Sporteng Wolver

The Very Young Learner and Learning English Language through the Vehicle of Sport

and Dance

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A Case study

Polona Oblak, M.Sc.

Matjaž Vehovar, BA

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Who is the target group

Children aged 4-6:• Old Enough to Socialise

• Young Enough to Acquire a Language

• Being the most Receptive

• Whole Person Development

• Great Potential to Develop Skills and Abilities

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Who are we?

• Co-operation between Secondary Grammar School (SSD Borci) and

• Faculty of Education Maribor

• Pilot Project (4 years)

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Why?

Needs Analysis:

• Emotions

• Knowledge

• Motivation

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How?

• Sportshall

• 2 Pedagogs at the same time

• Small Groups (10 - 12)

• Authentic Situations

• EFL (English as a Foreign Language)

• 90 Minutes per Week

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Main Sport Objectives

• Functional Capabilities (cardio-vascular system, heart, and loungs)

• Psychomotor Development

• Learning the Motor–physical Skills

• Relaxation (Yoga for Children)

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Main Dance Objectives

• Rhythm

• Music Appreciation

• Posture

• Group Work

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Main Language Objectives• Positive Attitude towards Foreign Language

Learning• Acquire Pronunciation• Acquire Chunks of Language• Grasp the Meaning• Be Creative and Develop Child’s Imagination• Use their Instinct for Talk and Interaction for FLA

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Cross-disciplinary Goals• Communicative Approach• Topic Based• TPR (Total Physical

Response)• Satisfy Different Learning

Styles• Develop Child’s Multiple

Intelligences• Stimulative Enviroment• Interesting Activities• Authentic Situations

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Future Goals• Find Cross-curricular Activities that would link Sports/

Dance and English• Produce more Authentic Situations• Include Native Speaker• Apply to other Languages (German, French, Spanish)• Write and Publish own Materials (activities, tasks,

audio-video)• Develop Methods of Assessment and Evaluation for

Very Young Learners

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Workshop Questions

1.What can we learn from each other?

• Methodology

• Approach

• Activities

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Workshop Questions

2. Make Comments on:

• Testing Very Young Learners

• The Use of Mother Tongue

• Native Speaker

• Knowledge

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The Difference between Learning the Mother Tongue and a Foreign Language

MOTHER TONGUE

• Topics• Content• Language

Environment• Language is Acquired

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

• Topics• Content• Less time• Structured Learning• Grammar Oriented

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BiographyDunn, O. (1984). Developing English with Young Learners.

Hemel Hampsted. Practice Hall.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.

Krashen, D. S. (1982). Principles and Practice in SLA. Oxford: Pergamon Press Ltd.

Lightbown, M.P. and Spada, N. (1999). How Languages are Learned. Oxford: OUP.

Oblak, P. (2003). The Young Learner and Learning a Language through the Vehicle of Sport: A Case Study. Oxford: Oxford Brookes University.