Teacher Discussion Forums

[apples4english]

Hello!
I need some advice from some experienced ESL Teachers! I know that this is not the right forum, but I thought I would start here. What book (or books) would you recommend for teaching ESL to very young children who cannot yet read and write, that is children from ages 3-7? Most of the books available here in Germany are really geared towards grade school students. Is/Are there really one (or two) book(s) that is/are available for very young learners that one could use all year round? Otherwise I would use a "Book a Month" concept and base my lessons around that book (e.g., the Very Hungry Caterpillar and then incorporating the theme "foods" and/or "insects" etc. in my activites (singing, dancing, creative work) with the children (these are German children who would meet once a week for 1 hour to learn English).
I would be greatful for any advice!

[sita]

Hiya!

I think your second option sounds much nicer!

I live & teach in Germany but adults not kids

I know loads free stuff on the web - but German esl books for such lil kids are all useless ( the ones I have seen!)

Best wishes
Siân

[apples4english]

Hi again Siân!

I agree that there are no good books for teaching young children here in Germany (at least none that I've seen so far). A couple of private schools have developed their own materials, but again these are geared more towards children who are either about to go to school or are already in school (can read and write). I also think that you can be much more flexible and create more interesting lesson plans if you use different materials throughout the year than by following one book all year round. That is why I will get a lot of the childrens books I want to use directly from the U.S. Of course, repitition is very important, but very young children learn very fast (of course, there are always exeptions), yet have very limited attention spans. So the more interesting, the more it gets them involved (no direct teaching) and the more energentic they will be to participate (and thus learn).

I too have been scowering the Web and have found lots of materials. There is really a wealth of information here, in many ways too much information if you don't have the experiences to determine what would work and what wouldn't.

Any suggestions you have I would greatly appreciate.

Many greetings,

Kerstin

[Pamlc]

Hi Kirsten

Dont know if you have already come accross this site or not, but it has downloadable levelled reading books that you could print off and have the kids colour in as well as learn the vocabulary. The link is

http://www.readinga-z.com

Hope you find it useful.

[eca]

I was also going to suggest readinga-z but. learningpage.com which is a sister site is also nice and free of charge.