I,m teaching English in a Polytechnic College. There are more than 100 students with quite different levels in a class. The text book is difficult for two thirds students to learn. I don't know how to help them to improve their English. Each of us teachers teach 3 this-sized classes. Would you please offer me some advices or good ideas ?
Many thanks !
Could you help me ,please ?
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Sally Olsen
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- Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:24 pm
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We seem to have this problem in the university here in Mongolia as well. Large classes and really small print text books - I have trouble reading them even with my glasses. It is to save on paper but not all pages are really clear. Luckily we had a super Australian Youth Ambassador here for 9 months and she gathered together a wealth of materials and made games. She followed the format of the textbook but added a ton of supporting activities for each page. Textbooks usually follow what they think of as a step by step process but it seems that they use a ton of sentences with new vocabulary for the exercises which throws the students. So to break down each page with new vocabulary helps a great deal. She also made posters for the front of the classroom above the boards to show the major topics of the textbooks and put these into a kind of passport for the students. When they passed one level and could do a small test on one topic, they got a sticker in their passport. Some students finished off their passports in record time and they were encouraged to teach a small group of their fellow students with the games and teaching aids until their whole group could pass the test and really knew the material. It means a noisy classroom because the games are fun and the students get involved. It is like an internet cafe on a Sunday afternoon in Mongolia - you should hear the shouts between the boys of "I got level 5" here.
There is a good discussion of large classrooms at the top of this forum in a sticky or is it the Elementary Education forum. Anyway, it gives a ton of ideas and lots of support to teachers who have large classes. Lots of sympathy as well. You need to work on the administration to get the classes down to a manageable level as well so that people are getting a good education. I always took that as part of my job. It will give you more classes and thus more money and be much better for the students.
I would also highly recommend applying for an Australian Youth Ambassador. They are great. I wish we had Canadian ones. There are American Peace Corps workers as well that provide teachers and teacher trainers.
Otherwise the three of you can spend some of your free time developing materials and getting your students to design materials as well and put them in binders and boxes and plastic bags for future teachers and for yourself for next year.
There is a good discussion of large classrooms at the top of this forum in a sticky or is it the Elementary Education forum. Anyway, it gives a ton of ideas and lots of support to teachers who have large classes. Lots of sympathy as well. You need to work on the administration to get the classes down to a manageable level as well so that people are getting a good education. I always took that as part of my job. It will give you more classes and thus more money and be much better for the students.
I would also highly recommend applying for an Australian Youth Ambassador. They are great. I wish we had Canadian ones. There are American Peace Corps workers as well that provide teachers and teacher trainers.
Otherwise the three of you can spend some of your free time developing materials and getting your students to design materials as well and put them in binders and boxes and plastic bags for future teachers and for yourself for next year.