34 ESL cheat sheets classroom management edition

Young learners are so full of energy that most activities you propose are met with loads of enthuasiasm . Adult learner are focussed on meeting their language goal.but with teen cant. what do you do to atract teen to your lesson. this book solve the problem for you

CONTENTS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY 3-4 How-To: 10 Best Ways to Increase Teenage Student Motivation 18 How-To: Top Productivity Tips for ESL Teachers How-To: Effective Ways to Calm Your Students Down 19 How-To: ESL Teamwork: Collaborating With Colleagues How-To: Too Loud To Be Heard: Handling Noise Levels in Your ESL Classroom 20 How-To: Sure-Fire Ways to Bond with Your Class How-To: How to Encourage Student Participation 21-22 How-To: Top 10 Teacher Software Programs To Use On a Daily Basis Tips: Classroom Management Strategies Top Teachers Use 23 How-To: Must-Have Technological Tools to Increase Your ESL Productivity How-To: Non-Verbal Ways to Do Error Correction 10 How-To: How to Teach Using Games 11 How-To: Most Creative Homework Assignments 12 How-To: How To Assign Effective Homework Your Students Will Enjoy TEACHING ADULTS 24 How-To: Teaching Adults How-To: Advantages and Challenges 25 How-To: Top Tips on Teaching Absolute Beginners 32 How-To: Adult ESL Learners: Homework Assignments That Work 33 How-To: Teaching Adult Learners: How To Handle Attendance Problems TEACHING KIDS 34-35 How-To: Teaching Kids English: 10 Things to Consider 36 How-To: How to Teach Preschoolers: Preschool Games and Activities 37 How-To: Kids and Money: How to Teach Money Skills 38 How-To: Stickers for the Little Ones: Motivation Booster or Evil? 39 How-To: Fabulous Ways to Use Total Physical Response in the ESL Classroom 26 How-To: How to Teach English to Beginners 40 How-To: English for Children Under 5: Fallow Land or Fertile (Kinder) garden? 13 How-To: Classroom Conflicts: How to Smooth Over a Cultural Clash 27 How-To: How To Teach Japanese Adults: Part One 41 Bonus: Classroom Management Mantra: Do’s and Dont’s 14-15 How-To: 15 Little Tricks to Get Your Class’s Attention (and Hold It) 28 How-To: How To Teach Japanese Adults: Part Two 16 How-To: Keep Your Cool: Tips for Handling Difficult Students 17 How-To: How to Teach the Millennial Generation (And Get Them off of Facebook) 29 How-To: ESL Insider Secrets about Teaching Japanese Learners 30 How-To: How to Teach the Verb “To Be” to Beginners 31 How-To: What Adult Learners Want: Know Them To Teach Them Better 10 Best Ways to Increase Teenage Student Motivation related to a topic, like “clothes” or “foods” AH, THE JOYS OF TEACHING! Young learners are so full of energy that most activities you propose are met with loads of enthusiasm Adult learners are focused on meeting their language goals and have a wealth of skills and knowledge to contribute to the class However, things are not as simple with teens Most are very clever and insightful kids, but this is not exactly the most talkative age group Have you ever faced a class full of blank stares where most of the replies you hear are “Yes”, “No”, or “It depends”? Have you ever felt frustrated by their lack of interest? • CATER TO THEIR SKILLS AND EXPLOIT THEIR TALENTS Most teens are talented at one thing or another Take your time to get to know them and discover what these talents are • Students who are artistically-inclined may draw pictures, sketches or cartoons of a story you read out loud to the class • Do you have a student who plays the guitar? Ask him or her to bring it to class and play a song while the class sings the lyrics in English Here are some strategies that should get your teens a bit more motivated HOW TO MOTIVATE ESL STUDENTS USE AS MANY REFERENCES TO POP CULTURE AS YOU CAN Consider your teens’ interests Imagine you want to discuss last week’s events to practice the past simple tense Will they be more interested in what President Obama did last week, or which outrageous outfit Lady Gaga wore to an awards show? If you’re not willing to discuss Eminem’s latest album, or any of the Twilight books or films, then you won’t connect with your teen students GIVE THEM A LITTLE FRIENDLY COMPETITION Little kids like to compete, and teens are no different Whether they play sports or games on the Wii, they always try to out best each other Why not introduce some friendly competition into the ESL classroom? Games are easy ways to this, but you can also have them compete in any activity • Give them 60 seconds to write down as many words as they can Tell them that whoever finishes a written exercise first or has the most correct answers, gets to choose a video to watch or a song to listen to in class USE PEN PALS TO MOTI VATE WRITING If your students are not enthused about writing assignments, give them pen pals to write to At ESL Teachers Board, or any other message board for ESL teachers, you can post a request for pen pals for your students, and find another teacher with whom you can trade email addresses Writing to pen pals is a great introduction to what they may have to master later in life: business emails MAKE READING AGE APPROPRIATE To get students excited about a reading assignment, make sure you choose material that will pique their interest Naturally, books or stories about teens are sure to work, but you can also include celebrity biographies, anything sports-related, or any topic that may interest them, but is also up to their reading level PLAY SONGS TO IMPROVE LISTENING COMPREHEN SION If you play any of the audio that typically comes with course materials, your teens will most likely tune out and not hear a word The best way to motivate them to listen is by playing songs But you should also choose songs they like, or can relate to HAVE VIDEO LESSONS INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CLASSROOM Videos have great potential in the ESL class Thanks to recent advances in technology, we no longer need to have a TV and DVD player in the classroom to teach a video lesson A laptop will for a small class, and a speedy Internet connection is great, but not entirely necessary, as you can have video files already downloaded to your computer To keep teens focused on the task, choose short interviews, movie trailers, music videos, or how to videos on YouTube In the previous point, we mention how easy it is to show videos on a laptop, but you can integrate technology in so many other ways Most teens have excellent Web surfing skills, so why not assign them a WebQuest? A WebQuest is an online, inquiry-based activity where students are required to search for specific information within links provided by the teacher, and then produce a report or a PowerPoint presentation Here are some great examples of WebQuests for teens: http://www.nelliemuller.com/ task2.htm, but you can also design your own to suit your students’ level PLAY GAMES ESL games motivate any learner whether they are or 50 years old But with teens, it’s important to choose games that will challenge them, give them the right competitive feel, and help them effectively prac- tice an ESL item A guessing game or any type of quiz show game should get them motivated 10 USE REALIA IN THE CLASSROOM The use of real life objects is also a great way to motivate students of all ages But it is particularly effective with teens who are already lacking in enthusiasm • Giving directions: Choose places that teens frequently visit like malls, concert venues, or sports stadiums Use anything from real city maps to brochures of these locations to practice giving directions • Tell me about yourself: Instead of just telling the class about themselves, ask your teens to bring photos, as well as some of their favorite things, like books, CDs, a skateboard, or anything that represents them MAKE SURE THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE YOU DISCUSS WHAT THEIR LEARNING GOALS ARE They may not have thought of this earlier, but they may come to realize that they need English to surf the Internet, understand their favorite band’s songs, or chat with foreign friends And talking about the things that interest teens is a great way to establish rapport Once you connect with them, you won’t find any more blank stares You’ll see a room full of eager, smiling faces! Efective Ways to Calm Your Students Down It is always great to see your students enthusiastic about learning and the activities you so carefully prepared for them but once they have gotten all riled up, it is time to bring them back down so that you can send them to their parents or other teachers without upsetting anyone Additionally if students are very loud and energetic at the very beginning of class, you will have to curb their excitement a little in order to complete the rest of the activities for your lesson Here are some strategies for dealing with students who are bouncing off the walls of your classroom HOW TO CALM YOUR ESL STUDENTS DOWN SIT DOWN Students who are seated are more restrained and subdued If students are running around the classroom or having a heated discussion, ask everyone to go back to their desks and sit down The physical state of sitting in their chairs will help them relax Standing is a great stance for action while sitting is more a state of rest Some students may fidget at their desks but sitting is already a big improvement and this is less likely to distract other students Once learners have taken their seats, shift their focus immediately to an activity so that they not become bored or lose interest in the lesson It is important for students to focus their energy on learning English so help them put it to good use by effectively managing your classroom EXERCISE An activity requiring lots of energy that will tire students out could make them a little more calm during the rest of your lesson If your young learners cannot sit still at the beginning of class, give them the chance to use that energy during the warm up and then continue with your lesson Some simple TPR games like Head and Shoulders or Simon Says would be perfect for reviewing body parts, writing relays would be good for slightly older students and even just simple exercises like jumping jacks or running in place should help learners settle down For some students these types of exercises will actually energize them more so experiment to see what works best with your classes Different groups of students may require different tactics TOPICS A topic that interests your students will also make them more attentive Keep your learners in mind when deciding what to talk about in class Students who are focused will not have the inclination to move around a lot nor will they be easily distracted These are both likely to happen if students are overly excited or energized If you are not sure what your students are interested in, simply ask them or take a poll of various topics to see what they are most eager to learn about QUIET TIME Active exercises can be a lot of fun, especially with young learners, but after students have gotten out of their seats and moved around a bit, bring their heart rates down with a quiet activity such as reading or writing Students can take their time silently reading through an article or begin writing their individual answers to short answer or essay questions before you turn these activities into class activities to check pronunciation, comprehension, and grammar points These types of activities are good for calming a class down but should be avoided if students lack energy as you risk them falling asleep member to team member the fastest AS YOU CAN SEE THESE APPROACHES ARE VERY DIFFERENT BUT THEY CAN ALL BE EFFECTIVE WHEN USED PROPERLY THE METHOD YOU CHOOSE DEPENDS ON YOUR STUDENTS AND HOW THEY REACT TO ACTIVITIES Be sure to use the one that will be most efficient for the type of students you have in your classroom Luckily this becomes less of a problem as students get older and in adult classes you will rarely have similar issues If you struggle with this, change your approach to classes in order to resolve it and look on the bright side, at least no one is sleeping FOCUS Get students to really focus by conducting an activity such as a circle exercise or something similar that is fast paced This will take advantage of their energy but because they never know whose turn it will be next, they have to be quiet and pay attention in order to perform their part well Another game that is exciting but requires that students remain calm and quiet is Chinese Whispers (http://busyteacher.org/4171-9-five-minute-activities-that-will-save-your.html) where students work in teams to see who can correctly pass a sentence from team Too Loud To Be Heard: Handling Noise Levels in Your ESL Classroom While ESL classes should encourage students to speak English, you also need to maintain an environment in which everyone can be heard Depending on the activities you choose to in class and the nature of your students, keeping noise levels reasonable can be challenging especially with younger students Ideally your classroom will be an area in which everyone can participate and students listen respectfully to one another Let’s talk about some ways to achieve this HOW TO HANDLE NOISE LEVELS IN YOUR ESL CLASSROOM CLASS ACTIVITIES For activities that are being done as a class such as checking homework, a student wishing to speak should raise his hand rather than call out This is a common rule in classrooms around the world but some students easily forget this basic guideline If you reward students for volunteering answers, simply say that answers that are shouted out will not count towards their participation points and that they have to take turns and respect one another This should help encourage students to raise their hands If you are doing a team activity where everyone is working frantically and loudly with their teams members, consider having a bell or some other noisemaker so that you can save your voice when signaling the end of the activity You can only shout “Go back to your seats!” so many times before your voice gives out and there is no need to strain yourself It is fun to these types of activities so you just have to have a plan for dealing with the noise Choose something and stick with it so that students can become used to your chosen system of communication When doing loud activities consider the classes around you too If you think your students may be so loud that other classes will be affect make a different lesson plan, change the activity, try to meet in another location, or at the very least ensure that those other classes will not be taking exams and tell your students at the beginning of the activity that they should keep it down It could be that the majority of your classes have absolutely no problem with volume while one just goes absolutely crazy Remember this next time you want to a similar activity GROUP WORK & PAIR WORK When students are working in groups or in pairs, they should keep their voices at a normal level You may want your students to be interested in learning English but, with the exceptions of performing role plays, students are usually not going to be so overly enthusiastic that they must raise their voices Remind students that there are other people working and that you have to be able to hear learners who are practicing Some role plays will require more emotion and volume variation based on the situation you are working with Even your students that are enthusiastic actors should keep themselves in check If you find yourself repeatedly telling a small number of students to take it down a notch, speak with them outside of class to address their disruptive behavior INDIVIDUAL WORK When students are working individually they are usually not doing speaking exercises and therefore should be working silently Unless students are asking a question or responding to feedback you have given them, the class should be relatively quiet Put your classroom management and discipline skills to work if students insist on being distracting during these times TIPS Set up rules From your very first day in the classroom you should establish some ground rules If you allow students to behave a certain way for the first month you are at their school, it will be nearly impossible to change their behavior later From the beginning ensure that students who wish to speak raise their hands and that students maintain an appropriate volume when speaking and completing activities You can even post these rules on the wall of your classroom to refer to when necessary When a student or group of students will not stop talking to one another while you are speaking, just stop teaching for a minute Let them see that you notice them, ask these students if they understand the material or have questions Ask them to rephrase what you were saying to see if they were listening Point out to them that students should not be talking while you are talking and that their peers are being deprived of an education because of their disrespectful behavior If students not stop after several warnings, take some disciplinary action This will vary depending on your school If you know that your students are especially loud, plan activities that require them to be quiet such as Chinese Whispers (http://busyteacher.org/4171-9-fiveminute-activities-that-will-save-your html) This will maintain a low level of noise in the classroom and prevent you from disrupting the surrounding classes When you are showing students videos or listening to music, turn the volume down to begin with and then find an appropriate level once the material has started playing This will keep something from starting out excessively loud IT CAN BE CHALLENGING TO KEEP A CLASSROOM FULL OF STUDENTS QUIET Large classes are especially difficult to manage simply because so many people are contributing to the overall volume in the room Forty people speaking at a normal volume are still going to make a lot of noise Thinking about the different situations and tips above can help you tackle this issue with your students How to Encourage Student Participation Encouraging student participation can be difficult Students who generally perform well will be more willing to volunteer and more confident when completing exercises whereas students who struggle in the classroom will be more reluctant to these things As a teacher there are many ways you can encourage all your students to participate in activities HOW TO ENCOURAGE STUDENT PARTICIPATION CLASSROOM ENVIRON MENT Ensuring that you maintain a constructive classroom environment will help immensely It is important that students not feel like they will be laughed at or given negative feedback Try to provide students with positive criticism as opposed to reinforcing the fact that they have made a mistake or performed poorly Making mistakes is simply part of the learning process and students that make mistakes will give you a good idea of what you need to focus on because there are probably other students in your class that have the same questions or misunderstandings ACTIVITIES FOR ALL TYPES OF LEARNERS Planning exercises that appeal to different types of learners is an essential part of getting all your students to participate Perhaps some students who perform well on tests are quite shy while students who perform poorly on tests are natural performers and enjoy role play activities Giving a range of activities that target visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners will increase student participation The more variety there is in your lessons, the more your students will gain from them Having a combination of worksheets, role-plays, games, listening exercises, etc will keep students engaged and provide them with plenty of practice MOTIVATION MATTERS! In group activities making groups or teams and having races often gets students motivated Competition will drive students to not only be the best performing group but also work hard to not let down their teammates These activities should still be conducted in an encouraging and friendly environment so as to not cause your students lots of stress It is important to have students take turns when working in groups so that all students are required to participate While working as a group to answer a question is great, there should be a set order that determines which student presents the answer to the class at any given point in the activity By having students form groups in a variety of ways, you can ensure that students are placed in different groups throughout the course and thus no serious rivalry can take root between groups of students Sometimes simply the satisfaction of winning is not enough to motive students and then just as you would for motivating students at the individual level, prizes or points may help A points system where students acquire stickers or stamps throughout the semester by volunteering to answer questions or doing exceptional work in class would be a good idea Simply tell students that they need maybe ten points to get one hundred percent for their participation grade in a semester and that additional points could be considered extra credit If a student has a little card to collect these stickers or stamps, it will serve as a visual reminder throughout the term of how well they are doing in reaching the target number and will make calculating a student’s overall participation much easier for you as well Towards the end of the term it is a good idea to have a lesson where students place their cards on their desks so that you can give students who have not actively participated much throughout the semester special opportunities to raise their score somewhat as opposed to giving very active students too many extra credit points STUDENTS NEED TO PRACTICE SPEAKING ENGLISH TO IMPROVE SO IT IS IN THEIR BEST INTEREST TO PARTICIPATE FULLY DURING THEIR LESSONS YOU CAN PLAN LESSONS ACCORDINGLY AND START INCENTIVE PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO TRY THEIR BEST AND SPEAK MORE OFTEN IN CLASS INDIVIDUAL LEVEL INCENTIVES At the individual level incentives such as points or, if acceptable on occasion, some sort of prize may lead students to participate more fully in activities Participation should always be kept in mind when grading students however besides reminding students that they are graded on participation, it can be challenging for both you and them to keep a record of it Classroom Management Strategies Top Teachers Use Implementing proper classroom management techniques is important A TEACHER WHO KNOWS HOW TO CONTROL HIS OR HER CLASSROOM WILL HAVE FAR FEWER “CRAZY DAYS” THAN ONE WHO DOES NOT The majority of your classroom atmosphere is contingent on how you run it, so here are some tips to get you started! ESTABLISH YOUR AU THORITY EARLY ON Early in the year, ideally within the first couple of days, you must establish your authority Your students will learn very quickly whether you are a serious teacher or not You not have to be a drill sergeant, but show them that you are serious and are not going to tolerate rude behaviors or disobedience The easiest way to establish your authority is by following through with consequences and rewards If you tell the students that a certain behavior will result in a specific consequence, see to it that it does Otherwise, you are just handing out empty threats Just the same, if you have promised a certain reward, make sure you keep to your word and that thing for your students For younger students, consider implementing a weekly reward Some examples might include an opportunity to pick from the “treasure chest,” being “invited” to a classroom party that takes place during the lunch period or extra time for recess GET COLOR CODED! Many teachers find it helpful to organize their classroom by color This works whether your classroom has tables or desks for students, and it works whether your students are younger or older If you have desks, group together four to five students for each color If you have tables, keep four to five students at each one In the center of each group, keep a colored caddy for supplies and a tray for papers in the coordinating color For instance, the “green team” will have a green supply caddy in the center of their table or desks and a green paper tray next to the supply caddy When it is time for students to turn in work, have them put their papers in the tray at their table When you have the time to go around the room and collect papers, you can so and they will be neatly stacked in the paper tray This strategy saves a lot of time You will find color-coding to be very useful throughout the day If you centers in your class, send students to centers by their color When it is time to line up for lunch, recess or dismissal, it by color Just for fun, have a “team spirit” day and encourage your students to come to school dressed in a t-shirt for their team color! BUDDY UP A “buddy system” is sometimes used due to school rules when it comes to sending kids out of the classroom, but why not use it in the classroom, too? If your