Teaching English to young learners is a challenge
Teaching English to young learners is a challenge you may have faced, like me, during a certain period of time along with your ELT career, or perhaps you are still facing it and keep complaining of some kind of students you describe as low achievers or slow learners.
The same happened to me for some time until I could find some solutions.
The solutions
In fact, these solutions are considered steps which I followed with slow learners. These steps helped me to a great extent to activate and improve those low achievers.
Insisting on doing these steps frequently, I succeeded in making a difference in their learning level and most importantly in their attitude toward language learning in particular.
Here is my plan from the beginning:
- Starting with reading about the characteristics of children as young learners and how to base my teaching practices upon these characteristics to help them reach their full potential in learning.
- Identifying who the low achiever students are and recognizing them in my classroom.
- Searching for the reasons that make them slower than their classmates in learning and how to deal with them. How to Deal with Low-Achiever Students and Help Them
- Specifying, in a record, the points of weakness of each low achiever. In other words, what are the main skills or language aspects they have difficulties in? Quick Ways to Help Beginners Who Struggle to Write English
- Notice to the administration of the real standard of those learners was given, the social worker was kindly asked to give a hand to help them in any way and their parents were called up to be informed of their children’s points of weakness.
- Starting to encourage those learners to work harder and take part in each lesson telling them that unless they work hard, they won’t pass.
- Encouraging them to take part in pair and group work.
- Asking them to answer any of my simple questions in the classroom.
- Encouraging them to take part in school activities and competitions without being afraid of making mistakes.
- Encouraging them to attend “Amelioration Groups” held inside the school.
- Giving them extra periods after or before the school day or during the breaks if possible, focusing on only one point of weakness at a time.
- Knowing their main learning style and adapting my teaching to it.
- Asking some first-rate students to lend a hand to them when doing course tasks.
- Being aware of their learning or studying habits and trying my best to improve them.
Thanks to the previous steps, I could succeed in making a change in my low-achiever learners’’ language level and learning attitude.
I think you have more steps and advice related to remedy this kind of learner. Why don’t you share your ideas with us? Leave a comment below or email me.
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