Help! I need somebody.
August 16, 2011 8:35 PM Subscribe
Teaching english to children. My goodness, this is difficult. I need advice, badly.
I am in Buenos Aires and I am volunteering and teaching english in a very poor neighborhood. These kids are adorable - but they do not want to learn. So I need to make them be interested in learning.
How?
I've so far taught a few classes and my lesson plans revolve around pop music. It seems like a decent enough way to interest the kids... play them some rock and roll and then give them worksheets about the lyrics.
Currently I've taught them "Help" by The Beatles, and "Three little birds" by Bob Marley.
Any other songs I could teach them? Or other general advice from teachers?
Thank you!
I am in Buenos Aires and I am volunteering and teaching english in a very poor neighborhood. These kids are adorable - but they do not want to learn. So I need to make them be interested in learning.
How?
I've so far taught a few classes and my lesson plans revolve around pop music. It seems like a decent enough way to interest the kids... play them some rock and roll and then give them worksheets about the lyrics.
Currently I've taught them "Help" by The Beatles, and "Three little birds" by Bob Marley.
Any other songs I could teach them? Or other general advice from teachers?
Thank you!
Dave's ESL Cafe has a kids section with many ideas for English teaching activities.
posted by Paragon at 8:46 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Paragon at 8:46 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
You might check out some of the activities and techniques at ITESLJ (I hope that links to search results; if not, go to iteslj.org and search for children or young learners).
There are also a lot of books on the subject of young learners if you have the time/money/inclination, although most of them are meant for people who are professional ESL/EFL teachers, and may be difficult/unhelpful if you are not.
posted by wintersweet at 8:48 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
There are also a lot of books on the subject of young learners if you have the time/money/inclination, although most of them are meant for people who are professional ESL/EFL teachers, and may be difficult/unhelpful if you are not.
posted by wintersweet at 8:48 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Again, I want to ask how old they are?
I always found visuals very helpful when teaching ESL to kids. I like to draw so I would make cards to teach vocab words, and play games with the cards. The kids liked holding the cards and calling out names of words in response to the visual. This was helpful with younger kinds who didn't know much English.
I also taught some simple songs to go along with visuals, and that worked well too (I'd illustrate a song on cards, and the students held up the visual to sing the part of the song to). You can also get kids to draw or act out words or phrases.
posted by bearette at 8:52 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
I always found visuals very helpful when teaching ESL to kids. I like to draw so I would make cards to teach vocab words, and play games with the cards. The kids liked holding the cards and calling out names of words in response to the visual. This was helpful with younger kinds who didn't know much English.
I also taught some simple songs to go along with visuals, and that worked well too (I'd illustrate a song on cards, and the students held up the visual to sing the part of the song to). You can also get kids to draw or act out words or phrases.
posted by bearette at 8:52 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: They are 4-10. I have no budget - or rather, I have to supply all my own materials, which is fine by me. But I can't really afford to print out too many sheets or whatever - I'd prefer to keep classroom materials limited. They are also very unruly. I don't mean to be harsh to the kids, but it's the truth - I have never seen kids disrespect my authority so much.
I don't strive to be the police, so while I yell at them (fairly often, it seems), I'd much rather teach them by engaging them, than teach them via punishments.
posted by special agent conrad uno at 9:16 PM on August 16, 2011
I don't strive to be the police, so while I yell at them (fairly often, it seems), I'd much rather teach them by engaging them, than teach them via punishments.
posted by special agent conrad uno at 9:16 PM on August 16, 2011
You're on the right track - I think the key is to not burn yourself out. Make sure that the kids are putting in AT LEAST as much work as you.
That sounds difficult because you say that the kids don't want to learn. I would challenge you there. I think that all kids want to learn, but you need to make it accessible to them.
I have found success by celebrating small victories (a kid gets ONE answer correct = cheer from the whole class) and having kids taste a little bit of success. Once they see that their positive input gets recognition, they'll be more likely to enjoy learning.
posted by brynna at 9:16 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
That sounds difficult because you say that the kids don't want to learn. I would challenge you there. I think that all kids want to learn, but you need to make it accessible to them.
