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      TeachingEnglish
      The first lesson (what activities should be held)
      Submitted by christophery on 12 February, 2011 - 08:00

      I'm going to take over an English class next week and the students are about 13-14 years old. It is a 40-student class. I am wondering what sort of activities I can hold to get to know the students better, as we will be together for around 2 months. Any bravo ideas here? Thanks!

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      m's picture
      m
      A simple activity
      Submitted on 12 February, 2011 - 11:24

      A simple activity is to put them in pairs and asked them to write 12 questions they would like to ask you. While their doing this you can walk around the class checking their questions and making corrections and suggestions. This will give you time to have a first contact with all the students as you go around the class. Then when most of them have finished go they will interview you, one question from each couple going around the class in a logical order that makes  20 questions. (it's not necessary to wait until everyone's written 12 questions, you can start once the first few couples have reached 12 questions)

      I usually give my students a small questionnaire so they can interview each other about family, hobbies, likes and dislikes etc, and then when they've finished interviewing we go around the class and students briefly present their partner. This though I think is ok up to 15 -20 students, after it takes too much time and gets boring for everyoneso I wouldn't advise it for your group.

      Another thing I do to put them in pairs for the 12 questions activity is to tell them to take a peice of paper (or their notebook) and a pen, and stand up. Then I tell them to arrange themselves in order of the date and month of their birthdays - January on the front left of the classroom through to December on the right. Then you go around the class put the date and month quickly of each person on the board from the first to the last whilst at the same time giving them their horoscope starsign in English (they don't usually know this). Write the starsign on the board as you go around, Capricorn, Aquarius, etc...But make sure you know the dates for the signs, get a list of the internet. This also revises dates and months in English. This is a good ice-breaker and has the advantage of getting them to work with people they mightn't otherwise work with. But make sure they have their pen and paper in their hands before they stand up.

       

       

       

       

      TeachEd's picture
      TeachEd
      Getting to know each other
      Submitted on 13 February, 2011 - 18:27

      A find someone who activity for learners to mingle and get to know each other breaks the ice and gives you the chance to diagnose their level. Similarly, you could get them to write questions to ask you and guess the answers. They get points for correctly guessed asnwers and grammatically correct questions.

      You could also ask them questions about what they expext from the course and what they need English for. You could dictate questions and students answer them in full sentences. Again, not only will this be diagnostic, but will algo give you a glimpse of what their needs, interests and motivation are. Typical questions include:

      • How many years have you been learning English?
      • What aspects of your English do you want to improve?
      • What are your objectives for this term?
      • How can your teacher help you achieve this?
      • How can you help yourself achieve this?
      • What topics are you interested in?

      You can think of other suitable questions for your class. Good luck!

       

      christophery's picture
      christophery
      Thank you
      Submitted on 17 February, 2011 - 02:33

      Thank you for your help. I find out that the students' abilities are okay but just they often speak their first language in classroom among themselves and even to me. So I need to think of some more measures to encourage their participation using English. Thank you for your suggestions.

      ESLinsider's picture
      ESLinsider
      Icebreakers
      Submitted on 9 May, 2011 - 07:26

      Hey

      I was reminded of an activity after I read the first comment. You can come up with a list of 15-20 questions...like "Who can speak Spanish?", "Who has been to Africa?", "Who has one brother, but no sister?", etc. Or easier with more direct questions like, "Can you speak Spanish?", "Have you been to Africa?", "Do you have one brother, but no sister?", etc.

      Hand this list out to all of your students and then have them get up, move about and ask their classmates these questions. They then will write the name down of the student who can say "yes" to their ?. It can be made competitve with the winner being the one with the most names.

      Some good esl icebreakers are a good way to start out your classes. Here's a site with another icebreaker in the video on the homepage http://eslinsider.com This one would probably work too, granted you have the floor space to have 40 students moving about freely^^.

      Good luck!

      Ian

      chu082011's picture
      chu082011
      Class teacher interview questions
      Submitted on 1 February, 2012 - 02:13

      Hi,

       

      Thanks very much for your comment. It help me to think about for my ideals.

      Apart from that, you also can ref more resources at: http://interviewquestionsandanswers.biz/class-teacher-interview-questions-and-answers/

      Tks again and pls keep posting.

       

      KarineV's picture
      KarineV
      something else...brainstorm
      Submitted on 8 February, 2012 - 05:44

      Here is a blank brainstorm worksheet, pdf and user friendly! You can try it anytime and for any purpose! Works well for brainstorming activities!

      http://www.eslflow.com/Visio-brainstorm_worksheet_cluster_diagram.pdf

      I was just searching for some warm ups for my class today! I teach ESP and I am greatful for the ideas! Thanks!