TeachingEnglish
Teaching English in large, multi-level and multi-lingual classroom
Submitted by Ashok Raj on 17 March, 2010 - 17:13
I teach in mid-eastern hill of Nepal. One of my classes has 90 students. I found 9 native languages of their own in this class. Similarly, many students have come from different lower secondary schools with different abilities. It is very difficult to teach English in this large class with mixed abilities. Their own native languages has also created problem in correct pronunciation as well. I expect some practical ideas or techniques to teach in this type of classroom.
Ashok Raj Khati
Nepal
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So I think you'd better devide them into several classes according to the students' level of English. If not, it'll be very hard to teach. Also it is helpful to these kids. I'm sure all of them hoping to speak good English, right? Even there are some problems on deviding them, you should overcome these, since you're a reponsible teacher!
Dear Ashok,
One of the ways would be to use ICT of course to help the students to be able to learn even without your presence. You cannot be with them 24/7. If they have computers at home or in community centres they can have the attention of a computer 24/7. Nowadays netbooks with low power (can be powered by Solar) is available quite cheaply. That would solve a lot of lack of electricity problems.
You would next need contents that are non Internet dependent because most students' homes have no access. The contents too need to be small in size to enable a pen drive to be easily used to store lots of contents.
This way, they can listen to English as it is spoken endlessly without you, a teacher, needing to repeat endlessly to a big class which of course you can never do to a class of 90 i.e if they can hear you speak in class.
Have some imagination to get the students to constantly listen, listen and listen. Once you take care of that you can be assured you have a class full of confident English speaking students in no time.
Alan
I do not see any problem with your profile of students. I presume that all students have problems with the English Language. When you say a class with different abilities I guess you are talking about the socio economic and cultural difference combined with groups of students whose mother tongue is different.
The common problem with all the students is the English Language. You can start by educating them on simple structures covereing different situations which they are bound to encounter everyday. By strucutres I mean the questions and answers to be given for different situations. You need to make sure that the entire class gets involved and introduce the concept of teamwork. Ensure that each group is actively participating in the class. Your sessions should be a mix of speaking activities, games, quiz, role plays and listening skills. Listening skills can be introduced at a later stage when students are comfortable with the English Language and you find them motivated and charged up.
For the listening module you can play simple conversations which have a neutral accent. You can have some questions based on the topic which needs to be answered by all the groups. The element of competitiveness is very critical and you need to ensure that each day brings a fresh challenge for them.
You should be an inspiring and guiding force whom the students look up to to emulate. This process requires lot of planning and commitment at your end which is reflected in your question.
You just need to make a start. All the best.
Hi
It's quite difficult though teaching English in a large multi-level classrom but there is an easy way to do your lectures repeting the same lesson for three consecutive days as this procedure will also help them a lot in remembering the material perfectly without any excuse.
Abdussami Bajwa
Interesting topic. Actually, I wrote a paper on this topic but mine focused mainly on dealing with overcrowded classes in difficult circumstances (eg where there is no electricity and no enough classrooms). Before I can contribute, I'd like to ask a few question re. your class.
1. Do you have enough rooms to house all the students if divided (are they in one room)?
2. Do they have access to the internet?
3. Which level are they at (beginner, intermediate, advanced)?
4. Do you have electricity at school?
5. Which resources do you use in class (are you able to make handouts or you only depend on the chalkboard)?
Vukile
...just an idea. Put a more advanced student with a lower level student, as a 'buddy' learner. I've found that the lower level students have advanced very quickly this way, and the advanced level students haven't suffered at all. With that many in the class, there's no way you can use approaches taught in CELTA or TESOL.
This can be quite a challenge, but it is possible. Some of the students may not feel challenged, whilst for others it is too difficult. On the bright side, students will have a wide variety of experiences, cultural backgrounds to explore and you will never be waiting for a response. In addition, the constant challenges will help you grow fast professionally. I undertook a module on teaching large classes as part of my TEFL training. Here are some of their suggestions.
• Have you established each students level? If you haven't do it.
• Let students learn at their own pace and find their learning style.
• Don't forget the quiet ones, involve them too.
• As with all classes a plan is vital to the success of your lesson.
• Good preparation, meaning worksheets and activities geared towards different levels. Have a clear objective for the class.
• There are lots of ways to group your students. Each has pros and cons. Same level, different levels (random), age, gender.
• Remember you are not the only teacher in the class. Some of your more able students can be used as assistants. They will not become bored and will also continue to learn as they teach.
• Open ended discussions which can be aimed at both higher and lower levels. Obviously the lower levels will need more help so give them a more thorough worksheet.
• Grab their attention from the very start. Keep the classes entertaining by providing subjects which appeal to everyone in the class. Remember though, you can't please all of the people all of the time.
Hope this helps.
I think that this is a hard situation. But I agree that you should divide them into several classes according to their level. If this is not possible at all, you may find another way to deal with that reality. My opinion is that you should, at least try to divide them in small groups inside of the classroom. Of course, you need to give your class, and that includes everybody. But them, into small groups, that are separated according to the level, you can give specific materials to specific needs. For sure you're just one, so it's gonna be hard to help them all, and to give them a lot of attention. But try to find a way in which they could "walk by themselves" in the group. Try to establish a leader and give them tasks....