Annie Hughes is our special guest
on the online chat session on Thursday 27th November at
1800 GMT - 'Teaching Young Learners'. Annie is the Director
of the MA course on Teaching English to Young Learners at
the University of York, UK.
When
and where did you start teaching?
At
the beginning of the 70's (when pop music seemed so much
more exciting!!). I was very lucky in my training as I was
able to focus on junior (primary), secondary and special
education. I then taught in London for a few years before
moving to the Middle East with my partner. At this stage
I started teaching EFL and realised that I needed more training
so went back to London, and then York, for further training.
What
do you cover on your MA Course on Teaching Young Learners?
The
eight modules are developmental and cumulative in their
approach and so we start with how children learn and how
they can best learn foreign languages. Then we look at the
approaches and methods used in teaching TEYL, followed by
what actually happens in the TEYL classroom and the lesson
itself. The final module in the first year looks at assessment
and evaluation.
In
the second year we look at small and large scale syllabus
design followed by materials design that links back to the
syllabus created. We then take a serious look at professional
development in the TEYL field and prepare students for becoming
involved in teacher development / training in their future
careers. Finally, students carry out a small scale piece
of Action Research and present their findings as the final
assignment.
When
students come back to get their MA in TEYL degree we hold
an international TEYL research seminar and our graduates
present their research findings along with invited TEYL
specialists which are published as the seminar papers. It's
a really exciting seminar, especially as there is so little
research being carried out in the field of TEYL.
What
are your favourite teacher's resources?
Gosh
there are lots of special resources that are great in the
classroom but I think the best resource in the classroom
is the actual teacher!
What
was your proudest / funniest moment in teaching?
One
of the proudest recent moments was the very first day of
the very first cohort arriving to study the MA in TEYL.
It was the culmination of many years work and the support
of the University of York and I was so excited about and
proud of the whole programme - and I am still very proud
of it!
What
do you do to relax?
I
love listening to music, singing, reading and a good massage!
Which websites do you enjoy visiting?
There are lots of good websites, but, I find that the BBC
website keeps surprising me. Only this week I found that
they had quite a lot of interesting information on multiple
intelligences, linked to their pages on Leonardo Da Vinci.
What
would be your dream holiday?
Well, I am so very lucky that I've visited a lot of fascinating
countries in my personal and professional life so far. However,
I think I'd really love to see Antarctica or the Galapagos
Islands
What
is your top tip for teaching young learners?
Try to remember what it is like to be a child, try to understand
where the learners are, in terms of their cognitive development,
how they learn and how confusing it can be to be a child
in a classroom. These, then, will help you think about all
aspects of your teaching, from the materials you use to
the gestures you show the learners. Most importantly, you
must be able to answer the question 'Why?' about every thing
you teach them and about everything you use to teach them.
