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santi84 · Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 1317 Location: under da sea

Hello all,

I'm teaching a two-month course starting next Tuesday. I've been advised that they are literate zero-beginners, mostly from China. For those who know the Canadian language benchmarks, they were assessed at CLB1 (one was a CLB2).

I'm looking for any and all resources/tips/advice that people could share from their own experience Smile

I won't lie, I'm a bit nervous, I want to make sure they start off on the right foot Smile

I don't think I've taught below a high CLB2 before.

Touchstone is the textbook.

Unchained English · Joined: 31 Dec 2014 Posts: 32

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

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:55 am Post subject:

Not sure what literate means here. That they can read in their own language? That they can use the Latin alphabet? If the latter, it is possible to know the alphabet, and still be designated zero-beginner. A Turk or Pole will know this, but could have no knowledge of English.

Anyway, tips. Stick to the book as much as you can. No matter how bad you may think it is. Beginners need all the visual support they can get. This gives them some sort of security. Chinese students particularly seem to view the book as more important than what even the teacher says. At least that's my experience, and that of my colleagues.

Also, consider making a list of classroom language phrases, and have these translated into LI. A whole lesson can be devoted to just this, with your own self-created visuals, flash cards to re-enforce the target language. Good for training them in things like pair work, group work, use of course book etc.

Typical phrases for classroom instruction are usually listed in most beginners books. E.g. Work together, open/close your books, ask him/her, answer the question, stop sleeping etc : )

Best of luck!

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 9:56 am Post subject:

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:07 am Post subject:

This is not the first time I have posted this idea here. It works well enough for the first couple of lessons. Nothing in my training says this is not OK. (And this is not the same as depending on a Japanese teacher to translate every instruction ever issued, if that is what you are driving at.)

Of course, the teacher isn't doing the translation. The photocopy with the students' L1 can be used as a key to see if they correctly translated the classroom language themselves. Almost the same as using a bilingual dictionary.

Has served me and my colleagues very well in Beginners classes for years. And most importantly, gets the low-level students out of the mindset that they can't understand what the teacher will say in the classroom.

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:20 am Post subject:

If I were to drive at anything, it would be that a teacher who isn't even remotely capable (to do it themselves at a pinch) shouldn't be expecting others to translate for them, period. Nowhere have I said that I depend on others to do my translating for me.

But back to what you say, as that of course is the most important thing, especially when it might appear to be at odds with your training (=what one is told to do, and not do). I detect a slight case of "Do as I say, not as I do", and the defense that the translations aren't a teacher is a weak cop-out.

And would you believe it, you are even directing students to fall back on dictionaries, I thought that was also only meant to be a very last resort, or have I been imagining that dumbed-down more or less blanket proscription too?

'Gets the low-level students out of the mindset that they can't understand what the teacher will say in the classroom' indeed - they don't need to understand what the teacher will say with all this translation going on. Where's the cerebral and professional effort?! Teacher and students, throw away thy crutches, even though thou may well need literal crutches after all the English-only antics (miming, Pictionary, punches in the face, etc etc etc)!

I'm disappointed, Sasha! I thought you were a better teacher than that!

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:26 am Post subject:

Fluffy, please behave yourself.

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:27 am Post subject:

You mean like you were behaving here?
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=1195712#1195712

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

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 10:44 am Post subject:

Stick to the textbook, though scrap and replace any questionable vocabulary in it, and try to provide plenty of visuals where possible and appropriate. Three pieces of advice to be sure, but I think santi would've known or worked those ones out soon enough. I'm not sure what can usefully be added short of taking over the planning responsibilities. Crying or Very sad

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:05 pm Post subject:

Fluffy, if and when you get further training beyond your ctefla, you'll see that my advice to the OP (a teacher who says he/she doesn't have a lot of experience in this level) for the first couple of lessons is quite conventional wisdom. No contradictions to what I have posted elsewhere for different learning contexts.

Not sure why you are engaging in these antics, but I am sure you know best.

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:29 pm Post subject:

I'm not actually disagreeing with you guys. I'm in favour of translation in certainly the context that the OP faces. But I'm also in favour of it in some other contexts too (but don't expect to be contradicted too much in those contexts. Readers can follow the link if interested). I don't always know best, but can usually work out for myself what will work (or should at least suffice) for the contexts I face.

Sashadroogie · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:40 pm Post subject:

Feel free then to contribute something of use to the thread, and share your experience with the OP. What do you suggest is good practice for the first lesson with zero beginners?

fluffyhamster · Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2015 12:45 pm Post subject:

Basic informal greetings but formalish self-introducing, such as Hi, I'm..., (and) I'm a/your/the...; I'm (n) (years old)); I'm from ..., and so on. Plenty you can say with just I'm... (but I'd prepare a bit more beyond this as they, or at least some of them, may already know stuff despite the zero beginner label. Some may even know the questions that would elicit these as answers, but that's probably for a later lesson). I'd also want to be establishing what their pronunciation generally, and especially their "reading", was like (to check out that 'literate' claim), so I'd be seeing if they could read or sound out out basic occupation nouns, country and city names, etc. They could also fill in basic info forms (either genuine terser style, as in Name:..., Birthplace:... , or more prompted sentence gap fills: I'm_____ (name)), so I could see what their handwriting was like. Unexciting rocket science, I know!