WHO ARE CHILDREN and HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN

Chapter Report by Weekly

WHO ARE CHILDREN and HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For English for Young Learner

1^st Meeting (September 15^th, 2014)

A.      Introduction

Biologically, children are generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. The legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. Child may also describe a relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, surely, an special knowledge figure, or signify group membership in a clan, clusters, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties".

There are many social issues that affect children, such as childhood education, bullying, child poverty, broken families and in developing countries, hunger. Children can be raised by parents, in a foster care or similar supervised arrangement, guardians or partially raised in a day care center.

B.       Who are children and how do children learn?

Who are children?

A child is anyone between birth and puberty or in the development stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood. Some English definitions of the word child include the fetus (sometime termed the unborn). In many cultures, a child is considered an adult after undergoing a rite of passage, which may or may not correspond to the time of puberty.

Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as unable to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult. Society began to relate to the child not as a miniature adult but as a person of a lower level of maturity needing adult protection, love and nurturing. Toys for children also began to develop at this time.

Every child goes through many stages of social development. An infant or very young child will play alone happily. If another child wanders onto the scene, he or she may be physically attacked or pushed out of the way. Next, the child can play with another child, gradually learning to share and take turns. Eventually, the group grows larger, to three or four children. By the time a child enters kindergarten; he or she can usually join in and enjoy group experiences.

How Do Children Learn?

Children learn in different ways. To gain a better understanding of how children learn, consider the four broad areas of preferred learning styles. Each style exhibits very recognizable traits. Many theories have been developed regarding children’s learning styles. One of the most popular theories with educators deals with four modes of learning: visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. These modalities are based upon the use of the five senses involved with the learning process. Which sense the child prefers determines the student’s learning style.

       Visual learners’ best remember what is seen. These children tend to remember faces instead of names, are good readers and have good imaginations. They respond best to instruction that includes reading, posters, graphs and videos. Visual learners:

·       Take copious notes

·       Often close their eyes to visualize and remember

·       Usually neat and clean with carefully coordinated clothing

·       Benefit from illustrations and visual presentations

·       Are attracted to written or spoken language rich in pictorial imagery

·       Seek quiet, passive surroundings ideal

       Auditory learners’ best remember what is heard. These youngsters remember names well, respond easily to phonics instruction and may like to talk when writing. They benefit most from instruction based on lectures, discussions and questioning. Some good methods to use with auditory learners include singing songs or listening to tapes that relate to content area to be studied and developing rhymes and mnemonics to help remember information. Auditory learners:

·       Remember names, tend to forget faces

·       May nor coordinate clothes but can explain what they have on and why

·       Hum or talk to themselves

·       Enjoy listening to themselves and others

·       Likes to read aloud

·       Remembers best by verbalizing

·       Have difficulties reading maps or diagrams

·       Have little trouble learning in a noisy environment

       Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing, experimenting and involvement. These learners remember what was done, not necessarily what was seen or heard, and might have difficulty paying attention and staying focused on their schoolwork or homework. Kinesthetic learners benefit most from hands-on instruction, using manipulative, role-playing or building things. Kinesthetic learners:

·       need to move around, be active and take frequent breaks

·       Speak with their hands and with gestures

·       Seek out and find ways to move around

·       Tinker when bored

·       Rely on what they can directly experience or perform

·       Enjoy manipulating materials

       Tactile learners like to use their hands and fingers to learn. These children learn best by writing, drawing, doodling and tend to be creative.

They benefit from instructions such as sewing, painting or drawing. Kinesthetic learners:

·       Need to touch or feel objects when learning a new concept

·       Enjoys designing things

·       Likes to illustrate written work

·       Make something innovative (such as from wood, metal or stone) painting and drawing relaxing

·       Appreciates physically expressed encouragement (e.g. A pat on the back)

Using this approach will empower you to reach child’s learning preference even if it not always clearly defined. Children struggle when they try to learn in ways that aren’t natural for them. When we plan a variety of demonstrations of instruction, our children can utilize their individual strengths to succeed in school. Remember there is never "one" right way or "only" way to teach and help children with their homework. Helping children with their homework in the future coupled with the knowledge of the various learning style preferences and the use of technology will add a new dimension to your pursuit of successfully meeting children’s learning needs. With creativity, knowledge and motivation you will meet the challenge.

C.      Comments

How young children learn should determine how teachers of young children teach. The words teach tends to imply telling or giving information. But the correct way to teach young children is not to lecture or verbally instruct them. Teachers of young children are more like guides or facilitators.

D.      Conclusion

For children to understand fully and remember what they have learned--whether it is related to reading, mathematics, or other subject matter areas--the information must be meaningful to the child in context of the child's experience and development. Learning information in meaningful context is not only essential for children's understanding and development of concepts, but is also important for stimulating motivation in children. If learning is relevant for children, they are more likely to persist with a task and to be motivated to learn more.

E.       Bibliography

MUSTAFA, B. 2008. Teaching English to young learners: Principle & Techniques. Bandung: School of Postgraduates Studies.UPI.

Bredekamp, sue (Ed). 1990. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8 (Expanded Edition). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

http://www.maryannsmialek.com/resources/articles/how_learn.html (taken: September 17^th, 2014)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child (taken: September 17^th, 2014)