I have found success by celebrating small victories (a kid gets ONE answer correct = cheer from the whole class) and having kids taste a little bit of success. Once they see that their positive input gets recognition, they'll be more likely to enjoy learning.
posted by brynna at 9:16 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
You could create a recipe! Something like trail mix wouldn't need any cooking equipment, even. You could talk about verbs like mix, stir, and add; adjectives like salty, sweet, and crunchy; and nouns could be the names of foods you are adding. If you have a microwave, you could do rice krispie treats in the microwave. If you have a freezer, maybe make a recipe for fruit juice popsicles. Might be hard to check for allergies, depending on how much English they or their parents know.
Good work you are doing. And you're right, being adorable only gets you so far, like to 4th grade. :)
posted by shortyJBot at 9:23 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Good work you are doing. And you're right, being adorable only gets you so far, like to 4th grade. :)
posted by shortyJBot at 9:23 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
I taught older kids (13-18) in South America, so whatever advice I have may not work. That said, I can definitely identify with feeling that they disrespect authority, and I really think it's a cultural thing. Rule-following is just not as encouraged in general, and kids in all my coworkers' classrooms just didn't jump to obey the same way kids the US generally do.
I started out the year trying to be very strict and follow the rules, and it didn't work too well. Don't make yourself an enemy of them. What worked better was to set a reward system... Like, if they behave well all week, they get to watch a movie of their choice (within limits) on Friday.
Other interesting stuff I have done in ESL classes-- have them interview each other using target language ('What did you do today?' for past tense, etc), play games like charades and pictionary with vocabulary, have class discussions about things that interest their age level.
What level are they, and what exactly are you supposed to teach them? There is lots of online material targeted to specific levels and depending on what you're teaching--vocab, specific grammar points, etc.
posted by queens86 at 9:24 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
I started out the year trying to be very strict and follow the rules, and it didn't work too well. Don't make yourself an enemy of them. What worked better was to set a reward system... Like, if they behave well all week, they get to watch a movie of their choice (within limits) on Friday.
Other interesting stuff I have done in ESL classes-- have them interview each other using target language ('What did you do today?' for past tense, etc), play games like charades and pictionary with vocabulary, have class discussions about things that interest their age level.
What level are they, and what exactly are you supposed to teach them? There is lots of online material targeted to specific levels and depending on what you're teaching--vocab, specific grammar points, etc.
posted by queens86 at 9:24 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
I taught English briefly to a small group of Japanese children in that same age range. This was a weekend class that their parents were sending them to, and of course none of them wanted to be in a classroom on a Saturday (and god knows I didn't blame them for that). They were pretty rowdy and definitely didn't have the desire to learn.
I'm not sure if this will be helpful to you, but this was my experience . . .
The class had a kind of ringleader/class clown kid -- and I think most classrooms have at least one. All the other kids followed his lead, so if he was participating in class than they were. If he was joking around and being rowdy, they would do the same. I kept trying to get this kid in line but it was completely useless (plus I have to say, my efforts were kind of half-hearted -- they were at school at 9 am on Saturday!). What made a big difference was when I decided not to fight the ringleader, and instead tried to use him to my advantage. If he was being goofy and making everyone else goofy, I would bring him up in front and make him do silly dances and, say, call out the English name of his body parts or something.
Doing this, I was not totally out of the loop and could get at least a little teaching done. If you have a similar dynamic in your class, you might want to consider trying this out.
posted by imalaowai at 10:10 PM on August 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure if this will be helpful to you, but this was my experience . . .
The class had a kind of ringleader/class clown kid -- and I think most classrooms have at least one. All the other kids followed his lead, so if he was participating in class than they were. If he was joking around and being rowdy, they would do the same. I kept trying to get this kid in line but it was completely useless (plus I have to say, my efforts were kind of half-hearted -- they were at school at 9 am on Saturday!). What made a big difference was when I decided not to fight the ringleader, and instead tried to use him to my advantage. If he was being goofy and making everyone else goofy, I would bring him up in front and make him do silly dances and, say, call out the English name of his body parts or something.
Doing this, I was not totally out of the loop and could get at least a little teaching done. If you have a similar dynamic in your class, you might want to consider trying this out.
posted by imalaowai at 10:10 PM on August 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
I want to add - Do not assume anything. TEACH everything. Teach them how you want to be respected (what does respect look like, what does disrespect look like). Teach them how you want to be addressed. Teach them how they should act when they're working independently. It may seem like overkill, but it will get you miles farther than yelling at them all the time.
