Module 6 tefl notes

Evaluating a Lesson

But we haven't finished yet. You've spent some time with your students asking them what went well and what didn't go so well. Now you need to spend time later evaluating your lesson. Evaluation of a Lesson after It Has Been Taught When you come out of the classroom, you should always try to find time to evaluate the completed lesson. If it's not possible, use the next bit of available time to evaluate. Try to be open-minded and honest with yourself. Sometimes, some aspects don't go off as smoothly as you would have liked. At other times, you feel elated that everything just clicked. Evaluation is a habit-a very good habit. As you progress and become more experienced, it will become second nature to you. In your early stages, however, you need to focus on this and discipline yourself to do it after every lesson. Learn from any glitches and ensure they don't happen again. Identify what went really well and build these aspects into your future lesson planning. This will help you to grow in your new career. Ensure you do not mistake fun and laughter with successful learning. It's good that the students enjoyed the lesson but the key question is: Did they learn what they were supposed to learn? Sometimes fun and laughter will lead to solid learning but there will be occasions where this doesn't happen. It's good that students enjoy themselves but you need to ensure your aim is achieved within the time allotted. Remember, it doesn't always have to be you evaluating yourself. With adult classes, you can ask some of the students how they felt the lesson ran. You can ask your head of department or another team member if they have time to sit in on parts of your lesson and give you feedback. Make use of these intelligent people! Now you know the reasons for evaluating your lesson, what areas, skills and traits should you consider? Lesson Evaluation Form 1: Lesson: Prepositions of Place Class 7b 6.06.2015 Skills and Traits Yes No Comments Aim(s) achieved satisfactorily? Students learned what they were supposed to learn? Active learners at all times? Attention: Learners attentive at all times? Equal attention given to learners? Content Knowledge: Any issues or questions that proved a little bit difficult? Control: Was the lesson too controlled by me? Did I allow them enough free and uncontrolled activity? Communicative Language: Did the students use English communicatively throughout? Correction and Feedback: Immediate feedback given to students on questions and errors? Knew what to correct and what to ignore? Cultural Awareness: Displayed at all times? Engagement: Engaged students throughout?Learners were engaged with the L2 throughout the lesson? Enjoyment: Did students enjoy the lesson? Flexibility: Adapted to new situations that arose? Homework: No homework assigned, or assigned at the last minute? Instructional Examples: Adequate, meaningful, clearly illustrated and varied? Language Skills: Were the language skills integrated and practised during the lesson? Materials and Aids: Relevant, appropriate, well-designed? Too much or too little or just right? Organisation: Was the class organisation appropriate at different points in the lesson? (Groups, pairs etc.) Planning: Well-planned structure? PPP Structure: Adhered to at all times Teacher Talking Time: Minimised? Techniques: Variety, e.g. print materials, a/v media, drills, role plays, small group/individual work Timing: Started and ended on time? Adequate time for each stage? Topic: Stuck to topic? Visuals (including board): Clear and appropriate? Voice, Body Language, Cues, Gestures: Effe All of this should be pretty self-explanatory. Good luck with your lesson evaluations - learn from them! Taking Account of the Evaluation for Future Lesson Planning: As you've seen, there are lots of criteria to consider when evaluating your lesson after you've taught it. The elements listed are merely a starting point. As you gain experience in the classroom, you will become more aware of other factors that can determine the overall effectiveness of a lesson. The key is to be able to objectively self-analyse and self-evaluate no matter how poorly, or how well, your lesson went. Then you must utilise what you've learned for future lesson planning. This is what the Excellent Teacher does. Just like a student, to be effective a teacher continues to learn, sifts out the good criteria from the bad, and moves from strength to strength in her teaching career. Every day is a school day for the teacher, not just the students.

Unit 5: Presentation Stage

We will consider the following to show you how to present a new item: Eliciting information Using visual aids Concept checking questions Eliciting Information: This means using questions to stimulate your students. Keep asking questions during this part of the lesson. It's a good idea to keep eliciting throughout the lesson as it creates spontaneity and you are also getting constant feedback. It also means that you are not doing all the talking. However, be aware that stronger students can end up answering all the questions. If a lesson didn't go too well, then you can reflect on your eliciting and change your lesson plan for next time. Visual Aids: When you are doing your presentation, use visual aids to demonstrate the examples to your students. Use these in addition to using eliciting questions. We know there are many different types of learners in the classroom: auditory learners (learn by listening), kinaesthetic (learn by doing something), and visual learners (learn by seeing something visually displayed), so use a variety of techniques. Here are some examples of visual aids: Flashcards: a flashcard is a card with an image on the front with a definition below the picture or on the back. You can elicit information by showing a student the card and asking: 'What's this?' You can use it for just about anything like jobs, food, animals, etc. Games: Miming jobs or an animal is an excellent way to start a lesson. Drawing on the board: Drawing on the board is huge fun and it really doesn't matter how good you are because bad drawings sometimes create more fun. Stick men are good. Photos: taken from a magazine and can be used to create context to the Presentation of your lesson. Videos: YouTube has lots of materials for engaging students in the Presentation stage of the course. Realia: Real objects are excellent for starting the presentation stage of the lesson. For example, you could use a glass with water to demonstrate amounts or words like 'about' or 'nearly'. Using timelines to show verb tenses: A timeline is a horizontal line showing the present, past and future. You can also use a timeline to show present and past continuous by drawing a wiggly line above the original timeline. Example: Present continuous: I am speaking English now, over the present but continuing. Past Present Future ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- xxxxxxxxxx Board work: Use mind maps Write clearly Use different colours Use different parts of the board for different things Check spelling Show stress and syllables on the board Keep talking while you are writing so that the classroom does not go quiet Concept Checking Questions: As discussed in an earlier Module, don't ask the students a question like 'Do you understand?' Unfortunately, you will not get the answer you are looking for. You need to ask concept checking questions. Concept checking questions are questions that check whether the student has understood. For example, a concept checking question would be: 'What did you eat for dinner last night?' The student will only give you the correct answer if they have understood the question. There are a number of concept questions you can use in the presentation stage of the lesson. Yes/No concept checking questions: Is the car bigger than the motorbike? Is the lemon brighter than the cabbage? Open questions: These are questions that start with how, why, where, when and who.

