Young Learner Characteristics:

Considerations for Planning and Teaching

Consultant Article by Lynn Durrant

Young Learner Characteristics:

Considerations for Planning and Teaching
Young learners refers to children from the ages of seven to eleven years old. In the last ten years the
demand for young learner classes has increased enormously, and many language schools have increased
their input due to this demand. However, a large amount of the teachers giving the classes have often
trained to be teachers of adults, but find themselves teaching at least two or three classes a week of this age
group.
As teachers, we may find ourselves with young learner groups that are very diverse on a cognitive and social
level, but whatever the age or differences they all have an enormous potential for learning and generally
depend on us, the teachers, for their contact with the target language and input. When teaching young
learners, our aims are dual-focused. We have the responsibility to teach them language and also to help
them learn how to learn. This means increasing opportunities for active involvement, encouraging
cooperation with their peers and creating a learning environment which provides the right conditions for
creative language use.
Having a knowledge of this age groups characteristics and needs can help teachers plan more relevant
classes as well as focus on providing more meaningful and memorable learning experiences for the
learners. To help us achieve relevant classes for children at this age we should keep the following points in
mind as these will help us promote learning and motivate the learners to learn more.

A relaxed and constructive atmosphere

Young learners need to feel comfortable and safe in their learning environment; they also need
opportunities to say what they want to say. We need to listen to their contributions and encourage
participation through individual, group and pair work.

Multisensory tasks
Multisensory tasks or activities are when the teacher focuses on teaching through different sensory
channels (auditory, visual and tactile/kinesthetic) within the same activity or topic, which then allows the
learner to learn through more than one sense. By using a multisensory approach you support different
learning styles and reach all the learners as well as providing variation of task type. This approach also
allows you to include repetition of vocabulary or language without it feeling repetitive. For example, if you
do a song, they can sing it, create a new verse then act it out, draw a picture to represent it, invent the
person who wrote it or invent their own task around it for other groups to do, then take a vote on which was
the easiest or the most difficult.

Topic-based teaching
At this age, especially at the younger end of the spectrum, learners find it difficult to understand abstract
concepts such as grammar. They need a concrete focus through topics such as animals, hobbies, family
and friends or school life. Language chunks can be integrated with the topic area so the learning is more
natural and communicative.

Creating the right balance

Many young learners are naturally noisy, curious, enjoy learning and can get excited, or even overexcited
when they are very motivated and immersed in an activity. Creating a balance can be achieved at the
planning stage by analysing the kind of activities they have to do; for example, when you have planned your
lesson, look through it and think about the following questions.

Have I planned a game towards the end of the lesson rather than at the beginning? (So they dont
get overexcited in the initial stages of the lesson).

Cambridge English Teacher Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment 2015

Young Learner Characteristics: Considerations for Planning and Teaching

Is there a balance of settling activities and stirring activities? (Settling activities are when the
children are usually quieter and calmer and not moving around the classroom such as drawing,
reading, listening to a story; Stirring activities can be drama, games or competitions where the
learners can be more physically active and lively.)
Have I included a good combination of individual, pair and group work?
Is there sufficient variety to maintain their attention?

Encouraging participation
Young learners enjoy participating but are unwilling to do this if they are not sure of what is expected of them.
An important aim of any lesson should be to encourage full involvement, in other words, all the learners
should be taking part whenever possible. Providing an open class example of an activity or task gives
support and shows the learners not only what to do but how, which helps confidence and encourages
participation. Providing an opportunity for full class participation by encouraging learners to work in pairs or
groups allows the children to work more independently.

Establishing routines
Young learners respond well to familiarity, as this factor helps to establish a safe and secure learning
environment. As we teach we are always creating different interaction patterns for the learners, for example,
in groups or pairs, or eliciting vocabulary or setting up a task. In all these we need the learners to pay
attention. This is a demanding process for a child, especially when we are also focusing on the linguistic
aims which, in general terms, is to encourage learner use of the target language throughout the lesson and
specifically to reach our lesson aim. We can help the learners stay focused by having procedures such as
regular classroom routines, clear behaviour rules and well thought out organisation of tasks, activities and
grouping.

Training the learners

In the accompanying video I mentioned that one of our responsibilities is to help the learners learn to learn.
Establishing appropriate behaviour from the learners, such as knowing when to listen, when its time to
concentrate, or when to make the most of their pair work, can be a hard task to achieve. Your learners need
a training period to establish the kind of respectful and organised environment that is needed if learning is
going to happen. On the part of the teacher, it requires time, patience and repetitive insistence. In other
words being persistent without being threatening. More experienced teachers can provide valuable advice
and guidance, so discuss with them ways in which they have trained their learners.

Developing confidence
Young learners respond well to challenge and one of the key characteristics of a successful learner is to be
aware and discover what they can do well and to identify areas they need to work on, therefore
encouraging them to think about ways to improve. Including short tasks which focus on self-evaluation
increases learners ability to discover what they can do well and increases self- awareness; a key factor to
enable improvement and growth in the learner.

References
Brumfit, C., Moon, J. & Tongue, R. (1990) Teaching English to Children. London: Collins. Cameron, Lynne
(2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Linse, C. & Nunan, D. (2005) Young Learners (Practical English Language Teaching series), New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Pinter, Anna Maria (2006) Teaching Young Language Learners, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cambridge English Teacher Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment 2015

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Cambridge University Press and Cambridge English Language Assessment 2015