Beyond the blackboard

-          Discuss Stacey’s first week at the school. How were The School With No Name and its students different from what she expected? What was her reaction to these differences?

Her first week was terrible for her because everything was a mess, and it was so different from the normal schools. The School With No Name was not the kind of place needed for that purpose; also, there were not the material Stacey needed in order to give the students a good place and environment to learn and to feel comfortable. Her students were far from the usually because they were homeless kids that lived in that place with their parents, and everyone has problems related to something that was damaging them. Because the students had a lot of familiar problems, they were rebels and did not pay attention to Stacey. She was shocked at the beginning because of these differences, but at the end she understood the kids and planned to help them in all the ways she could.

-          In the beginning of the film, Stacey said “School was a safe place in a glimpse of who I wanted to be.” How did her determination change the environment of the shelter school and her students?

Her determination changed the environment of the shelter school in a big and great way because she wanted it to be a safe place for the kids, and she fought for her goals in order to create a good rapport with the kids, their parents and all the people who was involved in that process. Also, she helped the students by bringing food for them because almost everyone did not have breakfast before school. When all the people in the shelter saw her determination and her good will, they began to help her to create a place in which their kids could learn easily.

-          Stacey tried to relate to her students by showing them a photo album of her family and talking about her life. The kids could not relate to her pictures and experiences. Why not?

It did not work because of the way in which the kids lived; this means that there were some social differences among Stacey and her students. The kids lived in a shelter, and they did not have enough resources to live in a comfortable way with the safety and security a home can bring. They lived in the poverty compared to Stacey.

-          Discuss some of the life circumstances of the students. What types of adversities did they face physically and emotionally? How did their poverty make learning more difficult?

The students face a lot of adversities, like alcoholism and violence; also, their parents could not provide them the necessary things for them to develop all their skills. The students did not have the opportunities that every kid needs, and even some of them did not have their both parents. Their poverty made learning more difficult because some of them did not have breakfast, were not able to go to school before and could not read or write.

-          The classroom initially came with almost no supplies and little support from school board officials and reluctant parents. Despite these challenges, Stacey Bess was able to create a warm, safe place for the children to learn. In addition, she was able to earn the support and respect of parents and administrators.

She was able to do it because of her determination and her will. Also, the administrators and the parents saw that she only wanted to create a good place for the kids’ learning, for she asked for help to every person in the shelter and the people who was involved or related to the school.

-          Resourcefulness is the ability to find a way to solve problems in a difficult situation. What creative solutions did Stacey find to transform The School With No Name? How did she overcome the lack of supplies, environmental distractions and other issues?

She found certain creative solutions like bringing food for the kids, and decorating the classroom like a real classroom. She, also, asked the parents to help her with the environment inside and outside the classroom. She overcame the lack of supplies, environmental distractions and other issues with determination, and she did all the things that she could in order to convince every person related to the school that they could create a safe place for the kids.

-          Poverty impacts people of all ages, races and backgrounds. The reasons for people being at the shelter are as different as each individual. What are some of the reasons for characters in the film coming to the shelter?

Some of the reasons where that some of the parents were alcoholics or drug addicts, some others did not have a job, and some of them could not read, so they did not have stable jobs.

-          The previous teacher placed “Shame names” on the board and played movies all day to keep the kids occupied. The students and parents were initially wary of Stacey because they thought she would be the same as her predecessor. What actions did she take to earn their trust? How did trust play a role in the school’s success?

She began doing the things differently, and she placed the kids before anything else in her priorities. Because she was doing the things for the kids, she earned the trust of the parents and the kids. Trust played a big role because when the parents, the kids and the administrators began trusting her, they began helping for the success of the school and for the kid’s learning.

-          Stacey talked to the children about respect. They began to share their experiences of when they encountered a lack of respect – from police, from a parent or from another person. The classroom could only be safe, calm and quiet place to learn if everyone showed respect for each other.