students know ahead of time who their “buddy” is, this will save time when you need them to “find a neighbor” for various tasks throughout the day because they will always have a “buddy.” Organize your classroom seating arrangements such that students are arranged in groups that are also “buddies,” it will help even more If you have an odd number in your groups, buddy up the two students who are closest to each other in two groups TIP: We already have a section ‘Classroom Management and Discipline’ with nice activities to help you with your classroom management: praising cards, classroom labels, certificates and awards, and more! Refer to http:// busyteacher.org/teaching_ideas_ and_techniques/classroom_management_and_discipline-worksheets/ for details And what classroom management tips you know and use? We will be happy to hear from you! Non-Verbal Ways to Do Error Correction EFFECTIVE ERROR CORRECTION IS ONE OF THE THINGS ESL TEACHERS STRUGGLE WITH THE MOST If you correct them too much, you might make them feel discouraged and compromise their fluency for the sake of accuracy If you correct them too little, they’ll continue making the same mistakes Achieving the right balance is a daunting task, although not an impossible one And when doing on the spot correcting, you simply supply the right answer? Although it is certainly an option, you should sometimes give your students the chance to correct themselves There are several verbal strategies you may use, like asking them to repeat what they’ve just said, or repeating the sentence yourself but pausing to let the student fill in the “blank” correctly However, here are the best nonverbal ways to error correction HOW TO PROCEED USE A GRAMMAR FLAG Once you have your students actively engaged in some drilling exercises, use a little red flag to “flag” their mistakes The flag goes up if they make a mistake and students instantly know they should go back and say it again You may also use the flag in others types of activities, or whenever you wish to work on accuracy USE FACIAL EXPRESSIONS Students are sometimes self-conscious enough without having to endure constant corrections So, how can you effectively correct them and not stomp on their confidence in the process? When a student makes a mistake, like saying a verb in the past tense incorrectly, use an exaggerated facial ex- pression to signal the mistake Give them an open-mouthed, wide-eyed stare Or arch an eyebrow The more “theatrical” the facial expression is, the funnier it’ll be You’ll be effectively signalling that a mistake has been made, but students won’t take it so seriously USE GESTURES Another very effective way to show students they’ve made a mistake is through gestures, some of which may be specific to the kind of mistake Teachers typically gesture backwards with their hands or point to the back to show students they haven’t used the verb in the past Students often use the wrong pronouns - it’s quite common to hear a student say, “She went to the movies with your boyfriend.” To which you simply reply by pointing to yourself with a look of shock or surprise You may also implement a gesture to indicate that students should repeat something, or say it again, and if they repeat the mistake, you can raise a finger to show them where in the sentence the mistake is, though they have to figure out what they are doing wrong Say a student used the wrong word order to ask a question: “You are a teacher?” Ask the student to repeat the question and then show him or her how you count the words on your fingers Show the student how the first two fingers are in the wrong order, so that the student understands the question should start with “Are you ” YOU CAN GET AS CREATIVE AS YOU LIKE WITH YOUR FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, GESTURES, AND VISUAL REMINDERS Remember here that the ultimate goal is to help students learn from their mistakes, and if you simply supply the right answer, they may not fully internalize it Some teachers have even been known to hum well-known songs to trigger the correct response, like Depeche Mode’s “People are People” when students make the classic mistake, “people is” Do you have any suggestions for nonverbal error correction? We would like to hear from you! USE VISUAL REMINDERS Very often students forget the final “-s” in the simple present, third person singular You may have a big S stuck on a wall that you can point to on such occasions, or point to something that will trigger the right response, like the picture of an S-shaped snake Visual reminders are also great for vocabulary-related mistakes A student may say “childs” instead of “children” You point to a picture of a group of children to indicate that something is wrong: the student has to figure out he or she used the wrong plural USE FINGER COUNTING How can you correct mistakes in word order in a non-verbal way? Finger counting is simply perfect for this! How to Teach Using Games ticular tense, simply use that tense for at least one clue per answer You can choose the first category but after that, the group who provides the correct answer first should choose the category This activity could take a whole fortyfive minute lesson and the group with the most points at the end of class wins A WIDE VARIETY OF GAMES CAN BE USED WHEN TEACHING ENGLISH The key is to ensure that everyone fully participates and has enough practice with the lesson material to play If students are not confident, they will struggle and not get the most out of the activity HOW TO USE GAMES • WHOLE CLASS GAMES Some games such as interview activities, bingo, jeopardy, and board games can be played by the entire class • An interview activity to practice the “Where are you from?” and “I’m from ~.” structures might start by handing out slips of paper with eight to ten different country names Students can then be given a worksheet with all the country names written on the left and told that their goal is to get a student signature for each country by mingling with their classmates and asking the target question When asked the target question, a student should respond based on the slip of paper he received • • Bingo can be played with numbers, letters, vocabulary words, or many other topics you may want to practice Jeopardy is more of a review activity because it focuses on listening and does not give students lots of speaking practice The easiest thing to is have students make groups of four to five, write categories and stars for each answer on the board, and explain that groups will get three points for a correct answer after the first clue, two points after the second clue, and only one point after the last clue You will need five or six categories and perhaps five answers per category If you would like to focus on a par- 10 Board games are often best played in small groups but if introducing a very challenging game, it may be a good idea to play as a class first A group of students can be represented by a game piece and students can work together to answer questions In the class following this, students can play the game in groups for further practice GAMES IN SMALL GROUPS There are also lots of games that can be played in groups of about four students • • Board games where students move pieces and answer questions or form sentences based on images make for good practice activities For practicing the “If ~, then ~.” structure a Chutes and Ladders layout may be fun for students Card games such as Go Fish, Memory, and many more can be adapted for classroom use When you are teaching comparatives, card games can be an invaluable tool You can also use simple card games to test comprehension by making up decks of cards with letters for example Have students spread all the cards face up on their desks, you then say a letter aloud, and the first student to slap the correct card gets to keep it Repeat until all the cards are gone and the student with the most cards at the end of the game wins To make this more challenging, you can tell students that if they slap the wrong card, they have to take one card out of their pile PAIWORK GAMES There are many of pair activities students can to practice English but very few of them take the form of a game • The best and most versatile one by far is Battleship This will take a lesson to explain and practice but once your students are familiar with it, can be played as a twenty to thirty minute activity Battleship is best used to practice tenses The worksheet consists of two identical seven by seven grids, one above the other The first box in the upper left is kept blank, the first row is filled in with phrases such as “play soccer” and “study English”, and the first column is filled in with words such as “I, You, He, We, They, The students.” Students should secretly draw their “boats” on the grid Typically one boat should have five squares, one boat should have four squares, two boats should have three squares, and one boat should have two squares Boats can only be drawn vertically or horizontally On the board practice the structure that students will use for the activity for example “I played soccer You studied English.” until every row and column has been practiced and then instruct students to say “Hit”, “Miss”, or “You sank my ship!” when appropriate just like in the original game Students can usually play two or three times before moving on to another activity AGAIN, THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT GAMES OUT THERE THAT CAN BE USED IN THE CLASSROOM BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN! ENSURING YOUR STUDENTS HAVE THE NECESSARY INSTRUCTIONS AND PRACTICE BEFORE STARTING ANY ACTIVITY WILL MAKE IT MORE ENJOYABLE AND BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR STUDENTS How To Teach Japanese Adults: Part One Teaching adults in Japan is an interesting and worthwhile life experience It’s relatively easy compared to other countries, but don’t be mistaken that this will adequately prepare you for other Asian scenarios, such as Korea or China Japan and its people are very unique in many ways that you have yet to imagine on your TEFL journey It may come as an initial shock that your students can read and write in English albeit with superficial comprehension of the meaning, but are virtually inept in the other two skills of listening and most importantly in our communicative age – speaking Your students will have experienced Japanese teacher-focused techniques, but their mentors will have been inadequately trained in TEFL and lacked the confidence themselves to speak in English They did not aim to motivate their learners to communicate and this English language incompetence is inherent throughout all levels of Japanese society HOW TO PROCEED BE PREPARED As a Japanese teacher’s role is very important, your students will be respectful, obedient and disciplined If you give homework assignments they will normally be done as instructed, but before you start to celebrate remember that their reserved nature and politeness generally means stifled interactivity They are reluctant to question the teacher or even participate in class at times As you are teaching adults you may feel it safe to assume that as they are studying of their own volition there are no extrinsic factors compelling them to attend and that they want to ‘learn.’ This is compounded by the fact that they are paying their own ‘educational budget’ in prolonged deflationary times However a simple questioning will soon reveal that their motives are far from scholarly - English is their ‘hobby.’ Faced with this sudden realization that all your training in syllabus design and years of effort to craft carefully honed classes may no longer be of relevance you should not become demoralized or lose your enthusiasm BE POSITIVE IN YOUR APPROACH Many people pursue hobbies very successfully and are willing and studious So why should your situation be otherwise? Then you learn that our stereotyped Mrs Tanaka likes to study English on Wednesday because it’s before her Tai Chi class She is also ‘learning’ Korean due to the current popularity of their dramas on television and takes Chinese classes twice a month too You have to commend her linguistic aspirations, but you are beginning to appreciate that the level of foreign language input may certainly be a factor in her confused English output in your class She also likes to practice calligraphy, ikebana and play the Japanese shamisen in her free time when she is not hiking, doing yoga or going on foreign trips Your students will have a lot of latent vocabulary Unfortunately it was devised and memorized purely for testing purposes at High School and tertiary educational levels and has little relevance in useful life skills You will have to wean them off rote learning and assuage their constant concerns for accuracy rather than fluency BE PUNCTUAL As diligent teachers we all like to be punctual You want to be fully prepared and create a good relationship and rapport with your students, so you get to class early to arrange seating, write up lesson outlines, have pre-lesson conversations etc This is worthy practice but you need to be very careful in your timing If you get there too early you will soon find that Mrs Tanaka suddenly appears there too and if not quickly addressed this will soon become ‘her free one to one lesson time.’ You will witness the classic ‘English bandit’ style, when she insidiously steals your well- intentioned efforts from the rest of her classmates She will also hover and linger at the end of class for your personal attention, bringing little food gifts to attract your favouritism We all like Mrs Tanaka – if only there were LESS like her! USE THE BOARD A LOT Adult Japanese students like to have something tangible to evidence their learning i.e a textbook, a handout, something written on the board that can be copied If you are talking to the students, practicing ad-lib conversations, drilling or doing correction techniques, you are teaching on your terms, but perhaps not to the satisfaction of all your students They can’t visibly see or ‘show’ such learning to friends or family and there is a tendency for them to believe that this is wasted or idle time DO MORE IN CLASS PRACTICE Will your students practice or revise what they have learned? Unfortunately in the vast majority of cases the answer is a resounding NO They are unlikely to speak English from the moment they set foot outside the classroom, until they step in it again on the next occasion Usually their English file sits in a designated spot at home and is retrieved on class day only When they travel overseas they invariably travel in groups with a Japanese tour operator and experience a very sheltered and protected holiday without exposure to the targeted language You tell them of the array of services available on the Internet, the free children’s materials they can obtain in their local libraries, the English sections in bookshops, how to listen to CDs and watch videos and DVDs to enhance the lessons studied, the bi-lingual news on TV etc But it will generally fall on deaf ears But in this English Pandora’s box, there remains HOPE Some students really try to improve their English ability They surprise you with their activities and make your job feel worthwhile It may be a diary page they wrote, a report they want you to check, a thank you message etc and even if it’s a baby step into the world of English we must be proud of their achievements and make them feel truly valued WE CAN’T ALWAYS FATHOM WHY THEY COME TO CLASS, BUT WE KNOW WHY WE ARE HERE AND EVEN IF STUDENTS DON’T TRY TODAY, WE MUST ALWAYS DREAM THAT THEY WILL TOMORROW 27 How To Teach Japanese Adults: Part Two Ideally you should return to basics by beginning with the phonetic alphabet and teach the sounds of English As teachers you will quickly become aware of the particular articulation problems facing your students We have to find a halfway compromise between our learning environment and student wants, sometimes at the sacrifice of their phonetic needs HOW TO PROCEED KNOW PRONUNCIATION SPECIFICS Students utilize Japanese Katakana, a syllabic alphabet, to transcribe the foreign language being studied and this compounds the problem making the vocabulary they use sound unintelligible and negatively affecting communication Phonemic restructuring of loan words substitutes the nearest match from a syllable inventory often changing the word beyond recognition, or alternatively the word is shortened or undergoes semantic change, e.g coffee alters to ‘kohi.’ Religious adherence to these equivalents by Adult Learners creates language interference thus slowing the entire process of English phonology acquisition Their perception and production of Katakana must be effectively banned in class, if at all possible Be strict in your approach and correct mispronunciations immediately, as it will aid the improvement of fluency in the longterm Let your students speak pure Japanese if you so desire, but not Katakana METHODS OF TEACHING PRONUNCIATION Teach self-developing pronunciation methods showing the required height and action of the tongue tip Students will enjoy minimal pair work but keep it limited and you should also extensive drills and get them to guess meanings from the surrounding words in sentences whenever feasible Some students have a mental block in learning how to listen, as the sounds differentiation does not exist in the Japanese language Therefore if they can’t hear or won’t hear, you should never concede defeat, but must often give priority to more demanding 28 problems in pronunciation As pitch range and stress is different they are sometimes unable to catch all the words in sentences when English is spoken Practice raising and lowering pitch levels to indicate that new topics have begun or to show contrast Get them to focus on natural connected speech, linking and reduced vowel sounds The feeling and rhythm of the two languages is intrinsically different Japanese is more timed in pacing and therefore utterances are produced at roughly equal time intervals However English is stress-timed with more emphasis on important words Students tend to speak in an abrupt and disconnected way adversely affecting their comprehensibility by others You therefore need to alert them to elision, liaison and assimilation and use board work to clearly illustrate examples and listening exercises to help eliminate such errors Adult students need to appreciate that they are not just studying a subject, but a spoken language Through role-plays you should emphasize the importance of trying to be realistic, rather than being and sounding mechanical Emotion, intonation and gestures are vital in communication AREAS TO FOCUS ON Try to instill spontaneity and build confidence with lots of teacher prompting Encourage risk-taking and volunteering questions and answers, as their cultural background is very orchestrated and deliberately planned Do lots of expansion activities as responses and language practice is often too brief and curtailed on the part of the students Use your personality and teaching skills to overcome language shyness Spoon-feed to build vocabulary and enhance correct pronunciation Get students to ask questions Share language use through conversations outside the classroom Reiterate the importance of the message, its purpose and how it is conveyed Promote group interaction and discourage listening to others purely as a learning mecha- nism This is easier said than done and will necessitate all your sensitive supportive techniques at times, as they may find participation is uncomfortable Skills learned in the TESOL scenario can easily be practiced in the real world, but in the TEFL set-up it really is language learning in a vacuum There are some textbooks specifically designed for Japanese learners, but they tend to be more ‘teacher-friendly’ than ‘student-oriented’ as many Japanese never have the experiences/conversations envisaged simply because they generally don’t interact/behave in the manner so imaginatively outlined Try to get them to develop an English ‘persona’ to promote extroversion, or you may be surrounded largely by culturally impeded subdued personalities in your class Receptive skills are weak Often a recording is just not worthwhile given the time constraints and it is better to read dialogues aloud, at least until they are accustomed to your voice You might then like to introduce other speaking voices periodically, but don’t expect miracles overnight Set challenging tasks that appeal to their Japanese ‘Samurai spirit’ and use lots of educational fun learning games Use the grammar and vocabulary you know they already have, as few post classroom initiatives will be forthcoming unless homework is specifically assigned Get students to 1-2 minute presentations, initially with back-up notes allowed Teach the importance of appropriacy for different audiences – this is something they are accustomed to in their own language NEVER ASSUME UNDERSTOOD THEY HAVE Do ‘eliciting’ and ‘concept checking’ always, as you can always guarantee that someone has misunderstood, or is simply too reticent Sometimes it may seem like a Sisyphean task, but please persevere as teachers must never capitulate or become disillusioned in their roles as English Language “missionaries” working within or outside the educational system ESL Insider Secrets about Teaching Japanese Learners WHEN TEACHING ABROAD, KEEP IN MIND THAT YOUR STUDENTS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP IN A CULTURE DIFFERENT FROM YOUR OWN AND THUS YOU MAY NOTICE THAT STUDENTS RESPOND TO MATERIALS IN UNEXPECTED WAYS This is true for many people, cultures, and countries so keep a close eye on students, see how they react, and be willing to adjust your teaching styles to better suit their needs Here are some of the things you might notice if teaching in Japan HOW TO TEACH JAPANESE LEARNERS THE GOOD Japanese students are generally very well behaved If you are from a country such as America, the amount of discipline and self control displayed, even by middle school students, may come as a shock They are typically studious and hard working Students in Japan must test into their high school so if you teach at a high school, the type of school you are at will determine to some extent how your students behave For example, a very academic school which prepares students for college tends to place a lot of attention on test scores while a technical school could focus more on mechanical or electrical skills and finding jobs for students Obviously in the first school, English would have a higher priority than in the second and students would behave a little differently too but still, compared to students in many other countries, they are better behaved which makes managing your class much easier THE BAD Although Japanese students in that very academic school above might be quite driven individuals, their focus is often on grades and performing well so they can be reluctant to speak up or participate in activities or games that are not perceived as helping them prepare to exams Some students are just extremely shy to the point where teachers will not even require them to participate in activities Other students just take a while to adapt to having a new teacher and warm up to your methods Japanese learners also tend to rely on dictionaries, usually electronic dictionaries or translators on their cell phone Students in Japan will often simply use a translator rather than try to rephrase what they are attempting to say While Japanese students are very motivated to well in school, attending classes during the day and sometimes taking extra lessons at night can also lead to a lot of stress High school students especially are under a lot of pressure regardless of what type of school they attend As a foreigner you might disagree with this kind of system however the only thing you can really control is what is directly related to your class If you think students are too stressed out during exam time, you can play games during the class period and assign little to no homework but you still need to make progress on the course material and prepare them for the tests they will inevitably have to face Keeping these things in mind will help you tailor your classes to your students and understand where they are coming from better them a while to change their behavior and start speaking English in classes If students seem reluctant to speak aloud, start with choral repetition so that no one person is singled out This can get students accustomed to hearing themselves speak English and the extra pronunciation practice will build their confidence As you progress, you can include more and more individual speaking practice If you notice that students are using their dictionaries far too often, you can ask them to complete short, fast-paced synonym activities or to practice describing things This will give them the skills to express themselves in situations when a dictionary is not available