4 things that make me think learning to surf is very much like teaching very young learners

SOL Devon Unplugged course August 2012, Sunday afternoon, hit the beach, learn to surf! (No secret, the chance to try surfing had played a huge part in my decision to take the course ...  it proved to be a good reason.)

ONE

I live in Balatonfüred, no real big waves around, surfing was very new to me at Baggy Point, Croyde. Before the lesson we signed a statement saying we understood and acknowledged that we were going to run a risky pursuit for the next 120 minutes and we may even die. Erm.... Well,  ... Ok, we all signed it. Then we jumped (?:)) into our wetsuits (looked like sausages) and grabbed the surfboards, two boards in pairs and walked to the beach barefoot! BAREFOOT!  You have no idea what an adventure it is to follow my brand new Serbian friend, Tamara, stuck together, between two surfboards like inside a sandwich! Through the slippery, sharp rocky terrain, shells ..., not even being able to Tamara's her complaints :)

Then short instructions on how to surf lying on the board, 10 minutes surfing flat, another short training on how to stand up. Rehearsal on the sand, off to the waves!

Did you get training how to teach young or very young learners when you trained in ELT? I didn't  really. Maybe there was an optional subject at college which I didn't opt for.
Of course we had a rigorosum in developmental/educational psychology, but who remembers that? I forgot it all in 24 hours within the exam as at that time I had no young learners.
However, my degree entitles me to teach English as a foreign language to any age group, so I thought young and very young learners won't be a problem. Go and hit on those kindergarteners and under 2s! Woah! It was just as tough as surfing appeared to be!

TWO

I have one crucial problem with waves: you can't switch them off, can't turn down the volume. When you are walking further in they just keep coming on you, no matter you don't want them right now.

Something like very young learners. One of them starts to cry for example. Then some others watch this first crier, think about it, get a taste for crying and join in. Just try to tell them stop crying! Hahaha... If they are moved, happy, sad, feeling insecure, their feelings will just flow all over. They can't control it all yet. 

Just like the ocean. Something in the middle of it starts a wave and by the time it reaches the shore it has such energy, all you can do is to jump on the surfboard as soon as possible, try to stand up and use this energy while trying to control your board.

 Same with young learners: you can't really prepare for it, you have to learn to feel it and surf. And you have to work really hard to get to know the behavior of those waves and similarly you can's really go without reading those books you heard about in your developmental psychology lectures, you simply need to try and understand how toddlers think and perceive the world but most important of all, ride, ride, ride, there and then.

THREE

Just see those surfers. What is stunning about this sport is the slidin. When they are up on the board, balancing on the top of the seemingly uncontrollable waves. Cool! But how do they get there?

During my two-hour-long surfer career I remember I had to walk in the water against huge waves, dragging my big surfboard along, it seemed I'd never get far enough from the shore. Then many times when I thought the perfect wave was coming I jumped on, ..... and what I managed to catch was just a tiny little wave that previously seemed huge, it was strong enough to push me back slowly towards the beach where I started my struggle with the waves again and again. But I didn't once think I'd give up. Because the ride on the board that took some seconds was so perfect that it was worth all the strenuous fight against the masses of water.

Just like it is when I'm with my beloved very young learners! I spend days, weeks, months, no real response. (In a monolingual environment where they know you understand their mother tongue they will not want to say a word in English. Many times it is just me who sings that song for the hundredth time.) Then suddenly of one of your learners' mum sends you a video in which that little guy is holding a huuuuuge guitar, singing that song perfectly to the camera!! Tell ya, worth the struggle! Or after years (!) of playing along with ponies and stuff in English that little girl starts to talk to her granny in English in the car?

FOUR

When surfing, after a time I simply felt no energy. I was lying on the surfboard, the wave was coming and I was just not able to stretch my arms to push myself up, let alone pull my knees between my arms. I thought I was too tired or something, feeling completely lost when Lyndon, the trainer came up to me and told me to move about five centimetres further back on the board so that my toes should be more in the water. Ok, I did so and ... abracadabra: I could push myself up easily, got on the board, stood up, I had a wonderful ride with a funny fall at the end, crashing into two other surfers but never mind :D

Do you know the feeling when you focus on something so hard that you just can't see that little adjustment you have to make. You can't make it, can't make it, start to blame yourself thus leaking your energies. Then let someone come in and ask them to look at what you are doing. Good if it's just a small change, isn't it? Don't be afraid and don't let yourself lose all that energy.

I wonder if surfing should be part of ELT training......