The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners®: Young Learners in a Multilingual World

By Joan Kang Shin, Vera Savic and Tomohisa Machida

The number of young English learners worldwide continues to grow while preparation for English language educators in teaching young children is limited. This book guides educators in teaching young learners (2- to 12-year-olds) in an English as a foreign language setting by using The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners as a framework. A core set of principles for the exemplary teaching and learning of English as a new language, The 6 Principles and their recommended practices are targets of teaching excellence that provide teachers with the knowledge to improve instruction and assessment. Instructional techniques are illustrated throughout the book with numerous classroom examples, case studies, checklists, and vignettes.The authors' vision for The 6 Principles for teaching English to young learners has four major underpinnings that are foundational for teaching children, teaching children English in a foreign language context, and teaching children in the 21st century. 1. Commitment to children.2. Recognition of English as a global language.3. Integration of multiliteracies.4. Commitment to a multilingual world.Educators who share their vision and want to improve outcomes for their young English learners in a foreign language context will greatly benefit from the strategies and resources provided in this easy-to-follow guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TESOL Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781945351990

Book preview

1

A VISION FOR TEACHING YOUNG ENGLISH LEARNERS

Ana is a primary school teacher in Niš, Serbia. She teaches English to children in grades 1 to 5 in a state primary school. Today, she is in the classroom with her 3rd graders, and it is an exciting day! They are playing Mystery Skype for the first time with another classroom in an unknown location. (Mystery Skype is an educational game played by two classes using Skype. The aim of the game is to guess each other’s location by taking turns asking questions.)

Ana’s learners are ready. She prepared her class for the activity by preteaching some geographical terms as well as introducing Google Maps and a geographical atlas in English. The children also practiced asking and answering yes/no questions the previous two lessons. They worked together to develop two posters with question frames Is it in …? and Are you in …?, and polite requests like, Can you repeat, please? or Can you speak slowly, please? They can’t wait to try out their English. Until today, they have only spoken English with their teacher and classmates.

With smiles and eager anticipation, Ana’s students are sitting in a semicircle facing the screen of a smart board at the front of the class. On the smart board, they see a class of children with their teacher. Neither group knows the other’s location. Ana and the other teacher say hello and check if everyone can see and hear one another. Now it’s time for Ana’s class to find out where the other class is by asking yes/no questions.

One by one, Ana’s students step up to the webcam and take turns asking a question. Simultaneously on the screen, they see children from the mystery location stand up one by one. Each pair steps up and says hello. Then Ana’s student asks a question to their partner on the other side of the screen.

Is it morning?

No, it isn’t.

Is it afternoon?

No, it isn’t.

Is it noon?

Yes, it is.

One child in Ana’s class is the map leader. His job is to listen and use the information to locate the city. He heard that it is noon in the mystery location. He is now moving his right index finger to the time zone that is two hours ahead of Serbia. The learners are proceeding at their own pace. Ana is helping them with the correct pronunciation of the geographical names they need to communicate with their peers on the screen. As listening comprehension can be challenging for some learners, Ana helps them by pointing to the poster with polite requests and encouraging them to ask for clarification. When a student struggles with a new question, she points to a poster on the wall with sentence frames Is it in …? or Are you in …?

Is it in the North?

No, it isn’t.

Is it in Iran?

No, it isn’t.

Is it in the United Arab Emirates?

Yes, it is.

After a series of questions, students in Ana’s class guess the city.

Are you in Abu Dhabi?

No, I am not.

Are you in Dubai?

Yes, I am!

Students in both classes clap and cheer. One location is no longer a mystery. Now it’s time for Mr. Abujafar’s 4th grade class in Dubai to introduce their hometown to their new Skype friends. Students introduce their city and school, teach their new friends how to say hello in Arabic, and show some examples of their traditional food and photos of their famous skyscrapers in Dubai. Now a new mystery search begins for the learners in Mr. Abujafar’s class. After a similar back and forth through Skype, the children in Dubai narrow down the location of Ana’s class within Serbia. Finally, Ana’s class confirms the correct guess, Niš! They introduce themselves, teach the other class how to say hello in Serbian, and show a wall exhibit they created with the map of their country and photographs of traditional festivities. A few students also give a short demonstration of a traditional dance with music.

Now the Mystery Skype session comes to a close. The children from both classes say good-bye and log off. But the lesson is not over for Ana’s class. The children are buzzing with delight! They turn to one another and share their experiences and personal impressions. Ana allows this enthusiastic chatter among students in their native language and takes notes as she prepares to discuss their intercultural experience with them in English. She already knows the school and location of their next Mystery Skype, so she listens to them closely for feedback on the experience to prepare for this next intercultural exchange in English.

The 6 Principles represent TESOL’s vision for exemplary teaching of English learners (ELs). This core set of principles applies to diverse English language teaching contexts around the world. Here we explore The 6 Principles as the foundation for teaching English to young learners (TEYL) at the preprimary and primary school levels around the world. This special focus on teaching preprimary (2–5 years old) and primary school-aged learners (6–12 years old) helps us address the youngest population of English speakers, who are growing in number around the world. As English thrives as an important global language in science, technology, business, diplomacy, tourism, and global problem solving, we see the growing emphasis of English in education systems around the world. One common trend is lowering the starting age of English education to the preprimary and primary school levels in foreign language contexts worldwide. With an estimated half a billion primary-aged children learning English as a foreign language (EFL) worldwide (Ellis & Knagg, 2013), we need a clear vision for TEYL.

Prereading Reflection Questions

Reflect on these questions individually or with colleagues:

What do you think are the most important considerations for teaching English as an additional language to young learners around the world?

What does it mean for English to be a global language? How does this affect how we teach English to young learners?

