Christmas 2011
Where does the time go? It’s Christmas week and I’m way behind. Thankfully I have the bears to rely on. As you can see they are out and about collecting natural decorations to make the house look seasonal. Now if I could only get them working on a few other projects !!
Happy Christmas to all !
Sounds and languages
It’s always fascinating to listen to children discussing language learning – explaining what they understand and what puzzles them. As teachers we know that when children think about their own learning they are ordering and labeling their experiences. As they do this they are developing learning strategies – tools they can use throughout their lives.
Recently some children I visited were asking lots of questions about why languages that use the same letters as English don’t all sound the same. Great question !!
In classes with lots of different mother tongues there are instant examples of what different languages sound like and children can hear how the sounds represented by the writing vary from language to language.
In monolingual classes I’ve found the language of the month page at Newbury Park Primary School website an excellent starting point for listening to the sounds of different languages. The site is a wonderful learning resource which promotes respect and understanding of other cultures and languages with lots of activities.
And of course children love making their own collections from one language or several. In this photo you can see how this class added their ”welcome” wordle to their existing wordle wall.
The play’s the thing
Just back from summer work and holidays and a technical break which took my website down for a few days! September is one of my favourite months in our part of the world – days are still long and the weather usually pleasant. And as children move into new classes it always seems like a new beginning!
Watching children play over the summer break reminded me forcefully of its powerful place in their learning. In many countries it is assumed that by this I mean some kind of fun and entertainment whereas recently I’ve been appreciating once more how during play children use all their experiences to construct their understanding of reality. This takes on a new dimension in mixed age groups when you see younger ones watching, interpreting and constructing meaning through this sharing with the older ones.
ready for the "play"
Not for the first time I thought of Mildren Parten’s classic study of how play develops in young children – as valid today as it was in the 1920’s. For a good résumé and so much more that is really valuable – check out PsyBlog
Of course looking at how play developed during summer days set me thinking again of ways to bring this “free” cooperative play into the language classroom. Right now Bear’s preparing materials for younger children he’s going to meet soon … more to follow!
Holiday time gets attention!
Bear is now on holidays – so time for a few bear activities such as eating berries – in this photo the raspberries are just right!
Last week Bear was with me and a group of teachers who work with under sevens. No raspberries but a lot of talk about getting and maintaining attention in a classroom of 20 or 30 young children. Can be a daunting task! We all agreed on the basics
- attention levels vary depending on natural development and interest
- good sitting and good listening routines work well
Rhymes and songs that end with children ready to listen really help. Among the favourites was any variation on the simple four-line format
Show me one, show me two,
Show me a wave, look at you!
Ready to learn, ready to see
Ready to listen, now look at me!
Bear of course helps maintain attention and encourages recall when children can
- see clearly what Bear shows them.
- interact with him – moving freely to hold and examine what he gives them.
- play games that involve pointing or naming things that Bear has.
But he also holds children’s attention through individual contact and noticing. Bear always looks around the room at each child. He knows the children in the classes he visits regularly and being an observant little Bear he notices changes. He’s as interested in the children as they are in him- and they really enjoy his attention!
Travel thoughts
I enjoy meeting and visiting friends as I work around the world and that involves a lot of travelling. But this little swallow – less than an ounce in weight – made the 6000 mile flight from southern Africa to nest and start a family in Dublin. In late autumn they will all set off on the return journey to the other side of the world! Isn’t nature wonderful!
A great live stream from the nest in our President’s residence - Áras an Uachtaráin can be seen at Nestcam2011. Apart from being a marvellous view of the little swallow minding the four precious eggs, it also includes lots of information for children and teachers – and the eggs are due to hatch in the next few days !
The importance of observing
When we observe someone teaching a language to young learners we see action and consequence in process. We notice so much – how many in the class, how they are grouped, how the teacher uses the target language, how the children respond, the visuals on display and how activities are used.
Of course we normally have a definitive purpose in this task – a student teacher learning about classroom processes, a colleague assisting the regular teacher, a trainer observing a trainee. There’s often a checklist to be gone through. But whatever the reason for the observation it allows us to imagine how we ourselves would teach.
Last week as I observed some lessons I was reminded of how valuable it can be for all teachers to have opportunities to watch themselves. Recording our lessons from time to time – by placing a camera on a desk or asking a colleague to help – gives us great opportunities to reflect on our practices. We can see so much about children’s interest and desire to be involved with the lesson – and what kind of action really helps maintain and encourage this attention.
There’s a lot to be learnt from the back of the class!
In Vietnam – the year of the cat!
As you can see Bear still manages to have great experiences - and has developed a great liking for the local specialities since we arrived in Hue!
We have been working with some marvellous trainers and teachers in response to new initiatives in the teaching of English to young learners. It’s great to see teacher training being acknowledged as the place to begin!
Happy New Year !
The New Year is definitely in – we’ve had January, Vietnamese and Chinese New Year celebrations, and it’s actually spring if you’re going by the Celtic calendar!
Neither Bear nor I made any resolutions – just as well perhaps!
However we are going to try to add some more info to this blog – on a more regular basis! But not just right now because we are travelling – we will arrive at our next destination in a few days. Bear is very excited – he’s been there before and loved everything about the place – especially the people – so below there’s a photo clue with a promise to write again after we arrive!
Snow and the unexpected
Work , snow , a new computer , more work and more snow have kept me away from writing anything for the last month. However the bears have been busy… I haven’t got the time to go into details right now … suffice it to say they have done the Christmas preparations. Photo proof right here
And I was sent this wonderful link , which I’d like to share as the best of seasonal joy.
http://www.casttv.com/video/tlo6zvl/christmas-food-court-flash-mob-hallelujah-chorus-must-see-video
Here’s to all the times when the wonderful and unexpected happens in our lives.
Bear and very young learners
I use different approaches when Bear works with different age groups. While last term’s older children enjoyed Bear when he’s informed and alert to their interests by contrast very young learners want to enter into his world and learn about him!!
Over the last few months I’ve been having some interesting discussions with teachers of English to this younger age group. The following three themes dominated.
Preparing for Bear: About a week before Bear arrives he could send a photo or a card. The children are usually very excited when they see a photo of Bear and they are keen to prepare for his arrival and they help by finding a place to put his room/box and where to keep his things. They have lots of suggestions! Children could also send Bear a drawing with their name. When he arrives Bear can then play a little game trying to match the children to the drawings – a nice way to make introductions! And all this is helping children realise the very important fact that their new friend only understands English!
Playing with Bear in class: The younger the children the simpler the solution has to be! Basically Bear gets scared if there’s any grabbing or pulling! If this should happen he goes into his room for a rest! Bear can play a game, help children to do things when he remains “alive” in our lesson and to do that he always stays with me! Because very young children will always want to touch Bear he often goes around greeting them or they can come up to say goodbye and pat him or hug him when we finish. Bear’s possessions are very useful – children love playing with everything that Bear brings in or leaves in the classroom.
Taking Bear home: Some teachers I know allow their very young learners to take a puppet home. I don’t do this with Bear. Because he is a major part of English lessons I like to keep Bear active and involved with the children as much as possible. This helps keep them very interested – looking at what he does and what he brings into class in his bag!! Sending him home could take from this mystery and expectation and make him seem more like a regular toy. But of course Bear loves to lend his photo books to children so they can show their parents and families what Bear does when he’s at home !
