Izjava za radio NS, 10.9.2014. emisija:Zdravlje

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 Snežana Radović, profesor engleskog jezika i književnosti,

 JP mentor za obuku nastavnika i osnivač JOLLY BEAR centra u Novom Sadu 

KADA JE NAJBOLJE VREME DA SE ZAPOČNE SA UČENJEM STRANIH JEZIKA?

Savremena istraživanja dokazuju da je najbolje vreme da deca počnu da uče strani jezik već oko 3. ili 4. godine života. Nabrojaću nekoliko važnih razloga zašto je važno tada početi.

1) Učenje jezika je jedan prirodan i spontan proces dok su deca mala, za razliku od odraslog doba u kome se jezik uči već na neki neprirodan način. Ukoliko se jezik uči kao što ga deca uče, kroz igru i istraživanje, neopterećeno, tada se svakako postižu bolji rezultati.

2) Ove godine života od 4. do 7. su APSOLUTNO NAJVAŽNIJE i bio bi pravi greh da se ne iskoriste sve prirodne sposobnosti za učenje koje dete u tom uzrastu poseduje. U ovom dobu je usvajanje stranog jezika spontano, poput usvajanja maternjeg. U vrlo ranom detinjstvu se formira 6 glavnih putokaza za složeni proces učenja, u kome je bitno učestvovanje svih čula - vida, sluha, dodira, pokreta, mirisa pa i ukusa. Sve što kasnije u životu nauči odrasla osoba, zasnovano je na nekoj informaciji koja je dobijena još u ranom detinjstvu.

3) Deca od rodjenja razvijaju na trilione sinapsi u mozgu, koje kasnije počinju da izumiru, ukoliko se ne stimulišu. Zato je od vitalne važnosti da im se omogući ŠTO RANIJA STIMULACIJA SVIH ČULA kako bi se što veći broj  tih sinapsi i održao.

4) Ovde bih istakla učinkovitost i izuzetnu prednost metode JOLLY PHONICS jer je zasnovana na stimulaciji svih čula. Deca uče sve glasove koji se čuju u engleskom jeziku na zabavan i vrlo dinamičan način i kako da ih zapišu. Počinju da se opismenjuju već sa 4 godine sa izuzetnom lakoćom budući da je sve zasnovano na vrlo ciljanoj igri.

5) Jedna velika obmana kod roditelja i mnogih nastavnika jeste u tome da postavljaju oštre granice izmedju učenja i igre, umesto da ih brišu. Završila bih svojim životnim motom koji je dobro potkovan i naukom i praksom: naučite me dok sam mlad, život postaje i previše užurban kasnije. Učiti je lako, samo treba znati kako!

Da li postoje ikakve zamke za roditelje i šta treba da uzmu u obzir kada se odluče da dete upišu u školu stranih jezika?

Pored toga što bi trebalo da vode računa da je najbolji uzrast oko 4. godine iz već navedenih razloga, skrenula bih pažnju da je od iste važnosti i odabir METODE I USLOVA pod kojima će dete učiti. Veoma je važno da se koriste sva čula kako bi se veze medju moždanim ćelijama što više razvijale. One su upravo osnov svakog daljeg učenja u životu. Kao što je za dobru kuću potreban jak temelj, na koji se kasnije prema željama i mogućnostima, može dozidati jos spratova na solidnu bazu, tako je i deci kvalitetan početak učenja presudan za dalja sticanja znanja.

Learning English in a group

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Learning English in a group is much more effective than on a one-to-one basis

Learning English in a group or on a one –to- one basis? Which is more effective? Do you think it is reasonable? How can my child learn it with four or five other children? How can the teacher give equal attention to each of them? These are the questions that parents, students and their numerous relatives bombard teachers with, each time they want us to give lessons to their dear children. We often get not only questions but answers which parents hurl at us: “What?In a group? Not my child! My child is going to get his teacher’s full attention! No, I think it’s nonsense and a waste of time and money…!” But dear parents: Why do you send your children to secondary schools, music schools, to different clubs, studios and to higher educational institutions if you don’t want them to be taught in a group? I think learning English in a group has more advantages than leaning it individually and I am going to prove it.

