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As the final unit in this course, Unit 20 deals with common problems encountered and troubleshooting within the class. First lessons, whether with an existing or new group, are often problematic and affect the direction of the class for the whole course, and thus should be planned carefully. Rather than beginning on the coursebook, the teacher should work on establishing rapport and determining the interests, needs, and level of the students. To ensure interest in the class and prevent boredom or fatigue, warmer exercises may be used to kick off the class, such as Pictionary, memory games, and other Engage activities. Once the students are engaged and interested, study of the lesson focus may then commence. The difficulties of teaching mixed level groups can be reduced using a variety of methods, including pairing stonger students with weaker ones, using different materials or giving different assignments suited to individual capabilities, or even not doing anything and letting students find their own pace within the level. Ideally a combination of methods will be used. Large classes are infamously problematic, but can be worked with and even capitalized on. Worksheets, pairwork, choral repetition, assigning group leaders etc. will all help with making large groups more manageable and maximizing results, as will preserving clarity of enunciation and boardwork. Reluctant or reticent students may be encouraged to participate more by ensuring they have adequate preparation time as well as safe chances to speak such as in roleplays, pairwork or by prerecording speech. Use of L1 in the classroom is not completely unavoidable, but should be reduced to the best of one?s powers through clear explanations, simple language, and fostering of a complete English environment. Only responding to English and in English is absolutely vital for the teacher, and may be a central requirement in some schools. The information and advice contained in this unit is very helpful, and encapsulates much of what I would pass on to new teachers in a pre-lesson training session. The suggestions for management and enhancement of large group classes were particularly helpful and some were completely new ideas for me. This unit is the perfect conclusion to an excellent course from which I have gained much.
