Providing teaching resources for young learner classes: Best practices in efl context

Abstract

The availability of teaching resources is one of important factors to create successful lessons in teaching English to young learners (TEYL). Teachers can use flashcards, toys, songs, rhymes, books, audio visual materials, digital recourses and others to support teaching and learning process. Ready-made materials are available in stores, however they are usually expensive. The aim of this article is to share one of the best practices in providing resources for young learners in learning English. In the academic year of 2018, 40 students of English Department of IKIP Siliwangi took English for Young Learners (EYL) course for two credit hours. This is the second subject which is related to teaching young learners after they learned TEYL subjects as the perquisite subject in the previous year. In this course, students re-learned the concept of TEYL and the concepts how to provide teaching materials and resources for TEYL classes. At the end of the course, they should show their projects and demonstrate how to use them in TEYL. The findings reveal that students’ are very creative in designing resources for TEYL classes. This ability is very crucial in order to create child-friendly pedagogy in EYL classrooms.

Challenges English Language Teachers Faced in Teaching Mixed-ability Classes at Selected Secondary Schools in the Gamo Zone of SNNPRS

“…Regarding classroom management-related challenges, large class sizes and their time-consuming nature, and students' poor English competence and a wide language proficiency gap among them have been stated as major domains. Early works acknowledge teachers face large class sizes and their time-consuming nature (Khadka, 2019;Loiacono & Allen, 2008;Simanova, 2010), poor English competence, and a wide language proficiency gap among students (Reyes & Rodriguez, 2005;Syathroh, Musthafa & Purnawarman, 2019;Valentic, 2005) in MAC. Understanding and paying equal attention to all the students might be a challenge for MACs teachers.…”

“…Although previous studies indicated it is difficult to know all students, and every difference of them and devote to address all equally (Simanova, 2010;Syathroh, Musthafa & Purnawarman, 2019;Ur, 2005), it may not be rational to teach focusing on one group of students. If the teachers plan lessons and teach to the middle on average students' level ignoring the majority of low achievers and/or some high achievers, the instructions failed to address the two groups.…”

“…Moreover, a shortage of textbooks and teacher guides and inadequacies of supporting teaching materials have been found as major teaching materials/tasks-related challenges teachers faced in teaching MACs. Let alone shortage of textbooks, even the availability of textbooks in abundance may not be helpful to all levels of students as they are rigid and only fit to certain kinds of students and are unsuitability for different proficiency levels of students (Syathroh, Musthafa & Purnawarman, 2019;Xanthou & Pavlou, 2010). Besides, getting appropriate materials (Khadka, 2019;Ur, 2005) and selecting appropriate tasks and materials (Khadka, 2019) which fit the different levels of students is very challenging.…”

“…The contents or activities of a lesson might be too easy for some while demanding for others (Mirani & Chunawala, 2015;Simanova, 2010;Xanthou & Pavlou, 2010). As well, textbooks are prepared at grade level and are stiff and only appropriate to some groups of students and are unfitting for other groups of students (Syathroh, Musthafa & Purnawarman, 2019;Xanthou & Pavlou, 2010). Also, obtaining and selecting appropriate materials and tasks suitable to the different levels of students in MACs is very challenging (Khadka, 2019;Ur, 2005).…”

Projecting the Implementation Feasibility of CLIL Approach for TEYL at Primary Schools in Indonesia

“…Ratminingsih et al (2018) found out that EYL teachers were interested in using ICT and would like to use the ICT when they were planning their lessons and when they were teaching in class. Moreover, for those who do not get access to technology, Syathroh et al (2019) proposed some resources for TEYL to teach different skills that can be created by the EYL teachers. Using papers and crafts materials the teacher can involve the young learners to make the media.…”