Unit 9

WORKSHEET – UNIT 9

Task 1 – Why do teachers plan their lessons? Why is planning important?

Lesson planning is very important for inexperienced and experienced teachers alike. There are many forms of lesson plans but the kind of lesson plan one makes will depend on the individual. Some people just write notes while others prepare formal lesson plans. For a first time teacher, it is advisable to prepare a formal lesson plan because lesson plans have different functions. First of all, lesson plans are there to help a teacher in overall planning. It shows the objectives of the class and the activities needed to achieve those objectives. Next, it acts as a working document or a guide in the conduct of the lesson. The teacher can easily refer to the lesson plan and see which activity comes next but it doesn’t mean however that the teacher should stick to this particular plan. Lastly, a lesson plan serves as a record of what the class has done and which activities and materials have already been used in class. This is also very useful if another teacher has to cover another teacher’s class.

Task 2 – Using the blank lesson plan that you should have received, plan a straight arrow ESA lesson from the materials towards the end of unit 9 (Unit 9, task 2 materials).  The materials are entitled Where have you been.

Please include your aims, context, expected number of students, and all the other boxes at the top of the blank lesson plan form, as well as the procedure.

Task 3 – Using the second blank lesson plan that you should have received, plan a patchwork style ESA lesson using the materials at the end of unit 9 (Unit 9, task 3 materials).  The materials are entitled Possibilities.

Again, please include your aims, context, expected number of students, and all the other boxes at the top of the blank lesson plan form, as well as the procedure.

Unit 8

WORKSHEET – UNIT 8

Task 1 – Identify the following future ‘tenses’:

a) I am going to the theater later this evening.

-          Present continuous

b) They’re going to play basketball on Tuesday afternoon.

-          Be going + infinitive

c) Jane will have left her job by the end of the week.

-          Future perfect

d) The train leaves at 6.00 pm.

-          Present simple

e) At this time tomorrow I will be lying on the beach.

-          Future continuous

f) Next year, Paul will have been living in Italy for 3 years.

-          Future perfect continuous

g) It will probably rain tomorrow.

-          Future simple

Task 2 – State as many usages as possible of the future tenses below and give one example sentence of your own for each usage (not a sentence from the unit!):

a) Future simple

1. Future facts – The school semester will end in January.

2. Promises – I promise I’ll bring you to the zoo.

3. Predictions – He will become a very famous person.

4. Unplanned decisions – Please have a seat. I will get the documents for you.

5. Assumptions/Speculations – After what happened, I think they’ll sell their car.

6. Threats – I’ll report you to the Headmaster if you don’t behave.

b) Future continuous

1. Future actions in progress – In an hour, I will be enjoying a nice cup of coffee by the terrace.
2. Predictions or guesses – I don’t think they will be wrapping up soon.
3. Polite questions or enquiries – Will you be leaving for Shanghai tomorrow?
4. Future fixed events – The teachers will be attending a conference next Monday.

c) Future perfect

1. Completion before a certain time in the future – The party will have started by the time they arrive.

d) Future perfect continuous

1. Duration at a certain time in the future – I will have been living in China for 8 years by next year.
2. Cause of something in the future – He will be very hungry by the end of this day because he will have been fasting for 14 hours.

e) ‘Going to’ future

1. Intentions – I am going to cook dinner.
2. Predictions based on present situation – The baby is going to wake up soon.
3. Plans – I’m going to attend the Christmas party this year.

Task 3 – State how the tenses below are formed grammatically.  Explain positive, negative and question forms:

a) Future simple

Form:               Subject + will + verb (present form)

Positive:          Subject + will/shall + verb

                        He will go.

Negative:         Subject + will/shall + not + verb

                        He will not go.                        He won’t go.

Question:         Will/Shall + subject + verb

                        Will he go?

b) Future continuous

Form:               Subject + will + be + verb (continuous form)

Positive:          Subject + will + be + verb + ing

                        She’ll be cooking dinner tonight.

Negative:         Subject + will + not + be + verb + ing

                        She won’t be cooking dinner tonight.

