Directive play in a very young learners teaching context: expectations and strategies


Currently teaching very young learners at the age of three, I am struggling with the following situation: I see myself expecting the kids to produce a quantity of "results" that might not be fair to any of us. I get frustrated because I want to make sure the planning works accordingly; they get frustrated because they notice how I feel: love and exchange are  important pillars to build a good rapport with learners in general - even more when the students are so little.

Keeping these issues in mind, I have decided to educate myself instead of educating the kids. It happened when I realized - through experience and feedback from other professionals,  that playing can be more than chill time. It can be a powerful tool in order to build the kids’ confidence and improve their motor, emotional and cognitive skills. Also, playing can provide teachers with information they would not be able to access in such a natural way. When playing, kids show who they are and how they see the world.

Being so, one needs to keep in mind that there are two kinds of ‘playing’ that can be held in a classroom. One is the free play, which will provide the teacher with data about things the kids already know; and the directive play,  activities planned by the teacher in order to achieve specific goals (TEIXEIRA, 2018, 146-147), no matter if pedagogical or social . On this specific post we intend to focus on the directive play strategy. The objective is reflecting about how this strategy can be used in a very young learners teaching context.
According to the teacher developer Joan Tang Shin “Young learners tend to have short attention spans and a lot of physical energy. In addition, children are very much linked to their surroundings and are more interested in the physical and the tangible” (SHIN, 2006, 3). Shin’s conclusion will help us understand two key points when talking about very young learners: the reason why they are not able to perform activities for more than ten minutes and their need of standing up and touching objects. So, if we want to focus on directive play strategies, what is the easiest path to be taken? Coming up with games that will provide the kids with the opportunity of exploring different learning opportunities or keeping telling them the whole time what they are NOT supposed to do?
When I first mentioned my frustration, it was what I meant. Although the kids enjoy the activities I planned, they did not seem to be interested in doing them for as long as I expected; besides that, I felt like they needed more opportunities to practice that new skill / knowledge. It was how I developed the following checklist, that helped me organize the directive play moment(s).

I. Think TPR!
James Asher’s theory, the Total Physical Response, points out that kids need to use their whole body in order to learn more effectively. It means that they must have the opportunity of doing all sort of things. Running, coloring, dancing, stomping, speaking in different voice tones.

II. Do not forget how much they need to learn
Sometimes adults forget that very young learners are learning a bunch of things at the same time: they are learning how to see the world, themselves and the people around them; they are understanding how objects work, how to walk, tie their shoes, hold a glass of water. This way, do not forget that the directive play strategy can be a fertile soil for the use of imagination for both, teachers and students. Direct playing can be more than pedagogical. It can be social, cultural, motor. Fun, interesting, fascinating.

III.    Revisit, Recycle, Recreate
It can be tough for teachers to think about so many activities, covering a great number of skills. Do not get desperate, though. Repetition is a key point in the very young learners experience. Hence, bear in mind the 3 Rs: revisit, recycle, recreate. Besides making planning easier, the 3 Rs can also become one more assessing tool. It can work in a way to provide more information about the kids’ development, feelings and attitude.
 
And last but not least, have fun! This is the best part of our job.

References:
Asher, J. Learning another language through actions: The complete teacher’s guidebook. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions, 1977.

SHIN, Joan Kang. Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners. USA: English Teaching Forum, n.2,  2006. Available on: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1107890.pdf

TEIXEIRA, Karyn Liane. O Universo Lúdico no Contexto Pedagógico. Curitiba: Editora InterSaberes, 2018.

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