Tips, lesson plans and advice for novice English teachers

[rudder]

So what should I prepare ahead of time for this lesson? Lists of beach, mountain, park, etc. vocabulary? A handout that explains the present progressive grammar (this is what I will use to structure my lecture).

BTW, explaining things or providing written explanations is usually thought to be the wrong way to go. As in modern fiction writing, the mantra is "Show, don't tell". Hand-outs in ESL classes should be about helping students participate in class activities, not in explaining anything to them. Providing lists of vocabulary for memorizing out of context would also be thought of as a bit old-fashioned now.

So, what are you going to do, then? Mime all the vocabulary? Rock climbing, surfing, flying a kite, fishing, sunbathing, riding a bike.

How is explaining something the wrong way to do things?

[Cornfed]

So, what are you going to do, then? Mime all the vocabulary? Rock climbing, surfing, flying a kite, fishing, sunbathing, riding a bike.

Well, that would be one way to amuse your students.

How is explaining something the wrong way to do things?

Students generally won't understand explanations, and there is no way to know whether they have understood or not. Ideally you would have some idea of what vocabulary the students already knew, and you would introduce any unfamiliar vocabulary after you do your warm-up exercise. The standard way to do this is the ECDW method:
Elicit: Try to get students to produce the word. "What is the man in the picture doing? He is flying a k k k…"
Concept check: This is where you ask simple questions to head off misconceptions your students may have. "Is a kite the same as an aeroplane?"
Drill: This is where you have the students repeat the correct pronunciation. Do the whole class, then pick individual students.
Write: Write the word for the students to copy. The reason you do this last is because if a word is pronounced differently to how it is written, students will tend to want to go with the written form.

[rudder]

So, what are you going to do, then? Mime all the vocabulary? Rock climbing, surfing, flying a kite, fishing, sunbathing, riding a bike.

Well, that would be one way to amuse your students.

How is explaining something the wrong way to do things?

Students generally won't understand explanations, and there is no way to know whether they have understood or not. Ideally you would have some idea of what vocabulary the students already knew, and you would introduce any unfamiliar vocabulary after you do your warm-up exercise. The standard way to do this is the ECDW method:
Elicit: Try to get students to produce the word. "What is the man in the picture doing? He is flying a k k k…"
Concept check: This is where you ask simple questions to head off misconceptions your students may have. "Is a kite the same as an aeroplane?"
Drill: This is where you have the students repeat the correct pronunciation. Do the whole class, then pick individual students.
Write: Write the word for the students to copy. The reason you do this last is because if a word is pronounced differently to how it is written, students will tend to want to go with the written form.

I see, so your suggestion then is to use pictures in order to explain vocabulary? How many different handouts would you typically give to the students during an hour lesson?

[rudder]

Here's some ESL games from a crazy white chick that won't be getting a boyfriend any time soon.

English Language Games
http://www.youtube.com/user/englishlang ... ture=watch

I don't know about that. She's got good energy. If I was learning ESL I'd probably love her. Also, can you imagine a guy competing with her for the same job teaching kids? I can't...I mean just look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4RncEEC ... 6PJbCId0rA
I'm actually envious of the people who can pour on the extra charisma like that. I feel so awkward when I act like that, but I bet it can be fun.

I had a private female teacher for a foreign language who was peppy and also beautiful. It made all the difference in the world. I loved going to class and learning the language from this beautiful, fun female. I hated the weekends and waited impatiently for Monday to roll back around so I could go to class.

[rudder]

So what's everyone's favorite activity to get students talking to each other in groups or pairs? What activity seems to elicit the most speaking?

[Cornfed]

I see, so your suggestion then is to use pictures in order to explain vocabulary?

You would use pictures, actions, simple questions, that sort of thing.

How many different handouts would you typically give to the students during an hour lesson?

Just one generally. You could supplement it with powerpoint or an overhead projector.