Friday, February 6, 2009

Seeking ESL teachers support group

I wanna take this chance to broaden my social network specifically an ESL support group.For when you want to share something, no one listens and more often than not you run out of ideas and before you realize it ..it's 5 mins before your dreaded class! So everyone's invited to join! ESL teaching ideas, games and activities and even ESL school facts are welcome to be shared.
Let me start with some tips for those who are new to ESL teaching , I got these from www.proteacher.com
1. Start a support group, which I'm doing now.We may not be able to meet personally for coffee or lunch but we could still share ideas.
2.Get a pile of catalogs Finding just the right ESL materials for your students can sometimes be a challenge! (and let me stress it's hard to do that in if you're teaching in China.
3.Get a business card Why is it that so few teachers have business cards? Give yourself a self-esteem boost and order some.
4. Enroll in a foreign language class Put yourself in the position of a student and learn what it feels like to struggle with a new language. This experience will improve your teaching in both large and small ways.
5.Keep a private teaching journal This might sound like extra work, but if you keep a record of what works with your students and what doesn't, you'll find it invaluable in future years when looking for ideas.(This exercise will help you prepare for the next day's lesson at the same time, by reflecting on what has happened so far.)
6.Always have a lesson plan There is nothing worse than being unprepared.
7.Always have a backup plan You never know what's going to go wrong and when, especially in adult programs! Always have a spare exercise or language game up your sleeve.
8.Reduce teacher talk Pay attention to the percentage of class time devoted to your speech. Only at the very lowest language levels should you be talking more than your students.
9.Have students write you a letter To find out if students are learning, not getting lost and whether they understand what is going on, institute a regular feedback writing, suggests Susan Simon. Ask the students to write you a letter about what they've learned, what they are confused about, and what they still want to know. Students love getting a personal response, and it is well worth the time.
10.Use "right brain" activities, too Try to incorporate rhythm, music, drawing, imagination and visualization into your lessons.

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