Young learner

masaryk university in brnoFACULTY OF EDUCATIONdepartment of the english language

tHE USE OF GAME-LIKE ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING eNGLISH TO YOUNG CHILDRENDiploma thesis

author:eva Kalendovsupervisor: Mgr. rka Dohnalov

june 2008

Anotace

1. Nzev prce: The Use of game-like activities in Teaching English to Young Children

2. Jmno a pjmen: Eva Kalendov

3. Katedra: anglickho a nmeckho jazyka, Pedagogick fakulta MU v Brn

4. Obor: anglick jazyk

5. Vedouc prce: Mgr. rka Dohnalov

6. Poet stran: 78

7. Poet ploh: 16

8. Rok obhajoby: 2008

9. Klov slova: game, acquiring the language, motivation, TPR, skill, communicative competence

10. Resum: Diplomov prce je zamena na kritria pouit hernch aktivit a her samotnch. Prostednictvm jednotlivch pln a ukzkovch hodin bylo provedeno zjiovn a ovovn funknosti a praktinosti her pi vuce anglickho jazyka. Dle se zdrazuje role uitele a pozitivnho edukanho prosted. Vpraktick sti je uvedeno devt pln hodin, pracovn listy a dal potebn materily jsou uvedeny vplohch.

Statement:

I declare I have elaborated the thesis on my own and listed all the literature and internet sources that I used. Brno, 15th April 2008 Eva KalendovI would like to express my gratitude to Mgr. rka Dohnalov for her help and valuable advice in connection with my work. Eva KalendovContentIntroduction

1. THEORETICAL PART

1.1 Development and acquiring the language........ 8 1.1.1 Working with children. ..9 1.1.2 Childrens creative use of limited language resources...... 9 1.1.3 Development of spoken language........10 1.1.4 Krashens theory of second language acquisition....111.2 Who are young learners?................................................................................11 1.2.1 Primary education.14 1.2.2 Why teach English at primary level.161.3 Motivation and creativity...17 1.3.1 Motivation and the teacher...18 1.3.2 How can teacher enhance learners motivation?..............................18 1.3.3 Creativity..20 1.3.4 What demotivates children from learning?.......................................211.4 Organisation of the classroom22 1.4.1 The layout of the classroom..23 1.4.2 Grouping the children...261.5 Methods used for teaching young learners.29 1.5.1 Total Physical Response...29 1.5.2 Communicative approach.32 1.5.3 The Audiolingual method.341.6 Listening.37 1.6.1 Pronunciation....381.7 Using games for language teaching40 1.7.1 What is a game?................................................................................41 1.7.2 Why use games?...............................................................................42 1.7.2.1 Children and games ..42 1.7.2.2 Role of communicative approach to ELT in games..43 1.7.3 Effective communication or correctness?........................................44 1.7.3.1 Code-control games..44 1.7.3.2 Communication games......45 1.7.4 Learning by doing46 1.7.4.1 Role-play and dialogues46 1.7.4.2 Drama activities48 1.7.4.3 Rhymes, chants and songs501.8 Helen Doron Early English521.9 Chalabalova Kindergarten.54 1.9.1 Sample activity lesson (Chalabalova Kindergarten)57 1.9.2 Evaluation592. PRACTICAL PARTMime and guess (Kufr) Lesson Plan 1..60Hidden pictures Lesson Plan 2.63Bing Bang Lesson Plan 3.65The washing line Lesson Plan 4...67Animal chant Lesson Plan 5.69Where is my hat? Lesson Plan 6...71Parts of the body (Head, shoulders, knees and toes) Lesson Plan 7.73The Three Little Pigs (A story building activity) Lesson Plan 8..75Sound pictures / Find the difference Lesson Plan 9.77Conclusion..79Resume

Bibliography

Internet sources

Appendices

Appendix I.

Appendix II.

Appendix III.Appendix IV.

Appendix V.

AppendixVI.

Appendix VII.

Appendix VIII.

Appendix IX.

Appendix X.

Appendix XI.

Appendix XII.

Appendix XIII.

Appendix XIV.

Appendix XV. Appendix XVI.IntroductionIn the recent years there has been a massive increase in teaching languages at schools. English is in demand at schools even in lower primary classes. Teachers need to find interesting and enjoyable ways in order to involve children in successful learning process and enhance their progress, which is mostly not an easy task. That is why I have chosen the topic concerning game-like activities. I will try to deal with a question whether young children can learn a foreign language easier and quicker with the help of games. Games stimulate learners concentration and involve the element of fun. They are natural for children and simulate real-life situation; through games almost all vocabulary and grammar can be practiced.

In the theoretical part of my thesis I will deal with the definition of young learners and I will look at important aspects that influence childrens learning process, as motivation, organization of the classroom as well as methods and approaches used by language teaching language. I will mention the roles of the teachers as well as learners in an English language classroom. Further, I will describe my experience when attending Helen Doron course and doing my teaching practice in Vizovice elementary school. That is why my thesis is predominantly practically orientated.

In the practical part I am going to present sample lesson plans that involve aspects and methods described in the first part. These lesson plans can be used as supplementary materials as they introduce basic topics as Numbers, Body parts, Instructions, grammar patterns, etc. The majority of introduced lesson plans are based on my experience and knowledge described in the theoretical part. My aim is also to demonstrate the entertaining way of learning in the practical part. 1. Theoretical Part1.1 Development and acquiring the languageHuman beings begin learning language long before verbal memory develops. The ways in which humans acquire language strongly impact future development. Children are hard-wired to pick up language from the people around them, whether anyone actively teaches them or not, but parents can choose to provide a stronger or weaker foundation for later success. Teaching infants to speak can involve providing varied experiential opportunities for learning. In English-speaking cultures, teaching infants to speak standard English as their native language further strengthens their ability to excel. (http://www.syl.com/articles/teachinginfantssupercharginglanguageacquisition.html)According to the latest research it was found out that children acquire language much more easily at their infant age. By perception and listening they learn the language naturally. Already the small babies and toddlers who are exposed to everyday contact with second language acquire the language automatically. When the children moreover have the chance to read books or magazines for infants, they become familiar with the written form of the language and have no problem to deal with texts and letters later at school.

This fact concerns many families, where the mother speaks Czech and the father is a foreigner. If the child listens to both native and second language every day at home, it is natural for him/her to acquire both languages, that is to say understand and speak fluently also the second language.

If the parents wait with language education of their children until they are older, the learning process and speaking becomes much more difficult for them.

Until the age of seven or thereabouts, children have an innate capacity for learning languages. As long as they are exposed to a language, they will figure out the way it works and speak it relatively fluently. Seven is thought to be "critical age".

It is said that at this age the children should start to learn a foreign language because after this critical moment they are said to lose the ability to acquire it naturally. That is why I would recommend parents to expose their children to the second language as soon as possible in their childhood or even babyhood if possible, because the younger the small child is the easier for him/her it is to understand and pick up the language and have no problems with words, meaning, speaking fluently and without an accent. (http://www.answerbag.com)1.1.1 Working with childrenHaving the information gained at Helen Doron training course as well as the information from the Internet, I dare say that children are able to understand the language much earlier before they begin to speak. They are used to the sounds of the language and with the help of gestures, body movement or facial expressions they are able to catch the message.

When they later come to the primary school they do not have any more problems in learning the basics of the language and they use their ability of communication in all schoolwork.

1.1.2 Childrens creative use of limited language resourcesIn their childhood and at the beginning of their language development children often create their own words and expressions, which then come into the family vocabulary. This becomes a fundamental part of language development because it increases childrens creativity and the ability to use the language. We can observe this when children begin to learn their mother tongue. Children, especially young learners, tend to create their own grammatical structures or words when they want to say a sentence or expression. But with the little knowledge of words they are not able to express the exact meaning so we need to describe it with another similar word or they just try to use their native language with a foreign accent, practising the sound and linking.

