Relationships

Over the years there have been many varied approaches to teaching English - eg
'structural', 'notional', 'communicative' etc.
Each promises to be the best, the new way to faster success.  None will work in
isolation.
Successful English teaching is not only a question of method, but also of
student/teacher relationships.
You must be interested in your students.  The student must need/want to learn AND the
teacher must also need/want the student to learn.
Encouragement is of great importance.  Students need to feel they are progressing; this
feeling comes, on the whole, from the teacher. (More about this later in this module.)

Look After your Students

Self-esteem is very important in language learning.
In order to achieve our aim of ensuring that our students are happy and feeling secure
(and therefore able to learn), we not only teach them and give them opportunities to
learn, we must also look after them.
Students need to feel at ease
Students need to feel comfortable
Students need to feel welcome
We, as teachers, need to settle them in and while doing so try to 'suss out' any 'hang-
ups' they have which will prevent them from learning.
For example they may have old family prejudices against our race; they may have been
convinced that they will find English too difficult; they may panic at an unfamiliar accent;
they may have met untrained teachers who turned them off classes almost for life!
Behind all these possible attitudes to lessons there may be other things that have
nothing to do with you, such as whether a family member is sick or whether they have
lost their front door key or crashed the car, that are interfering with their learning.
Now they are your students - you must help them over these barriers and make them
feel relaxed and happy enough to succeed in your classroom leaving their troubles
behind them for an hour or two.

Are You Caring?

Throughout the course you will be shown how to prepare for a career in TESOL.
This will involve:
 planning lessons
 preparing materials
 getting to grips with grammar
 setting out your classroom
 understanding the students' problems.

Our goal is to make you a fully-prepared professional who can bring about success in
any ESOL situation.
We cannot make you a caring person, but if you are not going to care about your
students' success, you will not succeed as a teacher.
If you are not going to be concerned about their happiness you will not be happy and
neither you nor your students will be successful.
From now on we assume that you are a caring person who wants to bring about
success.

How Do you Bring About Success?

Involving the students - personalising lessons
The teacher shows interest in his/her students by getting to know about their interests
and backgrounds and by allowing them to express their opinions about their own
environment and about their experiences in England, USA. etc.
Get to know the area the students come from so that relevant discussions can be set
up.  Everyone likes to talk about him/herself.
Likewise students like to hear about their classmates/fellow students.  When this is
allowed in class you will find that your students involve themselves far more than if they
are talking about a fictional character from a coursebook.  
If all your students are desperately putting their hands up to tell you something,
you have achieved your aim of involving them.

Student Confidence
Role-play, dialogues, sketches - however you do it, acting out involves both the
performing students and the listeners.
They will be less self-conscious about the English as they concentrate on the character
or acting role which they are required to carry out.
They may be embarrassed or nervous at first, but hopefully when they have got through
that they will be assured that they can also get over the 'fear' of speaking English.
Watch carefully to find out who is shy/confident etc and assign roles they can manage
at first, gradually getting everyone confident.
Building up the students' confidence in any situation means encouraging them at every
opportunity and never 'putting them down'.

Using Realistic Language

In most schools in the world, gone are the days of courses which taught useless
language
"Does your grandmother wear a red dress?"
"Is this a pen? Yes, this is a pen."
are not phrases which students will often need, if at all.
Real situations and examples which the student will meet outside the classroom should
be used as much as possible; equally the language should be taught in context.

Shortened Forms
Use them!
I'd, she's, weren't etc. are normal English. In their full form they are not used unless
you want to sound like a non-native speaker!

Accents
Teachers of EFL do not all have the same accent.  On the whole students will expect
this and readily accept British regional accents as well as those from different parts of
America, Canada and Australia and so on.  Most language schools’ teachers come from
all over the world.
Do not be afraid to use your normal accent, trying to change it and being inconsistent
can be confusing. So long as you do not use very colloquial English or colloquialisms
which are grammatically unacceptable, relax in the knowledge that you can be a model
in the classroom whether you come from Glasgow or Oxford.
However, it is essential that your students are given the opportunity to hear as many
different accents as you can bring into the classroom. This way they will not be shocked
when they hear other accents outside the classroom, and they will not find themselves
unable to understand anyone but you.

Keeping The Student's Interest

So you've involved the students, they are gaining confidence and desperately wanting
to join in the lesson.
How do you keep this level of interest?
Varying the activities is imperative.  Monotony will send your students to sleep.  Change
the activity regularly, even if you are teaching the same language point.
During the course you will learn many different ways to teach and exploit a language
point, remember to use them.
Don't be known as 'the teacher who always does a reading passage' or 'the one who
always uses the coursebook’ - this makes for disinterested students even before they
have reached the lesson.