Question:         Will + subject + be + verb + ing

                        Will she be cooking dinner tonight?

c) Future perfect

Form:               Subject + will + have + verb (past participle)

Positive:          Subject + will + have + past participle

                        They will have finished their studies by December.

Negative:         Subject + will + not + have + past participle

                        They will not have finished their studies by December.

Question:         Will + subject + have + past participle

                        Will they have finished their studies by December?

d) Future perfect continuous

Form:               Subject + will + have + been + verb (present participle)

Positive:          Subject + will + have + been + verb + ing

                        He will have been teaching English for 20 years by next year.

Negative:         Subject + will + not + have + been + verb + ing

                        He will not have been teaching English for 20 years by next year.

Question:         Will + subject + have + been + verb + ing

                        Will he have been teaching English for 20 years by next year?

e) ‘Going to’ future

Form:               to be + going to + base form of the verb

Positive:          Subject + to be (am/is/are) + going to + verb (base form)

                        I’m going to bake a cake this Saturday.

Negative:         Subject + to be + not + going to + verb (base form)

                        I’m not going to bake a cake this Saturday.

Question:         To be + subject + going to + verb (base form)

                        Am I going to bake a cake this Saturday?

Task 4 – Give at least 2 activate stage teaching ideas for the tenses below and give examples of sentences that you would expect your students to produce:

a) Future simple

1. Going on a vacation – “What will you take?”

Ex: I will take my camera with me.

2. Situation cards – “What will you do?”

Ex: I will resign from my job if I get bored with it.

b) Future continuous

1. Future Life – “What will you be doing 10 years from now?”

Ex: I will be running my own business.

2. Setting a date

Ex: Saturday night’s not a good time because I’ll be hosting a dinner party.

c) Future perfect

1. Predicting your classmate’s future

Ex: John will have changed his hairstyle.

2. Alien Invasion – Students talk about the possible scenarios on Earth 5 years after an alien invasion

Ex: Our planet will have run out of potable water.

d) Future perfect continuous

1. How long will you have been (doing something) by 12 midnight?

Ex: I will have been studying for 8 hours by 12 midnight.

2. Class Mingle - Future Career by 2030

Ex: I will have been teaching Math for 25 years by 2030.

e) ‘Going to’ future

1. Making holiday plans

Ex: I’m going to visit the Forbidden City next month.

2. Guinness Book of World Records – What unusual things can students do to get into the Guinness Book of World Records?

Ex: I’m going to sleep in a tub filled with snakes for 1 week.

Task 5 – Give examples of each of the pairs of tenses listed below and explain the difference in usage and structure between them as you would do to a low-level student:   

a) Present continuous (with a future meaning) and the ‘going to’ future

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

The ‘be going to’ structure is always followed by a verb.

Present continuous      :           subject + to be (is/am/are) + verb + ing

Going to                      :           subject + to be (is/am/are) + going to + verb (base form)

ii) Differences in usage:

The present continuous is used for definite arrangements while ‘going to’ is used for intentions, predictions, and plans.

iii) Example sentences:

1. We are moving to Dongguan next summer. (present continuous)
2. I’m going to call you when I get there. (going to)

b) Future simple and future continuous

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

Future Simple              :           subject + will + verb (base form)

Future continuous       :           subject + will + be + verb + ing

ii) Differences in usage:

The future simple tense is used for facts, promises, predictions, spontaneous decisions, and threats while the future continuous tense expresses an action that is in progress at a particular time in the future.

iii) Example sentences:

1. I’ll bring your car.
2. I’ll be listening to a lecture at 4PM tomorrow.

c) Future simple and ‘going to’ future

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

Future simple  :           subject + will + verb (base form)

Going to          :           subject + to be (is/am/are) + going to + verb (base form)

ii) Differences in usage:

The future simple and ‘going to’ are both used for predictions but the predictions expressed by the future simple are based on intuition and experience while those expressed by ‘going to’ are based on present evidence. Additionally, ‘going to’ usually refers to the near future while the future simple doesn’t refer to any specific moment.

