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Teaching EFL in a kindergarten I chose this subject as it is one in which I have the most experience having taught predominantly in Kindergartens in China for the previous two years. I taught in a number of schools and each one presented different problems and scenarios but all were rewarding in various ways. In China the Kindergarten teachers role is varied, you must be a teacher, a singer/musician, a diplomat (when dealing with parents) and a clown. When I first realized that I was expected to fulfill these roles I was very nervous but as time progressed these came more naturally and I learned that by just relaxing and enjoying these different ?hats? my situation became a lot easier. I would say the biggest difference between teaching Kindergarten age children and older ones is the emphasis on fun, all lessons regardless of age should include fun elements but with this age group it is much more important. Kindergarten age children have shorter attention spans than older children and if a section of a lesson is too long invariably you will see them start to squirm in their seats and find other ways to amuse themselves, by involving the whole class in activities as often as possible and keeping each section of the lesson to a reasonable length of time this problem can be alleviated. Fun can be had in many different ways and there are numerous options for presenting this which a good teacher will use to make their lessons as interesting and stimulating as possible. Group singing, using physical actions, word and physical games, artwork and short dramas are just a few of the many activities which can be incorporated into lessons to make the learning experience more enjoyable and productive for young learners. In my experience flashcards, Power-point presentations (if you are lucky enough to have a large TV in the classroom), puppets, wall posters and storybooks are all teaching aids that have proved to be very useful for classroom teaching. Young learners can present more problems with regard to discipline and unwanted behavior than older learners so it is imperative that the teacher is able to maintain their composure and not show anger or frustration in the face of these problems. Patience is a huge factor when dealing with Kindergarten age kids and I personally feel that after my experiences teaching them I have drastically increased my patience levels! Some of the problems with students that an EFL teacher in a Kindergarten may experience are: -attention seeking, -disruptive behavior, -non co-operation, I will address these problems below and explain causes and methods for dealing with them: -A problem that an EFL teacher of young learners will often come across is that of attention seeking behavior in the students. If not dealt with correctly this can become an issue and these children can become very disruptive, quite often these kids are the brightest ones in the class and if they find the lessons too easy or moving too slowly they will resort to annoying other children or talking loudly. By providing these kids with other things to do such as making them table monitors or giving them tasks to do at certain points in the day (collecting storybooks after a reading session) they will feel that they are valued and have a role to play. - Disruptive behavior can manifest itself in a number of ways be it persistently talking loudly, bothering other children or damaging property. Often by taking the child aside and asking them why they are behaving that way the teacher can gain a little understanding of the way they are thinking from their responses even if they don?t give a straightforward answer. Disciplining the child by isolating them from the group for a short period or withholding pleasurable activities from them can often be the solution to these problems. -Children may be un co-operative for a number of reasons, shyness is usually the main one and this can be helped by giving more pair based activities or in small groups. In my experience some of the shyest kids at the start of the year have become the loudest by the end!
