A foreign language is one of the main subjects in modern education, usually starting from primary school. At first glance, teaching English to kids might seem a very simple task, since no deep knowledge of the language is required. However, teaching a foreign language is not just about knowing grammar patterns or advanced vocabulary, but about having appropriate skills, being aware of the most efficient methods and techniques to teach learners. In this respect, teachers may face some challenges in primary school. In this article, we will be presenting the main difficulties of teaching English to younger learners.

Usually, primary school children start learning English with great enthusiasm, they initially have high motivation and are interested in listening to a foreign language, and speaking it themselves. They tend to learn how to greet and say goodbye, name the objects they see around them in English. However, this sometimes does not last long. And teachers may encounter the following problems.

Learners lose their concentration

In spite of the fact that children may be really interested in language learning, there are lots of things that distract their attention — mobile phones, games, classmates, and sometimes — candies. The problem, however, is soluble. Here are several things that can be done in this situation:

— Take short breaks during the lesson which will make the tasks more manageable.

— Split tasks into smaller chunks.

— Ask students to change seats during the lesson. In this way, they will get a chance to work with different classmates.

— Remove any unnecessary notices and posters from the walls because they may be a great source of distraction.

— Include visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic activities.

— Play memory/concentration games with kids to help them focus better and longer.

New words are learned quickly and then forgotten easily

Yes, it is true that children learn new words quite quickly, but this is not always kept in their memory and they forget the words quickly as well. If you face this problem you can:

Use flashcards. 

Play vocabulary games.

— Make learning new words interactively. For example, you can ask the learner to eat ice-cream while learning flavors.

Since children usually are not afraid of making mistakes, they do not care to correct and work on them.

It is really very good that your young learners do not hesitate to speak because of not knowing the words or grammar. Being afraid of making mistakes may hinder their fluency. However, they usually do not pay attention to their mistakes even when the teacher corrects them. One of the most useful techniques to use here is to ask them to correct their classmates’ mistakes after you have said the right version. This will help them concentrate their attention on the peers’ speech and mistakes, thus doing their best not to make them themselves.

Young learners get bored of the same type of activities and do not feel like doing them

If you see that your students are really bored of the activity and consequently they lose motivation and enthusiasm of learning the language, change the subject by going to recreational conversations, ask them to talk about anything that concerns them freely so as to get out of the atmosphere. You can also ask them to offer what they want to do, maybe there is an activity that they desire to do. It is much better to spend some more 5 minutes on their favorite task than to torture them with the ‘boring’ ones.

They have a lack of discipline

Not only parents but we as teachers are responsible for children’s discipline. In this respect, classroom management is really essential, because it regulates lots of important things in your classes and makes students acknowledge the rules. You can read about “Classroom management for young learners in our previous article”. Another thing that can be done to handle the problem is using settlers in your classroom. These activities motivate your young learners to sit down and be calm. They help you to establish a routine in your classroom.

Children have difficulties in switching to English

Since all other subjects children have at school are usually in their mother tongue, they encounter difficulties in switching to English. There is no English environment for them, except for English classes. You can ask their parents to create an artificial English environment at home, e.g. to put some English stickers on different objects, to listen to English songs, to watch cartoons, etc.

These were the main problems teachers usually face in primary school. But all problems have their solutions. And there is no need to fear.

Wish you amazing classes with your young learners!

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