Unit 10: Discovering Learning Styles

1. What kind of book would you prefer to read? a) A book with lots of pictures. b) A book with lots of puzzles and games. c) A book with just words. a) Visual b) Kinaesthetic c) Auditory 2. When you are trying to spell a word, which of the following do you do? a) Write it down. b) Say it. c) Try to write it with your finger. a) Visual b) Auditory c) Kinaesthetic 3. When you are waiting in a queue to pay for something, what do you do? a) Look around b) Talk to somebody c) Feel uncomfortable and fidget. a) Visual b) Auditory c) Kinaesthetic 4. What is the best way for you to prepare for an exam? a) Read your notebook b) Get someone to test you out loud c) Use revision cards. a) Visual b) Auditory c) Kinaesthetic 5. What is the best way for you to learn something new? a) Get someone to show you b) Read about it or listen. c) Work it out by yourself. a) Visual b) Auditory c) Kinaesthetic And here's a learning styles questionnaire for you! This should help you reflect on whether you prefer a certain style and how you may want to adapt this a bit in your classroom to suit all your learners. Complete the questionnaire below-swiftly, please! Don't spend lots of time thinking about your responses. Just go for it! Don't look for an answer key! There are no correct answers! An example of a VAK Learning Styles Questionnaire Circle or tick the answer that most represents how you generally behave. 1. When I operate new equipment I generally: a.read the instructions first b.listen to an explanation from someone who has used it before c.go ahead and have a go, as I can figure it out as I use it 2. When I need directions for travelling I usually: a.look at a map b.ask for spoken directions c.follow my nose and maybe use a compass 3. When I cook a new dish, I like to: a.follow a written recipe b.call a friend for an explanation c.follow my instincts, testing as I cook 4. If I am teaching someone something new, I tend to: a.write instructions down for them b.give them a verbal explanation c.demonstrate first and then let them have a go 5. I tend to say: a.watch how I do it b.listen to me explain c.you have a go 6. During my free time I most enjoy: a.going to museums and galleries b.listening to music and talking to my friends c.playing sport or doing DIY 7. When I go shopping for clothes, I tend to: a.imagine what they would look like on me b.discuss them with the shop staff c.try them on and test them out 8. When I am choosing a holiday I usually: a.read lots of brochures b.listen to recommendations from friends c.imagine what it would be like to be there 9. If I were buying a new car, I would: a.read reviews in newspapers and magazines b.discuss what I need with my friends c.test drive lots of different types 10. When I am learning a new skill, I am most comfortable: a.watching what the teacher is doing b.talking through with the teacher exactly what I'm supposed to do c.giving it a try myself and working it out as I go 11. If I am choosing food from a menu, I tend to: a.imagine what the food will look like b.talk through the options in my head or with my partner c.imagine what the food will taste like 12. When I listen to a band, I can't help: a.watching the band members and other people in the audience b.listening to the lyrics and the beats c.moving in time with the music 13. When I concentrate, I most often: a.focus on the words or the pictures in front of me b.discuss the problem and the possible solutions in my head c.move around a lot, fiddle with pens and pencils and touch things 14. I choose household furnishings because I like: a.their colours and how they look b.the descriptions the sales people give me c.their textures and what it feels like to touch them 15. My first memory is of: a.looking at something b.being spoken to c.doing something 16. When I am anxious, I: a.visualise the worst case scenarios b.talk over in my head what worries me most c.can't sit still, fiddle and move around constantly 17. I feel especially connected to other people because of: a.how they look b.what they say to me c.how they make me feel 18. When I have to revise for an exam, I generally: a.write lots of revision notes and diagrams b.talk over my notes, alone or with other people c.imagine making the movement or creating the formula 19. If I am explaining to someone I tend to: a.show them what I mean b.explain to them in different ways until they understand c.encourage them to try and talk them through my idea as they do it 20. I really love: a.watching films, photography, looking at art or people watching b.listening to music, the radio or talking to friends c.taking part in sporting activities, eating fine foods and wines, or dancing 21. Most of my free time is spent: a.watching television b.talking to friends c.doing physical activity or making things 22. When I first contact a new person, I usually: a.arrange a face-to-face meeting b.talk to them on the telephone c.try to get together whilst doing something else, such as an activity or a meal 23. I first notice how people: a.look and dress b.sound and speak c.stand and move 24. If I am angry, I tend to: a.keep replaying in my mind what it is that has upset me b.raise my voice and tell people how I feel c.stamp about, slam doors and physically demonstrate my anger 25. I find it easiest to remember: a.faces b.names c.things I have done 26. I think that you can tell if someone is lying if: a.they avoid looking at you b.their voice changes c.they give me "funny vibes" 27. When I meet an old friend: a.I say "it's great to see you!" b.I say "it's great to hear from you!" c.I give them a hug or a handshake 28. I remember things best by: a.writing notes or keeping printed details b.saying them aloud or repeating words and key points in my head c.doing and practising the activity or imagining it being done 29. If I have to complain about faulty goods, I am most comfortable: a.writing a letter b.complaining over the phone c.taking the item back to the store or posting it to head office 30. I tend to say: a.I see what you mean b.I hear what you are saying c.I know how you feel Marking key Now add up how many a, b and c options you selected. a = b = c = If you chose mostly option a, you are likely to have a visual learning style. If you chose mostly option b, you are likely to have an auditory learning style. If you chose mostly option c, you are likely to have a kinaesthetic learning style

Flashcards

A flashcard is simply a piece of card with a picture on the front and a definition or word on the back. You can make them yourself or download them from the Internet. We have added some useful links in the Suggested Reading Section at the end. Flashcards are excellent tools for eliciting information from your learners and they are useful for any of the age groups you teach.

