Gulliver, Michigan TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

Unit 20 covered troubleshooting common problem situations a teacher might encounter This unit was very helpful as it is not if but when a problem will arise. I do know that the first day of class could make or break the overall class effectiveness and rapport. I found the suggestions for first classes, different levels, large classes very helpful and hope to incorporate them in my future classwork. The unit summary is as follows: First Lessons - > A teacher's first lesson may be with a new group or a group already established. > A productive first lesson will help the students establish rapport with the teacher and with each other, help the teacher find out about the students, their English level and their learning needs/aspirations. > A teacher can use questionnaires/surveys, activities that mix fun with talking, or a needs analysis, etc., to learn what he/she needs to about the students. Warmers - These are "engage" activities that help the students switch their mental gears from the day's previous activities and situations to learning English. Different levels - It is very possible that students from different levels will be in the same class, either from the beginning, or because of a difference in learning speed. Some ways a teacher can deal with this are: > Use different materials > Use the same material but do different tasks > Don't do anything and allow students to figure out their own level > Pair stronger students with weaker ones Large classes - Large classes can be quite difficult to teach, because the individual work with the student as been drastically reduced or eliminated altogether. But in spite of this, there are some techniques a teacher can use: > Use worksheets in lieu of activities > Pair/group work > Emphasis on clarity in speaking and presenting > Choral repetition > Appointing group leaders > Dynamics - a large class can give more options and lend itself to a greater number of teaching ideas with the ultimate opportunity of becoming a humorous, involving class. Use of native language - students will revert to their native language because of wanting to communicate something they feel unable to express in English, or wanting to explain something to help another student. However, a teacher's responsibility is to encourage and help the students to become more comfortable communicating in English. Some things a teacher can do are: > Make sure the activities are at an appropriate level for the students' English abilities > Make sure the explanations are clear to all class members so that they don't have to explain to each other > Encourage the use of English where appropriate > Only respond in English. Even if the English is almost illegible, respond to it. > Constantly remind the students to use English in the classroom Reluctant students - Sometimes there are students who don't seem to want to talk or participate in the class, and it can be for a variety of issues. Some ways of dealing with this are as follows: > Use plenty of pair work - more comfortable to only work with one person > Use controlled practice - gives students an opportunity to get comfortable with what is expected of them in fluency building activities > Use role-play - sometimes it's easier for students if they are "someone else" > Use a tape recorder - ask students to record what they want to say outside the lesson if they are too shy to talk in front of others. Then the teacher can listen and give feedback. Difficulties with listening texts - this is a major problem and so it's easy to avoid. I do know from my own language experience that I found this very unprofitable. The audio system was blown out and often the volume was set so loud it caused further distortion. I found that when the teacher made the effort to use a different system if possible, it made all the difference. For instance, a reasonably new iPad offered excellent sound for our relatively small class. Multi-paced students - When doing worksheet activities, some students finish a lot quicker than other students. They can start talking or get bored and lose interest in the class if it happens all the time. If a teacher can have additional activities available it will help. A teacher cannot wait until every student is finished if there are slow students. Rather set the pace to the majority of the class.