iii) Example sentences:

1. She will run her own business.
2. I’m pretty sure she’s going to flunk Math.

d) Future simple and future perfect   

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

Future simple  :           subject + will + verb (base form)

Future perfect :           Subject + will + have + verb (past participle)

ii) Differences in usage:

The future simple tense is used for facts, promises, predictions, spontaneous decisions, and threats while the future perfect is used to say that something is completed before a certain time in the future.

iii) Example sentences:

1. I will learn French.
2. I will have learned French by next year.

Unit 7

WORKSHEET – UNIT 7

Task 1 – What criteria do we need to consider when selecting vocabulary?

When selecting vocabulary to teach, we need to consider the following:

-         Appropriateness to the students

-         Appropriateness to the task or lesson

-         Frequency of use and coverage

-         teachability

Task 2 – What does a student need to know about a vocabulary item? Give examples to clarify your ideas.

Meaning – what the word means

Use – how and when it is appropriate to use the word

Pronunciation – how the word is pronounced correctly

Ex: Students need to know that the placing of stress in a word can affect its meaning (REcord – noun; reCORD – verb)

Grammar – where it belongs

Spelling – how the word is written

Ex: Students need to understand that some words are spelled differently in American English and British English (color- AE; colour-BRE).

Interaction – how it relates to other words

Task 3 – List 20 vocabulary items that relate to food:

1.     Fruit

2.     Vegetables

3.     eat

4.     Banana

5.     Tomato

6.     Potato

7.     Boil

8.     Bake

9.     Fry

10.                         Breakfast

11.                         Lunch

12.                         healthy

13.                         Food pyramid

14.                         Junk food

15.                         Pasta

16.                         Rice

17.                         Mango

18.                         bread

19.                         chocolate

20.                         diet

Task 4 – Plan a straight line ESA lesson for a language level of your choice, to cover vocabulary connected with the topic of food:

Target students: 5-6 year-old kindergarten students

Engage:

Bring fruit flashcards to class and plastic fruit if available. Ask students what their favorite fruit is. Show the flashcards or plastic fruit one at a time and have the students identify them. Elicit other kinds of fruit that are not covered.

Study:

Set up a small group activity using sets of small cards prepared beforehand. Have the students match the correct picture with the correct word.

Put up the flashcards on the board and go over the correct pronunciation of each word. Have the students repeat after the teacher. Drill as a group and individually.

Show one picture and ask the students “Do you like apples?” Students answer with sentences like “Yes, I do” or “No, I don’t”. Check that the students are using the correct structure and pronouncing words correctly.

Activate:

Using a simplified worksheet with pictures and text, have the students do a survey. They go around the class and ask and answer questions about the fruit they like and dislike. In the end, have the students choose one of their classmates and tell the class what kind of fruit this person likes and dislikes.

Task 5 – What do students need to know about grammatical structures? Give examples to clarify your ideas.

Meaning – what the language means

Use – how and when it is used

Forms and patterns – how the language is formed or structured

Spoken and written forms – if there are any differences in the spoken and written forms.

Ex: use of contractions – in formal written English, we use “I do not want to see a movie’ and in spoken English, we usually say  ‘I don’t want …’  or ‘I don’t wanna…’

Task 6 – Plan a boomerang ESA lesson, for a language level of your choice, for the present continuous tense:

Target students: Elementary level, 10 students

Engage:

Sentence prompt and sentence chain – Write a prompt on the board. It can be a question or half a sentence. For example, ‘I am ______.” The first student will give his/her sentence (ex: I am sitting down.) and the next student will say ‘Peter is sitting down. I am holding a pen.’ The activity continues until the sentence chain has been completed.

Activate 1:

Have the students complete a word order activity in small groups. They need to unscramble jumbled sentences and arrange the words in order.

Study:

Go over the answers with the class. Write down any mistakes on the board. Have the students correct the mistakes and provide additional explanations.

Activate 2:

Put the students in pairs. Have them complete a spot the differences activity. Each pair, student A and B, gets the same picture but with some differences. They have to talk about what they see happening in their picture without showing their own picture to their partner. The objective is to find all the differences.

