Difficulties of teaching English language in primary school.

Difficulties of teaching English language in primary school.

 Kaibaldina Z.K

Astana  School-lyceum №50 «Kazgarysh» the teacher of English

In teaching English to young learners it is essential to consider how children learn. There are recognized stages to cognitive development that every child passes through, and teaching material should take account of this. There is also a very great need for the motivation to learn English for both the pupils and the teachers.

The majority of primary school teachers have an insufficient command of English to be able to teach it effectively. Teachers with insufficient subject knowledge have very little if any confidence. Without subject knowledge then subject application cannot take place, and it is unfair to place expectations on primary school teachers of child-centered learning of participatory practices. Where should they start if they do not understand the materials and their own knowledge of the language is so shaky? Lack of subject knowledge is one of the main causes of the present problems in teaching English in primary school.

The teachers are not assisted by their materials. The materials are not prepared with the level of available teacher expertise in mind. The teachers need help and it is not being provided. Teachers are not even being treated as out-patients and yet the reality of their condition if for treatment in intensive care. The textbooks need to set out many more classroom activities and exercises. The greatest need is for the teachers’ books to be in Kazakh or Russian. This would be in-line with most other countries where the teachers’ materials are in the native language, or L1.For instance, in England teachers who teach French have all their teachers’ materials in English. This is essential if they are to understand the instructions and explanations. It is pretentious and suicidal in Kazakhstan to continue to give the teachers’ materials in English when Kazakh and Russian are the commonly understood languages.

To engender motivation of pupil and teacher there should be introduced inter-cultural education to promote interest in the Kazakh culture and that of speakers of English – eg. in learning about flags, music, children’s songs, rhymes and games, food, gestures, playtime activities etc. An examination of language and its influence will show that young pupils already know several English words without realizing that they do so.

The teachers need a clear framework, models, for pronunciation, a scheme of work and teaching ideas. It is not sufficient to leave these teachers with inadequate support. They must now be spoon-fed with lesson plans, detailed ideas for games and activities and material for inter-cultural studies, as well as basic structures, words and phrases for them to conduct classroom routines in English as well as delivery of some specific English tuition.

Planning is absolutely crucial. It is contended that 5-year programmes (so time constrained because of available funding) are not successful in government schools in the long-term. Many such programs have «been and gone» and primary school teachers not only can’tremember the essense of the programmes but importantly have not changed their practices. A long-term programme  is needed if «deep change» is to be attained. If on visiting primary schools there is little or no evidence of pupil-centered learning, as is contented in this paper, then the teachers need further help to be able to develop towards pupil-centred learning. The suggestions above would help achieve this aim.