We stretch our resources to the limit. In the process, we may well produce temporarily inexact and sometimes inept language in language teaching terminology called metalanguage - but we usually manage to communicate. (Halliwell 1992: 3)1.1.3 Development of spoken languageWhen young children arrive to school environment, they have already experiences with using their native language they can talk about what they are doing or about their last or future activities, they can tell you what they think or what they want, they can use logical reasoning and imagination. According to Myers and Burnett by the age of three, children may use about a thousand words. This will increase to 2000-10 000 by the age of five (2004: 24).

For young children it is natural to learn to speak in an environment where the language is used around them. From their childhood they have been taught to express themselves effectively and speak in a meaningful way. They learn how to use the language for purpose.

Children learn about language use through interaction with others; through conversation they grasp the conventions of spoken language and absorb the values and beliefs through the language used by those around them. They do not just copy the language they hear, but are active in making meaning. (Myers, Burnett 2004: 24)

In teaching young children it is very important to support their communicative attempts and so the successful development of the language. For effective encouragement Myers and Burnett recommend the teacher should provide:

Opportunities for learning language in context; Opportunities for children to interact with one another and adults; Effective adult models for talk and ensuring that children are exposed to a wide range of spoken language;

Activities in which children communicate for meaningful purposes;

Plenty of support and affirmation

An environment that fosters childrens continuing interest in language. (Myers, Burnett 2004: 25)

1.1.4 Krashens theory of second learning acquisition

As the Internet source www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html reports, according to Krashen there are two independent systems of second language performance: 'the acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired system' or 'acquisition' is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act. From Krashens point of view the teaching language can only result in language acquisition and proficiency when the learners are interested in the subject and the target language is used as a medium of instruction and communication. That is why I prefer using games and short activities at school as it provides enough space for developing skills and natural interaction among children.

By observing and working with children during my teaching practice I utterly agree with Krashens opinion because after presenting an activity to children they were very quickly able to cope with the new situation and they acquired the language and used words unconsciously but with a great effect.

The 'learned system' or 'learning' is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process, which results in conscious knowledge 'about' the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. According to Krashen learning is less important than acquisition. (www.sk.com.br/sk-krash.html)1.2 Who are young learners?Young learners are supposed to be children from the first year of formal schooling (five or six years old) to eleven or twelve years of age. However, the age of children is not crucial for how mature they are.

According to Phillips there are many factors that influence childrens maturity: for example, their culture, their environment (city or rural), their sex, the expectations of their peers and parents. The author reports that a good teacher should be aware of these differences and that is why the types of activities he decides to use with a class must be influenced by his knowledge of their circumstances, attitudes, and interests rather than simply by the childrens physical age (1993: 5).

It is individual how quickly the children develop. There is a difference between how skilled the children are not depending on their different ages. Some children develop later than others.

In general, it is assumed that five to seven year old children are all at the same beginner level. The eight to ten year olds may also be beginners, or they may have been learning the foreign language for some time, so there are both level one and level two pupils in the eight to ten age groups (Ytreberg 1990: 1).

Ytreberg mentions some basic characteristics of the young language learners: Children sometimes have problems to distinguish the real world from the imaginary world. It can be difficult for teachers to cope with it and to understand their perception of reality. When working or playing they like to be accompanied with others. Most of them do not like to work alone. They use language skills long before they are aware of them.

They love to play and the learning itself can be effective only in case they are enjoying themselves.

They learn by mimics, using gestures and body movements. The physical world is very important and dominant at all times.

They have a very short attention and concentration span.

They do not always understand the world of adults. The teacher needs to use the instructions in an appropriate way and use the language and phrases so that the children can easily get the message.

Young children are motivated when they are praised. It is very important to support their enthusiasm from the beginning of learning (1990: 1).

Phillips assumes that the younger the children are, the more holistic learners they will be. Younger learners respond to language according to what it does or what they can do with it, rather than treating it as an intellectual game or abstract system. Anyway there are both advantages and disadvantages: on the one hand they respond to the meaning underlying the language used and do not worry about individual words or sentences; on the other, they do not make the analytical links that older learners do. Younger learners have the advantage of being great mimics, are often unselfconscious, and are usually prepared to enjoy the activities the teacher has prepared for them (1993: 7).

Here are some points according to Phillips to consider when teaching young learners:

The activities should be simple enough for children to understand what is expected of them.

The tasks should be amusing and within childrens abilities, so that the learners can easily reach their goals.

The task should be stimulating and motivating for learners to feel satisfied with their work.

Written activities should be used only in a small amount. In the sixth or seventh year of age the children are not yet so good at writing in their native language.

Mostly the speaking activities should prevail indeed, with very young children listening activities will take up a large proportion of class time.

The activities should be simple enough for the children so that they understand what to do and what is expected of them (1993: 7).

Nowadays learners are overloaded by the amount of information and experiences. For teachers of young children it is sometimes very difficult to keep their concentration. It can be disrupted by many factors. In general one can see that the child cannot concentrate on one particular thing, topic or activity more than few minutes. The teacher is supposed to interchange the activities to keep childrens interest. It is good to divide the lesson into shorter activities, because young children like the moment of surprise and they do not know what comes next. Teachers should keep the number of new language items introduced to a reasonable level and should present and practise new language themes in a number of different ways.As children grow and mature they bring more intellectual, motor, and social skills to the classroom, as well as a wider knowledge of the world. The focus should continue to be on language as a vehicle of communication and not on the grammar, though the ability of older children to make logical links and deductions can be exploited. The teacher can provide such tasks for them in which they can discover simple grammatical rules; their attention can be focused on the structure of the language in order to help them formulate an internal grammar of their own.

The kinds of activities that work well are games and songs with actions, total physical response activities, tasks that involve colouring, cutting and sticking, simple, repetitive stories, and simple, repetitive speaking activities that have an obvious communicative value (Phillips 1993: 7).1.2.1 Primary education Phillips supposes the years at primary school as extremely important for childrens intellectual, physical, emotional and social development. They go through a series of stages, progressively acquiring skills that are thought necessary by the society they live in. Many of these skills are interdependent, and if one has not been sufficiently developed, the acquisition of another may be impeded.

On the physical side, children need to develop balance, spatial awareness and fine control of certain muscles in order to play sports and perform everyday actions such as dressing themselves, cleaning their teeth, colouring, drawing and writing.

Socially, children need to develop a series of characteristics to enable them to fit into the society they live in, to become aware of themselves in relation to others, to share and co-operate and to be assertive without being aggressive. They need to be able to accept criticism and become self-critical, to be aware of how they learn and to experiment with different learning styles, to organise their work and to be open and interested in all that surrounds them (Phillips 1993: 5,6).

What are children like as learners?

According to Slattery (2001: 4) children are learners who

love to play and use imagination

are naturally curious

enjoy repetition and routines are developing quickly as individuals

learn in a variety of ways, for example, by watching, by listening, by imitating, by doing things

are not able to understand grammatical rules and explanations about language

have quite a short attention span and so need variety of activities

talk in their mother tongue about what they understand and do this helps them learn

can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults speak

According to Brumfit, Moon and Tongue there are characteristics which most primary level learners share:

In the first years of schooling it is possible to reach and mould developmental changes of children and so create their expectations of life.

Young children want to learn and work with enthusiasm. They do not tend to have similar inhibitions as their older schoolmates.

As a group they are potentially more differentiated than secondary or adult learners, for they are closer to their varied home cultures, and new to the conformity increasingly imposed across cultural groupings by the school. Because they are at the beginning of formal schooling it is essential that their learning is closely linked with the development of ideas and concepts. To make learning enjoyable and motivating it is needed to use physical movements and activities that stimulate learners thinking (1991: v.). 1.2.2 Why teach English at primary level?