Task 7 – Plan a patchwork ESA lesson for the function of checking into a hotel. Be sure that the function is appropriate for the language level you choose:

Target students –Upper Intermediate

Engage:

Ask the students to give their first thoughts or first words that cross their mind when they hear the word ‘hotel’. Ask them to name the best hotel in their town, city, or country and say why.

Activate:

Have the students role-play a hotel situation based on role cards given by the teacher. Give them time to read through their role and encourage them to ad lib as much as they can. Take note of student errors/mistakes.

Study:

Write the mistakes on the board. Give the students some time to correct their mistakes. Go over the language of checking into a hotel. Ensure correct pronunciation of words.

Activate:

Have another role-play but let the students write out their conversations first then present in front of the class. They should incorporate the corrections and suggestions from the prior role play.

Engage:

Show flashcards showing typical problems at a hotel. Ask students what they hate about staying in hotels and what problems they are likely to encounter in a hotel.

Study:

Students analyze the language structures for complaining, apologizing, offering solutions, and conducting a meeting.

Activate:

Students pretend to be the management team of a big hotel. They conduct a meeting to discuss the problems and guests’ complaints that are hounding the hotel. The meeting comes to an end after they agree on a set of guidelines to address the problems and complaints from hotel guests.

Unit 6

WORKSHEET - UNIT 6

Task 1 – Identify the following tenses, giving your reason for the identification:

a) Peter went to the cinema yesterday evening.

Past Simple – The sentence talks about an action that happened in the past at a definite time. The action here is “went”, which is the past tense of “go” and “yesterday evening” is the given time.

b) He had been living there for most of his life.

Past Perfect Continuous – This sentence follows the affirmative form for past perfect continuous which is ‘subject + had + been + verb+ing.

c) I was sleeping at 2.00AM.

Past Continuous – It talks about an action that started before 2AM and probably continued after that. It also contains the past tense of ‘be’ (was) and the verb (sleep) +ing.

d) John and Mary hadn’t been there before.

Past Perfect – This sentence follows the negative form for past perfect which is ‘subject + had + not + past participle’.

Task 2 – State as many usages as possible of the past tenses below, with an example sentence for each usage (not a sentence from the unit!).

a) Past simple

1. Past action with a given time – I went home to the Philippines last September.

2. When the time is asked about – When did you lose your phone?

3. For an action that took place at a definite time even if the specific time is not mentioned – They came to China a long time ago.

4. Past habits – He drank a lot when he was younger.

5. Past facts or generalizations – India was a poor country in the past.

6. Series of completed actions – I woke up at 6am, took a shower around 6:30, had my breakfast at 7, then left for work at around 7:30.

b) Past continuous

1. Interrupted past actions - I was chatting with my friend when the power went out.

2. Used to indicate gradual development of past events – The smoke was getting thicker.

3. Specific time as an interruption – I was still studying at 4 this morning.

4. Parallel actions – I was preparing dinner while my son was playing computer games.

5. Descriptions – When the teacher arrived, some students were singing loudly and others were playing with their phones.

c) Past perfect

1. Completed action before another action in the past – She had cooked dinner for her kids before she went to the gym.

2. Third conditional sentences – If I hadn’t brought my umbrella, I would have been drenched in the rain.

3. Reported Speech – The director asked if we had eaten dinner.

4. Dissatisfaction with the past – I wish I had taken my phone charger. My battery is dead.

d) Past perfect continuous

1. Duration of a past action – They had been living in China for 8 years before they settled in Australia.

2. Showing cause of an action or situation in the past – I went for a massage because I had been working all day long.

3. Third conditional – If the kids hadn’t been misbehaving, the teacher would have taken them out to the playground.

4. Reported speech – The girls said they had been swimming with their friends the whole morning.

Task 3 – State how the tenses below are formed grammatically.  Explain positive, negative and question forms:

a) Past simple

Form:         To make the simple past tense, we use the past form only or the auxiliary ‘did’ + base form. We form the past tense of regular verbs by adding –ed or –d to the base form of the verb while irregular verbs have different rules to follow.

