Job Discussion Forums

[5h09un]

hi, everyone. i was wondering what you guys think are the best ways to approach this very challenging situation. i've been having some english corners with some very large groups of adults for the past few weeks and i'm running out of ideas to keep them simultaneously interested, busy and on task.

the best activity i've employed so far is short surveys. i divide the class into groups and make them ask each other questions that i've picked about a certain topic and then present their results group by group. but i can't keep doing this time after time.

i've tried short readings and discussion of the topic too, but the students are less active and i think they find this a lot more boring than the above activity.

i've considered things like debates and discussions in small groups, but this sounds like it would be impossible to effectively manage. the size of these classes will double in about a month.

but i'm sure there's somebody here who's managed to figure out something that works. i know there's a lot of stuff on the internet and there are some things that sound promising that have been suggested to me by my coworkers, but i'd like to hear from more people who have tried things i haven't thought of and how they made them work.

thank you in advance.

[Andre 3000]

Hi. I found that a lot of the activities on this site http://waze.net/oea/
worked well with large groups.

[Non Sequitur]

This resources site specialises in activities for larger groups - 50+:
http://www.eslteachersresources.com/

[roadwalker]

This sounds more like an oral conversation or at least oral English class than an English corner, which I've always thought of as unstructured in the better (for me) ones.

Since they have gotten used to the surveys and asking questions, you could branch out slightly and turn those surveys into a reporter asking questions of a witness (What happened?) or an expert (What should we expect? Why is it important? etc.) and then present a news broadcast as the final product. Or continue the survey questions, teach some basic business terms such as manager, meeting, etc. and present the survey results to the meeting for further discussion (e.g. Should we stop producing the stand-alone English translators?) of business going forward.

Again since they are comfortable with questions and answers, have them role play doctors, nurses, patients and patients friends, family, parents, etc. Or role play teachers and students, business people, people inviting other people to dinner or to a party, etc.

Or ask groups to ask other groups to ask third groups questions. That sounds complicated and it may well be. Hilarity or complete breakdown may ensue. Then have them report the he said that she said answers and jump on them for pronoun gender errors.

[Non Sequitur]

A large class is a different dynamic to the same number in an English Corner.
My experience of English Corners is that people arrive in dribs and drabs and depart if their interest isn't held.
In these situations, Teacher Talk Time (TTT) is particularly relevant and you should choose an activity that maintains its own momentum - even when newcomers join.
The Perpetual Questions-type cocktail party games are good here.
In a class situation, you need to find an open area somewhere rather than the bolted down static nature of your average classroom.