Job Discussion Forums

[chinaamber]

I always have a bag full uf pieces of paper with "forfeits" on them. A student picks one at random and then has to do it quickly or another student can jump in and beat them to it.

I use things such as "Who can ......... name 5 fruits
tell me 6 words beginning with S
say the alphabet the fastest/loudest etc
give me 5 irregular/past/past participle verbs?

All my classes love this and to try to guess what they would have to do and even the quietest or disinterested students rush to be the one to do it first. You can be as creative as you like and fit the forfeits to any level/age/interests.

[ktodba]

Finish the lesson with some kind of open speaking which practices what you've been doing - if it finishes early get students to write some reflective notes on what they found easy and difficult and how this will affect their learning in future.

[Deconstructor]

I tell them, "Sooo... ehem... I gueeeesss that's it for the day. Are there any questions about anything?" (Usually there aren't.) "So today we covered bla, bla, bla and more bla. Don't forget your bla homework. Is it hot in here, or is it just me? You know the air conditioner doesn't work properly in this establishment."

"Teacher, what is establishment?"

"Ah... good question. Now in order to understand this word, we must understand its origin, bla bla bla.

If after all my effort in BS fails, then I say, "Look, guys there are only a few minutes left, so why don't you relax, stretch and discuss something, like life, the universe and everything."

And right before they leave, I say, "Thanks for all the fish".

Usually this works, though that last sentence really throws them off. It's OK, though; they never keep it straight anyway.

If you think my approach is less than serious, well... the world will be perfectly Anglophone before I take an EFL class more seriously than the students do.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I usually know I'll have extra time around 20 minutes til the end of class, then I start planning the activities to last longer, elicit more class discussion, or ask more questions to fill the gap.

If you're mean, you can tell them it's "quiz time" and to get out a sheet of paper and write five things they learned today. Tell them they have five minutes to finish, and they can leave when they're done.

Works for me...

[madison01]

There are a couple of fillers I use to review language taught in the lesson.

Give each student two pieces of paper and tell them to write a word on each one. It could be something they hate on one and like on the other, or a pair of words from the days or a previous lesson. The students mustn't show the others what they've written.

Collect the pieces of paper.

Place half the students in a circle in the middle of the room facing out (their shoulders should be touching) and then get the other half facing a student each.

You say one of the words and the students must talk about that word for 30 seconds until you say stop.

The the students on the outside move to their left to face a new student.

You shout out a new word and continue until times up.

You monitor this and feedback at the start of the new lesson and get them to do it again.

There's also noughts and crosses/tic tac toe.

Take 9 words taught over the lesson or lessons, put them in a noughts and crosses grid.

Split the group into two teams and assigned X or O. Each team has to define a word or put in a correct sentence, give you two synonyms or antonyms etc.. If they're right they get that space. First team to get three in a row wins.

[gaijinalways]

Sounds good, except for moving the desks to make the space !?

[madison01]

This is true, unless you're prepared like me and they're in a horseshoe, ta dah!

[M109A3]

Mine usually works best with a more mature student population. Instead of Pictionary, we play Dictionary. I have an unabridged dictionary in which we search for a word no one knows. Everyone makes up a definition and the original word finder reads all definitions, re-reads them and the class votes individually for which one they believe to be the real one. Some "creative" definitions are quite funny to listen to. My personal favorite is "kine". It's very deceptive and almost no-one gets it right! But some definitions I've listened to were rib-splitting hilareous !

[saint57]

I put an agenda with specific times on the blackboard. No matter what, you can't plan how long each activity will take. The last item on the agenda is called "Wrap-Up". I write five minutes beside it. When I find myself with five minutes left I point to the agenda and say, "Let's wrap it up!" Students put away their books and I walk around and chat with them about anything. More often than not, the students have questions to ask me and I find this saves me time after class. I used to really worry about finishing early but now I don't and it's much less stressful.

Another tip is for when you find yourself with 20 minutes to go. Always have a group project on the go. When you don't have enough material to last the whole class, it's group project time.

I see my students for seventy-five minutes everyday so they know me and I know them. They appreciate a five minute break once in a while.