Characteristic of Young Learners

Some young learners have their own characteristic. There are some of their generally characteristic that teachers and parents should know :

1.      They have short attention span. So teachers should vary their techniques to break the boredom. they should give varied activities as handwriting , songs , games etc.

2.      They are very active. Try to ask them to play games , role play dialogues and involve them in competitions.

3.      They respond well to praising. Always encourage them and praise their work.

4.      They differ in their experience of language. Treat them as a unit , don't favour those who know some English at the expense of those who do not know.

5.      They are less shy than older learners. Ask them to repeat utterances , resort to mechanical drills.

6.      They are imaginative. Use pictures to teach new vocabulary related to concrete meanings, but may have some difficulties distinguishing between imagination and real world.

7.      They enjoy learning through playing. Young learners learn best when they learn through games. Let games be an essential part of your teaching.

8.      They are less shy than older learners.

9.      They enjoy imitating and skilfull in listening accurately and mimicking what they have heard.

10.  They respond well to rewards from the teacher.

11.  They have limited writing and reading skills even in their first language.

12.  Generally they are more concerned about themselves then others.

13.  They have limited knowledge about the world.

14.  They enjoy fantasy, imagination, and movement.

There are some children’s special characteristics in learning the language. They are as the following:

1.      Children respond the language well through concrete things (visual things) rather than abstract things.

2.      Children need physical movements and real activities to stimulate their thinking.

3.      Children will be enthusiastic if they are taught using fun activities or being involved in activities.

4.      Children love to play, and learn best when they are enjoying themselves.

5.      Children learn well through something that is close to their culture.

6.      Children like to work together.

Beside the characters above, there are some unique characters that children have :

1.      Hyperactive children, these children tend not to sit still. He tends to move continuously, sometimes like running, like jumping up and down, screaming and even in the classroom. This child is difficult to control. It performs activities in accordance with his own will. He also likes to annoy his friends and even his teachers.

2.      Distractibility child is a child who tends to get bored quickly. He often turned his attention to a variety of other objects in the class. Children are can not focus on the activities that take place in the classroom.

3.      Poor self concept tends to quiet kids in class, passive, or hypersensitive so easily offended. Characteristics of these children tend not to dare to ask or answer, and felt he was not capable. As such, it is less likely to get along as well as bold aloof.

4.       Impulsive child is a child who quickly reacted every teacher gives kelas.Namun question, the answer given is often not demonstrated the ability to think logically. Such a child wanted to show that he is a smart kid, but he answered the way it reflects the inability.

5.       Children destructive behavior of students who like to destroy things around him. Negative aggression in the form of slamming and throwing indicates that this child is a child with problems (trouble maker). Such a child irritable. He have high tempramental, which leads to aggressive behavior.

6.        Distruptive behavior is the children who often get the words rude and disrespectful. With an ironic tone, the child is likely to oppose the teacher. Profanity form of harsh words were often thrown disrespectful.

7.        Dependency young child is always dependent on their parents. These children often feel frightened and unable to brave it alone. He is very dependent on the people around him. The attitude of the parents are too over protective or very protective of the child depends.

8.      Withdrawal, the children had a very low socio-economic, so feel himself stupid and unwilling to try to make the tasks assigned by the teacher because he was not able to.

9.       Learning disabilities are children who do not have the mental capacity equivalent to kids his own age. Children are hard to analyze, capture the course content, and apply what is learned.

10.     Learning disorder is a child who has a congenital defect either physical or nerve damage. Such a child is likely to be difficult to learn normally like children his own age. Children like this need to be addressed by experts specialized agencies, such as children who suffer from Autism Sectrum Disorder / ASD).

11.  Underachiever, is children who have intellectual potential above average, but their academic achievement in the classroom is very low. The spirit of learning is also very low. Such a child often underestimate the tasks given, and homework is often overlooked.

12.   Overachiever is a child who has a learning spirit is very high, he responded in a quick way. Such a child can not accept failure. He does not easily accept critics from anyone, including the teacher.

13.  Slow learner is difficult to capture the child in class and take a long time to answer and doing his work.

14.   Social interseption child is a boy are less sensitive and are not concerned with the environment. Children are less perceptive in reading expressions and difficult to hang out with friends in the class.

 ng learners'