Dealing With Difficulties
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ersvectives
Dealing with
Difficulties
Solutions, strategies
and suggestions
for successful
teaching
Luke Prodromou
Lindsay Clandfield
rofessional
ersvectives
Series Editor Mike Burghall
Dealing with
Difficulties
Solutions, strategies and suggestions
for successful teaching
Lindsay Clandfield
Luke Prodromou
DELTA
PUBLISHING
Published by
DELTA PUBLISHING
Quince Cottage
Hoe Lane
Peaslake
Surrey G U 5 9SW
England
Delta Publishing 2007
First published 2007
ISBN 978-1-905085-00-2
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publishers.
Edited by Tanya Whatling
Designed by Christine Cox
Illustrations by Phillip Burrows
Project managed by Chris Hartley
Printed by Halstan & Co., Amersham,
Bucks, England
Acknowledgements
Lindsay
I would like to thank all the classes I've had that made
my life difficult as a teacher (you know who you are!).
Without them I would never have thought of a book like
this.
I would also like to thank all those people around the
world who volunteer their time to set up ELT conferences.
I met Luke Prodromou at such a conference in Granada,
Spain in 2001. The idea of working together on this
project was born there. Conferences are great places to
meet people and make things happen.
I used to wonder why authors thanked their editors in
the acknowledgements. Now I know. Thank you Mike
Burghall for keeping us going and helping us overcome
any difficulties we had writing this book.
Thanks also to Joaqufn Gerardo for his motivating talks
on dealing with mixed-ability classes which came just
at the right time.
Finally, to my wife, Sofia: merci pour tout.
This book is for my sons, Lucas and Marcos.
Luke
My thanks go to:
Lindsay Clandfield for helping me grow.
Mike Burghall for his systematic and creative editing.
All the colleagues on whose shoulders we have stood
in order to write this book; of these, Mario Rinvolucri
deserves special thanks for being a constant source of
inspiration over so many years
I dedicate the book to my wife, Kiveli, and children:
Michael, Antony and Rosa.
Personal Prefaces
Lindsay Clandfield
Luke Prodromou
The activist and teacher James Baldwin once said that 'the
price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an
intimate knowledge of its ugly side'. I was initially trained
in communicative methodology and practised with a small
group of motivated native-speaker trainee teachers. When I
first came to ELT, I had grand and noble ideas about what I
would do with my classes. I was in for a rude awakening.
The origins of this book, for me, can be traced back to one
of the first classes I ever taught, in 1973, when my only
qualification to teach English was that I had a degree in
English literature and a passion for Shakespeare. I soon
realised that Ham let was not much use to me when
teaching the verb 'to be' to truculent teenagers. The Prince
of Denmark had, moreover, little to say about discipline
problems in large mixed-level classes, overcrowded with
adolescents and their unruly hormones. Some of them,
male and female, simply refused to pay me any attention.
Indeed, they actually seemed to get pleasure out of
ignoring me and chatting happily amongst themselves.
I felt excluded by their laughter and the more I tried to
control them, the louder my voice got and the deeper I
sank into the swamp of indiscipline.
My first real job was at a university in Mexico. Like many
teachers there, I took another job in a high school to
supplement my income. All of a sudden, many of the
techniques I had learned didn't work - I had classes of
between twenty-seven and forty-five students (instead of
eight), and little or no equipment. I couldn't move the
furniture easily in the room. My students didn't bring their
coursebooks to class, never did any homework and spent a
lot of their time chatting to each other in Spanish.
Teaching was a real struggle.
Very many teachers suffer these problems in silence, or
simply complain about them in the staffroom, and I was
no exception. I came across similar difficulties in
classrooms in Spain, the UK, Canada and the Czech
Republic.
it wasn't until I started looking for help that things began
to get better.
I was lucky to meet other, more experienced, teachers
who gave me tips and advice.
I started to read around the subject and experiment with
different ways of tackling difficulties.
I began to realise that other teachers had many of the
same problems and this helped reduce the feeling of
guilt that I had about my classes.
Dealing with D ifficulties is a product of my own difficult
teaching experiences. And it is a product of all the
inspiring teachers I have observed putting into successful
practice activities such as the ones here.
Teaching a well-behaved and motivated class is one of the
best jobs in the world. With the help of many of the
techniques and activities in this book, I have succeeded in
working with motivated and well-behaved classes.
And I can still say that my initial ideas and ideals about
teaching weren't entirely wrong after all.
I had discovered that teaching English was more than just
teaching grammar and vocabulary: it was also about
dealing with difficulties such as noisy, unmotivated
youngsters and the huge variation in ability and learning
styles in the same class. Getting students' attention and
keeping it seemed to be the be-all and end-all of teaching.
My main strategy in dealing with these difficulties was to
'kick out' the ringleaders, who would sometimes refuse to
leave the room and even challenged my authority headon. The 'weak' learners were simply penalised with a low
grade in the frequent tests I had to administer. Indeed, it
was mostly at examination times that my class tended to
calm down somewhat.
I had accidentally bumped into my first 'disciplinefriendly' technique: testing, which was bad for teaching
but good for discipline.
However, I never lost hope in our capacity to deal with
difficulties because I saw how the same unruly bunch of
kids could become, as if by magic, almost angelic in the
hands of a teacher with good rapport, positive attitudes
and strong presence. Yet these qualities are not easy to
teach.
Dealing with D ifficulties is an attempt to translate some
of that magic into tips, techniques and a practical
methodology. The suggestions you w ill find here are,
potentially, steps for overcoming the difficulties that get in
the way of enjoyable teaching and learning.
Contents
Activity
Page
Activity
Page
Activity
Page
Introduction
1.6 Drilling
26
2.4 Building Good Behaviour
49
Dealing with D ifficu lties
Jazz Chants and Rhymes
26
Class Helpers
49
True for You
29
A Suitable Model
50
Personal Transformation
29
A Quiet Word After Class
50
Drill Duels
30
2.5 Discipline-friendly Tasks
51
2 Large Classes and
Classroom Management
1.1 Managing Big Numbers
12
The Attention-getter
12
Group Leaders
12
The Board Plan
13
Which Answers Are Different?
14
Think, Pair, Share
14
Check, Cross-check
14
Listen and Stand
15
1.7 Speaking
30
Invisible Monsters
51
Anchors
30
Listen Carefully
51
Who Am 1?
31
Mosaic Writing
52
Make Your Own Questionnaire
31
Dream Game
52
Thirty Students, Thirty Questions 32
'I Like' Dictation
53
Tongue-tied
32
Collective Dictation
53
Backs Turned
33
I Remem ber...
54
The Best Memory
33
Ping-pong Speaking
34
2.6 An Element of Surprise
54
1.2 Starting Right
16
Half a Minute!
34
Catch Them Being Bad
54
Entry Music
16
Take Up the Story
35
Catch Them Being Good
55
Who's Here?
16
Why?
35
What Happened to the Class?
55
Split Jokes
17
Be My Guest
56
Name Circle
17
Team Teaching
56
Back-to-back
18
Face-to-face
18
1.3 Tips and Techniques:
Handling Latecomers
19
1.4 Engaging Students
with the Material
20
Authentic Anecdote
20
Quote
20
Anagram
Questions, Questions
21
Word Race
22
1.5 Moving Students Around
22
ABC Order
22
Change Places I f ...
23
In the Cards
1.8 Finishing Right
36
What Did We Do Today?
36
Future Test Questions
36
Word of the Day
37
Don't Smile!
37
Body Dictation
Exit Music
2 Discipline Problems
2.1 Tips and Techniques:
Diffusing D iscipline
3 Mixed-level Classes
57
60
38
3.1 Different Level,
Different Task
38
Complementary Gap-fills
60
Complementary Tasks
60
Dual Choice, Multiple Choice
61
More Support, Less Support
61
Split the Questions
62
39
42
Gap Listening, Choice Listening 62
Books Open, Books Closed
63
2.2 Rules and Regulations
44
Complete the Story
63
Let's Make a Contract
44
Jigsaw Pictures
64
Class Contract, Version 2
45
Truth or Lie?
65
Brainstorm
45
65
23
Mixed Ability,
Mixed-up Sentences
2.3 Raising Awareness
46
In the Picture
24
Bad Teacher, Good Teacher
46
3.2 Extending Tasks
66
That Odd Number: 1
24
Act It Out
47
Choose Two
66
That Odd Number: 2
25
Surprise Tactics
47
Repeat, Please!
66
Write All About It
48
The 'Early Finisher' Table
67
Activity
Page
Activity
Page
G ive Them the Slip
67
Too Many Questions
68
Class Mascot
68
4.1 Valuing Homework
90
Questionnaire, Version 2
69
Homework Survey
90
Deconstructing Words
69
Homework Log
92
The Word Collection
70
Check After, Check Before
93
The Testing Box
70
Proofreading
71
Help!
71
3.3 Catering for Learner Styles
V -/
4 Homework
88
Activity
Page
5 Teaching Exam Classes 110
5.1 Tips and Techniques:
Making the Most of It
112
5.2 Teaching Not Testing
114
Naming Names
114
Without Distractors
114
Multiple Choice Minus One
115
4.2 Linking Homework
to Classwork
94
Finish It At Home: 1
94
Jumbling Distractors
115
72
Finish It At Home: 2
94
Gender Bender
116
Timelines
72
Memory Tests
95
In Reverse: 1
116
Draw and Explain
73
Transform It
96
In Reverse: 2
117
Spidergrams
73
Hometeach
96
Beginning, Middle, End
117
In the Mind's Eye
74
Writing to Each Other
97
Lost Sentences
118
Artists and Dictators
74
English in My Home: 1
98
Your Sentences, My Essay
118
Choose Your Words,
Draw Your Picture
75
English in My Home: 2
98
Cut Them Up
119
English All Around You
99
Hidden Treasure
119
Variations on Reading Aloud
75
Phrasal Verb Hunt
99
120
Listen and Recap
76
Pictures in My House
100
From Questions to
Composition
Musical Writing
76
My Song
100
Heads and Tails
120
Musical Variations
77
Watch It!
101
When, Where, Who?
121
Musical Timekeeping
78
Phone Survey
102
Musical Test
121
Mime Scenes
78
In the News
103
Matching Mimes
79
Poster Project
103
5.3 Testing Without Tears
122
Knees, Waist, Shoulders
79
Co-evaluation
122
Vocabulary Relay
80
Group Test
122
Rub Them Out
80
Cheat Notes
123
The Joker
123
3.4 Tips and Techniques:
One Teacher, One Class
81
3.5 One Class, Not Several
As Many As You Can
4.3 Tips and Techniques:
Correcting Homework
104
4.4 Following Up Homework
106
Second-time-around
Homework
106
83
Second Draft, Third Draft
106
83
Recycling Homework
107
Team Testing
84
Providing Models
107
Oral Concertina
84
Good Tries
108
Scattered Texts
85
Discussing Homework
108
Disappearing Texts
85
Playing Games
109
DIY Questionnaire
86
Party Gossip
86
Ranking
87
They're the Experts
87
6 Professional
Development
124
Tips and Techniques:
You Are Not Alone
125
Read On!
127
Professional Perspectives
Series Information
128
Introduction
Identifying the Difficulties
This book is for teachers of all levels and all ages in both
the private and the public sector, in language contexts
where resources are abundant and where resources are
scarce. However fortunate our teaching situation may be,
none of us is free from at least some of the difficulties
addressed here.
In teaching, in training and especially in observing
teachers at work in all sectors, we have identified the
following as the most common difficulties faced by
teachers:
This book is for teachers like the one who wrote a letter to
one of the authors following a workshop on learnercentred methodology and who included a set of rules for
her 'new revolutionary method for teaching English to little
monsters'. Her rules were more or less as follows:
There is only one teacher in class and not only does
she know what she's doing, but she is always right.
When the teacher speaks, the little devils - or socalled 'learners' - w ill be quiet and pay attention.
They cannot interrupt.
Silence w ill be observed at all times. If they want to
practise speaking, they can do it at home, in their
own time.
Pupils will not do what they think, but what they are
told.
mixed levels
large classes
getting students' attention
keeping students' attention
getting students to do homework
getting lessons off to a good start
discipline
teacher burn-out
dominance of testing over teaching
encouraging independent learning
inability or unwillingness to adapt textbooks
ending lessons smoothly.
We have organised these topics into the different chapters
in the book and we attempt to deal with them by offering
solutions and strategies for a more successful classroom.
The language used - devils, monsters - reflects the
profound alienation and sense of despair this teacher has
reached. This book is a gesture of solidarity and an attempt
to offer constructive solutions to the problems she
identifies.
Dealing with the Difficulties
Oddly enough, the question of discipline and mixed-level
classes is not one of the most frequent at teachers'
conferences and seminars. We hear more about the latest
research into language learning and cutting-edge
methodologies than the bread-and-butter issues of
controlling a class. There are dozens of books on
motivation, communicative interaction, games in the
classroom, task-based learning, and almost any subject
related to teaching English, but books on what to do when
students make life difficult for the teacher are few and far
between. With this book we have tried to break the near
silence surrounding discipline and other 'difficulties'.
We have often felt that innovative methodologies communicative, task-based and humanistic - fall, and
often fail, on the stony ground of classrooms where both
learners and teachers lack motivation. This book is a
response to teachers who feel like giving up on their
students, often quite understandably, for the sake of their
own peace of mind. Teaching classes of unruly children or
adolescents, and even classes of unmotivated adults, can
be a stressful, demoralising business. Good teaching
practice cannot flourish in such circumstances.