L.T.T.T.
During your TESOL career you will often hear L.T.T.T. - Limit Teacher Talking Time.
This is important in keeping the students interested and motivated.
You will keep their interest by ensuring that they are allowed to produce a lot of
language in lessons. They will not learn how to speak English if you do all the
speaking.

Correction
When correcting spoken English remember to be encouraging, even completely
incorrect answers need recognition that the student has made the effort (though you
must make sure you do not patronise).
There are ways of saying that the answer is not right without putting the student off
trying again.  (More on this in Module 5 and in Unit 4)
When correcting written work, again it is important to acknowledge that the student has
tried.  It is demotivating to see a page full of red pen, especially when it may have taken
the student hours to do it.  Choose the most relevant points (ie relevant to the teaching
point), do not correct every mistake.
It is important that the students can read and understand the corrections which you
make on their work.  A chart showing the abbreviations which you use are a good idea.
You might also suggest that they write on alternate lines so that your corrections can be
seen.
It is really up to you what method of correction and abbreviation you use but it is
essential that this is understood between you and the students and that once a method
has been established that you stick to it. (More on correction of work in Module 5 Error)

Visual Aids
Don't become the school magician - something different to pull out of the hat every day,
and a lesson built around it.
Aids aid your lesson, they are not the lesson!  If you are a technical whizz-kid, good for
you, but you are not there to impress your students with your technical know-how, you
are there to teach and as such you should use aids to assist you in your task.  (More
about this in Module 4 Visual Aids.)
Levels
Classes should, in theory be made up of students who are at exactly the same level of
language learning.
Those levels are as follows:

 Beginners
 Elementary
 Intermediate
 Advanced

As you can see this in itself would cause problems for a very small school which can
only offer 2 or 3 levels.  But you would think that these problems can be overcome
through clever timetabling and you should not be faced with mixed levels in your class.
Not so.
If you look at the following, more extensive list, you will see that there could be a need
for a much larger number of classes and a greater variety of students than you may at
first think:

 true beginners
 false beginners
 elementary
 post elementary/lower intermediate
 intermediate
 post intermediate
 advanced
 repeat students (any level) who are ‘fossilised’ and are not improving

You will rarely see the number of students' levels taken account of in this way, so it is
obvious that you will, to a certain extent, have mixed levels in your classes.
You will, of course, also have mixed abilities.  You will always have students studying
for the same level whose language aptitude is far from the same.
You must take account of this and closely monitor those who need extra help.  (More
about this later in this module.) 

Exams
Most classes of EFL students are working towards exams. They use these qualifications
to further their studies and/or their careers so they are very important to them.
As teachers we must have an understanding of the stress which exam entry exerts on
many students, especially those who need to pass in order to further their careers.
Teaching for Exams
Teaching for ESOL international examinations constitutes an important part of an ESOL
teacher's career. Any English teacher can be asked by the school, institution, or private
persons to prepare students for these examinations. All teachers will encounter these
exams at some time in their teaching career.
Why are students taking these exams?
The reasons are extremely diverse:
 To have an internationally recognized language certificate
 To work and/or live in a country where English is the language of
communication
 To seek further education
 To improve employment prospects
What are the most sought after ESOL examinations?
1. Cambridge ESOL examinations
The most prestigious, and widely known examination board is Cambridge ESOL, which
is part of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other
Languages) examinations are the world's leading range of certificates for learners of
English. They are recognized by a huge number of employers and educational
institutions all over the world. Since around 2 million people from 130 countries take
them yearly, the demand for teaching for these exams is continuously growing.
Cambridge ESOL is part of the world-famous University of Cambridge. Its English
language exams are linked to the Common European Framework for Modern
Languages, published by the Council of Europe. 

Exams
Self Check 1
Follow this link http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Cadre1_en.asp to find out:
1. What does CEFR stand for?

Common European Framework

2. What is CEFR?
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an
international standard for describing language ability.
3. Is it used only in Europe?
Does it refer to measuring the proficiency in the English language exclusively? All
language

Exams Most Popular Cambridge ESOL Exams

The English tested in these examinations covers a variety of accents from different
English speaking countries. They are British examinations but the English tested is not
restricted to the accents in the British Isles. In speaking or writing, for example,
American English is accepted as long as the candidates are consistent in using it. There
are two examination periods per year: June and December. These language
certificates are valid for life.

Exams
Other Cambridge ESOL Exams
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is perhaps the most widely
recognized language qualification in the world.
IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS (International
Development Program of Australian Universities and Colleges) Australia, and the
University of Cambridge. These ESOL Examinations are administered through more
than 800 test centres and locations in over 130 countries on all continents. IELTS
scores are valid for two years
The language tested uses different accents of English and the topics are diverse and
are not connected to any culture in particular. This certificate is valid for two years. If
a person needs an IELTS certificate after the 2-year period expires, he/she has to take
it again. It can be taken any time of the year.

