TELF – Initial Lesson Planning – Further Reading

Methodology: teaching large classes – L. Clandfield and A. Tennant

 Large classes often viewed in negative light and problematic

 Teachers tempted to turn to lecturing
 But there are positives
 Dynamic nature > opps for group work > compare, discuss > benefit from variety of
voices
 Choral drilling
 Teacher gives oral model of word and whole class repeats it
 Makes bits of language more memorable
 Li Yang, Crazy English > uses technique with classes of 20,000
 Use to practice new words/phrases > esp ones useful in future comms
 Can use for dialogues
 Once outlined by teacher then can be done in pairs
 See “Teaching with Minimal Resources” section
 Think, pair, share
 Put THINK, PAIR, SHARE on board
 Think > think about answer individually
 Pair > find a partner
 Share > share thoughts in English
 Ask question > point to think, then pair, then share and class do so accordingly
 For short pair work speaking activities (see Speaking Skills Lessons sections), or
comprehension tasks on texts (see Topical News Lessons section)
 Dictogloss
 Good for large classes in ltd space venues
 Method
 Pick a short text
 Get students to close books/put down pens
 Read out text while students listen carefully and remember as much as possible
 Students write down as much as possible
 In groups/pairs discuss and try to reconstruct the text
 Can re-read OR put questions on board whose answers help with reconstructing the text
 Using an anecdote
 Method
 Choose anecdote from Teacher Anecdotes
 Prediction exercise
 Read start > in pairs get them to predict > read next > see from reactions who got it
right
 Vocab prediction activity
 Read part > stop > ask students to predict next word > again discuss in pairs
 Exercises give students extra reason to listen
 Follow-up
 Students write down/share own anecdotes
 Group Leaders
  Split classes into smaller groups > each group assigns a leader
 Leader role
 Report back on speaking activity
 Collect written work and return to teacher
 Responsible for checking answers (prepared copies of answers)
 Group exercises
 Jigsaw Texts
 Cut longer text into 5 sections (A-E) > split students into groups of 5 > give each student
one section of text > each student reads text and summarises for group
 Follow-up
 Group decides on correct order > comprehension question for whole text
 Running Dictation
 Divide class into groups of 5-6 > one messenger reads text on classroom wall > runs
between rest of group and text > group listens to runner and writes down the text >
scribes compare their texts
 Works best with texts no longer than a paragraph