To help children acquire English, let them hear and experience the language since they are very small. In general it is known that young children are better in learning languages than older people. In spite of this fact we still can doubt whether children can learn more efficiently than adults. Anyway, it depends mostly on teachers how they can help learners to progress rapidly at any level of schooling.

However, Brumfit, Moon and Tongue suppose a number of reasons, why teaching English is necessary not only within schooling and educational system:

The need to expose children from an early age to an understanding of foreign cultures so that they grow up tolerant and sympathetic to others.

The need to link communication to the understanding of new concepts.

The need for maximum learning time for important languages the earlier you start the more time you get.

The advantage of starting with early second language instruction so that later the language can be used as a medium of teaching (1991: vi).

As I suggested before, there is the question, whether children are better learners of languages than adults. There may be many reasons why is it so. Let me offer some of them: Children have more opportunities and more time for learning than adults.

They do not have any worries about failure or they do not have the feeling of responsibility.

People around young learners as are their teachers, parents or their friends, can help them with their learning.

They want to learn the language that people around them speak. The success is certain, when the children can hear the second language every day. The social pressure urges them to use the language for achievement of their aims.

Children spend more time by learning than the adults and they want to learn. They are better at learning languages if they get exposed to them naturally and long-term.

The brain is capable to absorb much more information before and during puberty than after and children acquire the language in a natural way.

Learning a language is joined with the real communication and the environment influences it.

Children have no negative experiences with foreign language and culture than adult learners do and that is why they are better motivated in learning it.

1.3 Motivation and Creativity

According to Harmer, motivation can be defined as some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action (2007: 20).

Ur reports two different types of motivation: intrinsic motivation which brings the incentive of the learner to engage in the learning activity for its own sake (Ur, pg 276). This motivation is created in the classroom and it can be influenced by teachers methods, the activities that learners take part in or their perception of their success or failure. Ur further mentions extrinsic motivation motivation which is derived from external incentives; children already come to the classroom with this type of motivation.

Ur further discriminates between global, situational and task motivation (1991: 276). We speak about global motivation when concerning the learners willingness to learn foreign language as a whole. Situational motivation has to do with classroom conditions, atmosphere or type of work or the total environment. It considers also the way the learner approaches the specific task

1.3.1 Motivation and the teacher

The teacher can hence the motivation and interest of pupils by giving further interesting and attractive information and activities concerning the language and its background.

By no means teacher plays very important role in activating childrens motivation and there are many factors that influence the learners determination. Teacher should provide interesting materials that are attractive for children, full of pictures and lively activities. As far as materials are concerned it is better to bring more additional materials to class, so that children do not become bored with just one book. Also praising and rewarding can help. Each child in its early age wants to please the teacher or parents, do its best and achieve the goals successfully. By giving rewards to children they will be elated in doing other tasks. According to Ur, intrinsic motivation is more important and valuable than the extrinsic motivation. When the child is interested in the learning activity, mostly the success in learning is guaranteed. The elements of success are intensified by incorporating speech or movement activity (Ur 1991: 288). By young learners it can be very difficult for teacher to keep up their motivation. Children often want to find or discover something so it should be provided such activities that excite their curiosity and provoke their participation. The level of challenge must be considered so that the tasks are neither too difficult nor too easy.

I completely agree with Harmer, that children need to feel that the teacher really cares about them; if they feel supported and valued, they are far more likely to be motivated to learn (Harmer 2007: 20).

1.3.2 How can teacher enhance learners motivation?

Teacher should be aware of personal conditions of each child. In which family does the child grow up, what kind or friends and people is the child surrounded by, also environmental condition should be taken into consideration. All these factors have a great influence on learners motivation. Teacher can raise the childrens desire to work by bringing things that relate to childrens personal experience and interest them into the learning process. For children such a lesson will be much more interesting and stimulating. For instance, any hobby the child has can be incorporated into an English lesson (Underwood 1987: 27).

For example children can tell the rest of the class about their favourite things or toys or pets, they can also write about them. Such a discussion or describing a thing could form the basis of practice for adjectives, comparatives, superlatives, question forms, and so on.

What children really like and is interesting for them are pictures, stories and games. Pictures are colourful and attract the eyes they are kind of visual stimulus. Both visual as well as aural stimuli provide stories. Children can either read them themselves or they can just listen to the teachers voice. According to my experience games are the most favourite activities. Children use both visual and aural channels and moreover they need to speak and come to an understanding with others in order to get what they want. Body movements and physical activity are essential when incorporating playing games.

I will deal with games topic in the chapter 1.7.To be able to deal with a task or an activity successfully children need to master appropriate skills and knowledge. Children need to see the reason for doing an activity, e.g. to look up a piece of information to figure out the sense, put a puzzle together to find a hidden message or to perform a story to demonstrate the reality. The end product of such activity is very motivating and supports children in their further work (for further information see Phillips 1993: 38).

In agreement with Ur, extrinsic motivation is that which derives from the influence of some kind of external incentive (1991: 279).

As it was mentioned earlier, children can enhance the extrinsic motivation by the wish to please parents or the teacher. Anyway the teacher can affect learners motivation by many ways, e.g. he/she can reward learners who successfully fulfilled the task. Moreover succeeding in an activity creates enthusiasm and effort for the next work

Nobody wants to fail when trying doing the best. Failure in general is viewed as something unwanted. Learners should be aware that they are failing if they have done significantly less than they could have done or if they are not making satisfactory progress.

Anyway learners can be similarly motivated by teacher pressure. They want to do their best because they were told to. However, nowadays the older learners are not as afraid of teachers reprehension as the younger children do.

Written or oral testing is a competent way to motivate learners to study. In some way, they are forced to do that because the resultant mark is important for them. In addition they will study more carefully than if they had simply been told to learn it.

Children will often be motivated to do their best in order to beat their opponents in a competition. If the competition is not taken too seriously (it can have negative effect and be stressful for learners, who are not very good at language), and if scores are at least partly a result of chance, so that anyone might win, positive motivational aspects are enhanced and stress lowered.

1.3.3 Creativity Creativity as an attribute belongs to the significant features not only of the teacher but also of the learner and the whole learning process. To manage a creative classroom activity learners should be offered enough time and space so that they can make the best of their imagination and originality. The principal is that children should feel free when solving the task and they should be aware of many valuable solutions possible.

The teacher should not interfere in the learning process as an authority if possible or should rather act as a helper or facilitator.

Learning activities provided to children must be purposeful. Language should be used as a tool of communication by means of which the activity objectives should be achieved.

Evaluation is an important element of creativity. The more varied it is the more stimulating and formative it is for children.

(www.teachingenglish.org)1.3.4 What demotivates children from learning?

Childrens motivation and enthusiasm can be raised by selecting interesting activities, for example; it can be lost easily: monotonous, apparently pointless activities quickly bore and demotivate young learners. I would be more accurate to say that younger learners motivation is more likely to vary and is more susceptible to immediate surrounding influences, including the teacher; that of older learners tends to be more stable (Ur 1991: 288).

However, there are other factors, which can influence learners on the way to their loss of motivation, for example, inappropriate choice of activities, that do not keep childrens interest for a long time and they become easily bored. The environment in which children spend a considerable part of the day as well as the class equipment should offer pleasant conditions so that the learners do not feel uncomfortable, distracted or under pressure. The tasks and activities must be easy to understand because feeling confused by abstract concepts of grammar rules can discourage learners from trying to solve the problems.

Teachers should be careful of over-correcting pupils so that the children do not lose the interest to express themselves.