Exams
Professional English Examinations
Exams
Other English Language Proficiency Tests
TOEFL
The Test of English as a Foreign Language has long been the favourite English
language proficiency qualification for foreign students who wanted to study
anywhere abroad where English is the language of instruction. More than 8,500
colleges, universities and agencies in more than 130 countries, including Australia,
Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.A, recognize it. 

TOEFL PBT is soon going to be replaced completely by its iBT format. TOEFL is
exclusively a test of American English and culture, although we can see elements
of more diverse cultural topics in the reading paper. Its scores are valid for two years.
TOEIC (Test Of English for International Communication)
The TOEIC tests directly measure the ability of non native speakers of English to
listen, read, speak and write in English in the global workplace. The TOEIC tests
are used by over 9,000 organizations around the globe in more than 90 countries to
assess English proficiency in the workplace. If you teach in Japan, it is very likely that
you will be asked to prepare the students for this examination. Like IELTS and TOEFL,
the scores are valid for two years.

TSE (Test of Spoken English)

The Test of Spoken English / TSE examines the "American English" language
skills, just like the TOEFL and the TWE. It is required for admission to most of the
universities in the US. The TSE tests your oral skills in university simulated
surroundings.
Other English Language examinations include ECPE Michigan, Trinity College
London ESOL, Pearson Test of English - General and Academic (former London
Test of English), etc.
Different countries and language schools have a preference for one or another
examination depending on its popularity among the students and their parents, on the
degree of “difficulty” and not necessarily on the needs of the learners. For example, one
of the most popular examinations with Greek students is ECPE Michigan although this
qualification is of no real value in Europe. That is why it is crucially important for the
English teachers to get detailed information about each of these examinations and the
students’ future study plans so that they can provide the best advice on the most
appropriate English language qualifications that the students need for their future
careers or life in general.

Exams
Comparing the most popular ESOL examinations
The following table gives an approximate comparison between the different exams. The
exams all use the CEFR proficiency levels.

Exams
Self Check 2
What examination would you recommend to the following students?
1. Mihai is a 10 year old student who has been learning English for four years at
school. He and his parents would like to know his level of English in a formal manner
so that they know where to go from here.
2. Boris is a high school graduate and wants to study Physics at a college in the
U.S.A.
3. Carmen is a Brazilian nurse who wants to emigrate to Australia.
IELTS
4. Massimo is a lawyer already specialized in International Law. He would like to
work at the International Criminal Court in the Hague and he has found an
opportunity to achieve his dream.

Exams
What are the differences between teaching general English and teaching for
examinations?
Normally, there should be no huge difference between the two but given the
constraints of time, responsibility, and teaching strategies teaching (or rather
training) for examinations has its own specific features.
Motivation. One of the biggest differences is the level of the students' motivation, which
is usually very high because the stakes are high.
There is also the financial aspect: the students or their parents have to pay for these
examinations and some of them make huge sacrifices to be able to get these language
qualifications.
Teacher's responsibility. It is not an understatement to say that the candidates' whole
future can depend on getting the right certificate with the right score. Under these
circumstances, the teacher has a huge responsibility to help their students achieve their
goals. Usually, the teacher is held responsible for the students' results. A teacher will be
evaluated according to his/her students' results in these examinations so his/her
reputation will be directly connected with these results.
Time: The preparation courses for examinations are usually short. Generally, they take
four hours per week for three months, i.e. about 56 hours, whereas the general English
courses can vary a lot, from years to short crash courses. Exam preparation courses
are usually held at the weekends or in the evenings, so sometimes the teacher needs to
teach two two-hour sessions twice a week, or one four-hour session once a week.
Tasks and activities: There is a lot of constraint in choosing activities that will engage
students emotionally, cognitively, kinesthetically, and so on. Although they might be
beneficial for the students, any activity that is not directly connected to the test items in
the examination is regarded as useless and a waste of time. In general English courses,
the teachers can make use of all their imagination and creativity to make the lessons
fun as well as effective, but examination students can become 'hooked' on their goal of
passing the exams and can become quite stressed if introduced to anything outside the
exam syllabus.
Administrative responsibilities. Unlike regular English courses, exam courses may
require some administrative duties from the part of the teacher. The teacher may be
responsible for the enrolment of the students in the examinations, keeping the students
informed about examination locations, dates, times, organisation of transportation to the
exam site, regulations of the exam itself, etc.

