Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Dummies (2 page)

Preparing to leave town ...................................................................... 13

Setting up elsewhere ........................................................................... 14

Thinking About a Stint or a Life in TEFL ..................................................... 15

Filling gap years and career breaks ................................................... 15

Planning a new life ............................................................................... 16

Addressing some qualms .................................................................... 17

Chapter 2: Looking at What TEFL Teachers Actually Do. . . . . . . . . . . .19

Answering Common Questions ................................................................... 19

Can I teach English without knowing the students’ language? ...... 19

Do I have to translate?......................................................................... 20

Will the students be children? ........................................................... 20

Do I have to know all the grammar in the English language? ......... 20

Can I teach without a degree and formal qualifi cations?................ 21

I hated language lessons at school. Will the job be like that? ........ 21

Are there lots of books and exercises for

students to work through? .............................................................. 21

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What kind of person makes an ideal TEFL teacher?........................ 22

Does it matter that I’m not a native speaker? .................................. 22

How many students will I have? ......................................................... 22

Is it okay if I don’t ‘talk posh’? ............................................................ 23

Will the students like me? ................................................................... 23

How will I know what to do? ............................................................... 23

Talking to Students and So Much More – Teaching Basics ...................... 23

Teaching the easier words fi rst ......................................................... 24

Focusing on the most useful words ................................................... 26

Giving students room to talk .............................................................. 26

Keeping things relevant ...................................................................... 27

Recognising What Your Students Want from You ..................................... 27

Chapter 3: Examining Courses, Qualifi cations and Jobs . . . . . . . . . . .31

Teaching the Teacher ................................................................................... 31

Finding your level ................................................................................ 32

Being an unqualifi ed teacher ............................................................. 32

Getting initiated ................................................................................... 34

Becoming a qualifi ed teacher ............................................................. 35

Getting on Course .......................................................................................... 35

Entering introductory courses ........................................................... 35

Signing up for a certifi cate course ..................................................... 37

Keeping your distance......................................................................... 40

Going for a diploma course ................................................................ 41

Staying in for in-house training .......................................................... 43

Banking on Salaries ....................................................................................... 44

Finding Work ................................................................................................. 45

Part II: Putting Your Lesson Together ........................... 47

Chapter 4: Starting from the Beginning: Planning the Lesson . . . . . . .49

Deciding What to Teach ............................................................................... 49

Beginner ................................................................................................ 50

Elementary ............................................................................................ 51

Pre-intermediate .................................................................................. 52

Intermediate ......................................................................................... 52

Upper-intermediate ............................................................................. 53

Advanced .............................................................................................. 54

Profi ciency ............................................................................................ 55

Keeping Things Relevant .............................................................................. 55

Getting into Grading ...................................................................................... 56

Setting Aims and Objectives ........................................................................ 58

Getting Your Timing Down and Planning for Interaction ........................ 59

Assembling Presentation, Practice and Production ................................. 61

Introducing the point .......................................................................... 61

Analysing the point .............................................................................. 61

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Trialling the language .......................................................................... 62

Giving your students free practice .................................................... 63

Stepping Out of the Spotlight to Let Your Students Shine ....................... 64

Chapter 5: Standing in the Spotlight: Presenting to the Class . . . . . . .67

Eliciting Answers – Ask, Don’t Tell! ............................................................. 67

Creating Interest with Visual Aids ............................................................... 69

Showing and telling – pictures and objects ...................................... 69

Travelling along timelines and tenses ............................................... 70

Using the board effectively ................................................................. 72

Doing Concept Checks .................................................................................. 74

Introducing Vocabulary ................................................................................ 76

Sharing function and connotation ..................................................... 78

Fish and . . . ? Teaching vocabulary in chunks ................................. 79

All right mate! Teaching posh words and slang ............................... 80

Talking about words that mean the same and opposites –

synonyms and antonyms ................................................................ 81

Presenting Grammar ..................................................................................... 82

Chapter 6: Holding the Reins and Letting Them Loose –

Giving Students Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Practising New Words ................................................................................... 85

Practising with the whole class fi rst ................................................. 87

Practising alone .................................................................................... 88

Practising in pairs ................................................................................ 90

Practising in groups ............................................................................. 93

Moving to the Production Stage .................................................................. 93

Writing and speaking ........................................................................... 93

Role-playing in pairs ............................................................................ 94

Getting dramatic in groups ................................................................. 95

Giving Instructions ........................................................................................ 96

Putting Students into Pairs and Groups ..................................................... 97

Trying Out Practice and Production Activities ......................................... 97

Writing a blurb ..................................................................................... 98

Doing class surveys and reports........................................................ 98

Playing Mastermind ............................................................................. 99

Producing predictions ....................................................................... 100

Chapter 7: Giving Correction and Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

Knowing What to Correct and When ........................................................ 101

Judging accuracy, timing and value ................................................ 102

Exploring the nature of the error ..................................................... 103

Letting Your Fingers Do the Talking ......................................................... 104

Using your hands ............................................................................... 104

Teaching with body language .......................................................... 105

Leading to Self Correction .......................................................................... 106

Progressing by prompting ................................................................ 106

Examining echoing ............................................................................. 107

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Encouraging Peer Correction ..................................................................... 107

Scheduling Class Feedback ........................................................................ 108

Wielding Your Red Pen ............................................................................... 109

Marking with correction codes ........................................................ 109

Choosing written errors to work with ............................................. 110

Marking criteria .................................................................................. 112

Praising the good bits ....................................................................... 112

Exposing Progress ....................................................................................... 113

Chapter 8: Being Materialistic! Using Course

Books and Other Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Wasting No Time Reinventing the Wheel ................................................. 115

Listing Popular Course Books and Published Resources ...................... 116

Going for general English books ...................................................... 117

Imparting business English............................................................... 118

Starting off younger learners ............................................................ 118

Adapting Your Course Book ....................................................................... 119

Catering to a class of mixed ability ................................................. 119

Dealing with mixed age groups ........................................................ 120

Setting tasks........................................................................................ 120

Making Use of Authentic Materials ........................................................... 121

Designing Your Own Materials .................................................................. 122

Using What’s at Hand .................................................................................. 123

Chapter 9: Who’s The Boss around Here?

Managing Your Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

Running Your Classes Effectively .............................................................. 125

Organising Your Classroom ....................................................................... 127

Considering basic equipment........................................................... 127

Arranging the room ........................................................................... 128

Establishing Classroom Rules .................................................................... 130

Keeping Order .............................................................................................. 131

Troubleshooting .......................................................................................... 132

Dealing with disruptive students ..................................................... 133

Handling a lack of participation ....................................................... 134

Attending to poor attendance .......................................................... 135

Part III: Teaching Skills Classes ................................ 137