Teaching English (some advice)

[Eden]

Sorry if those questions where asked before. Basically we are starting to offer English Language classes to foreign nationals with their own native speaking tutors. In other words teacher is English teacher but also speaks language of the students that come into class.

So what could you advise to use in this scenario? What games,books,audio/video etc. ? Should teacher use only and only Eng.Language in the class??
How to start teaching them. (What works and what doesn't) By the way learners are of various ages, and various levels. We are trying to get them into groups of similar age (maybe it is a bad idea??) and similar level of knowledge of Eng. Language.

I'm not a English teacher myself but i'll be looking after some of the classes and would love to know what works , why it works and maybe advise something to teachers.

Also are you giving some home work to them? Any particular books that work? assignments maybe? Or it is best to push a bit onto speaking instead of grammar?

Thanks for the assistance.
(P.S. teaching in Ireland - foreign nationals from various countries)

[Shelley]

Hi there,

It's a lot of work for a teacher to take various levels simultaneously so it's better to group students in terms of level rather than in terms of age.

To maintain high quality teaching keep the classes small.

Some people swear by total immersion - i.e. no native language whatsoever in the class. If the students are already at an intermediate level I would stick to English for everything. Use of the native language can be useful when teaching beginners, to save time with an explanation.

Whether you focus more on speaking or on written work depends on what your students are learning English for. Some will really want to work on speaking skills while for others they may never need to speak, but be learning English so they can understand documents and books - such as researchers.

For general English students it's best to focus on speaking and listening in class because reading and writing can be done for homework.

Resources: Textbooks are handy as they give you a curriculum to follow but you always want to teach them with classroom activities and games, and refer to the textbook to consolidate, after you have taught and practised the main language for that unit.

Shelley Vernon

[eric_p_m]

Dear Eden,

Acquiring a foreign langauge is difficult. Learning another language through your native language is going to happen only because it is the easy way out. Languages and communication in general work that way. If the foreign language teacher utilizes the students' native language as the medium of communication in or outside the classroom, guess which language they will be using in and out of class. He or she could talk about grammar or phonetic similarities and differences all day long, but unless the target language is used for actual purposeful communication, the school is wasting its time.

The English teacher should be the one administering any type of assessment or evaluation... not a standardized test. Students should be grouped according to corresponding proficiency levels while adhering to factors such as cognitive development. No one should have a class mixed with kindergarten students, primary, and secondary school-aged students. Academic tasks should reflect the attention spans of a general consensus.

For further explanantion, feel free to visit me working on-line.


Sincerely,


Eric Paul Monroe

http://www.eric-tesol.com/

[Shelley]

Hi there,

It's a lot of work for a teacher to take various levels simultaneously so it's better to group students in terms of level rather than in terms of age.

To maintain high quality teaching keep the classes small.

Some people swear by total immersion - i.e. no native language whatsoever in the class. If the students are already at an intermediate level I would stick to English for everything. Use of the native language can be useful when teaching beginners, to save time with an explanation.

Whether you focus more on speaking or on written work depends on what your students are learning English for. Some will really want to work on speaking skills while for others they may never need to speak, but be learning English so they can understand documents and books - such as researchers.

For general English students it's best to focus on speaking and listening in class because reading and writing can be done for homework.

Resources: Textbooks are handy as they give you a curriculum to follow but you always want to teach them with classroom activities and games, and refer to the textbook to consolidate, after you have taught and practised the main language for that unit.

Shelley Vernon

For excellent classroom ideas please see my site:
http://www.teachingenglishgames.comThere are ideas for preschool, primary and teen/adult age groups.

[techRobo]

Hey guys I'm a 25 y/o M, BA in Sociology, No teaching Exp, but I have had jobs where I've had to be responsible around children (soccer trainer/coach, babysitting, camp counselor). I know it will help to get a TEFL certificate too, since the basic requirements are a native speaker and a BA in any field.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any good recruiting agencies. I know some of them are scams, and are just looking out for themselves, but I think a trustworthy recruiter would be best for me since this will be my first job i'm looking for teaching wise.

Also some experiences you could parlay to be about teaching overseas would be greatly appreciated too. Thank you!

[NatGagnonULAVAL]

I believe that when teaching other people, it is important for them to have constant exposure to the target language. Therefore, without necessarily having a 100% L2 environment, it is quite important to spend most of the time speaking to them in the new language. If native speaker exposure is impossible for them perhaps it would be a good idea to take Tandem learning into consideration. Some schools now use the online type of discussion, either audio or video, to help their students develop their ear towards the target language. It is important for them to hear, in online audio-education for example, how speakers of the language use their intonation and stress patterns. In online video-education, specific physical cues, such as gestures, facial expressions, or humour, are great ways to help students understand what the native speaker is saying. This would be something good to take into consideration.