Job Discussion Forums

[shenyanggerry]

Put them in groups of 3 - 5 and give them a topic to resolve. One that always works with university students is to ask them to come up with 3 words to describe the kind of spouse they want - remember to define 'spouse'.

They're supposed to use words that they know, not their translators. If they come up with words like 'filial', you know they cheated.

Number your groups, give each a space on the blackboard and set them to it. Then wander around constantly muttering "remember, English, not Chinese". When they've decided, they'll enmass write their decisions on the board. Should be good for at least 20 minutes.

[evolving81]

I think teaching that culture class sounds like fun! Could you have the students do group reports on some aspect of culture in an English-speaking country? They would get a better understanding of the culture and get some practice presenting material in the target language.

[El Chupacabra]

A couple of things I've learned from teaching Oral English, British Literature, and English Listening to Chinese students over the last couple of three years:

When students give presentations, have the rest of the students accountable for listening. A simple pop quiz during the last 10 minutes of a class will send that message clearly.

PPT has many applications that can be exploited, however for lectures it is best to use the fewest slides possible. For a 50-minute class section, 10 slides should be more than enough. EFL students need time to digest the information, look up new words in their dictionaries, take notes, and draw maps. As second language learners, the better students will be monitoring their comprehension and looking up at the screen, their teacher, and their notes, back and forth like a tennis match. If you go too fast, they'll metaphorically lose track of the ball in play.

PPT can also be used for vocabulary drills and test-taking, situations that may necessitate dozens of slides. So there is no real rule here as to the precise number of slides. Just make sure your use of slides is purposeful and aligned to the students needs as second-language learners.

Absence of texts implies more prep-time, but also allows more freedom in teaching. Presence of texts implies less prep-time, but also sets the students up for failure and the teacher up for boredom.

[Lobster]

Certainly different people have different ideas about PPts. Personally, I find that 20 slides are more than sufficient for a 1.5 hr. class. First comesa general topic discussion/Q&A.

Each slide has a fairly set routine. I make sure they're written in conversational style using contractions and common expressions, and I throw in a few idioms related to the topic. New vocabulary I want them to learn is bolded or underlined.

I try to repeat the key vocab throughout the presentation. I always have the students read any text on the slides, and question for or explain the new vocab/concepts. Then perhaps pose a few related questions that vary in difficulty with student level. At the end I typically include a quiz of some sort (concepts, vocab, recognition).

Finally there's another general discussion/Q&A.

I find that I can whip up a good PPT including research in under an hour. Once you have it, you can refine it and reuse as required.

Your main problem is some bozo without basic math skills thought they could cram 90 students into an 1.5 hr. oral English class. Yup, that's 1 minute max speaking time per student if you say nothing. Absolutely brilliant!

Hope this helps.

RED