The approach taken is, first, to examine the problem in a
positive light and to try to see the opportunities for
learning in what we often assume is simply a threat or an
obstacle. The second stage is to eliminate the negative
aspect of the difficulty by suggesting constructive solutions.
Introduction
1 Large Classes and Classroom Management
6 Professional Development
This chapter focuses on aspects of managing large classes
but w ill offer useful insights and tips into working with
smaller groups, too. We are often struck by the fact that a
good knowledge of language or methodology is not
necessarily enough to make one a successful teacher. The
sense of time and pace, the use of space and the ability to
energise a group of people brought together on a random
basis are essential, if elusive, skills in the classroom. These
skills are vital when teaching both large and small classes.
The difficulties we have outlined above are not few, and,
combined, they can really wear a teacher down. There
are, however, ways to fight this. Whether it is with their
colleagues, with the whole school or in the context of the
wider educational world, or through reading ELT
magazines, journals or many of the fascinating books
written about every aspect of language teaching, teachers
stand a much better chance of not burning out if they are
continually developing professionally.
2 Discipline Problems
Dealing with Diversity
This chapter looks at the many different kinds of
indiscipline in the classroom. We need to explore the root
causes of some of the many ways of disrupting a class
before we can suggest a range of tips and activities for
beginning to tackle this most intractable of all classroom
problems.
There's no success like failure and failure's no success at
a ll. Bob Dylan
Many words related to the subject of this book are loaded
with negative attitudes towards teaching and the learner;
and they tend to be words beginning w ith 'd ': attention
deficit, disorder, dem otivation, d iscip line. Indeed'd' is
usually a fail grade in tests! We can sum these attitudes up
as the 'difficulties' many teachers face in dealing with
group dynamics rather than any difficulty with the English
language as such.
3 Mixed-level Classes
This chapter argues that all classes are 'mixed ability' that is, they all include diversity. An important first step is
to see this diversity in a positive light and to make the
most of the opportunities it offers. The techniques
described in this chapter are organised in such a way as to
help you see and structure your classes differently.
It is an underlying assumption in this book that difficulties
can not only be dealt with but transformed into
opportunities for further learning. This is by no means an
easy task but it is the only one that opens the way to more
pleasant and productive teaching and learning. The key is
to see diversity (another'd' word!) as a positive feature in
the classroom. It is not an obstacle but a potential resource
that can make learning richer by drawing on what the
students bring to class and thus raising their self-esteem
and their respect for each other.
4 Homework
This chapter looks at strategies on how to maximise the
effectiveness of homework in a variety of ways. Homework
is a neglected resource, both outside and inside the
classroom. This chapter looks at the challenge of
homework on two levels: getting students to do it in the
first place and, secondly, persuading students of the value
of homework.
It is the process of transforming failure into success.
5 Teaching Exam Classes
The distinction between a 'testing' and a 'teaching'
approach to learning is at the heart of the difficulties of
teaching exam classes. On the one hand, it is the easiest
thing in the world for the teacher to slip into the role of
'examiner' - one who has the right answers and simply
seeks to check whether the students know the right
answers - but this is usually done at the cost of sacrificing
the best qualities we have as teachers. This chapter offers
ways of maintaining the balance between testing and
teaching.
Dealing with Difficulties
Dealing with Difficulties
Materials
This tells you what you need for the activity. Most
activities in this book require no materials at all, barring
the teacher, the students and something to write on. When
this is not the case, it is indicated here.
So exactly how is the book organised?
The Introductions to the various chapters set the scene and we hope the scene is not a bleak one if we draw on
our potential for development, which often means
awareness of the nature of the problem and the options
available to us. This is where 'theory' or broad
methodological issues come in. The Introductions include
things that you might like to ask yourself or think about to
promote your own development and awareness of the
topic under discussion.
Language / Skills
This tells you what language you may expect from the
activity (when applicable) and what skills (listening,
reading, speaking, writing) are being practised.
Preparation
This tells you what you need to prepare in advance. We
know that you already have lots to do, so we have tried to
make the vast majority of the activities require little or no
preparation at all.
The Tips and Techniques sections are packed with
practical advice where 'recipes' cannot apply. They are
ideas for how you can come up with appropriate
responses to your own problems in class. They bring us
closer to the solution by suggesting strategies or a way out
of the difficulty.
Procedure
This gives step-by-step instructions on what to do in class
to ensure a successful outcome of the activity.
The Activities are ones we and other teachers have found
helpful in getting through a difficult class. They are, on
one level, 'recipes' but they are not so much 'things-to-doon-a-rainy-Friday-afternoon' as techniques that can be
adapted and actually change ways of teaching They differ
from recipes in that we hope you can adapt them and
arrive at your own practical solutions to your own
problems. The Activities are, in other words, generative,
rather than 'one-offs'.
All the Activities follow a set of headings to allow you to
see at a glance what is involved.
Level
The majority of the activities in this book are suitable for
any level, including, and especially, mixed-level classes.
Some activities are marked 'From elementary onwards' or
'From intermediate onwards' which means that they can
be perfectly adapted for higher levels, but are not suitable
for levels lower than the one specified.
Aim
This tells you what a particular activity is about, in terms
of helping to provide strategies for successful teaching.
Duration
This tells you how long an activity lasts. The duration
times are estimates based on our own experience and
watching others teach. Don't feel restricted by the number
of minutes indicated!
Large Classes and
Classroom Management
'In my initial teacher training, we never had more than fifteen students.
I am now teaching classes o f over thirty. It's a whole different story/
1.1 Managing Big Numbers
Many of us are faced daily with large classes. In fact, some
teachers start work with large classes without any prior
teaching practice at all. Speaking in public is difficult for
many people, and the bigger the public, the more difficult
it can seem.
'There's a real problem in keeping control with so many
students. I have to shout a ll the tim e.'
The first section of this chapter provides activities and
ideas relating to classroom control and adapting activities.
One of the greatest challenges for any teacher faced with a
large class is the sense of not feeling in control. There are
a number of factors that can contribute to this sense of
being lost. It may be on that particular day the class is
distracted by something else and there is little you can do
about it. It may be that environmental factors (excessive
heat or cold in the classroom) make it difficult for anyone
to concentrate for any period of time. These are factors
that are beyond one's control. But the truth is that many
factors affecting classroom control are in the teacher's
hands. Here is a short list:
This chapter is about dealing with a large class. A 'large
class' is a subjective term. For some, it is eighteen or
nineteen students. For some, it is forty and for others, a
large class is 100 to 200 students. Most of the activities we
recommend here can be used effectively with classes of up
to fifty people.
But dealing with a large group of people is only one part
of the equation. There are other fundamental issues of
classroom management that, if ignored, can cause us
problems even in the smallest, most manageable of
classes. This chapter also deals with several aspects of
classroom management that are useful for any size of
class, including those big ones.
knowing, and using, students' names
using the space to your advantage
checking and cross-checking
making eye contact
using the board effectively
being organised and prepared
having routines.
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Another way of putting this is that if you do not do the
above there is a greater likelihood that you w ill lose
control - or, at least, the feeling of control.
ignore it and hope it goes away
devise forfeits to 'punish' the latecomer (a 'stick'
approach)
devise incentives to 'reward' those who come on time
(a 'carrot' approach).
1.2 Starting Right
However, the challenge really lies in not only 'dealing
7 don't know how to start a class. They just don't seem
with' the problem (often reactively) but, rather, in taking
advantage of it proactively to make learning more
interesting and effective.
interested.'
The second section deals with the beginning of classes.
Starting a class is a crucial phase of any lesson. Like a
good book or film, the first few minutes should engage
your attention so you follow the main part of the story with
greater interest and involvement.
1.4 Engaging Students with
the Material
'When I te ll students to take out their books, they look so
bored. Even before they see what's in the b o o k.'
M any of the activities described here are also designed to
develop and strengthen rapport in class. Rapport is the
positive relationships we try to build and without which
little can happen. H ow you start the lesson sets the tone
for what w ill follow and establishes the kind of
relationships you wish to create amongst your students.
Section four explores ways of engaging a class with the
theme of the lesson w hile their books are still closed. If
you are working with a coursebook, most lessons w ill be
built around a theme (food, family, love, environment,
etc.). Instead of beginning the lesson with the instruction
Open your books on page . . . , try to engage the students'
interest before they open their books.
1.3 Handling Latecomers
'There are alw ays two or three students who com e in five
o r ten m inutes late. It disrupts m y class and really bothers
m e .'
1.5 Moving Students Around
'M y students alw ays want to work together in cliq ues.
I often feel like a dictator when I sp lit them u p .'
The tips and techniques in section three all address the
issue of latecomers. One common 'difficulty' in every class
is the fact that people have rhythms of their own: some
arrive on time, others arrive late. W hatever we do,
students w ill tend to turn up in class at slightly different
times and this often threatens the cohesion of the group
and the rhythm of the lesson. Latecomers disrupt the class
and distract the teacher who might be in mid-explanation,
often making noise when they ask a partner what they
have missed! The infamous latecomers are a headache and
a problem for many of us.
The activities in section five show you how to integrate
this aspect of classroom management into the normal
routine of teaching language and building rapport, even
with large numbers. Rearranging the seating in a class may
be necessary at the beginning or at any point during the
lesson itself. The ability to get students to move without
dragging their heels, causing an uproar or simply refusing,
is important and may make or break a lesson. Furthermore,
moving students and setting up pairs and groups can itself
be an opportunity for language practice.
You may be working in a school environment which
already has rules and procedures for latecomers. But many
teachers are in a situation where they have to make or
break the rules themselves and they find it difficult to deal
with people who come in those five, ten or fifteen minutes
late. Something can be done, but what? There are three
possible options for the teacher to deal with this problem:
10
Large Classes and Classroom Management
1.6 Drilling
don't know what to do. Whereas drills are more accuracybased, the speaking activities in this section are fluencybased, which means that you may want to save the
correction of any spoken errors until after the activity is
finished, if you correct at all.
7 feel bad that my classes aren't more com m unicative, but
with so m any students it's ju st not po ssib le.'
The activities in the sixth section are a small selection of
drills and controlled activities that work particularly well
with large groups of students.
1.8 Finishing Right
In big mixed-level classes, students often lack the
confidence to perform in a foreign language in front of the
whole class. 'Solo performances', riddled with errors of
grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, are not
everyone's cup of tea. So before we consider the openended skill of 'speaking', we might usefully look at an
activity that seems more accessible to teachers of big
classes, as well as to their students. However, in recent
years 'drilling' has had a mixed press. Many teachers view
drills as belonging to an outdated methodology (which
offered little else). They are also seen as being not very
communicative, meaningless and mindless. But there is a
certain pleasure in repetition and chants which is
magnified in larger numbers. There is also solid research
evidence that repetition in general is an important
dimension of how we learn a language. Controlled
activities, whether drill-like or repetition-rich, can also
instil a sense of confidence in someone faced with an
intimidating grammatical structure or speaking activity. The
choral element provides a screen behind which 'quieter'
students can hide and discreetly build up their confidence.
Controlled practice can take the form of choral drills, as
described above, but the downside of these is often that
they are mechanical, dull and boring. The afternate use of
chants and rhymes adds an element of fun and creativity
to controlled practice.
7 often find I run out o f time at the end o f the class, and
w e 'll sometimes finish m id-activity.'
The final section suggests activities to round off a class on
a positive note. One of the elements of a successful class is
how it finishes. Added to w hich, controlling the timing and
fragmentation of large classes (e.g. during groupwork) is
more difficult. Whether you build the class up to a grand
finale or bring it to a soft landing is a matter of choice, as
long as you convey clearly that the class is finished.
Ending on a good note w ill, hopefully, make your students
more enthusiastic about coming back the next time.
Many coursebook materials are not written specifically
with a class of more than twenty in mind. However, a
large number of students can in fact enhance some of
these activities. And in large classes there is a much richer
variety of backgrounds, personal histories, world views
and experiences than in a small class of eight people, for
example.
In a large class there seem to be so many things that are
hard to get right and yet, as we have seen, we can identify
some basic things that we can do to make things work
better. Basic classroom management is fundamental. There
is little point in trying to do something a little different if
half of the students don't understand because they can't
hear you or if they aren't listening. Classroom management
is all about how we handle time and space - classroom
time and classroom space. It is also about how we manage
people (the students and our relationship with them) and
the objects in the room.
1.7 Speaking
'A ll the good com m unicative activities only work with
sm all groups, but I have over thirty people in my cla ss.'
The seventh section of this chapter includes activities to
get your students communicating orally in large classes. In
language teaching, speaking is often considered the holy
chalice. For many teachers of large classes, the idea of a
speaking activity immediately brings to mind images of
mayhem and chaos. Indeed, this w ill often be true if
speaking activities are not carefully set up and students
It is easy to forget how ever-present these factors are and
how they affect the impact of what w e do in class in so
many subtle, elusive and yet potentially crucial ways. Let's
look more closely, then, at managing time, space, people
and objects so we can grab students' attention - and keep it!
11
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Managing Big Numbers
The Attention-getter
Group Leaders
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To organise the class
Aim
To organise the class
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
Pen and paper; envelopes
Skills / Language Functional language for making
requests; reading comprehension
Skills / Language Understanding instructions;
speaking practice
Preparation
Preparation
Decide and prepare what your attention-getter signal is
going to be (see box opposite, on page 13).
Make a copy of the Group Leader Task Sheet for every four
or five students in the class and place in individual
envelopes. This could be in the students' own language if
they are very low-level (see box opposite, on pagel 3).
