Many EFL teachers say that they hate teaching children. Some even dread entering the classroom as they are scared the monsters will sooner or later overtake and create chaos impossible to control.
Although there surely are disadvantages of teaching Young Learners, I want to focus on all the good points today. So here we go, teaching children is fun because:
· They are honest and always tell u the truth, no matter how harsh it can be (Teacher, my grandma has the same scarf as you. Teacher you smell funny. Teacher…)
· They find it very difficult to keep a secret and as a result you may have the opportunity to learn a lot about their parents (My dad NEVER brushes his teeth in the morning.)
· They are largely unpredictable and you never know what they are up to
· They are not afraid of making mistakes and try speaking TL as much as they can
· You never know how the lesson with YLs will end. Somebody crying, somebody climbing up the walls, somebody looking for something in the garbage…
· They are extremely observant (Teacher - today you are wearing green eye shadow. Why?)
· Kids are curious of the world and eager to learn. My students, for example, love to learn where certain animals come from (So koalas come from Australia Africa ???)
· They are fascinated with facts about the world and love sharing their knowledge with the teacher (Did you know that ‘fire brigade’ begins with ‘f’? No! Really?)
· Kids would be the best journalists as they are not scared to ask any questions (Are you pregnant? How much do you earn?)
· They are easy to convince (If you are naughty, you’re gonna get a terrible stomach ache! Ok, I don’t say that but feel tempted very often.)
· They like sharing their secrets with you so you end up knowing who has a crush on who and that one of your students got a message from Hanna Montana on Facebook. Wow!
· They easily make you laugh. Most of the time.
· They give you a daily portion of exercise and help you keep fit – if you teach YLs, count how much of the classroom time you can actually spend sitting down!
I'd love to hear some nice stories from you as well :)
See, even writing about kids makes me smile :)
I'd love to hear some nice stories from you as well :)
See, even writing about kids makes me smile :)
How true!
ReplyDeleteActually, I've been having a tough time with a couple of kids classes recently and reading this has helped me focus a bit on the more positive side of teaching YLs. So, thanks.
I've only just come across your blog and I'm glad I have.
cheers
Richard
Hi Richard!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like my blog and good luck with yours - wishing you plenty of readers :)
I don't teach kids anymore (unfortunately) but I used to. What I liked the most about teaching kids is their love of the absurd. Once I figured out kids love weird stuff, the lessons were a breeze.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I'd tell them they had to go to the front of the class and stand on one leg while reading out the answer to an exercise, or tell them every time they made a mistake they had to stand on their chair and shout out; "I'm a big yellow banana". Or I'd tell them in today's class we have to balance a book on our heads every time we want to speak (the teacher too). The more surreal the better.
I miss that.