Why is one-to-one ‘special’? – N. Meldrum and L. Clandfield

 Teacher-learner roles can be blurred and cater for unique and interesting experience
 Role blurred between teacher, psychologist, and friend
 Can be challenging situation for a teacher
 One-to-one methodology: Ten Activities
 Guess the news story
 Collect news stories from past week (about 5-6) and cut out pictures from them
 With piece of card cut out small hole
 Place over a picture revealing only some of the image
 Student must 1) speculate what news story 2) say as much as they know about the story
 Written convo/role play
 Conduct convo in written form
 Pass piece and paper back and forth writing responses to prior comments
 Basis for correcting written mistakes and planning further classes
 Post-it mania
 Post-it notes
 Write on post-it name of object in the room > get student to place post-it on the correct
object
 Do this until many objects labelled then call out objects and get student to return
correct post-its OR leave on there as memory aid
 Sight translation
 Often one-to-one is business people > need English for sight translation > make a regular
activity
 Give student doc in English > ask them to explain it to you in English OR in L1 if speak
it
 Get out of class
 Take advantage of mobility of this type of class
  Guided tour of home/workplace/shopping trip in English by student or just a walk
outside for that class
 Change of environment v good for refocusing the mind > useful for finding new
topics out and about
 Questionnaires
 Prepare question prompts > interview using prompts > student interview back > review
any new vocab or grammar
 Next class student prepare similar questions on different topic
 Cuisinaire Rods
 Little coloured wooden sticks used in maths teaching
 Very useful in 1-1 and small groups
 Teaching word stress > each rod represents a different syllable
 See Jim Scrivener Learning Teaching
 Index Cards
 Index cards v useful for 1-1
 Use for new vocab > review occasionally
 Cue cards for a presentation
 Help write cards for mini presentation > the students gives pres only using the
cue cards
 Different convo/role play topics on cards
 Student picks one at random and talks about topic
 Think of someone who…
 Find someone who game changed to “think..”
 Get student to write down someone they know who fits each category on a work
sheet
 Also write same names on separate sheet in different order > teacher does same >
swap sheets > ask and answer Qs to work out who fits each category
 See speaking lessons on onestopenglish
 Deck of convos and deck of business convos
 Advantages and disadvantages
 Advantages
 Constant teacher attention > opp to speak/listen to more English than in group scenario
 More contribution by student > feel more part of the learning process which is tailored
specifically to their interests
 Strengths and weaknesses addressed more often and fully without competition for
teacher time
 Become better learners > learner training with teacher (learner training???)
 Less time constraints > go at own pace without peer progress pressure
 Krashen: language best acquired through modified input of teacher
 Teacher adapts language to level of student > amount and type of input maximised
in 1-1
 Only one level > no mixed abilities
 Material can be supplied by student
 Teachers can learn from/about students
 Material tailored to student interests and motivations
  Disadvantages
 Potential for exhaustion > constant attention and unnatural interaction
 For teacher and student
 Measuring progress difficult > no comparisons and often no syllabus
 Lack of individual study time/”sink in time”
 Importance of restricted practise (Scrivener) in absorbing a new language > need
time to reflect on language
 Potential monotonous lesson format
 Limited range of activities
 Teacher must be confident to experiment with lesson format > changes in pace and
activity
 Taking correction notes difficult without distracting student
 Lack of materials and teacher notes on topic
 Role of counsellor can be stressful for teacher
 Same room everyday > v boring
 Difference in personality/views/opinions can strain lessons
 Ten tips to minimise disadvantages
 Prepare for different roles
 Talk to colleagues about counsellor role
 Set clear goals > short and long term in activities and language points
 Regular feedback > check if goals met
 List of achievements and review opps then available
 Feedback on activities they have enjoyed
 Once a month is good idea
 Thorough needs analysis (???)
 Learner training from start of course
 Don’t throw out all group activities > drilling, games, stand-up dialogue
 Often more important to avoid lesson monotony
 Keep room changing
 Include breaks in the lesson > combats the exhaustion
 Go get coffee/walk/etc > leave student to themselves for a little bit
 Openly note-take > explain why doing it
 Corrections, future lesson planning aid
 Student will enjoy clear sign of your attention
 Use pair activities with you as student B
 Talk to other teachers > share ideas and what works best > adapt books and material
 See Collaborative Teaching section
 Discuss real concerns of student
 Often best English shown when talking about things real to them
 Teach the person, not the material!
 Lesson Plan
 Many formats > most contain some/all of these elements > usually in this order
 Lesson title
 Length of lesson
 Materials
  Objectives
 Behavioural > what student expected to do
 Knowledge > what student expected to know
 Set/lead-in
 Focus students on skill/concept to be instructed
 Pictures/models or previous lesson reviews
 Instructional component
 Sequence of events that make up the instruction part of the lesson
 What teacher will do/say and guided practice
 Opp for new skills and ideas to be tried with guidance of teacher
 Independent practice
 Practice skill or knowledge on own
 Summary
 Teacher wraps up and students pose unanswered questions
 Evaluation
 Not essential
 Teacher checks for mastery of taught skill/knowledge
 Questions or review activity
 Formative > set up later learning
 Summative > used to determine grade or achievement
 Analysis
 Post lesson > teacher reflects on success and failures of the lesson
 Continuity
 Previous lesson reflected on in prep for next lesson
 Plans driven by school requirements and teacher personal tastes in that order
 Unit plans the same but cover whole unit of work
 In constructivist teaching of today formal lesson plans increasingly obsolete
 Lesson plans must be more fluid and cater to student needs and learning styles
 Students asked to engage in problem/inquiry learning > rigid lesson plan lie above
ineffective > not fit with modern effective pedagogy
 Formal plans only required of student and new teachers

Teaching EFL to Children Forum