Teaching Prepositions to Very Young Learners: The Case of On

The author discusses the benefits of applying cognitive linguistics, L1 acquisition, and neo-Vygotskian (Vygotsky) approaches to the teaching of a second language to young learners, using the example of teaching the preposition “on.” The author briefly reviews how prepositions are taught to adult learners and the challenges of teaching prepositions to young learners. The author then discusses two different meanings of “on” and how Total Physical Response (TPR) activities can be used to help young learners distinguish different meanings of “on.”