As Harmer claims however much we do to foster and sustain student motivation, we can only, in the end, encourage by word and deed, offering our support and guidance. Real motivation comes from within each individual, from the students themselves (2007: 20). 1.4 Organisation of the classroom

Not only the teacher, learners or the choice of activities support effective learning process, it is also important to create pleasant atmosphere and learning environment for children. In this chapter, I deal with the possible ways of classroom layouts and seating arrangement.

I agree with Burnett and Myers, that in every educational setting, children, support staff and teachers need a physical space and the necessary furniture and resources. For staff and children, this provides far more than simply a space for learning. It influences how they feel about themselves, their learning and their relationships with others, the activities that take place and their role in that environment. All involved should feel comfortable, secure and motivated, sharing a sense of ownership and pride in its care and development.

The use of space, the selection and presentation of educational materials and childrens work, the arrangement of furniture and resources all carry messages (Burnett, Myers 2004: 195).

For young children, pleasant and familiar surroundings are more acceptable. It is good when the classes or rooms where children play are decorated with their works, colourful pictures or any kinds of interesting objects. Children can also grow plants or have animals in the class in accordance to create personal relationship to their educational environment. In spite of these suggestions there must be left enough space for teachers performance. (Underwood 1987)

Hereby, I would like to report about the childrens classroom in Chalabalova kindergarten.

In order to create a positive learning environment for the development of language and literacy for children the teacher leading the group tries to provide children with the setting which invites them to use their language skills. When you come to the entrance there are lots of pictures on the walls and the doors that the children have made themselves. In one corner of the classroom there is a reading corner, the role-play area represents a home corner containing a small settee, a toy food and cooking equipment. At the front of the room there is writing and drawing area, where children make all their products. There also is the plan for the week and the box with childrens portfolios (see the part Chalabalova Kindergarten).1.4.1 The layout of the classroom

Physical setting of the class has a significant influence on the learning process itself. The organisation of the class should provide enough space for both teacher and learners. Tables and chairs can be arranged in many ways; nevertheless, working in pairs or groups affords an effective seating arrangement. Moreover when the desks are placed in groups, children have enough space to come out to the board or to move around the classroom.

Sometimes there is no space in the classroom to move the furniture. Teacher can think up such activities and group the children in order to use all the available space in the classroom. Children may sit on the floor, pillows or on the banks, which can cause unusual conditions for learning but at the same time such organisation is good for performing or games, where physical activity is needed. It is vital for the teacher to see all the faces of children so that the restless ones cannot disturb. By creating unusual setting in the class the learning process can be much more effective and the teacher can use it to his/her advantage.

Creating seating arrangements

One of the most typical seating arrangements at schools all around the world is sitting in orderly rows. At the front of the classroom stands the teacher. Pupils usually sit in front of the wooden desk, which they can put their books on. In some countries there are little wooden palettes on one of the arms as surface to write on. (www.teachingenglish.org)

On the contrary, Harmer suggests such seating arrangements where the children sit in a circle or in small groups and are working in different parts of the room. Such organization allows teacher to cooperate with all pupils as he can see all the faces and so control the situation in the class. There are some more possibilities of the arrangement. Sometimes the desks are placed in a horseshoe around the teacher. It looks like the teacher was a part of learning process (Harmer 1998: 18).

Sometimes, the desks are arranged in a horseshoe shape around the teacher. Sometimes, it is not immediately obvious who the teacher is. I would like to bring in some advantages as well as disadvantages of some different arrangements of chairs and tables (see the picture below; Harmer 1998: 18).

Traditional rows: this kind of seating arrangement is very convenient for the teacher as he could see all the pupils and they can see the teacher, because they are facing in his direction. For the most part of the lesson the teacher can cooperate with the whole class. It is also suitable for pair work, because pupils can create pairs immediately by turning themselves to the classmate. Traditional rows are mostly the only solution when there are many pupils in the class. For teacher it is easier to maintain eye contact and so keep everyone involved. It is also useful when learners are involved in certain kinds of language practice. If all the pupils are focused on a task, the whole class gets the same messages. Working separately is not very sufficient as far as speaking activity concerns, because the learners can just see the back of the heads of their classmates and so do not feel the opportunity enough to take part in language work.

Circles and horseshoes: this seating arrangement is popular by many teachers and learners. All pupils are able to see the teacher, the board and other classmates and they can lively take part in speaking activities. That is why such an organisation is good in smaller classes. In case of a very large class having one horseshoe inside another and using double rows can achieve a similar effect.

The circle formation is suitable for many games, discussions in groups and welcoming pupils at the beginning of the lesson, doing the register and really talking to learners. Teacher can take a seat in the middle of the circle and act as a facilitator of speaking activities.

With the learners sitting in a circle, there is a far greater feeling of equality than when the teacher stays out at the front. This does not concern the horseshoe arrangement where the teacher mostly takes central position. Anyway even here the teacher has greater opportunity to stay in the contact with children.

Separate tables: when children are seating individually it is easier for teacher to go round the class and check their work. The teacher can advice children if they have difficulties and provide an appropriate connecting links. There is a possibility for children to sit in small groups at individual tables. This kind of classroom organisation provides space for front class activities. Pupils can give ear to the teacher and then work independently and individually. Also pair work is very suitable for this kind of layout as the pupils can turn their face to the classmate without moving any furniture.

Nested tables in groups: they are convenient for small group work and project work. Pupils can work independently and along with them the teacher can move around the class and help the children with fulfilling their tasks and giving instructions. This kind of seating arrangement provides learners a feeling of belonging to a particular group as they face in towards each other. All the materials needed as well as books they can place in the centre of the group so that everyone can use it. This gives the children a sense of equality.

It gives room to play games, tell stories, act out dialogues, etc. Almost any activity can be carried out in this pattern; it gives a lot of opportunity for interaction between children. However this seating organization can be uncomfortable for children who have to turn round every time they need to see their partner or the board. (Underwood 1987: 51)1.4.2 Grouping the childrenAs I pointed above, there are many occasions by which a teacher can make use of different types of classroom organisation. However, it does not always mean that the traditional sitting in orderly rows is the best seating arrangement for doing activities. It depends on activity itself, which grouping of children would be the best in order to achieve the effective learning the language.

In the next paragraphs I describe the most common groupings of children:

(Information compared with Harmer 1998: 21; Phillips 1993: 9)

Individual work

Individual work provides for learner enough time to think up the task. Pupils can work at their own speed without being pressed by their partners or the teacher. Individual work is also good for reading and making things or recording vocabulary. Learners strengthen their individual needs and progress. One of the disadvantages is no space for communication as the learner has nobody to cooperate with. Pair work Pair work is very suitable for speaking activities such as role-plays, dialogs, interviews or information gaps. Pupils are divided into pairs and begin to discuss some problem or task. There is much greater opportunity for children to speak then when the teacher is working with the whole class and some individuals at the back of the class do not cooperate at all. Children can further play communicative games or use self-access materials. Pair work is easy to organise for the teacher and at the same time easy to explain the activity and what learners are supposed to do.

Group work

Group work means, that children usually work in groups of three or more children. So that the work is effective, the groups should not contain more than five children. A small group of students are discussing a topic, doing a role-play or solving a problem. Within the children a sense of equality is worth. Social interaction among children is being developed and they learn how to get on well with each other. However, some children can take advantage of such bigger group and speak their native language instead of using English or make small contributions. Moreover, if there are weaker participants in the group they can be shy to express themselves.

The best way to involve all the participants is to let each child do the small part of the task and at the end of the activity put the parts together and let them control along with the teacher.

While groups A and C are doing one task, the teacher can spend some time with group B who need special attention.

By pair work and group work children can work independently without being over controlled by the teacher. They learn to be responsible for their each own piece of work; they can take own learning decisions, how to use the language and what words to apply to complete a certain task. And they can work without the pressure of the whole class listening to what they are saying.

