A Creative Approach To Teaching English To Today’s Learners – II
In the last post, we saw how important English and how eager parents are for their children to learn the language. We saw that some educators use grammar to teach English and how learners respond to that.
We also saw the young children are natural language learners and can learn a language quite naturally. Knowing this, some other educators use an alternate way to teach English.
Using Stories and The Art In Teaching
The renown Sir Ken Robinson once said: “Learning happens in the minds and souls, not in the databases of multiple-choice tests.” The use of stories and art in learning provides the children with the resources needed for a hands-on learning experience that will engage all learners of different type of intelligences to actively participate in their own learning of English.
The National Art Education Association (NAEA) states that “Art is one of the most revealing of human activities, as well as one of the richest sources for understanding cultures”. Including drama, storytelling and arts in the curriculum give students the opportunity to get into the character’s shoes when acting out the stories. This not only gives them a better knowledge of the plot and story line, it also allows them to empathize with the characters.
Public speaking and being able to act on stage help learners build self-confidence. And putting on costumes in the different scenes allow them to live out the characters in the book of the time period.
The process of producing a play expands the learners’ imaginations and prompts them to understand and appreciate the characters, the plot and the settings.
Children who actively participate in arts and drama tend to have higher self image and work better in a team. This fun way of learning allows them to gain knowledge, retain it and prepares them to be more creative in problem solving.
The Holistic Way
Different people are talented in different areas and they learn in different ways. Despite this, academic results in the sciences and mathematics are often given more weight over exposures to the arts and humanities in some education institutions. If educators are able to bring in the arts to compliment the learning of language, student’s imagination can be expanded and their ability to problem-solving and critical thinking vastly improved.
The young people of today crave to be seen and heard, they tend to be more vocal and expressive and they want to be intellectually challenged. It is time for educators to adapt a curriculum that is more holistic so students learn English in a dynamic and creative way, helping them develop both academically and socially.
Scholar Base uses a holistic way of learning that combines the arts with literacy that sparks the interests of the children in learning English and assists them in excelling in their journey of learning.