Hi,
I'm looking for any advice anyone might have re the above. I'm starting an intensive course at a company that involves a 4 hour class on Friday afternoon and again on Saturday mornings for a group of 3-5 male, elementary/pre-int students. The students are coming in on their day off and therefore interesting, dynamic classes are the order of the day. But for 4 hours....?
Any advice on approach, particularly from anyone who has taught such classes, would be very much appreciated; and also any tips regarding materials etc.,
Thanks in advance
Structuring a 4hr, Sat morning elementary class!
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joshua2004
- Posts: 264
- Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:08 pm
- Location: Torreon, Mexico
sure, I have lots of ideas. But first, can you tell us a more about the class. The more background you provide the better. Age, location, demographics, course objectives, needs of the students (converstaion, TOEFL, etc.), interests of the students if you know it.
Also, are you interested in doing role plays, dramas, interviews, group activities, etc?
I was going to suggest some ideas, but it is hard to know what to plan when you don´t know who your students are, as I am sure you know! But whatever extra info you can provide will help. If you don´t know anymore than what you stated, we will work with that and by trial and error we can help you figure out a good plan.
Josh
Also, are you interested in doing role plays, dramas, interviews, group activities, etc?
I was going to suggest some ideas, but it is hard to know what to plan when you don´t know who your students are, as I am sure you know! But whatever extra info you can provide will help. If you don´t know anymore than what you stated, we will work with that and by trial and error we can help you figure out a good plan.
Josh
Hi,
Thanks for replying.
It's an 80 hour course, over 10 weeks, for middle aged (40-50), middle management of a Spanish multinational - all married family men as far as I know. They obviously have the company in common but I don't know about any other shared interests.
The company is trying to conduct most of its business in English and to this end requires all management above a certain level to study English. None of the students needs English on a day to day basis and therefore it's more of a conversation focused general english course.
From my conversations with their HR manager, his biggest concern seems to be that they enjoy the classes and don't feel it's a waste of their valuable free time - my concern too!
I personally think, given the group demographics, that some form of group activities have to be incorporated though I don't think drama, or more 'theatrical' activities would work so well.
Thanks again for your time.
Thanks for replying.
It's an 80 hour course, over 10 weeks, for middle aged (40-50), middle management of a Spanish multinational - all married family men as far as I know. They obviously have the company in common but I don't know about any other shared interests.
The company is trying to conduct most of its business in English and to this end requires all management above a certain level to study English. None of the students needs English on a day to day basis and therefore it's more of a conversation focused general english course.
From my conversations with their HR manager, his biggest concern seems to be that they enjoy the classes and don't feel it's a waste of their valuable free time - my concern too!
I personally think, given the group demographics, that some form of group activities have to be incorporated though I don't think drama, or more 'theatrical' activities would work so well.
Thanks again for your time.
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joshua2004
- Posts: 264
- Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2004 7:08 pm
- Location: Torreon, Mexico
I wouldn't hesitate to use some movies to break up the four hour class. You could show break it into 4 segments and watch it over the two days. after each segment have each write 10 sentences about what is happening and then share that with a partner.
I would keep a regular format to the classes.
between the movie activities, you could include songs they might enjoy and create a "cloze" worksheet. Download the lyrics and copy and paste them onto a word document and then every line or so, take out a word and create a _______. Then they listen to the song and fill in the worksheet. Depending on the difficulty of the pronunciation, they might listen to it anywhere from 1 to 4 times. I like to include a copy of the words I took out at the bottom of the worksheet so they can see the correct spelling for afterwards.
If you choose to, you can get into a conversation over the song's meaning by asking comprehension questions. What was the song about? Is the man sorry about what he did? why? How do you know?
I like the activities provided at www.breakingnews.com. They are already formatted and are based off current news articles. I would include some of this into your scheduled routine.
If you need extra time fillers, download employment applications, registration forms, contest forms, reservation forms, etc.
This will get you started. Do you have a textbook or any other materials?
And of course, you will need to do lots of icebreakers and games in the beginning. look up "cooperative games" on Google.
I would keep a regular format to the classes.
between the movie activities, you could include songs they might enjoy and create a "cloze" worksheet. Download the lyrics and copy and paste them onto a word document and then every line or so, take out a word and create a _______. Then they listen to the song and fill in the worksheet. Depending on the difficulty of the pronunciation, they might listen to it anywhere from 1 to 4 times. I like to include a copy of the words I took out at the bottom of the worksheet so they can see the correct spelling for afterwards.
If you choose to, you can get into a conversation over the song's meaning by asking comprehension questions. What was the song about? Is the man sorry about what he did? why? How do you know?
I like the activities provided at www.breakingnews.com. They are already formatted and are based off current news articles. I would include some of this into your scheduled routine.
If you need extra time fillers, download employment applications, registration forms, contest forms, reservation forms, etc.
This will get you started. Do you have a textbook or any other materials?
And of course, you will need to do lots of icebreakers and games in the beginning. look up "cooperative games" on Google.
hi,
thanks afor those tips, I think the structure will be one of the most important things to stick to. Good website too, thanks.
i'm going to be doing level tests and needs analysis this afternoon so hopefully I'll get a better idea of likes, dislikes etc as well as an idea of what they'd like to see in the classes,
thanks again
thanks afor those tips, I think the structure will be one of the most important things to stick to. Good website too, thanks.
i'm going to be doing level tests and needs analysis this afternoon so hopefully I'll get a better idea of likes, dislikes etc as well as an idea of what they'd like to see in the classes,
thanks again