Procedure
Tell the class that because they are going to be
speaking a lot in pairs and groups, there will often be a
lot of noise. It is important for them to know what they
have to do and when to stop. For this reason, there will
be times when you w ill need all their attention. Explain
that on these occasions you will show them a signal.
When they see or hear the signal, they should stop
what they are doing and look towards you. Show them
the attention-getter signal and explain that for the next
activity you are going to practise the signal with them.
Procedure
Tell the class you want them to organise themselves
into groups of four or five. They do not need to move
chairs or desks around for this (indeed, this may be
impossible if furniture is screwed down). Allow them
some time to decide who the groups are.
2 Write the following dialogue on the board:
A: Can I have it, please?
B: Sure, here you go.
A: Thanks.
2 Write the following on the board and indicate to the
class to find their groups:
Work in groups o f three or four maximum.
3 Practise this dialogue as a whole class, saying each line
one at a time and asking them to repeat together.
3 Let the students organise themselves into groups of three.
Q Distribute one envelope (with the task sheet inside) to
each group. Tell them to pass the envelope around the
group, using the dialogue. Demonstrate with a student.
Once they get the hang of it, encourage them to go faster.
When the noise level begins to rise, give the signal.
Praise the class once they stop and look towards you.
Write the following on the board and signal to the class
with your hands to begin talking:
Tell each other three true things about yourself and
one lie.
5 Give the signal for everyone to stop (see The Attention-
getter on page 13 opposite).
6 Tell the class that whoever is holding the envelope
5 Let the conversation continue until you are satisfied
should open it and follow the instructions. They will be
the group leaders.
most students have completed the task. Give the signal
and praise them again once they turn to pay attention
to you.
Q Collect the names of the groups and group leaders.
Follow-up
6 Write on the board:
Cuess which o f the four facts you heard was a lie.
Do this activity every week, every two weeks or whenever
you want to change group leaders. Use the group leaders
to do the following tasks:
Q Repeat the same process again.
Follow-up
reporting back on group speaking tasks
checking answers to exercises done by the group and
reaching consensus before reporting back
collecting written work and handing it in
going through correct answers for exercises (you can
prepare copies of the answer key for group leaders
beforehand).
Use the attention-getter signal regularly in class.
NOTE: We recommend against using a shouted 'O K!' or
'Right!' as the signal. The students might not hear this over
the other people talking, and repeatedly shouting and
straining is bad for your voice.
12
Managing Big Numbers
Large Classes and Classroom Management
The Board Plan
The Attention-getter Signals
Level
Any
Aim
To organise the class
raising a hand in the air
Duration
3-5 minutes
raising two hands in the air
Materials
None
ringing a bell
Skills / Language Reading
clicking the lights on and off
holding up and waving some kind of distinctive
object (a colourful feather or a flag)
Preparation
Before class, write the main points of your lesson on the
board (see The Board Plan opposite). Put the plan in the
top left hand corner of the board. Research shows that this
is where the eye is drawn to (think of where icons and
menus tend to be on computer screens). Put the plan in
the same place every day.
showing a blank transparency on the overhead
projector
moving to the back or to a specific part of the room
and making a signal
tapping lightly on the microphone, if you are using
one, when it is turned on.
Procedure
Q At the beginning of class, show the class the points you
have listed on the board. Briefly explain each one.
_________
-*1
,,
"
Group Leaders Task Sheet
Q As the lesson progresses, cross out, erase or tick each
point as you finish it.
Congratulations! You are the leader for your group.
You are going to help the teacher and the other
students.
Variation
Sometimes you may want to include a 'surprise' in your
plan (a game, a test) and the effect could be ruined by
writing it up and explaining it. In this case, merely write
Surprise for that activity. As you go through the plan, add a
little bit of suspense. For example: After our reading
activity, we have a little ... surprise. Now what could it be?
Maybe a game, maybe a test. W e'll see.
Write the names of the other students in your group
on a piece of paper.
Write your name at the top of the paper.
Next to your name, write: Croup Leader.
When you have finished, give the paper to the
teacher.
NOTE: Going through the plan like this ahead of time can
Thank you very much.
be immensely satisfying for students. Often you, the
teacher, having planned the whole lesson, can see the
learning outcomes and achievement of aims. But from the
students' point of view the aims may not be so clear. They
may be asking themselves why they were actually doing
an activity. Going through the main points of the class and
crossing them out as you go gives a sense of progress.
The Board Plan
Thursday, lanuary 15th
Assign new group leaders
Vocabulary and Speaking - the family
Reading
Grammar: review - Present Simple
Pronunciation
Writing activity
Correct homework
13
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Managing Big Numbers
Which Answers Are Different?
Think, Pair, Share
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To encourage students to listen to
each other
Aim
To encourage interactive reading
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
Materials
None
Any reading comprehension text
(or test) with questions
Skills / Language Correcting written work or exercises
Skills / Language Varied
Procedure
Procedure
After the students have finished an activity involving
written answers (which have a right or wrong answer),
ask them to compare answers with a partner and make
a note of how many different answers they have.
Write on the board or put up an overhead projector
transparency that reads:
Think, Pair, Share
Think about your answer individually.
Pair with a partner and discuss your answers.
Share your answer (or your partner's answer) when
called upon.
Q Ask the pairs to check their answers with another pair
and record how many different answers there are now.
E J Tell the students they now have two minutes to make
any changes they wish to their answers.
Ask the students to read the text you have chosen.
Ask which answers are different now.
__ Ask them to close their books.
Q Go through and clarify those questions which had
different answers.
Ask the comprehension questions from the book, one
by one. After the first question, draw the students'
attention to the board or overhead transparency and
ask them to follow the procedure.
N O TE: Once four students have compared their answers to a
'right / wrong' exercise, most of the errors have been peercorrected. This saves you going through all the answers
one by one. It there are still lots of differences in students'
answers after peer consultation, then it is reasonable to
believe that the exercise was too difficult in the first place.
Q Ask the second question, repeating the procedure as
above. Continue with the rest of the questions.
Check, Cross-check
Level
Any
Aim
To maintain attention; to encourage
students to listen to each other
0 When they give you an answer, regardless of whether
or not it is correct, ask another student:
Do you agree?
What did you answer, (John)?
Duration
2 minutes
Q Repeat the process with the second question.
Materials
None
Q Keep moving around the classroom to extend your
control over the whole class.
Skills / Language Varied
Variations
Procedure
You can play the role of the slightly deaf teacher by saying:
Sorry, I didn't hear that. What did h e /sh e say, (Sarah)?
Q After the students have finished a written activity or
exercise, explain that you are going to go through the
answers.
Cross-checking can be used at various other points in the
lesson as w ell:
U Call on a student to give you the answer to the first
question.
reporting back results of a discussion
clarification of instructions
explanations of grammar or vocabulary, etc.
14
Managing Big Numbers
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Listen and Stand
Level
Any
Aim
To get the attention of a large class;
introduce a 'difficult' listening or
reading text kinaesthetically
Duration
10-15 minutes
Materials
An extract from a coursebook;
pieces of paper
Skills / Language Listening or reading
Preparation
Procedure
Scan your listening or reading text for the words which
you want to focus on. If possible, choose words which are
repeated in the text. If you want to add your own
repetition of a word, change the text by replacing the
original words with the words you wish to focus on. See
sample text below.
Q Give the slips of paper with the chosen words to
different groups of students before they read or listen to
the text. If your class is organised in straight rows, give
each row of students the same word (you can do this
by handing the slip of paper to the first student in the
row, who passes it along until everyone has seen the
word).
The words underlined will be the ones written on the
students' slips of paper.
(
Q Tell the class you are going to read a text to them.
Every time they hear the word which is written on their
slip of paper (or any derivative of that word) they have
to stand up and sit down again.
~
:
\
The crowd behaved like animals. I suppose we hear
that about twice a week nowadays. The crowd
behaved like animals. W ell, it just isn't true. Animals
do not behave like that. Animals are not hoolifians.
They do not go around inflicting pain and destruction
on their own kind. The behaviour of animals has
more to do with the stability of their own species.
They do not destroy their own kind in large numbers
as human beings do. In fact, I'm amazed that animals
have agreed to have anything to do with human
beings at all.
..
Q Read the text aloud (including any changes you have
made in order to ensure repetition of the target words).
Ask the class to recall which words each group stood
up to.
Q Ask them to tell you exactly what the text said.
0 The students read or listen to the original text and the
lesson proceeds as 'normal'.
NOTE: This activity is based on an idea by Ken Wilson. It is
an ideal activity for a large class.
Write the chosen words on pieces of paper.
It always manages to raise a laugh.
It gets the attention of a large class.
It eases the students gently into what might be a
difficult text.
It gives them a sense of 'ownership' of the text:
standing up when they hear 'their' word makes the
text more familiar, friendlier. When they listen to or
read the original text, they are driven forward by the
knowledge that their words are buried in the text.
15
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Starting Right
Entry Music
Who's Here?
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To build rapport and create an
'English classroom' space
Aim
To take the class register
Duration
5 minutes (depending on how many
students there are in your class)
Materials
None
Duration
2 minutes at the beginning of class
Materials
A recording of 'theme music' to
begin the class; a C D / cassette
player
Skills / Language Listening and speaking; vocabulary
review
Skills / Language None
Procedure
Preparation
Q Choose a vocabulary area you would like the students
to review. It should be quite a big category (e.g. food,
drinks, clothes, sports, parts of the body, etc.).
Get to class five minutes before your students and cue up
the music you would like the students to hear as they
arrive, so you are not fiddling with the machine as the first
ones enter.
Write the category on the board.
E l Tell the students that you are going to take the register.
When you call out a student's name, they must answer
with a word in English. It should be a word from the
category you have written on the board.
Procedure
Set the mood for the English class by having music
playing as students come in. Greet the students, but
don't make a big thing of the music. It should be
'background m usic'.
Variations
Ask the students to answer with a word beginning with a
certain letter.
Q Leave the music on as they get to their desks, take out
their pens and books and get settled.
Ask them to answer with a phrase that indicates how ready
they are for the class. For example:
Present and feeling .. . good/ read y/ e xcite d / happy/
tired / bored / ill.
Q When you turn the music off it w ill provide a break, at
w hich point it is easier to get everyone's attention and
begin the class.
N O TE: You can have different music for different kinds of
NOTE: Taking the register is one classroom routine that we
day. Here are some suggestions:
have to deal with on a daily basis. It is also a routine that
is ripe for breeding boredom and misbehaviour, especially
with large numbers. The image of the teacher
monotonously reading out students' names to sullen
answers of 'present' is familiar to many. Once we are
familiar with the class, we w ill often dispense with the roll
call, filling out the attendance sheet at the end of the class
as students are filing out. This is a shame, because with a
little imagination, the mere calling out of students' names
can be made into something more interesting.
a bouncy pop song for a sunny day (especially if it is
the first sunny day in ages)
a heavy piece of classical music (Beethoven or
Wagner) for a test
light classical music (Vivaldi or Bach) for a normal
day
topical songs for times of the year (e.g. Christmas,
Halloween, Valentine's Day)
music by a certain artist if that person has been in the
news (e.g. if Coldplay has come to town and you
know some of the students saw them, play Coldplay
in the background).
16
Starting Right
Split Jokes
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Name Circle
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To get students' attention; to create
a relaxed atmosphere
Aim
To build rapport
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
Slips of paper (or cards) with half a
joke on them
Skills / Language Speaking; vocabulary: sports,
hobbies
Skills / Language Speaking and listening
Procedure
Preparation
Copy half a dozen jokes onto slips of paper, in halves.
For example:
Waiter, w ill the pancakes be long?
No, sir. Round.
Procedure
As the students arrive in class, give them each a card
with the first or second half of a joke written on it.
Q Ask the students to stand in one big circle or several
smaller circles.
2 Ask them to say their name and favourite sport or
hobby, making a gesture to illustrate it:
M y name is M onica and I like cycling / swim m ing /
playing chess.
(Monica mimes the activity.)
3 Ask the group to repeat the information in the third
person and to imitate the action:
Her name is M onica and she likes cycling.
Ask them to memorise the words on their slip of paper.
H Repeat for the other students in the circle.
Ask any student with the first half of a joke to call it
out. The class listens and the student with the other half
of the joke calls it out.
Student 1: Waiter, waiter, what's this fly doing in
my soup?
Student 2: Swim m ing, sir!
Variations
Q Any students who need support to remember their
jokes should be allowed to consult their card if they
wish to.
5 When all the jokes have been heard, ask the students to
recall and write down as many jokes as they can.
Encourage those with good memories to help those
with bad memories. Remember: this is not a test but a
rapport-building task!
Variations
The students memorise their words and then get up and
circulate, saying their half of the joke to other members of
the class untill they find their 'other half'. If you want to
change the seating arrangements, they can then sit with
that person.
Instead of using jokes, you could use well-known English
proverbs for this activity (e.g. Too m any co o ks/ spoil the
broth.). At the end of the activity, ask the students for
similar proverbs in their own language.
Make this into a memory activity. The second student has
to say the name and activity of the first student before they
say their own:
H er name is M onica and she likes swim m ing. M y name
is Pedro and I like chess.
The next person must continue in the same way, adding a
name each time.
You can do this activity with other language points,
depending on what you have covered with the class. Here
are some other examples:
Say your name and:
something you did last weekend
the most interesting place you've been
a food you like
a food you hate.
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Starting Right
Back-to-back
Level
From elementary
Aim
Face-to-face
onwards
Level
Any
To build rapport
Aim
To build rapport
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
None
Skills / Language Speaking; clothes vocabulary
Skills / Language None
Procedure
Procedure
Q Tell the students to work in pairs.
