Teaching language and literacy is one of the crucial tasks of preschool teachers. Based on the knowledge obtained at a very young age, children will build their further education. Teaching a foreign language to preschoolers presents a lot of challenges to educators. Not only teacher’s knowledge and experience make up a beneficial teaching and learning environment. Lesson planning is an essential part of the successful implementation of education techniques and methodologies. A good lesson plan allows the teacher to manage his/her work successfully and make the lesson most beneficial for the pupils.
Taking into consideration the requirements to lesson planning, we can see that a suggested English lesson plan (see Appendix A) has some drawbacks which restrict it from fulfilling the objectives of foreign language teaching. The limitations of this plan will be discussed further, and a refined lesson plan will be proposed.
Time of Implementation
According to ACTFL’s Performance descriptors for language learning, timing is a crucial element of productive lesson planning (The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages [ACTFL], 2012). A thirty-minute lesson is a good idea for such young learners as the K-1 class. The children in such a class are three years old, and a longer lesson might make them bored and discouraged in learning. However, this is probably the only positive thing concerning timing in the suggested lesson plan. Two major drawbacks are present in this plan: the first one is associated with the time assigned for the chosen theme, and the second one is connected with the time-division between various lesson procedures.
Let us consider the first problem. The theme of the proposed lesson is “Animals.” Besides, the teacher included the rainbow picture poster in the materials for the lesson, which means that he/she is planning to engage the children in coloring. Taking into consideration that the names of some animals are too difficult for Chinese children to pronounce, it seems that more than only one lesson should be dedicated to teaching this theme. It is noted by the scholars that the three-year-old children have a vocabulary of nearly one thousand words (Vukelich, Christie, Enz, & Roskos, 2015). However, such words as “hippopotamus,” “giraffe,” “elephant,” “flamingo,” and some others may present a serious difficulty for very young pupils. Therefore, I would propose to dedicate at least two lessons to this theme.
The second time-concerned drawback of the suggested lesson plan is its time division between the various lesson phases. Out of the total lesson duration, which is thirty minutes, fifteen minutes are planned for only one activity – learning the sounds ‘a,’ ‘b,’ and ‘c.’ Further, five minutes are allowed for learning the word ‘animals’ and learning the names of the animals each. With the three minutes allocated for greeting, this leaves us with twenty-eight minutes divided between various lesson procedures, two minutes allocated nowhere, and two tasks with no time division at all. Thus, the time division of the plant produces a lot of questions. First of all, it seems unnecessary to spend as many as fifteen minutes on a single activity. Three-year-old children cannot concentrate on one kind of activity for such a long time. They will soon feel bored, and the teacher will most likely lose their attention.
Objectives of the Activity
A good English lesson plan should incorporate such goals the fulfillment of which would lead to children’s acquisition of the core language learning activities: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. According to Byrnes and Wasik (2009), educators have a better chance to achieve their instructional objectives when they have a thorough comprehension of their pupils’ learning needs and possibilities as well as their state of mind. In our case, a teacher should realize the pupils’ learning goals in connection with their age specifications and the fact that English is their second language. The suggested plan includes the objectives aimed at the development of speaking and writing skills. The tasks “children can name all the animals in the zoo” and “children can sound out ‘a,’ ‘b,’ and ‘a’” are designed to improve the pupils’ speaking skills. The tasks “children can spell the word ‘animals’” and “children can write in a full sentence, ‘I have seen an X (animal name) in the zoo’” are supposed to develop the writing skills of the pupils. However, two important skills – listening and reading – are omitted in the plan. Furthermore, even though speaking and writing objectives are present in the lesson scheme, they are not designed properly.
What concerns writing objectives, they are too advanced for three-year-olds. The plan suggests that “children can write in full sentences,” whereas such young children do not have sufficient writing skills for fulfilling this task (Vukelich et al., 2015). The same comment may be given to the objective “children can spell the word ‘animals’.” K1 class pupils are too young to spell the words. Their writing skills are limited by tracing the separate letters or short words, but these pupils cannot write long sentences or spell words yet. Machado (2013) emphasizes that the schoolchildren should receive “input that is not only comprehensible, but that is just slightly beyond his or her current level of competence.” However, expecting class K1 to spell long words and write in full sentences cannot be considered “slightly beyond” (Machado, 2013). These expectations are much higher than the children’s competence level.
The lack of objectives dedicated to the development of listening and reading skills is another serious defect of the proposed lesson plan. As Machado (2013) mentions, a productive “early childhood curriculum for second-language” should present numerous and various possibilities for listening and speaking which provide scaffolding as a basis for the pupils’ learning process development (p. 109). Also, the author mentions that the curriculum has to stimulate the pupils “to take risks while speaking” (Machado, 2012, p. 109). While speaking opportunities are present in the lesson objectives, listening skills are not given proper attention.
