San Jose, Indiana TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

This unit deals with teaching different groups of learners 1. Teaching beginners There are different categories of beginners (although often students fall in more than 1 category) - The absolute beginner - The false beginner - The adult beginner - The young beginner - The beginner without Roman alphabet 2. Teaching individual students This has become more and more popular in recent years. Students feel the course will be more focused on their specific needs. These lessons are usually less formal and the teacher will often be the partner of the student. - Advantages for the teacher include no mixed levels, usually highly motivated students, needs can be clearly defined, develop a close relationship. - Disadvantages for the teacher include: loss of classroom dynamics and tiredness Some suitable activities for 1-1 classes include, short stories, horoscopes, idioms, goal-oriented activities, pronunciation, photographs, etc. 3. Teaching children - By patient repetition, positive encouragement and frequent praise a child develops a sense of self-esteem and is less self-conscious about potential mistakes. This is an essential part of the language-growth process. - Young learners are very curious but have a short attention span and get bored easily if they have to sit and listen for too long. - They often seek approval of the teacher and it is important that the teacher notices them and shows signs of appreciation for what they are doing. - They need frequent changes of activities, which are exciting and fun to stimulate their curiosity. - They have no motivational considerations Teachers must keep the lessons fun, varied and at a good pace, while trying to relate the activities to the children’s own interests. a. In the classroom: - Always use English for instructions, not the native language - Speak slowly in short and direct sentences - Act out the meaning - Give clear demonstrations of the response required - Don’t make an individual child produce language or a response when they don’t want to. - Be prepared to make fun of yourself - Come down to the physical level of the children - Get the children to draw and color. Get them to label in English. - Always have plenty of paper, pencils, rubbers, rulers and crayons available - Play simple games. Turn simple oral exercises into individual or team games. Children love competition - Keep sets of smiley or other sticker rewards to give out for good work and behavior b. Class discipline / management Children have high energy levels and it is inevitable the teacher at times has to deal with disruptive behavior. The mood of the class and the individual students will be determined by many external factors. So, teachers should take into account that the behavior and attitude of the teacher is perhaps the most important factor in the classroom and can thus have major effect on discipline. What are some of the reason problems might arise: - Problems at home or outside the classroom: not much the teacher can do. Inform the school’s administration and let them follow up - Attention seeking: try giving the student the attention he/she craves - Peer pressure: try changing the dynamics of the classroom - Boredom: usually the teacher’s fault and a major cause of discipline problems. Make lessons as fun, varied, lively, involving and interesting as possible. - Lack of consistency from the teacher: always be consistent and fair. Easier to start off firmer and gradually relax control than the opposite way. c. Don’ts - Don’t be inconsistent - Don’t issue threats - Don’t raise your voice - Don’t have favorites - Don’t break the code - Never threaten or inflict physical violence - Teacher should be familiar with the codes conduct and not exceed them. 4. Business English / English for Specific Purpose (ESP) Becoming increasingly more popular and teaching can take place in several different ways: - One-to-one - In-company group - In-school group Often, they will study intensely and over a longer period. a. Clients: the type of clients can vary immensely, they are often tired, and attendance might be sporadic. The English level within the group may differ greatly. Not all the learners will be motivated. b. What they need: we have to balance the clients needs with those of the company. A lot of business people still need a basic grounding of English rather than anything to specific. The teacher needs a general understanding of the client’s job, which will help him/her to understand the areas of English that the students require. c. Needs analysis and planning of the course. After testing the clients for their level, the next step should be to give them a ‘needs analysis’. If possible a needs negotiation session should be held. d. Planning the program is the next step in preparing the program. It is wise to hold a mid-course evaluation. e. Materials. There is an abundance of materials to teach business English from general to specific books. Authentic materials are invaluable when teaching business English. f. Things to consider: - Find out as much about the company as possible. - You are not an expert in the client’s field or activity of business (if you are, pretend you are not), but you are an expert in the English Language and teaching it. - On arrival: Be well prepared on the first day, dress the part, use the formal form of the local language if you speak it, establish a good relationship with the reception and administration staff. - During the course: Keep a record of attendance, never gossip about participants to other people in the company, make the course relevant - After the course: write a post-course report 5. Monolingual and the multilingual class Multilingual classes usually take place in countries where English is the native language and the students either reside there or specifically came to learn English. As a result, the students are from various different nationalities. This means they have no common language to communicate in except English. The students also bring a greater variety of culture and ideas to the classroom. They furthermore get more exposure to, and opportunity to use, English. Monolingual classes usually take place in the students’ home country: - Students all have the same language and therefore it is likely they will have the same kind of difficulties with English - Their cultural background is the same or similar, so the teacher can identify certain topics that would be of interest or taboo to the group. The teacher can make it easier for students to use English but should not be too concerned if students resort to their mother tongue in group or pair work activities.