What do you suggest I do with non-English speaking kids?

Question

I am currently in Korea, teaching English in the evening to slightly older kids. it has been wonderful teaching them so far, and I just received an offer, that I can teach English to younger kids, grade 1-6, for two weeks in the morning from nine to eleven in August. There'll be 20 kids.

What do you suggest I teach them? I must make it as interesting as possible. You know how it goes, the younger, the more challenging it is to have their attention.

What kind of games can I play with them? I am trying to find games that can help them learn English at the same time. Of course, nobody expects them to be fluent in English by the end of the week, but I just want to get them familiar with the language. The purpose here is to let them realize that there is no need to be afraid or shy to learn English.

one of examples is,

showing them pictures of well-known Disney characters, and ask them what their names are, and ask them what color their outfits are,

thanks in advance

Answer 1

I would pick a couple of themes and go from there...like animals.  Spend a designated period of time learning animal names, colors of animals, count animals, discuss the body parts of different animals, learn the words that describe where animals live (zoo, jungle, forest, desert, ocean, pond etc.)  If you understand the way the brain stores information it's kinda like a filing cabinet.  So if you "build a file" called animals...it's easy for the kids to "store" their information in it!  Then maybe the second week you can pick a differnent theme...like food.  You can again discuss, colors, number words, descriptors etc.

Answer 2

I like your example.

Another suggestion one of my tutor friends uses is to make up simple stories using paper dolls with a variety of clothing.  

The second idea is to use food - either real or plastic.  Have a simple meal with the kids, and teach them food terms, and table manners, such as "Please pass the ____,"  "Would you like some _____,"  "Yes, please," or even, "I don't like that."

As much as you can, relate the learning to their real lives.

Have lots of fun!

Answer 3

Your example is good. However.. they will not need to know the name of disney characters during a interview for a job (unless they are planning on working at disney world). Start out with the basics, the alphabet (which they should probably know). Then continue with cards with pictures of animals, or ordinary house materials that don't stress too much on pronounciation. Then continue from there if you'd like. Hope I helped you out.

Answer 4

You must, must, must take a look at the Genki English website. It's aimed at Japanese kids, but I think many of the games are international -- and loads of fun!

I like Time Bomb for teaching numbers to 3rd or 4th grade and up.

Is rock-scissors-paper popular in Korea? Teach the kids how to do that in English (the easiest way is one-two-three, and on three, they must show their rock or paper or scissors). Then you can have them do mini-conversations with each other.

Ex: Winner: Hello

       Loser: Hello

       W: How are you?

       L: I'm fine.

(Make sure they get this first! Then you can add "I'm fine, how are you?" or get fancy with "I'm great!" "I'm hungry." "I'm angry." But I think it's important to start with the basics, then move them up the scale.)

Or, you could give each of them a Disney card, have them do the RSPaper game, and the convo goes like this:

W: Hello! My name is Mickey Mouse!

L: Hello! My name is Donald Duck!

(kids switch their Disney characters, say good-bye, then find a new friend to do the RPScissors game with.)

These are largely fun ways to do muscle training of the mouth.

Hope they help. Genki English is also great.

Edit: I hate to disagree with my fellow answerers, but I really like the idea of Disney Characters. True, the kids will never need to say "Hello, my name is Snow White" unless they interview for a job at Disney Land -- but, those characters are very familiar, and they give the kids some reassurance. Also, the pronunciation can be good practice -- Cinderella, for example. (-: Or "Princess Aurora!" -- that's hard enough for my native speaker mouth -- I'm sure it can be a workout for the Korean kids' tongues, too.

The point is to mix familiar stuff with more challenging (and useful forms). Are there many food words that are cognates? I'm sure there are -- ramen, perhaps gum? You can use those easy words to teach the more difficult grammar -- such as "I like -----."

Speaking of which, jumprope rhymes can also be a great introduction for elementary age kids. I like the one that goes "I like coffee, I like tea, I like the boys/the girls, and the boys/girls like me."

I could ramble on for ages about this. I'm sure there's a Yahoo group for teachers of English in Korea: my area has one, too. (Although, I'm in Japan.)

Answer 5

Kid's here in the states are falling head over heels for Asian-Anime cartoons like Yu-Ghi-Oh, and the like...

1) Anime is currently being broadcast on television and is available in many other media-formats....

2) I would suggest, selecting a media-format that is practical for your situation; and allowing the kids practicing translating the episode/issue from Korean to English and back again; or whatever you deem would be most educational for them.

3) Sadly Warner Brothers(bugs-bunny) and Disney(Mickey Mouse) are wasted on the up-and-coming youngsters; though it should in all cases transcend all Generational-divides.  Of course there could be Cultural acceptions...but...

4) See below for info on Anime: