See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!
I took my TEFL course in Dublin 3 years ago. The girl that gave the course (I believe her name was Michelle) was absolutely brilliant. I just kept on remembering everything she said to us and my confidence grew and grew. I came back to Holland and began making preparations to begin my English teaching. I advertised in the local papers and began with a course for 6 people for 10 weeks. I was so nervous the first week, but the most important part of this was I was very well prepared. I did what Michelle said and I had plenty of back up material to get me through it. My course was for 1 and a half hours. My confidence grew and grew and every time I went to Ireland I bought new materials and books to teach with.
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Ralph Francis from the USA
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1.1
DID YOU KNOW?
l Computers can help students practise all four skills, including speaking l There is a lot of free material on the internet, for teachers and students
First Thoughts
What’s your opinion – why would computers be useful for you and your students?
Circle the answers with which you agree.
FUN INTERACTIVE AUTONOMOUS
FREE LISTENING RANGE
PAIRWORK VISUAL AUTHENTIC
Section 5: Resour ces
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2.1
We Suggest:
l Computers have revolutionised language learning.
l Students can work at their own pace on what they need to practise – which is truly student-
centred.
l Visuals and sound bring learning to life. The new exciting developments are voice recognition
(so students can practise speaking on their own) and virtual reality (so students can practise speaking and listening in simulated real-life environments).
l Presenting old written materials as PDF’s on screen does not work well – presenting written
books on screen does not give it an edge or advantage at all.
l Despite the potential uses of technology, students still want human interaction. Think of using
computers as just one part of a language course. Many larger schools have computer labs you can book for classes.
Google ‘Free Online ESL’ and ‘Computer Assisted Language Learning’.
What’s the difference in focus?
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The Facts
There is an enormous amount of material online that includes:
l Resources for you as a teacher (in particular ideas for activities, lesson plans and worksheets) l Programmes that students can do in and out of class – called CALL (Computer Assisted
Language Learning)
What are the risks of using TEFL materials you find online?
Make some notes below: Mistakes in materials
Like any unapproved and unedited material on the web, you can’t be sure of quality and accuracy. Aim to use moderated lists like the ones we recommend below or ask other teachers for sites they
Section 5: Resour ces
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Follow some of the CALL links you found earlier.
Are many available for free?
__________________________________________________________________________ Do you think students like CALL? Why?
__________________________________________________________________________ Could students use social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace, to develop their English? __________________________________________________________________________ What other websites could you use in class?
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We Suggest:
l There are many online CALL activities for free. However, the better ones are by subscription
or sold as CDs.
l Students like interactive programs – but not if it’s just a time filler and an excuse for the
teacher not to teach. You need to use your teaching skills to run CALL – e.g. plan what you want students to achieve, prepare students with vocabulary for an activity, get them to work on one computer as a pair so they need to interact verbally. You can also recommend CALL programs for students to do outside class.
l Any form of interaction is useful.
l Use any websites that are in English and engage students appropriately. They don’t have to be
designed for language learning. If the topic in the course book is food, get students to browse recipe websites.
Reflection & Action
Use some of the links below and look at some:
l Printable materials for teaching l Online activities for students
Make some notes below:
Website Name of Activity Engaging? Doable? Accurate?
2.2
Section 5:
Resour
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E
SUMMARY
l There are both very exciting and very dull computer-based learning exercises
l Computers are a useful part of a language course, but students still need human interaction
as well
l Be adventurous. Get students to work in pairs and groups using computers
KEY RESOURCES
Free worksheets
http://www.esl-galaxy.com/
ESL Café idea cookbook
http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/
About.com lesson plans
http://esl.about.com/od/englishlessonplans/English_Lesson_Plans_for_ESL_EFL_Classes.htm
One Stop English lesson plans and activities:
http://www.onestopenglish.com/
Reflections on online resources:
http://www.tefllogue.com/in-the-classroom/online-efl-resources.html
CALL links:
http://iteslj.org/links/TESL/CALL/ http://www.edvista.com/claire/call.html
Recommended books with ideas:
Bringing technology into the classroom
http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/isbn/0-19-442594-0?cc=gb 700 classroom activities (many incorporate using the internet)
http://www.macmillanenglish.com/Course.aspx?id=28618&producttypeid=28254
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See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!
