I trying to create a english language class

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rubina
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I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by rubina »

HI,
i am a english lit graduate and have been given the opportunity to create a english language class. i have been told to come up eith ideas on how to establish a english language class for pre-dominantly asian adults. Does anyone have any ideas as i do not know where to start.
Thanks
Rubina
abedri
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by abedri »

Hi i suggest to begin with teaching phonetic symbles i have been trying this way with an adult class ; they find it interesting at the same time you can give vocabulary hints on grammer ; becoze when an adult can use the dictionary to find the pronunciation he or she can cotrol the most important point i e english is not phpnetic you know . i hope my comment is useful.
fatima
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by fatima »

rubina wrote:HI,
i am a english lit graduate and have been given the opportunity to create a english language class. i have been told to come up eith ideas on how to establish a english language class for pre-dominantly asian adults. Does anyone have any ideas as i do not know where to start.
Thanks
Rubina
hi,
great job! u will enjoy. yes ,start first by introducing alphabets through consonents and vowel, in this way u will know the background of ur students, then sounds of vowels and consonent, phonics, with 2 letter then diagraph
its intresting, involve them by asking them simple verbs then ask them the sounds espaeically sounds of vowels, an, am, en, at, on, on, is,...........if this helpful i will give u tips next time.
all the best
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Syl
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by Syl »

That's indeed a good idea! Try also to elicit from them the differences between the two alphabets and also the languages, giving examples, oral and written words.

But don't restrict your first lessons to this issue, try and present in the same lesson various activities making it dynamic and not boring. For example, some drilling (repeat after me) exercises with pictures; listening to a known song and eliciting known words.

Good luck!

Syl's English Corner - Learn English and Have Fun
http://www.ginnegar.0catch.com
eric_p_m
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by eric_p_m »

Dear Rubina,

Will you be teaching on or off-line? If you will be teaching on-line, you need to make sure that your web hosting server is supported in all the countries that make up the region where your students reside. I know for a fact that the Chinese government blocks the vast majority of free web page hosting servers, including GeoCities, Yahoo, Tripod, Homestead, and Lycos.

Without a question, your first class should be an initial assessment of your students' linguistic proficiency. What are their names? Where are they from? Are they learning English as a second language or a foreign language? Do they know dialects of a given language? What do they do for work, school, hobbies, and pasttimes? Outside of English, what would they like to learn about?

This communicative assessment allows you to get to know your students, measure their English proficiency, and for you to extract insight about if they are primarily left or right-brained individuals while investigating your class' multiple intelligencies. Even if you are asked to perform a demonstration class, I highly recommend administering an initial assessment because you will only get one chance to make a first impression, the students will be assessing your skills, and you will be performing an initial assessment of your students in the background whether you realize it or not.

Moreover, to get a quick overall assessment of your new class, you may wish to take advantage of one image, displaying the picture in the classroom to the best of your ability, and utilizing the aforementioned image to determine your class' vocabulary level: ask for one noun per student and depending on the number of students you have in addition to the time you have on your hands, give every student several opportunities to show you what they know. Brief audio clips only enrichen this activity.

As far as Asian adult students, the teacher traditionally has absolute power in the classroom and is the pinnacle of enlightened knowledge. However, depending on the type of school you find yourself in, the teacher may be treated more as a civil servant nowadays with parents being at the top of the food chain. The Chinese Little Emperor syndrome is at fault and only worsens this trend.

Normally, at the junior high and high school levels, Asian students are bombarded with instruction about the English phonological system. The vast majority of schools recognize and respect the International Phonetic Alphabet, albeit outdated with little to no training in phonetic transcription. My advice is to transcribe a word phonologically and ask your students if they understand these strange symbols. Afterwards, write the same utterance with the phonetic transcription. My money is down on the fact that they will not understand the indepth details of advanced transcriptions.

Don't treat Asian adults as children. Treat them as equals if you really wish to earn their respect. Culturally, elder students should also receive the proper amount of respect. If you address an elder student as "sir" or "ma'am", you are well on your way to making a fabulous first impression, laying an academic foundation for trust in your classroom.

Finally, if you have any more questions, feel free to visit me working hard in my on-line school. You can even open a secure chat window with me, if I am on-line, by clicking the green "Live Help" button. 8)


Sincerely,


Eric Paul Monroe

http://www.eric-tesol.com/virtual_classroom.html
Graziela
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by Graziela »

I guess the next step Rubina might be start teaching Functions such as doing regular tasks, asking and answering personal questions, going to places.....Try to relate as much as possible to their world and their interest. It would be useful to have a coursebook to follow, even if the students don't have it. It will serve as a guide and that way you won't lose track of what they have learnt.

Teach verb tenses as you go along the course and provide lots of different kinds of input so they will be familiar with the language.

I hope this helped in some way,
Find ideas for your lessons at http://www.getenglishlessons.com

Best wishes,
Graziela
catherina
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by catherina »

It' a effective idea.I think you will be successed to build up a class like this.can be a student of ur class? :D

simulation emprunt immobilier
Johnwilliams
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by Johnwilliams »

First of all, may I suggest that you first of all take some English grammar lessons yourself, and then get yourself a recognised TEFL qualification. For the moment you can't create a English class. Also in my opinion phonetics is not the most important part of English to begin with.

On forming your class you will need to know something about your students' needs, before starting to plan your lessons.
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markcasias
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by markcasias »

I'm new here, just browsing for some good and informative stuff and i found thread interesting. That is a good suggest John i agreed with you....
chrisroland
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Re: I trying to create a english language class

Unread post by chrisroland »

What John has said might sound a bit harsh ('You can't create an English class') but its a very valuable perspsctive for you to bear in mind. If you're not a teacher by trade, then it can be a very sharp learning curve (it is even with some preparation).

If you're going to have a go, then try in your first lesson to listen very closely to what your students say (if they can speak some English) and base your input on what they need - what is the next word a student needs to complete the sentence they want to say. Listen to their English, even if it's not very good because that's where you've got to build from. Try to get samples of their written work, even if it's just the spellings of individual words, and go from there.

If you're using a book then read ahead, make sure you've already done the exercises you're going to ask your students to do before the class, and read any additional grammar summaries (at the back of the book) so that you're prepared for questions. If you don't know something, don't invent answers and don't try to defend the language too much. If a student wants to know why English behaves in a certain way just shrug and tell them that English behaves in a funny way sometimes, as do most of its speakers.

If you're part of a forum like this then you're obviously open to new ideas and advice and this should help you. It might be a bit of a bumpy ride, but good luck!

Chris R
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