Teach English in Da'An Zhen - Shanwei Shi

The unit highlight most common problematic situations in the classroom. During your first lesson it's important to focus on building rapport with the group. Establishing positive attitude and atmosphere can be achieved through games, analysis of group need and avoiding use of a texbook at the start. There are plenty of fun activities, or warmers, that can be used for creating motivation and the right mood. They are especially useful when incorporated in the Study stage of a lesson. Facing a group with student of different levels will be easier when mixing several techniques: - using different materials - using different tasks - pairing stronger students with the weaker ones - letting each student find their own level Large classes require worksheets, pair/group work, assigning group leaders and making the lesson more dynamic. Using native language, naturally, should be limited as much as possible. Providing clear instructions for suitable activities and responding only to English can help with that. At some point you are likely to interact with reluctant students. Some useful ideas of encouragement include: - more pair work - controlled practice - role-play - using a tape recorder (this one was new for me and I fancy the idea of using that technique, even though it could be time consuming; I think, sometimes it can help greatly with a student's confidence) To avoid practicing listening skills via tapes or disks in unacceptable. It goes without saying that the quality of the record should be appropriate. Pre-teach difficult vocabulary to assist with listening texts and plan pre-, while and postlistening activities.