Hi all.
I'm teaching English to 2.5/3.5 year old kids. It means I have my own students every day 5 days a week, all thru the day. I teach them not only language art but also arts and craft. I do everything in English but the children (only 5) don't have an English backround at home.
How do I do it? with the help of a TA and Chinese language teacher (to translate some now and than)52 English is a new language for them. The parents are Chinese and 99% can't speak any English so reinforcement at home is excluded.
I would like to send a clear message to the parents about what the children are able to learn -given their situation such as second language learners, aged 2-3.5 and lacking reinforcement at home.
Parents in China often have expectation way too high.
What are realistic goals? (I'm only interested in the language part here) Is there something like a complete curriculum for preschool ages ESL children?
Realistic learning goals
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Sally Olsen
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The Montessori program would be great in your situation. You can go to their webpages and find out how to access their training programs They have tons of good materials that would be good for any child no matter what language they are learning. They have handouts for parents as well.
You can Goggle preschools and get their brochures and statements and adapt those to your program.
It is impossible to know how much one child will learn in a certain amount of time but you know that they take in something and your program will give them a foundation. If the foundation is positive and they feel good about themselves they will be more likely to continue to a point where they will be able to demonstrate their learning.
I would also emphasize to the parents that the children are learning group skills and schools skills that will stand them in good stead when they do go to school. Any good developmental check list for that age will help you show the parents how their children are progressing.
At night, start to write down what you think children are learning in your program and try to look outside the box and think of all the things they are learning. Not just their colours or numbers or songs but how to share, how to sit for 5 minutes, how to take turns, how to talk in front of hte group, how to organize their clothes, how to use a crayon, and on and on.
You can also start to plan for a demonstration for the parents at certain key points in the year. The children can sing songs, do a small play, say the alphabet, count and so on. There are always some great students who can shine at these types of things and that will promote your program. The rest can be a chorus. Save all their crafts to show the parents their progress - that means doing the same craft two months or so after the first one is done. They will see that their children are getting more control or are getting more creative from seeing what the others do.
You could make a portfolio for each child - something like a file folder or large paper that will hold all the crafts and make sure that the children mark their products with something that identifies their work. They put their craft into their folder and once a week choose the best one to keep and take the rest home.
You can Goggle preschools and get their brochures and statements and adapt those to your program.
It is impossible to know how much one child will learn in a certain amount of time but you know that they take in something and your program will give them a foundation. If the foundation is positive and they feel good about themselves they will be more likely to continue to a point where they will be able to demonstrate their learning.
I would also emphasize to the parents that the children are learning group skills and schools skills that will stand them in good stead when they do go to school. Any good developmental check list for that age will help you show the parents how their children are progressing.
At night, start to write down what you think children are learning in your program and try to look outside the box and think of all the things they are learning. Not just their colours or numbers or songs but how to share, how to sit for 5 minutes, how to take turns, how to talk in front of hte group, how to organize their clothes, how to use a crayon, and on and on.
You can also start to plan for a demonstration for the parents at certain key points in the year. The children can sing songs, do a small play, say the alphabet, count and so on. There are always some great students who can shine at these types of things and that will promote your program. The rest can be a chorus. Save all their crafts to show the parents their progress - that means doing the same craft two months or so after the first one is done. They will see that their children are getting more control or are getting more creative from seeing what the others do.
You could make a portfolio for each child - something like a file folder or large paper that will hold all the crafts and make sure that the children mark their products with something that identifies their work. They put their craft into their folder and once a week choose the best one to keep and take the rest home.