Development stages for young learners
Hi everyone!!!
As the tittle has on my blog, this post is going to talk about how development stages in young language learners. So, do you know about young learner?
Definition:
There are many statements about meaning of Young Learners, three of which will be stated here. According to Purwaningsih,“Young Learners are learners in Elementary School aging 9-10 years old who are learning English as foreign language”. Based on that statement, we can know that Young Learners are students of primary school. Another statement which is taken from http://www.goliath.ecnext.com also says, “Young Learners are convinced as students of English between age of 7 and 15” (http://goliat.ecnext.com /coms2/gi/0199-5785232, review of the Internet and html on September 19th 2008). The last statement about the meaning of Young Learners, according to Etty Maryati Hoesein, “Young Learners are the students of Elementary School who are at grade four up to grade six. Their ages range from ten to twelve years of age. They have learned English for about one up to four years”. From those three statements, we may conclude that Young Learners are students who are studying in Elementary or Senior High School aging 7-15 and they are studying English as second language for about one up to four years. In other words, we may say that Young Learners are English foreign language learners, aging 9- 17.
Development Stages:
Development is a regular pattern of change structures, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that result from the maturation process, experience, and learning.
Psychologists claim that children experience several periods development. Hurlock23 states that there are 5 (five) stages of development experienced during childhood. First, the prenatal period, namely the period from conception to birth. Second, the baby's period from birth to the end of the second week. Third, the end of the second week of birth at the end of the second year. Fourth, early childhood two to six years. Fifth, the end of childhood, six-ten, or twelve years.
Montessori states the period of child development based on the child's sensitivity to objects around him. The first period in human life occurs at the age of 0-6 years. At the age of 0-3 years, children show mental development that is difficult to approach and influence adults. At this age children experience a strong sensitivity to order, for example, if he is used to seeing something placed on the table, he will cry or move the item to its original place. In this period the children also experience sensitivity to detail, where if he sees something he will pay attention to the object in as much detail as possible, for example,
hold it, kiss it, or lick it. During this period the children also experience sensitivity on their hands and feet, so at this time children really like to use their hands to hold, throw, etc. and use their feet to walk.
At the age of 3-6 years, children have begun to be approachable and influence in certain situations.25 This period is characterized by children becoming more individual and having sufficient intelligence to enter school. Children at this age have mastered a large vocabulary so that they can speak fluently.
According to children have three stages of experiencing development. The first stage of infancy is from 0-6 years of age. At this time, babies know the world directly through their senses. Babies are eager to know the things that are going on around them even though they don't yet understand why. They touch everything they see and absorb the words they hear. The second stage, childhood from 2-12 years of age. At this stage the child has its own independence; they already have many physical skills, the ability to speak, have the ability to think, and make abstractions. The third stage, late childhood from 12 to 15 years of age.
This stage is a transition between childhood and adulthood. They already have physical strength, substantial cognitive abilities so that they can do theoretical and verbal tasks. Bowlby with the attachment theory (attachment) states there are 4 stages of development in early childhood. First, the first phase, the response is not dis-aggregated (birth to 3 months). In this phase, babies really like human faces compared to other objects. At the age of 0-3 months, babies always smile at everyone they see. This attitude shows the baby's attachment to everyone around him. The second phase focuses on familiar people (ages 3-6 months). At this stage the baby is more selective in giving smiles. They only smile at the people they know. This attitude shows a baby's attachment only to people it knows. The third phase, intense attachment and active seeking closeness (ages 6 months to 3 years). In this phase the baby always cries if the mother leaves him, he shows anxiety about the separation. Babies will cry if left behind and will smile when their mothers come back. The fourth phase, friendly behavior (age 3 years to the end of childhood). In this phase children concentrate on their need to maintain closeness to their parents or caregivers. Bowlby's attachment theory suggests that humans from childhood have been afraid to live alone.
Challenges in Teaching English to Young Learners:
There are some challenges faced by teachers
1. Teaching speaking and writing
a) not know what their teachers explain
b) Lack of vocabularies
c) Using their accent in speaking English
d) problems with their first language (illiteracy)
e) Easily get bored when learning either speaking or writing
2. Motivation
a) How to motivate students to love English
b) The biggest challenge is to get them learn
c) In the classroom, they like appreciation or a present to increase their motivation
d) Teachers and parents should be involved to motivate them.
3. Differences
a) Group differences such as culture, language, socioeconomic status, and gender
b) Individual differences such as intelligence, ability differences in the classroom,
cognitive styles and learning preferences, temperament and personality.
c) Exceptional student such as learning disabilities, speech or language impairments,mental
retardation, Emotional disturbance, attention-deficit disorder (ADD), and giftedness and
talent
4. Teaching large classes
a) Difficulties in managing and controlling students in the classroom
b) Difficulties in delivering material
c) Fatigue
5. Discipline
a) Children who lack of discipline at home
b) Children who chat with their friend while studying.
How to overcome the challenges?
1. Confidence,
2. Give a rewards,
3. Understanding each of student characters,
4. Be patient,
5. Keep smile,
6. Speak softly and politely.
Maybe that's all I can share with you. The main point to teach young learners are be patient and also be happier person in front of them. You have to be confidence and overcome the challenges in your own, so you can be good teacher. Try as hard as possible so that you can achieve the goals you want.
Resources:
Prasetia C., 2011, TEACHING ENGLISH FOR YOUNG LEARNERS, https://cicikprasetia.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/teaching-english-for-young-learners/
Kiftiah S., 2017, Challenges in Teaching English to Young Learner, https://espsitikiftiah.blogspot.com/2017/01/challenges-in-teaching-english-to-young.html
Sit M., 2015, Psikologi perkembangan anak usia dini jilid 1, Perdana mulya sarana, Medan.
Comments
Post a Comment