Teach English in Wuhe Zhen - Wuwei Shi

This unit went over materials and the preparation involved in organizing and carrying out lessons in Business English.There are two types of materials that are used when teaching Business English (and regular English): Authentic and non-authentic. Authentic materials are produced fora purpose other than a classroom (i.e. newspaper, business report), whereas non-authentic material are produced by educational companies or individual teachers for the specific purpose of being teaching aids (i.e. worksheets, textbooks). When designing your own material, there are a few questions that you must ask yourself before starting. The are as follows: What language are the students trying to learn How is this language going to be used in the classroom? How are you going to show how to use the language (demonstration)? At which level are they to be used? You must also consider and plan the mechanics of the classroom beforehand to ensure smooth transitioning and practice. For example, the organization of students to complete tasks, pair work or small groups or large groups, engagement (how will you ensure this?), monitoring (how will you fo this to make sure students are doing as expected), and what will you do if the activity doesn't work. It is always a good idea to have a back-up plan in mind, as well as the ability to be flexible and think on your feet (going with the students). This can be thought about prior to a lesson in the anticipated problems section of a lesson plan. It is also important, as teachers, to demonstrate the activity whenever possible and try to explain it. Students must see a representation before completing a worksheet. Furthermore, the language used in activities and instructions must always be at level or below level of the students they are designed for. Another point to carry out is always asking students if they understand your instructions and the task before having them start - be redundant. Ask specific questions to ensure students are not just telling you yes, they understand. When lesson planning, there are a few things to consider. First, a lesson plan is a working document. It should tell anyone who reads it (i.e. substitute teacher, another teacher, etc) what happens step by step at different stages of your lesson. A lesson plan also serves as a record of what you have covered in class (historical document; point of reference for your syllabus). A lesson plan also gives the various components in the lesson and a lesson plan should be flexible. A lesson plan is just a plan. Student understanding determines what happens in the lesson, not the plan! That is very important for teachers to remember and keep in mind when something doesn't go according to plan. Lastly, this unit went over various resources you can use to help plan your lesson, find information and resources to use in activities, and for extra student help. There are two types of book resources. The first is where language is the primary focus (i.e. tenses, vocabulary, assorted grammar). In this book resource, nothing is or has to be particularly related to business. Once the material is covered, applied practice to business (i.e. meetings, negotiations) can take place with the students. The second type of book resource is where business situations are the primary focus. The business situations are presented first and then they are looked at for typical language being used in such situations. Another tip to keep in mind is to always adapt your material (activities, worksheets) to suit your particular situation and students. The other resource available is the internet, but you must ensure that all students can easily activate this resource/websites. It is also helpful to look outside of the realm of TEFL. For example, many corporations contain valuable and useful information on their sites that can be used in lessons as examples or part of an activity/task. It is further good practice to make a webliography. An example of this is provided for in this unit.