Exams
How to teach for examinations?
1. The teachers' first responsibility is to know the examination they are going to
teach for inside out. First, the teachers need to know the use of the examinations to
be able to give the prospective candidates the best advice on which best suits their
needs. They also need to get informed about the types of papers (exam
components) and their number, how long each paper takes, the times when these
examinations are taken, the closest locations, the administrative bodies (e.g. British
Council, a university). Information about how each paper is graded and the rubrics
for both speaking and writing have to become a teaching tool.
2. Besides reading about the examination on the official websites and talking to
colleagues who have taught for it, the teachers need to take a practice exam
themselves under exam conditions to get familiar with the format of the exam
and try to predict the students' main difficulties with it (e.g. reading in a very
limited time).
3. Before the students enrol on such a course, it is best for them to take a
"mock” examination that will serve as a diagnostic/prognostic test. Thus, the
teacher will know the chances a particular student has to at least get a pass score.
For some students, it might be important that they get the highest possible score in
that exam. For example, the university they want to study at requires a CAE with an
A, not a B or a C, which are pass scores. What is important to know is that a 56-hour
course can bring a student who got a C in the mock test to a B, but not to an A. So,
if that student needs an A, he or she will have to take two preparation courses.
Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
A mid-course mock test is also advisable for both the students and the teacher to
measure the progress made and to identify areas that need more attention. A mock
exam at the end of the course before the examination itself is compulsory to draw all
the strings together again.
4. The teacher must know the grammar of English very well to be able to
explain any point clearly and briefly when asked by a student, besides teaching
 it both formally and sometimes informally during the grammar slots of a lesson.
Grammar must be taught in the context offered by the units in the course book.
5. The teacher should guide students to learn independently. They should
encourage the students to read extensively, to watch quality movies (a list of such
movies would not be a bad idea), to listen to the radio in English (recommended list
of channels would help). The students need a very good dictionary such as
Oxford Advanced English Dictionary, or Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English. The students who have iPads or iPhones can buy the applications for
these dictionaries and many other study materials, including Oxford A-Z
Grammar and Punctuation and professional dictionaries. One of the most
stunning dictionary applications is Oxford Wordflex Touch Dictionary, which
combines an interactive dictionary with a thesaurus in the form of mind maps
organized around topics.
6. There is a lot more feedback and "grading” involved than in regular courses, so
the teachers need to be prepared to spend time outside class. Because of the
amount of preparation, "mock” testing, and one-to-one feedback, the groups
must be kept small. An average of six students per group would be ideal. One-
to-one exam teaching should be avoided, if possible, but pairs are acceptable.
One reason for this would be the speaking papers in the Cambridge ESOL
examination, which have an interactive part (the speaking examination is done
with pairs of students who, besides the long turns, have to interact to "solve a
problem” using English in their discussion).
7. Last but not least, besides language teaching, the students need training in
examination taking skills. This will be done on a regular basis through exercises
and tasks that replicate the test items but also through specific activities that will
train the students to cope with the difficulties that might arise during the exam (e.g.
not remembering a key word during the speaking examination, or not being able to
decide between two possible answers in a multiple-choice reading task). The ones
who take the computer-based examinations or the online ones need special training
as well.

8.

Exams
Websites with information about different international English examinations
Cambridge ESOL Examinations:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/index.html
TOEFL and TOEIC plus a number of other American examinations for college
placements (SAT, GRE)
 http://www.ets.org/tests_products

Exams
Course books for different examinations
Course books for Cambridge ESOL examinations:
You can use this link to find the right course books for your examination classes:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exam-preparation/books-study.php
Follow this link with recommendations for TOEFL preparation:
http://gmatclub.com/forum/best-toefl-preparation-books-resources-reviews-comments-
79121.html

Exams
Preparation for examinations websites that can be used by the students independently
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/
http://www.examenglish.com/ (free practice tests)
There is a wealth of exam preparation sites on the Internet. The ones mentioned above
stand out among many others.
There are also a huge number of iPad and iPhone applications for examination
preparation. The free ones are fine but the best are the ones that cost some money but
they might be worth the investment.

Exams
Self Check Answers
Self Check 1
1.  Common European Framework of Reference for Modern languages
2. CEFR is framework of reference designed to provide a transparent, coherent and
comprehensive basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses and curriculum
guidelines, the design of teaching and learning materials, and the assessment of foreign
language proficiency.
3. It is used in Europe but also in other continents.
4. No. As the name suggests, it provides a framework to measuring the proficiency in a
number of other languages learnt by the students as second or foreign languages all
over the world
Self Check 2
1. Mihai: one of YLE examination (Movers) or KET for Schools.
2. Boris: IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, or CPE. High scores are crucial.
3. Carmen: IELTS Academic.
4. Massimo: Cambridge English: Legal (ILEC)

Use Of Mother Tongue

One of the most frequently asked questions posed by those considering a career in
TESOL is - 'Do I have to speak their language?'
The stock answer is 'Only for your personal life and to get about in the country'.
But it is important to show respect for your students.  We also believe that learning your
students' mother tongue when you are in their country shows that you are serious about
living and teaching there.
Most of all, you should not expect everyone to speak your mother tongue whilst making
no attempt to learn theirs.
In class however you do not need to speak the students' language.  This would, in fact,
be an impossibility if you were teaching a mixed nationality class at a summer school for
example, in which you might have 10 or more different nationalities.
Having said that, if you are teaching higher levels and you are finding it difficult to get
the meaning of a word across to your students, why waste time miming, drawing
pictures etc? If you know the word in their language tell them, it's quicker!

