Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello. I am a first time poster, but I've used this site frequently.

I am living in NE Thailand and accidentally found myself teaching a class of about 10 children of extremely varying levels of English in a private language school. I have no experience or training in education, or even a decent book or curriculum. Basically the school was desperate.

I have found my time with the children quite enjoyable, but it is a constant struggle for me daily to keep the class from turning to total chaos, let alone get much teaching done. Just when I am beginning to breathe easier, as the end of class comes in less than a week, the director told me that on the last day of class, the parents were to come into the room for the entire hour and watch some sort of presentation of the students' new abilities. This terrifies me, as I don't know what I can teach them in such a short time that could demonstrate any ability. I've thought of skits or songs, but I don't think I can fill the time or teach it so quickly.

Any suggestions? Am I totally screwed?

It sounds terrifying! You said that the English levels vary. Are their some children that can speak English then? Best to use them for as long as you can and give the ones who can't speak much some funny role, such as popping up with a sign that says, "Good Work" or "Super" or such every once in awhile. How about a scavenger hunt with child and parent and other such games with prizes that would keep them busy with their children and perhaps get them teaching them a bit of English? You can spend some time having the parents introduce themselves or the children introducing their parents and telling something about them (the best ones). You can ask the others questions that they know - "What colour is your Mom's purse?" Make time for a group photo which will take some time to get organized and have some food which takes lots of time as well to pass around. You could even tell them a little about yourself and show some pictures of things you like to do, where you are from, etc. The kids might sit quietly because their parents are there. Have the chairs arranged in a circle if possible so that everyone can see everyone else and that makes everyone more reponsible for his/her behaviour. You can make up some kind of certificate and have a formal presentation one at a time. Good luck.

As usual the Thais expect miracles. I love Thailand and the trick is to understand that no one really minds very much when everything goes pear-shaped. By now you have probably done your presentation so no point giving any suggestions. For future reference, I have found that when you have classes of absolute or near beginner children, active sporty games and TPR (basically 'simon sez') are a sure thing. I like yoga and aerobics. Simple instructions for clsrm baseball like, 'You stand here with the bat and, who's going to field?' and running commentaries by you, like sport commentaries, 'Ploy's got the ball and she's...' 'wow, great catch!'...'okay who's batting now?'

The actual classroom lang. is best taught 'on the fly', that is, precisely when it's needed and then recycled whenever necessary...

And it's probably fair to say that children learning the English in order to take part in something that looks like fun, is a key concept in children's EFL.