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I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 10:10 pm Post subject: S.O.S. |
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My school promised me the students coming in for camps were the higher level kids, and that is what I lesson planned for.
However, the boys who have shown up are very, very low level. And there goes at least half of my lesson planning.
I dunno. I'm frustrated. No co-teacher = no translation = I have no idea what to do with these boys. I've got a few things I think can work if I go over it enough times, but I can't even give an assignment where I can't essentially mime the directions. Games are going to be equally complicated.
Any ideas for what to do for two hours a day for two weeks with extremely, extremely low level students with no translation? |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:26 pm Post subject: |
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Do you have a computer hooked up to a TV in the classroom? For low-level, not-very-interested students I sometimes plan lessons based aroung bogglesworld vocab-bingo sheets. I'll get an image for each word from google images and put it on a USB file I can put into the class computer. After doing the vocab part you can play bingo with the printable cards (which the kids love). Then at least they all know what the nouns are to start a lesson on a particular topic. After that there are of course many differnt types of lessons you can plan, but at least it gives them some base. You'll also have to plan lessons with lots of 'scaffolding' - example sentences, fewer and fewer blanks, etc.
For two hours I'd try to plan something more serious for the first hour, a break, and then something less serious for the second half. How many students do you have in the group? |
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I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:37 am Post subject: |
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That's not a bad idea.
I'm just irritated because I thought "high" meant high. I've spent a hell of a lot of time planning lessons that would be perfectly reasonable for the higher level students at my school. Then these guys show up. God knows I love 'em and they're sweet as hell, but only about half of what I've planned is going to work.
So. It's back to the drawing board. At the last minute.
They are very small groups -- supposed to be 19 and 7, but only six showed up for the first class today and five for the second.
They're also being shy little buggers. It's bizarre. I think I've got some of the loudest, rowdiest, most outgoing students on the peninsula, but suddenly without a co-teacher and forty of their closest friends, it's "Mwa? Sorry..." Blush. Shoe-gaze. Crawl under the table. |
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Tobias
Joined: 02 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:43 am Post subject: Picasso, you forgot one |
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| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
....
"Mwa? Sorry..." Blush. Shoe-gaze. Crawl under the table. |
Add one more line--
"Whine to parents. Parents bitch to your boss. Boss bitches to you."
I'll say it for the first time, and it's about time...
"I'll be glad to get the *beep* out of Korea."
There. I got it off my chest. Now...where's the airport? |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:48 am Post subject: Re: S.O.S. |
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| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
| No co-teacher = no translation = I have no idea what to do |
why taking CELTA or its equivalent is a good idea for anyone thinking of teaching ESL
the translation method is outdated and ineffective and good classroom management skills needn't require a single word outside of the target language |
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marlow
Joined: 06 Feb 2005
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:51 am Post subject: Re: S.O.S. |
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| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
My school promised me the students coming in for camps were the higher level kids, and that is what I lesson planned for.
However, the boys who have shown up are very, very low level. And there goes at least half of my lesson planning.
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Show movies with Korean subtitles. They promised a level, and you promised you'd teach. I guess you can both break a promise. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:13 am Post subject: Re: S.O.S. |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
| the translation method is outdated and ineffective and good classroom management skills needn't require a single word outside of the target language |
In total agreement here. Even in the lowest level classes you can pitch your speaking to be understood by many of the students, who can then help their peers. Simple, clear, & repetitive speaking should be your mantra. Activities you cant explain in plain english shouldnt be entered into in the first place.
My best advice to the OP: just dumb it down. Give them picture handouts, revise familiar vocab, & encourage them to speak to their ability. There's fun to be had in that, which also might best serve their interest in english in the long term.
Sitting back & showing subtitled movies -- Marlow's suggestion is just weak. |
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I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:59 am Post subject: Re: S.O.S. |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
| No co-teacher = no translation = I have no idea what to do |
why taking CELTA or its equivalent is a good idea for anyone thinking of teaching ESL
the translation method is outdated and ineffective and good classroom management skills needn't require a single word outside of the target language |
You missed the part where the problem is that I prepared for higher level students. I don't claim to be the best teacher in the world, but I mange my classroom just fine. As long as I know what I'm walking into. When I teach my regular "low" classes, I come prepared for teaching a "low" level class.
By no translation, I meant that my higher level assignments won't work now that I have lower level classes and no one to help explain the higher level vocabulary and directions. The material simply cannot be transferred over. So, here I am with camps ongoing, and a whole new last minute game plan needed.
Thanks for you slightly snotty post that offered no real solution, though.
