Dear teachers and students,
My name is Vladimir, 20 years old, I'm from Uzbekistan. I have been learing English for about three years, and now it is time for me to teach. I have never tought before, actually my major is geology and I am still a student. After being an exchange student at the University of Minnesota I've decided to work as a technical translator in a privite company that supplies equipment for mining industry. Besides translating, my boss wants me to teach English to our personal, mainly technicians whose level of English is very low.
For me it's quite a challenging task, and I don't know how to start. All technicians are of 30-40 age group, and need speaking English as well as technical English.
Could you please give me some ideas on how to start, which methodology to use, literature and so forth.
Thank you,
Vladimir
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Well, Vladimir, congratulations! You are feeling what the most of people forget! Enthusiasm, attitude and predisposition! Really congrats mate.
Regards
Hi Vladimir. I'm a new-beginning teacher as well. My major is English Philology. I've been teaching Communicative Grammar to TEFL students for about 2 years. Formerly being the parts of the USSR I suppose the educational systems are quite alike in our countries, esp. the way foreign languages are taught. So, firstly, I can recommend you avoid the traditional methods of teaching that I suppose still exists in your country. Then you'd better design some kinda schedule or syllabus let's say. As far as you are acquainted with your students, it will be easy for you to know what they need to learn. Try to base your schedule on 4 skills. When I was teaching pre-toefl lessons, I usually made a list of grammar topics first, then found some reading materials focused on the certain grammar rule with a good unknown vocabulary and made speaking topics where the students are required to speak on the topic discussed in the reading material using new grammar and vocabulary. For checking vocabulary I used different vocabulary games or songs.
Hope I will be useful. Good luck.
Teaching is a very skilled profession, and your employer is being unfair if he/she expects that you can teach just because you know the language. It is attitudes like that of your employer that keep the status of teachers low.
Having said that, you have been asked to teach English and are willing to do so, so congratulations! Keenness and enthusiasm are very important.
I suggest finding a coursebook from a good publisher (Oxford, Cambridge, Longman, BBC, Macmillan, British Council etc). They're all good, so use something that is available in your country (I know that Pearson/Longman have a Moscow office, which may be convenient for you). Choose a book which has a good, extensive teacher's book which takes you step by step through the lesson. Honestly, if you choose a good coursebook with teacher's notes it will do much of the work for you.
Also, suggest to your employer that the technicians' English course consists partly of face-to-face sessions with you, and partly of private online study. Look at Alison for free British Council English courses which they can use. If this isn't possible, then take an Alison course for yourself and use that as the basis for your lessons.
I'm 23 years old and was majoring in TEFL. The offer your boss gives is indeed a challenging task for you. I agree with PhilologistAUL that you'd better focus not only on grammar and vocabulary but also on all the four language skills. With interactive and creative methods which you can find in many websites, I believe your students will enjoy your class. If I were you, I would make a study schedule for the class. I'd also choose one course book (it should definitely be relevant to the level of the learners) to be used in the class. However, in my schedule, I would also arrange the time when I should teach technical English (the materials are taken from other resources). That's the idea that comes to my mind when I read your challenge. Hope it can help you.
Hi Vladimir
First of all, you ought to be proud that your boss considers you capable of teaching English to your fellow staff members! That's a great vote of confidence in your ability.
One really good book to get your hands on is Jeremy Harmer's "How to Teach English". It's what we recommend to our trainees here at OxfordTEFL. Of course, if you find that you like teaching English, and are planning to do it for an extended period of time, then I would really recommend you take an accredited teacher training course.
Best of luck!
interesting read