Respect is important for them because almost all the problems they had before were the ones that made them be who they were at that point. If students could share their bad experiences with the lack of respect, they were creating a good rapport with Stacey, and they would be able to feel safe and comfortable with all their classmates.

-          Discuss how respect or a lack of respect was shown in the film. Why is respect important in a school setting?

Respect is important in a school setting because when the kids respect the teacher and the opposite, the kids are going to be able to create a good rapport. This is so important because if there is a good rapport among students and the teacher, there is going to be a good environment controlled by the teacher but still having fun.

-          Stacey encourages the students to think of words to put on the board to describe their feelings. By giving these feelings names, the children were able to express themselves more clearly. What vocabulary words were used? Why were these words so important to the children?

Brave is the one we remember the most because if the story the little blonde girl told to her classmates. Those words were important because they could express themselves better, and they were able to begin create a good environment in the classroom. With all the stories, the kids learnt something about their classmates, and they were creating a relationship with each other.

-          Describe Stacey Bess.

Stacey Bess was a teacher from a school in a shelter; she was so interested in the kid’s learning that she fought for the things she wanted to do in order to create a good place for them to learn. She was a very determinate person with a big heart, and she loved her students so much. Her determination helps her to be a good role model, besides a good teacher, for the children.

-          What struck you about the movie?

The thing that struck us about the movie was Stacey’s determination to create a good environment in that kind of place for the kids; also, she wanted to help the kids without anything for her benefit. She was so focused on what she wanted for the kids that she faced a lot of adversities.

-          COOL-SCHOOL MODEL: What’s in a name? Why do you think the school did not have a name? Would the school have had an easier transition to success if it did have a name? What would you name the school? Imagine if you could build your own school. Build a model of your school using colors of markers. Now name your school! Explain your reasons to do so!!

The school did not have a name because no one was interested in the education of the kids and in making a good environment for them to learn. The school had had an easier transition to success if it had a name because the administrators and the parents would take it into consideration. I would name the school “Everyone can school” because everyone with a little chance to learn can do whatever he or she wanted to do with his/ her life, in order to become better people.

-          A MENTOR IN MY LIFE: In the film, Danny is encouraged by Stacey to be the best person he can be. She helps him to be a leader. In addition, she plans to hold him accountable to continued learning, by giving him a booklist each year he is eighteen. Stacey served as a mentor to Danny and he in turn mentored his classmates. Create the shape of the country you would like to visit in the future and describe someone who has been a mentor to you. You can use pictures from magazines, drawings and photos, and markers or paints to add color and detail.

Someone who has been a mentor to me is my dad because he always had inspired me to do my best in everything I do. Also, he says that if we do everything with passion, we are going to make it the best way possibly. When I am feeling frustrated, he always says that everything is going to get better.

VII. Self-assessment and evaluation of your own learning in this course / recommendations to better this teacher training course

Through this curse, I have learnt many important things, differences between NESTs and non-NESTs, for example. Also, I did my first teaching practice with kindergarten students, so I learnt also by doing the things that the teacher taught us. I as a student have learnt about the importance of certain things when teaching young language learners.

Also, I have learnt new vocabulary that is going to be very useful for me when planning my classes as a teacher, and I have been using it in my teaching practice. Because I wanted to do good the things I had to do, I started doing the best I could.

By paying attention to my classmates in their presentations, I learnt the importance of teaching young learners in a good way because if we as teachers do not pay too much attention to our students and their learning, we are not doing a good job. However, we should not praise them if they are not doing their best in the work.

With the book we were using, I learnt the types of teachers, and what type of teacher is the best and the one we should be. I learnt a lot about the four macro skills when working with languages; hence, I know now that they are two receptive, listening and reading, and two productive, speaking and writing.

I know that there are five language systems; they are referenced to knowing about phonology, lexis, grammar, function and discourse.

