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Teaching EFL in a KindergartenFrom birth, humans have noticeable instincts. Newborns can actually support their own weight when they grasp an object ? perhaps a left over from our time clinging to our mothers back. If a baby feels an object pressing against their face, they will pull back from it. A newborn will actively search for their mother?s nipple. All of these instincts have ensured our survival over the ages. As we develop physically and intellectually, most of these instincts dissipate and social influences take centre stage. But young children are very much influenced by biologically ingrained needs and abilities when it comes to learning in general and learning language specifically.
Children are born with a predisposition to learn languages . They have distinct neural pathways designed to facilitate the acquisition of the language or languages they are exposed to. This ability lessens as a child ages so that in early adulthood it becomes much more intellectually taxing to learn a language. In extreme cases, if a child is not exposed to any spoken language in their early years they will become unable to learn any language at all later in life.
This predisposition is reserved to oral communication, however . Writing and reading are not skills that are genetically ingrained but rather build from our ability to listen, understand and speak. ?By recognizing that oral language development is the first step in literacy, as a first step we can develop oral language skills in students learning English? . In other words, we as educators can target these abilities in our lessons to facilitate learning so that our students can get the most out of what we have to teach. From there, teachers can direct learning toward complete literacy by encouraging the development of writing and reading skills.
Other important aspects of children?s physiological development that affects learning language include our sense of fear and intimidation. When students feel threatened the limbic system, which is also known as the emotional side of the brain, is activated . When this happens, the thinking side of the brain has difficulty processing information and hence reduces a student?s ability to learn. Therefore, a students learning environment is very important physiologically.
One way to combat the activation of the limbic system is social integration of the student. Social integration usually takes the form of friends and peer inclusion. These relationships facilitate positive emotions and decreased the likelihood of the student feeling threatened. Classroom relationships also encourage peer modelling for language acquisition, or the knowledge that is acquired through exposure and experimentation of language with others .
As with the genetic disposition toward acquiring language, teachers can take advantage of how social integration increases learning by taking ?an active role in ensuring that the social experiences of English language learners are positive, as this has a lasting impression on the educational success of a student? .
As we can see, by being aware of the physiological processes in learning, a teacher can maximize the learning of a student in their classroom. Focusing on oral fluency in English as a primary goal and then expanding for fluency in writing and reading, teachers can work with the biological predispositions of the children they work with. The same is also true for encouraging the social integration of students in the classroom to ensure that their brain is in the optimal state for learning.
