Job Discussion Forums

[teachingld2004]

Yes this has been answered but not in a way that is reality.
I have two middle school classes, grade 7. Each class is 45 minutes. I am told I can do anything. But anything is not a good answer.

What has anyone done with a class so large where the students are packed in so tight that they can hardly move? I can not even get between the rows.

45 minutes is very long when I have no idea what to do.

The students behavior is not bad, but sometimes they all want to talk and that is. It possible. Sometimes no one can. Their levels are quite low, and how many times can we go over colors, numbers, food, people....

The admin tells me to do anything I want. Well what I wAnt is to find a larger room, have less students...but that is. It going to happen.



Thanks

[Non Sequitur]

Sing!

[doogsville]

Find out what textbook they use for their proper English class, you know, the one the Chinese teachers takes. Then use that to work on their pronunciation and general speaking. The Chinese teacher will have covered the grammar etc already but may not have had them actually speak the words.

Drill them, whole class, half class, first row, second row etc. Make each row a team and make it competitive by giving them points for good speaking. Boys V girls goes down well. Then take a ball and throw it over your shoulder with your back turned to them. Whoever it touches has to say the word/phrase on the board. You throw it a few times, and watch as they climb over each other to avoid it, then let whoever it touched throw it. Only if they speak up loudly and clearly though. They love trying to catch out their friends.

The ball thing can also be used for word chains, give a word that begins with the last letter of the previous word, word associations, write banana on the board, they have to say the first word that banana makes them think of. Alphabet chains, first word begins with A, next one with B etc. Good for a five to ten minute warm up. Finish with a five minute drilling review and before you know it the 45 minutes is up. Then head back to your office for a nap.

[Javelin of Radiance]

There's limits to what teachers should accept as part of their workload. 77 junior high school students in a 45 minute class exceeds my limit. Sounds like these kids had an hour to kill somewhere and some brain dead idiot suggested giving them to the foreigner and let them figure it out. These kids would be better off studying for their exams, exercising or sleeping rather than spending 45 minutes crammed in a sardine tin of a room wasting time. I'd hand the class back and say no thanks.

[JamesD]

1. Choral speaking; used to be big in high schools eons ago.
Group reads a literary/classic piece and tries to sync (Gettysburg address, Hamlet's soliloquy,...). Teaches sentence rhythm; would help the slow ones gain confidence.
Maybe there's a famous Chinese piece they could translate and do as an end-of-year performance for Mom and Dad? Mao's LRB? Can divide class into groups with different pieces and work them alternate days.

2. Divide class in 2 (or 4?) and rotate sitting in a set teaching section marked with ribbon. Other group(s) sitting behind get quiet time off to study or rest while you work with that day's group on pronunciation or simple vocab games. Treat each group as a separate class and you can separate high and low levels.


Barring that, yeah 77 sucks. Not much else that would fill a semester for a group that size.

[Mr. Leafy]

How often do you see them? If it's only once a week I'd do something choral. If it's a couple times a week them something like this;

[teachingld2004]

I work in a University. I just have this job one day a week. Two 45 minute classes. My univ. said I could work there

There is a Chinese teacher in the room, and so that means no one will kill each other.

I have no idea what I would do if this was my main job. Quit I assume. But for this little time I can deal with anything.

I have no idea what games to play with 77 kids.

Thanks for the advice/help guys

[Mr. Leafy]

These two books might help;

Title Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Large, Multilevel Classes
Author Peace Corps Information Collection and Exchange
Description This publication draws on suggestions from Volunteers working under difficult conditions with limited resources. In particular, it offers ideas and activities to help teachers facing classes of up to 150 students, most without textbooks. Content addresses issues such as student interests and needs, classroom management, theme-based lesson planning, the national curricula, emphasis on rote memorization, and resistance to group work. It aids Volunteers in creating classrooms where students are given opportunities to think critically, work cooperatively and enjoy the experience of learning.

http://collection.peacecorps.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15105coll3/id/39/rec/5


Teaching Large Multilevel Classes (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers)

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Multilevel-Cambridge-Handbooks-Language/dp/0521667852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385038037&sr=1-1&keywords=large+classes

[Non Sequitur]

How do you assess 70-odd?
I've tended to develop my skill set around large classes, to the point that if I get a group of less than 25 I have to dial back the presentation.
I could do 70 in a non-assessed elective, but any effective teaching and learning and the awarding of a considered grade would be impossible.

[revilo]

If admin says you can do anything you want to, tell half of the class to play football outside and give them a football. Then teach the other half.

Rotate instruction and football with the classes so that no student is left out of study or PE.

If admin threatens you, then you tell them to teach 77 students in one classroom. Then threaten to notify CFTU.

[muffintop]

[Non Sequitur]

[Happy Everyday]

OP, I'm guessing if it were a lecture class, you wouldn't be asking.

Students sometimes sit at desks in clusters of two to four people, usually tow. So, it's easy to group them in fours. Or, they sit in long rows. You might be in a lecture hall? Experienced Chinese Teachers who manage large, interactive classes will break them down into those clusters (4 or so) or by rows.

Now you're managing only seven or eight groups or rows, not seventy seven. Within the row, you can work them as a whole or divide them.

JamesD had a good suggestion about Choral because it is a group exercise. They get rote instruction from CTs and prefer you do something different. As an icebreaker, I'd have each row stand up, say their name, then play a word game. One person says a word, and each person adds one word to the sentence.

There's a variety of fun and interesting word games for writing and speaking that can be done in a group, and it would be easier if you had a subject class. Too bad you're not teaching something like dancing. But you can mix and match fun and useful things to do from different subjects to get them speaking.

You could play some 30 - 60 second advertisements in class, preferably interesting ones. Describe the vocabulary, then get them to rote repeat a bit. Then put them to work to make an original advertisement in their group. One or several can present it. If that's too advanced, lower the level. Check out online materials like Mad-Libs.

Or steer the content to something practical or fun. Each student can come up with two sentences of the funniest thing they've seen. The group will choose the best two, then one or more of them will present it to the class. If you're not sure what they would like, then make one of the early assignments to write down and say what they most enjoy.

Over the course of such speaking exercises, if only one group member is presenting what they created together, then ensure that a different member will speak for the group on the next presentation.

It gets more layered than this. Hopefully, this will help you find your way.

If you're giving a lecture, try using power point, cool graphics, and highlighting some vocabulary words onscreen.

If possible, sit in on other large classrooms taught by FT and CT and ask their advice.

After you organize them into manageable groups, it is a matter of content, delivery, and their being able to try it. Think of it as teaching one to four people.

If you try talking loudly to a large classroom or audience without a mic, and you're not properly trained professionally for applied voice technique, then you'll likely lose your voice. Group work is what will save your voice.

[WLamar]

[golsa]