Hello everyone,
I'm new to TESL and this forum. I did have a rather immediate question. I have looked over some of the games on the site and they look great. Unfortunately, almost all of my classes are rather large (100+). I am trying to think of ways for class to be more interactive, but it is kind of hard with so many people. Any ideas would be more than welcome. FYI, I am teaching in China. The level of English ranges from very basic to maybe early intermediate. Thus, some more complex things may not work. Thanks for your time!
Jonny
P.S. The classes I am teaching focus on Oral English.
Activities/Games for large groups
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
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DatongJonny
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:05 pm
- Location: Datong, Shanxi Province PRC
Hi!
I'm facing a similar problem. I'm teaching English Speaking lessons to classes of 60+ and 80+ Chinese students. They're around 18 years old at upper beginner level. I found that activities and games are the only way to keep most of them interested. I've played hangman, win lose or draw, million dollar chance of a lifetime, and charades with them but now I'm all out of ideas. Please help!!
If you've any suggestions, please contact me via email: [email protected] or MSN:[email protected]
Thanks!!
I'm facing a similar problem. I'm teaching English Speaking lessons to classes of 60+ and 80+ Chinese students. They're around 18 years old at upper beginner level. I found that activities and games are the only way to keep most of them interested. I've played hangman, win lose or draw, million dollar chance of a lifetime, and charades with them but now I'm all out of ideas. Please help!!
If you've any suggestions, please contact me via email: [email protected] or MSN:[email protected]
Thanks!!
Large Groups
You might want to take a look at www.dealaword.com. I can tell you that one of the games in the rules (there are 5) is exactly for large groups. 10 cards (letter and point) are selected at random and the group is given a set time to see how many different words they can form using those letters and then adding the point value of the letters used to make those words. It really stretches their vocabulary and is a lot of fun. Hope this helps and best wishes.
Greg
Greg
I'm also teaching in China and have classes sizes of about 60 - 70. A game that worked really well was a Word Game where the class was divided into four or five teams. Members of each team took turns writing English words on the board so that the last letter of the previous word is the first letter of the next word. (Example: fish, hand, desk, key, yellow...) You should definitely make a rule that SHOUTING is not allowed, and take off points when a team shouts, otherwise it gets out of control with students running up to the board and screaming. Add up the total number of words for points (no points for mispelled words or repeats).
Ideas please
Hi,
I'm a first year teacher at a Chinese high school. Its my second week of teaching and I've just changed my approach to make classes more interesting for the students. I'm asking them questions about sport, eg. What is your favourite sport and why? I draw pictures on the board and ask them to guess what the sport is and I also teach them new words, like 'tennis racquet' and 'ping pong paddle'. I also asked them simple questions about themselves in the first lesson, such as What is your name? How old are you? What is your favourite food? They wrote this down and give it to me at the end of the lesson.
It works well, but I am having trouble in gaining the attention of unmotivated students who often talk without pause.
I've told them to stop talking repeatedly and used negative reinforcement, such as if you talk, you must stand up. If you still talk, you must leave the room. But in the long run I don't want to use this approach, I'd rather find out ways to keep their interest and get them to talk about the subject at least.
The classes are large, with a maximum of 77 students, so there is some difficulty in photocopying find-a-words or bingo sheets for every student. I have 16 classes a week, all with different students, so I don't have much time to get to know them.
So I'm asking for some practical ideas to gain the attention of at least the majority of the students, without the need for lots of materials or props. Thanks
I'm a first year teacher at a Chinese high school. Its my second week of teaching and I've just changed my approach to make classes more interesting for the students. I'm asking them questions about sport, eg. What is your favourite sport and why? I draw pictures on the board and ask them to guess what the sport is and I also teach them new words, like 'tennis racquet' and 'ping pong paddle'. I also asked them simple questions about themselves in the first lesson, such as What is your name? How old are you? What is your favourite food? They wrote this down and give it to me at the end of the lesson.
It works well, but I am having trouble in gaining the attention of unmotivated students who often talk without pause.
I've told them to stop talking repeatedly and used negative reinforcement, such as if you talk, you must stand up. If you still talk, you must leave the room. But in the long run I don't want to use this approach, I'd rather find out ways to keep their interest and get them to talk about the subject at least.
The classes are large, with a maximum of 77 students, so there is some difficulty in photocopying find-a-words or bingo sheets for every student. I have 16 classes a week, all with different students, so I don't have much time to get to know them.
So I'm asking for some practical ideas to gain the attention of at least the majority of the students, without the need for lots of materials or props. Thanks
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DatongJonny
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:05 pm
- Location: Datong, Shanxi Province PRC
Thanks for the input everyone. Here's what I've learned over the last few months: You're never going to get the attention of everyone in the class. The skill level in English is proportional to how close the student is to the front (i.e. The students in the back don't understand very well and end up sleeping). And no one likes to talk in Chinese classrooms, the whole "face" thing.
I did find that teaching basic rhymes and songs get's (mostly) everyone's attention. Oh, and idioms are a must. I have been talking to some of my students and they are actually using some that I taught! What I try to do at the end of every lesson is have something fun. A song, rhyme, video clip, or something. I'm still a bit lacking in the interactivity department, but at least they're learning something.
I did find that teaching basic rhymes and songs get's (mostly) everyone's attention. Oh, and idioms are a must. I have been talking to some of my students and they are actually using some that I taught! What I try to do at the end of every lesson is have something fun. A song, rhyme, video clip, or something. I'm still a bit lacking in the interactivity department, but at least they're learning something.