THREE ICEBREAKERS TO BE USED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

One of the things I’m sure of is that icebreakers are really important when it comes to teaching an additional (foreign or second) language.

Icebreakers, among other definitions, may be seen as “fantastic ways to start the day running and great methods of learning about your students and getting them to interact with each other.” Some teachers start their classes with icebreakers in order to get students in the mood for the lesson. Sometimes – but not always – icebreakers are connected to the topic to be studied in the lesson.

In this very short entry, I would like to share with you some ideas I’ve been using in my classes lately – three icebreakers that can also be used as warmers.

The first one is ‘Fact or fiction?’

Fact or fiction?

What to do and how to do it?

Ask everyone to write on a piece of paper THREE things about themselves which may not be known to the others in the group. Two are true and one is not. Taking turns they read out the three ‘facts’ about themselves and the rest of the group votes which are true and false. There are always surprises. This simple activity is always fun, and helps the group and leaders get to know more about each other.

The second one is ‘interview’

Interview

What to do and how to do it?

Divide the young people into pairs. Ask them to take three minutes to interview each other. Each interviewer has to find 3 interesting facts about their partner. Bring everyone back to together and ask everyone to present the 3 facts about their partner to the rest of the group. Watch the time on this one, keep it moving along.

The third one is ‘my name is?’

My name is?

What to do and how to do it?

Go around the group and ask each young person to state his/her name and attach an adjective that not only describes a dominant characteristic, but also starts with the same letter of his name e.g. generous Grahame, dynamic Dave. Write them down and refer to them by this for the rest of the evening.

I do hope you guys enjoy this one!

See you around!

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How to correct students in the classroom?

How to correct students in the classroom?

When teachers create an activity they have to be sure about the right moment to use it because sometimes students will make some mistakes. But the way teachers should correct their students is a serious decision.

Some might say that teachers should correct students in the exactly moment they make mistakes in order to make them understand the point they have to improve. On the other hand, to stop pupils in front of the class all the time may be a bit frustrating. Moreover, when students say something wrong when they are given a communicative activity they might feel uncomfortable if the teacher keep saying that it is not right, or they should say something in that way, not this way, and so on.

Research has shown that some students may enjoy the task they are given when the teacher is involved. This may be a good way for them to have feedback from the educator right away. Group work or pair work are kinds of activities that may help students feel confident in order to practice the language. Furthermore, when students work in group they learn not only by cooperating but also by helping each other.

In summary, teaching is a process where – in some moments – teacher will need to correct students. One of the best ways of doing this correction is by using group work. It is said that when pupils study together they teach each other. Therefore, group work allows students to practice the language and may provide them with opportunity for correctness and feedback in order to make them perform activities using the language.

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Bruno Coriolano de Almeida Costa has worked in English Language Teaching for over 9 years and has experience in teaching English as a Foreign Language in universities, Federal Institute, private schools and post-graduation programs. Graduated in Modern Languages (English Language and American and English Literatures). He holds a post-graduation in English Language and TEFL Certification. His main interests in the field include vocabulary and second language acquisitions and the development of innovative activities for the classroom.

P Before printing this, think whether it´s really necessary. The environment thanks you!

Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language.

TEFL Course January 2011.

Are you a good English teacher? Do you want to learn more?

Sometimes it is really difficult to know whether someone is reading this blog or not. In fact, writing here is time-consuming. In some moments, I don’t feel like I am happy about it, I mean, it doesn’t make any sense to me to continue posting something new if I don’t know the result of my articles, tips, links and the likes.

If you can remember, I have posted here some tips about teaching. Now, I have the pleasure to present to you the top 10 dos in language teaching. I hope you enjoy them.

Again, these are the basic principles that make a TEFL class fly. They’re easy to forget, so refresh your memory (and your teaching!) by coming back to them now and again.

If you have some questions, suggestion or criticism, feel free to send it to me and keep in touch by emailing me through

brunocoriolano@zipmail.com.br

Twitter: @BRUNOCORIOLANO

Top 10 Dos

1. Go for it!

2. Have an aim.

3. Be organized.

4. Get students talking – to each other.

5. Start a lesson with a warmer.

6. Use variety.

7. Instruct clearly.

9. Work on pronunciation constantly.

10. Correct students (in a nice way!).

1. Go for it!

Throw yourself into teaching, give it your all, and have fun (your students are much more nervous than you are! Remember what it was like when you learned a language?). Encourage and motivate your learners. Make your classroom a positive and enjoyable experience.

2. Have an aim

The most important thing is your lesson needs an aim. Your students should walk away from a lesson feeling ‘Today I learnt how to do X’. Otherwise, the lesson can seem like a waste of time (remember classes you’ve been to where you thought, ‘What was the point of that?’).

