Learning to Teach Better

Penny, I thank you so muuuch for your ideas. I have just followed your teaching method, and the whole class was so amazed. This morning, I gave them a sort of group competition. Each group took the turn to answer the questions. If they succeeded they got points. I asked them to say the list of words I showed in my power point slide. Of course, before they did that, I had switched the slide so that the students no longer read them. I asked them to mention the words in five to ten seconds. All of the students were thrilled when they got their turn to answer the question. Also, I asked the group to make up present perfect sentences based on certain responses. I asked," What would you say if someone else gave you the following responses: congratulations, oh no, it is relieved, etc. At last, I challenged them to memorize phrases little by little. Finally, they had to memorize the whole. Come here at once. Who? Me? Yes, you. Come here at once... Once again, thanks Penny. I have attached...

Thanks Penny for sharing an interesting topic: error correction. Allow me to share with you what my students and I have done with the error correction practices in our essay writing class. 1. I have encouraged my students to do peer-review as a part of writing cycle before submitting their final drafts. We did that using Google doc. I see this peer-review activities worth doing at least based on the following considerations: a. Learn how to read carefully, with attention to the details of a piece of writing (whether their own or another writer’s); b. Learn how to strengthen their writing by taking into account the responses of actual and anticipated readers; c.Learn how to formulate and communicate constructive feedback on a peer’s work; d. Learn how to gather and respond to feedback on their own work. 2. Before the peer-review session, I taught some techniques of correcting their peer's to them: make the errors explicit so that the writers knew about what and how to improve the e...

I still remember Penny's suggestion: we have to make our classroom an enjoyable place for students to practice the language. In my grammar class (second-year college students), I sometimes integrate grammar with a speaking skill. Here, I am going to share with you what I have done in my grammar class. There is nothing new about this idea. However, I saw my students enjoyed it very much. A few days ago, I taught my students about how to make questions with present perfect and past tense. 1. I wrote some sentences on the whiteboard using present perfect and past tense. Have you ever + past participle ...? Wh- did you ......? 2. After practicing a few sentences, I divided my students into two groups A and B. 3. One person from group A became a volunteer; meanwhile, all members of group B asked her/him questions with present perfect and past tense. 4. However, the volunteer from group A had to say "yes" when answering the first question from group B. For example, - Have you e...

I couldn't agree more with Steven Herder's ideas: we must consider the context and the level of the students. For intermediate and advanced students, teachers need to give them a challenge: finding the answers themselves. One of the best ways to do that is to lead them in a virtual discussion prior to a face to face meeting. This activity is relevant at least based on several considerations: 1. The students become autonomous. They are responsible for their own learning. They study the teaching materials at their pace. 2. This activity stimulates their self-inquiry​. Most students do not like lecturing. Instead, they enjoy finding the answers themselves. 3. This activity serves as diagnostic information.Their posts or comments inform us which area needs improvement. 4. Teachers can help them with the individualized learning. They reach underachievers one by one when necessary, guiding them to learn the teaching points better

Thanks a lot Penny for sharing an inspiring video. You have reminded me about the importance of some principles when teaching the students. The principle no 3, making it interesting, is worth noting. As far as my teaching experience with grammar class is concerned, I have managed to create it in some ways. I have used a combination of teaching approaches: discussion, presentation, collaboration, and lectures. In most cases, however, I always encourage my students to do self-discovery: they have to seek the answers themselves. I just facilitate their learning. My students find this way quite challenging yet interesting since they have a lot of freedom to express their ideas. Last week I taught them about the future meanings: be + Ving and be going to V. Prior to the meeting, I gave them a question in their Google Classroom. Of course, they could access and referred their scanned textbook anytime they had difficulties. Here are my questions. Please respond to the following questions and ...

Thanks for sharing your inspiring movie, Penny. I'd like to mention personalizing the characters to make learning interesting and creating an exercise to enhance students' remembering competence. Honestly speaking, I haven't tried these issues before.

Hello everyone. I am Daniel Ginting. I am currently teaching some English skill courses at Ma Chung University, Indonesia. I have been teaching English for about ten years. I am very grateful to be a part of this learning community. I believe I can learn a lot from Penny and all of you. Thank you.