Grammar
If you are a native speaker, you 'know' the grammar of English perfectly - that is, you
are able to produce an infinite number of correctly formed sentences. Your problem is to
see it as a foreign language; to know about and be able to explain its most
characteristic systems and classes and to understand the problems they pose to a
foreign learner.
Do not depress yourself with the idea that there is somewhere one ultimate set of rules
which all experienced EFL teachers and applied linguists 'know' and which you must
learn. This is not so. There are many descriptions of the grammar, fashions change,
and one description may be better than another in some areas.
However, you must know your stuff. You don't want the students to know more than you
do or you will lose credibility and they will eventually not have enough confidence to
succeed.
Beginners do not need the terminology, advanced classes do and they will ask for it.
More important than the terminology however is the teacher's ability to explain and to
give examples on request.

Approaches to Teaching
Grammar Translation as a Teaching Method
The use of the word 'grammar' in the grammar translation method, to a large
extent means the grammar of words. Tables showing:- walk, walks, walked, and boy,
boys, boy's, boys' are presented. Words are classified into parts of speech and
functional categories are defined eg subject, object etc. Then rules are given re: the
usage and combination of these elements into clauses and sentences. This is not very
helpful to the learner of a foreign language who tries to translate parts of a text,
using pieces of grammatical information - he / she may eventually know what was
meant but does not acquire any amount of fluency in speaking, listening or writing the
language. Grammar-translation has its place but is not widely used today in teaching
foreign languages.
The Structural Approach
Grammar also plays a leading part here, the 'structure' in the name of the approach
being a grammatical structure. Course writers list what they consider to be the most
important grammatical elements. Here the terminology is unimportant, but the
patterns of the grammar are, of course, very important. The grammatical elements
are placed in a practical order for teaching purposes and each is taught, practised and
drilled. This method is still widely used, though when used alone can become
repetitive and boring. However, it works well for teaching beginners.
Command of grammatical structure is essential to complete understanding and any
form of meaningful communication in ESOL. Good teachers and materials writers do
not use mindless drills (which are also boring) but include situational practice,
always checking the student's understanding of what he is repeating.
As language teachers, how much of this theory do we need to know? Unless you are
going to continue your studies, fortunately very little. The last sentence of each
paragraph however is of utmost importance if we are to do the job well! We are
teachers of COMMUNICATION, our aim therefore is to facilitate this
communication, this will not happen through translation or through mindless
repetition of grammatical structures. Students need to know not only the correct
grammatical structure but also where and how to use it.
The Communicative Approach
It is important to keep reminding ourselves that we are teaching communication. We
rarely need to teach declensions and verb lists as in the Latin or even French classes
some of you may remember from your schooldays. We are teaching non-native
speakers of English to effectively communicate with native speakers of English or other
non-native speakers of English. (As an essential language of the world of commerce,
English may necessarily be the language of communication between different
nationalities none of whom have any other language.)
If you, yourself have not had the experience of being in a position in which you HAD TO
communicate in a foreign language (one in which you are not fluent) you will doubtlessly
have observed others in that position. They adopt different styles according to the
situation, the audience, their own personality etc. Some seem to relish the task and
throw themselves into speaking with as much 'fluency' as they can achieve with the
string of mistakes they make along the way. Others freeze, too afraid to speak in case
the listener cannot understand due to the mistakes they fear they will make.
Whichever way they tackle the task, we know that most students of EFL want more than
simply to communicate. They want to communicate in good English - why otherwise
would they bother with classes year after year? They do not want to be laughed at, they
do not want to have to resort to paralinguistics (facial expression and body
language) or to have to point and mime. They want their English to be good enough
to allow them to communicate effectively in correct English.
As teachers of EFL we are happy with the concept of 'correct' English. It is our job to
know what is correct and what is incorrect, and to know that when our students are not
making correct utterances, they should be made aware of this fact. However, we must
allow students to communicate - a balance must be struck between effective
communication and correctness. We cannot be seen to accept an incorrect sentence
offered by student A, when student B, or in fact student A after further thought or a look
in his book, is likely to challenge your acceptance. Similarly we must prevent
students from continuing to make the same mistakes which an examiner will
mark wrong. On the other hand, mistakes are inevitable, even from the most
advanced students, but to constantly respond each time a mistake is made would
be very off-putting for your students, and fluency would be impaired.
Classroom technique is of immense importance to good, effective, communicative
teaching. This is dealt with in Unit 4, Module 1.
Striking the balance between communication and correctness can be difficult, but the
following features should be kept in mind if we are to effectively teach communication.

