Junction City, Kansas TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

Eye contact, gesture and the voice How can eye contact be used in the classroom? To show students that they are all involved in the lesson. To ensure that students understand what they are supposed to do and what is going on. To indicate who is to speak (often with a nod of the head). To encourage contributions. To hold the attention of students who are not being addressed. To maintain discipline. To signal students to start,stop or get a move on. To indicate that something is correct or incorrect. To check that everybody is participating. Gesture Good use of gestures (at least commonly understood international gestures) can be effective and useful in the following ways: Convey the meaning of language Manage the class–e.g.to reinforce instructions To add visual interest To increase the pace of the lesson The voice Think about which gestures you could use for the following situations. listen: Put your hand behind your ear n repeat in chorus: get into pairs: stop: good: not right: nearly right: unusual idea: n identifying a student: Gestures should only be used if they are obvious in meaning or the meaning has already been established with the students. If your voice does not have the correct clarity, range, variety or projection, you will have a difficult time in making your instruction / explanations understood to all members of the class. Your voice should change naturally according to the circumstances, e.g. individual tutoring lesson or 16 young children. Obviously greater projection will be necessary in a large, noisy classroom than a small quiet room. An effective teacher will also adapt the complexity of his/her language to suit the level and ability of the students. As a class often follows the lead of the teacher, the lesson can be livened up or quietened down by an alteration in the teacher's volume. The greater the variation of the voice, the greater the effectiveness. Adullmonotonewillonlycreateboredom and lead to students not paying attention and misbehaving. To reduce the need for verbal explanation Grouping students Creates a sense of belonging among the group. Allows students to interact with any other class members. Suitable for activities where the teacher needs to be in control/have the attention of the class as a whole. Quicker and easier organization. Reduces opportunities for students to speak. Can be off-putting to shy students who may not wish to participate in front of the whole class. Students working on their own – pros and cons Createsasenseofbelongingamongthegroup. n Allows students to interact with any other class members. Suitable for activities where the teacher needs to be in control/have the attention of the class as a whole. Quicker and easier organization. Reduces opportunities for students to speak. Can be off-putting to shy students who may not wish to participate in front of the whole class. Students working on their own – pros and cons Allows teachers to respond to individual differences in pace of learning, ability etc. Less stressful for students than contributing in front of the whole class. Helps the student become more self-reliant. Restricts possibilities for student to student interaction and group belonging. Pairwork – pros and cons Dramatically increases opportunity for student talking time and student to student interaction. Allows teacher to work with certain pairs while others continue working. Gives students a safe environment to try out ideas before sharing with the group. Allows students to share ideas and thoughts. Allows stronger students to help and support weaker ones. Allows students to share responsibility for work and removes the burden from the individual. Quick and easy to organize. Can be rather noisy. Students may try to revert back to their native language and avoid using English. Some students prefer to communicate only with the teacher and don't like interacting with another student. Students may find themselves working with a partner they don't particularly like Groupwork – pros and cons n Like pair-work, it can visibly increase student talking time and student to student interaction. n Personalproblemsarelessproblematicthaninpairs. n Encourages students to cooperate and negotiate in English. n Studentsareabletochoosetheirlevelofparticipation. n Sometimesisverynoisy. n Cantakelongertoorganizeandgetstarted. n Theexchangeofideasamonggroupmemberscanslow activities down too much. n Some group members may dominate and passive students don't get adequate opportunity to participate.Groupwork – pros and cons n Like pair-work, it can visibly increase student talking time and student to student interaction. n Personalproblemsarelessproblematicthaninpairs. n Encourages students to cooperate and negotiate in English. n Studentsareabletochoosetheirlevelofparticipation. n Sometimesisverynoisy. n Cantakelongertoorganizeandgetstarted. n Theexchangeofideasamonggroupmemberscanslow activities down too much. n Some group members may dominate and passive students don't get adequate opportunity to participate. Groupwork – pros and cons n Like pair-work, it can visibly increase student talking time and student to student interaction. n Personalproblemsarelessproblematicthaninpairs. n Encourages students to cooperate and negotiate in English. n Studentsareabletochoosetheirlevelofparticipation. n Sometimesisverynoisy. n Cantakelongertoorganizeandgetstarted. n Theexchangeofideasamonggroupmemberscanslow activities down too much. n Some group members may dominate and passive students don't get adequate opportunity to participate.Groupwork – pros and cons n Like pair-work, it can visibly increase student talking time and student to student interaction. n Personalproblemsarelessproblematicthaninpairs. n Encourages students to cooperate and negotiate in English. n Studentsareabletochoosetheirlevelofparticipation. n Sometimesisverynoisy. n Cantakelongertoorganizeandgetstarted. n Theexchangeofideasamonggroupmemberscanslow activities down too much. n Some group members may dominate and passive students don't get adequate opportunity to participate. Groupwork – pros and cons Like pair-work, it can visibly increase student talking time and student to student interaction. Personal problems are less problematic than in pairs. Encourages students to cooperate and negotiate in English. Students are able to choose their level of participation. Sometimes is very noisy. Can take longer to organize and get started. Classroom arrangement The way in which you organise the position of the students and yourself is of great importance and largely depends on the following: Space available Type of chairs/tables Age of the students Nationality Student personality Maintaining Discipline The degree to which you will have to maintain discipline will largely depend upon a number of factors: Age of the students. Reasons for learning (motivation). Do the students want to be there? Class size. Principles and atmosphere of the school. Some institutes have a much stricter attitude towards student behaviour than others do. n Respect between students and teacher. Some of these factors can be influenced by the teacher while others cannot. It is important that the teacher strikes the correct balance between exercising control and encouraging a relaxed, friendly atmosphere conducive to learning. When in doubt, err on the side of control initially, especially with children and teenagers. It is much easier to relax control at a later stage than to exert it. There are many reasons why disciplinary problems Reasons for problem behaviour can occur in the classroom. Family problems n Low self-esteem n Boredom Peer pressure These can often include: Lack of respect for the teacher/other students Class size