Supplementary Materials

1. Making them fit the context Several criticisms of commercially made materials continue to be voiced, particularly in relation to context. Here are the main criticisms: The coursebook and accompanying materials produced for the global EFL market are too generic. They are not geared to specific groups of learners. They are not geared to any specific educational or cultural context. They contain functions and speech outputs based on situations that the majority of foreign language learners will never be in. They are Anglo-centric in their construction and production and therefore do not reflect any local varieties of English. Thus, many teachers find it better to make their own materials to make them fit their own specific educational and cultural context. 2. Making them fit the individual learners Commercially produced generic materials cannot address the needs of all the unique individual learners in classrooms. But teachers can by: Creating or adapting materials to the individual needs of students Creating or adapting materials that take into account the learners' first language and the learners' culture and personal experiences Creating or adapting materials at the right level for particular learners, to ensure the materials present an appropriate challenge and degree of success Changing the often repetitive model and organisation in the coursebook to add more variety within the classroom to meet developing needs (e.g. using whatever is appropriate to meet the goal - topics, situations, functions etc.) 3. Making them fit today's events Commercially produced materials cannot keep up to date with local and international events. World and country changes can happen rapidly and learning materials need to keep up with changes and events that are of special interest to learners in their situation. Only teachers can make the materials relevant to today's world. 4. Lack of finance Many schools may not have the budget to supply modern resources for the EFL classroom. Instead of moaning and groaning, most teachers step up to the plate and design their own materials as a matter of course. Disadvantages of designing your own materials: Here are some disadvantages to reflect upon: 1. Quality Unless the teacher is highly skilled in developing materials with a professional look, the end product may not have the professional look a coursebook will have. Some teacher materials may be constructed poorly, may miss out important elements, may lack clarity in the way they are presented and printed, and may confuse the learners due to inadequate instructions. Some may even have errors within the materials. 2. Maintaining a coherent focus Although coursebooks receive a considerable amount of criticism, they all have one important redeeming feature: the pattern or approach chosen usually runs throughout all units. Even although this can be repetitive, e.g. grammar elements and the same PPP (presentation, practice, production) approach in every Unit, at least it is organised in a coherent manner and learners know what to expect. Unless the teacher is highly skilled in organising materials in line with an identifiable and consistent approach, teacher-made materials may lack coherence and direction. Older learners, in particular, may not see where the teacher is taking them. 3. Lack of time Designing materials with a professional look and feel take up a lot of time. Many teachers will not have a lot of time available; most of the non-teaching time will be used up with lesson planning. Creating your own materials: Two effective forms of teacher-made materials are worksheets and workcards. They can be used for oral practice in pairs or groups, or for listening, reading and writing practice, with students working with other students or on their own. 1. Worksheets A worksheet is typically an A4 page (or two) of tasks. It is given out to individuals, pairs or groups, depending on the approach required. Learners give their answers/responses on the worksheet. The teacher circulates during the completion. The teacher typically checks the answers/responses with the whole class. Sometimes they are disposed of, sometimes the learners can keep them, sometimes the teacher takes them in to study progress, e.g. handwriting, or to include them in the learners' portfolios. Information gaps are a typical worksheet activity where learners work out missing and different information that each have on their worksheet.

more teaching notes

Elementary: An elementary student can form very basic phrases in English. Lexis and Grammar Syllabus for the Elementary Class Here are typical areas of lexis and structures for your elementary class: Verbs: Present simple in the positive and the negative, past simple, future simple Adverbs: Adverbs of frequency, which include 'sometimes' and 'usually' Quantities: How much? Lexis/vocabulary: teaching new vocabulary to cover: shopping, cooking, directions, telling the time including months and years Comparatives Pre-intermediate: A pre-Intermediate student has knowledge of basic grammar structure and a good range of vocabulary. Lexis and Grammar Syllabus for the Pre-Intermediate Class Here are typical areas of lexis and structures for your pre-intermediate class: Verbs: Modal verbs: I can/can't and I must/mustn't, present perfect tense, past simple with irregular verbs, past continuous Adverbs Vocabulary to cover the following topics: movies, shopping, clothes, booking hotels and holidays, and many more useful areas that you think your students will enjoy. Possessive pronouns: Mine, his/hers/theirs/ ours Intermediate: An intermediate student will be able to handle more complex structures. Lexis and Grammar Syllabus for the Intermediate Class Here are typical areas of lexis and structures for your intermediate class: Verbs: Modal verbs, conditionals, gerunds and infinitives, present perfect continuous, past perfect tense Vocabulary to cover the following: Comparing and contrasting Deeper level understanding of form: newspaper and magazine articles. Upper Intermediate: A student at this level will be confident and have a good command of all structures and will have a wide range of vocabulary. Lexis and Grammar Syllabus for the Upper Intermediate Class Here are typical areas of lexis and structures for your upper intermediate class: Third conditional Reported speech Modal verbs in the past Passive verb forms Verbs: I wish, to be used to/ to get used to, past perfect continuous tense, future perfect Vocabulary: Feelings and more specialised vocabulary depending on the learning needs of your students. For example: medical terminology, marketing words in Business English. Advanced: They will have an in-depth understanding of English Language. Lexis and Grammar Syllabus for the Advanced Class At the advanced level, students can communicate in English to a very high level and we suggest the following syllabus for advanced speakers. Try to cover the following: Question tags Future perfect continuous Phrasal verbs Vocabulary to include the following: Idioms like 'he kicked the bucket' Connotations from words in newspaper articles or reports Humour: Monty Python and Peter Sellers! Metaphors and similes The syllabus provided should be used as a guide. It's crucial to identify your students' needs and teach what they need and would like to learn. Always set the learning in meaningful context and play to your strengths. You will all have a number of wonderful experiences that you can bring into the classroom at any level. Sharing your life (to a degree) with your students will create a warm and friendly classroom. Many of you will use a textbook with a syllabus when you are teaching the different levels of students, so don't worry about creating a brand new syllabus every time you walk into a new school or classroom. The correct answer is: Present Simple, Past Simple and Future Simple. - Elementary, Third Conditional and Reported Speech. - Upper- Intermediate, Modal verbs and Present Perfect Tenses. - Pre-Intermediate, Subject pronouns (I, she, he, they) and Question words. - Beginner, Conditionals and Gerunds - Intermediate, Idioms, Metaphors and Similes. - Advanced

Gap Fill Ideas

Gap fill activities are exercises that require a learner to fill in the missing word from either their own knowledge or by choosing from a list of multiple choice answers. As you will see in later modules, gap fill exercises are very useful for giving your students some controlled practice before the free practice section. In the Suggested Reading section at the end, we have provided some links to some resources where you can find many ESL gap fill worksheets. Alternatively you can just use your own. You can get any relevant magazine article of interest to your students, hide a few of the words and either let them put their own answer or give them a list of multiple choice answers.