1. Communication is passing information to somebody.

2. Communication is saying what you want to say, rather than what you are
told to say.
3. Communication is saying what is true and meaningful rather than what is
linguistically correct.
4. Communication is producing authentic English rather than textbook
English.
5. Communication is paying attention to what people mean rather than how
they express themselves.

A great deal of research and work in this field has been going on over the last 20-30
years. The above features of the 'communicative movement' are included here for you
to incorporate in your thinking when planning lessons, though not to the exclusion of all
else, including correctness.
The 'communicative movement', we may feel have overdone it a bit in their concern with
communication, but this persistent concern has produced a technique which has useful
applications. Communication, by definition, is the transfer of information from source to
receiver; that information, by definition, is not already known to the receiver. A
communicative exercise, therefore, can be set up by ensuring that student A has some
information which student B does not have, and then prompting an exchange of
information.
The simplest way to do this is to get the students to elicit information from you, the
teacher. You set the scene - ie tell them what they must elicit from you, they can then
ask questions at their own level:-
eg - beginners
Get the students to find out your hobby by asking simple questions which require yes/no
answers (you are less likely to get mistakes from beginners if you use this restriction,
otherwise they are likely to get carried away in their eagerness to find out about you.)
Possible questions

1. Do you like to swim?

2. Do you do it inside?
3. Do you make something?
4. Are you tired afterwards?
5. Is it a sport? etc. etc.....

Intermediate and advanced students can cope with something far more complex
and with 'free' questions in order to elicit the required information.
Another way is to get the students to elicit information from each other. This is more
complex to set up, and needs planning, but will stimulate your students, will liven up a
dull class, and will often prompt the students to ask for further information from each
other - this is invaluable in a mixed nationality class.

Teaching Skills & Techniques

Modelling
Clear presentation is essential in the classroom. Instructions can be effectively
reinforced by showing students what is expected of them, ie modelling. When you
model an activity, everyone can clearly see what is expected of them. Modelling can be
much more effective than lengthy instructions which can be confusing.
Chorusing
Chorusing is simply the repetition of words and expressions.It plays two important
roles in the classroom: 1) It provides students with a clear model for correct
pronunciation and stress, and 2) It helps students to memorise new vocabulary.
Just because a student hears a word modelled correctly (ie correct pronunciation &
stress), does not mean that he will be able to produce it correctly if he is not given the
opportunity to practise.
Chorus, Isolate, Confirm (C.I.C.)
This is a method of chorusing entire sentences with the aim of promoting sentence
fluency. It focuses on fluency, intonation and liaison (liaison is the running
together of words during normal speech, eg 'What do you do?' becomes, 'Whada-
yado?')
Firstly, the entire sentence is chorused once, and then working backwards from the
end of the sentence individual sounds rather than individual words are chorused until
the sentence is built back up. The complete sentence is then chorused again. There
should be a marked improvement. This is an important tool for dialogue practice and
can be used at any level.
Drilling
Drilling is a controlled practice exercise allowing controlled practice of new
structures before moving on to freer practice. There are many different ways of
drilling; its aim is to ensure that students are able to use new structures correctly. Here
is an example: after teaching the question, 'What's your favourite...?', the teacher
substitutes a variety of pre-taught nouns, eg food, fruit, animals etc.
Then the teacher provides students with the opportunity to practise the structure
by repetitively asking and eliciting responses from the group until they are able to
use the structure fluently.
Boardwork
As teachers we should not forget the importance of the whiteboard in the classroom. It
is an important visual aid which serves to reinforce the language and instructions
and when used effectively can greatly aid teaching. As well as presenting structures
and vocabulary, diagrams and pictures can be drawn to clarify meaning. Pictures and
diagrams can assist us in the same way as modelling does; a simple picture can be a
lot more effective in demonstrating meaning than a long and complex explanation. A
good teacher develops his/her own style and layout which should be the same for every
class. It is useful to divide the board up into different areas, eg new vocabulary, target
language, exemplifications etc.
Instructions
This is one of the most important teaching skills, but is an area where many teachers
experience difficulties.
Clear, precise instructions are essential to avoid student confusion.
Good instructions should be brief; longer and longer instructions given in the attempt to
overcome confusion often have the reverse effect and merely lead to further confusion.
Avoid unnecessary language.
The teacher should a use a set of instruction vocabulary which doesn't vary; students
should be introduced to these at the start of any course. Examples of basic classroom
instruction vocabulary are: sit, stand, listen, ask, answer, open your books, work in pairs
etc. When introducing these instructions it is often beneficial to use them in conjunction
with gestures to demonstrate meaning.
It is important to prepare and check your instructions before lessons to avoid any
potential pitfalls.
Remember to never use pidgin English in the classroom; we should never model bad
English to our students.
Attention signals are effective time saving devices which can be used in the classroom
to convey instructions. For example, attention signals can be used for: repeat, be quiet,
stand up/sit down, stop, listen, write etc.
Gestures can also be invaluable in the classroom. They are different from attention
signals in that they do not convey instructions, but rather add meaning to the spoken
word. Gestures can be used to express encouragement, confusion, praise etc. For
example the thumbs up signal to express 'good', open hands facing up to express that
you don't know, or don't want to say, raised eyebrows to express surprise etc.
Concept Checking Questions (C.C.Q.'s)
We use CCQ's to establish meaning and check student understanding. They can be
applied both to grammar (structures / tenses/functional language), and vocabulary
(words / phrases). They look at such issues as concept, context, use (eg function, style,
relationships between people etc) and time reference as applicable. CCQ's should
check and develop students' understanding by the asking of carefully planned specific
questions.
eg Vocabulary: witty; 'He's a witty person'
'Does he make people laugh?' YES
'Would he be a good guest at a party?' YES
'Is that because he's clever or silly?' CLEVER
What, when, why, how, where, which questions (ie open questions)
How does he make people feel? HAPPY
What does he make people do? LAUGH
Once you have verified the students' comprehension you can ask
students to personalise the vocabulary/structure.
Do you like witty people?' (why / why not?)
Do people think you are witty?
Can you think of a witty person you know?
eg Grammar: used to.. ; 'I used to smoke'.
Are we talking about the past, present or future? PAST
Did I smoke before? YES
Did I smoke regularly? YES
Do I smoke now? NO
What happened? I GAVE UP
Personalised questions once understanding has been established:
Have you ever smoked?
When did you give up?
How difficult was it?
What did you use to do 5 years ago that you don't do now?
We should avoid questions that waste time and that don't focus on important issues or
clarify meaning. We should not use the target language in our questions, except when
practising, ie personalising.)

