Teachers of Second Language Conference in Tartu 11 - 12 September 2015

Friday 11 September 10.00 Introduction to Second Language Teaching in Waldorf Schools

Survey of Main Lesson Topics from Classes 1 - 9 (a perfect mirror of child development)
Some typical methodological approaches arising from the above:
- Addressing the children's imaginative faculties (the rag-doll)
- Addressing the senses of sight and hearing, balance and the movement sense (e.g. conception of a circle is a connexion between seeing and movement sense)
- Enabling the child to make full use of its imitative talent (especially in Kindergarten and Class One)
- This would imply holding back somewhat on drawings and illustration so as not to interfere with children's sense perception (by pre-determining how a child must see) or a child's imagination (by discouraging it to form a picture itself)

Friday September 11th 14.00 Classes 1, 2 and 3

Through a series of experiments and examples we try to feel how imitation works.
- Pair work: Two participants face each other and do Mirroring Exercise;
- we hold up the mirror arm when teacher holds up arm
- we imitate the teacher saying please stand up and raising his arms but remain seated
- we imitate how a spider climbs using both forefingers and thumbs
- a lesson later we hum the tune, in a later lesson we connect these two
- in a later lesson we speak the lines and again later we connect song with words and the climbing movement
- This implies holding back from asking children questions which would force the child to put itself into the teacher's perspective (the problem of having to distance itself from what it wants to identify with)


Children can do it, but it is still a matter of effort and it may cause unnecessary resistance. Language learning goes better when it can just remain in flow while imitating.

Nor do we need tell them in words to stand up or sit down, for instance we just stand or sit down ourselves. We need not make commanding gestures either but just take a child by the hand and gently get it to stand up, then get it to hold the next child's hand and so on.

By showing and performing we can get a whole class to stand in a circle or behind desks.

In Year One many children need time to fully arrive in school. Children's imitative faculties will make them want to go along with what we do.

Elements for English lessons in Year One:
(1) Finger Plays and Action Rhymes;
(2) Sheer enjoyment of the sounds (vowels, consonants) and the rhytm of the second language by reciting Nursery Rhymes
(3) Singing, Singing Games and Circle Games
(4) After several weeks we begin telling repetitive stories. The children can chime in when they feel ready

A New Element in Year Two:
In Year Two there is a new element: Conversational exchanges between teacher and pupil(s) and even pupils amongst one another - the distancing is now possible. The other four elements remain but are all extended:
(1) are extended to Little Scenes or Performances, not acting but just being a mouse, or a king with others saying the lines, for example
(2) Sheer enjoyment of VOWELS, CONSONANTS, DIPHTHONGS and RHYTHM is extended to enjoying language patterns (This IS, and These ARE etc.)
(3) As before
(4) We can start getting them to recite rhymes that are stories (in a story-telling mode perhaps)
(5) Conversational Exchanges

Elements of Year Three:
(1) Little Performances couldbe joined into a greater context end up in a Class Play
(2) We begin with Speech Exercises and Tongue Twisters
(3) As before, but with topics such as PROFESSIONS and TRADES
(4) Story-telling as before. Morechildren to tell (parts of) stories themselves
(5) We begin Language Learning Games (Simon says, One-Two-Three Heads Down etc.)

Saturday 12 September 09.00 Classes 5 and 6

A Short Look at Year Four:
- After agreeing with the other Second Language Teacher which of us gets a four-week start we begin writing down (usually end of Class 3 or beginning of Class 4) rhymes, speech exercises, songs, parts of stories, circle games etc. from Years One, Two and Three. The main thing is: We write ONLY THINGS THE CHILDREN HAVE IN THEIR EAR (that is, we try not to write just single words)
- While copying off the blackboard (into copybooks) the children are encouraged to see REGULARITIES in SPELLING (for example the short vowels in short words like hat, pet, bit, hop, cub)
- The texts written downare then used to practise reading aloud (which can only be meaningfully done when the child really knows what he is reading!!)
- While repeating certain rhymes orally we encourage the class to notice regularities of language pattern (For example: This is my hair - one hand pointing: These are my ears - two hands pointing)

An important element before we start reading books is to systematically go through various elements
of reading skills first. We can do this with a series of (about thirty) INTERACTIVE WRITING EXERCISES that hopefully will show the children what reading is all about:
- For example:The children are asked to write one complex command on a slip of paper, these are put in a hat, one child takes a slip, READS it SILENTLY and carries out the command. The other children are then asked to WRITE down what they think was written on the slip of paper! These guesses are then read out and corrected by the child who holds the original slip of paper
- More examples of interactive writing exercises which continue into Class Five and Six

Saturday 12 September 11.10 - 12.45 Language Learning Games and Singing Games (Kylli Vollmer)

Saturday 12 September 14.00 Class 5 and 6