The Importance Differentiation

How do you teach students of different levels in the same classroom? Many teachers are often faced with mixed ability classes and some classes are as big as 40 or 50 students. These classes will inevitably have a range of levels. The most natural and competent way to handle classes with mixed abilities is to arrange students in pairs or groups, with high level students helping students at a lower level. You can also spend some time interacting with stronger and weaker students once planned activities have started. You can also deal with gifted students by offering them extension work and research based work. It will always help if you have technology in the classroom and you can point a student towards your Wikispaces site where your resources are listed.

Unit 5: Teaching different age groups

In the initial stages of planning, it's important to know the age range of the students. You might be teaching young learners, teenagers or adults. Within those age ranges, the context will be very different. You might be teaching adults who are beginners or adults who wish to learn Business English. In summary, you will have to tailor-make all your lessons to meet the needs of your students. We have included some super resources in the Suggested Reading section to help you when teaching young learners and teenagers.

Unit 8: End of the Lesson

It's crucial to end the lesson well and for you and the students to be reflective. If students can be reflective, they will be practising metacognitive skills, which create deeper learning for students.

Unit 1: Stages of the PPP Technique

Stages: 1. Introduction: In this part of the lesson you will introduce yourself and explain the objective of the lesson to your learners. 2. Warmer: A quick warm up activity to get your students acclimatised to English. 3. Presentation: You teach the new item. 4. Practice: Controlled practice where students practise using the new items. 5. Production: Free practice which lets your students become more creative. 6. Review/Summary and Reflection: This is a chance to reflect on the lesson and find out what the students enjoyed. 7. Cooler: This is a chance to end the lesson with a short fun activity and say goodbye. To tie all this together for you, we have prepared a full lesson example for the beginner and/or elementary level using the PPP technique.

lesson planning

The most natural strategy for dealing with different levels is to encourage group work and also pair stronger students with weaker students. This type of differentiation will allow both, gifted and talented children, and weaker students to flourish together. It's good to remember that we all develop at different speeds throughout our lives and it's natural fPlanning a lesson is crucial to your success and planning will allow you to relax more and more, showing your true personality and your real reasons for becoming a teacher: to help and guide others to learn English. A plan should be a written or electronic document on your tablet or laptop. Many of the schools you will work at will have a set format to follow. However, most lesson plan documents contain the same information. There are some sample lesson plans at the end of this Section which can be downloaded and used. or us to share knowledge and ideas.

Providing Reading Texts with context

We will discuss reading texts in more detail in the next 'Teaching Reading' Module. For the moment, it's very important to remember that any reading text you choose to use must be interesting for your learners and have a connection to them. In other words, it's very important to add meaningful context to the lesson. For example, if you are teaching teenagers make sure you choose an article they can identify with like music, movies or sport.

Word Lists Ideas

Word lists can be very useful when you are trying to elicit information from a group. It's also a good way to brainstorm ideas and add the information to a mind map.

4. Practice: Controlled practice where students practise using the new items

ow you move into the practice stage. It's time for them to practise the new learning. Now hand out a previously prepared worksheet. It has a table of three columns. You can't head them up basic, comparative and superlative as this would just be gobbledegook for them. So, you have already pre-printed it with big, bigger, biggest in the columns. You have also added in basic adjectives they already know. We have given a few. Stick to single syllable adjectives. Get them to work in pairs, completing the table. Then correct them, asking pairs at random to give their answers, confirming each pair got it right and checking pronunciation by class drilling (the whole class repeating) and by random selection of learners. Confirm and praise. Clear up any mistakes. Remember what we call the 'cognitive burden'. That is, they can only take on so much during this introductory lesson. If you attempt too much, it won't go well. So: ·Ignore spellings where some words have a double letter in the comparative and superlative, e.g. taller, thinner. ·Use only single syllable words as longer words with more syllables are formed with more and most, as you know, e.g. beautiful, more beautiful, the most beautiful ·Don't be over-zealous and try to tell them that we can use the superlative without the, e.g. John is big, James is bigger and William is biggest. These points will gradually be covered in follow-up lessons.

Unit 6: Teaching different levels

Beginner: At the beginner level, the student will know very few words in English. It's a rewarding level to teach because everything is new. A beginner can be a child or an adult. Remember to set everything in a meaningful context when teaching all students.

Games

Game playing is thought to be one of the best ways to encourage learning in schools. TEFL Fullcircle recommends that you use games in the classroom to help your students enjoy and to promote deeper learning. In the Suggested Reading section there are some links to some of the resources available on the Web.

Unit 4: What are Warmers and Coolers?

Last Letter, First Letter: This is a great game which can be played using any topic at all. It's excellent for vocabulary and spelling. Let's use the names of countries as an example. A student will start with the name of a country and the next person has to think of the name of another country beginning with the last letter of the previous country. It can be used with any topic at all or just for the introduction of new words. The Shopping game: The aim of the game is to build a shopping list, which gets longer and longer as it goes around the room. The first person will think of an item, for example milk, and then the next person will say milk and eggs and the next will add another item to list. By the time it gets to the tenth person or so, it starts to get hard. Let the students help each other if it gets too difficult. To make the game more difficult, students can add an adjective to their sentence. For example: I went to the supermarket and bought some smelly cheese. Connecting a sentence: Put the words from a sentence onto individual cards and give the set of cards to a group of students, say 5 or 6. Give each group a different set of cards. Get each group to re-assemble the cards to make a sentence. Newspaper Article: Discuss a news item with your students. Pick something funny from a paper and ask them to explain what's going on. This works very well with intermediate + students.

Unit 2: How much time do I need?

