Workbook Unit 1

Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa
Centro de Idiomas Mazatlán

Licenciatura en Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés
Metodología Enseñanza del Inglés para Niños y Adolescentes.
M.A. Mariela Ávila Carrasco
Unit 1: Fundamentals
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I. Children Learning English: Myths
Part a) Answer the following question:
 Are young learners better prepared for learning a second language in contrast with adults?
What do you think?
Part b) what other beliefs do you have about young learners? List at least 3.
Many parents and educators assume that the earlier children start learning English, better
opportunities they will have in the future. According to Read (2003), this believe may be more a
fallacy based on intuitive assumptions. As educators, it is important to clarify these misconceptions
which are sometimes mistaken. Let’s have a look on the following myths presented by McLaughlin
(2012).
Task 2.
Part 1. Read the following myths.
Part 2. After each myth, write in the box below: as a teacher, how does this information help me? The
first one is already done for you.
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Myth #1 “Children learn a second/foreign language quick and easy”

While in ESL contexts children are more likely to learn English in order to communicate with their
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peers at school or in the playground, research has constantly demonstrated the inferiority of children
learning a foreign language, in contrast with adolescents, in controlled conditions (Asher and Price,
1967).
What does it mean this for the teacher?

As teachers, we need to be sensitive and not expect miraculous results in our young students
learning English in a classroom context. We need to take into account, that children do not have
the same memory techniques than older students have; Nor should be assume that children are
shier than adults and they are less embarrassed when making mistakes
Myth #2 The younger the child, the more skilled in acquiring a second language.
This myth is related with the best time to start language instruction, when we should young learners
who have acquire their first language begin a second? Starting on an early age does not guarantee
the competency of the language in an EFL context. In fact, different research studies show that older
learners have better memory of grammatical concepts, cognitive maturity and better development of
acquiring skills to learn a foreign language (Read, 2003, p.6).
What does this mean for the teacher?
2
According to this last point, perhaps you wrote that something we need to take into consideration is
that exposing students earlier to the target language does not guarantee the mastery of the target
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language later; so it is important not to assume that they will be more skilled just because the fact
that they are young. This important aspect brings us to the next myth:
Myth #3: The more English they receive in a class, the quicker they learn the language.
In EFL context, many teachers reject the use of the L1 in controlled situations, claiming that the more
constant children are exposed to the target language the faster they will learn. That’s why many
schools try to implement a structured immersion in their schools. Nevertheless, L1 works as a bridge
for children, enabling them to participate and feel more involve in the language class.
What can we learn from the myth above? Maybe you wrote that we can use the first language in
controlled situations. Remember that while it is important to expose to our young learners to
comprehensible input as much as possible, we can’t deny the use of the first language in order to
enhance students’ participation and build good rapport (harmonious relationship) among teacher and
students.
Myth #4: Children have only acquired a second language once they can speak it.
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For school- age children, there is much more involved in learning a language than speaking it. They
have to learn about nouns, adjectives and grammatical structures as well and we cannot only focus
on oral production. In fact, according to Cummins (1980) exposing children to language assessment
instruments when they are not ready, can be tremendously dangerous for them; some students might
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have some language problems in their first language that might interfere with the learning processes
of the second one (Oyama, 1976).
You probably wrote that, as teachers, we can use this information to be more aware in how we
assess our students and not only focusing in some features of the language only. Learning a
language in not an easy enterprise for adults, none is for children either.
Myth # 5: All children learn a second/foreign language in the same way and the same rate.
As adults, children are all different. Those differences can be related with different backgrounds, how
students react to school and learning and their learning styles. Some students are shy; some are
eager to learn. What are the implications in teaching? As teacher we need to be aware of their
cultural background and their learning styles in order to set clear expectation for them.
II. Reasons for Learning English at an Early Age: benefits and the
value for their future
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Task 4. What are the benefits you see in your students (or your own
kids) in exposing them to learn English at school/language school?
Write 3 benefits
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Presumably, some of the benefits that you highlighted above, are related
Fossilization with their motivation in the class, decreasing the risk of fossilization (incorrect
Incorrect use of use of the language that cannot be corrected easily) among other benefits.
the language
According to Read (2003) and Shin and Crandall (2014), learning English on
that cannot be
corrected easily. an early age, brings many benefits for their future opening “windows of their
minds” (p. 6). These benefits can be related with their attitude for learning a
foreign language in the future and potential benefits as individual in a society.
Task 5.
Part 1. Compare what you wrote in task 4 with the following mind map.
Part 2. What benefits were new for you? Write them in the box below.
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Differences Between young learners and very young learners
Task 4. Complete the following sentence according to what you believe, or you know.
Young Learners are all students between ______ and _______ years old. Very young learners are all Page | 7
students between ________ and ______ years old.
Perhaps you answer that young learners are all kids between 5 to 12 and very young learners all kids
under the age of 5. Even though authors may differ in some years, recent publications define young
learners (YL) as children ages 7 to 12 years old and very young learners (VYL) as all children under
the age of 7 (Shin. 2006; Slatterly and Willis, 2001).
However, when discussing about young learners and very young learners, it is important to consider
some specific characteristics regarding their changes and age span. Let’s see some of those
characteristics in the following task.
Task 5. Read the following list and classify each statement using YL for young learners and VYL for
very young learners or B for both. Answers are at the end of this unit.
1. Have limited use of symbols and language