(Phillips 1993: 10)Sometimes, children need time to get used to working in groups. Working with somebody else may be new for learners as they do not work individually anymore and the teacher does not control them. They learn to be responsible and sometimes it can be a problem for some children to get accustomed to their new role. That is why it is better to start working in pairs and tightly controlled activities, and later begin to work with larger groups and provide them with freer activities.

There are always advantages as well as disadvantages regarding both group work and pair work. The participants may not like each other or there are just some weaker children, who are not able to express themselves as the other ones. Sometimes such kind of work requires the teachers supervision to raise childrens confidence and also to prevent using their first language.1.5 Methods used for teaching young learners1.5.1 Total Physical ResponseTotal Physical Response (TPR) is language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action, it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity.

TPR reflects a grammar-based view of language. Most of the grammatical structure of the target language and hundreds of vocabulary items can be learned through TPR method. The more often or the more intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely it will be recalled. Tracing can be done verbally (by rote repetition) and in association with motor activity.

Parallel to the processes first language learning, the foreign language learner should first internalize a cognitive map of the target language through listening exercises. Physical movement should accompany listening. Speech and other productive skills should come later.

Imperative drills are the major classroom activity in Total Physical Response. Children in TPR have the primary roles of listener and performer. They listen attentively and respond physically to commands given by the teacher. Learners are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak.

TPR also needs a detailed lesson plan - it is wise to write out the exact utterances that will be used and especially the new instruction because the action is so fast-moving there is usually no time for you to create spontaneously.

(Handouts used: http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=135)

In the classroom the teacher plays the role of a parent. She starts by saying a word ('jump') or a phrase ('look at the board') and demonstrating an action. The teacher then says the instruction and the students all do the action. After repeating a few times it is possible to extend this by asking the students to repeat the word as they do the action.

The teacher has the responsibility of providing the best kind of exposure to language so that the learner can internalize the basic rules of the target language. The teacher should also allow speaking abilities to develop in learners at the learners own natural pace.

Teachers should refrain from too much correction in the early stages and should not interrupt to correct errors, since this will inhibit the learners.

It is more effective if the children are standing in a circle around the teacher and who can even encourage them to walk around as they do the action. (www.teachingenlish.org)

For absolute beginners, lessons may not require the use of materials, since the teachers voice, actions, and gestures may be a sufficient basis for classroom activities. Later, the teacher may use common classroom objects, such as books, pens, cups, furniture. As the course develops, the teacher will need to make or collect supporting materials to support teaching points. These include pictures, realia, slides, and word charts. (http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=135)

Why should we use TPR with young learners?

I experienced a lot of fun through using TPR activities, children enjoy them and they are good for kinaesthetic learners who need to be active in the class. Children remember phrases or words better physical actions get the meaning across effectively so that all the students are able to understand and use the target language. It can be used in large or small classes and in mixed-ability classes as well.

I personally find TPR method very useful and effective. With the help of TPR activities many things can be practised:

classroom language (Sit down; look at the blackboard; open your book...)

tenses (past, present, future, continuous)

vocabulary and actions (slip, stomach-ache, smile)

instructions, imperatives (take your pen; stand up)

story-telling, role-plays, games (miming, describing, making statues...)

I usually use TPR as a warm-up activity children are supposed to follow my instructions and movements and I perform them for pupils. I usually use a lot of gestures and mimics. It is a good fun and children see and understand what to do at the same time. TPR activity is also effective when children are sleepy or do not pay attention.

For more TPR activities see the practical part.

1.5.2 Communicative approachCommunicative method focuses on language as a medium of communication. It recognises that all communication has a social purpose learner has something to say or find out.

Goal of teachers using communicative approach are communicatively competent students communicative competence involves being able to use the language appropriate to a speech community. Learners will be more motivated to study a foreign language if they feel they are learning to do something useful with the language they study.

Learners acquire the linguistic means to be able to perform different kinds of functions (seeking information, describing something, expressing likes and dislikes), to deal with situations in which they might typically need to use a foreign language (asking for directions, travelling, business), to deal with the topics they might need to talk about (shopping, travelling) as well as to use vocabulary and grammar.

(Handouts used: http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=135)

Richards and Rodgers mention the most important features of the role of the teacher in learning activities:

facilitator of students learning

manager of classroom activities

establishment of situations that promote communication

advisor, answering students questions monitors their performance

co-communicator engaging in the communicative activity along with the students (2001: 161)Characteristics of the teaching/learning process:

Almost everything that is done is done with a communicative intention. Children use the language a great deal through communicative activities such as games, role-plays and problem-solving tasks.

Richards and Rodgers further select learning activities according to how well they engage the learner in meaningful and authentic language use (rather than merely mechanical practice of language patterns).

There are three features of communicative activities:

information gap exists when one person in an exchange knows something that the other person does not

choice what he will say and how he will say it

feedback helps the speaker to evaluate whether or not his purpose has been achieved based upon the information he receives from the listener (2001: 161).

Learners should not use the native language. All the communicative activities as well as teachers instructions and explaining the activities are done in the target language. The target language is vehicle for communication, not just an object to be studied.

For more information see Role of communicative approach to English Language Teaching (ELT) in games, p31.1.5.3 The Audiolingual MethodAccording to Richards and Rodgers, this approach considers learning a language as a habit formation. By memorizing dialogues and performing pattern drills the chances of producing mistakes are minimized. Language is viewed as a verbal behaviour.

Language skills are learned more effectively if the items to be learned in the target language are presented in spoken form before they are seen in the written form.

The meanings that the words of a language have for the native speaker can be learned only in linguistic and cultural context and not in isolation (Richards, Rodgers 2001: 57).Principles of the Audiolingual Method

Language forms occur most naturally within a context.

Native language should be kept apart and used as little as possible.

Language learning is a process of habit formation: the more often something is repeated, the stronger habit and the greater the learning.

It is important to prevent errors. Errors lead to the formation of bad habits. The teacher should correct them immediately.

The purpose of language learning is to learn how to use language communicatively.

Learners should learn to answer automatically, without stopping to think.

Speech is basic to language. The natural order of skill acquisition is: listening, speaking, reading, writing.

Learners are imitators of the teachers model. They follow the teachers directions and respond as accurately and as rapidly as possible.

Role of the teacher

The teacher is active and has central and leading role in the lesson. The main relationship in the class is teacher-learner. The teacher should speak only the target language; learners are not given any materials before. All their work is based on listening and responding to the teacher the learners play a reactive role by responding to the stimuli presented by the teacher. The work of the teacher is very demanding (accuracy, activity, control of the lesson).

Types of learning techniques and activities

Repetition of words

New vocabulary and structures are presented through dialogues. They are learnt through imitation and repetition.

Dialog Memorisation

Dialogues and conversations are used often at the beginning of a new topic. Children learn their lines and use them as the responses for the teachers lines, then the roles are switched. Finally, pairs or the groups of the children are able to perform the dialog. Certain sentence patterns and grammar points are included in the dialogue and these are practiced later in drills.

Backward Build-Up Drill (Expansion Drill)

Used for longer parts of the dialog. Teacher breaks the sentence into smaller parts and makes children to repeat them separately. Starting with the end and going to the beginning of the sentence.

Repetition Drill

Students accurately and quickly repeat after the teacher.

Chain Drill

The teacher starts asking one of the pupils the question. He/she is to respond and than continues to ask the same question his/her classmate. This way all the students practise both the answer and the question.

Transformation Drill

Learners work with the line given by the teacher. They transform the statement into question or negative etc.

Question-and-Answer Drill

The target is speed and accuracy of the students.

Use of Minimal Pairs

The teacher works with the words that differ in only one sound. Students are to perceive the difference and later repeat the two words correctly. Good for teaching pronunciation.

Complete the Dialog

Words or phrases erased from the known dialog are to be filled in by the students.