Reading might present difficulties for three-year-old children, but the teacher should encourage this activity. Unfortunately, there are no reading objectives indicated in the plan, which is a crucial mistake. Castro, Páez, Dickinson, and Frede (2011) remark that reading occupies the major place in constructing the pupils’ academic accomplishment. Castro et al. (2011) consider reading an essential instructional objective in preschool education. The authors suggest that reading comprehension is easier to attain when the children can decode the unfamiliar lexemes. To make the process of decoding simpler, Castro et al. (2011) recommend developing phonemic awareness – “the ability to attend to phonemes, knowledge of letters, and the association between graphemes and phonemes” (p. 15). As we can see, the suggested lesson plan does not provide any objectives connected with the development of phonemic awareness or decoding skills.
Another general comment about the lesson plan’s objectives is that they all concentrate on the form (“name the animals,” “spell the words,” “sound out the letters”) rather than meaning. Meanwhile, for the children at the age of three, the meaning is much more interesting than form. Therefore, the lesson should be more concentrated on everyday activities and not on the formal tasks which cause the lack of interest in the lesson. Paradis and Kirova (2014) suggest that to encourage the children’s connections between school and home activities, the teacher needs to explore the pupils’ “home language environment” (p. 342). Such exploration, according to the scholars, will make it possible to anticipate the individual divergences in pupils’ English mastery (Paradis & Kirova, 2014). Huennekens and Xu (2010) also note the significance of home reading experience in the process of acquisition of a second language. Moreover, the authors remark that home settings and the child’s behavior and desire to learn are closely associated (Huennekens & Xu, 2010). Thus, the plan’s objectives fail to demonstrate the concentration on meaning, which makes the plan not suitable for the discussed age group.
Procedures
As well as the objectives, the procedures presented in the lesson do not incorporate all the necessary activities. The plan consists of six activities. The first one is greeting, which is rather proper for the beginning of the lesson. However, the second thing a teacher suggests to do is to learn the word “animals.” This sequence does not seem suitable, as a significant element of a preschool lesson plan is missing – the warm-up activity. Three-year-olds need to move to let some of their energy burst out and keep them attentive at the lesson. Thus, a warm-up should be included in every lesson. This procedure should combine the learning element with the active element (for instance, chanting or singing and repeating some words while making some energetic movements).
The next few procedures are rather boring for such young pupils: learning the words, asking and answering the questions, and spelling. Such procedures should be interrupted by some more exciting tasks to keep the children focused on the lesson.
The lesson plan is not written logically. In the middle of the lesson, the teacher explains the home task. This is a bad idea since the home task should be explained at the end of the lesson. Finally, the lesson lacks the evaluation element, which is also a rather negative feature. Evaluation is an essential part of every lesson.
Dixon et al. (2012) note the importance of dedicating enough time to cultivating children’s literacy. The authors emphasize the exceptional role of designing a consistent lesson plan incorporating all the necessary procedures for the development of pupils’ literacy and other important skills (Dixon et al., 2012).
Evaluation
Another flaw in the proposed lesson plan is the absence of such vital elements as evaluating the pupils’ achievements. Assessment plays a crucial role in the lesson as it allows encouraging the children for future endeavors and raises their self-esteem (Machado, 2013). It is necessary to spend a few minutes at the end of the lesson telling the children what they did best and what they need to practice more. As research results show, pupils who have a positive disposition and a strong inspiration are more likely to succeed in second language learning (Dixon et al., 2012). The teacher can emphasize the achievements of the particular pupils or the whole class. Finally, the evaluation makes it possible for even very young children to learn about the lesson procedure. If a teacher pays attention to evaluation at the end of every lesson, the children will realize the structure of the lesson better. Therefore, a crucial mistake of this lesson plan is the absence of an evaluation procedure in it.
Conclusion
The analyzed lesson plan has some positive features but also lacks many crucial elements. Not all of the activities have been included, the timing is incorrect, the children’s age peculiarities have not been taken into consideration while creating some tasks, and little attention has been paid to make the lesson not only informative but also active and entertaining. A refined lesson plan divides the topic into two lessons, enriches it with entertaining and educational activities, includes all four literacy skills, and aims at developing the pupils’ imagination and creativity while teaching them a foreign language.
A Refined Lesson Plan
- The age group of class: K1
- Background of the children: All of them speak Cantonese as their first language
- Number of children: 15
- Activity Venue: Classroom
- Total time of implementation: 2 days (30 minutes each day)
- Objectives of the activity:
- Knowledge: Children can name the animals in the zoo and on the farm;
- Skills: Children can chant small chants with letters ‘a,’ ‘b,’ and ‘c’;
- Children can trace the letters and insert a missing letter in a word;
- Children can read short words after learning to recognize the letters from the chants;
- Children can pretend to be different animals and guess what animals other children are.
- Attitude: Children enjoy roleplaying and chanting, they love to be active at the lesson.
- Materials: paper, pencil, word cards (color), picture cards (animals)
Day 1
Procedures:
Greeting (2 minutes)
The teacher invites the children to sing a “Good Morning” song.