Positive:      Subject + past form of the verb

                   She travelled

                   She ate

Negative:    Subject + aux. verb ‘did’ + not + base form of the verb

                   She did not travel.  She didn’t travel.

                   She did not eat. She didn’t eat.

Question:    Aux. verb ‘did’ + subject + base form of the verb

                   Did she travel?

                   Did she eat?

b) Past continuous

Form:         To form a sentence in the past continuous, we use the past tense of the aux. verb ‘be’ (was/were) + the present participle (verb + ing).

Positive:      Subject + was/were + verb + ing

                   She was travelling

                   She was eating

Negative:    Subject + was/were + not + verb + ing

                   She wasn’t travelling

                   She wasn’t eating

Question:    Was/were + subject + verb + ing

                   Was she travelling?

                   Was she eating?

c) Past perfect

Form:         To form a sentence in the past perfect, we use the past form of the aux. verb ‘to have’ and the past participle.

Positive:      Subject + had + past participle

                   She had travelled

                   She had eaten

Negative:    Subject + had + not + past participle

                   She hadn’t travelled

                   She hadn’t eaten

Question:    Had + subject + past participle

                   Had she travelled?

                   Had she eaten?

d) Past perfect continuous

Form:                   To make the past perfect continuous, we use the past form of the aux. verb ‘to have’ + been + the present participle (verb + ing)

Positive:      Subject + had + been + verb + ing

                   She had been eating

Negative:    Subject + had + not + been + verb + ing

                   She hadn’t been eating

Question:    Had + subject + been + verb + ing

                   Had she been eating?

Task 4 – Give at least 2 teaching ideas (suitable for the Activate stage of a lesson) for the tenses below and give examples of sentences that you would expect your students to produce:

a) Past simple

1. Biography of a famous person

Ex: John Lennon died on December 8^th, 1980.

2. Talking about past holidays

Ex: I went to Hong Kong last summer.

b) Past continuous

1. Alibi Game

Ex: I was watching a movie at 11 PM last night.

2. Telling a story with picture prompts

Ex: The man was having dinner when he heard a loud explosion.

c) Past perfect

1. Who asked what question – Students are given one or two question each to memorize. Once they are ready, they go around the class, ask their questions, and answer other students’ questions as well. In the end, students have to report to class what questions the other students asked them.

Ex: Lisa asked if I had seen the principal.

2. Picture prompts - Explaining a situation

Ex: It’s possible that the man had forgotten to lock his front door.

d) Past perfect continuous

1. What’s your alibi?

Ex: I had been working on my homework for about an hour when the incident happened.

2. Freeze Game – The class is divided into 2 teams. One team is ordered to close their eyes while the other team is ordered to quietly perform an action. The teacher will then say “FREEZE” and the performing team has to literally freeze in their current action. The other team then tries to guess what the other team had been doing before they opened their eyes.

Ex: Before I opened my eyes, you had been playing basketball.

Task 5 – Complete the past simple form of these irregular verbs:

VERB	PAST SIMPLE	VERB	PAST SIMPLE
tell	told	hide	hid
be	was/were	eat	ate
bring	brought	find	found
do	did	buy	bought
see	saw	go	went

Task 6 - Complete the past participle form of the same irregular verbs:

VERB	PAST PARTICIPLE	VERB	PAST PARTICIPLE
tell	told	hide	hidden
be	been	eat	eaten
bring	brought	find	found
do	done	buy	bought
see	seen	go	gone

Task 7 – How would you explain the difference in structure and usage between these tenses to a low-level student? Illustrate your explanations with example sentences of your own:

a) Past simple and past continuous

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

We form the past simple by adding –ed or –d to the base form of regular verbs (irregular verbs have different rules so it’s best for students to memorize them) while to form a sentence in the past continuous, we use was/were + the verb + ing.

ii) Differences in usage:

We use the past simple to talk about actions completed at a definite time in the past while we use the past continuous to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.

