For Teachers: Rules for English Lessons

As I said in a previous post, it's important to set rules so that our students will know what they're aiming at and how to do it. 

Here I give you some ideas that can work with teenagers and adults:

• Use English in class. (When they start learning it, they are not going to use them if they don't know it; that's why it's important to show them some key phrases which they have to learn  for interaction)
• Be punctual. (Not only arriving early, but also handing work in on time.)
• Bring your materials. (Such as books, notebooks, dictionaries, etc.)
• Turn off your cell-phones or any distracting devise. 
• Respect the teachers and classmates. (For example, be in silence when someone is participating, avoid the use of inappropriate words, etc.)
• Participate in class as much as possible. (To increase Student Talking Time)

These are basic rules which are going to make our lives easier if we set them the first day of class. Also, you have to remember that we are teachers, and one of our goals is to help people get values and control themselves to get their targets in life. 

Now, the question is: How do I make my students follow the rules? When teaching adults, we have to remind them that it's necessary to follow the rules to achieve their goals efficiently. I'm sure they'll understand because they truly need to learn the language. What happens with teenagers? In my experience in schools, it seems that at first, they need to know how concretely important the rules are, and many of them understand it by marks, or reports. It's not the ideal, but at the beginning it works until they realize that it's for their sake. But most importantly, you have to apply the rules in order to show that you are not kidding. It may be hard sometimes (sometimes we feel pity for our students) but we, teachers, have to be firm to get respect and have a good atmosphere (we don't want our students to feel that we apply the rules only for some students, for example.)

I hope that this was useful for you. Thanks for reading and sharing! 

For Teachers: Our first day of class

I know that many teachers know what to do in a first-day class because of experience. However, I remember when I started teaching and I had no idea what to do. I was so scared of how my students would be, what I should say, if I had to start directly with the first lesson because time is important, etc. So this post has as an objective to give some ideas of how to act the first day of class, or to refresh ourselves these ideas.

Before we start, it is very important to have some time to check our students' background if it is possible. Perhaps we can ask our colleagues the performance of the group, their level, their attitudes, or we can check it in a data base (it is possible that schools or institutes have it). If it is not possible at all - maybe these students are totally new- we can ask some questions which I will say later.

When our first day with a group starts, the first thing we have to do is to introduce ourselves. I know it's obvious, but it's also an opportunity to allow our students to introduce themselves. We show them how to introduce ourselves and then they can do it. We can use the following prompt to help them if necessary (it depends on their level):

• My name is ______________.
• I am ___ years old. 
• I live in _________________. 
• I like ___________________.

We can start these introductions using some dynamics such as passing a ball or using cards for order, but it depends on you.

Remember the questions I said before? Well these are just some ideas:

For beginners 

• Are you familiar with English?
• Have you learnt English before? 
• Do you know some words? 

(It may be possible that students won't understand what you are asking, so you can reformulate the questions in a simpler way, for example: English or no English?)

For non-beginners
 In this case, you can ask them about the content taught the previous courses in order to know their level.

It is also important to inquire after students prospects: What do you  expect of the course? Why are you learning English? 
Then, it is so important to show our students the general objective of the program or course they are taking so that they can know where they are going to and what they have to focus in. Furthermore, it's so necessary for students to know the rules of the game. They have to know what to and what not to do and how you are going to evaluate them. We are the guides, so we have to guide them through rules and assessment, which students have the right to know. Besides, it is so much better when everything is clear between teachers and students.

Finally, in my opinion, we can show our students some key phrases that they can use for interaction. You can choose the most important key phrases for you. Remember that, in this case, you are aiming for interaction. (In a next post, I will show you some ideas).

Maybe this post was like a step-by-step how to act in a first-day class, but you have to remember that this day is very important, and your attitude is, too. You have to be in a very good mood, show predisposition and patience, and students will notice it. This way, you are going to create a good atmosphere, which is basic in every teaching-learning process.

I hope that I could help you.

Good Luck!

Welcome to My English Corner!

Hello, guys. I'm starting with this new project which aims to help people who want to be English teachers, share ideas with other English teachers, and give some tips to students so that English would be easy and fun. I feel this is going to be like an English teacher's diary.

So, I hope you enjoy it!