Most lessons last for about 40 minutes to 1 hour; it's important for you to set specific time slots to cover the different stages. Sometimes a lesson can be a double period, with a break in between. If your lesson is 2 or even 3 hours, it's best to plan 2 or 3 individual lessons.

more lesson planning

Planning a lesson is crucial to your success and planning will allow you to relax more and more, showing your true personality and your real reasons for becoming a teacher: to help and guide others to learn English. A plan should be a written or electronic document on your tablet or laptop. Many of the schools you will work at will have a set format to follow. However, most lesson plan documents contain the same information. There are some sample lesson plans at the end of this Section which can be downloaded and used. Pre-Planning Work to build context: Methods of language teaching Timetable and classroom Who are your students? Age of your students Level of your students Class size Differentiation Learning styles SMART aims and objectives Potential problems The Structure of the lesson: Teaching techniques Stages of the PPP Technique Timing Presentation Stage Practice Stage Production Stage End of the lesson: Summary and Reflection Activities to use in the Practice and Production Stages Practice and Production Activities A well-planned lesson will allow you to show your humour, personality and passion. It will let you have fun and become an outstanding and inspirational teacher. Let's show you how and give you some tips from real teaching experiences on how to create a well-planned lesson within your safe and fun learning environment.

Unit 9: Learning Styles

Visual: Visual learners absorb more information into the brain by seeing items. They like video, images, flashcards and reading but find verbal instructions difficult. In order to help a visual learner, it's important to do the following: Write instructions on the board. Use pictures, images and flashcards. Use the board to write new vocabulary and grammar. Kinaesthetic: These types of learner learn best by doing. They often like trying new ideas without any guidance. You will notice a kinaesthetic learner because they will enjoy getting up and walking around. They find it difficult to focus on a task for a long time. You can help a kinaesthetic learner by doing the following: Use realia so they can touch it. Play games like mime or role-play. Go outside for your lessons Let students work on the floor if they choose to. Auditory: A learner who prefers auditory learning will excel in listening and speaking, but they will often struggle with reading and writing. You will notice an auditory learner because they enjoy chatting. In order to help an auditory learner, try the following: Get the student to explain items verbally. Drilling is good for this type of learner. Project work is good for these types of learners.

Using Movies and Music in the classroom

Watching a clip of a movie from You Tube or using songs in your lessons is an excellent way to build positive relationships, add context and make lessons enjoyable and fun. Movie clips from YouTube can be used for listening activities or writing activities. A good writing lesson is showing a clip from YouTube without the sound and building a funny story around what the students see. You can get them to create a role play and then come to the front to act out the scene. A very good listening and speaking lesson is a Karaoke lesson where students have to perform a song after having analysed the meaning of the words. Always remember that if you and your students are having a fun lesson, they will remember more.

Unit 4: Are your students young learners, teenagers of adults?

When you get your timetable, you will be able to find out the age of your students and often you will be told the level of the students. Some schools will also have information on each individual student in terms of their background. However, most of the time, you will have to wait until you meet your students to find out more information. During the first week or first few lessons, it's a good idea to get to know your students and build up some rapport, with some games and simple activities. This will also make you feel more relaxed, knowing that the first week will be spent getting to know the new school and students. Nobody will expect you to walk in the door and start teaching without getting to know your students first. If you are teaching in a slightly different environment, like a private language school or within a business, you will also have to get to know the background of your learners. Their background will directly affect the course and the way you deliver the content and add context. For example, a group of Business English learners will have very different backgrounds compared to school age students.

5. Production: Free practice which lets your students become more creative.

learning into usage. Step 1: Give each pair a handout - a copy of a world map with country names clear and a range of country sizes added in. You may choose just to use a map of Asia or Europe or the USA if you need more space to put in the sizes. Identify who is A and who is B in the group. A is to select 3 countries, tells B what they are and A writes in his workbook, for example, India is big, Australia is bigger, and Russia is the biggest. At the same time, B does the same for 3 countries but must choose 3 different countries from those that B chose. A now reads his sentence to B who reads and checks the sentence and country size and then B does the same with A. Those who have finished faster than others can do another three countries. During all this time you will be walking about, listening, answering a few questions, giving help as necessary, but not teaching or interrupting the flow. Ask some of the pairs to read out their selections. Monitor the structure of the sentence and the pronunciation of big, bigger, the biggest. Confirm and praise. Step 2: Then ask A and B in each pair to select 3 objects and describe them to their partner, e.g. an eraser, pencil and school bag. Or they can point to objects or other students in the room. Tell them that this time they must not use big. They must use words they already used in the table, e.g. tall, small, thin, old etc. Again, during all this time you will be walking about, listening, answering a few questions, giving help as necessary, but not teaching or interrupting the flow. Ask some of the pairs if they would like to come out to the front of the class and do their activity in front of the class. Include other pairs, though, who can read out their attempts whist seated. Praise, praise, praise! 6. Review/Summary and Reflection: This is a chance to reflect on the lesson and find out what the students enjoyed. You will already have decided whether you feel they need to do a homework activity based on this lesson or whether you will wait until you have covered the other points mentioned under 'cognitive burden'. If you do decide to give out homework, do it now before the cooler. If you leave it till after the cooler, you'll find it harder to get their attention as they'll already be thinking about going outside the classroom. 7. Cooler: This is a chance to end the lesson with a short fun activity and say goodbye. So, as we said above, this lesson would not be too challenging for you in terms of explaining structures, grammar etc., but it would require a lot of preparation - and energy. Note that the learners have been involved in speaking, listening, writing and reading during this lesson, which is what we should aim to achieve as much as possible. Remember! Follow our process outlined above when you start teaching. You may need to tweak it here or there. Remember: get the students to do most of the talking. Timing: Let's put that into context. You could divide a 1-hour lesson as follows. Remember: this is not a definitive guide: Introduction: 2.5 minutes Warmer: 5 minutes Presentation: 15 minutes Practice: 15 minutes Production: 15 minutes Summary and reflection: 5 minutes Cooler: 2.5 minutes Interaction: You can also show on your lesson plan who should be doing the talking at various stages: Teacher to Student = T-S Student to Teacher = S-T Student to Student = S-S In Pairs = PR In groups = GR

