TEACHING TIPSTeaching a language is easy but teaching it well, is another matter. Here are a few tips from my own experiences as an ESL/EFL teacher.
2. Prepare a lesson plan for each lesson, even if you have to scribble it down on a sheet of paper at the last minute. A good lesson plan should have these key features:
3. Learning English is all about making learning fun without the class degenerating into a free for all. 4. Don't over-explain and talk too much during the lessons. Remember, it's the students who are supposed to be talking (in English), not you. 5. Classrooms are naturally noisy places, and language classrooms are even noisier. It was meant to be. Who ever heard of students learning a foreign language quietly? As long as they are speaking in English, let them go for it. It makes your job easier. 6. See yourself more as a facilitator of the English language than as a teacher in a traditional sense. Don't fall into the chalk and talk trap. It will bore the students so much it will either make them doze off or chatter away in their own language to their neighbour. 7. Give them the right resources and the students will literally teach themselves. Provide the right ambient and context for the English language to flourish in. 8. Be inventive. Try different things. Some will work and others won't. Reflect on what you are doing in the classroom with them. Put in your journal comments like these:
9. With continual reflective thinking and practice, you will find it easier and easier to plan and implement lessons. Don't be put off with past failures and mistakes. Learn from them and accept the fact that not all your lessons are going to be glaring successes. 10. Rely more on such things as role plays, games, quizzes, interviews, debates, interrogations, singing lively songs, hide and seek, asking for directions, etc,.. , activities that are proactive, where students can work in pairs or small groups rather than relying too heavily on dictation, grammar exercises and copying from the white-board. I've had my students sing operatic duets once. Anything, as long as it's in ENGLISH 11. Make every lesson have a purpose, an objective. I mentioned the lesson on prepositions. Focus on a particular aspect of English, like Asking for directions ; distinguishing the past from the present tense (go-went, look-looked). See English in terms of functions. Ask yourself: what function of English do I want my students to learn today? The function of asking permission? (Can I… ? May I…..?) or the function of expressing ability (Could I… ? Can you…. ?). 12. Don't be over-zealous and try to cover too much in one lesson. It will only confuse them and lead to swallow, parrot-like learning. You may think they have understood, but upon closer investigation, they are just aping the words you have taught them without understanding what they mean and in what context to use them. 13. Logically sequence your lesson from the simple to the complex. If the lesson is focusing on the function of inviting people over for dinner, then introduce the students to phrases like: Would you like to… . ; When is it? ,; etc,. In other words, before they all stand up and invite themselves over for dinner, they must at least be familiar with some key words and phrases. 14. Native English speakers often wonder: How can you teach foreigners English if you don't speak their language. The fact is, you don't need to know the local language. Nor should you use it in the classroom. By miming, acting, sketching on the white-board or pointing to objects and pictures, one will, in the end, get the message across. Students are very good at putting two and two together. 15. Above all, have fun with the kids. If they can learn to say
and understand one sentence in English in that one lesson, it is a major
victory. Language acquisition is a slow, drawn out cumulative process. It
takes a lot of time, a lot of repetition and a lot of perseverance but when
you see the kids stuttering their first awkward words in English, it will
definitely put a smile on your lips, if not make you laugh outright (but
not in front of them please). ASKING QUESTIONS IN CLASSPlanning Questions • Plan the questions you want to ask - write them out beforehand. • Consider the range of questions you have planned. • Ensure that the sequence is logical. • Check the wording : Ask questions: • one at a time • keep questions short and avoid yes/no questions • provide adequate time for them to respond • if necessary give a verbal or visual cue to the student finding it hard to answer. • ask questions to the whole class not to a select few • ask questions briskly and with confidence • avoid rhetorical questions • if you get no response, ask yourself :
• use student answers to generate further questions Responding • acknowledge each answer • try not to reject a wrong answer completely • if an answer is not correct ask for further clarification • be relaxed, friendly, supportive and encouraging • give hints and clues to shy students • give praise and positive non-verbal responses (ie. smile) • make sure you listen to the answer Making links • students should see the lesson as a whole not as a series of unrelated incidents • relate each lesson step to the next • use each step as a building block for the next Voice Should be: "Your voice is your most important teaching aid" Ending the lesson: Allow time to
When you are ready you should dismiss the class |
