Mary Slattery
Teaching English to Young Learners:
Motivating Moments
Since children are naturally enthusiastic and
interested in finding out about the world
around them this can be a valuable source
of motivation in the classroom. Also through
our own attitudes as teachers and through
the activities and materials we use in class
we can motivate them to explore new areas
of interest. When we are teaching English
we can encourage children by
• showing them that we truly enjoy what we
are doing e.g. speaking English which will lead
them to develop a positive attitude as well.
• helping them feel successful in all their
efforts - from the very
simple to the more
complex. They then
develop confidence to
do more.When children
are interested and
confident they feel more
successful. Nothing
succeeds like success.
But not all children have
the same interests; many
have to be encouraged
to listen to a new
l a n g u a g e . We , a s
teachers, have to find the
resources and activities
that suit the individuals
in our classes.
If we use activities that
are interesting and
stimulating, the children will be motivated
by them. And, of course, we could always ask
the children to suggest activities they really
like. Ideas and interests that come from them
are examples of self-motivation, which is so
important for the child’s development as a
person. We all know people who are self-
motivated. They are usually enthusiastic,
happy, flexible, able to keep going despite
obstacles and generally optimistic. Any
educational activity that helps children
develop or keep some of these qualities is
surely worthwhile
One task that faces teachers when teaching
a second language to children is the need to
recycle language without a lot of boring
repetition. In order to acquire English children
have to hear it spoken in class. When we
think of the amount of time young babies
spend listening to people speaking and all
the sounds they make before they begin to
speak meaningfully we become more aware
of how much repetition is needed in our
classrooms. And of course in school children
are learning a lot of other things as well so
they forget easily. Even if the children choose
the activities they will need to hear and use
English. But, in order to achieve this, we need
to develop enjoyable recycling
strategies that do not make
children feel they are repeating
the same language to the point
of boredom. One way to do this
is to have another focus besides
language. If the children are doing something
else – playing a game or creating something,
they are thinking about the activity and not
about the language. So the activity focus
changes even though the language used may
be the same as in a previous activity. Simple
card games, for example, where children find
matching pairs or games that ask them to
remember lists of words as quickly as possible
involve elements such as visual memory and
time and they remove the focus from just
remembering the word in English.
Apart from card games one type of activity
that I have found useful is jigsaw puzzles.
Lately I have been using photos for very
simple jigsaws. These can be photos of
individual children or groups of children or
photos of things or places the children are
interested in.* You the teacher will know
best and you can use any photo you like. If
you have a colour photocopier in your school
it is very easy. If you haven’t it might be
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cheaper to collect a number of photos and
get them copied at the same time.The jigsaws
can be kept and you very soon build up a
bank of useful jigsaws
All you have to do is:
• enlarge the photo of children/something
the children are interested in by photocopying
it onto A4 paper.
• stick the photocopy onto a jigsaw template.
• cut out the jigsaw puzzle.
Depending on how many photos you prepare
you can give a different jigsaw puzzle to 2,
3 or 4 children.
1. Before they put it together, ask them
to guess what the jigsaw puzzle is about.
2.Then get them to put it together. It is
more fun if they don’t let the other
groups see their jigsaw puzzle and it can
be used for a guessing game later.
3.When each group has finished making
their puzzle they have to name everything
in their photo.
4.Then the groups can ask each other
about their photo to try and find out
the what/who it is and where it/he/she
is and what it looks like or what he/ she
is wearing? They can also think about the
time when the photo was taken or how
the person in the photo is feeling.
You as the teacher may have to provide a
lot of support for these questions but this
is an opportunity for extending teacher talk
and repetition of vocabulary and structures.
These questions all relate to topics that are
in many coursebooks but now it is in a more
personalised context. I have found this a very
motivating and enjoyable way to recycle
language. If you try it out I hope you and
your class will also enjoy it!
*[Templates for simple eight-piece jigsaw
puzzles can be found in Young Learners by
Sarah Philips OUP
The sample given here is of a jigsaw puzzle
made from the photo of a little snowman!!]
Mary Slattery works as a freelance
teacher and teacher trainer.
She has just co-written the book English for
Primary Teachers – a handbook of activities and
classroom language: Mary Slattery and Jane
Willis. (2001) Oxford University Press.