Let's Learn English through Nature!

Abstract

This Textbook is designed for use in nature-based preschools, also called: “Forest Kindergartens”. It aims to encourage young learners (YLs) to learn English while they run free in nature, hence creating an atmosphere for language learning with low anxiety. I have been teaching in an English Forest Kindergarten weekend program for 3 years, and the institute, while firmly based in theory, lacks a systematic curriculum with clear language goals for all of its fun and interactive outdoor activities. My Portfolio, therefore, seeks to create a Textbook that meets this need. The Forest Kindergarten model gained momentum in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, and it is still a growing trend in education. According to the Forest Commission in Scotland (2005, p.8), the forest activates all the senses, and children are motivated to make use of their innate desire to learn. Since Myung-Hwan Lee introduced European Forest Kindergartens in 2003, the Korean Forest Service has supported this idea by holding forums and setting up kindergarten programs around national forests (Jae-Tack Lim, So-Young Lee, Eun-Ju Kim, 2012, p.59). Continuing this trend, this Textbook will apply the concept of Forest Kindergarten to language teaching. This Textbook primarily targets five to seven year old beginner level EFL students; none of them have lived abroad. The target learners have a proficiency level of Level 1-2 (Entering, Beginning), according to the WIDA proficiency scale. Most of the children’s parents concur with the idea that nature will enrich their children’s learning, and they want their children to be exposed to more play-based and child-initiated curriculum. The parents have the expectation that their children will not only have fun, but also improve in the target language. In order to meet parents’ expectations, this Book will provide YLs with many opportunities to interact with their peers and the instructor using the target language through a variety of hands-on activities.