Our Vision for the Exemplary Teaching of Young English Learners in Global Contexts

Our vision for TEYL has four major underpinnings that are foundational for teaching children English in global contexts in the 21st century.

Commitment to children. TEYL should promote developmentally appropriate practices focused on the whole child in ways that are culturally responsive.

Recognition of English as a global language. TEYL should encourage children to recognize themselves and people from diverse countries and cultures as speakers of English for international communication.

Integration of multiliteracies. TEYL should provide opportunities for children to learn English as a multimodal form of intercultural communication that includes new technologies and literacies.

Commitment to a multilingual world. TEYL should embrace children’s culturally and linguistically diverse identities and contexts as they learn English as an additional language.

Commitment to Children

TEYL should promote developmentally appropriate practices focused on the whole child in ways that are culturally responsive. According to ASCD’s position, the whole child approach means that we ensure each student is healthy; physically and emotionally safe; actively engaged in learning within a community; supported by qualified, caring adults; and challenged academically to prepare them for their future studies and participation in a global environment (ASCD, 2020). We apply knowledge about physical, cognitive, socioemotional, and linguistic development of children at different ages and stages while paying attention to the uniqueness of each child in our classroom. We are culturally responsive to children learning English in diverse contexts by using learners’ cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles to make learning relevant to them (Gay, 2018). In our vision, English language educators make all instructional decisions by focusing first on the child.

Recognition of English as a Global Language

TEYL should encourage children to recognize themselves and people from diverse countries and cultures as speakers of English for international communication. Changing the perspective of English as a foreign language to a global language is an important step to take. Children are learning English for communication with the world. English is a useful lingua franca of international communication of the 21st century. As described by the British Council (2013), it is the operating system for the global conversation (p. 5). In fact, Crystal (2019) estimates that 2.3 billion people speak English as a second, foreign, or additional language, which far outnumbers the 388 million so-called native speakers from the inner circle countries, such as the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada (Kachru, 1992). With so many more people in this world using English as a second, foreign, or additional language, English is not owned by any one culture. Speakers of English represent many countries, cultures, and linguistic backgrounds. English is no longer attached only to the culture of inner circle countries. In our vision, children should grow up identifying themselves as speakers and users of English as a global language across borders and cultures.

Integration of Multiliteracies

TEYL should provide opportunities for children to learn English as a multimodal form of intercultural communication that includes new technologies and literacies. As English teachers, we often think about our job in terms of teaching language. For some, this means teaching new words, helping students put words together using correct grammar, and building the four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, English learners in the 21st century need a broader skillset because we live in a multimodal world where communication is not based only on conversation and text. Multimodal communication means multiple modes of making meaning—that is, exchanging ideas via linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, and spatial modes (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009). We refer to this concept as multiliteracies, which is associated with new technologies that promote digital communication across borders. From picturebooks to social media memes to YouTube videos, we use language in our daily lives integrated within multimodal forms of communication. Through digital communication and social media, English is also the most widely used language on the internet. In our vision, English language educators embrace a pedagogy of multiliteracies and introduce children to English as it is situated within dynamic and multimodal forms of intercultural communication.

Commitment to a Multilingual World

TEYL should embrace children’s culturally and linguistically diverse identities and contexts as they learn English as an additional language. Many children around the world learn English not only as a second language but also as a third or even fourth language. With millions of children learning English as an additional language worldwide, we are growing a global population of bi/multilingual speakers of English. In our vision, children are adding English as a new language to their linguistic repertoire and are growing up to become citizens of a multilingual world.

Reflection on the Vignette

To illustrate our vision, the young learner classroom in the opening vignette shows an innovative EFL classroom using Mystery Skype. To facilitate authentic interactions, the teacher used technology to create opportunities for young learners to engage in intercultural communication. The Mystery Skype activity was a developmentally and linguistically appropriate language lesson that brought children from two countries and cultures together using English as a global language. Although students were using simple yes/no questions, the context was purposeful and the communication authentic. The young learners from both countries were experiencing aspects of intercultural communication, like listening carefully and observing each other’s reactions. They negotiated meaning by asking for clarification and repeating their own statements and questions. The teacher’s support while learners practiced asking questions alleviated stress and enhanced their self-confidence. The sentence frames in the posters contributed to students’ confident use of English for real communication.

Mystery Skype added enjoyment and intrigue to the lesson by tapping into children’s sense of fun and curiosity. Who is on the other end of the Skype call? Where are they from? What are they like? Students shared pieces of their home culture through English and caught a glimpse into another culture from the class in Dubai: they noted the learners’ school uniforms, the physical arrangement of their classroom, the way learners interacted with each other or waited for their turn, and the way they expressed their emotions of nervousness, excitement, and happiness. Aided by new technologies, the children employed multiliteracies by combining digital, gestural, visual, and verbal modes of communication. They used English to express themselves interculturally, interacted with children their age in another part of the world, and experienced what it can mean to connect within a global community of English speakers.

In our vision, TEYL is not about imparting knowledge of the English language to children. Our goal as educators is to create an environment that focuses on the whole child and inspires young learners to use English to communicate globally. Even with limited access to technology, we can provide young learners of English with opportunities to engage in authentic communication and create a classroom environment that is a window to our multilingual, multimodal world. We will explore how to do this through TESOL’s 6 Principles.

The Need for The 6 Principles for TEYL in Global Contexts

TEYL has emerged as its own field of study due to the global educational trend of lowering the age of EFL programs to young learners. The push to lower the age for English education in countries around the world is often motivated by a debated notion that starting earlier is better (Rokita-Jaskow & Ellis, 2019). However, focusing on how to teach young learners is more important than when to start instruction (Singleton & Pfenninger, 2019). The 6 Principles give us an excellent framework to guide the how of TEYL to benefit children’s