quite hard to find tasks that are suited for public schools with little English |
I realized early on I could waste more time looking for or editing crap than I could developing my own. In the early days, I wasted money on a few resource books I hardly used. The added advantage to developing your own is if it's worth more than free, you can include it in your portfolio when you look for your next job, AND sell it on sites like TPT, or even dino-era print publishers.
Presuming you're not with ILA, you may want to check whether they've replaced their CELTA-YL (Cambridge's English Language Teaching of Adults (2-wk extension course for prospective teachers of) Young Learners) with something else open to anyone. It's unfortunate that (V)YLE's such a huge market globally but treated as such an afterthought: "White face? Native speaker? How soon can you be here?" |
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currentaffairs
Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828
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currentaffairs
Joined: 22 Aug 2012
Posts: 828
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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At 50 hrs, it seems similar to the CELTA-YL. Anyone know whether Cambridge pulled their course offering due to pre-req of having first completed a CELTA, competition, or a combination of the two. I presume for the Trinity YL, you don't need a prior TESOL. Is that correct? Also, do you know if the British Council offers the course in all of its centres? |
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papuadn
Joined: 19 Sep 2016
Posts: 131
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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| LongShiKong wrote: |
| It's unfortunate that (V)YLE's such a huge market globally but treated as such an afterthought: "White face? Native speaker? How soon can you be here?" |
Native speakers are valued for their authentic speech and is a matter of practicality and policy-- a discrete criterion for an aggregate. The fact that a non-native speaker can be as an effective teacher as any native speaker (and certainly preferable to a negligent one) is anecdotal. Among a staff of degreed non-native speakers, the discrimination of accent, familiarity with idiomatic/informal usage, cultural knowledge, etc., is predisposed to administrative bias and worse.
The White Face, otoh...has no rational basis whatsoever, much like sex and age can define "otherness" to beset every culture on the planet either by patent exercise or deflection. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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| papuadn wrote: |
Native speakers are valued for their authentic speech and is a matter of practicality and policy-- a discrete criterion for an aggregate. The fact that a non-native speaker can be as an effective teacher as any native speaker (and certainly preferable to a negligent one) is anecdotal. Among a staff of degreed non-native speakers, the discrimination of accent, familiarity with idiomatic/informal usage, cultural knowledge, etc., is predisposed to administrative bias and worse.
The White Face, otoh...has no rational basis whatsoever... |
Exactly how does this tie into the OP's situation teaching 0-level first graders?  |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:40 am Post subject: |
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| papuadn wrote: |
| Native speakers are valued for their authentic speech... |
I wonder what the ratio is between those who simply adjust the speed, clarity, lexical and grammatical complexity of their speech vs those who might be said to 'inauthenticate' their speech: to alter it in ways you'd never hear them use even with native-speaking preschoolers. Intriguingly, their eagerness to learn their students' interlanguage doesn't usually extend to their students' L1.
| Quote: |
| The White Face, otoh...has no rational basis whatsoever,... |
You're overlooking the placebo effect. The presence of a non-L1 speaking teacher alone, regardless of their English command, might alone inspire students to learn the lingua-franca. |
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tellersquill
Joined: 08 Apr 2016
Posts: 94
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| Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 1:37 am Post subject: |
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| nomad soul wrote: |
| papuadn wrote: |
Native speakers are valued for their authentic speech and is a matter of practicality and policy-- a discrete criterion for an aggregate. The fact that a non-native speaker can be as an effective teacher as any native speaker (and certainly preferable to a negligent one) is anecdotal. Among a staff of degreed non-native speakers, the discrimination of accent, familiarity with idiomatic/informal usage, cultural knowledge, etc., is predisposed to administrative bias and worse.
The White Face, otoh...has no rational basis whatsoever... |
Exactly how does this tie into the OP's situation teaching 0-level first graders? |
Thank you.
I would love to keep it on topic and talk about activities for 1st grade in public schools |
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LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
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| Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 1:57 am Post subject: |
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| tellersquill wrote: |
| I would love to keep it on topic and talk about activities for 1st grade in public schools |
Well, your question itself seems off topic for the GENERAL DISCUSSION forum. In case you haven't already, you might want to select the STUFF FOR TEACHERS menu option above, then from TEACHER FORUMS, choose GAMES and/or the ELEMENTARY forum. You might also scroll through the IDEAS COOKBOOK. I'm frankly surprised you haven't come across anything online for teaching this level since VYLs accounts for a significant chunk of the EFL market. |
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sammysez
Joined: 20 Nov 2016
Posts: 119
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| Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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I would defintely have a routine (I hope this post isn't too late) every morning. A lot of TPR, Total Physical Response with English (touch the green square, then expand into "touch something green in the room" etc..)
Obviously a lot of "animal" pictures and acting out. |
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suphanburi
Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916
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