di: Kindergarten ESL program design

[Christopher Duss]

Dear List,

I am in charge of the ESL program at a day care (ages 0-5) in Tokyo, Japan. I have used Language For Learning in private lessons for age 3 and up since 2017 and have created extensive supplemental materials for that program (A and B) and DISE if anyone is interested.

I am considering how to best design the English program for the 3-5 group, given the resources we have. The group consists of: seven 3 year olds, three 4 year olds, and seven 5 year olds. One English teacher will be with this group Tuesday to Friday from 1-4pm, with some assistance possible from the head Japanese teacher. The 3 year olds and some of the 4-5 year olds sleep 1-2pm. English levels are divergent, with 3 years not having started L4L and the 4-5 year olds each at different places between 1 and 40. 

The school wants us to provide full group activities for the kids who are awake 1-2pm. From 2-4pm we can do a mix of full and small group lessons, and possibly some one-on-one time between 3-4. 

I believe with 5 years and DI we could have these kids speaking and reading English by the time they graduate. What are your thoughts on implementing DI within this framework?

Thanks for your time,
Chris