iii) Example sentences:

1. Past simple - I drank beer last night.
2. Past continuous - I was drinking beer when my mother showed up.

b) Past simple and present perfect

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

The simple past tense is formed by adding –ed or –d to the base form of the verb (regular verbs) while the present perfect tense is formed by adding ‘have/has’ + past participle of the verb.

ii) Differences in usage:

The past simple is used for actions that happened at a definite time in the past while the present perfect is used for actions or states that happened at an indefinite time in the past or something that started in the past and still true at the time of speaking.

iii) Example sentences:

1. Past simple – They travelled to Thailand last year.
2. Present perfect – They have travelled to Thailand before.

c) Present perfect and past perfect

i) Explanation of differences in structure:

For present perfect, we use ‘have/has’ plus the past participle and for the past perfect, we use ‘had’ plus past participle.

ii) Differences in usage:

Present perfect is used for actions or states that happened at an indefinite time in the past or something that started in the past and still true at the time of speaking. We use the past perfect tense to emphasize that an action in the past finished before another action in the past started.

iii) Example sentences:

1. Present perfect – I have read the book several times.
2. Past perfect – I asked the professor a lot of questions because I had read his book.

Unit 5

WORKSHEET – UNIT 5

When answering the tasks here please refer to any experience you have had in the classroom, or experiences you have noted while observing another teacher, as either a student or onlooker.

Task 1 –How can a teacher use his/her physical presence and voice in the classroom?

A teacher’s physical presence and voice play a major role in classroom management. As such, knowing how to use these things properly will translate to better and more productive class sessions.

Physical presence includes the teacher’s overall appearance or presentation, gestures, movements, proximity, contact with students, and eye contact.

Good eye contact is necessary if a teacher wants the involvement of all the students. A teacher should be able to maintain eye contact when necessary and appropriate because some students may feel uncomfortable. Eye contact is also useful for the following:

-         To ensure that students have understood the instructions and lessons

-         To indicate who is to speak

-         To check that everyone is participating in class

-         To maintain discipline

-         To signal the start or end of an activity

-         To hold the attention of the students who are not speaking at the moment

-         To encourage class participation and contribution

Gestures or body language are also a great help to teachers, especially those who are teaching beginner classes. Actions help in conveying meaning to the students. Gestures can also add visual interest and reduce the need for unnecessary TTT. Moreover, body language can be used to increase the pace or speed of a lesson and help in managing the class.

The most powerful tool a teacher can have is his/her voice. The voice can sometimes become the deciding factor in the effectiveness of a teacher in managing a class. A teacher’s voice should have the correct clarity, volume, range, variety and projection in order to ascertain the effective delivery of a lesson. Thus, teachers should know when to speak loudly in class and when to enjoy some quiet too. They have to make sure that they are heard by the students at the back but it doesn’t mean that they have to speak with a loud voice all the time. The most important thing is to be audible but not necessarily loud.

Task 2 – Is there a best seating arrangement for a class?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various seating plans?

There are many seating arrangements that teachers can implement in their classrooms. However, the kind of seating arrangement one can choose to use will depend on several factors such as the following: class size, types of chairs and tables, age of students, type of class activity, size of the classroom, nationality, and student personality.

Orderly rows – This traditional seating arrangement is best for very big classes because it can be easily organized and the teacher can have control over the class. It’s easy for the teacher to maintain eye contact with the students and address disruptive behavior this way. This arrangement is also good for giving lectures and whole class activities. However, having the students seated in orderly rows can drastically reduce student interaction. Thus, it is quite restrictive for them. The teacher might not be able to see the students at the back as well.

Circles and Horseshoes – This kind of seating arrangement is advisable for small classes. One advantage of circles and horseshoes is that it gives everyone a sense of equality. It’s more relaxing for everyone and it gives the teacher a less imposing role in the classroom. Pair work activities are also easier to organize in a circle or a horseshoe. The space in the middle (if there is no big table) can also be used for activities involving movement. Additionally, the students can easily have eye contact with one another. One disadvantage however is that it is difficult to copy something from the board. At times, the students have to move their whole body to see the teacher.