At the end, I think that I had learnt some important things related to the English teaching, so I am going to put into practice my new knowledge in the new practices I am going to do in this new course.

The recommendations I have are that we as teachers should look for the learning of our students, and that we have to make a good environment in the class, like having a good rapport and making fun in the class without losing the control of it.

By: Karen Albanés

I think that i have learned a lot until now, and I need to learn even more. So, these classes have helped me a lot because helped me to prepare as a teacher, and I have noticed many things that I did not know.

I really learned a lot from the teacher because she always explained everything to us, so when I somebody had a doubt during or out the class, she tried to help us in a perfect way; the teacher always pushed us to develop the skills that we have to develop; I learned a lot from her.

At the beginning I did not know anything about what we were going to study, but by the time, the teacher taught us what we were going to do. I have learned many things; for instance, I learned how to prepare a class, how to develop a classroom activity, how to behave in a classroom. At the beginning I did not know what to do, but then, I learned, and I think that everything I saw or studied during the classroom is going to help me because those are the bases for a teacher.

I liked when I had presentations because it helped me to develop some skills; as everybody knows, presentations helps students to talk in front of other people, and the students get accustom to talk in front of people. So, I think that it has helped to develop some skills.

Also, I learned some vocabulary because the teacher used to teach us a lot of words, and that is really important because we are learning a lot from the teacher.

Another important thing is that the teacher encourages her students to talk, and it is awesome, I learned a lot when my classmates had presentations, or they worked on technological issues. Also, I think that everybody learned when they paid attention what other people presented on their presentations or videos. I learned how the English was spread all around the world and how people acquire a new language.

By: Gabriel Valencia

At the very beginning of the semester, I was worried about the teaching practice; didactic was not something new for me, but the teaching practice was; during the classes on didactic, I learned a lot; I learned new things in order to teach, and the teaching practice experience helped me a lot.

Didactic as a subject is a lot of work; it is not a piece of cake, but that’s the way it has to be; In this subject, I are learning some tips in order to teach, and if we do not work hard, we are not going to be good teachers.

Didactic opened me a new world of opportunities and experiences, and I am pretty glad about it. I was learning, in this subject, how to teach developing some different methodologies, and I put them in practice during my teaching practice.

The teaching practice is as hard as didactic; it is a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. To work with the kids is so amazing, and all the things that I learned in didactics helped me to develop a good class with them.

During the classes in the subject the teacher was explain to us all the topics meticulously; she was explaining each topic step by step, and she was clarifying all the doubts that we had.

I know that teach how to teach it is not easy, and sometimes it is kind of boring, but the teacher did her work well because I learned a lot of new thing, and I am able to use them.

By: Eduardo Marroquín

Didactics of the English was the subject that made us enter to the atmosphere in a classroom not like students, we began meetting the way how to become a teacher and the different challenge we have to have if we want to be a a person who must to show a responsibility with his students at the moment of teach.

In this subject I learned many things, it´s was to hard but here I really appreciated if I really want to be a teacher or if I don´t want to be one.  Sometimes I felt so stress out because I thought it will be kind of bored or something like that, also I was thinking about the teacher because I thought she will be the traditional teacher who we always find across our studies but the teacher was a person who try to change the way to teach in order  to we acquiere more knowledge and more experiences when we start to develop an activity in the class room also how to keep a good atmosphere with children who are learnig a new language.

I think this course helps me a lot because I feel I learn more knowledge in context how to start an activity and participate more when I´m infront of the class also give my short participation but what was happened if I never participate in any activity? Well i said myself: ok since now you have to change your bad attitudes and everything that you have. But now I feel that I am able to be a better teacher if I work a lot and if I decide to accept the challenge. It was good. Also our teacher was excellent, she decide to work with us changing our way to see a teacher just like “A Teacher”. She give us the confidence among she and we like students. 