Last edited by I'm no Picasso on Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:06 am; edited 2 times in total |
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I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:04 am Post subject: Re: S.O.S. |
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| schwa wrote: |
My best advice to the OP: just dumb it down. Give them picture handouts, revise familiar vocab, & encourage them to speak to their ability. There's fun to be had in that, which also might best serve their interest in english in the long term.
Sitting back & showing subtitled movies -- Marlow's suggestion is just weak. |
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'm just irritated that I could have had a whole month to prepare real, cohesive lessons that play to the level, but now I'm left scrambling last minute using pre-made worksheets that I only have a short time to alter and prepare other related material for. It makes me feel like a crappy teacher, when I'm completely willing to do the work to come up with my own material, but now I don't have enough time and this is going to feel thrown together and random now...
At least it does at the moment.
Right now I think I'm just going to focus on simple, short lessons and worksheets, and a whole slew of activities that might get the little suddenly-bashfuls talking. |
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JJJ
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:09 am Post subject: |
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I hear ya. I just started a 3 week camp today and I made this awesome 65 page book. This is for 1st year middle school kids (going on to 2nd grade in March). Well, only 7 of the 12 show up and they are not the keen kids that love English, as I was told. Well, the book is gone. However, luckily I had an elementary camp book in my desk and quickly photocopied a bunch of pages. Sigh.
Good luck...and remember Google and a photocopier are your friends. |
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I'm no Picasso
Joined: 28 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:25 am Post subject: Re: Picasso, you forgot one |
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| Tobias wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
....
"Mwa? Sorry..." Blush. Shoe-gaze. Crawl under the table. |
Add one more line--
"Whine to parents. Parents bitch to your boss. Boss bitches to you."
I'll say it for the first time, and it's about time...
"I'll be glad to get the *beep* out of Korea."
There. I got it off my chest. Now...where's the airport? |
Nah. Not my boys. I'm at a "very bad school" according to my co-teachers. I'm in a pretty poor neighborhood and most of my students can't afford hagwon, hence the low, low levels. I don't think any of their parents will be phoning up anytime soon.
Besides, other than the two poor, poor third graders who've been stuck in with a load of first graders, they all seemed pleased as punch to be there today. They're excited about the comic books and CD player with English music and lyrics all typed up in a binder, and they're really really excited about the mysterious games that are coming from the US in a box shipped by my mother this week. Too bad for them they're only Scrabble and Boggle, which are pretty boring actually...
They're a really, really good group of kids. Which is why I feel so bad about the fact that this might end up being a pretty crappy camp. |
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Chris_Dixon
Joined: 09 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:36 am Post subject: Re: S.O.S. |
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| VanIslander wrote: |
| I'm no Picasso wrote: |
| No co-teacher = no translation = I have no idea what to do |
why taking CELTA or its equivalent is a good idea for anyone thinking of teaching ESL
the translation method is outdated and ineffective and good classroom management skills needn't require a single word outside of the target language |
I don't know why you need translation as well...your here to speak/teach English, you should be able to teach it without needing any Korean....We regularly get students who have never seen a foreign person let alone spoken any english, and its really not a thing to stress about....Just be patient, take your time, go over the basics, just get them to speak some words, alot of repetition and fun basic games...
surely you have a book of some sort to at least have a basis??? |
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passingtime
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:37 am Post subject: |
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| look at wes english and esl-kids.com, both these sites have bingo games with matching flashcards you can quickly print out. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:01 am Post subject: |
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You can try our BAAM Games Many of a low level and lots of fun. Lots more in our resources area plus hundreds of flashcard sets of all types. I'd get them cutting them up, labeling them and making their own specific dictionaries. then they can share their own self made books (just fold over A4, staple and there you go).
Lots of other nice animated BAAM + loads of vocab. ppts...
In a pinch - just look in our Activities / Games folder at http://mediafire.com/eflclassroom You'll find lots there to help all levels. Find the game Zip-zap in there. They can play that for hours...
Good luck -- get them "active" and let the English come in the back door. Enjoy just being together.
DD
http://eflclassroom.com |
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nomad-ish
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Location: On the bottom of the food chain
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| Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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you could always buy a twister game and then print off some game boards from boggle's world (get some dice and use candy for game pieces) and have game stations for the kids. 3 groups at each station for 20 min. it'll take up an hour, and you won't have to do much in the way of explaining.
you could also teach them movie vocab: genre, actor, setting, plot. have them watch movie trailers and try to say the genre of each. then watch a full movie, of course  |
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