Some people may argue that this seating arrangement is not good for children but in my experience, this is actually good because of what I’ve mentioned earlier. The space in the middle can be utilized for TPR games and activities. But then again, this arrangement is also perfect for adult students.

Separate Tables – This arrangement is good for group work. It has a very informal environment which can be beneficial for shy students. The teacher can work with one group while the other groups continue with their work. One downside of this seating arrangement is the difficulty of the teacher to monitor individual work. The students may not also want to work with people all the time and this can lead to behavioral problems. Another problem is that it makes it difficult for whole class teaching because the students are separated in tables. It’s also hard for the teacher to maintain eye contact with all of the students.

Task 3 – List the different student groupings that a teacher can use and give advantages and disadvantages for each:

1.     Whole class grouping

Advantages:

-         Easier to organize

-         Creates a sense of belongingness to the class members

-         Teacher can easily control the class

-         Students can interact with any member of the class

Disadvantages:

-         Lesser chances for student talking time

-         Students can hide or avoid doing the activity

-         Shy students may feel uncomfortable performing or participating in front of the whole class

-         Mixed ability students have to work at the same speed

2.     Group work

Advantages:

-         Greater student talk time and student interaction

-         Students can choose their level of participation

-         Less personal issues or problems

-         Students are exposed to more ideas from different people

-         Students learn to cooperate with each other and speak in English

-         The teacher can work with one group while the other groups continue with their discussion

-         More opportunities for students to experiment with language

-         Encourages learners’ independence

Disadvantages:

-         Can be very noisy

-         Students may use their first language instead of English

-         Sharing of ideas may slow down the completion of the task

-         Some students may dominate the discussion while others stay silent

-         Longer to organize and get started

-         Hard to control

3.     Pair work

Advantages:

-         More opportunities for students to speak up and practice using English

-         Students can help each other

-         Easy to organize

-         The students feel more relaxed

-         Students can easily try out ideas first before presenting to the class

-         Less stressful for lower-level students because they only have to talk to one person or they don’t need to work alone

-         Encourages learners’ independence

Disadvantages:

-         Students may not like their partner

-         Can be noisy

-         Students may end up using their first language

-         Some students may not enjoy talking to other students, but prefer talking to the teacher only

-         The stronger student may end up answering for both students

-         Students can easily stray away from the task at hand

4.     Solo or Individual work

Advantages:

-         Students can work at their own pace

-         No outside pressure

-         The teacher can respond to individual needs of the students

-         Help build self-confidence and self-reliance

Disadvantages:

-         Lesser opportunity for student-student interaction

-         Slow students may fall behind

-         Other students may treat solo work as a contest that they would sacrifice quality for speed

-         Activities take a longer time to finish

-         The teacher may not have enough time to check on everyone’s work

Task 4 – How can the teacher make sure all students are equally involved in the lesson and give individual attention?

Keeping all the students involved throughout the lesson is a very challenging task for a teacher. However, there are many things that can help make a teacher’s life easier or more manageable when it comes to student involvement in class. One important thing that should work in a teacher’s favor is his/her position. The teacher should carefully choose where to stand/move/sit in the classroom and when to stand/move/sit during the lesson. The seating arrangements should be utilized properly as well, making sure that the student environment is free of distraction and the teacher can easily access the students. Maintaining eye contact with the students is also very useful in making sure that the teacher is talking “to” the students and not “at” the students. It’s also important for a teacher to learn all the students’ names and address them as such. Always calling on the same students will make the other students feel less important in class. A teacher should also try to give extra attention to slower students if needed but he/she should be careful because it might also alienate other students. In this case, the teacher should know where to strike the balance. Additionally, it’s not advisable for the teacher to call the students in order because it becomes predictable. The class loses the element of surprise which makes the students’ lose interest. Furthermore, the teacher should include all students equally in any activity. Having and showing favoritism in class is always counterproductive. Lastly, the teacher can also incorporate some quick mind games or activities to spice up the class.