Grammar Game

Allow students to practise any grammar point and vocabulary. Students are able to express themselves, add something new to the dialog, though they are limited. Again, the game should be based on a lot of repetition. (Handouts used: http://moodlinka.ped.muni.cz/course/view.php?id=135)

In the previous chapter I described some teaching methods and approaches that I assume to be essential for teaching English to young children. Personally, I consider the audio-lingual (or audio-oral) method to be the most important for teaching children as the whole learning process and acquiring new skills and knowledge is to build on aural perception and the basic pronunciation skill.

I further deal with listening competence and activities concerning developing listening skills in the next chapter. I will also mention the role of pronunciation.

1.6 Listening

According to Scott and Yttreberg listening is the first skill that people acquire in their life (1990:21). In fact I would not use the term acquire. Listening is an innate skill, which can be further developed and improved. My opinion is in accordance with Brumfit, Moon and Tongue, as they affirm that studies of young learners comprehension skills show that many aspects of listening are mastered at an early age, particularly in supportive, conversational contexts where social skills are highlighted. They further report that it is possible to improve childrens ability to listen for understanding in their mother tongue. It seems, therefore, even more important to train children to listen for understanding in a foreign language (1991: 161).

Enhancing the listening comprehension

In the early learning process the teacher can make use of listening skill, even though children cannot speak. They have a wonderful ability to imitate and learn naturally. They can do completely the same gestures and things as the teacher does. As they get older they can imitate accent and intonation perfectly which is the basic for learning efficient communication of a language, which involves also practising proper pronunciation. Providing them with models of good pronunciation is very important.

To promote sustained listening we should provide purposeful listening activities where learners are asked to focus on specific points and that make children curious about what they are going to listen to. By listening activities children should be able to get the message but at the same time we should encourage them that it is not necessary to understand or remember every word of spoken message. For more effective comprehension we can provide children with visual support (see Head, shoulders; Animal chant) such as pictures, charts or context clues to make sense of what they hear.

I would like to point out few activities that can be done with children to promote their sustained listening as I found it very useful during my teaching practice:

repeating words or phrases after teacher

searching for some specific information

getting the message of the text

recognising discourse patterns and markers of intonation

predicting what is the activity (story, record) going to be about following the sequence of event in a story

listening to a description of an image (picture, shape) and trying to draw it (see appendix Listen and draw)

playing listening games (Head, shoulders; I went shopping)

I can notice also plenty of listening activities and games for practising specific vocabulary items or grammatical patterns, e.g. performing action (Head, shoulders), drawing (Listen and draw), guessing (yes/no questions), matching, sequencing, transferring information, predicting and problem-solving (Brumfit, Moon, Tongue 1991: 168).

1.6.1 Pronunciation

From my point of view pronunciation plays the most important role in speech and is a significant aspect of communication and conveying message. Wrong learning of stress, accent or pronunciation can lead to later problems in learning process as well as in communication. If children learn the work in a wrong way, it can come to a misunderstanding between speakers, as they will not be able to understand the message or catch the right meaning. If a speaker changes some vowels or sounds the whole message can be broken.

Teaching correct pronunciation should be the ground in language teaching and effective language learning.

I strongly believe that small children make mistakes because the teacher makes them first. Children just repeat what they hear. It is essential to correct small pupils constantly. As Sesnan reassures my belief, children are able to pronounce anything very well as long as it is presented to them in a satisfactory way. When they are as confident in English as they are in their mother tongue, they will automatically begin to speak better (1997: 104).

Using many pronunciation activities and games can support effective teaching of pronunciation. As an example see the activity Sound pictures in the practical part (Hancock 1995: 41-45).

1.7 Using games for language teaching

In my thesis I would like to deal with the ways in which games and game-like activities can be integrated into language teaching and learning.

"Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding."

Stephen Krashen

Halliwell implies, that in order to make the most of the creative language skill the children bring with them from early childhood, we therefore have to provide them with occasions when:

the urge to communicate makes them find some way of expressing themselves;

the language demanded by the activity is unpredictable and is not just asking the children to repeat set phrases, but is encouraging them to construct language actively for themselves. That is why games are so useful and so important. It is not just because they are fun. It is partly because the fun element creates a desire to communicate and partly because games can create unpredictability (Halliwell 1991: 3).

Anyway there are lots of games that can be used within a learning process and can be connected with language teaching. However, using games requires trained teachers who have mastered not only the linguistic part but can also involve children in playing the game planned for language purposes.

At this point I agree with Rixon, that a teacher who understands games in this way is much more likely to be able to find or create games that will help his students to learn something as they play.

The most obvious way of classifying games from a language teachers point of view is according to the language they practice: listening games, spelling games, games to help students build vocabulary, games that bring in a structure or a function, and so on (1981: 1).

1.7.1 What is a game?

Rixon thinks that looking at games in general may help us to pick out features that will be useful in language teaching and to see what other features will be less useful or even a waste of time(1981: 2).

Rixon further mentions three definitions according to other authors Jones, Rodgers and Gibbs:

According to Jones, 1986 a game is played when one or more players compete or co-operate for pay-offs according to a set of rules. Rodgers, 1981 assumes: gaming is competitive rule-governed goal-definedGaming has closure gaming is engaging.Rixon reports Gibbs statement about a game as an activity carried out by cooperating or competing decision-makers, seeking to achieve, within a set of rules, their objectives (1981: 2).

Rixon further considers games as closed activities. It means that every game has its clearly marked beginning and end. There is always somebody who wins and loses the game, which defines the end of the game.

The teacher does not have to be in the role of supervisor of the game. He is just responsible for the running and function of the activity and he helps children when they are in troubles, he monitors their performance and provides help on the language side. One of the most important aims of games is to make children talk to each other.

Games help the children organized into different patterns of interaction to dispose of such habits and inhibitions as e.g. when children are shy or do not like to talk to their classmates or to other people. Children, as they are in the thick of the game, forget about their formal class behaviour and start to react directly to what their fellows are doing and saying (1981: 4, 5).

Rixon also stresses the basic feature of many games - cooperation and competition cooperation with other members of a team and competition against another players or a team. (1981: 5)

Through cooperation children learn to be helpful, share the ideas and make an agreement about the best solution.When children are playing a game, they need to use language to some purpose. The repetitiveness of patterns used in a game is a very important aspect, which leads to development and improvement of the skills and moreover the players want to improve the skills necessary for a game they enjoy.

Players need not necessarily communicate with one another during the game at least not with words. They can mime, perform with hands, gestures, and use body movements and so on, which provides a lot of fun and unpredictability. The ideal combination is a game in which learners have to react, by using language, to some challenge which may be decided by the luck of drawing a card or throwing a die, for example. (Rixon, 1981: 3, 4)

1.7.2 Why use games?

In the following chapter I deal with the purpose of using games and how games can be incorporated into the learning process and so be useful for children as well as for the teacher.

1.7.2.1 Children and games

As Julia Khan mentions in Brumfits book, games are activities that children naturally and universally engage in. There is a certain timelessness in the pleasure children find in games and in how the nature of the games they play changes as they develop, ranging through fantasy, ritual, competition and luck. (Brumfit; Moon; Tongue, 1991: 143)

Children naturally want to play games. The activity needs to be creative and exciting so that the pupils learn effectively. They must be actively involved in the game and feel the pleasure and need in order to succeed in learning.

The discriminating use of games in the young learners classroom can help in creating opportunities for involvement and excitement, for achievement and success. And children who are eager to take part in playing a well chosen game will want to master the language necessary for doing so.

Games usually lead to social as well as intellectual involvement since players need to communicate in order to compete or co-operate, to organize or argue. Games can create these opportunities in the foreign language classroom by setting out situations where children urgently need and want to communicate in order to have a turn at playing, to point out the rules, to challenge another player and so on (Brumfit; Moon; Tongue, 1991: 144).