By: Julio Aguilar

Teach to children was one of the most interesting experiences that I’ve ever had, the children might think that they have learned of me, but they don’t know that I’ve learned of them too, the knowledge that I have now is not enough but I know that in my future experiences that knowledge is going to help me to be a better person and a better teacher, is a hard way to travel but tgis is what I really want, and I’m going to continue until the end

People might think that become a teacher is something easy, but they don’t know that this major demands a lot of hard work and effort, being a teacher is not that simple, a teacher needs to be aware of everything, a teacher needs to be not just a teacher, a teacher must be a facilitator, a psychologist, a doctor, a clown and a friend, a teacher is not just a person who teaches, a teacher is a person that goes to a school and do what he o she loves to do that is sharing the knowledge that he or she has with people that wants to learn and be prepare for the future.

When you’re a teacher people think that you have one of the easiest jobs in the earth, but thing like give instructions is difficult for a teacher there are going to be people that understands the explanations but at the same time there are people that needs more help, in that case the teacher must be patient and try to think that he is doing that because he likes to do that.

What else can I say? My experience wasn’t good, my experience was great, even though I did no star so well, I have learned a lot of this experience now I know that children are amazing learners and amazing friends that I would like to take care of, I did lots o scarifies for them but at the end that doesn’t matter because every sacrifice has its rewards.

By: Raúl Barrera

VI. Compare traditional teaching and 21st century teaching.

Top ten traits of the 21st century ELT practitioner (teacher’s profile)

1.    Adapting

Teachers must know about new technologies, and they should use them in order to make the class better. The knowledge they have about technologies should be used in the classroom with new techniques for the students learning.

2.    Being Visionary

Teachers must have a big imagination in order to use the technologies in the class, and make the students work and learn with this tools.

3.    Collaborating

As teachers we must share, contribute, adapt and invent new ways to teach for making a better class; this must be a priority for us.

4.    Taking Risks

The teacher must take risks with the new technologies and devices, and plan the class integrating these tools knowing that there is so much to learn.

5.    Learning

Teachers expect students to le life-long learners, so teachers must keep learning new things for teaching their students and make them better through the time.

6.    Communicating

Teachers should have a good rapport with their students, but they should keep a good control and management of the class. The good communication among teacher and students should be inside and outside the class.

7.    Modelling Behaviour

This means that teachers must behave and be a role model for their students; we must show them a good way to behave with values and tolerance for making them see a good way to become better people.

8.    Leading

Teachers know how to leader the class using new technologies and making the class even better from before.

9.    “Can Do” Attitude

Practitioners must to believe in what they are doing; they are looking betters ways to teach. 

Also, they are making a good rapport with the students.

10. Effective Communicator

Teachers must be excellent communicators; this mean they have to know how to communicate in either oral or written form.

The salient traits between NESTs and non-NESTs

There are big differences between NESTs and non-NESTs, and the language learning process can be affected by this reason. NESTs are the teachers that have English as their mother tongue and non-NESTs are the ones that have English as their second language; also, non-NESTs have the advantage of understand and be aware of the mistakes the students can make. NESTs focus more in fluency, but non-NESTs focus more in grammar rules.

And we also think...

The teacher of the 21^st century must be able to:

1.       Create and edit digital audio. (songs, activities)

2.       Exploit some digital images for classroom use.

3.       Use video content to engage students.

4.       Use social networking sites to connect with colleagues and grow professionally.

5.       Create and deliver asynchronous presentations and training sessions.

6.       Have knowledge about online security.

7.       Create screen capture videos and tutorials.

8.       Use and provide students with task management tools to organize their work and plan their learning.

9.       Exploit computer games for pedagogical purposes.

10.   Use digital assessment tools to create quizzes.

Everybody says that native speakers teachers are better than  non native speakers teachers because they were born in a country which they use the mother tongue, and they are the gold standard of spoken and written language, whereas the non nests are inferior educators because they lack this innate linguistic skill.