Q Put the students into pairs and tell them to stand up.
Ask them to decide which person is student A and
which is student B.
H Tell them to face their partner and look at what they are
wearing. They should try to memorise as many details
as possible.
Q Ask them all to stand face-to-face with their partners.
Q Now ask them to stand back-to-back and describe each
other's appearance.
H Tell student B that they must 'mirror' every move that
student A makes.
Q Bring everyone back together as a group. Ask different
students to describe their partner.
Q Demonstrate this with a student first (taking the place,
momentarily, of a student B).
Variations
Q Allow student Bs a couple of minutes to 'mirror' the
student As.
When the students have finished and are seated again,
explain that you are going to describe some of the people
in the class. Tell them to call out: That's m e! when they
hear themselves being described.
H Tell the pairs to swap roles and repeat the activity.
Variations
When the activity starts, play some quiet background
music while they do the 'mirroring'.
When they have finished the activity with each other, ask
the students to remain in pairs so that one student can see
you (the teacher) and one can't. Tell the student facing
away from you to describe to the other what you are
wearing.
You could also do this activity in small groups (this is
useful if you want the students to work in small groups
afterwards). Have one person be the 'leader' w hile the
others mirror.
Follow-up
NOTE: Beginning a class with a fun, non-linguistic activity
Ask the students to write down as many lexical items
describing clothing as they can.
like this can help break the ice between members and
build rapport.
18
Tips and Techniques
Handling
Latecomers
Large Classes and Classroom Management
If students think they are 'missing out' on something fun or
important, then they might be more motivated to come on
time.
The Late Seats
To avoid latecomers arriving and disrupting a class, you
could set up a system whereby latecomers know where to
go and what to do with minimum disruption.
Declaration on Lateness
At the beginning of the school year, ask the students to
help you draft a Class Declaration on Lateness. You might
want to do this in their own language. Make a note of
what comes up. For example:
Designate two or three chairs near the door to the
class as the late chairs.
Explain that if a student comes to class late, they are
to sit in these chairs so as to disrupt the class as little
as possible.
When someone comes in late, motion them to the
late chair (thereby acknowledging that you have seen
them) and continue with the class. Don't re-explain
everything for them.
How late is acceptable?
What are good reasons for coming late?
What should be the punishment, if any, for lateness?
For the next class, type up the recommendations into a
Class Declaration on Lateness. Bring this to class. Read
through the Declaration and ask if everyone agrees. The
class sign it. You sign it yourself. Put the signed copy on
the wall so that everyone can see it.
At the end of the class, talking to the student(s) in the late
chairs about their lateness can help to solve the 'problem'.
NOTE: It is vital you stick to the rules you have negotiated
How Good Is the Excuse?
with the class about lateness, even (especially) if this
involves yourself!
Discreetly make a note of any student who comes in
noticeably late.
At the end of the class ask the latecomer to explain,
in English, to the class why they were late.
Ask the other students to be the 'judge' of how good
the excuse is. If the excuse is deemed not good, then
give the latecomer the 'punishment' that the class
decides.
Lead-ins
It is a good idea to try to avoid beginning the lesson with
the main of aims of the lesson. Start with a self-contained
activity lasting, say, five minutes. This could be one of the
warm-up activities described in the first section of this
chapter. It is best to avoid plunging straight into your main
aims. The first activity might be loosely related to the topic
you will be dealing with in that lesson, but it could simply
be an engaging warm-up activity.
You may well find that the punishment may already have
been decided if you have a Class Declaration on Lateness.
NOTE: This activity obviously only works well with classes
in which students already have a good rapport with one
another.
'First Five Minute' Incentives
One way of dealing with late students is to give them an
extra reason to be on time, or even early. This is more of a
reward for those who aren't late, rather than a punishment
for those who are. Here are three sample first-five-minute
'incentives'.
Feedback
As each wave of latecomers arrives, ask someone who was
present from the beginning to summarise in some way
what the lesson has been about up to that point. This
could be in the form of a simple question. For example:
During the first five minutes play a quick vocabulary
game that the class likes and enjoys.
When you have a test to give back to students, do it
during the first five minutes of class. If someone
arrives late, they get their test back at the end of the
class, or even the following day (if they arrive on
time!).
During the first five minutes, tell the students that
they can ask you one question about what is coming
in a future test. Give them an honest answer.
Can you quote one thing the teacher or one o f the
students has said so far?
Who can remember what we said ab o ut...?
What have we been discussing?
Can you sum up in one sentence the main point o f the
lesson so far?
This technique is not only useful for latecomers, it is also
good to help the group focus, or refocus, on the task at
hand.
19
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Engaging Students with the Material
Authentic Anecdote
Quote
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To engage students' interest
Aim
Duration
5-10 minutes
To engage students' interest in a
topic
Materials
None
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Skills / Language Listening and speaking
Skills / Language Reading or listening
Procedure
Procedure
Start with an anecdote related to the theme of the
lesson. For example, if the lesson is about travel, tell
the class a story about a trip you have made or your
daily trip to work. Keep it short.
Start with a quote or proverb that is related to the
theme of the lesson.
Q Write the quote on the board or dictate it for one of the
students to write.
Q Put the students in pairs and ask them to retell what
they have understood to each other in English.
U Ask the students to translate it into their own language.
Do they agree with it? What do they think?
Q The students think of a similar anecdote and tell each
other.
Q Open the coursebook and begin your lesson.
Q Open the coursebook and begin your lesson.
Variation
Variation
Here is a variation of this activity using a quote from the
news:
With very low-level students, you could ask them to recap
what they've understood of your anecdote in their own
language and then tell a similar anecdote to each other,
also in their own language.
Start the lesson off with a quote from someone in the
news. Write or dictate the quote. (If it was originally
in another language, translate it into English first.)
Follow up by asking the students to speculate who
said it and what recent news story it refers to.
Tell them the answer.
Now open the coursebook and begin your lesson.
N O TE: An anecdote about you, a real person for the
students, is often a more interesting way to start a lesson
than an invented anecdote about an invented person in a
coursebook.
20
Engaging Students with the Material
Anagram
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Questions, Questions
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To engage students' interest in a
topic
Aim
To engage students' interest in a
topic
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
None
Skills / Language Vocabulary extension
Skills / Language Question forms
Procedure
Procedure
Q Take a nice long word from the day's lesson and write
the letters jumbled up on the board in a big circle.
For example:
Prepare two or three questions about the theme of the
lesson. Here are some example questions based on the
theme of weather for a pre-intermediate class:
What's the weather today?
What's your favourite weather?
What's the coldest place you have ever been to?
Does the weather affect your feelings?
Q Write the questions on the board and ask the students
to work in pairs, asking and answering the questions.
H Do a brief feedback on this activity.
Q Open the coursebook and begin your lesson.
Ask the students how many words they can make in
English using the letters on the board. They cannot
repeat the same letter in an individual word. The word
difficulties could give the following:
duties if fit tie cult difficult
sit fist set cute
Variation
Give the students the theme and ask them to prepare three
questions on it. Put them in pairs and tell them to ask and
answer their questions.
Ask for the words that they came up with. Did anyone
get a word with all the letters? If they didn't, you now
tell them to open their books on the relevant page and
find the word.
21
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Engaging Students with the Material
Word Race
Moving Students Around
A B C Order
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To engage students' interest in a
topic
Aim
Duration
5 minutes
To get to know each other;
rearrange seating to 'refresh' a
tired class
Materials
None
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Skills / Language Vocabulary extension
Skills / Language The alphabet; W hat's your nam e?
W hat's the first letter?
Procedure
f ] Write the topic of the lesson on the board. For
exam ple: M usic.
Procedure
2 Ask the students to work in groups and to come up
with as many English words as they know about the
Q Tell the students to all stand up (with their bags, pens,
etc.).
theme within one minute. For example:
musician
concert C D
MP3 player
2 When they are all standing, ask them to sit in
guitar
alphabetical order according to first names. Designate
one place to be the 'A' seat (the first person w ill sit
there). Tell them to do this in English.
3 The group with the most words connected to the theme
can come and write them on the board.
3 If they need support, write up the following prompts to
help them:
W hat's your nam e? W hat's the first letter?
Q Open the coursebook and start the lesson.
Variation
Make a list yourself of the first ten words that come to
your mind when you think of this topic. Don't tell the
students what the words are.
Q When the students have rearranged themselves, they
introduce themselves to the person sitting next to them.
Variation
Explain that the students, in groups, w ill get a point
for every word they write down connected with the
topic, so long as you have already written it down.
G ive them a minute to brainstorm words.
Read out your words, asking the students to cross
them off their list.
The group with the most words left can come up to
the board and write them up.
Ask the students to sit according to the order of their
birthdays. When they have rearranged themselves, they
introduce the person next to them and say their birthday.
N O TE: If you have a very big class seated in rows, simply
ask the students in the same row to get in order. If you
have two (or more) students with the same name, they
should order themselves using the first letter of their last
name.
N O TE: This activity can be used as an effective pre-text
prediction activity. Ask the students to find how many
words from the board appear in the text.
22
Moving Students Around
Change Places I f ...
Large Classes and Classroom Management
In the Cards
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To change the seating arrangement
in a class
Aim
To put students into new pairs or
groups
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
A deck of playing cards
Skills / Language Listening; present perfect
Skills / Language Speaking; yes / no questions; King,
Jack, Queen, A ce, suits
Procedure
Q Ask the students to stand up.
Preparation
Q Tell them to move and change places with another
person if the sentence you are going to say is true for
them.
Take out as many cards from the deck as there are students
and sort them into pairs or groups.
Examples of sets in a deck of cards
Pairs
2
tens, 2 fives, 2 face cards, 2 of the same suit
Groups of three or more
the same number, the same suit
Q Read out a series of statements, like the following:
Change places if you have lived in
a different country:
Change places if you have never swum
in the ocean.
Change places if you have studied English
for more than a year.
Change places if you have been to England.
Procedure
Distribute the cards you have taken from the pack to
the students. Elicit or teach the words for a deck of
cards: King, Queen, Jack, Ace, diam onds, hearts, clubs,
spades, suits.
Variation
You can use this activity with other structures.
H Explain the different sets that need to work together
(see examples above).
Present Simple
Change places if:
you smoke
you wake up late on Sundays.
H Tell the students to organise themselves into 'sets'.
Past Simple
Change places if:
you woke up this morning before 8 o 'clo ck,
you went out last Saturday night,
you saw a m ovie at the weekend,
you watched (a lo cal television show) last night.
23
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Moving Students Around
In the Picture
That Odd Number: 1
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To organise students into groups of
3 or 4
Aim
To deal with odd numbers of
students (for pairwork activities)
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
1 minute
Materials
Cut-up magazine pictures
Materials
None
Skills / Language Listening to instructions
Skills / Language Speaking; yes / no questions
Preparation
Procedure
Before class, choose pictures from a magazine and cut
them into three or four pieces, according to the size of
groups you want.
Q Explain that you want the students to do an activity in
pairs.
0 Start by assigning a group of three students (e.g. Bruno,
you work with Tania and Yoshi.).
Procedure
As the students arrive for class, give them their part of
the magazine picture.
0 Now continue around the class, pairing off the others
(e.g. You two work together, you two work together.).
Q When they are all present, explain that they have been
given part of a picture. They have to circulate and find
the other two or three parts of the picture to make it
complete.
Tell the students what they have to do for the activity.
NOTE: The odd number poses a problem for many activities
in ELT, which ask for pairs or groups of four. The most
common solution is to divide the class into pairs and to
make one group of three. Designating the group of three
first and then dividing the rest of the class into pairs
avoids the all-too-common situation in which you name
the pairs and finish lamely by saying something like: ...
and M ig u e l... hmmm ... you w ork with Vera and Raquel
... O K ?
J When the 'picture puzzle' is complete, they sit next to
the students who make up their picture.
Q The groups tell each other what is in their picture.
Variations
The students tell each other what is in their picture without
showing it.
By designating the three-person group first, you reduce
that sensation of being the third wheel of a bicycle for the
extra student.
Two groups can work together and ask each other
questions to guess what the picture is about. For example:
A re there any people in the picture?
A re they inside or outside?
A re they happy or sad ?
Is the weather sunny or co ld ?
NOTE: This activity works equally well with groups of four
and an odd number - simply begin with a group of five (or
three).
24
Moving Students Around
Large Classes and Classroom Management
That Odd Number: 2
Level
Any
Aim
To give a special role to the extra
student when you have an odd
number
Duration
1 minute
Materials
Role cards; dictionaries; grammar
books; red and yellow cards
That Odd Number: 2 - Role Cards
The Spy
Your job is to listen carefully to the other groups and
take notes of what they are saying. Write down, for
example:
any information you think is interesting or
surprising
Skills / Language Understanding instructions
any mistakes that you think you heard
how many times someone spoke in a language
that wasn't English.
Preparation
w
Have your role cards ready to give out, including red and
\ellow cards for the 'enforcers', and make dictionaries and
grammar books available for the 'resourcers'.
Prepare your report for the teacher at the end of the
activity.
-
__
_______
_________________________
Procedure
The Enforcer
Q Divide the class into groups of four or pairs as you
would normally do.
Your job is to keep a bit of order around here. To do
this you can use a yellow and red card for minor and
major offences! You should:
Q When you arrive at the extra person, assign them a
special role, using one of the Role Cards opposite.
make sure people speak only English
Variation
make sure that people use the required language
or structure (e.g. past simple)
You can give more than one person a role. For example, in
a class of thirty-six, you could have fifteen pairs and six
spies' (or two 'spies', two 'resourcers' and two 'enforcers').
make sure that people don't make a certain
mistake (e.g. using present simple when you need
past simple)
VO TE: Using these role cards has two potential advantages:
no one feels like an 'extra'
your pairwork activity is maintained, and possibly
even enhanced.
make sure that people are talking.
