Read Online Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Dummies by Michelle Maxom - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Michelle Maxom
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industry, you challenge the stereotype of teachers as boring, sour-faced characters who spend most of their time writing on the board with their backs to the students. Neither do you lecture the students, forcing them to simply listen and take notes.
Actually, the students should be doing the talking for most of the lesson.
They need to try out what they’ve learned, get to know their classmates better so they work as a team, and feel relaxed enough to laugh at their own Chapter 2: Looking at What TEFL Teachers Actually Do
27
mistakes. Speaking to a classmate in small groups or pairs and role playing is one of the more effective ways to learn. In TEFL the aim is to give your students practice and a nice safe environment to try out everything they learn.
People really need to be able to speak a language to master it, so remember that in your lessons.
Keeping things relevant
Whatever you teach the students should be realistic and have some relevance to their lives. Depending on the situation, students sometimes come to you with their own goals. If the class is a general English course, the onus is on you to select the words and phrases most used in the situations your particular students are likely to meet. For example, youngsters often compare their ages as soon as they meet, but adults rarely do (it’s actually quite rude to ask someone’s age in many cultures) so teaching the ‘How old are you?’
question is far more relevant to a class of children than to a class of adults.
Likewise, students who are living in an English-speaking country need some colloquial expressions to survive. For example, in London you teach students that the underground transport system is called ‘the tube’ within the first week, whereas a class of students in Costa Rica may never need to know that.
Some students have very specific goals such as passing exams or getting a job. Once you know what these are you can more easily tailor your classes to fit their needs. This is especially true if all the students are working towards the same goal.
TEFL does comprise some very focused areas, such as business English, EAP
(English for academic purposes), and even courses adapted for particular jobs like football coaching and hairdressing.
Recognising What Your Students
Want from You
You may wonder what students expect from an EFL teacher when they enrol on a course and gingerly enter the classroom. To be honest, students don’t always have their list of wants and needs crystallised from the outset, but as they go along they certainly pick up when things aren’t right. Then, they start complaining or stop attending.
28 Part I: Getting Started in TEFL
From the moment a student turns up at the reception area of your school or makes contact with you directly, she expects you to understand that she has a lack in her ability and that communicating in English is beyond her level and presents a problem. Students want help. They don’t want to feel embarrassed or stupid.
You first need to determine your students’ level of English by some form of testing. In a country where English is not the first language, students tend to make contact with a school or teacher in their own language. However, a form of speaking test happens quite quickly when (in the case of a language school) a student is introduced to a teacher or teaching manager who begins a conversation in English. You can buy written placement tests from EFL
publishers such as Oxford University Press or you can put one together using questions that move progressively through the grammar and vocabulary typical of each class level. It depends on the school and a student’s needs whether to test speaking, grammar writing skills or all three. At the appropriate level, students stretch themselves but won’t struggle too much.
Students need to make measurable progress from their starting level. Proof of this may be completing a syllabus, gaining confidence or passing a
Actually, the students should be doing the talking for most of the lesson.
They need to try out what they’ve learned, get to know their classmates better so they work as a team, and feel relaxed enough to laugh at their own Chapter 2: Looking at What TEFL Teachers Actually Do
27
mistakes. Speaking to a classmate in small groups or pairs and role playing is one of the more effective ways to learn. In TEFL the aim is to give your students practice and a nice safe environment to try out everything they learn.
People really need to be able to speak a language to master it, so remember that in your lessons.
Keeping things relevant
Whatever you teach the students should be realistic and have some relevance to their lives. Depending on the situation, students sometimes come to you with their own goals. If the class is a general English course, the onus is on you to select the words and phrases most used in the situations your particular students are likely to meet. For example, youngsters often compare their ages as soon as they meet, but adults rarely do (it’s actually quite rude to ask someone’s age in many cultures) so teaching the ‘How old are you?’
question is far more relevant to a class of children than to a class of adults.
Likewise, students who are living in an English-speaking country need some colloquial expressions to survive. For example, in London you teach students that the underground transport system is called ‘the tube’ within the first week, whereas a class of students in Costa Rica may never need to know that.
Some students have very specific goals such as passing exams or getting a job. Once you know what these are you can more easily tailor your classes to fit their needs. This is especially true if all the students are working towards the same goal.
TEFL does comprise some very focused areas, such as business English, EAP
(English for academic purposes), and even courses adapted for particular jobs like football coaching and hairdressing.
Recognising What Your Students
Want from You
You may wonder what students expect from an EFL teacher when they enrol on a course and gingerly enter the classroom. To be honest, students don’t always have their list of wants and needs crystallised from the outset, but as they go along they certainly pick up when things aren’t right. Then, they start complaining or stop attending.
28 Part I: Getting Started in TEFL
From the moment a student turns up at the reception area of your school or makes contact with you directly, she expects you to understand that she has a lack in her ability and that communicating in English is beyond her level and presents a problem. Students want help. They don’t want to feel embarrassed or stupid.
You first need to determine your students’ level of English by some form of testing. In a country where English is not the first language, students tend to make contact with a school or teacher in their own language. However, a form of speaking test happens quite quickly when (in the case of a language school) a student is introduced to a teacher or teaching manager who begins a conversation in English. You can buy written placement tests from EFL
publishers such as Oxford University Press or you can put one together using questions that move progressively through the grammar and vocabulary typical of each class level. It depends on the school and a student’s needs whether to test speaking, grammar writing skills or all three. At the appropriate level, students stretch themselves but won’t struggle too much.
Students need to make measurable progress from their starting level. Proof of this may be completing a syllabus, gaining confidence or passing a
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