Name: Thang Thi Dang Course: AL 6760 Instructor: Prof. Jean Kirschenmann Date: October 15, 2009 WHY DO VIETNAMESE CHILDREN NEED MORE PHYSICAL MOVEMENTS? Why don’t we give children fun when teaching English? I have found out little by little about the interesting and mysterious world of children through watching them and from this course. I have learned how to make English more understandable, creative, and enjoyable to children. Learning another language is hard for children when they have not had the full consciousness oftheir mother tongue. Therefore, learning should b e enjoyable and playful. As I have seen in Vietnam, children often have stress at school becau se of the test-driven program and the traditional ways of teaching. In class, students are required to sit neatly, quietly, and seriously crossing theirarms on the table (Picture 1, page 4). I do not mean these are not good, but I always wonder if there are other possible ways to teach children to reduce students’ stress and enhance their learning. In this paper, I will discuss two reasons why Vietnamese children need more physical activities when learning English: The nature of child dev elopment and learning through playing. One of the reasons that children in Vietnam need more movements in English classroom is because of their natural development. I found an interesting article which emphasizes “Children need to move! Not just for the sake of their physical selves, but also for social, emotional and cognitive development. Movement benefits the whole child” (Pica, 2006). I fully agree with Pica about the importance of movement to children as I can see all kinds of fun that children have in their lives (picture 2, p. 4). Moving around makes them more relaxed and reduces stress from the workload in the classroom. Therefore, it is not easy to have them sit still for a long time. I found my Professor Jean Kirschenmann’s example in class interesting that a mother sits on the b us playing with her mobile phone typing a message or playing games, but she wants her child to sit still by saying “Shshsh!” Why? Children need more play than adults (Personal communication, 2009). In addition, children need socializing. I have learned from watching children and my own children that they need somebody to play with them. Whenever I took my children somewhere, they very quickly
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