Task 5 – When is teacher talking time important?

An effective teacher should know how to balance teacher talking time (TTT) and student talking time (STT) but in general terms, a good teacher should maximize or promote STT and minimize TTT. In the classroom, TTT is important when doing the following:

-         Explaining class rules and class syllabus at the start of the course

-         Presenting new language and modeling structures

-         Clarifying and explaining

-         Giving instructions and setting up activities

-         Establishing rapport

-         Providing language input

Task 6 – How can the teacher reduce unnecessary teacher talking time?

Unnecessary TTT can be avoided if teachers do the following:

-         Use body language and pictures

-         Choose the language for explanation and instruction carefully

-         Avoid the use of TEFL jargon

-         Use language that is below the level of the class being taught

-         Don’t over-elaborate things

-         Keep things simple and direct

-         For repeat activities, ask a student to explain the activity

-         Have some classroom language blown up and paste them on the walls

Task 7 – What can a teacher do to ensure that instructions are understood?

First of all, a teacher has to get the attention of the students before giving instructions. He/She must make sure that everyone is listening and not doing something else. Another helpful thing is for the teacher to use simple language. Using longer sentences will only lead to confusion and misunderstanding. Instructions are also better understood if the teacher is consistent with the words and phrases he/she uses in class. It’s also beneficial if visual aids or clues are used to promote meaning and understanding. Finally, another way of checking whether instructions are clearly understood is to ask students to explain the activity back to the teacher.

Task 8 – How exactly would you ‘explain’ to a group of elementary students how to complete a gap fill exercise?

If I were to explain to a group of elementary students how to complete a gap fill exercise, I would do any or all of the following;

-         Give a demonstration of the activity with a teacher’s assistant (if available) or with the best student in class.

-         Illustrate or draw the steps on the board.

-         Demonstrate using hand puppets.

-         Show a sample video, if available.

Task 9 – What can the teacher do to help establish rapport with the students?

Good rapport between the teacher and students as well as amongst students can make a class successful. There are many things a teacher can do to help build rapport in class. Some of these things include:

-         Showing genuine interest in the students

-         Learning the names of the students

-         Having a sense of humor

-         Making oneself available before or after class

-         Getting the students to help each other

-         Encouraging the students to correct each other

-         Having a variety of activities that include lots of pair work and group work

-         Having a positive outlook

-         Learning about students’ hobbies and interests

-         Having an ice-breaking activity at the start of the course

-         Making sure the students get to work with different students

-         Not having favorites in class

-         Not letting certain students dominate the group

-         Giving clear instructions

-         Being fair in handing out rewards and dealing with punishments

-         Asking for comments and opinions from students

-         Being respectful of students’ beliefs and cultures

-         Not supplying everything by getting the students involved in planning and preparing class activities

-         Personalizing activities or examples to make them relevant to students

-         Keeping in mind students’ preference when making seating arrangements

Task 10 – List some of the reasons for problem behavior that you may experience in an EFL classroom.  How can/should the teacher prevent it?  How can the teacher deal with problem behavior should it arise?

Behavioral problems can arise in the classroom because of several reasons such as family problems, low self-esteem, boredom, lack of respect for the teacher and other students, peer pressure, class size, reasons for being there, inability to catch up with the lesson, and a very lax teacher.

Teachers can be able to prevent disciplinary problems from happening if they are consistent and fair in dealing with the students. They should respect the students the same way they want to be respected. Having a well-prepared lesson and a variety of activities and ESL games can also take the boredom away from the students. In addition, teachers should never let their personal feelings influence their treatment of the students. Homework and feedback should also be given as soon as possible. Furthermore, teachers should never lose their temper in class and avoid making empty threats. Finally, teachers should always be punctual in class and act professionally at all times.

On the occasion that a teacher has to deal with behavioral problems, he/she must remember the following:

-         Act immediately

-         Focus on the problem, not the student

-         Reprimand in private

-         Ask help or advice from colleagues

-         Stay calm

-         Hand down punishment that is in accordance with the school’s disciplinary code

-         Change the classroom dynamics