Teaching ESL to children is one of the most interesting, creative and humorous ventures an instructor can undertake. It can also be one of the most challenging and frustrating endeavors. It all depends on attitude, the attitude of the teacher. Possessing what I call a "Children's Chatter" attitude will definitely prove beneficial to a teacher facing a class of Young Learners. What is a "Children's Chatter" attitude? It is an attitude which encompasses the capacity to exist inside the communication found in two worlds, that of the child and that of the teacher. Being able to communicate with a child in his or her realm while maintaining the vigilance of the communication required by the adult in the teacher's realm is what a "Children's Chatter attitude consists of.

One moment a teacher finds herself deep inside Old McDonald's farmyard, singing and acting and clucking and mooing and the next instant she is asking her students to turn to page eighteen of their students book. Both must prove equally effective in the communication of English yet each demands a different sense of "chatter". Switching back and forth, from one realm to the other, managing a lesson so that it is interesting, effective and enjoyable, outwitting children who are more than ready to challenge you, distract you, or ignore you demands that you remember what it is like to be a child. Once you do this then transfer these thoughts into what it means to be a child learning a second language. Once you process such thoughts you will come to an even greater understanding of "Children's Chatter". You will become enlightened by the world of the child and find yourself searching the Internet for interesting resources for your children's classes. You will find yourself thinking of unique and interesting ways to present the material in the student's book. You will find that you look forward to the time you spend with your Young Learners because that time is filled with wonder and laughter. You will have crossed over into the magical world inhabited by children and in doing so you get to feel, once again, the joy of discovery.

One fine, late afternoon, during an I Spy class, my lesson began to unravel. None of the five children I was teaching was interested in what I had planned, two of the children were stealing each others pens and books, and the other three were laughing at them and at a secret scribble on a note past between them. I stopped what I was doing, closed my book, sat down in my chair and said nothing. I watched carefully as the two who were book and pencil swapping started to try to mark one another with their pencils. I watched the other three as they laughed while taking turns making comments about the highly interesting note. I stared at all five children, thinking myself the outside child on the playground, the one no one wants to play with. Within moments the class settled down. I then asked the children if they would like to do the "Hokey Pokey" and they all agreed. For the remaining time we sang and danced and laughed made faces and pretended to be different animals: in other words we played together. At the end of class I assigned homework, accompanied the children out to meet their parents and made sure the parents knew what homework the children were to do. I had played both of my parts. I had communicated in "Children's Chatter" by being flexible enough to use play methods to communicate in English with my class and I had been the responsible adult in making sure the "work" of the lesson was covered at home, supervised by the parents. It is important to remember to make the ESL class enjoyable and imaginative and not scary and boring. Sometimes, however, the whole plan may go awry so flexibility is very important.

Discipline inside the classroom needs to be established quickly. I use banishment as a main form of discipline. If a child is misbehaving to the point of distraction he or she must leave the room and stand in the hall outside the door. It is a very effective method of discipline and I do not find I need to use it often. I do not yell at, demean or threaten my students. I usually find that the students settle down quickly when asked and are usually more interested in the lesson if I have made the effort to make it interesting for them.

A lesson that includes a balance of active and passive learning exercises increases the chance of reaching the lesson goal. This type of lesson planning is fun, as it includes not only the material in the course book but outside resources as well, including craft ideas. The Internet is filled with craft and coloring pages and I have used these resources to augment all of my lessons. Understanding "Children's Chatter" will help you decide which of these resources would work for your class and how to use them in a creative way.

Teaching children ESL is very rewarding. The course books, tapes, work books and outside resources offer a teacher an immense amount of material with which to plan interesting and enjoyable lessons. Children love to sing and dance and make faces and pretend. A teacher who is inventive, energetic, humorous and organized usually captivates children. English is used as the language which enhances these qualities and understanding "Children's Chatter" guarantees success.

Lorraine Lanteigne