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      Teaching Tips

      Teaching tips extends the Language Assistant resource manual with more tips and practical hints.

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      Using Graded Readers

      Graded readers or ‘readers' are books that have had the language level simplified to help second language learners read them. The language is graded for vocabulary, complexity of grammar structures and also by the number of words. They are made to cater for all levels from beginners through to advance.

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      Student progress

      Assistants are not usually expected to carry out formal assessment of their learners with tests or marking. However, students need feedback as they come towards the end of their time with you. Here are a few short activities for your last month or weeks with them.

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      Fluency activities for higher levels

      Learners beyond intermediate level require more opportunities to speak at length. It can be a challenge to find interesting topics and we can sometimes concentrate too much on issues and topics in the news.

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      Improving discussion lessons

      Have you ever felt you were asking all the questions about students’ opinions? Do you find you are doing more talking in a discussion than your class? Here are some tips to:

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      Christmas tips

      Introduction
      Christmas is an excellent theme for adding games and fun to your teaching. Most students enjoy festive lessons if your activities encourage a personal contribution about the students’ own families and customs.

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      Working with teachers in teams

      Coming in to a classroom to help an established teacher needs tact and lots of planning. It is not always going to be straightforward working together .Here are some tips to help improve your team teaching relationships.

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      Activities on the theme of Summer 2

      Introduction
      Here’s a second group of tasks to get your students’ in the mood for summer. Some of these tasks are more suited to intermediate learners and up.

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      Getting teenagers to talk

      Getting teenagers to use English in class and practise their speaking can be a challenging task, but there are some tips and hints which can make the task easier to achieve.

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      Student progress

      Assistants are not usually expected to carry out formal assessment of their learners with tests or marking. However, students need feedback as they come towards the end of their time with you. Here are a few short activities for your last month or weeks with them.

      4.8

      Reluctant talkers 1

      Introduction
      Being faced with a class which won't speak can be very disappointing after all your planning. When there are rows of blank faces or questions that nobody will answer it can de motivating.

      A to Z list

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      A multi-level writing class


      This activity is a great writing task to use in the first week or so with a new group.

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      Activities for first lessons 1

      The activities that you use in your first lessons are very important and are likely to set the tone for the rest of your classes. In your first lessons, it is good to focus on two areas:

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      Activities for first lessons 2

      The following activities focus primarily on fluency and are suitable for intermediate level and up. They will give you a chance to get to know the class, break the ice and estimate their language level.

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      Activities for using magazines in the classroom

      Introduction
      Magazines are a rich source of authentic materials and can be very motivating and inspire a wide range of activities. You can bring whole magazines to class to stimulate interest in British culture,

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      Activities on the theme of Summer

      Introduction
      With the summer holidays approaching it might be nice to base some of your lessons around this seasonal theme. Here is a selection of activities that you can use a various levels.