and they may be surprised at how well they can without a reference Try not to add to their stress Obviously you will have to administer tests but by preparing them properly and having review lessons, you can thoroughly prepare your Japanese students to well and have the confidence they need to remain calm EVERY COUNTRY HAS ITS OWN UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS AND AS SUCH, LEARNERS WILL BE DIFFERENT TOO Learning to alter your approach to suit your audience is something that will ensure you excel as a teacher in any learning environment TIPS Know your students and how they will react to certain activities It could take a Japanese class a while to warm up to you so be willing to start off slowly If students are used to being lectured in their English classes, it will take 29 How to Teach the Verb “To Be” to Beginners THE VERB “TO BE” IS THE FIRST VERB STUDENTS LEARN IN THEIR ENGLISH STUDIES It is used extensively in the English language and will allow students to create simple sentences with the vocabulary they have learned to date HOW TO PROCEED WARM UP For this first lesson, it is best to focus on only the I, You, He/She/ It structures which you can build upon in later classes If students have not really done a lot of activities with the words he, she, and it, you may want to consider simply using names in the practice activities Once you have determined what you would like to cover in the first lesson, use the warm up activity to review the vocabulary students will need later on in the lesson A short simple drill activity would be ideal INTRODUCE VOCABULARY During the introduction section of your lesson, introduce any new vocabulary you plan to use in this lesson Some emotions and adjectives would be good because students will then be able to form complete meaningful sentences Introduce words such as happy and sad if students have not yet learned them Use flashcards to drill vocabulary and have students complete some simple worksheet activities for further practice INTRODUCE “TO BE” Show students how to make sentences such as “I am happy You are happy Jenny is happy.” Ensure that students understand how the subject and forms of the verb are paired You can practice this before introducing the full sentence structure you would like students to learn Call on students to make sentences choosing a subject, verb, and adjective from columns on the board Without introducing the 30 question form “Is she happy?” you can use such questions to test comprehension and students should understand what you are asking Have them answer by saying “Yes, she is happy.” so that they continue to practice saying the target structure PRACTICE SIMPLE You can use worksheets for practice Have students complete a fill in the blank exercise where they must choose am, is, or are to complete sentences to ensure that they understand which form of the verb agrees with certain subjects You can also have students match sentences with images or with translations for practice and to test comprehension As a class check the answers before continuing on PRACTICE COMPLEX Students can then complete an activity such as Battleship for further practice You can adapt this classic game for use in the classroom While it can be time consuming to explain, especially to beginners, your students will enjoy playing and it can be used to practice a wide variety of topics To play Battleship students should work in pairs using a worksheet For this class, the grids on the worksheet might have I, You, He, She, Jenny, Ms Smith in the first column and happy, fun, from Korea, sad, silly, from America in the first row Students then practice sentences such as “I am silly.” to try to locate and sink all of their opponents ships first There may not be enough time in the first lesson to begin this activity but devoting the second lesson entirely to Battleship would give your students lots of speaking practice For a third class, introduce the question that goes along with this target structure and have students play using the same worksheet but by mak- ing questions such as “Is Ms Smith from America?” The really great thing about this activity is that students essentially have to speak in order to play whereas with board games students may be tempted to simply roll the dice and move their pieces around the board without really practicing English REVIEW As a general review activity you can divide students into groups and play Hangman with sentences or words from their textbook It is perhaps not appropriate to play the original game in your classroom so you can just adapt it so that no one actually hangs One adaptation is to simply have a very large fish where when students guess incorrectly, a little fish gets closer and closer to being eaten This is not very accurate as you can either draw the game out or end it whenever you choose Another method of playing is to assign a point value to certain things For example, if a group guesses the letter a and there are three in the sentence, the group would get three points A correct guess of the entire sentence would be five points while there should be a penalty for guessing the entire phrase incorrectly but no penalty for guessing a letter that is not used You can alter the scoring anyway you would like to make it more appropriate for your class Once your students are quite confident with making the sentences practiced in this lesson, you should include the plural we, you, they as well AS THE FIRST VERB THEY STUDY, “TO BE” IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOUR STUDENTS AND IT IS ESSENTIAL TO GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE FORM OF THE VERB IS AFFECTED BY THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE What Adult Learners Want: Know Them To Teach Them Better ADULT LEARNERS CAN BE A PLEASURE TO TEACH BECAUSE THEY ARE USUALLY MORE SELF-MOTIVATED THAN OTHER ESL STUDENTS They often choose to study English to help them in their careers or with other personal goals such as obtaining student visas for English speaking countries These learners may be more eager than primary and secondary school students because they view English as a global language and are aware of what they can gain by improving their communication skills GET TO KNOW YOUR ADULT LEARNERS BETTER KNOW WHAT THEY WANT For adult students, you can often plan your lessons based on what your students’ goals are If students need to learn English for work, you can introduce business related vocabulary and talk about various work situations Related topics could include travel, numbers and currency, and casual conversation because these are relevant for business people who use English at work If students are studying English in order to obtain a particular visa, be aware of what test or tests they will be required to take or what skills they need to demonstrate This information can be found online and students may already know what their weaknesses are based on previous scores Advanced adult learners may simply want some regular speaking practice so that they can increase their fluency and range of vocabulary With beginners, the content of your classes will obviously be more similar to those for younger learners but you can still include specific material to better tailor lessons to fit your students’ needs The goals of your adult students will dramatically affect your curriculum KNOW HOW THEY BEHAVE Adult learners are often eager to improve their speaking skills Unlike with younger students, discipline is not a major concern Some learners may try to shift the course of lessons from the material you have prepared to free discussion This could happen when students are uninterested in the lesson material so develop creative lesson plans (that’s exactly what BusyTeacher.org is here for!) and talk with students at the beginning of the course about free discussion sessions Perhaps one class a week or the first ten minutes of class can be devoted to this Once this is established students may be more willing to focus on the lesson material during other periods KNOW WHAT TO FOCUS ON As with any other ESL course, the focus needs to be on communication While encouraging students to speak may be the most important part of classes with younger learners, adult learners are often really enthusiastic about speaking activities so developing their listening skills becomes more important Especially at the advanced level, students need to be able to introduce their opinions, give advice, and politely agree or disagree so that regular discussions flow smoothly and students not come across as being inconsiderate or rude in social situations This is very different from the basic question-and-answer structure that students start off learning as beginners and requires both good speaking skills and active listening skills please repeat the question?”too HELP THEM BUILD SELF CONFIDENCE Beginning adult learners may feel self conscious about their speaking abilities so it is important to build their self confidence through encouragement and by starting out with simple exercises They will be much less willing than children to sing silly songs or engage in certain activities so plan exercises that appeal to them A class full of adults may be reluctant to sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” but if you are working with beginning level adult students, you can find an alternative method of practicing the same material Singing songs and other activities may not seem like studying to your adult students so your approach to these classes will have to be different Create exercises that have a serious, rather than fun, approach based on topics that students are interested in: the content rather than the format of lessons will keep them engaged WITH ADULT LEARNERS YOU ARE ABLE TO ADDRESS A MUCH WIDER RANGE OF TOPICS BUT ULTIMATELY THE CONTENT OF YOUR COURSE WILL DEPEND A LOT ON WHY YOUR STUDENTS ARE STUDYING ENGLISH AND WHAT THEIR GOALS ARE WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT DISCIPLINE, YOU WILL HAVE MORE CLASS TIME TO DEVOTE TO IMPORTANT THINGS LIKE LEARNING ENGLISH Unlike when students read, listening and responding to people requires rapid comprehension of material after only one repetition It takes a lot of practice for students to this so be sure to teach them phrases such as “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.” or “Can you 31 Adult ESL Learners: Homework Assignments That Work Adult ESL learners may not have a lot of time outside of class to devote to their English studies but assigning homework once in a while can be beneficial Having students complete exercises at home allows them to maximize their speaking time during class periods Since adults are often very busy, it is important to assign homework only when you feel it is necessary Ask students to defend their choices For instance, give students a conversation in which two colleagues are discussing Employee C and end the material you give them for homework with one person complaining that Employee C did not deserve to get a promotion In the next class you can talk about the appropriateness of this conversation, what students think of the two characters, and what the other character should say next TRY THESE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT IDEAS Simple interview activities can be done with students of all ages For this activity, ask students to interview family members or friends This is especially good practice for using reported speech but can be used to talk about other topics too READING TEXTS AS HOMEWORK? WHY NOT? For discussion lessons, send students home with the reading assignment instead of setting aside time for them to read it silently in class You should introduce key vocabulary beforehand and give students some topics or questions to think about during their reading so that they will know what to focus on You can then some pronunciation practice and comprehension checks in the next lesson A discussion could also be based on the material students read This type of homework activity really makes the most of the time you have with students and gives them an opportunity to think about the material before having to discuss it USE THEIR IMAGINATION! This activity is especially good for students of Business English but could also be used in other lessons to focus on giving advice, voicing an opinion, or politely agreeing or disagreeing Give students a dialogue to read and ask them to think about the different characters These dialogues could