Using Warmers and Coolers

Last Letter, First Letter: This is an excellent game which can be played using any topic at all. It's very good for vocabulary and spelling. Let's use the names of countries as an example. A student will start with the name of a country and the next person has to think of the name of another country beginning with the last letter of the previous country. It can be used with any topic at all or just for the introduction of new words. The Shopping game: The aim of the game is to build a shopping list, which gets longer and longer as it goes around the room. The first person will think of an item, for example 'milk', and then the next person will say 'milk and eggs' and the next will add another item to list. By the time it gets to the tenth person or so, it starts to get hard. Let the students help each other if it gets too difficult. To make the game more difficult, students can add an adjective to their sentence. For example: I went to the supermarket and bought some smelly cheese. Connecting a sentence: Put the words from a sentence onto individual cards and give the set of cards to a group of students, say 5 or 6. Give each group a different set of cards. Get each group to re-assemble the cards to make a sentence. Newspaper Article: Discuss a news item with your students. Pick something funny from a paper and ask them to explain what's going on. This works very well with intermediate + students. There are many different resources that can be found on the web.

teaching different levels still

Lexis and Grammar Syllabus for the Beginner Class Here are typical areas of lexis and structures for your beginner class: Subject pronouns: I, he, she, it, we, you and they Question words: what, who, where, when and how Demonstrative pronouns: this, there, that, those Possessive adjectives: my, yours, his, hers etc. Nouns: singular and plural Verbs: 'to be' and 'to have' in positive and negative forms Vocabulary: whatever the context is Numbers: 1 to 100 Jobs Countries and nationalities Basic food Days of the week and months Family Different types of room Everyday objects

Unit 6: Controlled Practice Stage

We now know that most of your lessons will follow the Presentation-Practice-Production path. Let's look at the initial practice part of the lesson where controlled activities will take place. We can call this stage the Controlled Practice Stage. During the Presentation Stage, the students generally listen more and this segment is mainly teacher-led as you introduce new language. In the Controlled Practice Stage, students get a chance to practise new items in a controlled manner. During the last stage of the lesson, the Production Stage or second practice section, students can be more creative with the new item. The Controlled Practice part of the lesson allows you to check the progress of your students as they are completing controlled activities. This helps you to help them as you check, for example, understanding and accuracy. Some excellent Controlled Practice activities are as follows. Worksheets offer you a controlled way to practise what you have presented in the first part of the lesson. Normally, you would offer students a finite number of questions, which get progressively harder so that you can challenge stronger students. Good worksheets will include a variety of different types of activity: Gap Fill questions where students have to fill in the missing information. Anagrams where students have to rearrange words or sentences. Scrambled sentences so that they can practise word order. Transforming tenses where students have to complete the correct tense. Matching activities where students have to match a definition with a statement. Drilling, individual or choral drilling, can be used to practise new items and pronunciation on the worksheet. Controlled practice activities can also be varied using individual, pair or group work.

Unit 7: Production Stage

A Written Paragraph: This is where the students have to write their own version of a story. For example, students might have to finish the following scary story: 'The last thing I remember before the loud explosion was ...' Alternatively, you could mime a story and use the board to describe a sequence of events and your students have to finish the story or come to the front of the class and act it out. Group or pair work writing a speech or giving a presentation. A role play they can write themselves in pairs. Write a question to the answer in the target tense or language. For example: 'Spicy Thai food.' Write a question in the past simple. Interviews and Questionnaires: students can walk around the classroom and ask questions. Drama: this is one of the most fun ways to learn. Get the students to act out a scene. You could help them by giving them a role or job and explain they are visiting a hospital or a doctor to have an interview. They could also be at a dinner party and each person is arguing a case. Debates: This is a super activity for stronger students. Pick a subject that is fun like: Who is the best superhero, and why? Surveys: Surveys on, for example, musical tastes can incorporate the use of the past, present and future tenses. Students can go around the class as part of a controlled activity, i.e. this needs to be structured and you would give them a template they can use. Once they have finished they can go back and write a freer report. The topic can include just about anything. Question games: The student must write quiz questions. Predictions in the future In the next few modules, we will give you more great activities to use in the Controlled and the Production parts of the lesson. Right now, it's important that you understand the different stages that go together to make up a sound lesson. It's also crucial to emphasise that students have fun during the practice activities and that you get the students talking as much as possible. Previous

Unit 3: Timetable and Classroom

Before you start any planning, it's important to get a timetable of your lessons with the room numbers and building numbers. Some schools use weekly or two-weekly timetables so you might not see a class for a couple of weeks. Once you have your timetable, you will then know how long your lessons will be and what time they take place. Often a timetable will have the same room number but it will be in a different block. Once you get your timetable, it's a wise idea to go and have a walk and find where your classroom is located. Also, if you can, go and have a look inside and see what you have to work with. Ask yourself questions like: What kind of board does the classroom have? Do I have the right pens? Is the classroom locked and do I need a key? Does the technology work or need to be plugged in? What do the classroom walls look like? Do I have a list of students? How long is the lesson? It's important to go and find out the level of resources you have available in your new classroom. Remember that if you have planned a lesson, which relies heavily on technology and when you arrive in the classroom all the technology is redundant or has been moved, you will have to think on your feet quickly! Once you have your timetable with room numbers and you have found your classrooms, you are ready for the next step.

Discussions

Discussions are a solid way to get students talking and they're also a very good way to extend conversations. As with anything you're doing in the classroom, try to remember to add context and set up discussions and debates about something that's relevant to the learners in front of you. Some of the best discussions that TEFL Fullcircle has used are discussions on technology: ·Which is the best phone: iPhone 6 or Samsung or the Blackberry? ·Which is the best video game? ·What's the best book and why? ·What's the best movie? Discussions are excellent activities for allowing students freer and more creative ways of using English. Another great way to add discussions to your lessons is to ask your students to present their own topics to the class. You will find that this is excellent lesson for intermediate to advanced learners, particularly towards the end of a term. You can create a very good assessment for the student presentations.

Unit 1: Pre-Planning Stages

In the Pre-Planning section, it's crucial that you try to understand all the elements that will help you gain a better feeling of the context of the lesson. Therefore, it's critical that you know the age of your students and their levels, or range of levels, so that you can plan some activities. Once you have been given your timetable you will be able to ascertain the level and size of the groups. If you have large groups you will have to think about re-arranging the layout of the room and using some larger group activities. As you get to know your class, you will begin to understand who the gifted children are and you'll also have a better idea of potential issues. As mentioned in Module 2, success is the classroom is all about building solid relationships. Having a sound plan will help you relax and build these relationships. Let's now consider some of the key points you will need to consider to understand the context of the classroom. Pre-Planning Work to build context: Methods of language teaching Timetable and classroom Who are your students? Age of your students Level of your students Class size Differentiation Learning styles SMART aims and objectives Potential issues You will have to plan different lessons for different ages and different levels of students. Unfortunately, 'one size' does not fit all and you will have to tailor-make each of your lessons to meet the needs of your learners. A small group of Business English learners will have very different needs to those of a large group of teenage students. Young learners will require lots and lots of short, fun activities to help them keep their focus compared with adult beginners who might feel self-conscious when trying to speak.You will find that having a Wikispaces site will help you manage many different types of groups and allow you to differentiate lessons. There is a wealth of information on the internet and your Wikispaces site will give your learners a central location from which to locate games, activities and acquire knowledge.