This is the best website for quick, printable conversation cards for speaking activities! http://esldiscussions.com/
* There are currently 650 discussion topics to choose from. * Use for ESL lessons, speaking practice, debate clubs, lesson add-ons, and more. * Students can form discussion groups for independent speaking practice. * The speaking activities are on everyday themes, controversial issues and just plain funny. * Each conversation lesson has ready-to-print Word and PDF downloads. * There are also Grammar discussions and Idiom discussions. The grammar involved varies, but the questions can be adapted to suit each level!
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Section 5: Resour ces
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3Teaching With
No Resources
See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!
I spent four weeks teaching English in a small primary school in Santiniketan, West Bengal. The children were delightful; they came from low-income families and had very few material things but nonetheless seemed very happy. The school was poorly resourced and it was a real eye opener for me as I’m a primary teacher in the UK and used to working in a classroom with a laptop and an interactive whiteboard! We spent a lot of time on craft activities, playing games, singing and role playing in order to improve their spoken English skills
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Jean Marshall from the UK
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DID YOU KNOW?
l Many schools around the world have few, if any, resources l Less material in class can be a blessing
First Thoughts
Can you imagine being asked to take a class with no preparation and no materials? How would you feel? What would you do?
Make some notes.
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Section 5:
Resour
ces
The Facts
Where?
Many schools in the developing world are under-resourced – for example, some schools don’t even have paper or a blackboard, let alone a photocopier. So it is essential you are prepared and confident to deal with that scenario.
Do you agree with the below statements?
We Suggest:
l We can sometimes overwhelm students with handouts. It can seem chaotic. The focus can
become ‘getting through the material’, rather than listening to and responding to the students.
l In Part 1, we saw that there are books containing ideas for teaching. A lot of these activities
don’t need photocopying or special materials.
l Teachers are kind-hearted and will, for example, photocopy an empty grid, which students will
use to conduct a class survey. Why not just draw the grid on the whiteboard and get students to copy it into their book?
Which of the following would be effective activities if you wanted or needed to avoid using materials?
l Talk to the class for an hour
l Write questions on the whiteboard for students to discuss in groups l Play hangman with the class
l Get students to write down one thing they like and one thing they don’t like, so they can then
find fellow-students with the same feelings
l Ask students in turn to say what they did yesterday
l Write three numbers on the board and ask the class to guess why the numbers are important l Divide the class into pairs and ask each pair to write the first part of a story that the other
2.3
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As a rule, the more material you can give students, the better.
The best speaking activities need photocopied handouts.
For any teaching situation, even a well-equipped school, knowing how to teach with no resources can be a plus.
Rather than photocopying everything, get students to copy from the board.
Section 5: Resour ces E
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3.1
We Suggest:
l One person talking for a whole hour of a lesson is not an effective way to maximise student
practise.
l Expand your range of interactive activities. Don’t fall back on the same lame handful each time
(like hangman and bingo).
l Explore resource books containing ideas for teachers. We’ve listed some links below, including
a review of the very aptly named Lessons from Nothing.
Reflection & Action
Explore some of the publications in the links below.
Try some of the activities out with your friends. They’re often just as engaging for native speakers as for learners.
SUMMARY
l There are great books containing ideas for teaching without resources l Limit the amount of material you hand out – exploit materials and texts fully
KEY RESOURCES
General links, regularly updated:
http://iteslj.org/links/
Cambridge University Press ideas for teaching:
http://www.cambridge.org/elt/catalogue/catalogue.asp?cid=15
Oxford University Press ideas for teaching:
http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/teachersites/rbt/?cc=gb
Review of Lessons from Nothing:
http://www.developingteachers.com/books/review_lfn.htm
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See what TEFL-Travellers have to say!
I was very much in at the deep end when I started in Brazil. Although there had been a teacher there previously there had been a gap of 5 months. I was well prepared, and had to design a course from scratch for 3 levels of students. I had to plan my own lessons from a selection of old books, which then had to be photocopied. There were no overheads, only chalk and myself. The main things I learned were to laugh at myself and to have fun teaching the students. I was prepared, especially to use mime initially.
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Nicola Simpson from the UK
Section 6:
Instant
TEFL
Introduction
Making A Contribution Reflect on the responsibilities you’ll have as a teacher and the cultural differences to be aware of. What Students Want
Understand what your students want from you as a teacher and learn how to effectively deliver it. Getting Students Talking Learn practical approaches for getting your students talking. Being An Effective Teacher Check out some simple ideas for bringing your class to life and communicating with your students.
Section 6
Instant TEFL1
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Section 6: Instant TEFL