Warm-up (3 minutes)
The teacher invites the pupils to dance to a rhythmic song and repeat the final word of every line (for example, “we are going to the ZOO/lots of fun for me and YOU/we are traveling by BUS /do you want to come with the US?”).
Listening and speaking (5 minutes)
The teacher invites the pupils to listen to two animals’ names. Then he/she divides the class into two groups and invites each group to repeat one animal name. The group which says the name louder wins.
Speaking and reading (6 minutes)
The teacher invites the pupils to read short words (dog, cow, horse, cat, duck, fish). They repeat them together and clap after each word. Then, the teacher chooses to separate children to read words.
Reading and writing (6 minutes)
The pupils read small chants following the teacher (for example, “B, B, big brown bird”). Then they do two writing exercises: 1) they circle the letter ‘b’; 1) they fill in the missing letter ‘b’. Similar exercises are created for practicing sounds ‘a’ and ‘c’.
Speaking and guessing. Game time (5 minutes)
The teacher chooses a child and shows him/her a picture of an animal. The child has to pretend to be that animal (move like it, produce a sound), and other children need to guess what animal it is. The one who guesses first is the next one to pretend.
Explaining the home task (1 minute)
The teacher asks the pupils to repeat the chants at home with the help of their parents; the children are required to draw their favorite animal or bring a photo with it.
Evaluation and summing up (2 minutes)
The teacher sums up what achievements the children have gained at the lesson and praises them for having done a great job. He/she reiterates how important the topic is and how good it is to remember the new words and sounds. Together, the teacher and the pupils sing the “Goodbye” song.
Day 2
Procedures:
Greeting (2 minutes)
The teacher invites the children to sing a “Good Morning” song.
Warm-up (3 minutes)
The teacher invites the pupils to dance to a rhythmic song and repeat the final word of every line (for example, “we are going to the FARM / there are cows in the BARN/pigs and horses, cats and DOGS / we can hear little FROGS”).
Listening and speaking. Revising colors (5 minutes)
The teacher invites the pupils to listen to two animals’ names. Then he/she shows a card with the color and asks the children to choose the animal corresponding to that color.
Reading and speaking (5 minutes)
The teacher invites the pupils to read animal names (lion, pig, hippo, giraffe, horse, cat, dog). They repeat them together and clap after each word. Then, the teacher chooses pupils to read words one by one, and other pupils to say whether the animal lives in the zoo or on the farm.
Reading, writing and matching (7 minutes)
The pupils read animal names in one column and colors in the other. Then they have to trace the first letter in every word and match the animals with colors.
Speaking and guessing. Game time (5 minutes)
The teacher divides the pupils into two teams. Then the teacher asks a pupil from one team to describe his/her favorite animal (big/small, zoo/farm, good/.bad, color). The other team tries to guess what animal is being described. In the end, the child shows the picture or a photo of the animal, and the team gets a score if they guessed correctly. Then, the teams switch positions.
Explaining the home task (1 minute)
The teacher asks the pupils to do small writing and reading task at home with the help of their parents: they are given cards with animals’ names with missed letters ‘a,’ ‘b,’ and ‘c’ (for example,…at (cat), …ow (cow), r…t (rat) and are required to fill in the letters. The reading task consists of two-word phrases which the children are required to read with their parents and repeat (green frog, big horse, clean pig).
Evaluation and summing up (2 minutes)
The teacher sums up what achievements the children have gained at the lesson and praises them for having done a great job. He/she reiterates how important the topic is and how good it is to remember the new words and sounds. Together, the teacher and the pupils sing the “Goodbye” song.
Appendix A
References
Byrnes, J. P., & Wasik, B. A. (2009). Language and literacy development: What educators need to know. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Castro, D. C., Páez, M. M., Dickinson, D. K., & Frede, E. (2011). Promoting language and literacy in young dual language learners: Research, practice, and policy. Child Development Perspectives, 5(1), 15-21.
Dixon, L. Q., Zhao, J., Shin, J.-Y., Wu, S., Su, J.-H., Burgess-Brigham, R.,… Snow, C. (2012). What we know about second language acquisition: A synthesis from four perspectives. Review of Educational Research, 82(1), 5-60.
Huennekens, M. E., & Xu, Y. (2010). Effects of a cross-linguistic storybook intervention on the second language development of two preschool English language learners. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38(1), 19-26.
Machado, J. M. (2013). Early childhood experience in language arts (11th ed.). Boston, MA: CENGAGE Learning.
Paradis, J., & Kirova, A. (2014). English second-language learners in preschool: Profile effects in their English abilities and the role of home language environment. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38(4) 342-349.
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. (2012). Performance descriptors for language learners. Alexandria, VA: ACTFL.
Vukelich, C., Christie, J., Enz, B. J., & Roskos, K. A. (2015). Helping young children learn language and literacy: Birth through kindergarten (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.