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CailinDeas34 · Joined: 28 Aug 2013 Posts: 3

Hi all

I just finished my CELTA last week and have just got a call for an interview on Monday which requires bringing in and defending a one-hour lesson plan for your first lesson with an FCE class (assuming you already had an ice-breaking session for the previous hour). Obviously, I have lots of research to do (as I have never taught an exam class before), but if anyone has any advice where I should look for ideas or indeed if any exam teachers have advice on how I should approach it, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!!

Sashadroogie · Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:15 pm Post subject:

That's a strange interview process. The school knows you are fresh off a Celta, don't they? New teachers don't get exam classes. At least in schools where the DoS knows what he is doing, that is...

spiral78 · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash

Forced to agree with Sasha. Exam classes can be relatively high-stakes (even FCE) and a newbie wouldn't normally be first choice to teach one, by any means.

If it's a course based on the FCE, but the students are not necessarily really going to take the exam, and there are no pass/fail consequences, maybe....

One useful first class for an FCE might be a discussion around the test itself, why the students are aiming to take it, and an overview of what's needed to succeed. Rather difficult to pull off if you've never dealt with an exam class, though....

Sashadroogie · Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 6:35 pm Post subject:

Cailin deas, If you must present a full-on lesson plan, then here is my suggestion.

Choose a skills lesson. Stay away from grammar - it is too challenging at this stage. I'd select listening skills and relate it directly to the Listening test. For example, Listening Part 2 is usually a gapped text, where exam takers need to listen to the audio in order to fill in the missing information. (I think it is Part 2 - check this.) A useful skill for learners to acquire is prediction.

Even before they hear the audio, they should be able to make reasonable guesses about what answers they'd expect, given the over all context of the written text. There are plenty of clues, if they look for them. It may not be possible to guess the exact answer, but it should be reasonably easy to at least know what word class fits in the gap. E.g. a noun? A plural or uncountable noun? A verb? A past form? The sentence surrounding the gap should help narrow things down. I.e, if there is an indefinite article before the gap, then the gap must be a countable singular noun.

So your lesson aim could be to develop learners prediction skills with a view to improving listening ability. The procedure would simple be to present the test paper and have the class, in pairs, groups, whatever, see how many answers they think they can answer immediately. For the harder gaps, they should at least be able to tell you what type of word or information is required. Hold some quick feedback with the whole class. Then listen to the audio to confirm or check answers. See how many answers they got right. Compare this to their predictions. There shouldn't be any radically different answers, though the exact information may of course differ.

If you wanted, you could even organise the lesson by just doing one Part 2 test cold, and record the answers. Then do a second test with the prediction procedure, and then compare the learner results for the two tests. With luck there would be a marked improvement with prediction, thus raising awareness of the learners that even a minute or two of quick scan reading and prediction prior to listening could help them perform better.

If the interviewers are not suitably impressed, then hit them a skelp with your bata mor, and put manners on them : )

Hope that makes some sort of sense. I've had rather a little too much vodka today... hic!

CailinDeas34 · Joined: 28 Aug 2013 Posts: 3

Hey

Thanks for the input folks, but was offered a position elsewhere teaching general English which is more in my comfort zone for now I guess.

Anyway, that idea on the listening in IELTS will be really handy for the future so thanks Sasha Droogie!!

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:03 am Post subject:

Probably for the best. An FCE class for somebody just starting off is hard for the teacher. But it also shows that the school has less than the required expertise in this area - and who knows what other shortcomings?

You are welcome re the listening lesson. Does work for IELTS as well as for FCE. Works for any gapped text, in fact.

Good luck to you.