Teaching languages to young learners / Lynne Cameron.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cameron, Lynne.

Series:

Cambridge language teaching library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Study and teaching (Elementary).

Language and languages.

Physical Description:

xvi, 258 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Summary:

Recent years have seen rapid growth in the number of children being taught foreign languages at younger ages. While course books aimed at young learners are appearing on the market, there is scant theoretical reference in the teacher education literature. This book is one of the few to explore with readers what happens in classrooms where children are being taught a foreign language. It will offer teachers and trainers a theoretical framework to structure thinking about children's language learning. The book gives practical suggestions on how to analyse and evaluate classroom activities, language use and language development. Examples from classrooms in Europe and Asia will help bring alive the realities of working with young learners of English.

Contents:

1 Children learning a foreign language 1

1.1 Taking a learning-centred perspective 1

1.2 Piaget 2

1.3 Vygotsky 5

1.4 Bruner 8

1.5 From learning to language learning 11

1.6 Advantages to starting young with foreign languages 16

1.7 The foreign language: describing the indivisible 17

1.8 Summary of key learning principles 19

2 Learning language through tasks and activities 21

2.1 The task as an environment for learning 21

2.2 Task demands 22

2.3 Task support 25

2.4 Balancing demands and support 26

2.5 The importance of language learning goals 28

2.6 Defining 'task' for young learner classrooms 29

2.7 Stages in a classroom task 31

2.8 Hani's Weekend: Possible preparation and follow-up activities 32

2.9 Task-as-plan and task-in-action 35

3 Learning the spoken language 36

3.1 Learning the spoken language: guiding principles 36

3.2 Discourse and discourse events 37

3.3 Meaning first 38

3.4 Analysis of a task-in-action 42

3.5 Discourse skills development in childhood 51

3.6 Effective support for children's foreign language discourse skills 58

3.7 Short activities for learning the spoken language 60

3.8 Supporting the spoken language with written language 66

3.9 Using dialogues 68

4 Learning words 72

4.2 Vocabulary development in children's language learning 73

4.3 Organisation of words in a language 81

4.4 Learning and teaching vocabulary 83

4.5 Children's vocabulary learning strategies 92

5 Learning grammar 96

5.1 A place for grammar? 96

5.2 Different meanings of 'grammar' 98

5.3 Development of the internal grammar 101

5.4 A learning-centred approach to teaching grammar: background 105

5.5 Principles for learning-centred grammar teaching 110

5.6 Teaching techniques for supporting grammar learning 111

6 Learning literacy skills 123

6.2 Literacy skills in English 124

6.3 Factors affecting learning to read in English as a foreign language 134

6.4 Starting to read and write in English as a foreign language 139

6.5 Continuing to learn to read 150

6.6 Developing reading and writing as discourse skills 154

7 Learning through stories 159

7.1 Stories and themes as holistic approaches to language teaching and learning 159

7.2 The discourse organisation of stories 160

7.3 Language use in stories 163

7.4 Quality in stories 166

7.5 Choosing stories to promote language learning 167

7.6 Ways of using a story 169

7.7 Developing tasks around a story 175

8 Theme-based teaching and learning 180

8.1 Issues around theme-based teaching 180

8.2 Theme-based teaching of a foreign language 181

8.3 Planning theme-based teaching 184

8.4 Learning language through theme-based teaching 191

8.5 Increasing target language use in theme-based teaching 195

9 Language choice and language learning 199

9.2 Patterns of first language use in foreign language classrooms 200

9.3 Dynamics of language choice and use 205

9.4 Taking responsibility, making choices 209

10 Assessment and language learning 214

10.1 Issues in assessing children's language learning 214

10.2 Principles for assessing children's language learning 218

10.3 Key concepts in assessment 222

10.4 Teacher assessment of language learning 228

10.5 Self-assessment and learner autonomy 233

10.6 Use of assessment information 238

10.7 Messages from assessment 240

11 Issues around teaching children a foreign language 241

11.1 Review of ideas 241

11.2 The need for research 242

11.3 The need to develop pedagogy 243

11.4 Teaching foreign languages to children 246.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-255) and index.

ISBN:

0521774349

0521773253

OCLC:

45828789