3. Be organized

Familiarize yourself with any new content you’re going to teach. Make a running sheet. Have your materials ready to go, in plastic pockets in a file. Make sure the equipment works. Take a spare whiteboard marker. You’ll feel confident, so you can relax and enjoy the time with your students.

4. Get students talking – to each other.

This isn’t just about making a lesson lively and fun (although that’s a big plus). Learning English is a skill, like learning to swim or cook. Your students need to practice English, not just learn about English. And the best way to make sure students get lots of practice is if they talk to each other, in pairs and groups, or mingling as a whole class (don’t make all the practice through you, or only one student gets to talk at a time).

5. Start a lesson with a warmer.

A warmer is a simple activity, preferably something active and fun, where students talk to each other. As you know, it’s easy to feel awkward and shy with a big group of people. A warmer removes that anxiety. It helps students feel relaxed and confident to speak for the rest of the lesson. In a warmer, students should be interacting in small groups or mingling – definitely not talking one at a time to the whole class. That’s the opposite of a warmer!

6. Use variety

As you know, there’s nothing worse than a boring class. But making a class interesting isn’t about playing games all the time, and avoiding anything ‘heavy’. Rather, it’s about variety. Vary the skills your students are practicing (listening, speaking, reading, writing) as well as the pace and physical activity (sitting, standing, mingling, running). Keep the expression ‘light and shade’ in mind – follow a quiet and serious activity with something fun and high-energy.

7. Instruct clearly

We’ve said it’s important to have students practicing in a variety of activities. The one risk that creates – as opposed to a traditional class, where students just have to sit and listen – is that they won’t know what to do. This is especially so since English is their second language. The result will be chaos! Instruct simply and clearly, and support your instructions with an example or demonstration (modeling).

8. Elicit

Eliciting means asking the students to tell you, rather than you always telling the students (which is the unfortunate dynamic in many classrooms around the world). Turn everything into a question. Rather than drawing a picture on the board and saying ‘This is a car’, ask, ‘What’s this?’ Always give your students a chance to tell you things. They’ll find it very empowering and engaging.

9. Work on pronunciation constantly

Pronunciation seems to be the last thing many teachers think about. But if you can’t understand someone’s pronunciation, it doesn’t matter how good their grammar or vocabulary is! Whenever you teach anything new – grammar or vocabulary or functional language – you should teach students how to pronounce it as well, and give them a chance to practice it orally.

10. Correct students (in a nice way!)

Numerous studies show language students want much more correction than they get (we’ve found that some TEFL teachers are possibly too kind-hearted!). Students like correction because they feel you’re listening to them and trying to help them. It’s how you do it, of course – correction should be gentle and encouraging, not a reprimand. Bear in mind correction is not always appropriate. If students are involved in a discussion, don’t interrupt, or you’ll inhibit them. Wait until afterwards to discuss any errors you heard.

Lesson planning: very short observations about the importance of planning the lessons.

by Bruno Coriolano de Almeida COSTA

It is known that teaching is not only a question of teaching rules, graphics, how to use maps and the likes. Moreover, it is much more than simply standing in front of the classroom and faces an audience hungry for knowledge.

Some teachers, with experience or not, seem to have an ability to think on their feet, which allows them to believe that they do not need to plan their lessons. However, most teachers go on preparing lessons throughout their careers, even if the plans are very informal. It is said that teaching needs preparation. It is, teachers must prepare and guide students into the path of success. In addition, authentic teachers need to observe and deal with an amount of details.

Firstly, teachers have to adapt the lessons to their students’ realities; in language classes, it is not different from any other kind of classes, students expect their teachers to be creative and plan their lessons.

One thing that teachers should consider is that students will realize if the lessons were not planned before and it can show the image that the teacher does not care about his/her job. Unfortunately, it happens more frequently than we think.

There is no doubt the lesson plans are important in teaching. When planning, we, teachers, should observe students’ needs and possible problems that may happen; and think about the tools we are going to use in advance. In addition, teachers are supposed to arrive earlier in the classroom in order to check if the equipment and the likes are really available that day. 

this text is appropriate for pre-intermediate levels.

MÉTODOS DE ENSINO DE LÍNGUA INGLESA (Total Physical Response)

Total Physical Response -TPR.

            Um dos enfoques desta abordagem é a aprendizagem prazerosa da língua. Espera-se que o estudante realmente goze do prazer de aprender. Para isso usam-se muitas atividades divertidas e engraçadas e, o movimento corporal é um grande recurso para ajudar na compreensão. Muitas estruturas são aprendidas e praticadas através de comandos. Quando os alunos já repetiram uma série de comandos, eles então passam a demonstrá-los ao resto da turma. Após terem domínio de uma série deles, os alunos aprendem a lê-los e escrevê-los e, somente após certa exposição às novas estruturas, começa-se a falar e ditar outros comandos.