Jacksboro, Texas TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

UNIT 17: EQUIPMENT AND TEACHING AIDS This unit describes various resources that can be used during lessons, together with things to keep in mind, as well as positives and negatives of these aids. This information has been summarised below: The board – the unit lists some logical tips like to plan your work beforehand, and to write legibly. Interactive whiteboards – these can be of varying types and (again, logically) teachers should have a back-up plan in case the technology doesn’t work properly during the lesson (or if training is unavailable, insufficient, or the position of the board makes its use suboptimal). Overhead projector – the classroom staple of the 80’s, most teachers now have a good idea of how to use these, and they remain useful even with the advent of computers. Again, several positives and negatives are described for OHPs, helping teachers to make the right choice for their lessons. Visual aids are the next item described – realia and pictures are great for grabbing the attention of he students. Worksheets – these are essentially limitless, simple to use, and modifiable, these are a classroom staple. CDs – logical tips are again given for this resource. Video resources – these are useful in small instalments, and can really boost students’ confidence. Video can also include phone recordings and other self-made resources during class, although it should have been mentioned in the unit that filming students is a question of data sensitivity, and certain things should be kept in mind (especially if the students are children!). The unit should include some information on this, particularly in light of the new GDPR regulations. The next items described are dictionaries, course books, photocopiers, and resource books, all of which are logical key resources. The cassette recorder is the only item mentioned for which the information is terribly out-of-date. Even very under-funded schools now use CDs (at the very least!), and cassette players are rarely ever sold (if at all). This part of the lesson should be updated. The unit then discusses computers and online resources, listing several logical things, as well as a very extensive list of online resources. I would personally add a section about apps and games, since nowadays most kids have smartphones, and learning English using an app is a nice way to have fun with the language. What was most interesting for me personally was the fact that capitalised text has been shown to be harder to read than lowercase text. Overall this unit was quite logical, with some very important information for new teachers. Unfortunately it needs some major updating to being it into modern times.