Non Nests:

They are perceived as good teachers of grammar. ( its true because they are focus on grammar structures.)

They are able to help the students on their first language. When is necessary teachers can explain  to the students in the first language.)

Students find class with them easier.( students have confidence.)

They don’t take care about pronounciation.

Nests:

They are the ideal model for language production.(they have the perfect pronounciation.)

Their speech is held up as the gold standard of grammatical correctness.

They have the correct pronounciation.

They are able to share a new culture.(students are expose to learn from them a new culture.)

I have noticed everything I wrote in this page because Students are able to ask the teaches in a good way, but sometimes they pushing you to have a better pronounciation even when they are not native speakers.

V. The tools of the trade

IV. When things go wrong in class

-The class went out of control.

The kids were playing and screaming, running through the classroom; they were so exited about going outside and play that they began running, and every thing was a mess. I tried to make them pay attention and finish their work, but they did not collaborate, so I began singing the song I taught them at the beginning. This actually worked because they were looking at me, and they began singing with me.

-You had extra time.

I did an activity, and I thought that I would last longer, but the kids ended it very fast. It missed around ten minutes, so I asked them to tell me the things that they liked the most about the class. Also, the kids were very excited telling me the things that they had learnt and the things they wanted to learn in the next classes.

-An activity didn’t work

I planned an activity with a little ball in order to teach the kids to introduce themselves, but the space in the classroom was not enough, so the kids could not do the activity well. However, we began to do another activity with the ball, and the kids had fun with it. At the end, they knew how to introduce themselves, so I can say that the activity worked.

-An activity was too difficult

I asked the students to pick a thing from the classroom and to tell me the color it was, but there was so much noise, and they were out of control. In order to keep them calm, I asked them to stop, and I explained to them another activity that did not involve so much noise. The kids were participating, and at the end, the had learnt the colors.

I tried some of the tips presented in chapter eight, and they worked for me because at the ends the kids learnt some of the things that I taught them. Also, the activities were helpful because when I did not know what to do to control the class, I put in practice the advices and they worked.

By: Karen Albanés

I had two or more problems, but I remember I had the first one and the second one that are: there was an internal disturbance, and there was an external disturbance.

There was an internal disturbance was a hard problem because the children like to bother or to stand up because they cannot be quiet, so they were walking around the classroom at the beginning. So, to solve this problem when somebody was talking or interrupting the class, I called that child, and that child went to front of the classroom, and I asked him or her to explain what we were studying at that moment. In that way, everybody was quiet, and they loved to participate even when I did not ask them to do it, they were raising their hands because they wanted to do it.

Doing this, everybody was glad with the class because all of the students were participating during the class because I decided to call everybody to pass to the front not only the children that were bothering other children. So, the class was more interesting and dynamic at the same time.     

The other problem was the noise outside the classroom. The problem is that the children did not have an specific room to receive the class, so they received the class in a warehouse that was in the yard almost at the end of the school. So, it was easy for them to lose the attention because when the children were receiving the class the older students were on the break, so most of the children liked to see what was happening outside the classroom. Sometimes, many older students liked to go to that room and see what I was teaching to the students, and many of the children started to talk with them.

What did id o to solve this problem? Well, when the children were looking outside the classroom I moved from the place I was, and I tried to speak louder for them to hear what I was teaching them. Sometimes, I called some students to go to the front to do a game or to play a game. When the older students arrived to the classroom I asked them to participate with me and to help me to develop the class; I assigned them some activities for the class. And, they helped me to do it, so they helped me at the same time that they learned, and the children learned too. Also, when the professor was not there, the students liked to walk around, but I had some penalties for them if they did not obey what I said, so they were afraid of it, and they liked to help me at the moment we were in the class.