be based on work, school, or personal interactions In the next class, discuss students’ opinions of the characters from the dialogue and give students some options for what the next part of the dialogue could be 32 ‘INTERVIEW YOUR GRANNY ABOUT ’ You can provide students with some basic questions to give their interview some structure and have them build on it using their own questions In the next lesson, students can report their findings and discuss the material with the rest of the class ROLE PLAYS FOR HOME WORK ARE FUN, TOO Adult learners are generally more reluctant than younger students to role plays but if you think your class would be willing to give it a try, sections of the activity can be assigned as homework Students will have to work together in class if you want them to develop their own scripts but they can practice and memorize their lines as homework Since students may not be able to meet one another outside of class, be sure to give students some time to practice together in their groups before the final presentation You must allow enough time for students to prepare for the role play so spread it out over several weeks Remember that you not have to make it the focus of all your lessons from the time it was introduced until its completion Introduce the activity in one lesson, check to see if students have any questions about it in each class period after that, give them time to practice, and finally have students present their role plays WORKSHEETS WORK WONDERS Some worksheets may also be appropriate for homework If there is an exam coming up, students may appreciate optional study material for further practice While crosswords are not a great use of class time for adult learners, providing students with an occasional crossword for homework may be fine They are enjoyable and not take long periods of undivided attention to complete - in fact, crosswords can be done gradually in free time such as during the commute to work They are good practice material because they focus on checking vocabulary comprehension or expanding vocabulary - both of which are very important to adults WHILE ADULT LEARNERS MAY HAVE LESS TIME THAN YOUNGER STUDENTS FOR HOMEWORK, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THEY DEVOTE TIME TO THEIR STUDIES IN ORDER TO MAKE PROGRESS Talk to students at the beginning of the course about what they expect in regards to homework and ensure that you always give students plenty of time to complete exercises Teaching Adult Learners: How To Handle Attendance Problems With adult learners, teachers face a unique set of challenges Unlike with younger students, discipline and motivation are generally not a problem For adult classes one of the major concerns is attendance Adults will often have a lot of commitments - family and work demand the majority of their time and English classes are not always a priority While you cannot demand that all your students attend class all the time, there are some things you can to help maintain the flow of the course ADULT LEARNERS: ATTENDANCE DO’S AND DONT’S DO: BE PUNCTUAL Once you have met several times, you will have some idea of who might miss classes more often than others Regardless of the size of your class, it is important to start on time so that other students not feel like they are wasting their time By starting on time you will also show latecomers that the class does not revolve around them Make it clear that latecomers will have to catch up by looking at another student’s notes or the notes on the board This way you will not need to repeat your first couple minutes of class whenever another students walks in DON’T: GRADES Adult learners are less interested in their grade thus making participation a large percent of it will not encourage students to attend For younger students grades are important because they affect things such as college applications and job opportunities but giving an adult student a low grade will not affect much besides his confidence and willingness to participate in activities In adult classes, you not have to give overall grades if you would rather not It is important to give students constructive feedback and corrections but providing a letter grade is almost meaningless DO: BE SYMPATHETIC Understand that students have lives outside of class and that certain things are definitely more important than learning English There are probably times in the past where you have had to skip class because of work, an illness, or a family emergency so it is only fair to be considerate when students say they will not be able to make it to class Some things such as business trips will not even be in their control so you cannot blame them for absences related to certain activities or events DON’T: LECTURE Telling students over and over again the importance of attending class is also not going to make a huge difference in attendance Obviously students know they should attend lessons but repeatedly telling them that is unlikely to improve the situation and will only waste even more class time Often this type of lecturing will feel more like punishment to the students who attend regularly and arrive on time than to those people who come late or miss lessons DO: HELP You should help students catch up after missing a class so that you will not have to review all the material you covered in the previous lesson You can create study material by organizing notes for each lesson Try not to spend too much time on this Fleshing out your lesson plan should be sufficient Email this to students who not attend class to help them understand the material they missed You can also encourage students to buddy up so that if one of them misses class, the other can share his or her notes DON’T: GET FRUSTRATED devote extra attention to the learners who attend If you are frustrated during lessons, it will have a negative impact on your students because you are not performing your best and it could affect their moods too DO: ADVISE Perhaps the class is too easy or hard for students missing class so they are uninterested in the material you are discussing The class could also just meet at a particularly inconvenient time If a student misses class regularly, you might want to suggest he switch to another class or consider one-on-one lessons You can explain that missing class means that he is not getting the full benefit of taking the course and will not improve as rapidly Luckily if you are teaching one-on-one classes, attendance will not affect other students so while it can still be frustrating for you, you can simply save the material you prepared for another lesson Adult learners can be a pleasure to work with but one of the downsides you are likely to face is having students repeatedly miss class due to conflicts with other commitments If this happens in your adult classes, continue to teach lessons as planned and your best to help students catch up when necessary WHILE ATTENDANCE ISSUES CAN BE FRUSTRATING, THERE ARE DEFINITELY WAYS YOU CAN DEAL WITH THEM SO THAT EVERYONE CAN STILL GET THE MOST OUT OF THE COURSE Do you have any other advice on handling the attendance problem? We’d love to hear from you – please share your ‘recipes’ with us! It can be extremely frustrating when students skip class week after week The best thing you can is stay positive about the situation and 33 Teaching Kids English: 10 Things to Consider Teaching children can be immensely rewarding, anyone who has taught children can tell you that But it’s not fun and games all the time, and sometimes it’s just not that easy English teachers who wish to teach children must be aware of the challenges and difficulties they may encounter, and prepare accordingly help them learn effectively is to cater to their learning styles or multiples intelligences, namely Visual – Spatial, Logical – Mathematical, Bodily – Kinesthetic, Musical – Rhythmic, Intra-Personal, Inter-Personal, Naturalist, and Spiritual How can we accomplish this? • For musical – rhythmic intelligence learners, teach an ESL element with a song, like Rock Around the Clock for telling time • For bodily – kinesthetic intelligence learners, teach body parts with a game of Simon Says, or sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, ARE YOU REALLY UP FOR IT? If you want to teach kids English because you think it’s easy, then this is not the job for you Teaching children demands a great deal of creativity and energy Kids will always keep you on your toes! They will amaze you and surprise you, but don’t think that just because you’ll be teaching colors and animals, it’ll be a breeze You’ll most likely feel exhausted after every class, but oh, so happy! A LITTLE PREPARATION GOES A LONG WAY Never make the mistake of showing up for class with little or no ideas, and thinking that you’ll figure it out as you go along Preparation is essential, mostly because you’ll need to gather lots of teaching materials Seasoned teachers may be able to improvise an entire lesson with only a whiteboard and some markers, but why risk having a class that turns out to be a hellish nightmare? You can plan an entire week of lessons or a full month, but make sure you have a lesson plan for every class TRY TO CATER TO MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Young ESL students have strengths and weaknesses and the best way to take advantage of their strengths and 34 ESL classes may include singing, dancing, and jumping, as well as writing, reading, or listening The best ESL lessons combine the right mix of teaching strategies You may begin class with a short song, then move on to a reading exercise Let’s see some examples: HERE ARE THE TOP 10 THINGS TO CONSIDER IF YOU’RE SERIOUS ABOUT TEACHING KIDS ENGLISH: MIX IT UP and Toes • For visual – spatial intelligence learners, use maps, charts, and all types of visual aids Teach them the different types of stores and locations they may find around town with a big map-like board game, and have them “visit” the different locations by throwing the dice Here are some ways to this: • Once they’ve been sitting and focused on a task for a while, get them out of their seats for a more active game They should never remain seated for the duration of the class, unless they’re teens Use realia, or real life objects in class No matter how colorful or big, students sometimes get tired of learning everything through flashcards BE PREPARED TO DEAL WITH PARENTS Unlike teaching adult students, when you teach the little ones you have to interact with their parents as well These must be informed about: • Your goals, i.e., what you hope to accomplish throughout the year • The children’s learning goals, i.e., the syllabus for the school year • Their children’s progress, i.e., if they have achieved their learning goals satisfactorily DON’T LET THEM GET BORED If children are bored they won’t pay attention, and they won’t learn You don’t have to clown around all the time, either: they’re in class to learn, not to be entertained by you Your job is to make learning engaging and fun • The best rule of thumb is to switch between quiet, independent tasks to those that require action and movement It is also recommended to encourage parents’ active participation in their children’s English learning Even if they don’t speak English themselves, they should be encouraged to ask the kids what they’ve learned, share songs, etc GATHER AN ARSENAL OF MATERIALS When you teach children English it is essential to have a box of materials that can be adaptable to any game or activity Must-have items are: • a pair of dice • flashcards • blank bingo sheets (that can be filled in by students with either words or pictures) • small toys – balls in several sizes, toy vehicles, animals, etc • bean bags • puppets REMEMBER IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE GAMES Each game or activity you propose should target a specific learning goal or ESL element It’s not about coming to class to play ESL games are highly effective teaching strategies as long as you know how to fully utilize their potential TEACH IN CONTEXT Lessons should be planned in accordance with learning goals And vocabulary, grammar, and language should be taught in context For example, when teaching children foods in English, it should be within a meal context like breakfast, lunch or dinner, and should never be a list of items they must study or memorize 10 KEEP THEM MOTIVATED As kids get older and reach their preteen years, some ESL games and activities may not interest them as much as they did