The Resourcer
Acknowledgement: A version of this idea first appeared in
an article by Lindsay in It's for Teachers (volume 1,
September 2001).
You are like a walking resource for the groups. Your
job is to help them if there are any words they don't
know how to say. For this job you w ill be given a
special piece of resource equipment: a dictionary or
grammar book. Make sure you can use it quickly!
The Doppleganger
A doppleganger is a person who changes into another
person and takes their place. In this activity you have
to take someone's place! You can walk around and
listen to any group or pair that you like. When you
decide who you want to replace, tap them on the
shoulder and show them this card. That person has to
stand up and let you continue in their place. They
become the new doppleganger.
25
Large Classes and Classroom Management
D rilling
Jazz Chants and Rhymes
Level
Any
Aim
To practise pronunciation, stress
and rhythm
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
Jazz chants and rhymes
Variations
Ask a student to take your part (M y feet hurt) when the
class has learnt the chant.
D ivide the class into those who chant M y feet hurt and
those who respond Take o ff your shoes.
Ask the students to write a parallel version of the chant,
using the vocabulary items from their lists (see step 7).
Skills / Language Varied
Preparation
Procedure 2
Choose a chant or rhyme and decide on how you are
going to do it. Prepare any copies or transparencies you
w ill need. The procedures described below can be applied
to most chants and rhymes. Here we refer to the four
examples of chants on page 28.
Chant 2 makes explicit use of the presence of boys and
girls in the class.
Q If possible, put the boys and girls either sitting in two
large groups or on either side of the room. If this is too
disruptive, have the class sit where they alw ays sit.
2 Provide a model for the first lines (I've kept you
Procedure 1
w aiting, I'm sorry, I'm so rry) and get the whole class to
repeat it.
Chant 1 is very simple and provides very good practice in
the imperative and 'clothes' vocabulary. With a little
imagination, however, you can change the language focus
and even involve the pupils in creating their own chant
(see Variations opposite).
3 Ask: W ho do you think is saying these words, to whom
G ive out the handout of your jazz chant or put it on the
board or overhead projector.
Q Provide a model for the next part (W hat's your story
this tim e? I've been here since nine) and get the whole
and w h y? Elicit the answer Men to wom en / Boys to
g irls on a date.
class to repeat.
2 Say your line: M y feet hurt.
Cue students in their line: Take o ff your shoes.
Say your next line: M y feet hurt.
Cue students in their line: Take o ff your shoes.
5 Ask: W ho is saying these lines and how do they feel?
3 Go though the whole text in this way, ensuring correct
6 Go through the whole text, getting the students to
Elicit the answer: G irls / Women waiting for their
boyfriends.
pronunciation, stress and rhythm.
repeat in chorus.
Q Repeat without stopping, this time adopting a jazzy or
rap-like rhythm. You can demonstrate this by clicking
your fingers or tapping an appropriate rhythm on the
desk with a ruler.
Q Repeat the process dividing the text into Boys' and
G irls' lines. Build up a rap-like rhythm. Get the students
to click their fingers.
Follow-up
5 Encourage the students to repeat in chorus and
Get the students to write a dialogue based on the theme of
the jazz chant: Late for a date. Begin by eliciting the
excuses people make when they arrive late for a date. Put
these on the board.
maintain the rhythm. They can c lick their fingers in
rhythm.
When they have learnt their part, withdraw the text and
just prompt them by pointing to key words (e.g. shoes,
sweater, gloves).
Get pairs of students to perform their dialogue in front of
the class.
Q Round off the performance by asking the students to
make a list of all the items of clothing and footwear
that we 'put on' and 'take off'.
Variations
Reverse the roles: now it's the girls who have kept the boys
waiting!
Use the ideas collected during the procedures to get the
students to write their own version of the chant.
26
Drilling
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Jazz Chants and Rhymes
Procedure 3
Procedure 4
In Chant 3, we have an example of a chant or rhyme
created by students as a follow-up to coursebook work. In
this case, the book had presented material on sport.
Students were asked to write the words for an Olympics
Hymn
Chant 4 is for young learners.
Q Elicit or give them the first line. For example:
We can do it, we can dream
2 Put the students in groups ask them to come up with a
second line to do with sport and the O lym pic spirit.
For example:
We can compete, we can win
or
There's a game for me and you
3 Ask the groups to come up with a line that rhymes with
the previous one. For example:
We can compete, we can win
We can make it, w e're a ll in
There's a game for me and you
There's nothing we can't do
Q Establish the rhyme pattern: a b b a .
We can do it, we can dream
There's a game for me and you
There's nothing we can't do
We can do it, we can dream
Q You can give them more support by proving a nearcomplete text with key words missing or invite them to
come up with alternative words to the original text.
In my town, there are nice places
In m y town, there are n ic e _______
That's m y town, my town's great
In my town, th e _______ is clean
In m y town, the grass is ______
That's m y town, my town's cool
2 Get the students to perform the chant accompanied by
gestures. First of all, demonstrate the gestures for the
key words yourself. For example:
N ice places (point all around)
N ice faces (smile)
M y town's great (thumbs up)
M y town's clean (show hands, palms outwards)
Crass is green (point to something green)
M y town's cool (victory sign)
a
b
b
a
5 When the groups have finished their rhymes, collect
them in.
6 In the same lesson or the next one, choose one of the
texts as the jazz chant for the whole class.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to Carolyn Graham for her
contribution to creative chanting in the classroom.
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Drilling
Jazz Chants and Rhymes
Chant 1 M y Feet Hurt
My feet hurt
Take off your shoes
My feet hurt
Take off your shoes
My feet hurt
Take off your shoes
It's hot in here
Take off your sweater
It's hot in here
Take off your sweater
It's hot in here
Take off your sweater
My feet hurt
Take off your shoes
Chant 3: Dream Team
It's cold in here
Put on your sweater
It's cold in here
Put on your sweater
All:
Girls:
Boys:
All:
We can
There's
There's
W e can
My feet hurt
Take off your shoes
All:
Girls:
Boys:
All:
We can do it, we can dream
We're playing in the same team
W e're all playing to win
We can do it, we can dream
All:
Girls:
Boys:
All:
You can do it you can dream
There's only one sport, one game
Rich and poor have the same aim
We can do it we can dream
My
Put
My
Put
hands are cold
on your gloves
hands are cold
on your gloves
My feet hurt
Take off your shoes
Chant 2: The Waiting Game
do it, we can dream
a game for me and you
nothing w e can't do
do it, we can dream
Chant 4: M y Town
In my town, there are nice places
In my town, there are nice faces
That's my town, my town's great
Boys: I've kept you waiting
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
In my town, the river is clean
In my town, the grass is green
That's my town, my town's cool
G irls: What's your story this time?
I've been here since nine
Boys: W ell, the car broke down
Now you're wearing a frown
Oh (baby) please say you'll forgive me today
I've kept you waiting
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
In my town, there are schools and parks
In my town, there are robins and larks
That's my town, it gets top marks
In my town, there are blue, blue skies
In my town, there are smiles in people's eyes
That's my town, it gets first prize
G irls: When we make a date
You're always late
I sit here and wait
W hile you procrastinate
Your excuses are thin
You think I'm dim
It's your car or your watch
O r you've cracked your shin
That s my town, my town's great
ii gets top marks, it gets first priz<
My town's cool, my town's great
Boys: I've kept you waiting
I'm sorry, I'm sorry
Girls: O h, be quiet and buy me a drink!
28
Drilling
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Personal Transformation
True for You
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To provide practice in pronunciation
of a particular structure
Aim
To provide practice in pronunciation
of a particular structure
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
None
Skills / Language L ik e / hate/ don't m ind + -ing
Skills / Language To be-, adjectives
Procedure
Procedure
Q Ask the students to repeat after you in chorus: I'm from
England.
Draw the following on the board:
Q Ask them: Is this true for you? Are you from England?
You should hear a chorus of No!
0 Tell them that you want them to repeat a sentence you
say only if it's true for them.
0 Drill each of these words individually, paying attention
to the stress on really.
Q Repeat the sentence: I'm from England. This time there
should be silence.
0 Say: I'm in an English class. Everyone should repeat this
time.
Write this sentence on the board:
I like watching horror movies.
Q Read the sentence out to the students and ask them to
repeat it, but making it true for themselves by changing
the underlined word to one of the words in the box.
Q Continue like this with sentences such as the following:
I'm a student.
I'm from ... (Insert a country that some / all the
students are from.)
I'm tired / hungry / thirsty.
I'm thirty, (or an age of some of the students in the
class)
0 Tell the students you will repeat the sentence and
indicate when they should say their response.
0 Repeat the sentence, allow a pause of two to three
seconds, and then gesture for the whole class to say
their sentences.
Q Every once in a while, respond to one of the students'
utterances to show you are actually listening to them
and value the point of the exercise. For example:
Oh, you're hungry? D idn't you have breakfast?
Q Continue the drill with sentences like the following:
I like eating fast food.
I hate dancing.
I don't m ind watching football.
Variation
Variation
You can vary this drill with other verbs or structures. For
example:
Past Simple I went to bed late last night. I watched TV.
Have got I've got a brother.
Can
I can speak French.
In some languages, the adjectives tired, hungry and thirsty
do not go with the equivalent of be but rather with a verb
like have. You can choose drills that are particularly
relevant to your students.
You can make your own drills like this for different
structures and language. For example:
If I won the lottery, I'd ..
Conditionals
I like people who ...
Relative clauses
Comparatives / Superlatives ... is the b e st...
... is more expensive
than ...
Acknowledgement: This technique came from a workshop
on drills with Paul Seligson in Granada, Spain. He had
over two hundred teachers doing it, along with hoots of
laughter and lots of fun.
29
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Drilling
Speaking
Drill Duels
Anchors
Level
Any
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To provide practice in pronunciation
of formulaic language
Aim
Students find out information about
everyday habits
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
Pen and paper
Skills / Language Varied
Skills / Language Speaking; present simple
Procedure
Procedure
Write the following three-line exchange on the board:
D id you do it?
No I didn't.
Who did it then ?
Ask the whole class to copy the following headings
from the board:
Find someone who
Name
Q Tell the students you are going to dictate, say, seven
sentences, which they should write under the first
heading. For example:
Find someone w ho:
1 has been to a Chinese restaurant.
2 likes Indian food.
3 can't stand fast food.
4 never eats meat.
5 knows how to cook spaghetti.
6 never has breakfast.
7 drinks m ilk before going to bed.
H Ask the students to work in groups of three. Tell them
to imagine a context for the dialogue. Who is speaking,
where are they and what are they talking about? For
example, this dialogue could be between a teacher and
a boy. They could be standing in front of a broken
window and the teacher wants to know who is
responsible.
0
Drill the dialogue line by line. Do this a couple of
times, experimenting a little with the intonation.
Q Divide the class into three groups: A, B and C . Read the
first line of the dialogue and ask group A to repeat. Do
the same with the second line for group B and the third
line and group C.
Q Ask half the class to stand up and the other half to
remain seated.
Q Those standing up go round the room asking the
questions. Whenever they get a yes answer, they write
the name of the student in the Name column.
H Call on group A to read their line, then group B, then
group C.
Q End the task when a student has found seven different
names for their column.
Repeat the process, making it a bit faster. Repeat again
and again until you (and the class) have had enough.
H Ask everyone to sit down.
Q Ask the students to write a continuation of the dialogue
(another two lines). For example:
D id you do it?
No, I didn't.
Who did it then?
I don't know.
You'd better te ll m e!
To get the students to report back on the task, ask
questions about the content rather than about the form.
For exam ple: Who never has breakfast?
Q W hile asking students to report back, cross-check the
answers with others in the class.
NOTE: The idea is that we shouldn't completely discount
[3 Tell the groups to present their new six-line dialogues
to each other.
'mingle' or 'Find Someone W ho' activities in large classes.
Here only half the students move around. They can only
interview those who are seated, the anchors.
N O TE: As the students become more comfortable with their
'line', they w ill usually begin to change the intonation of
their own accord.
30
Speaking
Who Am 1?
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Make Your Own Questionnaire
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To discover a new 'identity'
Aim
Duration
10-15 minutes
Materials
A few small stickers with the names
of famous people written on them
To encourage students in a large
class to pay attention; to practise a
grammatical structure
Duration
20 minutes
Materials
Pen and paper
Skills / Language
Yes / No questions, in the active and
passive voice
Skills / Language Present simple, past simple
Preparation
Procedure
Prepare the stickers with the names of famous people.
Dictate the following questions:
1 H ow long does it take you to get to sleep
at night?
2 H ow long does it take you to have a bath
or show er?
3 How long doesit take you to wash your h air?
4 H ow long doesit take you to eat breakfast?
5 How long does
it take you to get ready to go out?
Procedure
Q Divide the class into two groups. One group should be
towards the front and one towards the back of the
room.
Q Ask one student to come and stand at the front of the
class and one student to stand at the back.
Q Ask the students to write down their answers to the
questions.
Q Put a sticker on their backs with the name of a famous
person written on it. For example:
George W Bush
Tom Hanks
Einstein
0 Ask the students to work in groups of five. They ask
each other the questions and write down the answers
they receive.
I Ask the 'famous persons' to turn round so their half of
the class can see the name of the famous person on
their back.
Q Ask different students to report one interesting thing
they found out from their survey.
