Job Discussion Forums

[leeroy]

...are the norm in London. Well, technically they are

1 hour
+
10 minute break
+
50 minutes
+
10 minute break
+
40 minutes

But you get the idea. I've no idea if this is standard worldwide, but the same class 3 hours a day 5 days a week seems like a lot to me. Students and teachers alike can't "intensively" study like this - it's simply too tiring.

In Indonesia it was something more along the lines of 1hr20, 3 times a week. That was nicer, you could get "stuck in" to each lesson without worrying about students (and teachers) getting tired out.

I end up padding things out with quizes, chats and games of dubious pedagogical integrity - mostly only tenuously linked to the more concrete lesson aims and objectives . Though I have pangs of guilt about this, I supopse these are necessary just to let batteries recharge, and (I suppose) can be justified in terms of "freer practice", or whatever.

How many hours do you have with the same class per week? Is 3hrs x 5 days pw over the top, or does it sound about right?

[Roger]

Here in Cathay, it's 2 hours normally with adults in the evening (class size: 15 to 35);
it seldom is more than one lesson (45 to 50 minutes) with primary school kids (class size: 40 to 60);
30 minutes in a kindergarten (20 to 35 kids);

but I did teach 3 solid consecutive hours to the same class on a Saturday - mixed: adults and two teenagers; actually, I did it quite successfully and, apparently, in a similar fashion to you, Leeroy: An opening game at the beginning, and another game as a kind of 'dessert' at the end; the middle was reserved for the really challenging stuff!

[yaramaz]

Fridays are my hell-days because of a scheduling farce at my school. All new Turkish English teachers must attend a special course every Friday to enhance their teaching skills (tho we furriners neednt). Because I share students with the Turkish teachers, this day off for the Turks means I must cover their classes.... so on friday mornings I have 5 consecutive hours with the 14 year olds in my prep class. Needless to say, there are a lot of videos, library visits, and projects being done. By the 5th hour we are all quite tired of each other...

[been_there]

The most I EVER did was 6 hours a day when I was when I was re-training adults in New York. We alternated 9am to 4pm or 10am to 5pm (with one hour for lunch).

I was lucky: #1, it was an ESL class, so I had plenty of materials to work with and #2, it the objective was general English - speaking competence, so I had LOTS of leeway in establishing the goals.

I would send them out on scavenger hunts to find train schedules and the soup of the day at the local restaraunt; I had a portfolio project (a book, "My Life", where they would tell about themselves. Example: after we studied simple present, they would write a chapter about their daily routine. After we did past tense, they would write about "how I came to America." etc. At the end of the class, they had something they could take home and be proud of.) and we did LOADS of games.

Y'all are right about the "Mixing it up" method. Sometimes, I would do "Stations" where one group would re-write any chapters in their book they weren't happy with (I would be there assisting), one group would have a reading assignment, one group would work on their dramatic presentation and one would be transcribing the lyrics to a song. After 20-30 minutes, they all switch. Good for 2 hours of entertainment, plus, at the end, they can compare their song lyrics and present their play!

It did get tough sometimes, and I woud NEVER be able to do that in an EFL situation...

[Capergirl]

All of my classes are 2 or 3 hours in duration (with only one 15-min. break for the 3-hour classes). The schedule varies, but on average I teach for 4-5 hours a day...20-22 hours a week. Then there is lesson prep, homework and test correction, and progress reports. We also do field trips with the students every month (usually on a weekend).

What bugs me is people who say, "Oh, you work part-time?"

[Lynn]

4 hour class 5xweek
-2 hours
20 min. break
-1hr 40 mins

You're right Leeroy. It's very tough on both the teacher and students. Everything is "intense" including realtionships.

[dmb]

5X50 minute classes a day 5 times a week. I've had the same students for 16 weeks. Thank goodness it's the final test tomorrow. guess what? The next level starts on Sunday with the same timetable"and the same class. The worst thing about it is it difficult trying to find new games,activities,etc. How many times have I heard "NO teacher teacher. We do this before. Boring teacher teacher"
"Ok we'll do some writing"
"No teacher teacher. We play blockbuster for the 140th time"

[yaramaz]

"Teacher teacher, cok sikildim! (i'm very bored--- or as they say in these parts: I'm boring) No writing, teacher! Watching video, teacher! Oh teacher, video English! No Turkish! Very boring teacher, play game! Game boring teacher, go play outside, go playing the football, teacher!" And so on. Love filling them 5-hour blocks on friday....

dmb, your post rang so many bells, my head aches....

[Stephen Jones]

In Saudi it's the norm for the students to have six hours a day of classes, five hours a week for as long as a year with the same teacher.

If the students don't seem to be learning the most popular idea among mangement is that they two a couple of hours extra remedial work.

[Glenski]

The norm in Japan for teaching at a conversation school is to have a 60-minute class once a week. Exceptions abound.

Sounds to me like you are describing a course that has been specifically designed for intensive study only.

[dmb]

The course I was describing was 25 lessons a week for 16 weeks. That equals 400 lesons(each lesson 50 minutes) Is that normal for Headway Elementary? Does that constitute intensive?

[Shonai Ben]

I had to teach 4 hour business classes to tired salarymen after they finished work.It was a strain for me and them both.We took lots of coffee breaks and somehow managed.
Maximum time for a class should be 2 hours imo.

[struelle]

I've taught a variety of ages and at different schools. Right now, at the middle school where I teach, we're limited to 40 minutes a class period for the students.

In this time frame, the pace of lessons must be fast and furious. With a small warmer at the beginning and about 3 main activities, there's barely enough time. It feels like the end bell rings just after the start bell!

With teacher training programs at the same school, we get 2 hours per lesson and a 10 min break, so there's a bit more time. This schedule is ideal, I think.

3 hour classes were the norm for me last year, and also now where I occasionally teach at a conversation school. These are long for both students and teachers, but an amazing amount of stuff can be accomplished if the pacing and timing is right.

The only problems were last year when we had 6 hour classes on weekends. We often did 'Saturday full' or 'Sunday full' classes. The lessons would be all day with the same teacher. The afternoon portion was a slog for both teacher and students, and I often used games to pad things out and inject energy. After much complaining by teachers and students, the school finally rectified this and now they have 2 different teachers for these classes - one in the morning, the other in the afternoon.

Steve

[foster]

I agree with Glenski that classes are of varying length and there will always be an expection to the rule.

In Japan, I taught 40 minutes MM center lessons. I had 2 privates that were 90 minutes in length, as were my Japanese lessons when I studied. I did have some other English lessons that varied between 60 and 90 minutes.

Now, in Hong Kong, we have 40 minute lessons in the AM (5 of them) and 35 mintues in the afternoon (3 of them)

As for a 3 hour lessons, to me that sounds like a special kind of torture!

[scot47]

Try five hours with complete beginners who do not know the alphabet.,

That was not unknown when I was working in a large organisation in Saudi Arabia.

Or classes of adult employees scheduled for 5 hours but where they had an attention span of about 60 seconds.

Aaaaaaargh !