Hi everyone,
I may be teaching an English course (ESOL) at adult school this summer hopefully leading eventually to a permanent position. I've been teaching since 1989 but mostly elementary and high school. I've taught ESL to adults but never more than an hour at a time. I don't know how to teach 3.5 hours at a stretch (there will be about a 20 min. break at some point I know)
This will probably be a beginning level class. For those of you who teach long classes, how do you structure your class time?
Thanks for any advice you can give.
Lisa
How do you structure a 4 hour class?
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
I think you can teach three and a half hours the same way you teach a shorter class. You just have to divide it up into sections. I don't know if you are using a book or not, or if you have access to listening material, computers, books, etc. You will probably want to balance your exercises so you have some "teacher-centered" activities, some "student-centered" activities, some listening, pronunciation, speaking, reading, and writing, depending on what level you are teaching. You can get a theme for the week, you can use real life material, such as applications, menus, food labels, etc. You can have the students work in groups, pairs, or alone.
If you had access to a computer lab it would certainly be useful as a different way of learning, but I know that isn't the case in many schools. If not, you can expand some of the things you normally do.
If you had access to a computer lab it would certainly be useful as a different way of learning, but I know that isn't the case in many schools. If not, you can expand some of the things you normally do.
Thank you for your reply. Beginning level, no computers. I guess what I am looking for is some examples of specific structure. For example in lower primary we would take role, do the flag salute, listen to/sing a patriotic song, do calendar routine. Then journal writing, bell work. Then reading etc. etc. I could tell you exactly how to fill an entire day. I'm wondering how to do that for one subject. For example first thing review hw? Quick writes? Then... then... Not sure if I'm making myself clear and I do realize that every teacher, class, level will vary but since I'm new to this any specific ideas are helpful...Lorikeet wrote:I think you can teach three and a half hours the same way you teach a shorter class. You just have to divide it up into sections. I don't know if you are using a book or not, or if you have access to listening material, computers, books, etc. You will probably want to balance your exercises so you have some "teacher-centered" activities, some "student-centered" activities, some listening, pronunciation, speaking, reading, and writing, depending on what level you are teaching. You can get a theme for the week, you can use real life material, such as applications, menus, food labels, etc. You can have the students work in groups, pairs, or alone.
If you had access to a computer lab it would certainly be useful as a different way of learning, but I know that isn't the case in many schools. If not, you can expand some of the things you normally do.
I guess I'd pick a "theme"--fruits and vegetables, restaurant, department store, post office, etc. You could have a vocabulary practice, a conversation, some role plays, a dictation, a reading with questions, etc. You can write some questions and have the students use them to interview each other, take notes, and write a paragraph. You can collect the paragraphs, select some "beautiful mistakes" and put them on a paper to hand out the next day (no names attached) for grammar correction.
I have had a lot of success with dictations. I first dictate some of the harder words, putting them together as native American speakers do (ellay for "L A" instead of el...a ) Sometimes I just have them repeat the words, or sometimes I ask questions about them (how many syllables, opposites, parts of speech, or whatever we've been doing.) Then I read a 5- or 6-sentence story once time at normal native speaker speed. Then I dictate each sentence 3 times at normal speed. After that I have them look over what they have so far, and check with other students to see which parts might have errors. Then I dictate each sentence again, regular speed, exaggerated slow speed with the linking and reductions intact, and then regular speed. (He za nengineer, for example instead of He's an engineer.) Then we correct the dictation together, marking the linking and reductions and practicing the pronunciation. Then I give them the paragraph on a paper with lines for questions. They have to make questions about the story. I go around and correct the grammar.
I don't know if that's the kind of thing you were thinking of. Let me know if you were interested in stuff like that.
I have had a lot of success with dictations. I first dictate some of the harder words, putting them together as native American speakers do (ellay for "L A" instead of el...a ) Sometimes I just have them repeat the words, or sometimes I ask questions about them (how many syllables, opposites, parts of speech, or whatever we've been doing.) Then I read a 5- or 6-sentence story once time at normal native speaker speed. Then I dictate each sentence 3 times at normal speed. After that I have them look over what they have so far, and check with other students to see which parts might have errors. Then I dictate each sentence again, regular speed, exaggerated slow speed with the linking and reductions intact, and then regular speed. (He za nengineer, for example instead of He's an engineer.) Then we correct the dictation together, marking the linking and reductions and practicing the pronunciation. Then I give them the paragraph on a paper with lines for questions. They have to make questions about the story. I go around and correct the grammar.
I don't know if that's the kind of thing you were thinking of. Let me know if you were interested in stuff like that.
Re: How do you structure a 4 hour class?
I teach three hour classes and I absolutely love it. I HATE going back to 50 or 90 minute periods. You get warmed up and then have to quit.lisa90274 wrote:Hi everyone,
I may be teaching an English course (ESOL) at adult school this summer hopefully leading eventually to a permanent position. I've been teaching since 1989 but mostly elementary and high school. I've taught ESL to adults but never more than an hour at a time. I don't know how to teach 3.5 hours at a stretch (there will be about a 20 min. break at some point I know)
This will probably be a beginning level class. For those of you who teach long classes, how do you structure your class time?
Thanks for any advice you can give.
Lisa
Basically you've got two sets of parameters: skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) and organization (lecture, small group/pair work, independent work, whole class discussion). In addition, I always keep in mind that all activities should have a product that is Printable, Postable, or Performable (the three Ps). You also may have outside factors to consider, for example, I teach night classes and most of my students have day jobs so many of them are fighting rush hour traffic to get to campus. A typical class period for me goes something like this:
6-6:20 Students come in and write one or two homework answers on the board. We then do whole class error correction. This gives everyone a chance to get here and get coffee before we start something new, serves as a warm-up and review of the previous class, and gives students who have no time for homework a chance to do it in class.
6:20-6:45 Introduce the day's topic, activate schema (what do the students already know about the topic?) Introduce new language function or grammar item. Brief class discussion.
6:45-7:15 Reading followed by vocabulary building, language function practice, comprehension exercises, etc. independently or in pairs (whatever is appropriate.)
7:15-7:30 Break
7:30-8:00 Listening practice followed with activities not addressed at 6:45-7:15.
8:00-8:30 Small group discussions bringing topic to personal relevance and creating group presentation posters.
8:30-9:00 Group presentations, review, homework assignment and explanations, long-term project reminders.
Whew! That's a lot to pack into 3 hours! I always have to keep an eye on the time and drop and rearrange things according to the priorities of the class (for example, this or that class needs listening or writing practice the most.)