0 The 'famous persons' ask their half of the class yes / no
questions to help them elicit who they are. For
example:
Am I dead or a liv e ?
Was I born in Europe?
Am I a scientist?
Q In their groups, the students now write a similar
questionnaire to practise the past simple, by changing
the questions above and adding their own examples.
Students then give their questionnaire to another group
to complete.
The first half to help their famous person to guess the
right answer is the winner.
NOTE: You could keep the last part of this activity for the
early finishers only.
Q Repeat the game with a second round, this time with
two new students.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to Mario Rinvolucri and John
Morgan for the original questionnaire.
Variations
You can do the same activity as above, but with two or
more students coming to the front of the class. It then
becomes a whole-class activity rather than two groups
competing.
For very large classes, you can do this activity as above,
but in smaller groups (of five or six students). Each group
nominates one person as the 'guesser'. You circulate and
put the sticker on the back of each 'guesser' who quickly
turns and shows the others in the group who they are. The
activity then continues.
31
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Speaking
Thirty Students, Thirty Questions
Tongue-tied
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To build rapport; for students to find
out information they'd like to know
about their colleagues
Aim
To build rapport; to discuss topics
that interest the students
Duration
30 minutes
Duration
20 minutes
Materials
Slips of paper
Materials
Pen and paper
Skills / Language Speaking
Skills / Language Speaking
.
Procedure
Preparation
Q Ask the students to write down on a slip of paper the
topics they would ideally like to talk about in class or if
they were being interviewed on TV. For example, they
might write:
The id eal partner
The best w ay to deal with the drug problem
M y ideal house
M y ideal holiday
In a class of, say, thirty, invite each student to write a
question they would like to ask a friend or a person they
have just met. They can write anything they like. Collect in
the questions and prepare a sheet of questions based on
those the students have contributed. Number the
questions. For example:
1 How w ould you change the design o f your room?
2 W hich items w ould you choose to have in your
bedroom?
3 W hat are your most important possessions?
4 Are you a tidy person?
5 What do you enjoy doing in your free tim e ?
8 Are you interested in protecting the environm ent?
9 H ave you ever protested about something you
disagree with ?
10 What are the advantages and disadvantages o f being
an adolescent?
11 W hat is the ideal age to be? W hy?
12 What kind o f books do you like reading?
13 W hich is your favourite form o f transport?
14 What would be your ideal holiday?
15 Do you agree that schooldays are the best years o f
your life?
Collect in the slips of paper.
Tell the students they are going to prepare a talk on one
of the following topics. Read out a selection of the
topics they have contributed to the pool.
Q Ask students to agree on one topic.
5 G ive them time to work in pairs or groups to
brainstorm ideas on the topic they have chosen.
6 Divide the class into large groups: A and B (draw an
invisible line down the middle of the class).
Q Nominate a student (at random) from one half of the
class, group A, to start talking about the topic.
8 After about thirty seconds, stop the student and call out
another name at random from the other half of the
class, group B. That student then continues from where
the previous student left off.
Procedure
Q In the next class, nominate a student to say a number
from 1-30.
9 After thirty seconds, call out the name of a student from
group A to continue from where the previous student
left off.
2 Read out the question of the number chosen and tell
the class they have thirty seconds to talk about the
question. They should do this in pairs (with the person
next to them).
10 | Continue until one of the groups becomes tongue-tied.
| Repeat the process with another topic chosen from the
student-generated list.
3 Nominate a student to answer the question and signal
to the class to listen to the answer.
Q The student then calls out another student by name and
says a different number. Repeat the process.
N O TE: You could do a few of these each day, depending on
the number of students you have in the class. The students
have to pay attention as the numbers cannot be repeated.
32
Speaking
Large Classes and Classroom Management
The Best Memory
Backs Turned
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To practise describing a picture
Aim
Duration
10 minutes
viaterials
A large magazine picture or wall
chart
To encourage students in a large
class to pay attention; to practise a
grammatical structure
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
None
Skills / Language Speaking
Skills / Language Grammatical structures (here, the
present perfect)
Procedure
Q Divide the class into pairs and ask one student from
each pair to face the back of the class.
Procedure
Decide on the model structure you want to practise.
Elicit ideas for a particular topic. For example: holidays,
crim e.
Q Show a picture to the half of the class facing you. The
students have to describe the picture to the partner who
has his / her back turned. Those with their backs turned
can ask yes / no questions to try to elicit information
rrom the partner who can see the picture.
Q Ask one or two students to write ideas on the board as
they come up.
H When you have enough ideas, nominate a student who
w ill keep count of how many sentences are
remembered.
Variations
f vou want to reduce the noise level, ask the class do the
activity as two large groups, rather than, say, twenty pairs.
Q Ask a student to say a sentence on the model. For
example:
M y name's X and I've never (been to Italy).
I've never committed a burglary ...
You can also post a different picture on the back wall and
create an 'information gap' / 'spot the difference' activity.
Q Ask another student to repeat what the first one said
and add their own example sentence.
0 Ask a third student to repeat what the previous student
said and to add their own example.
Q Continue until a student makes a mistake.
0
Begin another chain, using different students and repeat
the process.
Q At the end of the activity, declare a winner. Who
remembered the most sentences?
Follow-up
Ask the students to write down as much information as they
can remember, based on the activity they've just completed.
Variation
For beginners, you can use the following model which uses
the present simple. Students say their name and anything
they like beginning with the same letter as their initial:
M y name is Luke and I like lemons.
M y name is Sue and I like strawberries.
M y name is M atthew and I like mushrooms.
The other students repeat:
H is name is Luke and he likes lemons.
Her name is Sue and she likes strawberries.
H is name is M atthew and he likes mushrooms.
33
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Speaking
Ping-pong Speaking
Half a Minute!
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To exchange personal information
Aim
To provide practice in fluency
Duration
5-15 minutes
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
Topic cards; slips of paper
Materials
Topic cards; a watch
Language / Skills Speaking
Language / Skills Speaking
Preparation
Preparation
Prepare a list of interesting topics to talk about (e.g. dreams,
the future, an ideal weekend, morning routines) on cards
and slips of paper for students to write on. Each student
should have at least two slips of paper.
Prepare a list of interesting topics to talk about on cards.
Procedure
Q Divide the class into two teams: A and B.
H Explain the rules of the game: you are going to give the
students a topic to talk about for half a minute (chosen
from your collection of 'topics-to-talk-about'). For
example:
rock music
women drivers
free time
money
love
Procedure
Q Write up the topics on the board and make sure the
students understand them.
Q Ask the students to take two or three slips of paper and
write a question on each one. The question should be
something they would like to ask their partner or be
asked by them. The question can relate to any of the
topics. Give them a few examples:
What was your last dream about?
Where would you like to spend your ideal weekend?
What is the first thing you do in the morning when
you wake up?
Q The first player in either team who volunteers to talk
about the topic must do so for half a minute without
changing the subject or repeating him / herself. If the
opposing team think the speaker has changed the
subject (i.e. is 'waffling') or is repeating him / herself,
they may 'challenge'.
E l Collect the students' slips of paper and put them into
two piles face down on a table at the front of the class.
Q If the challenge is accepted by the referee (i.e. you, the
teacher), the challenging team then continues the topic
for the rest of the half minute.
The students form two teams: A and B. Ask them to
stand on either side of the table in a row behind their
pile of questions.
Q Whoever completes the half minute successfully earns
a point for their team.
H Continue playing until one team reaches ten points (or
you or the students are tired of the game).
Q Player 1 in team A takes a slip of paper and reads out
the question. Player 1 in team B has to answer the
question in one or two sentences (not one word!). If
questions are badly formed or incorrect, correct them
orally and ask the student to repeat the correct version.
Q Player 1 in team B then takes a slip and reads out the
question. Player 1 in team A has to answer the question
in one of two sentences (not one word!).
Q Player 2 in team A repeats the process with player 2 in
team B, and so on.
[3 A point is awarded for every question answered
appropriately, i.e. in one or two sentences. Failure to
answer or an answer made up only of one word or
short phrase, does not earn the player a point.
NOTE: For groups bigger than thirty students, you may wish
to form two subgroups and run both games simultaneously.
34
Speaking
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Why?
Take Up the Story
---------------------------------------
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To provide practice in fluency
Aim
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
None
To provide practice in fluency and to
encourage students to listen to each
other
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
None
Language / Skills Past tenses; speaking
Language / Skills Question formation; speaking and
listening
Procedure
1 Divide the students into small groups of three, four or
five.
Procedure
Q Explain that they are going to tell a story together in
turns. First, they must decide on a topic. This could be
Dased on their own experience or on a story they have
'ead or heard. For example: Something that happened
to me yesterday.
Ask the students to work in pairs or small groups. Tell
them to nominate a Narrator.
Q The Narrator has to prepare to tell a story based on
their own experience or a story they have read or
heard. The story should take about five minutes to tell.
For example: A terrible holiday
Note that they should only decide on the topic - not
plan the story! Tell them that this is an exercise
requiring them to think on their feet in English.
0 Ask the Narrator to start the story.
] Ask them to number off the students in their group as
Narrator 1, Narrator 2, etc.
Q At random points in the narrative, the listener(s) can
interrupt and ask Why?
Tell Narrator 1 to start off.
0 The Narrator has to find an answer. Any answer is
acceptable as long as it is in English. For example:
Narrator . . . and then I bought a bar of
chocolate ...
Listener W hy (did you buy the chocolate')?
Narrator Because I love chocolate. And anyway,
when I got home I was feeling very
tire d ...
Listener W hy?
Narrator Because I had done a lot o f shopping ...
0 At random points in the narrative, you give a signal:
Take it up!
Narrator 2 takes up the story exactly where Narrator 1
left off.
Q At another random point, you again give the signal:
Take it up!
Narrator 3 takes up the story from where Narrator 2 left
off
0 The Narrator continues until they finish the story or you
call Stop! (when you feel they've had enough). Then a
different student becomes the Narrator for the group.
Q The story continues in turns, with Narrator 1 taking up
the story after the last person in the group has finished.
m The process continues for as long as you have time
and the students have motivation.
Q At the end of the activity, ask how many Narrators
could finish their story. Can other people in the group
remember what the different stories were about?
Variation
This can be done as a game in front of the class with five
or six students standing or sitting in a straight line and
telling a story, sentence by sentence. The players are
eliminated when they fail to come up with a continuation
to the story. The winner is the person who can keep the
story going the longest without drying up.
35
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Finishing Right
What Did We Do Today?
Future Test Questions
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To revise what you have done in
the lesson
Aim
To revise what you have done;
to prepare for a future test
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
None
Skills / Language Varied
Skills / Language Varied
Procedure
Procedure
D As you come to the end of the lesson, ask the students
Ask the students to work in pairs and come up with
one test question on the lesson they have just had. To
help them, provide examples of test question types like
the following:
to close their books or turn their pages over.
2 Put them in pairs ask them to tell each other as much
as they can remember about the lesson they have just
had. They can do this in their own language if they
need to.
Test Question Types
Multiple Choice
Complete the sentence with the correct word.
Last night w e ____________ to the cinema.
a) went
b) have gone
c) go
3 Conduct a whole-class feedback session in English and
ask different pairs to report.
Variation
To make this more focused, ask the students to finish the
following sentences as if they were writing to a colleague
who had missed the class:
If you missed today's class:
- you should read (page 00 in the book, a certain
handout)
- you should do (exercises X, Y, Z in the book, the
workbook)
- you should remember (important things that came up,
new words).
;
I
Sentence Transformation
Change the sentence from the active to the
passive.
The police stopped the demonstration.
The demonstration_______________________ .
Sentence Completion
Complete the sentence with a word.
I'm not a fraid ___ spiders.
NOTE: With lower levels, students could do this in their
Odd Word Out
Which of the following words does not belong?
green yellow
under black blue
own language.
2 Ask four or five pairs to read out their questions. Elicit
the answers from other pairs.
3 Make a note of some of these questions and
incorporate them into the next test. Inform the students
that you are going to do this.
36
Finishing Right
Word of the Day
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Don't Smile!
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To revise vocabulary covered in
the lesson
Aim
To end the lesson on a high note
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
None
Skills / Language None
Skills / Language New words learnt in class
Procedure
Procedure
Q Ask the students to stand face-to-face with a partner,
making eye contact but keeping a 'straight face'.
Q Ask the students to suggest a 'word of the day' for that
day's lesson. This could be a word that:
Eliminate any pair in which either partner smiles.
students think is useful to know
students like
students think sounds strange
is difficult to pronounce
is related to the lesson but didn't come up
is strange, funny or topical.
The 'winner' is the last person or pair to keep a straight
face.
Variation
This activity also makes a good warm-up. Whether as an
ice-breaker or as a cool-down, the activity is relatively
quiet.
2 Write the word on the board and make a note of it
yourself to use in future quizzes or tests.
Acknowledgement: This activity is based on an idea by
Charlyn Wessels.
You can find several websites that offer Words of the
Day. For example:
Oxford English Dictionary word of the day:
http://www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd
n o te:
The New York Times word of the day:
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/wordofday
Merriam Webster: http://www.wordcentral.com and
follow the links to the buzzword
37
Large Classes and Classroom Management
Finishing Right
Exit Music
Body Dictation
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To end the lesson on a high note
Aim
Duration
1 minute
To end the lesson on a high note; to
'close' the English classroom space
Materials
None
Duration
1 minute
Materials
A recording with 'theme music' for
the end of the lesson
Skills / Language Listening; imperatives
Skills / Language None
Procedure
At the end of lesson, explain that you are going to give
a special dictation to test listening skills. The students
have to listen carefully and do every action you say.
