CHARACTERISTIC
OF YOUNG LEARNERS
Based on Sárosdy (2006:
28) the age of
the students is a major factor in
teachers’ decisions about how and what
to teach. Learners
of different ages
have different needs,
competences and cognitive skills.
Some people say
that children learn
languages faster than
adults do. Children are
thought to pick
up new languages
effortlessly. Another belief
is that adolescents are unmotivated. Adult learners can engage with
abstract thought.
In the
following table the
basic differences among
three age groups
are presented.
Table 1. Basic
Differences Among Three Age Groups Learners
|
CHILDREN |
ADOLESCENTS |
ADULTS |
|
Topics: their
surroundings, animals, toys, nature,
tales |
Topics: love, pop music, sport, cars, living world, films |
Topics: marriage, career, politics, travelling, housing |
|
Concentration span: short; a lot of varied activities are to be planned for a
lesson, they are good at pronunciation |
Concentration span: longer,
inhibited, shy, vulnerable, they
dislike being mad to look foolish in front of their classmates |
Concentration span: the
longest, better cognitive skills, good at
morphology and at syntax |
|
Teaching structures: Covert way, discovery technique |
Teaching structures: Both techniques are used |
Teaching structures: Overt
way, teacher-led presentation |
|
Way of thinking:
concrete,
learning by doing principle |
Way of thinking: less concrete, more abstract. |
Way of thinking: abstract,
highly developed cognitive skills, stressful atmosphere, they want to achieve
advanced level in a short time. |
According to Sárosdy (2006:
30) defines the charaters of young learners (6-12 years) as follows:
a. Children learn
by doing –
Concepts and language
develop through engagement and
involvement in doing
things. Children’s way
of thinking is concrete
so we must
not teach concepts
to them but
we have to
develop manual skills through
certain activities giving English instructions.
b. Children
need to make sense of the world – They can “grasp” meaning even if they do
not fully understand
language. Teachers are
supposed to use
English without explaining the grammatical rules.
c. The process
of learning is as important
as the product
– The activities
in English classes must
be attractive and
enjoyable to the
learners. Young learners cannot understand
the point of
learning a foreign
language; they are
interested in the games and
activities in the lessons.
d. There's
nothing like success to succeed – Success will generate more success they will
motivate learners intrinsically.
e. Covert way of grammar teaching should be applied – Grammatical structures are presented and practised in nursery rhymes, songs and tongue twisters.
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