First, if your child learns English in a group, he is sure to get more motivated and enthusiastic about learning it. Modern textbooks, unlike old- fashioned soviet ones, contain a wide choice of activities for learners of different styles and intelligences, which are kind of a clever trick even for those children who dislike doing any kind of work. For example, if a child can’t stand dictations, there are creative writing storms at his disposal, if he doesn’t like listening for the main idea, he might do listening to complete a picture and compare it with his peers. Whereas if he is taught one to one , he won’t have the chance to do writing storms , to complete the picture with his partner , share his ideas or understand what is it that makes other children more motivated. So, he is left to face reading alone, writing alone, listening alone and what is worse speaking alone , though one hour lesson is entirely his and his teacher’s attention as well.

Second , learning in a group contributes to creativity. In a group there are students with different personality characteristics and this variety will bring diversity of ideas. For example, in my reading class students discover things for themselves, but they are open to new ideas which come from their partners, they question these new ideas, they respond to these ideas and learn how to explore and develop them. On the other hand, if a student is left one to one with his teacher, who is he going to discuss with , whose questions and responses is he going to hear? Parents will say teachers should do it and they do lead students to ideas but teachers as mature personalities bring their own experiences, their own style of thinking which can’t be compared with that of their peers. Though one hour lesson is completely his, the student does not know how his peers think , what ideas they have or how they solve the problems posed in their books.

The last but not the least advantage of learning in a group is peer collaboration. Students learn how to support each other, monitor and facilitate. Moreover, peer collaboration helps them to overcome shyness, get rid of complexes and discover leadership qualities in themselves. I have witnessed positive changes in my students’ behaviour after having worked in a group, some of them became more open, others more helpful, third ones more confident. But the happiest part of my teaching life is when I notice the eagerness to express his ideas in my student’s eyes which is thanks to working in a group. As soon as I notice this quality, I know this student will be a monitor,a supporter, a facilitator and a leader In contrast , the student who is without a group is deprived of collaboration and is left to stew in his own juice, though one hour lesson is still his. Parents, if you want your children to be eager to learn English , be able to speak it fluently, and at the same time be original , reflective , supportive and tolerant, decide in favour of groups. Remember: Two heads are better than one!

Christopher Jolly

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Comments by Christopher Jolly, Managing Director of Jolly Learning Ltd., British Council conference, Brunei, Thursday 9th October 2003.)

The English language is far more logical than people first believe. It doesn't need guessing for successful reading and spelling, it just needs   systematic teaching.

"…. We see phonics as the foundation, and yes it is the development of skills. We then see literacy as having two strands, a skills one which is about phonics and grammar and spelling, and a creative one, which is about storybooks. Let me give you a Confucian proverb, if I may. It is this. If a person have two pennies with one let him buy bread and with the other a flower. The bread to give life and the flower a reason for living. Phonics and grammar are like bread; they give the ability. Storybooks are like the flower; they give the reason for learning to read. The conclusion I offer you is that we need both the quantitative and the qualitative elements in education, and some understanding of how best to integrate them to get the best results." 

Mrs Gordana Nejgebauer

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Comments by Mrs Gordana Nejgebauer, Senior Lecturer retired from the University of Novi Sad, Department for the English Language and Literature

In this era of sophisticated technology written communication has been widely used for establishing relations among people. Therefore, for the future generations, it is of the utmost importance to start from learning writing skills (including correct spelling) from the very beginning.

My personal opinion is that Jolly Phonics Programme meets the requirements of teaching all the necessary skills for both oral and written communication. In my comment the emphasis will be put on the teaching of written communication.

This programme is satisfactory from the pedagogical point of view as well as from the point of view of teaching writing skills.

One can say that from the pedagogical point of view it is in accordance with the basic pedagogical principle of starting from the simplest and ending up with the most complex acquisition of writing skills. It also enhances motivation, builds confidence and makes the students fully aware of the significance of writing as a skill.

What else does the Jolly Phonics do?

• it gradually introduces students to all the intricacies of the English language
• it teaches them to respond to the sounds
• it enables them to decode words
• and last but not the least it is a very suitable approach for the students with the Serbian language background because the idea of the sound-letter correspondence is very familiar to them.