Before I watched the recording I looked at the slides first, and at one slide I had this rush of emotions because I...

Before I watched the recording I looked at the slides first, and at one slide I had this rush of emotions because I was thinking, I wish I had done this course when I first started out teaching.. Again, I am so grateful to be on this course!

I'd like to reflect first on the tip on giving a pep talk especially to beginners or students with low self-confidence and so on. I've been giving a similar talk but I think it hasn't been that well-rounded. Will definitely improve on that! And also on not asking a 'new' class to do speaking activities in the first meeting.

Secondly, I really love the practical tips! I can now imagine what I can do with the example exercises and adjust them to my current classes. I have one question, though. Most of the students I teach usually have trouble making up the content when I ask them to fill in the gaps of model sentences, as if they're afraid of making mistakes, but it's not even about the language. I suspect it's because of our culture or maybe past traumas, but I'm still not sure. I haven't tried digging deeper so I don't have certain answers yet, and I'm afraid that it would be counterproductive. Should I help them out as well with the content? Does anyone have a similar experience or can give suggestions on why this happens and how to overcome it? Many thanks in advance.

So far that's what I've been thinking about. Will come back later with more comments. Thanks everyone!

Comments

  1. Penny UrNovember 19, 2017 at 12:40 AM

    Arimbi - you're talking about filling in gaps with their own ideas, right? Well, first time you do this with any class, in any culture, they hesitate. It's not just your classes! The reason is that they're so used to having the 'right answer' supplied somewhere that they find it difficult to get their head round the idea that there's no one right answer, and they won't find it in the book. So it does take a bit of getting used to! But once they get the idea, and realize that 'anything goes' (provided it makes sense!), they'll fly with it. The first few times, however, give them a lot of support: suggest some possible answers yourself (using easy vocabulary), encourage and praise the first couple of students who contribute, get several answers to each question, not just one or two, so that the shyer students have time to get the idea and use the more confident ones as 'models'. And carry on contributing ideas yourself right through the exercise, and supporting or adding to ideas contributed by students.
    See you later!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ABDELHADY HANDOUSANovember 19, 2017 at 3:05 AM

    Salam,
    I suppose you talk about cloze-tests.
    Get your Ssto practice them as an ex. after a comprehension passage.
    Then to practice cloze-tests of similar topics working in groups.
    Encourage multi-answers.
    It will work ISA.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arimbi AshanyDecember 4, 2017 at 6:29 AM

    Penny Ur Thank you so much Penny! It makes sense now for me. Often I don't give them enough examples at first, now that I think of it.. I always just assume that they just need more time to think. Can't wait to try this out again in my upcoming classes!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arimbi AshanyDecember 4, 2017 at 6:31 AM

    ABDELHADY HANDOUSA Salam, Thanks for the tip! Will try it out ISA!

    ReplyDelete

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