How to kindle interest towards learning in kindergarten?

How to kindle interest towards learning in kindergarten?

Dec 11, 2018

How to kindle interest towards language learning in kindergarten?

When the purpose of schooling gravitates to the all round development of an individual, Preschool shave to facilitate it, by enhancing the grabbing ability of the kid. Learning process kick starts even before preschool, since when the child utters his/her first word, expressing their needs and understanding the impressions communicated in return. Thus, communication tends to be the foremost skill learned by the toddler and the one which has to be taught by elders and trainers.

‘Language acts as the medium to acquire knowledge’

A principle fact that trainers and parents should stay conscious about is, ‘a child can never receive the essence of a course until she/he understands the language.’ –   This makes language learning a prime factor in kindergarten.

As language learning carries such an importance, much concern has to be given to its development.

Here the recipients are kids;a common methodology is never applicable, as every kid is unique and requires an individualistic approach. Also an individual approach should not be forced on them, as it would degrade and diminish the interest towards learning.

And there arises a question.

How to kindle interest towards language learning in kindergarten?

A major concern across our country is the medium of instruction. English, being a foreign language, deems to be the initial hindrance when introduced to a kid. Unless the kid acquires the knowledge of metal language (the words and phrases used to describe a language itself) and is capable of relating things to his/her mother tongue, he/she may not be able to have a grip on any other languages.

So, the foremost effort could be speaking in their mother tongue at home and introducing number of vocabulary to the kids. This remains to be a responsibility to the parents, and could be followed for the initial time span at kindergarten. This would help them to start learning a new language.

Teaching alphabets remains to be the standard system with practices given in phonetics. But innovative attempts could be made so that the kid clutches them with ease.

A simple and exciting way to recognize alphabets could be by reading their names and those of their friends’. As a daily exercise the learners could be asked to mark the roll, by calling the names and putting a tick alongside. Everyday each child could be asked to do the roll call. With this activity the child would be able to know the names of his/her classmate and most importantly could learn alphabets and phonetics effectively.

Similarly, labeled books of students could be collected in a place, and ask the children to pick their book. By this they might read each letter and names, take the one that belongs to them and also help their classmates identify theirs. These exercises would help in recognizing the alphabets without any complications. Teachers could assist the learners during these activities.

Adopt Structured Vocabulary Learning.

Design a theme when teaching words to children. Avoid teaching isolated content words. Referring to discrete words would confuse the kid and would be hard to recall. Theme based vocabulary learning will attract kids and induce them to learn.

For instance, after learning alphabets instead of teaching them random words like apple, ball, cat, etc, captivating sentences or themes could be used.

Example: An Ant Bites a Cherry and Dances with an Elephant in the Forest Going High In Joy, being Kind and Lovely as they Move Nicely On a Plane, Quickly watching a RaccoonSitting on a Treetop Using a Violin and Watching a X-mas tree near a Yacht with a Zebra.

This would help the children learn more vocabulary, sentence formation and also recall the alphabets with phonetics.

Building words

Group activity would extend a friendly environment for learning.Building blocks labeled with different words could be given to a group. Specify a word and direct the children to pick the particular block. Let them assemble it accordingly into a predetermined shape. By this, the learners would search for the words and in turn learn a lot of other words before they pick the right one. This simple building block activity can instill concentration and interest in learning.

Object Description

Rather than teaching the names of an object, describing the object could be an engaging technique to teach vocabulary. Select any random object that’s been commonly used by the children for the purpose of description.

Example:   ‘Pencil’

‘We use pencils to write’

‘We carry pencils in a stationary box’ – the names of various stationary items could be introduced with this.

‘We use colour pencils to draw’ – such a way different colours could be introduced, by displaying varied coloured pencils.

By this methodology, instead of just teaching the name ‘pencil’, we describe it. This would envelop more vocabulary around language learning.

Succeeding the vocabulary and phonetics, children should be trained in speaking skills.

While much of the verbal communication develops naturally, plenty of opportunities to talk in varied situations should be given in kindergarten. A dramatic play is a preferable beginning. A playful script and pre-assigned dialogues will provide them ample space to practice speaking.

Most parents wonder about ways in which they could develop their kids’ language. A simple fact that holds the answer is ‘Social Interaction’.

Social interactions help to develop language, and in turn, language will build relationships and interpersonal skills. As the child gets more chances to talk to varied people they tend to learn various responses and would get much clarity in their language. This is an effortless way in which parents can help improve their child’s language. But, they should take concern over the people and the environment where they let their child socialize.

Listening fuels speaking.

In order to speak, let the child listen. Although they may know a number of words, their language may not be understandable until they know the right pronunciation. Let them listen to various cartoons, movies, play, etc. By this children would learn phonetics with interest.

Children read from memory.

Children can only understand a story.  When given a book, they cannot read every word as given. Instead they read it from their memory with the help of pictures.

So there is an effective way to induce reading.

Select a familiar book and recite a story to the children. Make sure the story is recited in the best possible way. An animated video would be much effective. Have a book with the same story which is adequately represented by pictures. Keep the book open in an inviting position at home or at school, this will induce children to read the book. Parents can pretend as if they don’t know the story and ask the children to recite it; children will obviously try to tell the story.

Explain all details while reading a text.

For instance, if a text reads “An Elephant walks up the hill.”  Describe each word. Give them a clear picture of what an Elephant is, how it looks like, difference between up and down, and talk to them about a hill. Every child may not be able to grab all the detail, but can take as much information as possible.

All these measures would yield maximum result in training a kid in a language.

Vocal Support

This is a crucial part in teaching a language to the kid. This isn’t a predetermined course or action but can happen at any instance when the child speaks.

When a child speaks, it may take a longer time to complete a sentence or convey a message. This is because the child has to think for the exact word that has to be put in place. Each child takes his/her own time to retrieve words from their memory. The listeners, either the teachers or parents have to give them enough time to think. Any kind of interruption will take away their chance to think the word.

Reaction to the child’s speech is another crucial part. The listeners have to pay full attention to the kids. Diverting attention is an act of discouragement and deprives the child from continuing. Expressing facial reaction similar to that of the kid, at that point of time would encourage them to talk further.

When a child commits mistakes while speaking, never stop them. Let them complete the sentence and give them a reply and correct their mistake without embarrassing them.

Example:  If the child says: “she gived me a pencil.”

Reply them like “Who gave you the pencil?”

All these will let child speak without self-restriction and without the fear of committing mistakes.

Language development is the first step for a child to begin his/her learning. Kindergarten would be the best and effective period to develop this skill in kids.