Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello!

I am teaching adult ESL to adults in Sweden; currently to mixed learners of various ability levels. I will soon be starting with a new group and I have been asked to recommend a timetable for classes.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

My instinct is to suggest Mon., Wed., and Fri., for 4 hours, with two 15 minute breaks... My thinking is that: 1) This allows plenty of time to cover a subject without overloading them and 2) it gives a 'break' for homework and self-study between formal lessons.

These students will be taking other subjects at the same time.

Class size is usually 20 students with a range of competence that extends from absolute zero to study at a British university.

With past groups I have set up two seperate groups and brought them together only for peer learning exercises.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Ron

My first suggestion is NOT to mix levels of students. You are only asking for trouble.

A class that lasts four hours??? No way! Are you trying to kill your students or yourself?

What is the purpose of teaching these students anyway? No class should last longer than 2 hours, and the average time I've seen is about 70 minutes.

I too would say 3 or more hours at a time is too long. But maybe your past experiences have been more positive than mine although I can safely say I succeeded in running 3 hour lessons on Saturdays with primary school kids and with adults fairly well in China.
However, I do not know what subject(s) you are covering. In 3 weekly lessons, I would suggest you cover
- grammar;
- pronunciation (not a big issue with Swedes, I hear);
- reading for comprehension and pronunciation (two separate lessons_;

And, while I do think peer training is a good idea it probably takes more experience than I have. I personally shy away from mixing different levels because my Chinese employers too often mix completely incompatible levels and promise them total satisfaction - at my expense. WHich they seldom get!

I have several classes of 4 hours in my current timetable. I have to say I agree with the previous messages, 4 hours is quite long.

However, it's not impossible. One thing that makes a big difference is having a mixture of activities, resources and even rooms. For example, a grammar exercise, some comprehension work, work with a video, CD-ROM or internet...

Thanks for the replies and advice! I agree that 4 hours is a LONG time, but it is a big improvement from the 8 hour day, 5 day week that my employer wanted/demanded.

These are students in a work-prep course and the employer cannot seem to understand that there is a big difference between actually learning and being in a class for a whole day.

The students are fanatically focused on 'learning English' as they have been told that their work future depends on it!

Sigh! Motivated students in an impossible setting... One day all this will come together into a correctly balanced class...

So, I think I will go back to my original plan and urge my employer to accept 2 hours per day, Monday to Friday, for a longer period of time.

Oh, someone asked what else they are learning? Mostly high level technology things - robotics, computer assisted this and that, complex transportation systems...

Again, Thanks all!
Ron