2. Are less egocentric but still have the tendency to relate new ideas to themselves
3. Do not think logically
4. Show intelligence through physical interaction and movement
5. Show intelligence through logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts
6. Are extremely egocentric and have difficulty seeing things from another’s perspective
7. Can reverse their thinking through reasoning
8. Develop memory and imagination
9. They are kinesthetic learners
Adapted from Shin and Crandall (2014
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If you have your own kids, you will probably agree with the fact that when they were between 2 to 5
years old, they learn through the use of concrete objects; they are very imaginative and have some
difficulty understanding ideas from other’s perspectives. Those are main characteristics of very
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young learners.
In contrast, by the time young learners are 11 years old and older, little by little they move from
concrete operation to more abstract ones; they are capable to be more empathic and they become
less egocentric. Those are main characteristics of young learners.
Nevertheless, something that both groups have in common, is that both are very energetic and
physically active. They have problems sitting still and they have the necessity to move. That’s why
young learners are also called “kinesthetic learners” (Shin and Crandall, 2014).
L1 and L2 learning environments: the implications for teaching English to young

Learners.
Now that we have discussed the main differences between young learners and very young learners,
it is time to complete the last section of this unit.
Let’s complete the following task in order to explore the distinction between L1 and L2 learning
environments.
Task 6.
Part 1) Picture your own kids or a nephew/niece. Was it difficult for them to learn their first language?
Why or why not?
Part 2: write your answer in the box below
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Perhaps, you answer was NO, because they were surrounded by people speaking the same
language. Shin and Crandall (2014), present some characteristics of L1 environment:
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 children have Meaningful exposure of the language in real context. This exposure, enable them to
acquire language naturally and quickly (p.40);
 they receive constant comprehensible input (Krashen, 1982) from their context by using concrete
objects, gestures, etc.
 They also receive caregiver speech (Shin and Crandall, 2014). Caregiver speech is the adjustment
that, as adults, we make to simplify our speech when we refer to a child.
Children are exposed to their L1 not only at home, also at school and in the playground. They
communicate with most of their teachers and friends using their first language.
Now that we know the main distinction in an L1 environment, let’s see the main characteristics of an
L2 environment.
Task 7. How many hours does a typical language class last in your context? Do you think this
exposure affect the use of English to communicate in their real-life context?
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Maybe, your answered that, since young learners in your context spend a limited time learning
English, using the target language to communicate might not be as meaningful as in their L1. In
addition to this, Shin and Crandall (2014), present some characteristics of an L2 environment:
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- Children spend only one subject (about 2- 4 hours per week) learning English;
- The language used is artificial and not based in real life;
- Regular L2 classes tend to focus on form of isolated structures rather than meaningful context;
The situation described above, challenge EYL teachers in many ways, how does challenge you?
Let’s express our ideas in the following task.
Task 8: Write the main challenges you face when teaching English to young learners in an EFL
context.
Supported by it was mentioned before, you probably wrote that one of the main challenges is that
students constantly use their L1 in classes.
Now that we know the differences between the L1 and L2 environment, in this last part of the study
material, it is time to see the implications of these differences in an English class.
Task 9. Read the following statements and tick all the ones you consider are correct according to what
we had discussed about L1 and L2 environments.
_______ when you present a topic that is related with what they like, students pay more attention.
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_______ children have problems understanding isolated topic such as grammar.
_______ students prefer actives when they are actually doing something rather than just listening.
Based on the characteristics that you already read, you probably ticked all the previous statements. If
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that is the case, Well done! Shin and Crandall (2014) present 3 important implications we need to
consider when teaching young learners:
1°. Children need a learning environment similar to first language acquisition.

