1. Teaching Young Children
Dr. Latricia Trites
Academic Advisor
Fulbright Yilan Project

2. Factors to Consider when Teaching Young Children
Intellectual Development
Attention Span
Sensory Input
Affective Factors
Authentic, Meaningful Language

3. Intellectual Development
Children up to about age 11 are in the “concrete operational” stage of development, according to Jean Piaget.
Focused on the here and now.
Can’t handle abstractness well.

4. Tips for Addressing Intellectual Development
Don’t use grammar terms (e.g., present progressive, relative clause, etc.)
Don’t use abstract rules
Allow students to learn grammar rules by noticing patterns.
Students need a great deal of repetition to grasp certain patterns and rules.

5. Attention Span
When students are “interested,” they have a longer attention span.
Students have no patience when dealing with material that is boring, useless, or too difficult.

6. Tips for Addressing Attention Span
Capture their immediate attention with activities
Use a variety of activities
Be animated
Have a sense of humor
Tap into children’s natural curiosity

7. Sensory Input Children need to have all five senses stimulated.
Use physical activities
Use hands-on activities
Use sensory aids (smell, touch, taste things; watch videos; listen to music; look at pictures)
Be aware of your nonverbal language

8. Affective Factors
Children at this age are very sensitive and can easily be embarrassed.
Help them laugh WITH each other instead of AT each other.
Help build self-esteem
Provide many opportunities for oral participation.

9. Authentic, Meaningful Language
Children focus on how the language can be USED immediately.
They can sense “canned” language and will often reject it because it is not meaningful.
Unconnected, isolated sentences will seldom be tolerated by children.

10. Tips for Using Authentic Language
Teach children useful expressions
Keep language “context-embedded,” using meaningful, real-life conversations that serve a purpose.
Focus on whole-language activities, using all skill areas (reading, writing, listening, and speaking)

11. Break-out Activity In groups of 3-4, do the following:
Make a list of activities that work well with your students.
Make a list of activities that do not work well or that students do not like.
Decide which factor you think affects the success or failure of each activity.