Primary
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Primary education is the first stage of compulsory education. It is preceded by pre-school or nursery education and is followed by secondary education. In North America, this stage of education is usually known as elementary education and i s generally followed by middle school. In most countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education, t hough in many jurisdictions it is permissible for parents to provide it. The tra nsition to secondary school or high school is somewhat arbitrary, but it general ly occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some educational systems have separate middle schools with the transition to the final stage of education taki ng place at around the age of fourteen. The major goals of primary education are achieving basic literacy and numeracy a mongst all pupils, as well as establishing foundations in science, mathematics, geography, history and other social sciences. The relative priority of various a reas, and the methods used to teach them, are an area of considerable political debate. Typically, primary education is provided in schools, where the child will stay i n steadily advancing classes until they complete it and move on to high school/s econdary school. Children are usually placed in classes with one teacher who wil l be primarily responsible for their education and welfare for that year. This t eacher may be assisted to varying degrees by specialist teachers in certain subj ect area often music or physical education. The continuity with a single teacher and the opportunity to build up a close relationship with the class is a notabl e feature of the primary education system. Traditionally, various forms of corporal punishment have been an integral part o f early education. Recently this practice has come under attack, and in many cas es been outlawed, especially in Western countries. In the United States the first stage of compulsory education is generally known as elementary education. It takes place in elementary schools which usually inco rporate the first five or six grades and sometimes include a kindergarten. Eleme ntary schools in the US are also known as grade schools or grammar schools. In s ome schools, teachers utilize a "looping system" where the same teacher teaches the same group of students for two years. For example, a third-grade class may h ave one teacher who would teach those students for an entire year, then that tea cher would teach fourth-grade the next year, and thereby teach the same class ag ain. The teacher would then revert back to the third grade the following year to start the process all over again with a different group of students. Over the past few decades, schools in the USA have been testing various arrangem ents which break from the one-teacher, one-class model. Multi-age programs, wher e children in different grades (e.g. Kindergarten through to second grade) share the same classroom and teachers, is one increasingly popular alternative to tra ditional elementary instruction. Another alternative is that children might have a main class and go to another teacher's room for one subject, such as science, while the science teacher's main class will go to the other teacher's room for another subject, such as social studies. This could be called a two-teacher, two -class mould, or a rotation, similar to the concept of teams in junior high scho ol. Another method is to have the children have one set of classroom teachers in the first half of the year, and a different set of classroom teachers in the se cond half of the year. Primary school A primary school (from French école primaire[1]) is an institution in which childr en receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementar y education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educationa l, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[2] In some countries, and esp ecially in North America, the term elementary school is preferred. Children gene rally attend primary school from around the age of four or five until the age of eleven or twelve. Teachers of English as a second language, here or overseas, need to know a few s
imple methods to overcome the language barrier with their students. Teaching English to speakers of other languages is both challenging and rewardin g. More and more internationally minded people are choosing to teach English as a Second Language both in the United States and abroad. Whether in the United St ates, another English-speaking country, or in countries around the world, the te acher of English as a second language will need to keep in mind the following si mple guidelines: - Use non-verbal cues. Facial expressions, hand gestures, and other non-verbal c ues are a great way to overcome the language barrier. For example, when explaini ng the concept of tall, raise your hand high into the air. When explaining the c oncept of cold, shiver and chatter your teeth. - Use visual aids. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is pa rticularly true when teaching English as a second language. Visual aids can be u sed to teach everything from vocabulary to prepositions. In addition to instruct ional advantages, visuals keep lessons interesting for the learners. If possible , get access to an overhead or slide projector for effective presentations. - Put students in groups. If the teacher is constantly talking, learners of Engl ish as a second language will never get a chance to practice. Group work gives s tudents an opportunity to practice the language. Groups work the best with 2 to 5 people; with any more people, not everyone gets a chance to participate. It is also a good idea to group students with different first languages together when possible. - Use bi-lingual materials. If the teacher speaks the same language(s) as the st udents, the situation will be greatly simplified. But not many teachers have the luxury of speaking the same language(s) of his/her students. Bi-lingual materia ls can help a teacher of English as a second language to draw on a student's nat ive language without knowing it him/herself. - Repeat and rephrase. Teachers of English as a second language need to repeat e verything at least three times. They should also vary the wording of their remar ks. A student may know one set of vocabulary but not another - even when the top ic of discussion is the same. Even if the student does understand a concept upon first explanation, he/she will still benefit from the repetition and variation of language. It will expose him/her to new words and phrases. - Don't over-correct. Our first instinct as teachers of English as a second lang uage is to correct student language errors. Over-correction, however, can make s tudents reluctant to use the language. If afraid of being corrected every time t hey speak, students will simply stop speaking - and therefore learning - the lan guage. Of course, there are appropriate times to correct language mistakes. If a concept - for example the past tense - has been discussed at length in class, i t is appropriate to correct students when they form the past tense improperly. - Create a safe atmosphere. Learning English as a second language is not an easy thing emotionally. Students will feel self-conscious about their lack of Englis h ability and will thus be reluctant to use the language. The job of the teacher of English as a second language is to create a safe and supportive environment, one in which the student will be comfortable experimenting with the language. T hat means that laughing at or putting down others can not be tolerated in any wa y, shape, or form. Good luck with all of your teaching plans! English Language Teaching Methodology · An overview of ELT Methodology that lists definitions for concepts such as metho dology, approach, method, curriculum/syllabus and technique. · What are principles of language learning? How and why should overall "principles " guide our teaching? · Detailed summaries of various language teaching methods developed and used over the past century, including the Grammar Translation Method, the Direct Method, t he Audiolingual Method, Community Language Teaching, the Silent Way, Suggestoped
ia, Total Physical Response, and the Natural Approach. For each method there is an explanation of objectives, key features, typical techniques and also some com ments/critiques from English Raven based on personal experience/opinion. · An explanation of the current "norm" in the field: Communicative Language Teachi ng. This includes the types of learning generally associated with CLT. · An overview for the well-known PPP Approach to Communicative Language Teaching.