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1.7.2.2 Role of communicative approach to English Language Teaching (ELT) in games

Brumfit quotes Khan, who considers task-based activities as a principle of communicative approaches to ELT because they enhance learning. These activities stimulate effective use of language but involve no conscious analysis of language like e.g. in grammar exercise (Brumfit; Moon; Tongue, 1991: 144).

With task-based approach activities Khan understands e.g. listening to instructions in order to draw a picture or make a model or play a game. It is necessary to understand in order to fulfil the task, but the grammatical analysis is not of an importance.

Khan considers games as tasks. They provide purpose and have clearly defined goals. We can support the learning process if we involve a game into the language lesson effectively and it will attract learners attention (Brumfit; Moon; Tongue, 1991: 145).

When playing a game children have to interact with somebody. Either with a partner or with the whole team. The learner needs to use language in a social context in order to interact effectively, which leads to successful learning. Using the language is the best way of learning to use it (Brumfit; Moon; Tongue, 1991: 145).

Khan assumes another important principle of communicative methodology the teaching must be learner-centred. The syllabus and the methods that the teacher applies when using game activities should consider preferred learning processes and needs of the learner. In many types of games the rules demand that children must produce a structure correctly, pronounce or spell the words correctly so that the players recognize the difference between the sounds.

One player may, for example, be trying to describe a picture well enough for another to be able to draw it, or trying to persuade other players that there is some link between the two pictures that he wishes to place together as part of a move in the game.

The emphasis in this type of game is more upon successful communication than strict correctness. For further information see the next chapter. 1.7.3 Effective communication or correctness?

We want our learners to achieve both correctness as well as fearless successful communication. We can provide them with lots of activities, but these are mostly aimed to be appropriate for each skill separately. Controlled tasks and drills are suitable for learning correctness and activities that provide opportunity for freer expression enable learners to speak and communicate fluently and confidently.

Different types of games are appropriate for different purposes.

Rixon (1981) differentiates code-control games from communication games:

1.7.3.1 Code-control games

These games emphasize using language correctly. They are similar to language drills. They assume the repetition and drilling will lead to successful learning of the language. Accuracy of reproduction or spelling is required in order for the player to succeed.

The length of each utterance is usually limited in this type of game it should not often be longer than a sentence or two. Even one word is enough. Accuracy of reproduction, spelling and correct repetition is required in order for the player to succeed. Usually the teacher must review the correctness of responses. In their function code-control games are similar to drills. Among these games can be classified for example Hangman, (see the Appendix XVI.), a well known spelling game. Players should use their knowledge of the spelling conventions of the language in order to make intelligent questions. They practice the spelling of words and the alphabet.

Children may also be required to say something correctly, sometimes to practise a structure, or to extend vocabulary and challenge memory as for example in the game I Went Shopping (see the Appendix XV.).

1.7.3.2 Communication games

In communication games the correctness of the utterance is not of such a big importance, but the learners overall message is stressed. The outcome is essential not the form. Anyway it is not true that communication games do not improve correctness. The patterns and structures are being learned through the frequent repetition as the range of language skills and vocabulary is limited.

Good example of a communication game is Describe and Draw (see the Appendix XVI.). Children in order to succeed in drawing use freer language and more expressions than in code-control games. At the end of the game the objective will have been achieved by effective communication more than by absolutely perfect use of language (Rixon, 1981: 27).

Find the Difference game is very good for practising structures like I can see, Can you see?, Is there a in your picture?, Theres a in my picture, etc. In this game children try to describe two similar pictures and find out the differences in each picture. In a communication game the learners do not need to speak perfectly, it is important for players to understand the message and to reach the objective. Sometimes at the end of the game a visual comparison is made, as in Describe and Draw or Find the Difference. In many communication games Rixon mentions gap or disparity in the information the players have at the beginning of the game. Players have to use language to bridge this gap and get the information they need to complete the activity. This information gap exists in Whats my Line? (see the Appendix XIII), in which the players must question the challenger to find out what his job is (1981: 30).

Brumfit, Moon and Tongue quote Palmer and Rodgers (1983): There are six features which can be seen to greater or lesser extent in communicative language teaching games: the players have to interact; they have to deal with some unpredicted information; they have a clear purpose; the context of the activity is clear; players have to be actively involved; they are given a particular role to play (1991: 150).

1.7.4 Learning by doingrole-play and dialogues

drama activities

chants and songs

We can do learning by doing and other activities with children to give them more practice at speaking as well as to stimulate their imagination and creativity. Children can practice their speaking ability through singing songs, saying rhymes, playing speaking or vocabulary games, performing some story or a dialog.

1.7.4.1 Role-play and dialogues

Role-play areas provide a key resource within early years classrooms as children try to behave as if they were adults. They engage in socio-dramatic play by performing real world situations. A role-play where the whole group is engaged in, provides opportunities to meet new challenges, empathize with others and explore relationships (Myers; Burnett 2004: 37).

Role play is a kind of presenting dialogue when children are pretending to be someone else, e.g. a doctor and a patient, parent and a child, or shop assistant and customer.

Sesnan concerns role-play and demonstrations as simple examples of a more general educational principle which can be called learning by doing (1997: 172). By this term the author does not mean only learning about something but that it is important to develop the practical skill of doing something. In general children learn the language best by using it and this can be achieved spontaneously by doing or performing some action and at the same time practicing the new subject matter.One of the best ways to remember things is to use physical movements when learning new words or phrases (as said in the chapter on TPR, p22). That is why it is essential for the teacher to use instructions only in the target language and consequently perform them to children.

For example pupils should be used to follow basic instructions as for instance Sit down! Keep quiet! Wash your hands! Come to me! Open your book! and so on. In class this means practicing language all the time.

In general pupils learn better the words they discovered themselves. This can be supported by teacher for instance when using mnemonic by pronunciation (e.g. for word accommodation two children (CC) and their mothers (MM) were looking for accommodation); giving visual support (children can associate new words with pictures) or just performing the new word and constant repetition. They understand the rule better if they find it out themselves. Of course they must be supervised well by the teacher not to learn new grammar rules or pronunciation in an utterly wrong way. Memorizing is a good way for learning songs, poems or grammatical rules, however, it can be damaging to the learner as long as the rhythm and pronunciation is not correct. That is why I recommend using dialogue, role-play or chants and songs, where the teacher can control the correctness of pupils utterances and provide them e.g. with correct pronunciation, rhythm and intonation by playing a CD or a tape.

Role-play is a good way to combine guided practice with a kind of free activity. Pupils enjoy such activities much more than being forced into learning by heart or memorizing. Dialogues and role-plays that require physical movements or action work best with young children. With low primary learners it is good to use puppets or teddies that would ask children questions, so that they were encouraged to answer more freely.

With children you can do two types of activities. The first one is just following some prescribed patterns, children learn it and memorize by repeating the sentences after you and then try it to use them in sentences. Or you can extend the activity by asking for more information or adding some more words or sentences. Children can write the suggestions on the board so that the others can see them. This will help for better fixation of the new word structure in learners mind. You can practice vocabulary or grammar rules in this way. It is helpful and easier if your pupils get familiar with vocabulary of the discussed topic before the launching the activity.

Importance of dialogues and role-play according to Ytreberg (1990: 41):

Pupils speak in the first or the second person while the texts are written in the third person.

Pupils learn to ask questions as well as answer.

They use shorter structures to convey and to respond appropriately.

They do not use only word but also the other means of expression, e.g. gestures, intonation, stress, tone of voice, body movements.

They can encourage pupils to chats or discussions, if they feel free to speak. (Anyway children can be shy to express themselves, as they do not have an appropriate vocabulary. For that reason they should be allowed to use their mother tongue).

