Teacher Discussion Forums

I teach oral english to classes (between 30 - 88 students) in a Chinese Uni and am having trouble motivating myself:

I see students for 90 minutes every two weeks.
I have almost 600 students to manage (inc. assessment)
They're not English majors
They're not always interested in speaking/they're too shy
They have to do CET4, and all believe they'll not pass.

Ahem. Any bright ideas? I'm working with them this semester only. A lot of the students just want to watch DVDs, but I don't want that!

We have 3 or 4 weeks left until the end of term (because of the scheduling system). I don't want to coast.

Probably your students are afraid to communicate because they feel they are not proficient enough. You could try to improve their self-security by providing more input to them.

A good way to combine real-language input with pattern-based grammar and lexicon-based exercises is using electronic flashcards on a computer.

We are using VTrain (Vocabulary Trainer) in classroom, as many other schools and colleges are doing. This new software allows to focus on bits of information at a time, by way of electronic flashcards.

The best thing is its scheduling facility, which reduces the time spent on repetitions to a minimum.

http://www.vtrain.net/home.htm

You can get a free license if your establishment is official.

Good luck!