YOUTUBE IN THE CLASSROOM

Given what we know nowadays about the differences in individual student's learning styles (whether that is logical, verbal, kinesthetic, aural or visual), it becomes the teacher's responsibility to prepare lessons that strategically integrate each of these types of learning. There are many materials teachers can use to supplement their lessons which appeal to each of these learning styles such as: crossword puzzles and word searches for logical learners; plays, skits and role-plays for verbal learners; TPR and physical games such as "Simon says" for kinesthetic learners; Songs, rhymes, and drilling games for aural learners; and flashcards, pictures and videos for visual learners.
Videos are a great tool for visual and aural learners, and video-sharing websites like YouTube, with its seemingly endless supply of content which can be downloaded and used in the classroom, make it easy to find the perfect video to integrate into your lesson. Videos have become a mainstay in my classroom for the following reasons:

1. Videos allow teachers to present authentic or "real" language to their students. It's important that students aren't exposed to only one source of language i.e. me, but other native speakers as well to improve their abilities.
2. Videos allow students to see the language used in context. When students watch a video they aren't just hearing the language, they are also seeing it thus improving their comprehension.

NOTE: Despite the many benefits of using videos in class, it's important to note that while well-curated videos used to supplement a lesson have a place in the classroom, playing videos for entertainment's sake without a clear teaching objective is a waste of time and often times leads to passive and unengaged students. That being said, when used and curated carefully, videos have the ability to transport students from the classroom and discover language in authentic contexts.

HOW STUDENTS ACQUIRE LANGUAGE AND HOW TEACHERS AID IN THEIR AQUISITION

English language learners acquire language in various ways:

• Incidental Acquisition: Learning of new vocabulary through indirect exposure to language and new vocabulary during a lesson
• Intentional, Pre-Selected Vocabulary: Vocabulary of a particular topic or a set of related words chosen by the teacher and directly taught and discussed in class

When presenting these new vocabulary words here's an idea for some of the steps involved:

1. Generate interest in the topic before delving into the vocabulary.
2. Activate the students' current knowledge of the topic.
3. Explain, illustrate, act out, or show the meaning of the word (There are many ways of teaching or introducing vocabulary as I've discussed already here.).
4. Provide example situations and several written or oral examples using the targeted language.
5. Use oral repetition to improve memory and retention of words as well as to enforce proper pronunciation and stress
6. Use controlled activities such as matching, fill-in-the-blanks, etc, to help learners integrate the targeted language into their mental lexicon
7. Include open speaking and writing activities so learners can integrate the newly-acquired words into and their writing and conversation

USING PICTURES IN THE CLASSROOM

The classroom is usually not the ideal environment for language learning as learners are far removed from the situations that teachers are trying prepare their students for. That is why pictures are such a valuable stimuli in the classroom. Pictures bring an element of reality and set up a context that is missing in the classroom setting. Pictures also help keep students' attention and generate a fun excitement in class. I've seen the effectiveness of using pictures in the classroom to help learners quickly retain the target language when used correctly. But what is the correct use of pictures in the classroom? Here's a video demonstrating some techniques for using pictures, specifically flashcards, in the classroom setting. I have since tried most of these techniques and my students love them.

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

It's the last day of school again. A day of hard goodbyes to my students, excitement for the holiday to come, reflection on how much the students have improved, and fun end-of-the-year parties. It's been a fun, exciting year of teaching kindergarten one. I didn't expect to be teaching this particular class the whole year as management told me, upon employment, that it would be a temporary position while other positions were being shifted around and I would eventually be moved up to an upper-primary class. That turned out to not be the case and so now I've got a year of teaching kindergarten to add to my teaching-experience belt.

Going into that class with little experience teaching kindergarten-aged children was a challenge and test in patience and creativity. Those first weeks and even months were a true test of my abilities in using clear, concise instructions, limiting excessive teacher talk and using fair but strict classroom management techniques. It's been tough year of learning new skills and techniques as well as adjusting my teaching style and materials to suit young children, but in the end I've gained a ton of experience in how to deal with children, motivate them and use discipline as a chance to educate. Thank you kindergarten one students; You've been a rewarding challenge this year!