Job Discussion Forums

[jibbs]

So far it's been just one week, but the book the students have is way above their level, so I've been making up stuff to do. It would be good to get a suitable book to use though, especially for reading and to keep their focus on something I guess, or give them a sense of accomplishment anyway. They are grade 9 students, not a bad bunch, quite basic overall. Not sure what book I can find that would be good. I've heard some teachers say they prefer teaching without a book, but I'd like them to have one for some of the lessons at least. I teach just one class of 21 students, 20 times a week on average, so it's not always easy to come up with good ideas. So far I've been using basic topics to talk about.

Any input is welcome.

[lee_barttwater]

Why not follow the book the school gave you or ask the school for a new book that you can follow so you don't have to use your elusive imagination?

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[Non Sequitur]

If the answer is that you teach the same class 20 times pw then I think that it is the schedule that needs changing. That�s quite apart from the book issue.

I did the same class once a day (2x45 mins each day) for a semester. It was one of those courses with a focus on going to an overseas country to finish and thereby getting an overseas qual.

That was bad enough and the book was useless.

It took me an extra hour+ every evening to do a lesson plan and cook up a resource of some kind.

Purgatory!

[jibbs]

Found some books. Will see if school will order them for students.

Yep 20 classes a week with just one class. They plan to finish high school in Canada.

[Non Sequitur]

If they don't get you those books, you're sunk mate!
Teaching at that intensity level is international school stuff and I bet you aren't getting paid an international school salary.

[jibbs]

Well, I found some small books with 15 stories (plus exercises) in each that seem good. They're only 7 yuan apiece. Another half-decent one with various topics cost 22 yuan.

Yeah, books are better. I find students don't really respect photocopies.

[jibbs]

Well the books are working out OK. They cover about half the classes. I do lots of review too. Still a bit tricky at times doing the "no book" classes, which I usually just call "topics" class, once or twice a day. Getting them to write in notebooks is also a bit of a chore. They seem to dislike writing but I can understand that. Most cannot write decent basic sentences consistently yet, so they need a lot of grammar structure help with the verbs and other things I'm sure many Chinese students often get wrong.

Sometimes we just play some game or I ask them questions about something, but yeah, sometimes, esp. when tired, or when they are, it can be a bit of a grind. Not too bad so far really. Still hunting down ideas though. Wouldn't mind using some songs perhaps if I had them and a music player. An idea for later anyway.

I've been assured next semester will be easier. This one was rather unprepared as it's the first year the school has had this type of class.

Just talking to myself here I guess, sorting things out as well as I can.

[tomhume89]

That's seems a huge amount every week. I found it difficult with only 2 x 90mins every week. I ended up filling a fair bit with projects- like getting the kids to go home to do research and then spend a class preparing and performing. Remember, 40 minutes shouldn't just be a class on its own- it can be part of a much longer series of classes!

[jibbs]

It is a lot, and not the best system for the students either, who would benefit more with another native speaker or two. But most of the time it is going pretty well.

I suppose ideally classes would be sectioned into reading, writing, listening, speaking. The materials and whatever else needed for that are lacking though. Strange for a school that is clearly raking in huge amounts of cash with around 3000 students. Getting photocopies is enough of a chore too, so I rarely do that.

True about a 'series of classes': This week we spent a few talking about differences between Chinese and Canadian cultures.

I'm trying to keep it simple as some students still look to their classmates when I ask simple questions. We have somewhat different levels in the class, but overall I'm pretty content with how it's going so far. Just sometimes I'm really not sure what to do or if my idea or topic will work when we have a 'no book' class.

It has been over two years since I last taught. I'm just getting used to speaking so much again, and I forgot how tiring it can be at times.

[quidgimo]

Would you mind sharing the names of the textbooks that are working for you? I just got a similar intensive English class for adults set to study abroad that I have no textbook for. Just looking for ideas, my school is willing to buy books if I request them.

[askiptochina]

[DosEquisX]

Start mixing in some of your own lessons. I am now teaching reading and I literally threw the textbook given to me by my boss in the trash in front of my students the third time I saw them. I started making my own lessons. I had the students vote on what they preferred and all of them voted to say that my lessons were better than the book.

[mat chen]

There are books but they are peppered with mistakes. I ran into this problem in the past. I couldn't tell the students about the mistakes and started using my own materials. I covered my hass by using the book for dictations at the start of classes. I pointed out possible typos and let it drop as a ten minute activity.
One day after teaching for two months a student showed up who I had never seen before. He accused me of never using the book. I said " You never came to class." He laughed. His English was higher than anyone else in the school including the teachers of English. His father was rich and he had been all over the world.
The next term he came to me and said that I had given him a zero. I have never given a zero in my life. I don't know what a zero is, and question the mathematical probablility. I had given him a higher than average mark but not the best. I had to see the administrators and get it corrected. They too felt he should fail because of his failure to attend classes.
My advice is to use your own materials and try to keep the syllabus covering the same as the text book. If you don't have a text you are lucky and just need to do activities that the students enjoy doing. Teach them text messaging in Engish for example.

[jibbs]

I'm using Short Stories for Comprehension. It's not bad. Has a little Chinese too. And English Vocab In Use which can be dull but seems useful. Seems like the selection is slim here. I found these myself and they cover half the classes or so. They are basic. I've taught high level younger kids before who would find them easy/