You can absolutely do it. But, baby steps.
posted by brynna at 10:10 PM on August 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
You can absolutely do it. But, baby steps.
posted by brynna at 10:10 PM on August 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Awesome, I agree totally with what everyone is saying, and I'm glad you all are saying it. I was worried because I have never taught kids before, and I really have no idea how to do it. But I've read plenty of Salinger, and if there's one thing I believe in, it's that the kids are all right. I was worried people would say "USE AN IRON FIST TO RULE" when my fists are scrawny and really I don't want to scratch up my nails. My black polished nails which all the kids think are freaking hilarious.
What about songs? What are some kid friendly songs I can teach them? Like I said, I'm working on some Beatles and Bob Marley. What else would you all recommend? Music that has simple words which are repeated heavily. Pop, rock, whatever. Most important is simple words. But of second importance is good, interesting, or unique music. I'd gladly teach them some Bikini Kill, if I could figure out an appropriate song. Same goes for MJ. Or even Katy Perry.
What about Reggaeton? Anyone know any good and simple reggaeton songs?
posted by special agent conrad uno at 10:49 PM on August 16, 2011
What about songs? What are some kid friendly songs I can teach them? Like I said, I'm working on some Beatles and Bob Marley. What else would you all recommend? Music that has simple words which are repeated heavily. Pop, rock, whatever. Most important is simple words. But of second importance is good, interesting, or unique music. I'd gladly teach them some Bikini Kill, if I could figure out an appropriate song. Same goes for MJ. Or even Katy Perry.
What about Reggaeton? Anyone know any good and simple reggaeton songs?
posted by special agent conrad uno at 10:49 PM on August 16, 2011
I taught English to a wonderful 8-year-old who really just wanted to play. I slowly developed a routine where she would do x amount of work and then we could play a short game. We also had a longer-term reward system, where if she was good (like no tantrums) for ten straight lessons, then we played this epic board game she really loved.
The strong connection between work and reward was what saved us, and I had the luxury of treating her to extra long games if she was doing particularly well. I found that the allure of games in exchange for good behavior was her strongest motivator and could trump even super boring work she hated doing. Maybe this could work for you.
If you're short on game materials, maybe you could ask the students to come up with things they want to play or bring their own games to share. I used to wonder if my student's parents knew how many toys/games she would pack for her lessons :)
One other thing that I've noticed from teaching English to a couple kids is that they respond really well to teaching ME their native language. If you ask how to say something it can be a good bridge to teaching the rest of your vocab.
posted by pluot at 10:54 PM on August 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
The strong connection between work and reward was what saved us, and I had the luxury of treating her to extra long games if she was doing particularly well. I found that the allure of games in exchange for good behavior was her strongest motivator and could trump even super boring work she hated doing. Maybe this could work for you.
If you're short on game materials, maybe you could ask the students to come up with things they want to play or bring their own games to share. I used to wonder if my student's parents knew how many toys/games she would pack for her lessons :)
One other thing that I've noticed from teaching English to a couple kids is that they respond really well to teaching ME their native language. If you ask how to say something it can be a good bridge to teaching the rest of your vocab.
posted by pluot at 10:54 PM on August 16, 2011 [3 favorites]
4-7 or 8 is too young for the stuff you are describing. Are these classes seperated by age? get the younguns in their own group if at all possible - 4-7 / 8-10 split. Cognitive development, attention span, interests, maturity are just too wide to have success in a group that varied in age.
I am doing teacher training in rural Malaysia right now with grade 1 kids (maybe 7 or 8 years old). Here are a few random tips for the younger group:
-massive variety... don't have them doing anything more than 10 minutes, for a one hour slot you need at least 3 or 4 "main" activities, with a lot of quickie fillers/ changeovers to break the pace.
-simple simple stuff! Beatles songs are too much, they need stuff like "BINGO was his name-o" and simple little songs made up of days of the week, shit likt that. Take whatever asimnple vocab you are teaching, put a little tune onto it, turn it into a song.
-literacy (even in Spanish) likely an issue, so don't assume reading and writing skills, teach them.