Pair Work and Group Work

It has been argued that language acquisition will only occur when students are exposed
to, and have ample opportunity to use the target structures of any lesson in a
meaningful and interactive way. It is necessary to provide students with such
opportunities through the use of communicative, task-based activities in the EFL
classroom; this necessitates the use of pair work and group work. Pair work and group
work can be used for controlled practice of vocabulary and structures, or to provide
opportunities for authentic, communicative language use. Any pair work activity is part
of a continuum, with initial controlled practice activities leading to more communicative
freer practice. Many task-based pair work activities fall somewhere between the two.
There are many possibilities for how group work and pair work can be used in the
classroom; here are a few examples of commonly used activities:
Predicting: During group lead-ins, predictive exercises in pairs or groups can be used
to introduce a topic and to encourage students to think about what they might encounter
in upcoming exercises.
Brainstorming: Brainstorming is useful for activating prior knowledge and ideas. It can
be used to generate vocabulary or ideas and interest in a topic. It ensures that all
students are actively involved. A competitive element can be introduced to promote fun
and motivation. The information generated is then fed back to the whole group.
Information-gap & Jigsaw Activities: Information-gap exercises can be structured to
practise very controlled language structures or to provide real communicative
opportunities. Jigsaw activities are a special form of information-gap exercise where key
information required to complete a task is divided between two students. The students
must pool the information in order to successfully complete the task; they must both
give and seek information.
Opinion Exchange: Students are asked to give and discuss opinions. When carried out
in pairs it ensures that all students have the opportunity to express themselves and
avoids discussions being dominated by more vocal students. It is also less threatening
and can thus help to build student confidence.
Role-Plays: Students are given situations and roles and a task or objective to be
accomplished. They are a way of recreating real life situations in the classroom, and
can be both effective and enjoyable.
Discussion: Discussions can be carried out in pairs or groups, and provide good
interactive language opportunities.
Games: Games are usually carried out in groups, but can sometimes be adapted to pair
work. They can provide students with opportunities to practise language and vocabulary
in a fun and relaxed way, and they can add variety to lessons. They should have a
purpose and be used to meet the objectives of the lesson.
Projects: Giving students projects to work on in pairs or small groups can be very
effectively used in the classroom and can provide useful opportunities to develop a
variety of communicative skills, eg negotiating, agreeing / disagreeing etc.
Pair work: Pair work needs to be carefully set up in the classroom. Students need to
understand the objectives of the activity, the language to be used, their roles and who
they are to work with. To make pair work successful the teacher should prepare and
model the activity first. The teacher should carefully monitor students during pair work
activities ready to give feedback.
The teacher should consider the fact that different students work at different rates,
which can cause a problem if not carefully handled. For example, students who have
finished an exercise early may become noisy and disruptive or feel neglected if they are
left waiting for other students to finish the activity. Therefore, it is important to plan
extension activities which students can work on while waiting for other students to finish.
Pair work activities which mimic real communication and have a purpose or goal provide
students with meaningful communicative opportunities which prepare them for the 'real
world' outside the classroom. Communicative pair work exercises which allow for
choices of what to say promote active listening and appropriate responses thus
mimicking real conversation.
Pair work helps to build class rapport and relationships within the classroom. For
students who are shy, pair work provides them with a safe environment in which they
are given the opportunity to contribute while not being the centre of attention.
Pair work provides the opportunity to practise a variety of communicative skills, eg turn-
taking, negotiating, agreeing and disagreeing with others opinions, etc.
Pair work provides the opportunity to cater to different student levels within the same
class.
Pair work is student-centred rather than teacher-centred. The amount of speaking
practice dramatically increases when pair work and group work are used in the
classroom.

