1. 1
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
I.1. Background
English is an international language that is very useful and important
for us to communicate over the world. English is taught in almost all levels
education stages. Teaching English to children was seen as something
additional to the normal curriculum of the school system. Increasingly, the
educators have come to recognize the importance of starting foreign
language learning at an early age.
Teaching English for young learners is very completely different with
teaching English for adult. Young learners are unique and different with
adult, they have very different needs, interest and abilities from adult and
more enthusiastic than adult in language activity. Therefore, it is needed
proffesional teacher who can teach them. The young learner teachers should
different with usual teacher, because they have to know and understand
what the students need, especially young learners.
Teaching English for young learners should be handled if it is to be
successful. Therefore, it needs highly skilled and dedicated teaching. The
young learner teachers need to have a sound understanding of how students
think and operate, that is how young learners learn a language.
I.2. Statement of Problem
This paper will discuss about young learner teacher. This paper tries to
answer some questios, they are:
1. What is the definition of young learner teacher?
2. What are the characteristics of young learner teacher?, and
3. What are the roles of young learner teacher?
2. 2
Chapter II
DISCUSSION
II.1. Definition of Young Learner Teacher
Teacher is someone who teaches or instructs. Young learner teacher is
someone who competent and responsible to teach 5-10 year old children.
Teachers of English for young learners need to have a sound understanding
of how students think and operate, that is how young learners learn a
language. This will serve as the foundation for the implementation of
teaching English to young learners.
Knowing that children learn from the world around them, it is
necessary that teachers provide conducive environment for children to learn.
Teachers should also make sure that the subject is taught in a very practical,
hand-on way that they can interact with actual and physical which is
appropriate with their concrete operational stage.
Young learner teachers should be prepared with various activities and
be flexible to move from one another to prevent boredom, considering
children’s short attention span. For example, teachers can provide
interesting pictures, photos, realia and other visual media to facilitate visual
learners. The room can be colorfully decorated to attract their attention.
Teachers can also give music, songs or audio stimuli for auditory learners
and invite students to make physical movement (drawing, jumping, dancing)
for kinesthetic learners.
II.2. Characteristic of of Young Learner Teacher
Teacher is a central to the learning process in the early stage of
educations. As young learners are still learning about their environment, a
3. young learner teacher has to be active, creative, and helpful, open, and of
course, has sufficient English profenciency.
There are two main characteristics of young learner teachers. Those
3
are:
1. Abilities
As young learner teachers, they need to have abilities as follows:
Having excellent oral fluency. A young learner teacher should
command English very well, particularly oral mastery, including
excellent pronounciation and lovely voice. This requirements is
very important as she will become the initial model for children,
and maybe the only model.
Having knowledge of child psychology. Knowing child
psychology would be a great asset for young learner teachers as
they would be able to handle young children’s problem with full
of understanding. It is much worthy if a teacher is equipped with
plenty of knowledge of child psychology.
Mastering various teaching techniques. By mastering teaching
techniques, young learner teachers will be able to adjust her
teaching with the class situation. They should be flexible in
teaching because children’s behaviour is unpredictable.
2. Attitudes
Beside having some important abilities, young learner teacher
should maintain their attitude. By respecting our students and being
realistic about what they can manage at an individual level, our
expectation will be realistic too. There are important attitudies that
teachers must have, as follows:
Loving children
Thinking like a child
Humorous
Patient
4. 4
II.3. The Role of Young Learner Teacher
A teacher's role involves more than simply standing in front of a
classroom and lecturing. In fact, even though a teacher spends the majority
of the day in the classroom, the actual teaching component is only part of
the job. An effective teacher understands that teaching involves wearing
multiple hats to ensure that the school day runs smoothly and all students
receive a quality education.
According to Suyanto (2007), teacher is an executor who have to
translate the component of curriculum, that are the objective, methodology,
material and evaluation, to be a practical activity in English class. By this
thought, young learner teachers have some roles in teaching English. Here
are five roles that a teacher often has to fill in order to be the best educator
they can be;
a. As executor and guide who have good relation with the students that
can create a comfortable learning.
b. As helper. YL teachers have to be ready to help the students. If there
are students who have difficulties in the learning process, the teacher
will help to solve that problems.
c. As model. YL teachers give example for using English, so they must
have good skill in using English and can give example for using
English correctly.
d. As facilitator. The YL teachers facilitate what the students need in
learning process.
e. As decision maker. Teacher is not only teach students, but also make
good decision. They decides what kind of method that suitable to use
for the students, what kind of activity that can be used to teach them,
etc.
Language teachers also have roles as mentors who must support and
scaffold the learning and as modelers who must provide good examples of
the language in use. As a good model, teachers should make sure that they
use the correct forms of language and pronunciation, because children
imitate their teachers with deadly accuracy. Providing incorrect model will
lead children to fossilize the error until they are adults.
A teacher is a person who will have to fill many roles. They are
people with educational leadership skills and they must continue to grow
and develop as professionals. Anyone seeking to be a teacher should take
advantage of any chance they get to grow as a person and as a teacher.
5. 5
Chapter III
CONCLUSION
Young learner teacher is someone who competent and responsible to teach
5-10 year old children. YL teacher should be professional, should have many
skills to teach the students, and have to understanding the students needs, because
the students of young learners have very different needs, interest, abilities and
more enthusiastic than adult.
YL teachers have abilities of having oral fluency to give example to the
students, having knowledge of child psychology to understanding and help the
students problem, and having various teaching techniques for their students. YL
teacher also have a good attitudes and love children, because they must teach
them.
The young learner teachers is one of important element in a teaching-learning
process. They have some roles in teaching process, they are: as executor,
guide, helper, model, facilitator, decision maker, and as a mentor. By thats roles,
YL teacher will be able to teach their students to be good and excellent students.
