Job Discussion Forums

[ebooktrial0001]

Hello Everyone,

I'm just curious what are the most fun, interactive lessons you ever had?

I just want to expand my knowledge base of fun stuff.

In my experience, it was simply audience members who contributed funny stories from their own lives, etc. as part of the lesson topic.

I'd love to hear your ideas or experiences.

Thanks!

[spiral78]

Hmm. I've never seen students as 'audience members.' The term tells us a great deal about your ideas of the relative roles of teachers and students, and definitely doesn't reflect how most language learners experience learning.

Have you ever learned a second language yourself? (I will guess not as an audience member!)

[nomad soul]

[Hod]

ebooktrial0001 claims to hold a CELTA. In which case, I'd like to wish everyone "goedeavond" because I'm a Dutchman. This board frowns upon discussion of fake certification, and rightly so. And yet, this person is still here posting stilted and bizarre questions.

[BadBeagleBad]

The wording of the question aside, I think this would be an interesting thread nevertheless and I (who I think most of you know is a real teacher) would be interested in hearing people's answers.

I had a fairly advanced student a couple of years ago, who had one on one classes. While we did go over some grammar, do corrections, etc. a lot of the time we had guided conversation. Somehow in the course of a conversation we discovered that we were both huge Jethro Tull fans. We spent the rest of the class talking about music and it occurred to me that it might be fun to do a bit more in depth. So searching the internet I found someone had written a 10 or so page paper on the meaning and history behind "Thick as a Brick" (the 45 minute long extended version) and we spent a delightful couple of weeks reading and discussing that paper.

On a more mundane level I always liked doing impromptu speeches with small group classes. I always had some interesting but not too obscure topics written on pieces of paper in a baggie, and would just at random bring class to a close early and spend 10 or 15 minutes doing that.

[Tudor]

[nomad soul]

There's no one-size-fits-all fun activity for all ages, class sizes, learning objectives, etc. In fact, what energizes and engages one class can have the opposite effect with another group of similar learners.

It's best to customize learning based on the learners' language needs, interests, culture, and even personalities. Case in point, my adult students were most responsive and committed to activities that I personalized and made authentic/relevant. For example, they would get excited to see themselves incorporated or written into group activities and even assessments. It was often analogous to hiding unpopular veggies under a generous layer of tasty, gooey cheese.

[santi84]

[scot47]

Was theft of penguins not a felony in that jurisdiction ? Or at least a misdemeanour ?

[santi84]

[scot47]

The original post seems to be predicated on the idea that learning a foreign language should be "fun". I am not sure that is the case. Lots of it is just hard work. Doing algebra or learning to play a musical instrument is not about "fun". Why is language learning expected to be ?

[BadBeagleBad]

[OhBudPowellWhereArtThou]

Three of my situational dialog suggestions for freshman and sophomore university students go like this:

1. Four girls are hens on a chicken farm and they wake up to find the male chicken(s) gone.

2. As above but boys are roosters who find all of the hens gone.

3. One student is assigned to be an English teacher and four students are assigned to be students. (The rest of the class is encouraged to join in).

Sometimes the groups are given time (no more than five minutes) to rehearse, other times, they are given one minute to decide who is who and they must improvise. They are required to speak for at least three minutes, but I have seen these situations play out for as long as ten to twenty minutes.

The teacher and students scenario always goes on the longest and yours truly is almost always the teacher portrayed (sometimes by the least likely students). If it looks like it will go on for a long time, I rotate the student playing the teacher into the group of students and pick another student to play the teacher. Afterward, everyone is required to write about their experience either as a participant or as an observer. I learn a lot about how they perceive me as a person as well as a teacher. Some students take the opportunity to suck up to me while the more confident and brave ones express some fairly candid sentiments. When it becomes obvious that I am amused by some of the biting remarks, they let down their guards and have fun poking fun at me and at other students in the class.

In #1 and #2, I am always surprised by the students' creative use of sexual innuendo and the sheer volume of it. I don't encourage it, but I don't discourage it either. It's pretty innocent stuff and quite funny. Interestingly, the girls have the most to say. They often forget that they are expected to think like chickens, but I let them run with it.

Afterward, everyone is required to write about their experience either as a participant or as an observer.

I've used all three scenarios on strong and weak freshman and sophomore classes. All groups have fun with the scenarios. Their written reflections usually express surprise at their ability to call forth their ability to produce the words to say what they mean. Not surprisingly, the stronger classes tend to have the most fun with it solely because of their ability.

Word of these exercises always make their way to Chinese teachers who express mixed sentiments to me. Some applaud my bravery for using #3, others applaud the students' bravery because their students--- the same ones that I teach--- won't speak freely in their classes. Others think that I encourage disrespect for the teacher. No one has expressed any disapproval of the chicken scenario. I don't think the students tell their teachers what is said!