[aelfred]

Hello,
I'm teaching children aged 4-6 but I've got no books, no worsheets, almost no flashcards, so it's very hard to create an interesting lesson. I know only few songs and rhymes but they're too difficult for them to learn. I'm responsible for the whole shape of the course and unfortunately my budget is very low for this purpose. Could anyone give me some tips, links/links to the literature on teaching very young learners? I'm thinking especially about Lynn Cameron 'Teaching Languages to Young Learners', Philips 'Young Learners' or Scott&Ytreberg 'Teaching English to Children'. I'm wondering if there are some people here who could share these books or any other ideas? I'd be grateful. Adrianne.

[alawton]

Hello,

Sounds like you have your hands full. I am stressed for you! I don't know of any specific ESL links for kids, since I teach adults, but there are plenty out there. Go to Google and type "ESL activities for kids". You will probably be overwhelmed with sites.

To start you off you could have the children lable things in the classroom. Teach them the basic nouns and have them make index cards that they can tape to the objects. You can make a game of concentration with these same words and index cards. Have the students draw a picture for each word they learn. Good luck!

[mesmark]

Here is a site that's designed for teachers in your exact situation:
MES-English.com

- flashcards, games, videos, phonics resources, a no-textbook curriculum, worksheets and more

[Pix]

Hello Aelfred

For 4 to 6 year olds stories, make-believe and songs are the way to go.

I have a complete curriculum for that age group with games to teach the language, stories, songs to go with the stories, and masks to cut out and colour of the characters.

There are also all the vocabulary flashcards you need, plus story illustrations and for each story there are lesson plans.

Because it is a downloadable resource it is highly affordable. The songs can be sent by post if you prefer on a CD, or by download for immediate access.

To test it all out I give away a free mini-series from my site of pre-story games, the story, ideas for after the story and the matching song.

Do do check it out from this page:
Preschool ESL: Games, activities and stories

Also for that age group plays and skits are fun and there is a free one of those on my plays page. You would use games from this website, or my preschool games book that comes with the stories to pre-teach the main vocabulary in the skit. You put it together gradually over a series of lessons, say ten minutes per lesson on the skit and the rest of the lesson doing other things such as vocabulary games, songs with actions, hearing a story, taking part in the story telling, and so on.

Once you get into it you will soon find out that teaching kids is WAY more fun than boring adults!

Kind regards
Shelley