1. Tradition and Innovation in the Primary Classroom Iveta Vītola Valmiera, 12 November, 2010

2. Classroom Atmosphere a.unstressed b.non-threatening c.happy d.collaborative, not competitive e.varied focus f.varied activities g.short activities

3. Classroom Activities  busy children are not naughty children  young children cannot concentrate for long periods  children can concentrate better when they are active, not passive.

4. Adults and children use their intelligence to ‘work out’ meaning use language to understand the world learn by studying books use their senses to observe the world make connections between sounds and ideas learn by exploration, discovery and play

5. Language as a toy A foreign language is a toy which children use to interact with each other. Like toy telephones, puppets, stories and games, a foreign language is a new toy which children will learn to use through playing with it.

6. Language as a toy A young child does not think of a bicycle as transport. A bicycle is a toy. The bicycle only becomes transport when the child has learned to ride.

7. Adults and children So, if children can’t learn the way we teach…...why not teach them the way they learn?

8. Balancing Activities Head-up activities Pupils have their heads up looking at the teacher, the board, poster or TV. Head-down activities Pupils have their heads down reading, drawing, colouring, copying, writing, etc. Stirrers Acting, dancing, singing, racing tend to make pupils excited. Settlers Listening to stories, drawing, colouring, copying. matching, writing, tend to calm and settle pupils.

9. Learning opportunities We don’t teach young learners, we create opportunities which will stimulate them to learn.

10. Where do children learn English? in their brains!

11. Lower Primary Age Group Heavily dependant on the teacher Inquisitive, easily motivated Short concentration span Receptive to fantasy and imagination Just beginning to read and write in their own language Sensory preferences

12. Sensory Preference Visual Auditory Kinaesthetic

13. Motivate with Mickey Successful Teaching and Learning with English Adventure

16. Language presented in context of Disney characters children will recognise Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic channels

17. Focus first on receptive skills Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic channels Personalisation and student – student collaboration

19. Further receptive skills practice – listening Kinaesthetic focus – stickers Song – making language memorable Circle pictures – ‘Can you see them?’

20. Consolidation – story Students act out Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic

21. Production Model Personalisation Multi-Skills Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic

22. Children learn quickly – And forget even more quickly So… RECYCLE!!

23. Review Consolidation of all language covered so far Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic

24. Picture dictionary Visual record of vocabulary

25. Course Components Each level comprises: Pupil’s book Activity book Interactive Whiteboard software Teacher’s book Posters Flashcards Audio CDs DVD

26. Principles behind the Course Learning a new language is a challenge! It is also a joyful experience. Our task as teachers is to provide our classes with a menu of diverse activities which cater for all the intelligences and learning styles. We need to engage the children’s emotions with a variety of relevant topics and provide a climate of healthy self-esteem.

28. Activity Book Pages correspond with student book pages Motivating practice Varied levels of challenge – caters for mixed abilities

29. Teacher’s Book Interleaved with student book pages Step by step guide to the lesson with suggestions for extra activities

30. CD Rom Extra Practice through games and puzzles DVD Contains Clips from Disney movies

31. Flashcard set Key vocabulary items Teacher’s Book Suggestions for using flashcards

32. English-Latvian Dictionary Pronunciation, translation

34. Fly High Your primary students’ English language skills will soar with

35. Fly High Solid skills work Lower levels feature alphabet skills Grammar is taught explicitly Strong listening feature Variety of activities that are easy-to- teach and motivating for students Extension activities to supplement class work

36. Working towards a goal

37. Lesson aim: To enable children to talk about likes and dislikes in the context of food. Grammar: I like / don’t like / do you like? Vocabulary: Food items

38. Vocabulary: What’s in a word?

43. soup

44. Vocabulary: What’s in a word? salad

45. Vocabulary: What’s in a word? fishlunchpizza soupchickensalad

46. Teaching ALL the class… Drilling Take one away Disappearing drill Guess the card Take a photo

47. Contextualising Grammar

49. yousalad ? Making Grammar Visible likeYou Phone a Friend Do

50. Making Grammar Visible

51. From reception to production

54. Working together

55. Fly High

56. Listening and speaking skills are reinforced with audio throughout the unit. Each unit opens with an illustrated list of the key unit vocabulary covered.

57. Language is practiced through a wide variety of engaging activities. Practice sequences include plenty of personalisation activities.

58. Students apply what they’ve learned and consolidate language with a game at the end of each unit.

59. Review of the alphabet covered in the unit includes pronunciation, spelling practice. Vocabulary and language are continuously recycled through different activities.

60. Additional activities allow teachers to assess each student’s language skill level throughout the writing tasks and project work.

62. Audio and songs from the Pupil’s Book are also used in the grammar lesson in Fun Grammar book. Grammar notes offer clear and simple explanations of grammar points. Each grammar lesson ends with a production exercise.

63. Review of the alphabet covered in the unit includes pronunciation, spelling practice. Vocabulary and language are continuously recycled through multiple matching activities and alphabet chants.

64. A review and assessment section occurs after every four units. Additional activities allow teachers to assess each student’s language skill level throughout the course.

65. English-Latvian Dictionary

66. Course Components Pupil’s Book Activity Book Teacher’s Book Class Audio CD Vocabulary Flashcards Alphabet Flashcards English-Latvian Dictionary