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UNIT 19 TEACHING SPECIAL GROUPS
I. Teaching Beginners - since there are different implications with the term 'beginner' students of the English language are divided into five:
a. The absolute beginner - students who knows no English at all.
b. The false beginner - students who has studied English previously but have not retained much language and would probably be able to construct basic sentence structures.
c. The adult beginner - they often make their own decision tho learn English as to why they are highly motivated in learning.
d. The young beginner - young students often lacks motivation because it's usually not their own choice to study English.
e. The beginner without Roman alphabet - students will need a lot of initial work on basic literacy skills.
This unit included tips for teachers from the most useful methodology and techniques on how to handle novice students to anticipating possible problems and what to do about it and most importantly tips on how to motivate them. For me few of the most important methods and techniques in teaching beginners are to have special skills and psychology in order to cleverly get each of the students' interests as well as for the teacher to wisely and flexibly pace all the lessons. In motivation it is also important not to correct them at all times but to simply keep the lesson flowing with a friendly atmosphere after all they are just new to the language. The introduction should be fun.
II. Teaching Individual Students - one-to-one lessons. In this kind of teaching, students will feel like the course is specially tailored for their own needs. It has some advantages like there are no mixed levels as to why the teacher can keep his/her focus on one student, usually a student is highly motivated since needs are clearly defined and would be followed as pleased and lastly the teacher and student can create a close relationship. A teacher should be able to asses the student beforehand and be able to communicate what will be needed and expected all throughout the course.
III. Teaching Children - when it comes to teaching children, a teacher should keep in mind that the mood of the class will depend on many external factors such as family life, peer group associates and individual personality traits. Children are the best ones to teach as they have natural 'curiosity' factor at a that certain age therefore, the teacher will have a fun time sharing. Nonetheless, it will be best if the teacher is aware of the children's needs for a better learning experience like repetition, positive encouragement and frequent praise.
- However, students can carry some speaking style or unconsciously imitate how the people in his/her life talks, here are a few features of the parent's or other's speech:
>A slower and more clearly pronounced delivery.
>Use of a higher pitch and exaggerated intonation.
>Lots of repetition.
>Reference to the child itself, its current activity or its subject of focus at the time of speaking.
>Positive responses to the child's utterances irrespective of pronunciation detail .
What teacher should do in the classroom, reminders when making a lesson as well as class disciple and management when it comes to teaching children is also included in this unit and teachers can always refer to it and make a style of their own if preferred.
IV. Teaching Business English or English for Specific Purpose (ESP) - as the name suggests teachers teach students for a certain purpose but may still likely to teach general English to professional people or to teach business content and skills through the medium of English to pre-professionals. The type of language learners need is often in areas such as telephoning, introductions and presentations.
Teaching can take place in a # of ways:
a. one-to one
b. In-company group - teaching takes place before or after work during the day.
c. In-school group - group of business people from the same company or from different companies may come to a language school to study.
*Clients - a common term when referring to learners from a company.
* A teacher must remember to perform basic grounding in English before everything else
Before partaking into a teaching quest with clients, a teacher must asses the needs of their students. This is called the 'Needs Analysis' it is when a teacher gives out form or questionnaires for them to answer and fill out so that the teacher knows what to prioritize in the lesson and for the teacher to evaluate the students language gap and skills fluency. Needs negotiation as a group is also needed after individually taking their priorities so that they can better function as one. A needs negotiation should include: getting each participant to state (1) precisely what they use English for in their jobs and (2) what they will need it for in the future, a feedback session where everyone gets to state their info publicly, a discussion of the findings and agreement on common needs and lastly telling them you will give them a plan next lesson with as much attention to individual needs as possible but focusing on overlaps.