in the past Find out what does interest them What kind of music they like? What they enj oy reading? What sports they play? Which sports stars they admire? Writing interview questions for their favorite NBA player will be a lot more interesting than just a list of questions in simple present THE MOMENTS SHARED WITH YOUR YOUNG LEARNERS WILL FAR OUTWEIGH ANY OF THE DIFFICULTIES OR DISADVANTAGES COMMONLY ASSOCIATED TO TEACHING CHILDREN JUST MAKE SURE THAT LEARNING ENGLISH IS NOT A CHORE FOR THEM, BUT RATHER A POSITIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE, ONE THAT THEY WILL REMEMBER FOR YEARS TO COME MAKE SURE THEY HAVE FUN LEARNING, AND YOU’LL HAVE FUN TEACHING THEM TOO! 35 How to Teach Preschoolers: Preschool Games and Activities IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO TEACH A SECOND LANGUAGE TO CHILDREN STILL TRYING TO GRASP THEIR OWN AND WHO CANNOT YET READ songs and gestures You can have songs for each part of the day to help them learn and remember certain vocabulary for instance, a morning song might include getting up, brushing teeth, and eating breakfast It can also be really enjoyable because these students have the flexibility to learn languages more quickly and are usually very enthusiastic You can also use songs in your lessons for speaking practice since it is less intimidating to sing-a-long with the class than to speak individually HOW TO TEACH PRESCHOOLERS You should create gestures for different words because this will make it easier for students to remember new vocabulary Choose gestures that you are comfortable with and that are simple enough for you to repeatedly throughout the course appropriate for your students at this level If students have heard the story more than once, you can ask them to tell you the story based on the illustrations Students often enjoy this type of activity in their native language so you may as well include it in your lessons Teaching preschoolers requires a high energy level and you may feel silly at first but these students can be a real pleasure to work with and they will certainly appreciate your efforts Start with the most basic story you can find to see if your class enjoys having story time Preschool is so much fun ACTIVITIES Keep everything as simple and short as possible These students not have long attention spans and are easily distracted so you should try to be the most interesting thing in the room at all times Students may also have a hard time sitting still during class so plan activities that let them move around Simon Says is excellent for preschoolers You can also have them make groups with the same number of people as the number you say aloud so if you say “Four” students have to make groups of four This is another very fun, fast moving, and active game With decks of vocabulary cards that have pictures instead of words, students can play simple games in small groups A very basic game is to spread the cards face up and the first student to slap the correct card when you call out a word gets to keep it, the student with the most cards at the end of the game wins WORKSHEETS Worksheets for this age group are less common Unlike worksheets used for older students, preschool worksheets not need to have any words on them In most cases worksheets for this age level should not have words on them at all however it will depend on your school Either way, you can still use worksheets to practice material and test comprehension, for example, you can ask students to draw a picture while you tell a story The story would have to be very short and simple but if you tell a story about a tree and a student draws a house then it might be time to get those flashcards out again You can also conduct some team based activities such as Chinese Whispers, which encourages students to be quiet and patient You can also use coloring pages and matching activities where you ask students to match the pictures of two words you say aloud This also serves as a simple comprehension test 36 SONGS/GESTURES Students at this age well with STORIES While your students will not be reading much in your class, they may enjoy hearing some stories especially if the lesson is during a quieter part of their day The best stories for this age group, regardless of the activity you have in mind, are repetitive This ensures that students catch the main points Stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish might be OVERALL WHAT YOU TEACH AT THE PRESCHOOL LEVEL WILL BE QUITE LIMITED You can usually cover topics such as body parts, colors, numbers, weather, emotions, appearance, and routines You will have to introduce new vocabulary slowly and lots of practice activities each day Every lesson should be focused on speaking, listening, and having fun Kids and Money: How to Teach Money Skills HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU LEARNED TO DEAL WITH MONEY? Depending on the age of your students, they may or may not have learned how to this in their own language and with their own currency so it is important when talking about money in English classes not to focus on math Luckily money is an easy prop to make and is involved in lots of real life situations so talking about money is an excellent chance to a role play activity HOW TO TEACH MONEY SKILLS WARM UP As if numbers were not hard enough, talking about money just complicates things Use the warm up to practice numbers by playing Bingo or another number game Then you can generate interest in the topic by asking how much things cost Having props on the desk that you know the cost of and students should know the cost of will have them intrigued from the moment they walk through the door Waiting to talk about the items on the desk until after the warm up will engage them further INTRODUCE Now that you have already introduced the question “How much does this cost?” or “How much is this?” you can model the response when students tell you their answers If a student says “500 yen!” you can say “It costs 500 yen Very good!” or, to elicit another response, “It costs 500 yen! Really?” Use whatever the local currency is in these lessons For advanced or business students, it is important to learn about different currencies but for primary school students, dealing with just one is sufficient Certain currencies will be more challenging to teach because for instance with $1.25 you could teach students to say “one dol- lar and twenty-five cents” or “a dollar twenty-five.” Be sure to settle on one structure to use so that your students will not be confused AMOUNTS Ask students to think of items that cost certain amounts of money for example $1.50, $5, $10, $20.75, $50 and $100 The cent amount is obviously not that important but it gives students more practice saying these amounts correctly You can list the items in columns on the board for students to use later on in class This is usually very interesting because young students sometimes have a very odd perception of cost and their suggestions may be totally off PRACTICE Have students write down an item and its cost It can be any item and any cost they choose Once everyone has written something down, have students walk around the class asking “How much does it cost?” and writing the answers down on a worksheet Students should respond like this “The *insert item name* costs *insert cost.*” based on what they initially wrote on their worksheets Students should get ten answers and ten signatures to complete the activity PRODUCTION Now you can introduce a model dialogue or a role play activity Students already have lots of practice asking and answering the target structure so expand this to include more phrases and create something similar to a real life conversation nario to build their role play around Each student should have a minimum of two or three lines As a class you can come up with some extra phases before handing out the scenarios This way, students have material on the board to draw from when creating their dialogues Perhaps this first class period can be for writing and practice You can encourage students to bring in props for the presentation lesson It is up to you whether or not students have to memorize their lines If not, you could provide props and students could complete the whole activity in one class period REVIEW If you are teaching in another country, conclude the section on money by showing students the currency from your country You can compare the appearance of your currency with the currency students are most familiar with Students usually find this type of activity quite interesting MONEY CAN BE A CONFUSING TOPIC FOR STUDENTS A common error is saying “dollar” for instance, at the wrong point in the sentence and dealing with cents or large numbers can also be frustrating After some practice, your students will get the hang of it For a short activity simply write the model dialogue on the board with some blanks where students can fill in an item and cost using the lists you made on the board For a longer activity have students work in groups of 3-4 You can give each group a different location or sce- 37 Stickers for the Little Ones: Motivation Booster or Evil? not get as many stickers - they may in fact get none If the teacher wishes to reward a student with one to provide some encouragement, the others may question the decision or even say it’s undeserved So, you’re leaving the field wide open for disappointment, resentment, mistrust and a host of other negative feelings Nothing makes a child prouder than showing off a newly acquired sticker It gives them a sense of pride and accomplishment It’s proof and evidence of a job well done Children connect to real objects more than abstracts, and reward stickers are the one tangible item they need to feel encouraged to keep working in class Words like, “Good job!” are simply not enough if they don’t come with the visible “seal of approval” It’s good to teach children about things like responsibility and the importance of learning, but it just doesn’t sink in if they don’t have something tangible to hold on to Still, the use of reward stickers in the ESL classroom should not be taken lightly Teachers must be aware of the fact that a highly visible sticker chart will be very well received by some students, but not all of the children will be happy with the arrangement PROS AND CONS OF SCHOOL STICKERS: PROS: • • • • Of all of the things you may use to reward your students for their efforts, school stickers are the least questioned by parents Unlike candy or small toys, stickers are the most harmless - all other “gifts” may be construed as a form of bribery Teacher stickers (those that are designed for school use) are much more affordable, in fact, as they can easily be bought in bulk You can even find printable stickers online and print them on some full size label paper They are highly effective in classroom management, whether you wish to deal with behavior problems, or simply get a little more cooperation from your young students It gives children something to look forward to, it gives them an achievable goal (young children simply not relate to learning goals) CONS: • 38 Students who don’t as well will • Students who typically well in class will move jump through hoops to get more stickers, and the more they get the more they want This sometimes makes it difficult for teachers to encourage shy students PUBLIC REWARD VS PRIVATE REWARD: The reward chart hanging on the wall will show exactly how many stars each student has, and is visible to all students, which encourages healthy competition After all, we live in a highly competitive world, right? However, there are times when the reward chart makes students feel less than good about themselves, particularly those who have very few stickers in comparison to others who have many Privately rewarded stickers will still boost their confidence and motivate them to keep working Moreover, a teacher may choose to reward a shy student with a sticker, and if this is done privately, there is a little more leeway Here are some great ways to reward children with kids stickers: C LASSIC STAR CHART Make a chart with the children’s names listed on the left side Give each a star sticker for good behavior, completing a task first, picking up the most toys, etc You can reward countless types of behavior, but if you use this type of public reward make sure you reward different types of things, not only class performance For example, a child who seems to have a hard time learning won’t get any stars for winning