I’m not sure if this counts as “teaching,” because it might be closer to childcare or 保育士 job, but I was wondering if any foreigners have had any success being an English teacher or international carer as a full-time job for children of this age range.
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I taught 4-5 year olds once. I just made up games and had them say English words before they could do something.
Oh yeah, that age can be really fun if you set your expectations correctly. Sing songs, read picture books, move a lot and don’t worry too much about output from them. Most important thing is to try not to use any Japanese around them, because it’s easy to mistake “I don’t understand because I am a toddler” for “I don’t understand because English.”
I’ve been doing it for twenty years. It’s a lot of fun.
Here’s my advice:
-Enjoy the hell out of it. If you’re having fun, they’ll want to have fun too and will be more inclined to join.
-Don’t expect them to reply or repeat after you all the time. Just let them look at your goofy face as they try figure out what kind of creature has eyes that color.
-Stick to the same pattern every class so they know what to expect. For example 1. Song 2. Book 3. Active time. 4. Card time 5. Song 6. Active time 7. Coloring time 8. Song 9. Toy time.
*Be careful if you choose to include Toy time. It is very useful to teach natural English, but it can be distracting. Always do it at the end unless you want a lot of tears because you took away their blocks so you could sing a stupid song.
-Repeat commonly used English phrases all through every lesson so they hear them in a natural way. Phrases like Wow, Good job, I like ___, and Oops (kids love it when they catch on to the meaning of ’oops’).
-Don’t ignore the parent. They’re your best learning tool. Have the parent do anything new first so the kid can see what’s expected of them. I also try to teach the parents random English that happens to come up during the lesson so they don’t feel left out. I figure they’re more likely to use English at home if they’re included in the lesson.
I taught a 2 year old. With limited success. Boy Daiki was a handful. Sometimes I thought I was just an expensive baby sitter for the parent. But that was the job.
Bruh, elementary school and in some cases even junior high school dn’t count as teaching either when it comes to English language. Don’t sweat that part.
I haven’t the slightest clue how things would go at daycare or a pre-school from firsthand experience, but I have a buddy who does that kind of work full-time. Based on what he’s told me, it’s pretty much all songs and games. He uses simple English and is there to expose kids to kids to it. There’s no expectations with regards to output or actual learning.
People’s opinions will vary, but you’ll properly want to have a high level of real-world Japanese so that you can properly and authentically interact with your kids, even though most of the “teaching” will likely be songs and games in English.
I don’t teach that class, but my co-workers do it almost full-time here. The kids go home after eating lunch. They sing and dance, play games outside, and learn some vocabulary/alphabet.
A parent rather than a teacher, but my kids (1 and up) love singing nursery rhymes, being read books, counting blocks, naming colours, pointing at insects / animals, recognising emotions on flashcard pictures of faces etc.
If I had to teach, I reckon that would be the most fun age group. They’re like language vacuum cleaners.
I don’t know anything about the education industry, but as a dad with two boys, that sounds like great practice for when you have your own kids!
Can you change nappies, make formula, and burp them?
Just out of interest, what kind of training and licensing does this entail? They don’t just unleash newkids on the little ones do they?
Watch “Blippy” or some other TV shows aimed at native speakers of this age range. You’re not a “teacher” in the way you’d normally think about it. You’re a fun goofball who happens to be educational (although the kids don’t realize that last part).
Use a lot of “play” in your teaching! Kid learn better through song and body experiences, like body language and gestures is just as important at verbal, if not more because they can see what it is you want and connect the words. I’m a student and teaching kids in that age at this moment
To be honest, it’s a major headache if you’re doing it full time. Usually there’s a Japanese person with you but they have no experience in education. It’s basically babysitting at that age and there’s going to be a lot of screaming kids. 4 year olds are a headache but it’s usually just one or two kids crying and screaming. 5 year olds are fine.