Guest writers

[Т А Кузнецова]

Guest writers.

British Council often invites interesting people to share their experience with other teachers.

This month you can meet Carol Read who is known to everybody who teaches young learners. You can find more from the web-site www.teachingenglish.org.uk

Here is an extract from the article by Carol Read

Three wishes - and how to make them come true!

As teachers of children, we often have three wishes. We want children to:

• be happy and enjoy our lessons

• behave in an appropriate way

• learn as much English as possible.

These wishes reflect three ingredients which are vital for teaching and learning success.

Developing positive self-esteem

For children to 'be happy' cannot not refer to spheres of their lives over which we have no control, such as what may go on at home. Nevertheless, we can play a key role in developing children’s positive self-esteem during lessons. Self-esteem is based on:

• a sense of security – feeling safe and not threatened.

• a sense of identity – knowing who you are.

• a sense of belonging – feeling part of your community.

• a sense of purpose – having reasons for doing things.

• a sense of personal competence – having a belief in your ability to do things.

Young children are still in the process of constucting their self-image. The significant people in their world have a vital role in influencing this. If children feel they are respected and valued, this finds reflection in the positive way they see themselves. If children meet a negative response from people in the world around them, this similarly finds reflection in the negative way they see themselves.

Teachers have a vital role to play in this process and, as Andrés (1999, p.88) says, although 'parents hold the key to children’s self-esteem, … teachers hold a spare one