· Brief overviews of the age factors that need to be considered when developing cl assroom techniques and some theories on how and why teachers ought to experiment with teaching methods. · A listing of resources and books referred to in these pages, and some links to o ther useful on-line sources.
Structure Overview: Family structures
imple methods to overcome the language barrier with their students. Teaching English to speakers of other languages is both challenging and rewardin g. More and more internationally minded people are choosing to teach English as a Second Language both in the United States and abroad. Whether in the United St ates, another English-speaking country, or in countries around the world, the te acher of English as a second language will need to keep in mind the following si mple guidelines: - Use non-verbal cues. Facial expressions, hand gestures, and other non-verbal c ues are a great way to overcome the language barrier. For example, when explaini ng the concept of tall, raise your hand high into the air. When explaining the c oncept of cold, shiver and chatter your teeth. - Use visual aids. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is pa rticularly true when teaching English as a second language. Visual aids can be u sed to teach everything from vocabulary to prepositions. In addition to instruct ional advantages, visuals keep lessons interesting for the learners. If possible , get access to an overhead or slide projector for effective presentations. - Put students in groups. If the teacher is constantly talking, learners of Engl ish as a second language will never get a chance to practice. Group work gives s tudents an opportunity to practice the language. Groups work the best with 2 to 5 people; with any more people, not everyone gets a chance to participate. It is also a good idea to group students with different first languages together when possible. - Use bi-lingual materials. If the teacher speaks the same language(s) as the st udents, the situation will be greatly simplified. But not many teachers have the luxury of speaking the same language(s) of his/her students. Bi-lingual materia ls can help a teacher of English as a second language to draw on a student's nat ive language without knowing it him/herself. - Repeat and rephrase. Teachers of English as a second language need to repeat e verything at least three times. They should also vary the wording of their remar ks. A student may know one set of vocabulary but not another - even when the top ic of discussion is the same. Even if the student does understand a concept upon first explanation, he/she will still benefit from the repetition and variation of language. It will expose him/her to new words and phrases. - Don't over-correct. Our first instinct as teachers of English as a second lang uage is to correct student language errors. Over-correction, however, can make s tudents reluctant to use the language. If afraid of being corrected every time t hey speak, students will simply stop speaking - and therefore learning - the lan guage. Of course, there are appropriate times to correct language mistakes. If a concept - for example the past tense - has been discussed at length in class, i t is appropriate to correct students when they form the past tense improperly. - Create a safe atmosphere. Learning English as a second language is not an easy thing emotionally. Students will feel self-conscious about their lack of Englis h ability and will thus be reluctant to use the language. The job of the teacher of English as a second language is to create a safe and supportive environment, one in which the student will be comfortable experimenting with the language. T hat means that laughing at or putting down others can not be tolerated in any wa y, shape, or form. Good luck with all of your teaching plans! English Language Teaching Methodology · An overview of ELT Methodology that lists definitions for concepts such as metho dology, approach, method, curriculum/syllabus and technique. · What are principles of language learning? How and why should overall "principles " guide our teaching? · Detailed summaries of various language teaching methods developed and used over the past century, including the Grammar Translation Method, the Direct Method, t he Audiolingual Method, Community Language Teaching, the Silent Way, Suggestoped
ia, Total Physical Response, and the Natural Approach. For each method there is an explanation of objectives, key features, typical techniques and also some com ments/critiques from English Raven based on personal experience/opinion. · An explanation of the current "norm" in the field: Communicative Language Teachi ng. This includes the types of learning generally associated with CLT. · An overview for the well-known PPP Approach to Communicative Language Teaching.
· Brief overviews of the age factors that need to be considered when developing cl assroom techniques and some theories on how and why teachers ought to experiment with teaching methods. · A listing of resources and books referred to in these pages, and some links to o ther useful on-line sources.
Structure Overview: Family structures
