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This unit was concerned with common issues EFL teachers often face. It looked at ways to establish rapport with new or existing groups such as using warmer exercises and doing role-plays, surveys, pass the ball game etc. The unit also looked at the requirements of early lessons with new classes and what the teacher should aim to discover about his/her students (such as English level, needs/aspirations and any interesting facts about each students). There were some good suggestions of warmer activity which you could use on an uninviting morning to coax the students into participating and encouraging some motivation. I think I would use Pictionary or possibly a memory game for that purpose. The unit also looked at ways to manage classes of varying skill levels. In general I think my technique would be to always have a backup of spare work/exercises to offer early finishers and be certain to spend as much time as needed with each student in a fair and equitable way. Less advanced students may require more attention but it's important to not lose sight of the overall class. When working with large classes, it can be a management challenge and the unit offered ways to mitigate some of these issues such as creating smaller groups and using group leaders etc. I think Choral repetitions is a good idea and I would use that but being careful to look for those who aren't getting involved. Reluctant students may need coaxing into participation by way of small group or pair activities or possibly finding some sort of activity they do enjoy and allowing them a chance to do this each lesson. Sometimes reluctant students appreciate listening activities and may benefit from a CD/tape lesson. It's important to make sure the content is of high quality and relevant to the students and that the students are paying attention and not getting something out of it.