They need a contextualized and authentic use of the language. Mirror activities that they used to
acquire their first language such as storytelling, singing, talking to each other socially, chanting, writing
a letter, etc.
2°. Children learn through lots of exposure and practice.

The biggest challenge that young learners’ teachers face, is to maximize the exposure and use of
English as much as possible in those 30- 45 minutes per class. Teachers can use realia, gestures,
visuals and caregiver speech to provide comprehensible input.
In addition, they need to have enough opportunities to use the language; without those moments,
students will not have the opportunity to test their hypothesis about how English works.
3°. Children do not learn language through explicit grammatical explanations.

Children learn by doing. Cameron (2001) and Pinter (2006) emphasize the importance of encouraging
children to notice the grammar rather than being taught the structure explicitly. In order to accomplish
that, teachers of young learners should provide plenty of meaning-focused input that help them to
notice grammar.
Summary and Conclusions:
Before you work on the end of this Unit task, let me give you some final comments that will help us
summarize this Unit.
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The assumption of the younger children are, better results they will have in English, may be a
fallacy.
________________________________________________________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Learning English on an early age brings benefits for their future.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
In a young learner’s classroom, is important to provide optimal conditions and respects their
needs.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Class Activity Unit 1 Task

In this task you are expected to put into practice all of what we have seen in this unit.
For this task, you need to find 4 teachers to survey (those teachers cannot be your classmates who
are taking this course)
Step 1) Find four in-service teachers that teach or taught young learners
Step 2) Survey teachers requesting the following information:
Name:
Grades that teaches:
Years of experience teaching Young learners:
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Question 1: Do you think starting English on an early age guarantees language proficiency in the
future?
Question 2: What are the benefits of learning English on an early stage?
Question 3: According to your experience, what does it make an English class meaningful for Young
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learners?
Question 4: How does L1 learning can benefit L2 learning in Young children?
Step 3) Create a chart to summarize your findings. Your chart should look like this:
Step 4) Present in a PPT presentation:

 Brief profile of each teacher (picture included)
 The chart
 Your conclusion
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Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa

Centro de Idiomas Mazatlán

Myth #1 “Children learn a second/foreign language quick and easy”

What does it mean this for the teacher?

What does this mean for the teacher?

What does this mean for the teacher?

What does this mean for the teacher?

1. Have limited use of symbols and language

L1 and L2 learning environments: the implications for teaching English to young

1°. Children need a learning environment similar to first language acquisition.

2°. Children learn through lots of exposure and practice.

3°. Children do not learn language through explicit grammatical explanations.

Summary and Conclusions:

Class Activity Unit 1 Task

Step 4) Present in a PPT presentation:

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