[AloraAnn]

Hi everyone, I would be grateful for some tips on teaching ESL to 8 year olds on a one to one basis. My main area is listening and speaking.

[susan53]

Hi - If I were you I would get a good book for kids of that age and level and use that as the basis of the course. You don't say how much experience you've had, but if you're newish to teaching or to teaching kids, that will take away the hardest part - deciding what and how much to teach and in what order. It should have lots of fun games, stories, songs and activities which you can then supplement with other games and so on which you'll find suggested on this site and others. Make sure it's got a good teacher's book, and use the suggestions that you find there to organise the lesson. The Teacher's Book will probably contain a set of flashcards, but if it doesn't you can download from here for suplementary activities.
Remember also that kids of that age can't necessarily sit still for long periods - use lots of action games, interspersed with "sitting-down" activities. And don't let activities go on too long - watch for "I've had enough" signs. But remember too that kids love repeating things. If you find a story that they like, they'll want to hear it again and again. The same if you find a game that they really enjoy. Keep these up your sleeve for if you see attention dropping, or as a reward for working well.
And finally don't expect miracles. Parents often imagine that if their child has an hour a week with a teacher, they'll be speaking fluently by the end of a few months. It doesn't happen like that. Be prepared to teach only small amounts of language in each lesson, and to have to recycle it a lot before it's assimilated.
Hope that's helpful.

[AloraAnn]

Hi Susan53, Thank you for your interest and help. I am very new to this. I started with an 11 year old and have worked with her for a year. Her English has come on so well that her parents recommended me to other parents. Now I have three eight year olds. I feel that I should now do a course but there seems to be so many out there, I'm not sure which one to do. I've looked at the Join Us course to use and wondered if that would help me with the lesson plan. I say lesson but I'm mainly concentrating on speaking and listening. We play games with a lot of speaking and repetition of colours, numbers etc. Doing the classes in English as much as I can with a little explanation in Spanish when needed.
The children laugh a lot and we have great fun so I'm hoping that I'm on the correct line.

[susan53]

Hi - if they're enjoying the lesson you're half way there, probably further . I don't know Join Us but I wonder if you mean Join In? I'd certainly recommend that. They fact that you're "only" doing speaking and listening doesn't mean you don't need a coherent syllabus and course plan, and that's what the book would give you. It takes a multiple intelligences approach, and I'm sure you'd find it useful, and fun. That doesn't mean you throw your games and other activities out the window of course - quite the opposite. But the book would help you decide what to do, and when to do it, as well as giving you ideas on how.

[livinginkorea]

Definitely like susan said use lots of action. Use lots of tpr and review here and there. Play some small games too and keep smiling! The student is so young so they will remember what their first English teacher was like

[AloraAnn]

Thanks for your help. The Join Us is the updated version of Join in so I will invest in the books and keep you posted on the progress.

[Eric]

Hello,

You can also listen to our show at ESL Teacher Talk.com. We dedicated an entire show to discussing teaching one on one classes with an emphasis on young learners.

Check it out here:
One on one classes

Eric

[susan53]

Have just come across this article which might give you some more ideas.

[AloraAnn]

Hello Sue,
Thanks for following through with help. I have bought the Join Us ( Join In) teachers books and intend to buy some more of the course to help with the lessons. The games and songs are going well and before Christmas we made cards with speaking practise as we made the cards.

I have bought the ebook from Shelley Vernon, it has lots of games and ideas but as yet I haven't used any.

Ann