I took into account t many important things about chapter number 8 because I knew that children had more energy than us, and they are enthusiastics. So, the students and I had to enjoy at the moment we were in the class, specially they. When they are enjoying the class, they are able to learn in a better way and in a faster way. Also, when I planned the class or activities to develop during the classroom, I planned everything, and it was essier because I knew what I was going to do in the class. I could adapt the same plan for other classes. I realized what I should use for each activity, and I was aware about things I was going to develop later in the class. It helped because I got confidence from it, and I knew how to use my energy and enthusiasm to teach in a good way for the children to learn. Also, as the children get older they will be aware about if a class is planned or not.

By: Gabriel Valencia

During the class, as a teacher, I develop a lot of activities with the students; they enjoyed almost all of them; the students like developing activities such as paint and draw and they like them also. Sometimes developing an activity with the students is so difficult because as teachers we have to catch the attention of our students. The activities that we have to develop with our students have to be catchy in order that our students can enjoy them.

We know that sometimes the activities can go out control, but we have to be prepared to that; if the activity go out control, the class becomes a totally mess; the success of the activity depends on the students and the teacher also, the teacher has to work hand by hand with the students. We have to be prepared with the activity that we are going to develop; we have to be pretty careful with the time that we are going to take developing the activity, and also we have to develop an activity according to the topic that we are developing in the class.

The management of the class during the activity is a little bit more complicated than the normal classes because the students become more hyperactive than the normal. And that is good, but we have to take advantage about that; we have to use all the energy that the students have in order to develop in a good way the activity.

I remember once when I was teaching; I committed a mistake; I was develop an activity with my students, they were painting a landscape and I was checking the work that all of them were doing; they were enjoying the activity, and they were working quietly also. We were spending the time doing that when all of sudden a student told me “teacher when are we going to take a break?” as soon as I realized about the time I told to my students that we was going to stop the activity and we were taking a break. I figured out that my students were a little bit tired; I know that the kindergarten students are full of energy; however, they become bored so fast; and they were in that way, they were a little bit tired and bored, and they wanted to take a break; I was worried because I forgot the time of the break; my students did not realized about, and also my tutor did not realize too. I think that I solved the situation and a good way; thereafter, I paid pretty attention in the time during the class.

By; Eduardo Marroquín

Young learners can understand and be interested in every activities developed in the class depending on many factors such as atmosphere, rapport by the teacher, activities which take lot of time, confidence among teacher and students also the disturbances outside the classroom and internal factors inside every child.

How students show interest when they are learning a new language? We now a minimal disturbance can turn a big distraction and they are not going to neither pay attention or absorb the content of the activity. I noticed when they felt so stress out may be they couldn´t sleep well or they didn´t take breakfast. They can not pay attention.

When there are noisy outside the classroom children are eager to go out because they notice how other children are playing or doing some other things but the atmosphere that the teacher has to have to manage a good class is doing activities related with the topics he/ she is going to develop. However, the teacher doesn´t take control about it because he/she tries to keep the atmosphere just inside the classroom.

Teacher should provide confidence to children if it is not the children are not going to participate because they don’t look to the teacher as friend who is the responsible to transmit knowledge to them. Perhaps they are accustomed to take a big distance among he/she and teacher.

I had two or three students who never pay attention but I tried to change those bad attitudes assigning them responsibilities. They felt some responsibilities for example talking about their plans for future. I said “if you really wish get it, you should study then you are going to have everything you want in the life” they smiled very excited then they pay attention. The disturbances outside the classes were hard to avoid them, when those disturbances passed I began playing with the children an oral activity.

Find topics for children are easy. We know how children show interest in topics according to their ages. Select his favorite toy and tell how old is it, describe how it dress with colors they know. It help to children to get the correct meaning relating objects they can see and the words or colors also the numbers they know in the language they are learning.

