Teaching English as a second language can be one of the most rewarding, yet difficult jobs you will ever have. This is especially the case when teaching the under 5's. This age group can be great fun, but they also present their own set of challenges.
The first piece of advice is to know who you are teaching and their limitations. When you think of three, four and five year olds in your own native country you realize they are in the infancy of language acquisition and development. This creates a great opportunity as students will learn words and phrases very quickly, however they will have boundaries. Do not attempt to teach any thing too complex. As a rule of thumb if they do not have knowledge of certain rules and concepts in their own native language it is unlikely they will grasp it in a tongue they do not use or hear regularly. At this age their reading and writing skills will also be limited so the use of pictorial or visual teaching aids is vital to enable effective teaching.
The most important thing to bear in mind when teaching the under 5's is to make it fun. If you can achieve this you will have happier and more attentive students. Making it fun achieves two things. One, it means the students enjoy the class and feel comfortable enough to participate in activities. Secondly, by making it enjoyable you are laying the ground work for their success and desire to study and learn English. If at a young age they dislike English classes, then in all likelihood this will continue as they grow older, meaning a less dedicated student.
It is easy to say make it fun, but how do you do this? Think about what young children like to do. Children (generally) love to draw, color, sing, dance, and play games, most of all they want to be entertained. To keep a young child's attention in a classroom setting you have to make them enjoy it and laugh.
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