The foundations of a happy and successful personality are laid in childhood. Thanks to the right methods of education, the child grows up active, self-confident, able to determine his goals and achieve them. Education, among other things, includes the education of the baby. Indeed, at an early age, any science can be turned into a game that you will definitely like. And this will be an important contribution to the development of the future professional.
The task of parents is to recognize the strengths of their child and develop them, and the task of the very first teachers is to instill interest and love for the subject being studied. That is why the ability to teach English to children is a special art that will help the child get a prestigious profession in the future, as well as freely communicate and make friends with people from different countries, participate in student exchange programs, travel and choose any country for life and work.
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A huge plus of childhood is that at an early age everything learns and is perceived easily, especially if you choose the right way of learning. And children are the most grateful audience, which will not notice the teacher's excitement and possible mistakes. Therefore, if you do not have experience teaching English, you can start your teaching career by teaching toddlers.
English for children of different age groups
First you need to decide on the age that suits the teacher, because each age group needs a special approach. Let's divide the children into several age groups:
- from 3 to 5 years,
- from 5 to 7 years old,
- from 7 to 10 years old.
Children from 3 to 5 years old
These children grasp new words on the fly, especially if they are presented with learning as an exciting game. But at the same time, it can be difficult for them to sit still for a long time, so the teacher needs to be patient and have a hundred funny ideas. With a little baby, you will get an interesting experience of teaching English in the most non-standard conditions: while drinking tea with toys, building a tower of blocks, drawing or sudden dances. On the one hand, the jumping learning process is not easy, but on the other hand, if the kid likes you, then you will not find a more devoted student.
Children from 5 to 7 years old
This is a more serious audience, children's games are no longer so interesting, but there is still no stable perseverance. Here you need full combat readiness - the ability to use a variety of gadgets and build a lesson in a modern way. Popular songs, short films, cartoons, modern literature are used. The main thing is to be able to maintain a constant interest and not overload the child.
Schoolchildren from 7 to 10 years old
These are serious and thoughtful students. For them, the benefits of knowledge are important, which can be noticed and shown to mom and dad. With elementary school students, the tutor sometimes conducts classes entirely in English, and the delight of the child when he understands what is said to him and answers is the main goal. If the teacher hears from such a kid: “I can speak English!” He may think he has a gift for teaching.
How to start teaching kids with no experience?
Before making a decision for yourself about the type and form of teaching English to children with no experience - try all possible options and choose the one that is easiest for you. Remember that tutoring is a relationship between a student and a teacher, so the atmosphere in the classroom is the most important thing.
babysitter tutor
For starters, you can try your hand as a nanny-tutor. Recently, the demand for nannies, who can not only take a walk and feed, but also teach a child, is growing rapidly. A special advantage is that it is possible to select students by age. As a rule, job advertisements for a babysitter are posted in the profile on social networks and in thematic communities using the hashtags #nanny #baby nanny #needed nanny. Another important plus for the nanny is the ability to distribute time, the intensity of the lesson and sometimes do without a strict lesson plan. After all, naming 10 objects in English while walking is also learning!
Teacher at a private kindergarten
Another good option is the opportunity to get a job in a private kindergarten. Usually, the work schedule there is more flexible than in public gardens and it is possible to combine several jobs. The peculiarity of teaching in a children's team lies in the ability to hold the attention of children, win them over and multitask. The advantage of working in a preschool private educational institution is direct access to potential clients - parents who may be interested in additional lessons at home.
Teacher social media profile
The third option to start teaching English to children is to create your professional social media profile. Creating profile content, placing hashtags #englishteacher #teacherforkids #englishforkids #englishtutor will help your potential students find you. This method is quite laborious, but creating and maintaining a profile on a social network will be useful for a future career.
Teacher certification
The last but one of the most successful options for starting a teaching career are certified courses, after which access to vacancies is provided. A huge advantage can be considered that the teacher will not have to confirm competence again and again and make excuses because of little work experience. The presence of a certificate indicates that the level of language proficiency allows you to teach English to children without previous teaching experience.
These courses include TEFL & TESOL certification. With it, you can teach the language not only in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, but also in Asia, Europe, the USA and Canada.
The courses are also useful because the curriculum includes modules on teaching methods. In the courses, you can learn how to conduct Skype lessons, teach the language to children and adults in different forms, draw up a lesson plan and present educational material in different formats. Therefore, for those who have not yet had a single lesson in English, such courses will be very useful.
How to teach English to children from scratch?
Get your TEFL TESOL certification
Travel, work online, get a job abroad, or be
an EFL and ESL teacher in your country.
Finally, we will give a few recommendations that will simplify your undertakings in teaching:
- Set a goal not for meticulous and methodical study, but for getting rid of the language barrier and fear of a new language. The main thing is that the baby is not afraid to speak, even with mistakes. Errors in grammar and pronunciation can always be corrected, but the fear of foreign speech can remain for a long time.
- Build an individual learning schedule for each student, because all children are different and absorb information in different ways.
- Be with the child on the same wavelength, share his interests. It is much easier to explain complex material with clear examples than with dry rules from a book.
- Strive for a positive emotional background in the classroom. Children most likely will not remember how much and what exercises you did, but a good mood remains in their memory for a long time.
- Build your child's horizons. Study different topics, combine history, biology, art with English, and everyone will be satisfied: the student, the parents, and you.
- Be prepared for the unexpected and have a plan B in place. Children are an element, so think over several lesson formats if something goes wrong.