-little physical games and actions / mimes to accompany stuff... don't have them sitting at desks for prtolonged periods
-REALLY grade your language, nice and simple motherese, but be sure to expose them to A LOT of it. If you are going around looking at their work, for example: "Ah, yes, good. The frog is green, f-r-o-g. You did it, that's rioght, good"
-remember that they might need a LOT of silent period before production, and that can be learning too! 1) rec eptive 2) productive. So tasks like "point to the frog. good. now point to the elephant" and stuff like that.
-music music music. kiddie songs from nursery rhymes / sesame street, shit like that.
-super simple REAL dialogues. "Give me the red pencil" / "here you are" / "thank you"
-tonnes of repetition, way more than seems necessary! But you need to mix it up to keep their attention. So they say it sitting down, then standing up, then while walking in a circle, then with a new partner, etc etc.
good luck. I iwll check in if you have any further follow up questions.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:56 PM on August 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
I am doing teacher training in rural Malaysia right now with grade 1 kids (maybe 7 or 8 years old). Here are a few random tips for the younger group:
-massive variety... don't have them doing anything more than 10 minutes, for a one hour slot you need at least 3 or 4 "main" activities, with a lot of quickie fillers/ changeovers to break the pace.
-simple simple stuff! Beatles songs are too much, they need stuff like "BINGO was his name-o" and simple little songs made up of days of the week, shit likt that. Take whatever asimnple vocab you are teaching, put a little tune onto it, turn it into a song.
-literacy (even in Spanish) likely an issue, so don't assume reading and writing skills, teach them.
-little physical games and actions / mimes to accompany stuff... don't have them sitting at desks for prtolonged periods
-REALLY grade your language, nice and simple motherese, but be sure to expose them to A LOT of it. If you are going around looking at their work, for example: "Ah, yes, good. The frog is green, f-r-o-g. You did it, that's rioght, good"
-remember that they might need a LOT of silent period before production, and that can be learning too! 1) rec eptive 2) productive. So tasks like "point to the frog. good. now point to the elephant" and stuff like that.
-music music music. kiddie songs from nursery rhymes / sesame street, shit like that.
-super simple REAL dialogues. "Give me the red pencil" / "here you are" / "thank you"
-tonnes of repetition, way more than seems necessary! But you need to mix it up to keep their attention. So they say it sitting down, then standing up, then while walking in a circle, then with a new partner, etc etc.
good luck. I iwll check in if you have any further follow up questions.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:56 PM on August 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
oh , and also: depending on your knowledge of Spanish or the help of friends, make use of the many many cognates to speed development. So if you are teachign "transport", you know that "taxi" and "bus" are freebies because they are the same, but "car" and "bicycle" are "real new words...
posted by Meatbomb at 11:04 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Meatbomb at 11:04 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ok - I know some people will TOTALLY disagree with this, but positive behaviour rewards are definitely the way to go. It's easy enough to say "catch the kids being good" but that's more difficult than it seems. If you can change the tone of class from "STOP DOING THAT!" to "Wow, I love that you did x!"
In successful inner-city programs with young children, they use a lot of simplified direct instruction. Like:
I like to ride my bicycle. What do I like to ride? (answer) A bicycle has two wheels. How many wheels? (answer) Bicycles are fun to ride! What colour bike do you think I have? (answer) Bicycles can go very fast! Do you think you can run faster? (answer)
Lots of info/answer. Also try using lots of gestures for words and making actions for them. Get the kids to repeat the gestures with the words.
Other stuff:
Reverse psychology - You know, I think this will be too hard for you! There's NO WAY you can do it! Or the opposite - Wow! I can't believe you can do that! Kids older than you still can't do that in my last class!
Try these attention grabbers:
"When I say x, you say z, X (they say Z)" repeat until everyone does it
"If you can hear me, clap once" (start medium loud, then get softer and softer until they stop talking
You: "1-2-3 eyes on me" Them: "1-2 eyes on you" (you'll have to model it)
Have you tried playing games with them? Throwing a ball around and having kids say a word that fits a category (starts with a letter, body part, day of the week). Say an animal's name and ask them to make the sounds (and vice versa). Hopscotch with counting. Dances that are really instructions (hokey pokey, macarena, etc.).
If all else fails and they're not paying attention, get up, run in a circle, spin around a few times, jump up and down, then sit down. Get them to follow/imitate you. Then pick up where you left off with the lesson.
posted by guster4lovers at 11:30 PM on August 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
In successful inner-city programs with young children, they use a lot of simplified direct instruction. Like:
I like to ride my bicycle. What do I like to ride? (answer) A bicycle has two wheels. How many wheels? (answer) Bicycles are fun to ride! What colour bike do you think I have? (answer) Bicycles can go very fast! Do you think you can run faster? (answer)
Lots of info/answer. Also try using lots of gestures for words and making actions for them. Get the kids to repeat the gestures with the words.
Other stuff:
Reverse psychology - You know, I think this will be too hard for you! There's NO WAY you can do it! Or the opposite - Wow! I can't believe you can do that! Kids older than you still can't do that in my last class!
Try these attention grabbers:
"When I say x, you say z, X (they say Z)" repeat until everyone does it
"If you can hear me, clap once" (start medium loud, then get softer and softer until they stop talking
You: "1-2-3 eyes on me" Them: "1-2 eyes on you" (you'll have to model it)
Have you tried playing games with them? Throwing a ball around and having kids say a word that fits a category (starts with a letter, body part, day of the week). Say an animal's name and ask them to make the sounds (and vice versa). Hopscotch with counting. Dances that are really instructions (hokey pokey, macarena, etc.).
If all else fails and they're not paying attention, get up, run in a circle, spin around a few times, jump up and down, then sit down. Get them to follow/imitate you. Then pick up where you left off with the lesson.
posted by guster4lovers at 11:30 PM on August 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
I think meatbomb just stole my brain, but I'll add that using some sort of positive/reward-based disciplinary system - individual tally marks on the board for good behavior, etc, with small rewards for the best (stickers are great for this!) - would be fine...if you just had 7-10-year-olds. Below 7, though, this often proves ineffective; they just don't pay attention to something as long as "a lesson" to see that the tantrum they threw twenty minutes in cost them a chance to earn points, and therefore now they don't have a sticker. With young ones, reward completion of individual tasks.
It's nothing to take personally, but nothing else in the educational life of a four-/five-year-old demands as much attention as your lessons, probably, so that's a big part of it. For some four-year-olds, you're still looking at three, four or even five years before the full onset of literacy! Motor skill development and pre-literacy work are all crucial for this age group, but as Meatbomb says, you need short stages where something can be accomplished and some language can be taught, and then you need to move on to something related, but different (in the eyes of the kids).
Perhaps a good investment, also, would be chalk for the sidewalk/playground/backyard of wherever you teach. It's a good way to let kids let off some steam while still being creative and working on skills like "holding pencil-like things" which kids under, say, 8 still need a lot of work with; "fast finishers" can help others or start new drawings.
Finally, work on routines - they breed security and trust. When they come it, they have to put their coats by the door, their bags under their chairs. Teach them how to do this by example, and reward early adopters heavily so there's a bit of pressure in the class to comply. When you leave, do the same thing - have some other routine set up to depart (everyone writes down homework, gets their coats and bags, SITS DOWN AGAIN, is lined up by points/stickers/name/answering a question...and then you stand at the door, with a picture/scene/review of today's material, asking a super-simple question like "What's this?", and the kid about to leave says "Car!" or "Seven" or whatever, and off they go.
posted by mdonley at 11:39 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
It's nothing to take personally, but nothing else in the educational life of a four-/five-year-old demands as much attention as your lessons, probably, so that's a big part of it. For some four-year-olds, you're still looking at three, four or even five years before the full onset of literacy! Motor skill development and pre-literacy work are all crucial for this age group, but as Meatbomb says, you need short stages where something can be accomplished and some language can be taught, and then you need to move on to something related, but different (in the eyes of the kids).
Perhaps a good investment, also, would be chalk for the sidewalk/playground/backyard of wherever you teach. It's a good way to let kids let off some steam while still being creative and working on skills like "holding pencil-like things" which kids under, say, 8 still need a lot of work with; "fast finishers" can help others or start new drawings.
