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Troubleshooting ideas for dealing with the potential problem situations teachers face are useful. Establishing a rapport with students is vital and this should be done in the first lessons, with new or existing groups. A new group may not be familiar with each other, requiring the teacher to establish a rapport between class members who in addition may be unfamiliar with the EFL methodology. An existing group will consist of members who likely know each other and are familiar with the EFL methodology, which makes this easier. In any event there should be no course books in the first lesson, rather rapport should be established between all and the teacher should find out about the students, about their needs and aspirations with English as well as establish the English level of the class with a view to concentrating on areas of weakness with additional exercises in the course syllabus. Ideas offered to get the ball rolling are questionnaire/survey with students interviewing one another or a board game and a chapter in Friederiche Keppel?s ?Keep Talking? is referenced. The unit reminds of the need for a needs analysis in the first lesson and offers ideas for warmers, including hangman, Pictionary, tongue twisters and memory games. These are to be linked to the study phase of the lesson. The unit suggests that teachers combine different ways of dealing with different knowledge levels in a class, including the use of different materials and suggests splitting the group and pairing strong and weak students in the awareness of the danger that the strong may dominate. In some cases, the teacher need not do anything, using the same materials and allowing the gap to fill naturally. To deal with large classes the unit suggests worksheets, pair or group work, choral repetition and use the dynamic nature of large groups to ensure all are involved in lessons that are dramatic and humorous. If monolingual groups revert to native language in groups, this is not dire and teachers should endeavor to pitch activities at an appropriate level and give clear explanations. Ways of dealing with this include encouraging speaking in English and answering and speaking only English and reminding and encouraging students so they become used to English in the classroom. Among those who need the most encouragement, are reluctant students and their hesitance may be dealt with through role play, pair work and voice recording. In addition, listening to pre-recorded material improves listening skills and teachers should find their way around the disparities in ability and pace, ensuring the quick finishers are occupied with further work.
