In this article, I want to share a list of books that cover the subject of teaching English to very young learners (VYLs) at preschool or kindergarten. Very young learners are typically defined as those children between 3-6 years of age. Unfortunately, there are not many published books that fit into this category. Most books about teaching English to children are targeted at Young Learners (7-12 year olds).

Books written about teaching Very Young Learners

With that said, here’s a list of books for teaching English to very young learners:

Activities for Very Young Learners by Herbert Puchta and Karen Elliott

Collins Introducing English to Young Children: Spoken Language by Opal Dunn

ESL English for Preschoolers: How to Teach English as a Foreign Language to Preschool and Kindergarten Children by Olga Placzec

ESL Games for Preschool: for Teachers of ESL, EFL, ESOL and ELL by Shelly Ann Vernon

How to Help Your Class Learn English by Claire Selby

Teach Your Child English: Fun One to One English Teaching Games For Parents and Private Tutors of ESL by Shelly Ann Vernon

Very Young Learners by Vanessa Reilly and Sheila Ward

Other books for learning to teach VYLs

There are a few other sources for books on teaching VYLs.

First, a few of the books for teaching English to Younger Learners, can have some content that is applicable or adaptable to teaching Very Young Learners.

Similarly, there are general books on teaching Kindergarten that have ideas that are adaptable for teaching English to very young learners.

My other strategy for learning more about teaching very young learners, has been to read the Teacher Books from VYL courses. Some of these books are a great source of ideas for games, activities, crafts, teaching tools, and so on, that are appropriate for very young learners of English. I will publish a list of these books separately.

Feel free to contact me if you’ve found a book for teaching VYLs that you feel should be on the list.