What and Why?
Different children learn at different rates. This may be partly natural, although in many cases, it may be possible to improve a child's rate of learning by changes in the classroom, and by thinking about motivation and levels of participation. With most learners, children or adults, there is a natural gap between their ability to comprehend and their ability to produce. (This is usually true for their first language as well.) Some researchers have suggested that children go through a 'silent period' in the early stages of their learning and they therefore advise teachers not to 'push' children to speak. Most of this research, however, concerns children arriving in a new culture, overwhelmed by the total change in their lives. In primary classrooms, there may be many other reasons why a child is silent, which have very little to do with 'natural' development.
Practical ideas
- Children can be silent because they feel shy or lack confidence in front of others. Try to encourage them to speak and help them produce the language in a smaller group where they don't feel so exposed.
- Language learning is a slow process that does not go in a straight line. We should not expect mastery of one language form before the children move on to another teaching / learning area. Many errors remain even up to 'advanced' levels (for example, the absence of a third person -s in She works, etc.). Expect errors in the children's language production as a natural part of the learning process.
- Different children will develop their language ability at different rates and in different areas. Some may find it more difficult to speak than others, while they are stronger in reading or writing. It is important to continue to encourage the children to try, but it takes time to develop confidence.
- Some children may feel that they are not learning anything. Help them to see how much they have learned by keeping examples of their work in portfolios or by recording them speaking.
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