Preparation
Choose your music and have it in place, ready to switch
on, so that you don't have to go searching for the right
piece at the time and ruin the effect.
0 Begin with an example:
Lift your right hand in the air.
Procedure
0 Once everyone has the idea, continue:
Q Wait until the last activity of the lesson is winding
down (perhaps three or four minutes before the end)
and discreetly put on the music and leave the volume
quite low.
Pick up your pen with your right hand.
Put your pen away.
Pick up your book(s) with both hands.
Put your books away.
Stand up.
Turn to the person next to you.
Say 'It was nice to see you today.'
Say 'See you next class.'
Take your bags.
Turn and look at me.
Say 'Goodbye!'
Q Circulate and monitor the class for a minute or so while
they finish.
0 Call the class to attention to finish the activity. Thank
them and tell them the lesson is over.
0 As everyone starts putting things away, slowly turn the
music up more. Leave the music on as they all leave
the classroom.
Q When the students all say goodbye, say goodbye to
them and indicate that the class is finished (e.g. by
picking up your things).
NOTE: This can be particularly helpful if you have trouble
bringing a class to a smooth end. Think of films you have
seen, you always know when it's over because of the
music!
38
Discipline Problems
7 just can't handle them anymore!'
Covert
not paying attention
arriving late
missing lessons
talking when meant to be writing
clicking pens or dropping things
sighing noisily
leaning back in / rocking on chairs
looking out of the window or across the room
packing up early, as if to leave
keeping books closed
asking to change the activity, for example to a song
D siipline is probably the number one concern of many
-achers. It was one of the principal 'difficulties' we had in
- nd when writing this book. You will find that, inevitably,
o ner chapters touch on aspects of teaching that contribute
to reducing discipline problems. But sometimes, whatever
seem to try, the students just refuse to behave! This
chapter takes a closer look at what a discipline problem is,
why it occurs and what to do about it. As one teacher
tend remarked, 'You wouldn't believe the things they get
up to ...'
discipline problem can be defined as any action, overt
or covert, that undermines the unity or cohesion of the
olass. Here are some examples of misbehaviour that we
-ave encountered. We're sure you can think of more.
The lists above suggest that 'discipline' is a complex
problem and can take a number of different forms which
are not always obvious. Many teachers may not realise
they even have a discipline problem because they tend to
assume only overt kinds of disruption (shouting out,
refusing to co-operate) are real discipline problems. Both
forms of 'indiscipline' are signs that students are not paying
the kind of attention you would like and are, by their
actions, also undermining the 'togetherness' of the group
and the idea of working collectively towards common
aims.
Overt
shouting
asking to leave the room repeatedly
muttering rude remarks or swearing in class
cheeky remarks to the teacher
chewing gum
refusing to do set work or homework
fighting others in class
scribbling on books
questioning the usefulness of tasks and or the
teacher's competence
39
Discipline Problems
As discipline problems and their causes are so varied and
elusive, it is probably easier to define the absence of a
discipline problem rather than its existence. When you can
get students' attention and keep it (for the duration of a
lesson) then it is safe to say you do not have discipline
problems.
and resent those who violate them. Peer pressure on
unruly pupils is potentially one of the teacher's greatest
allies in combating indiscipline.
2.3 Raising Awareness
'If they only knew how it fe lt...'
We all have our own way of dealing, or not dealing, with
a discipline problem. There are many variables such as
age, environment and cultural background. Some classes
have discipline problems because they have not gelled
properly. And as every teacher knows, there are always
some days when nothing goes right!
The activities in the third section help you raise awareness
of discipline problems with your students and, together,
come up with solutions.
There are strategies and activities that can address
discipline problems, however, and help to remove them
before they even come into existence or to resolve them
when they do make an appearance.
If you are creating rules and regulations with the students'
involvement, it is worth canvassing their opinions on
discipline and discipline problems, too. Many students w ill
have their own feelings about discipline and how to deal
with it. Even very young students have a clear idea of what
is fair and unfair.
2.1 Diffusing Discipline
2.4 Building Good Behaviour
'W hen Ms K. came into the room, she seemed very
serious. She didn't try to be friendly, like some teachers,
but we alw ays respected her. She waited for everybody to
be q u iet.' C\0-year-old pupil)
'If only I knew w hy they m isbehaved.'
Why students misbehave is, of course, the $65,000,000
dollar question. It is one that even students themselves,
when interviewed about misbehaviour, don't always know
the answer to.
This section offers some strategies to help you to establish
a sense of rule-based behaviour and teacher presence from
the early stages of a new class and to avoid discipline
problems before they become problems.
For many theorists of motivation such as Abraham Maslow,
self-esteem is one of the driving forces behind all learning.
Self-esteem is something we can encourage in an immediate
sense through our everyday practice. Maslow, however, also
refers to self-actualisation as a powerful motivating factor in
learning, but this is a long-term aim of all learning. It is not
easy for teachers in the everyday circumstances of most
teaching situations to see how they can contribute to
another human being's fulfillment, personal or professional.
But we can at least begin to build motivation by working
on the lower and simpler levels of Maslow's pyramid.
As with any public appearance, first impressions are vital
in winning over your audience of students. And they
continue to be of fundamental importance throughout the
course as you and your students work together.
2.2 Rules and Regulations
'They show no respect for the ru les.'
In the second section, you w ill find activities for drawing
up rules and regulations with the students' involvement in
order to create a sense of ownership of these rules.
The traditional and still pertinent response to discipline
problems in class is on the level of rules and regulations,
or the question of what students are allowed to do, what
they are obliged to do and what the official sanctions are
for failing to abide by these rules. However, if students feel
they 'own' the rules they are more likely to uphold them
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
40
Discipline Problems
V*r need to notice that in Maslow's scheme there are
undamental issues to address even before students can be
Motivated to learn. These are:
he need to feel physically comfortable (the room
should not be too hot or too cold; they should not
feel hungry, thirty or wish to go to the toilet!)
he need to feel safe, both physically and mentally
he need to feel they belong in the group.
are all things that should be dealt with early on in
any course. The activities in this section help to build
sEjdents' self-esteem.
2.6 An Element of Surprise
'Sometimes I think they act up because they're bored. 1
need to 'shake them u p 'a bit but I don't know how .'
The activities in the final section contain an element of
surprise that might 'soothe even the most savage of beasts'.
Variety in your classes, and surprise, can also make even
traditionally discipline-unfriendly activities work. Have
you ever thought of setting up a competitive quiz (which
might make the students go crazy) but having the school
director come in and act as judge of points and answers?
2.5 Discipline-friendly Tasks
This is a ll very w ell, but sometimes I just need them to be
quiet!'
The activities in this section build on the principles of
creativity and collaboration in written work, while
itegrating it with other skills.
- the language classroom, some techniques encourage
zood discipline (they are 'discipline-friendly') and other
-echniques, however interesting and relevant they might
be, may have a tendency to disrupt the class (they are
niscipline-unfriendly').
Team quiz games, group work and pairwork are classroom
activities that can easily become discipline-unfriendly. We
are not advocating you use only discipline-friendly
activities, but it is true that every once in a while you need
a break.
Writing and dictations are what we call 'disciplinefriendly' activities and with large classes this is especially
true. The moment of glorious silence (bar the sound of
pencils scratching) gives the teacher a much-needed break.
Mthough they are often considered as traditional, boring
activities, they needn't be. Dictations can be very rich
activities if the teacher knows how to take full advantage
of them.
The problem with the 'quality' of good teaching is that it is
very elusive and yet we all know it when we see it. We
see it in our favourite actors, that quality that attracts
attention and makes you want to look at or listen to
somebody - and to go on looking and listening. How can
we as teachers benefit from the 'Al Pacino' or 'Meryl
Streep' factor?
The list below shows the results of research into what
makes a good teacher.
Qualities
1 friendly
2 explains well
3 has a sense of humour
4 knows the subject
5 is patient
6 is kind
7 believes in students
8 is interesting
9 talks about other things
10 is enthusiastic
These are features that help give a teacher 'presence' and
thereby reduce discipline problems. There is no correct
order, but you might like to stop and think for a moment
how many of these qualities you have - and which ones
you could work on more to get that 'X' factor in teaching.
Discipline Problems
Tips and Techniques
Diffusing
Discipline
Plan your movements: give warnings of changes in
activities.
Show how content is related to students' interests,
existing knowledge and future concerns.
Vary activities and learning styles.
Distribute attention equally. Be flexible enough to
value unexpected contributions.
Keep a roving eye: show that everything is noticed,
even if intervention is avoided.
Keep up the momentum, vary the pace. Don't
interrupt the flow of a lesson unnecessarily.
Be aware of your space: front, back and the sides.
First and Foremost
Always remember: the best attention-getter is the sheer
force of your personality, your presence.
The First Encounter
As with any performance (and a part at least of teaching
involves an element of performing), the first few minutes
are vital in establishing the right kind of expectations of
what is to follow. You must make the most of those first
crucial moments. Prepare yourself:
If you can keep students' attention on you, on the task at
hand or on each other then there's a greater chance of
learning taking place. Your life is also much easier.
Feeling Good, Working Better
Get there first, introduce yourself and familiarise
yourself with who's sitting where.
Discover and use the students' names.
Scan the class to get attention, stop mid-sentence,
wait, look steadily.
Wait for silence and use it effectively: I'd like you a ll
to look this way and listen carefully.
Vary your style through careful use of:
voice tone pitch facial expression
posture
use of space proximity
Set the boundaries. This means telling the students
what you expect from them in terms of behaviour.
Give the lesson a clear form and state it. Make your
targets achievable.
Use we.
Use repetition and the settling power of positive
routine.
Make sure preparation, including timing, is apparent.
Give the overall impression: I am relaxed and
confident.
If we recognise that self-esteem is important, then it's up to
us to try to make students feel good about their work,
however imperfect, and by extension, themselves. Here
are some suggestions:
Use I rather than you statements.
Help students accomplish something and contribute
to the group.
Make it clear you care for and respect the person.
Sit or crouch next to, rather than tower over, students
- especially children.
Show you care when someone is absent.
These techniques, which successful teachers use from the
very beginning to help build and maintain students' self
esteem, may pre-empt discipline problems before they take
shape.
A Rewarding System
A built-in system of rewards provides extrinsic motivation
for students to behave better. This is also what is called the
'carrot' approach to discipline in the classroom. For
example:
Teachers who come to class unprepared, who don't learn
the students' names, who aren't confident in front of the
class, tend to make a bad first impression. They
subsequently run the risk of having discipline problems.
You don't have to be one of them.
giving gold stars for children (and why not adults?) for
work well done
ending the lesson with a game or a song
tossing a sweet to a student who has given a good
answer (this also makes the prohibited act of eating in
class a rare treat for work well done)
giving a 'hint' or advice about an upcoming exam
giving certificates for younger learners, which could
be sent home for parents or displayed on the wall
giving a special class reward, like a trip or excursion
somewhere
Further Encounters
It is not enough to get attention: we have got to try to
maintain attention throughout a lesson or series of lessons.
Here are some tips for maintaining discipline as you get to
know a class better:
Remember that a fresh and vigorous approach
engages students' attention.
42
Tips and Techniques
showing a video that the students choose, or
arranging a trip to the computer room (both, if your
school has the facilities)
making a phone call or writing home (this is usually
reserved for bad behaviour in children, but can have
an extremely beneficial effect if used for good
behaviour).
~-<e advantage of using rewards is that one kind of
a c t io n can involve withholding or postponing them (see
fa c tio n s below). Making motivating group rewards
seoendant on good group behaviour w ill also mean that
tf-*e group itself w ill punish misbehaviour of its members
m thout you having to do anything.
A Real Reward
Bob Dylan says in one of his songs (Love Minus Zero)
there's no success like failure and we had often wondered
nat this puzzling statement could mean. In the context of
waling with difficulties in the classroom, and discipline in
articu lar, we can interpret the statement as one way of
^-essing the importance of success in learning.
Take every opportunity to reward students for their
efforts. This turns into practical pedagogic terms the
old adage that 'nothing succeeds like success'.
Communicate the feeling of achievement in having
completed a task successfully. This is more important
than a gold star to stick on the notebook or a sweet
from the teacher.
Encourage students in the things you say to them
(W ell done!) and the way you say them (our voice
can be in itself a reward or a reprimand for students).
It we can transform the habit of failure into an opportunity
for success, this will have added value in terms of
language learnt but, even more, in terms of learning to
believe in oneself.
Sanctions
In spite of the previous batch of optimistic strategies,
sometimes you may still have to 'punish' in order to instil
in the learners a greater sense of responsibility for their
own actions. If the rewards are the carrot, sanctions are the
'stick'. They vary, from the minimal (a verbal reprimand or
even a mere frown from the teacher) to the draconian
(expulsion from the classroom or school, achieved through
the use of the institutional authority of the director or head
teacher).
Discipline Problems
Here is a checklist for building reasonable and logical
sanctions into your teaching:
Use eye contact as the first warning. A hard stare can
be quite effective. Stare and shift eye contact.
If behaviour doesn't change, try the discreet
approach. Soft, private reprimands are often better
than noisy public rebuke.
Use individual students' names and specify unwanted
behaviour. Make corrective statements short (Stefan,
you're chewing gum in class. Please take it out.).
Refer to the group's established rules, especially if
you've designed them together (see section on Rules
and Regulations).
Establish peace clearly and explicitly before moving
on.
If you send someone out, do it with clear and
achievable terms for re-entry, such as Come back in
five minutes or Tell me when you are ready to come
back.
