Considerations for Teaching Young Learners

1. Considerations for Teaching Young Learners

1.1. How children learn

They are active learners and thinkers (Piaget, 1970)	Children construct knowledge from interacting with the physical environment and their own experiences. The have to pass diferent stages, there are tree : sensori-motor, concrete operational and formal operational. Children are prepareted to assimilate the next stage when they have accquierd the previous stage.
They learn through social interaction (Vygotsky, 1962)	Children construct knowledge with a “expert”. There are a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), according to Vygotsky (1978), is "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independenr problem-solving and the level of potential development as determinated throught problem-solving under adlt guidance" it's say, is the difference of the child's capacity to solve problems on his and his capacity to solve them with assistance.
They learn effectively through scaffolding by adults (Bruner, 1983)	Children learn in the process, and the adult's role is very important. Bruner thougth, the language was related with the children cognitive process that is implicated in problem-solving. I's very important for his the role of comunication and language.

In primary, the teacher must be a guide in the learn process, promoting activities where the students, in group work solve problems. For this, to teach the students, we have to know some advice:

• Using creative activities.
• Giving main role to pupils and created interest in the task.
• Exposuring to a variety of different ways to do the task.
• Breaking down the task in parts (sacaffolding).
• Giving and receiving feedback.

1.2. How children learn English

Pupils have to be motivate and interested by language, using meaningful and enjoyable activities where the need to use it to communication, like a project work, games or drama. One example to use language creatively is to give some instructions to the students and they have read and draw the mean (draw three nice flowers, draw a flower on the table,...) So, the pupils need to understand the vocabulary to draw the picture. 

Language learning and language acquisition

As House (1997) says, it distinguishes two types of language: the first language is acquired and the second language is learned. The first language is acquired throughout experiences and the second language by means of formal teaching.

It is very important that the teacher knows how children learn in order to understand how to teach them. Learning is frequently confused with studying or memorizing. Studying is a tool for learning, but it is not learning in itself. Children normally use memory because they do not distinguish learning situations from non-learning ones: all situations are learning situations for a child. This factor can provoke that every moment of their time could be a learning time and teachers should take full advantage of this. This fact has to be taken into account when the teacher organizes an English unit.

The order of language acquisitions is the following: listening, children listen to oral language; speaking, students reproduce this language orally; reading, the child reads written language and finally writing.

English Learning

As House (1997) says, these are the peculiarities of English teaching in primary education:

1. English pronunciation. This fact is more difficult for children because the connection between the way words are written and the way they are pronounced are very different and confusing. For instance, most vowels can be pronounced in two or more ways.
2. English structure can be difficult as well.
3. Spanish students are not exposed to English in their surroundings.
4. Formal and informal practice because the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) can be worked through formal practice but classroom communication is also important to provide informal practice.
5. The difficulties of reading and writing, moreover in primary level. The reason is that children may not have fully developed their writing skills even in their own language.
6. Encouraging the learning process is essential to carry out an effective English teaching.
7. Motivation. The motivation is no to be disconcerted with competition. The principal motivation is communication , although is a complicated because the pupils have motivation different .
8. Methodology. In the classroom should practice the communication and varying the group of interaction. In the methodology is more too important encouraged when the pupil have approve or fail.

1.3. Characteristics of young learners 

1.4. Language Learning Environment

According to Brumfit (1991), in the classroom, the teacher should work to develop characteristics, very imporatant in SLD ( second language development) and create a corret language learning environment. 
Of all, the most important characteristics are, the quantity of intake, because is a crucial factor, not only the amount that is comprehensible. Children have to learn from the concrete to the abstract, throught the activities, allowing the scaffolding. A good example should be mathematics. First, they work with beads, chickpeas, lentils and then pass to the abstract, the addition. Also, while teacher is telling a story, he or she can learn on images and visual aids, to contextualise the language.

Other characteristics is the natural approach. We have to create a natural environment, bassed on communication and socila interaction, like children learn their first language. It's "learning by doing", the young learners do/carry out activities where they have to colaborate problem-solving.