By: Julio Aguilar

I think that having problems while teaching is quite a challenge. I have learned many things from children that will help me in the future such as attitudes, behavior, and ways of thinking. In schools, there are students who learn quickly; others who learn slowly, and others who simply do not want to learn anything. The teacher has to be aware of what his or her students need in order to create a very good atmosphere of learning and in order to make learning take place. During my teaching practicum, I had to face too many situations that made me feel disappointed and sad. Once, I remember that I was running an activity in the class when the teacher came to say that she was going to go to a meeting with all the teachers of the school. So, she told me to be with the children more time. I could not say anything because I was there to help her. So, I said “yes.” I continued doing an activity about animals, but the problem was that I realized the children were getting bored; I did not know what to do in order to make them feel encouraged and enthusiastic. So, I told them to stand up, form a circle in the classroom, and relax for a while in order to kill time. Suddenly I remembered that I had a song in a CD and I decided to play it. While trying to play the song, I realized that the tape recorder did not work. I was really worried because of that. So, I told the children to take a sit again, and I gave them a page in which they had to draw an animal and to color it. While they were drawing and coloring, I went to the room where the meeting was taking place. I remember that I asked the teacher to give me another tape recorder and of course, she gave me another one. It was an embarrassing moment; I will never forget it. When I came to the classroom, the children were making a lot of noise. Some of them were running around the classroom while others were outside. I asked them to form a circle again and finally, I played the song. Thereafter, the children changed their behavior and the class developed smoothly.

When I got home, I realized that I had overcome that problem. I learned a lot from that. I learned that I have to be more prepared to face problems in the classroom. 

By: Raúl Barrera

III. Listening, Oral Work, Reading, and Writing

When teaching the different skills, we may say that Listening is the skill that children acquire first, especially, when they do not know how to read. Listen and repeat activities can help children learn quickly. Teachers can take advantage of it. Teachers can teach children by playing songs and it is a good way to start a class. By playing songs, children are motivated to study and to learn as much as possible. Speaking is the most demanding skill for teachers to teach even though part of the magic of teaching young children a foreign language is just another way of expressing what they want to express. The problem is that children have limitations in oral work because of their lack of actual language. But, there are many way in which a teacher can present a new language orally, such as using a mascot, puppets, or objects, showing them drawings, playing and singing songs. This strategy really helps students learn more effectively. 

By speaking, children want to show their emotions, feelings, intentions, and reactions, so teachers can help children by listening to them and making them feel part of the class. Reading and Writing are skills that young learners have not completely developed, but they are also an important part of the language learning experience. If children master the reading skill in their own language, it will have an effect on the initial stages of teaching reading in English. Some very young learners have not mastered the reading skill yet, so teachers must be aware of what their students need. Writing is, as well as reading, a skill that young learners do not master yet. Writing activities really help consolidate learning in the other skill areas, but it is complicated for the teachers to make that kind of activities because those activities must be tightly controlled, and they demand a lot of time.

Children really learn doing activities that they find enjoyable, such as playing games, listening to stories, singing songs, repeating words, etc. 

That is why teachers do need to be creative in their classes because it is not easy to catch children’s attention. We tried many different activities in our classes in order to make them more interesting for our children. It means that we have played, sung, and laughed with our children. Somehow, we turned into children when teaching them; we had to step out of our comfort zone in order to understand them.  As listening is the skill children acquire first, listening and repeating exercises are one of the most effective activities to teach English to very young learners. We tried many activities that were easier for our children to do. According to the age of our pupils, we could make activities using pairwork or grouping. We realized that some children do not like pairwork or grouping, which is normal because they like to have their own responsibilities. They really like when the teacher praises their own work.

There are many activities that we could not do in our practice because of the time and the age, the level, and the attention span of our children. Those are reading and writing activities, such as copying texts, dictations, and dialogues, writing and reading exercises. 

It is actually complicated to do those things with children because some of them do not even know how to read and how to write in their native language. This does not mean that reading and writing activities are less important. Indeed, they help consolidate the other skills, but to develop those skills, teachers need to be very careful about the kinds of activities they will develop in the class.