Unit 11: SMART Aims and Objectives

Once you have more of an idea of the age, level and learning style of your students, you can plan an appropriate lesson, communicate what you would like them to learn and give them the aim or objective of the lesson. Giving your students an objective at the start of the lesson is vitally important, so that you can explain what you will be covering in the lesson, and why. An objective is also an important way for you to reflect and measure the success of the lesson. It's also essential to give your students a variety of ways to achieve these objectives, in terms of varied tasks. We recommend that when you are making a lesson plan, you state the aim or objective of your lesson. The lesson aim should be SMART, which means it should be: Specific: It should be concise. Measurable: Can you measure the success of the objective? Achievable: Does it suit the level of the learners? Realistic: Is it a suitable objective for the learners? Time constrained: Can it be taught in the time allocated? For example: To be able to use the present simple tense when you are talking about a hobby. To teach vocabulary for when you book a holiday.

Young Learners and Teenagers

Teaching children is huge fun as long as you provide the right amount of fun and add context. As part of this course we have provided you with some modules on how to teach Young Learners. By using some of the techniques in these modules you can create some great lessons for you and your students. The modules which discuss teaching young learners are a specialist part of the course where we look into teaching learners in depth. With regard to teenagers It's vital to set all the learning in a meaningful context, as it is with any type of learner.

Unit 2: Teaching Methodologies

The Grammar-Translation method: Students have to memorise grammar rules and vocabulary and practise by translating sentences from their mother tongue into the foreign language. There is little time spent developing oral skills. The Direct Method or Oral method or Natural method: This method advocates teaching in only the target language. This method also focuses on teaching oral skills, practice in having conversations, and improving pronunciation. Writing and reading is developed later. Grammar is learnt using the inductive approach. The Audio-Lingual method: This is a drilling method where a student listens and then repeats. Students practise different dialogues for different situations. The Structural-Situational method: A model pattern is introduced and often practised with drilling. However, context is added to the scenarios. Grammatical rules are learnt one at a time. Task Based Learning: With this form of learning, the students are given a task and try to work out the structure themselves. Often there is no formal instruction, as students must find the solution themselves. The Silent Way: In this method, the teacher will say as little as possible and encourages students to create their own language, prompted by physical objects. Immersion: In this method, students are immersed in English throughout the day in school. They are taught all subjects in English. This method is often used in Asian schools. The Lexical Approach: In this approach, the students are taught the most commonly used lexical chunks of words and structures. The idea is that common phrases are taught Eclectic Approach: This approach uses all of the above teaching methods and uses styles which suit learners at different levels. Communicative Approach: As described in depth, previously in Module 1. Let's consider the difference between inductive and deductive teaching. The main difference between the two is the direction of information that flows between the teacher and student. Inductive: With this approach, an activity is introduced first and students are expected to work out the rules themselves, before the teacher explains it. This approach is often used in smaller classes. The inductive approach allows for creativity in the lesson. Deductive: With the deductive approach, the teacher (or the concept) introduces rules and then they are applied to an activity. This approach is often used in larger classes. This approach is also quite traditional in its nature. TEFL Full circle recognizes that to be an outstanding teacher you need to be an authentic person who can build solid relationships with your students and can adapt your teaching methods to suit the needs of your students

Unit 12: What kind of problems can you expect

The last part of this Module is concerned with what happens if things don't go so well for you in the classroom. Even with some of the best classes, there are sometimes issues and often they are completely unrelated to you or your lesson. Problems can really disturb the flow of your lesson and it's crucial that you deal with them effectively. However, unexpected problems do happen from time to time. Let's consider a few potential problems and the best way to deal with them. Many behavioural problems can be handled quickly by referring to the rules in your classroom. If a student is always arriving late, or a student is disturbing the class, or students are speaking in their native tongue too much, use humour. If you have to, speak to the student in private, outside of the classroom. In most cases, students will be having external problems. Ask them if they are ok. Using the 'I feel .....' is also a great way to deal with issues depending on the level of english in the class. You could say 'I feel very disappointed ...' or 'I feel let down when you talk at the same time as me'. If your students are having problems with the content you are presenting, you will have to use some strategies to quickly deal with this. Often, it helps if you slow down and spend a little longer with the presentation stage of the lesson. Also, try a variety of different ways to introduce an item, using the board or other teaching aids. Another strategy is to get through the presentation stage and then pair students together in stronger and weaker partnerships, or use group work. Often, a student can explain something to another student. Once the students are in groups or pairs, it will be easier for you to sit down with a group or pair and explain the language element or instructions etc. Another excellent way to cope with students who do not understand is to play a game. The dating game is a good one. Sit your students face to face in a long line, a little like speed dating. Each student on one side of the room has to explain one concept and the students on the other side have to explain another concept to the others. Every 30 seconds, students move to the next student, in the same way as speed dating works. The objective is to explain the concept to the person in 30 seconds. If there are 20 people in the room, one person gets the same concept explained to them 10 times. Try it. In all cases, where things aren't going so well, don't take it personally and try to turn the situation into a fun activity. You can always return to a concept again, once you have reflected on why it didn't go so well.

2. Workcards

The teacher typically creates these himself for all kinds of tasks and situations. These are typically small laminated cards, about the size of an index card. The teacher laminates them so they can be used over and over again with different learners. The learners complete their activity on a separate blank sheet or in their notebooks, not on the workcard. They are typically for short tasks - individual, pair or group. Different learners may be working with different workcards at the same time. Depending on your choice you can colour them or put little pictures on them. They are excellent for: Recycling activities where, for example, some individuals need more practice with some specific element Giving out to more able learners who have finished ahead of the others who are still completing the whole class activity you set Giving the class a break from learning after they have all been working hard. Quizzes, small puzzles and riddles can all be entered on these cards for these relaxing moments. The workcards are then handed back to the teacher.

