Job Discussion Forums

[jaytee]

I am calling all foreign teachers for some ideas. I teach oral english in china, classes of about 60. The classes are cramped so there is not really room to move about the class and the school is somewhat inefficient when it comes to supplying materials such as paper for photocopying etc.
I am seeking ideas for lesson plans, or games that I can use in my classes for the above circumstance, that are relatively simple to understand, and need no more than the blackboard. The skill level ranges from dont seem to understand a word, to very fluent in each class. The more tips or ideas the better as I am in a bit of a pickle.
Thanks in advance for anyone who replies.

[The G-stringed Avenger]

Jaytee, I have a freshman class of about 80 students, so I know the feeling!

What I do is arrange a sort of informal "English Corner" at the back of the class, and select the very good/fluent students as my monitors to run it (a big motivational boost for them, to be given that sort of trust and responsibility) - I assign a topic if they can't find their own and the monitors ensure that the discussions are in English only and that the discussion progresses towards some sort of conclusion that they can then present to the class later. I choose maybe 20 or so students (3 or 4 good ones and the rest low ones) to do this. Then the other 60... I have about half of them doing a book lesson and the other half are involved in some stress/pronunciation games (they need them!). With the help of monitors, I can circulate around the 3 groups and supervise, offer advice and help struggling students. Students stay within their groups but circulate between a different activity each week. It means my progress through the textbook is only 1/3 as fast, but it's about quality, not quantity.
Also, any photcopies you have to do will only be for 1/3 of the class and they will last for 3 weeks until every student in every group has had their turn.
Fortunately I have a large classroom that permits 3 groups to sit separately.
Check in the ideas cookbook on this site to find some games.
Good luck!

[sojourner]

Hi Jaytee,

Sixty students in the class ! ? I take it that you are working at a college or uni ? Last year, at my first college in China, I was required to teach Oral English - absolutely hated it ! Thank God , it was for only the first term - in the 2nd term, at my request, I was given classes in Western Culture. When negotiating for my 2nd teaching job, I requested that I not be given any classes in Oral English - so now, I'm teaching Western Culture, and a subject called 'American & British Newspapers and Periodicals'.

Anyway, regarding some teaching hints, go to 'stuff for teachers' at Dave's main web page, and click on 'ideas cookbook' ,where you'll find a lot of stuff on games and other activities.There are a number of books available on ESL games; but I find that they often involve a lot of preparation and material - also, the rules for many of the games often appear (to me, at least !) to be quite complicated .One activity that I had some reasonable success with involved the handing out of a number of pictures ( cut out from magazines) to teams ,and requesting that each team devise stories that referred to some of the scenes depicted in the pictures.Then each member of a team is required to tell the whole class some aspect of the story.

Also, you could consider spending, say, 15 minutes per lesson, on intonation and pronunciation exercises, such as those involving vowel sounds, tongue twisters, etc. You might pick up some ideas from 'Tree and Three' and 'Ship and Sheep', both by Ann Baker. Both books are accompanied by audio tapes. However, I don't think that those books and tapes are yet available in China. They are, however, available in Australia and Singapore - pm me for further info.


Anyway, on the subject of books and bookshops, where exactly are you teaching at , in China ? If you are in, or near, Shanghai, visit the Shanghai Foreign Languages Bookstore. There, you'll find an excellent range of books and teaching material. One book that is probably still available there is 'Lessons from Nothing', by Bruce Marsland. It costs only 8.9 RMB ! It contains a lot of ideas regarding lessons that require very few resources - v.good value ! (Many other large cities (eg Hangzhou) often contain similarly-named bookstores - most appear to stock the sorts of books, etc, found at the Shanghai shop - probably, they are all outlets of a franchise chain ).

If you feel that Oral English is not your forte, when negotiating for your next contract you should request that you teach other subjects, eg: Western Culture, Business English, International Trade, etc. BTW, what did you major in ?

Good luck.

Peter

[Roger]

First thing: there is a special forum dedicated to teaching at primary schools, and another one for higher levels.
But I don't mind sharing some ideas with you here.

I assume, from various observations made by many including myself, that it is too tall an order to make all the students speak, and speak understandable English; therefore I don't really try the impossible.
Also, their enthusiasm is highly variable and often subject to other pressures. If there is a major exam coming you won't get more than token respect and cooperation. OFten far less than that!

So I make a few speak, and speak in front of the class. I hold some kind of competition among them. They must elect the best speaker.

I don't waste my efforts and time on preparing photocopies; their English is riddled and needs a lot of input. Therefore, I give a short list of new and essential vocabulary, including grammar instructions such as "noun", "plural and singular forms" etc.

Next, they get dividied into groups composed of one speaker and others who help him or her with their speech. They must not read aloud; no paper is allowed in front.

I don't think topics should be too lofty. It's possible to generate a fair amount of intersting subjects from geography or history; it is amazing how little they often know about their own country, and you can gain points by informing them of the reality in their own country (excluding political aspects, of course).
For instance, most Cantonese have hardly any idea of what life in Harbin is like. Some tell me there is a winter of 12 months up North; others don't even know that Xi'an has snow in January.
The major point, however, is to make EVERYBODY LISTEN. I always cross-examine the listeners by asking them to repeat a key statement made by the speaker in front.
This no doubt is the hardest part of it all - not the speaking part at all. My students are slowly coming round to the view that listening is, perhaps, more important than speaking. And, speakers realise they must redouble their efforts so that they get heard and understood.

I also often vary my activities to include writing so that they get the pronunciation of certain words right. I put a text on my desk, and require one member of each group to copy it down by going up to my desk, reading, memorising and going back and writing it down there. The group that finishes the first with the fewest mistakes carries the day!

Just two examples.

[struelle]