1.7.4.2 Drama activities

Under the term drama I always imagine some theatre performance or a play in which more than two people take part. In fact, with drama activities for young children it is very similar. Children engage in socio-dramatic play which means they behave as if they were some other people or they choose roles and perform situations mostly from real-world life they engage in doctors, customers, teachers or shopkeepers

Such simulated situations provide children a deeper understanding of their livers. By acting children practice their speaking abilities and develop self-confidence. Drama activities contribute to developing other skills as well as cooperation, making agreements or expressing themselves.

Role of the teacher in drama activities

The teacher can take part in the activity together with children by interacting with pupils in role teacher can provide them with challenges, dilemmas to face and problems to solve (for instance, by asking them to help sort out a dispute or solve a mystery) (Myers, Burnett 2004: 37).

Myers further distinguishes between different roles of teacher. He/she can choose to take either high-status role, as for example the king that enables him/her to direct children and take control of the whole activity. On the other hand, the teacher can choose a low-status role, for example one of the seven dwarfs of the Snow-white. In this case children feel equal and independent, as the teacher is one of them, which gives them confidence to speak out and take responsibility within the situation. Drama activities are one of the best ways to practice fluent speech and help children use language in a natural context.

Not only playing a story or acting in a drama is motivation and funny for children. They always need somebody to watch their performance. Usually the audience is the other part of the class who is not performing at the moment or other schoolmates.

Furthermore, children like watching drama. According to Sesnan young audiences enjoy watching people fighting, shouting, and pushing each other around in a play, but this should only be a small part of drama. Good drama involves all the emotions. A good actor rarely shouts and is able to make the audience laugh and weep, feel angry, feel happy, or feel sad by good acting(1997: 220).

There are plenty of topics that can be performed as a drama. I like performing stories with my primary children that we have read. Or I read a story slowly, so that children could understand and after reading they were supposed to perform the plot. They were allowed to use mother tongue while acting as long as the purpose by young children was to prove their listening comprehension, anyway older pupils had to speak only in the target language.

Other interesting topics are either the ones from real world (children v. parents; at the shop; at the doctor) or some historical events, stories involving animals or just convincing somebody to do something.

Sesnan (1997: 221) points out important rules in drama:

an actor should never stand backside to the audience, because they might not hear him/her properly

two actors should not speak at one time

there should not be more than 5 people at the stage at one time

an actor may speak to the audience so that the other actors appear not to hear this is called an aside

1.7.4.3 Rhymes, chants and songs

All children seem to love songs and rhymes since their early childhood. Mothers teach their children rhymes to memorize and perform it like a game. They like saying them again and again. Rhymes are repetitive; they have natural rhythm and they have an element of fun, of playing with the language (Ytreberg 1990: 27).

Children often create their own rhymes, they change words or start telling the rhyme and finish it in their own words that support their creativity and stimulate their mind to think about the words. When listening to a song, it takes children a little time to learn it. They repeat the words with music background, which makes the memorization easier. You can very well make use of songs, for example during the learning process by using it as a whole-lesson activity or just to diversify some part of the lesson. Small children learn songs by heart without thinking about the words or the structure, but they unconsciously gain the basics of rules and vocabulary. There are plenty of known songs as well as materials that provide you with great songs and rhymes activities. There are many sources, where teachers can find supporting activities, for example:

Dakin, J. Songs and Rhymes for the Teaching of English; Longman 1968Graham, C. Creating Chants and Songs. Oxford University Press 2007As children repeat words of songs and chants after the teacher or a CD, they build their confidence and a feeling of achievement, as they are able to remember the whole stanzas. Moreover, they like learning songs, because they can sing them to their parents at home.

You can do many activities with songs, for instance use it for vocabulary or numbers practice (Ten Little Indians), as a change activity, connect them with the new topic or use them during a drama activity. You can as well let just one part of the class sing a half of the song and the other part finish it to the end. Many songs also involve body movements, like clapping as children hear the specific word, moving hands up and down or jumping. The class can begin or end the lesson with some song or rhyme for fun, activating minds or as pronunciation practice. Singing as a whole class develops teamwork and everybody takes part in the activity.

Graham believes that through songs and chants children learn to feel rhythm the rhythmical heartbeat of the language which underlies the ability to speak English accurately and with confidence (2006: Foreword).

With the help of songs and chants not only pronunciation but also listening is being practiced.

Chants are very similar to songs; only the words are not sung but said in the rhythm of the song. I agree with Graham, that with the help of chants you can work on the sound system of English and it is very useful for acquiring of correct stress and intonation patterns of the spoken language. Children remember vocabulary or grammar patterns effectively as the process of acquiring is based on repetition and rhythm and association with other similar words.

As a teacher you can change the original version and you can make the chant of your own or the children can create it themselves, which ensures and element of fun and creativity in the learning process (see practical part; Animal chant).1.8 Helen Doron Early English

Speaking about listening activities, I would like to mention methodology I met during my teaching practice:

Helen Doron Early English (hereinafter referred to as HDEE) is a method of teaching children to speak and understand English in the same way they learn their mother tongue naturally and with confidence and ease.

Helen Doron is a British, internationally renowned linguist with a long list of qualifications, including and MA in Linguistics. She is in contact with the team of teachers all around the world. She provides them with the highest quality learning materials, updated regularly to ensure classes stay continually fresh and fun.

The basis of the system HDEE is the childs listening audiocassettes / CDs twice daily at home. They absorb the sounds and rhythm of the language and acquire the second language in the same way they learnt their mother tongue by repeated listening and positive reinforcement (furthermore, they play activities in the class) (www.helendoron.com).The basic rule of HDEE is that learning should be fun and only highly trained and skilled teachers can lead the course. It is the methodology and material that ensure the unique success in HDEE learning. The exceptional fun and musical learning materials, designed by experts are brimming with activities that promote pleasure in acquiring new skills by enhancing engagement and motivation for all age ranges (www.helendoron.com).

HDEE teachers are highly trained experts, who have to take part in intensive training and they are specially qualified to cultivate the kind of fun-filled, motivating and successful learning environment for children. During the course teachers receive continuous training updates and support and they participate in regularly scheduled seminars and conferences. For future HDEE teachers there is a wide support service, like already mentioned seminars and conferences or e.g. email forum, Teacher web portal that gives the teacher an access to document downloads and other valuable tools for the lessons or Teacher prop site with fun and games that can be downloaded.

Education of teachers is taken very seriously. Teachers accepted into the training program must have high level of knowledge, skill and excellent English proficiency. They attend an extremely intensive course, which is limited only to twelve participants. Except the daily course they are required to prepare for the next days session, which takes minimally one hour in the evening. They need to submit written essays and provide good performance on practical demonstrations.

However, the most important aspect of all is to be creative and enjoy working with children.

Undoubtedly, HDEE classes seem to be highly efficient, creative, and successful. The necessity of learning the English language is becoming important for the future and more and more parents want their children speak second language since their early age. Anyway, I do not agree that Helen Doron teaching methods are the best of all. It is quite new system of learning English and it is accepted with great success. On the contrary, there are many language kindergartens that can provide very similar conditions in language teaching and learning. During my attendance in Chalabalova kindergarten in Brno I could see how efficiently children can learn languages if the teacher wants to work with them and dedicates the time and effort to create appropriate environment, very similar to that described by Helen Doron. The experience from the said kindergarten is to be found in the next chapter. 1.9 Chalabalova Kindergarten

During my attendance in Chalabalova School I was involved in the leaning process and the daily program of children. Since last year there has been a new language project subsidized by the city of Brno, which comprises ten kindergartens in Brno including Chalabalova kindergarten. Children get the learning material for free and they have language classes every Thursday.

The teacher in the kindergarten creates and activity for children concerning a particular topic. They create figures, draw pictures or make models. Everybody enjoys par