Finally, work on routines - they breed security and trust. When they come it, they have to put their coats by the door, their bags under their chairs. Teach them how to do this by example, and reward early adopters heavily so there's a bit of pressure in the class to comply. When you leave, do the same thing - have some other routine set up to depart (everyone writes down homework, gets their coats and bags, SITS DOWN AGAIN, is lined up by points/stickers/name/answering a question...and then you stand at the door, with a picture/scene/review of today's material, asking a super-simple question like "What's this?", and the kid about to leave says "Car!" or "Seven" or whatever, and off they go.
posted by mdonley at 11:39 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
ESL teacher in Korea. If there are three things that make your life easier, it's games, games, games. Gamify English, as much as possible. Boys vs. girls, 7 year olds vs. 8 year olds, whatever. The point is to keep the points flowing, the rules the same / consistent, and the class moving from one challenge to the next. I wrote about some games I use on a regular basis at http://www.chrisinsouthkorea.com/2011/06/teaching-english-8-games-to-play-with-your-english-language-learning-students, but there are plenty of ESL games available.
There's bound to be lots of cheap stuff at the local toy store - ping pong balls and a box make a good way to give points at random, write letters on them. The point is to stay creative, try lots of stuff, and eventually you'll stumble across something that'll work :)
posted by chrisinseoul at 3:44 AM on August 17, 2011
There's bound to be lots of cheap stuff at the local toy store - ping pong balls and a box make a good way to give points at random, write letters on them. The point is to stay creative, try lots of stuff, and eventually you'll stumble across something that'll work :)
posted by chrisinseoul at 3:44 AM on August 17, 2011
What about songs? What are some kid friendly songs I can teach them?
I taught some very affluent, bratty kids aged about 6 - 12 in Russia. Boy, they were a tough crowd. Songs are an awesome idea. You don't necessarily need kid friendly songs. As a case in point, we were covering some Canadian culture and history stuff (main teacher's idea, not mine), and so I taught them to sing Stan Roger's Barrett's Privateers. They LOVED it and seemed to think it was badass. It's a rowdy song. They loved that it was about Canadian 'pirates' trying to steal from American ships (overlooking the fact that they lose the battle with one). And it was good that there was a repetitive chorus to sing along to. Anyhow, maybe it you can pick some songs that are a bit rowdy and badass? Something where the subject matter is interesting or that they can get behind? Protest songs? Something with a link to South America? Sorry, wish I could offer some actual suggestions.
Also, what about singing games? If you scroll down to the third post here, there's a description of a singing game called 'concentration' that sounds fun. Good way to teach colors, numbers... It sounds like unless there is a strict curriculum you have to follow, you might do well to treat this like an esl day camp...
posted by kitcat at 10:40 AM on August 17, 2011
I taught some very affluent, bratty kids aged about 6 - 12 in Russia. Boy, they were a tough crowd. Songs are an awesome idea. You don't necessarily need kid friendly songs. As a case in point, we were covering some Canadian culture and history stuff (main teacher's idea, not mine), and so I taught them to sing Stan Roger's Barrett's Privateers. They LOVED it and seemed to think it was badass. It's a rowdy song. They loved that it was about Canadian 'pirates' trying to steal from American ships (overlooking the fact that they lose the battle with one). And it was good that there was a repetitive chorus to sing along to. Anyhow, maybe it you can pick some songs that are a bit rowdy and badass? Something where the subject matter is interesting or that they can get behind? Protest songs? Something with a link to South America? Sorry, wish I could offer some actual suggestions.
Also, what about singing games? If you scroll down to the third post here, there's a description of a singing game called 'concentration' that sounds fun. Good way to teach colors, numbers... It sounds like unless there is a strict curriculum you have to follow, you might do well to treat this like an esl day camp...
posted by kitcat at 10:40 AM on August 17, 2011
Do you happen to have a reliable mailing address there? I am a teacher in the states and have plenty of materials (including younger-aged ELL/ESL materials) that I am looking to get rid of.
posted by jilliank at 10:47 AM on August 17, 2011
posted by jilliank at 10:47 AM on August 17, 2011
For kid-friendly songs, "They Might Be Giants" is where I'd start.
I would also dig through these tags on Metafilter, Ask.Me, and MeFi Music for more potential songs.
posted by aniola at 12:16 PM on August 17, 2011
I would also dig through these tags on Metafilter, Ask.Me, and MeFi Music for more potential songs.
posted by aniola at 12:16 PM on August 17, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:43 PM on August 16, 2011 [1 favorite]