games, but he or she may get plenty for helping you tidy up Give them a prize from a grab bag after they collect 10 stars They will certainly work hard to earn that prize! S TICKER ALBUMS Give each student a sticker album they will keep for the duration of the course You can make them yourself, and they can be as simple or as elaborate as you wish As you reward each child with a sticker, they stick it in their albums, and for every they collect, they get a special, larger one or a “limited edition” sticker The best thing about this reward system is that the kids get to keep their albums, plus it’s a lot more private than the wall chart in plain sight S TICKER EXCHANGE C USTOM STICKERS This can work with either the public wall chart or private sticker album Have a number of prizes of varying value on display somewhere in the classroom The system works like this: once a child has collected a certain number of stickers, say 5, he or she has the opportunity to trade them in for a prize of lower value, say a candy bar Or they may choose to wait till get collect some more for a bigger, more expensive prize, say 20 stickers for a book The teacher circles or checks the stickers they have traded in: there’s no need to actually remove them from the chart or album This is a great way to teach children to save, plus a thing or two about patience and planning For more targeted rewards use stickers that have been designed with specific messages, like stickers for playground behavior, collaboration, spelling, etc This way, you have the chance to reward students for particular skills or behaviors, and they’ll have more chances to earn stickers THE REAL KEY TO EFFECTIVELY MOTIVATING YOUNG LEARNERS THROUGH REWARD STICKERS IS FINDING WAYS TO MOTIVATE THEM ALL, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE DIFFICULTIES LEARNING ENGLISH In these cases, you may choose to reward them for the best drawing or the neatest handwriting But remember that all students deserve praise for one thing or another If you keep this one thing in mind, all of your young learners will receive the boost of confidence they need Fabulous Ways to Use Total Physical Response in the ESL Classroom Total Physical Response (TPR) is a method that was developed by James Asher in the late 1960s, with the goal of helping students acquire a second language The main assumption is that a second language can be learned in the same way as the first – through the same natural processes So, TPR tries to mimic these processes by requiring students to respond to commands, which in turn require physical movements Naturally, this method was embraced by ESL teachers back then, but it is still quite popular today, particularly when teaching children or beginners The advantages: ESL activities with TPR are tremendous fun for students, even for grown ups once they become less self-conscious But it is precisely because children are less self-conscious about moving their bodies around the classroom, that these activities are excellent ways to get young learners up and about Although they require more out of teachers, physically-speaking, they require less preparation Finally, activities with TPR are great for kinesthetic learners who need more action or hands on activities But does it work? Can we really maximize student learning through TPR? Try some of these TPR activities and see for yourself! “streets” Students take turns giving each other directions to and from locations in their neighborhood Another classic game, this one is best suited to action verbs and sports For example, to teach sports you must first introduce each with flashcards, act out each of the sports yourself, and have students say each out loud with you Then you divide the class into two teams Each student must take a flashcard, picture or card with a sport written on it, and pantomime the movements involved in playing the sport so that his or her teammates can guess what it is Encourage them to be silly or exaggerate if they have to Teammates have to answer in complete sentences: you are playing bas- ketball SONGS Young ESL learners love to sing songs, but if you add movement or miming, they’ll enjoy them so much more It is, in fact, difficult for most children to sing songs while sitting absolutely still Singing and moving comes naturally to them So, why not take advantage of this and incorporate lots of songs with movement? Here are some great songs you can use or adapt to suit your needs: • SIMON SAYS (WITH A SPIN!) Clearly, it’s a classic among TPR activities, one that is more commonly used to teach the parts of the body But why not go beyond the simple, “Simon says touch your nose” and try more complex commands? Say you are teaching your students how to give directions Clear up a space in the classroom, one your students can easily maneuver around Your commands could be directions: “Simon says turn right, Simon says go straight ahead.” Create a mini neighborhood! Place a flashcard or picture on each of your students’ desks: a bank, a pharmacy, a shopping center, etc Arrange the desks so they create CHARADES Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush – Use the original song and have your students mime the washing of clothes, ironing, etc., or replace these actions with personal hygiene (brush our teeth, wash our hands, comb our hair, etc.) • Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – A classic song used to teach kids the parts of the body • Wheels on the Bus – The wheels on the bus go round and round and so should your students - go round the classroom! Have them line up and go around the classroom in a single or double file, or arrange their seats so that they resemble a bus plenty for you to choose from A STROLL AROUND THE CLASSROOM This activity is great for kids and adult students You’ll need several objects or props/realia - as many as you’d like to use First, you pantomime a series of actions while you say the phrases Then you say the phrases and ask a student to pantomime the actions You can try this with several students and use different objects Finally, they should it on their own and walk around the classroom interacting with objects Try something like this: You open your bag You look inside You take out a pencil case You open it You close it You put it in the bag You look at your book You open it You close it You touch your ear You find your pencil! MIME ROLE PLAYS These are also a lot of fun for adult students! Give each student a role to act out but tell one of them that they’ve lost their voice Tell this student what situation he or she has to act out, but don’t tell the other student what it is For example: Student A – You need to find a pharmacy and you ask someone for directions You have lost your voice, and you can’t say a word Student B – You will be stopped in the street by someone who needs directions, but this person can’t speak, so you must interpret their gestures to find out where they need to go SO, GET YOUR STUDENTS OUT OF THEIR SEATS AND GET MOVING! THEY’LL ENJOY THE CHANGE OF PACE, BUT ABOVE ALL, THEY WILL LEARN PLENTY And these are but a few ESL Kids has 39 English for Children Under 5: Fallow Land or Fertile (Kinder)garden? Although tremendously rewarding, teaching English to children ages to can be a daunting task These little learners are full of energy and enthusiasm, which you may put to good use, but to keep them interested and motivated, classes have to be fun You must also keep in mind that there are language learning goals that need to be met – after all, they’re not enrolled in classes to merely have fun They need to start learning English As an ESL teacher you need to understand that children at this stage essentially: It is obvious that since children at this stage can’t read or write, most of the English language learning will have to be imparted through sensorimotor activities, games, stories, and videos just to name a few Children under also have a very short attention span, which means you may have to switch activities every minutes or so So, in the ESL classroom for very young learners, you should keep in mind the following essentials: • • Present an egocentric intuitive intelligence– it’s hard for them to see the viewpoint of others - and there is no logical thought • Are capable of symbolic thought, which means they can mentally represent the world around them through words, images, and symbols, i.e., “cat” can be any cat and not just theirs • Attribute life and thinking to inanimate objects, i.e., clouds cry because they are sad • Are able to classify objects, i.e., all the blue blocks, all the animals, all of the large toys vs the small ones, etc • Cannot grasp abstract concepts, but only concrete objects or physical situations • Are able to engage in make believe • Have memory skills • Use imagination • Are able to understand the difference between past and future, although they can’t grasp the concept of time expressed in days, weeks, months, years The biggest development for children at this stage is language, accompanied by a great deal of sensorimotor activity 40 fective, but especially if they are accompanied by movement Songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, or “This Is the Way We ” accompanied by actions are great ways to teach vocabulary or verbs So, what does all of this mean to you as an ESL teacher? • • • • • You need to have tons of toys and realia to use in games and activities This includes, cars, planes and all types of transport, animals, tea sets and cooking utensils, plastic fruits and vegetables, as well as flashcards of varying sizes Repetition is key Greet them every day with the same song, or greeting till they naturally say it back It doesn’t matter if you spend an entire class hour only asking questions with “Do you like ?”, as long as they spontaneously answer, “Yes, I do”, or “No, I don’t” It will get VERY physical You’ll need to jump, hop, move your arms, and clap your hands, which means you’ll end up exhausted, but oh, so exhilarated Make sure videos are short Remember they have short attention spans Make the viewing short, but to the point, making it thus more effective Ask them to count how many birds, children, or fruits they see in the video Ask them to raise their hands as soon as they see a zebra, lion or any other animal Act out role plays with puppets Children enjoy them, and it’s a very effective way to teach ways to answer a question or replies to greetings Music and singing are highly ef- • Keep it fast paced and engaging Switch from one activity to another and use fillers if needed • Arts and crafts and mini-projects are wonderful ways to teach vocabulary, seasonal activities and holidays • Don’t worry about what they can’t (read or write) Focus on what they CAN DO and make use of their abilities Most children under can count to ten, so board games with dice are great for the ESL classroom KEEP IN MIND THAT CHILDREN AT THIS STAGE UNDERSTAND MORE THAN THEY ARE ABLE TO PRODUCE VERBALLY They may not say a whole lot in English, particularly 3-year olds, but that doesn’t mean they are not learning Their flexible little brains are taking it all in, and soon enough they’ll be spouting off some greetings and short answers right back at you Above all, give them a chance to be fully immersed in the English language Speak to them in English all the time, and illustrate what you wish them to if they don’t understand THOSE OF US WHO HAVE TAUGHT LITTLE ONES WILL READILY ATTEST TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE BLESSED WITH A UNIQUE ABILITY TO ACCEPT THE NEW LANGUAGE WITH NOTHING BUT NATURAL CURIOSITY AND OPENNESS If they watch a video in English or listen to a song, they won’t very likely demand a translation, unlike their adult counterparts Which makes them more often than not an absolute pleasure to teach Do you have any experience teaching English to this particular age group? Please share with us! ... a record of it Classroom Management Strategies Top Teachers Use Implementing proper classroom management techniques is important A TEACHER WHO KNOWS HOW TO CONTROL HIS OR HER CLASSROOM WILL HAVE... groups TIP: We already have a section Classroom Management and Discipline’ with nice activities to help you with your classroom management: praising cards, classroom labels, certificates and awards,... to http:// busyteacher.org/teaching_ideas_ and_techniques /classroom_ management_ and_discipline-worksheets/ for details And what classroom management tips you know and use? We will be happy to hear