Introduction Chapter I. Teaching basic speaking skills in English to Young Learners

Can students learn a language without explicit grammar lessons?

The research surrounding grammar is often conflicting. On the one hand, one can learn to communicate in a language without the language being taught grammatically. On the other hand, once one has reached a certain level of performance or competency, grammar becomes more important. Grammar is like a tool kit. For example, a good mechanic can fix a car if it has a minor problem easily, as long as he has a screwdriver and a couple of other tools, because he knows enough to make those tools work in capacities other than those for which they were originally intended. However, if the car needs major work, it cannot be done without a tool kit. The same parallel can be drawn with grammar; if you don’t know grammar, there is a point after which you cannot improve without that grammar instruction. Then why does teaching grammar have such a bad reputation? A lot of the anti-grammar sentiments started with the great need for English teachers in English speaking countries to help prepare recent immigrants; many didn’t know the grammar of their own language or the grammar of any other language. As a result, they went about trying to develop language fluency in a second language without grammar instruction. What was not so apparent was that the kids who came from other countries brought inherent grammar knowledge and even though the teachers weren’t teaching it explicitly, they could figure it out.
A knowledge of English is now considered a basic life skill in many contexts, and as a result it is increasingly being offered to more and younger learners. If you have just finished your initial teacher training and are about to start teaching young learners, or if teaching younger learners is new to you, the following essential skills will come in handy!

1. 
   Empathy and Sensitivity
   

Unlike adults, most young learners do not decide to sign up for English, their parents make this decision for them. What we seek to do as their teachers therefore is to create a welcoming, positive, stimulating and of course safe classroom environment in which they would opt to spend their time, if they had the power to choose. Young learners respond best to those teachers who they identify as genuinely interested in them and enthusiastic about joining them in their world. If they are running down the corridor to get to your classroom and tell you about their day, then this is the dynamic we are aiming for. It is vital to create relationships of trust with your students so that they know you care about and understand them. If you would like to feel better informed about the social, affective, cultural, emotional and physical needs of particularly VYLs (3-6 year olds), FutureLearn offers a free, online course here.
There are also excellent books available which will help you better understand the wonderful world of Young Learners – see the References section below.

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