How to Introduce New Material to Young Learners

New ESL teachers often ask how to introduce new material to young (pre-school) students.

Key rules: be enthusiastic, speak slowly and clearly, use visual aids and let children get involved by pointing, touching, speaking and moving.

You will of course need to repeat the new words and phrases many times, but to keep things interesting try to vary the way you present them. For example, you can say a poem sitting down, you can hold the flashcards up or lay them down. You can stand up and introduce gestures.

Here is a short video from one of our pre-school classes using our “Friends” poem. It shows that even with completely new material, children are keen to learn and not afraid to start trying to repeat what they hear and see.