Teaching Grammar and Vocabulary in Context

It is important to ensure that all language learning is effective and meaningful. This
means that new words and grammar should always be introduced in the context of
meaningful, realistic interactions. If grammar and vocabulary are taught in isolation
without showing how they are used in context, students will not be able to learn how to
use them in any meaningful way. When writing new vocabulary on the board for
example, always write the word within the context of a sentence and underline the word.
Of course teaching grammar plays a central role in the EFL classroom. However, it is
not just a case of explaining grammar rules to the students; teaching grammar
effectively is more complicated than that. First you need to consider the objectives of
the class, the students’ learning styles, student age group, materials and resources
available, students’ current knowledge etc. In other words, each class is going to have
different grammar needs and goals, and it is up to the teacher to determine those goals
and provide the means with which to meet them.

Inductive and Deductive Grammar Teaching

Inductive is known as the ‘bottom up’ approach. In other words, students
discovering the grammar rules while working through exercises.
eg following a reading comprehension incorporating the simple past and present perfect
tenses, the teacher could ask questions such as, ’Has she ever been to London?’;
’When did she go?’ etc. Then to help students inductively understand the difference
between the two tenses, these questions could be followed by asking the students to
identify which questions spoke about a definite time in the past and which questions
spoke about a person’s general experience.
Deductive is known as the ‘top down’ approach. This is the standard teaching
approach where the teacher introduces and explains the grammar rules to the
student.
eg the teacher starts by explaining that the present perfect tense is made up of the
auxiliary verb ‘have’, plus the past participle, and continues to explain that it is used to
explain an action that has begun in the past and continues to the present
moment…..etc.
An inductive approach means that the teacher is working to facilitate learning.  
One to One
One to one offers a unique teaching situation with great potential. It offers a real
challenge to the teacher, but also an unrivalled opportunity. The content of a one to one
teaching session is determined to a large extent by the student. The teacher becomes
less of a controller or manager and needs more to respond to changes in demands
imposed by the student.
It is however still an artificial situation. Two individuals who have never met and may
have little in common spend a lot of time together in a confined space. It is essential that
the teacher is aware of this and is able to create space for learning and not expect the
student to be totally active. Silence can be difficult in any teaching, but never more so
than in a one to one situation. Students need time to read through work, formulate
answers etc. and the teacher needs to create the necessary space for this to happen
and also to take account of the learner's style.
Different expectations
One to one teaching in a business/language school setting is often in a small, cramped
room and comes with certain constraints and expectations as it is often billed as
'intensive'.
One to one in a homestay / private teaching setting is much more relaxed. The host
teacher chooses the room and the student determines the pace.
It is true to say that there is ‘no escape’ in one to one teaching. It is demanding and can
be very tiring, but the advantages for the student are many:
1. The individual learning style, personality and level of the student can be taken
into consideration
2. The student can set the pace, this is not only possible, but necessary
3. The teacher can offer a choice of pattern/timetable in the working day
4. Breaks can be taken when the time suits
5. There are fewer time constraints on the length of tasks and lessons
6. Tailor-made materials can be prepared and revised to suit the individual
7. The student can have choice and can even supply input material
8. The teacher can arrange visits and set up situations to suit the individual
9. Teaching aids can be ‘hands-on’
10. The teacher can constantly monitor and feedback on the progress of the student
11. Communication is authentic at all times