Unit 7: The Importance of Class Size

The size of your class will determine the type of planning you do for your lesson. The class might vary from 40 to 50 students, where having a karaoke lesson of the Beatles will work very well, to a one to one lesson with an adult learner. Let's compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of one to one, large and small classes. One to One Classes: One to one teaching is very different from the group dynamic situation. One to one teaching is more intimate and it's critical to have the right resources and be aware of the timings of your lesson. However, often the relationship is more equal and you can both decide the direction of the lesson. Advantages: More chance to discuss themes and give more feedback. The learner has the chance to ask more questions. The learner's needs can be fully addressed and often he will learn more. Disadvantages: Many learners feel more comfortable learning a language with a group. There is little opportunity to interact with other learners. Timing of the lesson could potentially be a problem. Activities to use one to one teaching: Use a good broad range of activities. Try to push your learner. Give feedback as much as possible. Small Classes: Advantages: Student-centred, as they are likely to have more time to speak than in large classes. More space to move around the classroom. Less preparation time. In smaller classes, you can give more attention to your students and it's easier to do fun activities. Disadvantages: Some activities are not suitable for small classes. Sometimes a teacher can run out of activities. Activities to use with smaller classes: You will be able to use most activities with smaller groups. Large Classes: Advantages: Large classes require a great deal of energy and moving around. Time goes quickly. There is always someone who is willing to answer your questions. Disadvantages: Monitoring is often hard because the class is so large. Preparation will take a long time if you have 40 students of differing abilities. Marking will also be lengthy. Intimacy will be hard because it will take you a long time to get to know your students. Activities to use with larger classes: Try to get your large class into smaller groups. Team games. Peer to peer marking: this is where students mark each other's work.

workcards

When?Where? My favourite... what? Why?How often? friendrelative My oldest....... toybook What is it? This large, dog-like animal has a spotted coat. It is strongly built. Its front legs are longer than its back legs. It has a long thick neck. The head is large, rounded and powerful with a short and blunt nose and mouth (muzzle). Its ears are pointed. Its hair is short, rough and woolly. Its four-toed feet have short, blunt, claws. It has a short tail, about 36cms long. The tail is narrow and thin and ends in a black, bushy tip. The total body length is around 1.3 m. Some ideas for workcards: 1. Stamps Put different postage stamps on a card. Ask the pairs to identify what countries the stamps are from. A word bank can be supplied. Higher performing students can be asked to add the capital of the country, name of language spoken, etc. 2. Read and draw Read and draw. You could write a description of a place, a person or an unusual animal (e.g. an armadillo) on the workcard. The students have to draw a picture from the description and compare their efforts. Then you can let them see a real photo/picture of the place, person or animal. This can be good fun. Some may go right off track as they have misunderstood an important part of the instructions. Remember, though, that this is not a drawing task per se. It's a reading and comprehension activity. 3. Things in common The teacher gives lists of 3-4 words. The students write what the words have in common. For example, beginners could get dog, cat, bear: Older learners could be challenged with pint, silver, width. They may take some time to work out that no other words rhyme with these words. 4. Matching The teacher makes up two lists, one of countries and the other of capitals. The students match the country with its capital city. 5. Homonyms The teacher makes up two lists of homonyms. The students have to match the words that sound alike. This can also be done with opposite words and words that rhyme.

Full Lesson Example for the Beginner and/or Elementary Level Using the PPP Technique

You will see that this is not too challenging for you but you will need to adhere to the points above and prepare a variety of materials to embed the learning.. This lesson is for any age group at the beginner and/or elementary level (level dictated by the course book and school syllabus, but likely to be beginner level). It will last around 50 minutes. It is an introduction to comparatives and superlatives (but you won't use these words with them). You will use basic adjectives they have already learned. 1. Introduction: In this part of the lesson you will introduce yourself and explain the objective of the lesson to your learners. It is an introduction to comparatives and superlatives (but you won't use these words with them). 2. Warmer: A quick warm up activity to get your students acclimatised to English. Get their attention by using what we call a warmer activity. The learners already know the words big and small, so this will be a good and easy warmer for the lesson. It will get them involved and will make them feel good when they get the answer correct. Hold up two differently sized objects. Ask: Which is big and which is small? Confirm and praise. Now do this with several objects, e.g. pieces of paper, making the difference in size smaller each time, so eventually you may get different answers and a bit of disagreement. This is all just to get them focused and have a bit of fun. Then tell them you are going to focus on the word big.

3. Presentation: You teach the new item.

his is now the presentation stage. Now you present your lesson. 1. Draw a fairly big character on the board. Nothing fancy-a stick character will do fine. Put his name above (John). Leave space to the right of this, where you will eventually draw 2 more characters. You could use students' names where you have already identified 3 learners, one who is big, the next who is bigger and then one who is the biggest. 2. Now draw out the word big from them through questions and gestures (this is 'eliciting'). Carry on until the word big comes out, asking a number of learners. 3. Write the word big under John. 4. Now draw 2 characters to the right of John - one which is bigger than John - let's call him James - and then an even bigger one to the right of James - let's call him William. Write their names above the characters. Ask them to notice the difference amongst the characters - using gestures. Point to John and James. What can they see? Answers will be something like James more big. Confirm and praise. Tell them, Yes James is bigger than John. Write bigger under James. Get them to repeat bigger as a class and ask learners at random to repeat the word. 5. Now draw their attention to William. What can they see? Is William the same as John or James? Use gestures. The answer will be something like more, more big or more bigger. Confirm and praise. Yes, William is the biggest. Write the biggest under William. Get them to repeat the biggest as a class and ask learners at random to repeat the words. 6. Now bring out your previously identified 3 learners and put them in height order in front of the class. Ask the class at random. Who is big? Who is bigger? Who is the biggest? Confirm and praise. 7. Now demonstrate from your board work that for the comparative (don't use this word) we generally add -er and for the superlative (don't use this word) we usually add the word 'the' before the word and tag on -est to the end of the word.