Teaching kids is vastly different from teaching adults. Children’s attention spans are definitely shorter, they are more easily frustrated and their vocabulary even in their native language is quite limited. However, helping these kids learn a foreign language is also incredibly fulfilling and so to help teachers, we’ve compiled a list of ideas that can help you manage your young students.
- Prepare
Just like with teaching adults, teaching kids also requires enough preparation to do and while tenured teachers might be able to pull off an excellent class with minimal planning why risk a disaster if you can prepare beforehand?
- Prevent boredom
This is probably one of the most well-known tricks in teaching kids. A bored child makes an uninterested and frustrated student. To avoid this, you can use games, songs, and visual aids during lessons. This is particularly effective if paired with lessons taught in context, like playing a round of ‘Simon Says’ when learning about actions.
- Change things up
While some routines are good, make sure to keep your class alive by occasionally changing things up. Don’t play the same game or sing the same songs every day. Instead, try to introduce new activities from time to time.
- Maintain the smiles and encouragements
Keep on smiling and giving encouragements to your students. Be patient and instead of saying ‘That’s wrong.’ if they make a mistake, try saying, ‘That’s a good, but let’s try it this way.’ instead.
- Be ready to deal with parents
Children’s lessons are obviously set by their parents, and unlike in teaching adults, you have to be ready to deal with them. One good way is to go over your lesson plans and learning goals for the student or even giving them brief evaluations on where their children’s skills currently stand.
Those are just some of the tips in handling children’s lessons. Some people might think that teaching kids is an easy job, but what most don’t realize is the amount of effort, patience, and creativity it requires. Still, kids will definitely always amaze you and you might be surprised by how rewarding the experience could be.
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