Job Discussion Forums

[cormac]

I've been hesitating about asking for suggestions about what format/content to teach for the first week (or first set of classes) thinking I should be organising it myself (which I have - although its difficult without knowing exactly the University's text or curriculum).

Still, I'd love to know what you have done for your first classes (first semester), assuming that this would be an mixed (different disciplines) English class..

I've thought out whether to go immediately into "proper" class teaching or to just take the first classes to get to know the students [more informal initially], but I must admit I'm iffy about doing either. Maybe I'm over thinking the whole thing, but I hate to start off on the wrong foot.

Thanks for any info. Cheers.

[nickpellatt]

Others who are more experienced than I am in that type of setting can correct and improve my advice, but what I tend to do is something like this;

Brief set of my class rules. Nothing too terrible. I dont like students openly using dictionaries for example so thats one of my rules, 'no dictionaries, unless otherwise instructed'. I give my rules in one of two ways, a short list of them which I ask students to read out, we discuss, I explain my reasoning, and make them agree OR, I dictate a short set of rules, get students to read them back to me, and then I give them my reasoning, and make them agree! Its not a long activity, and the idea is to let them know I do have standards and I expect them to at least try to adhere to them!

As thats a bit dry, I normally follow 'rules' with something that is fun and active. A 5 min warmer than involves noise and activity is preferred. Idea behind that is that after the rules I want to do something that shows my class can still be fun.

Then I give 4 or 5 questions, things like 'your greatest success', 'what would you do with a million dollars' etc. Pairs to ask and answer each other, and then introduce their partner to me, and tell me their answers to my questions. I monitor whilst they interview each other, and may highlight any problems/mistakes for the class to correct later. (This activity may not work with 50 students!)

Alternative is a 'find someone who' activity. Again, class sizes may mean this is a good idea, or a bad one!

I also avoid any self introduction...and when they ask to know about me, as they always do...I pull out a pack of question cards I have. Any student can ask me any question (emphasis on 'any' - they always like that!) but in return they must stand in front of the class and answer one of my question cards for one minute. These cards can be easily made and feature any questions you want...similar in tone/type to the questions I mentioned in the previous activity.

Like I say, thats roughly what I do...may or may not work in a Uni setting, but if any of it helps, then its all good!

[7969]

[Non Sequitur]

Why start with 'rules'?
Why not something more aspirational?
'This class is about success - not failure'
'I want to discover what you DO know - not what you DON'T know'.
'You may hate English and feel you've been failing in it. But this is a chance to make a new start'.

[nickpellatt]

I always like setting rules, but Im also careful not to make them seem too overpowering. A teacher I worked with last year used to do a choral chant type thing that might be described as aspirational. I dont know exactly what she did, but she had the students chanting positive mantras to begin her class.

7969 - Im a stickler for the dictionary thing. Its the most useful tool a student has outsidethe classroom, but not inside it. The most useful tool in the class is the teacher and their peers. I do want students sharing knowledge and teaching each other, and using gist reading skills to understand the general meaning. I dont want students poring through dictionaries looking for words when they sit next to students who may be able to answer their query, or have a teacher who can also help. Another issue Ive found in the past is students getting caught up in the dictionary looking for the meaning of words that may be included somewhere in the material, but have little relevance towards the aims of the lesson or the activity at hand.

Of course I encourage students to use dictionaries outside class, but in class I find them counter-productive and its an uncommunicative way of learning. Might just be me though, and each to their own

[7969]

[TexasHighway]

7969 wrote:

[randyj]

Last semester for the first time I gave the students a questionnaire about their suggestions and aspirations for the class. It was helpful for me.

[choudoufu]

this was my first semester teaching. all post-grads, so had minimal
rules. told them they were adults and expected them to act thusly.
could bring food if they wanted, as long as odorless and silent.
no 'tater chips, no stinky tofu. remove all garbage.

instead of introducing myself, i wrote five sentences on the board.
some true, some false. students had to guess which were true.
all classes had a 20% success rate. not one guessed i came to
china by bicycle.

also brought five pages each of male and female english names.
required all students to choose a real name. no hobgoblins, no
lucifers, no playstations.

after a short break, had all students write three sentences about
themselves, two true, one false. then broke into pairs and let
them guess. instead of self-introductions, had each set of
students introduce their partner.

[7969]

[nickpellatt]

needs careful monitoring and modelling. I did it once and didnt model it properly. They all ended up with 3 statements like 'I like eggs', 'I dont like eggs', 'I have no opinion about eggs'.

[frenchfrydoggy]

[bradley]

Ask the school what the drop/add policy is. At my university students can change classes up until the third week (usually). This actually varies from semester to semester as does the length of the semesters, anywhere from 17 to 19 weeks. This semester week one begins on a Thursday. So, to avoid hassles, I try not to do too much the first week. Usually in week two half of the students have changed.

[MisterButtkins]

Everyone I know does introductions on the first day. You introduce yourself then give the kids a few things they should discuss in their introductions, things like English name, Chinese name, hometown, hobbies, what did you do over the break, etc. You write their names down and write how good you think the English of each student is. This gives you something to look at in the future if, for example, you want to call a really good student to read something important or when you want to make sure someone gets the answer correct to a question. After that we do a listening activity so I can know in the future how well they will understand me when I give directions.

[cormac]