If you punish someone and it turns out to be
unjustified, admit your mistake and give generous
apologies.
Prepare a strong ending to your lesson, to be stuck to
after disruption.
End on a smile whatever sanctions you have been
obliged to implement.
It is vital in adopting any strategy with sanctions that we
make sure 'the punishment fits the crime'.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to M McManus for some of the
ideas in this section.
Discipline Problems
Rules and Regulations
Let's Make a Contract
Level
Any
Aim
To encourage a sense of ownership
of class rules
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
Pen and paper
Language / Skills Modal verbs of obligation
Preparation
5 The students can include a section in their contract
stating their (reasonable) expectations of the teacher.
For example:
1 The teacher w ill speak to us respectfully.
2 The teacher w ill correct our homework on time.
3 The teacher w ill arrive on time.
4 The teacher w ill give us advance notice o f a ll
tests.
5 The teacher w ill remember what we did in the
previous lesson.
Draw up your own preferred rules of classroom behaviour.
Procedure
Q Refer to a disciple problem that has come up recently
in your class. For example: shouting out, chewing,
arriving late for class.
2 Show the students your version of possible class rules,
including your own obligations to the class. For
example:
1 Students should not chew in class.
2 Students must listen to each other respectfully.
3 Students must do a ll their homework.
4 Students should alw ays bring their textbooks and
a notebook to write in.
5 I w ill start and end classes promptly.
6 I w ill return the homework promptly.
7 I w ill not threaten students.
8 I w ill treat a ll students fairly.
6 When they have finished, go through the final version.
If there are any rules you want to add, do so now.
Explain to the class the rules you want to add and why.
Take away the contract and type it up (or copy it out so
it looks like a 'real' contract).
Display it somewhere visible in the classroom. If you
are unable to do this (e.g. you are not allowed to stick
paper on the walls), then make copies for all the
students in the class and ask them to stick the contract
on the first page of their notebook.
3 Tell the students that they are going to draw up a
contract. Put them into groups to prepare the first draft
of their contract. They should list up to ten points.
9 If there is a breach of rules in class and you need to
call students' attention to it, remind them that this was
a rule they agreed on in their contract.
M ix members of the different groups and get them to
pool their ideas. They should select up to ten rules that
they think are the most important. For example:
1 We w ill try to speak in English.
2 We w ill not disturb other students.
3 We w ill alw ays bring our books, pens and a
notebook.
4 We w ill listen carefully when the teacher is
speaking.
5 We w ill be quiet (and listen) when someone else
is speaking.
6 We w ill do our homework on time.
7 We w ill arrive in the classroom a few minutes
early.
8 We w ill not eat or chew gum in class.
9 We w ill leave the room quietly at the end o f the
class.
10 We w ill respect the teacher and the other students.
Variation
As part of the contract, you can also negotiate what the
sanctions will be for not respecting the rules.
NOTE: This process of drawing up a contract can be done
in the students' own language. The contract is also
something which can be revisited and updated (see next
activity).
44
Rules and Regulations
Discipline Problems
Class Contract, Version 2
Level
Any
Aim
To re-evaluate classroom rules with
students
Take advantage of this time to think about your own
recommendations. Decide if there are any you would
like to change, add or delete.
Duration
20 minutes
5 Mix members of the different groups and ask them to
compare their ideas.
Materials
Your original class contract (see Let's
Make a Contract above)
6 Have a whole-class discussion about what rules they
think are working, what rules aren't working and any
new rules they'd like to add. G ive your own ideas as
well during the discussion. Take notes of any changes
and go through all the suggested changes at the end of
the activity.
Language / Skills Modal verbs of obligation
Preparation
Make copies of the original class contract (see Let's Make
3 Contract on page 44) for every four or five students.
Q Take your notes and use them to draft a new contract.
This is Contract Version 2. Put it on the wall where the
students can see it.
Procedure
Q Two or three months after you've made a class contract,
ask the students how many rules they can remember from
the original contract and elicit examples from the class.
8 You can repeat this activity at different stages of the
year (e.g. at the beginning of each term).
2 Ask the students to work in small groups. Explain that you
NOTES: Class contracts are useful tools but sometimes they
would like them to look at the classroom contract and:
get lost, forgotten or simply outdated. It is a useful exercise
to revisit them, even if there haven't been any major
breaches of the rules. That way you can suggest deleting
some rules because they are no longer necessary (i.e.
because the students are behaving so well!).
put a tick next to the rules that are working
put a cross next to the rules that aren't working
make any suggestions for other rules they think
necessary.
3 Give each group a copy of the original class contract
and let them get to work.
This process of revisiting a contract can be done in the
students' own language.
Brainstorm
Level
Any
Aim
To find a solution to a particular
discipline problem
Duration
20 minutes
Materials
Pen and paper
In turn, each group suggests their preferred solution(s)
to the problem to the rest of the class. For example:
1 A rule should be agreed on for the minimum
. number o f assignments students are expected to
complete each term.
2 After a certain number o f uncompleted
assignments, the offender w ill be asked to sit
outside the classroom and complete the latest
assignment.
3 The offender can be 'tutored' by another student
to help him or her complete the missing
assignments.
Language / Skills Suggestions: 1 think we sh o u ld ...,
W hy don't we ...?
Procedure
Q Make a clear statement of a problem. For example: a
student has not done any homework for a long time.
5 The class chooses, for example, the top three solutions
and makes a plan to implement them, monitor their
progress and agree when to review and evaluate the
situation.
2 Initiate a class discussion by asking questions, listening
reflectively, probing, clarifying issues, restating the
problem and possible solutions.
3 Ask the students to get into groups and brainstorm
ideas for solving the problem. Tell them to make notes.
Evaluate the success of the solution after the agreed
trial period.
45
Discipline Problems
Raising Awareness
Bad Teacher, Good Teacher
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To raise awareness about varieties
of discipline and possible teacher
reactions
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
None
Language / Skills Present simple
Do some whole-class feedback. Make notes on the
board as you elicit the feedback from the As and
the Bs.
Preparation
Make copies of different situations (see below), one for
every pair of students.
Situations
The Bad Teacher...
shouts
The Good Teacher...
doesn't lose
his / her temper
ignores the student
and continues talking
asks the student
a question
gives an unfair
punishment
thanks the student when
he / she stops talking
gets angry at
the class.
asks for silence
respectfully.
A student's mobile phone rings.
Two students are passing notes at the back of the class.
A student says something rude to another student.
A student says something rude to the teacher.
Two minutes before the end of the class, everybody
puts their books in their bags. The teacher is still giving
class.
Collect the written notes and read out individual points
at random and ask students to say whether they are
what the bad or good teacher would do and why.
A student always shouts out the answer to the teacher's
questions. He / She doesn't let other students answer.
A student is playing with a Cameboy in class.
before making a
contract (see page 44). It will also give you an idea of
what kind of teacher behaviour, in the face of discipline
problems, the students react badly to!
NOTE: You could do an activity like this
(You can add other situations that are pertinent or
problematic in your class.)
Procedure
Ask the students to work in pairs. Name each pair as an
A pair or a B pair.
Q Give the example of the following situation:
A student is speaking w hile the teacher is speaking.
The teacher wants the student to stop and listen.
Q Ask the A pairs to brainstorm what a 'bad' teacher
would do in that situation. They can base this on
previous experience they've had. They should write
down one or two things. Tell the B pairs to brainstorm
what a 'good' teacher would do and write in on the
paper.
Distribute the copies of situations below and ask the
students to do the same for the situations above.
Q When they have finished, put the students in groups:
an A pair with a B pair. Ask them to compare their
answers.
46
Raising Awareness
Act It Out
Discipline Problems
Surprise Tactics
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To raise awareness of the disruptive
effect of some behaviour
Aim
To consider the implications of
misbehaviour in class
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
Slips of paper with instructions
(see Preparation)
Materials
Sweets; gum pens
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Imperatives; modals: m ust/ should
Procedure
Preparation
Q Establish which kind of misbehaviour is persistent, as in
the activity Act It Out opposite. For example:
chewing
clicking pens
talking w hile others are talking
Write down recent forms of 'misbehaviour' and prepare the
s ips. Make enough for a dozen or so students. For example:
Shout out a ll the answers.
Speak in your own language a ll the time.
Get up and leave the room.
Keep clicking your pen.
Look out o f the window.
Talk loudly to your partner w hile another student is
speaking.
0 Try the following 'surprise tactics':
When a student gets a question right, give them a
sweet or some gum till the whole class is
chewing. When the session is over, go round with
a bin and 'collect' the gum. Ask: What impression
do a lot of people eating sweets or chewing gum
have on you?
Ask the students to pick up their pens and click
them all together for fifteen seconds. When the
clicking session is over, ask them to put their pens
down. Ask: What effect does pens clicking in the
background have on your concentration and
cohesion as a class?
Stop the lesson mid-flow and ask everyone to talk
to their partner. Stop this 'talk session' after fifteen
seconds. Ask: What effect does this kind o f noise
have on the flow o f the lesson?
Procedure
Q Give out the instruction slips to about a dozen students.
Tell them:
they should not show this slip to anybody else
they should follow the instruction on the slip
when the lesson gets underway.
Q Tell the class you're going to teach the lesson as normal
but as you do so the class should try to notice any
unusual behaviour on the part of other members of the
class.
0 Conduct the lesson as you would normally do. Signal
that 'the lesson is now starting'.
0 To highlight and add humour to other types of
misbehaviour, try 'exaggerating' the behaviour,
followed by reflection on its consequences. For
example:
Everybody look out o f the window.
Everybody lean back in your chair and start rocking.
Everybody shout out the answer to the next
question.
Q Stop after about 15 minutes and elicit what the
'disruptive' students were doing. For example:
M aria was getting up a ll the time.
Peter was clicking his pen.
John was looking out o f the window.
0 Write these on the board.
Round off by asking the students to make their own list
of 'disruptive activities'. How many can they come up
with? Can they order them into serious / less serious?
0 Ask the students what effect this behaviour had on the
class. For example:
We couldn't concentrate.
We couldn't hear what was going on.
We didn't get much work done.
u Ask students to sum up the implications of the activity
by writing 'rules'. For example:
We shouldn't shout out.
We mustn't click our pens a ll the time.
47
Discipline Problems
Raising Awareness
Write All About It
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To raise awareness of discipline
problems, their causes and possible
solutions
Duration
5-10 minutes (in class) one hour
(at home)
Materials
Pen and paper
Language / Skills Passive voice: X is caused by ...;
expressing cause and effect;
suggesting solutions; modal verbs:
can, could
Procedure
Q After a disruptive incident (when the students have had
time to calm down), brainstorm three paragraphs for a
composition entitled D iscipline Problems in School.
For example:
1 Examples of Indiscipline
3 Solutions
2 Causes
shouting out
Students like to show off.
We could draw up a set of rules.
not paying attention
They want attention.
We could make punishment more severe.
arriving late
They are under pressure.
We could make classes more motivating
Q Ask the students to write up their composition for
homework, adding to the ideas brainstormed in class.
Variation
Make a poster or mind-map of the ideas resulting from the
brainstorming session and display them on the wall.
48
Building Good Behaviour
Discipline Problems
Class Helpers
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To give roles and a sense of
ownership of what happens in class
Duration
Not applicable
Materials
None
Class Helper Role Cards
The Timekeeper
Possible responsibilities:
to announce when the class starts
to announce when the class is over
Language / Skills Instructions
to tell the teacher what time it is when he / she
asks
Preparation
to call time on timed activities.
Prepare cards with the Helper 'roles' on them (optional).
Procedure
At the beginning of the school week, assign different
roles to different students to help you with the class.
See opposite for some roles you can assign and the
responsibilities they might entail.
The Boardkeeper
Possible responsibilities:
to clean the board at the beginning of class
Q Explain what the responsibilities of this person are and
make sure they understand. You could give them a
special role card for the week. For example:
to write the day and date on the board
to clean the board at the end of class.
--------------------------
The Messenger
Possible responsibilities:
to distribute worksheets or papers to students
around the class
to collect work in for the teacher
to deliver any messages outside the classroom
as necessary during the week.
You are the messenger this week.
The Attendance-taker
Your responsibilities include:
Possible responsibilities:
giving out students' work and collecting it
to take attendance for the teacher at the
beginning of class.
taking messages outside the class if they are
necessary.
---------
---------------- ------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------
Follow-up
Rotate these roles every week so that different students
are given the positions of responsibility.
NOTE: Young learners often really like having positions of
responsibility in the class. It gives them a stake in what's
going on and helps build self-esteem. By changing these
on a regular and fair basis, you ensure that everyone
takes part.
49
-------
Discipline Problems
Building Good Behaviour
A Quiet Word After Class
A Suitable Model
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To raise the self-esteem of disruptive
students with feedback on written
work
Aim
To provide positive feedback and
raise the self-esteem of disruptive
students
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
2 minutes after class
Materials
A few lines from any disruptive
student's written work
Materials
None
Language / Skills Words of praise
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Preparation
Q The next time one of the more troublesome students
behaves well in class (by participating well with a
group, speaking more in English than usual, completing
the exercises on time, etc.), ask him / her discreetly to
stay back after class for a moment.
Choose a piece of homework written by a disruptive
student and correct a few lines.
Procedure
Q Collect homework or set a short written task in class in
order to ensure that you have a sample of written work
by a troublesome student who may not normally do
any homework.
2 When the other students have left the room, tell the
student how pleased you were with his / her work
today. For example:
I noticed you spoke a lot more English today, I
thought that was really good.
I saw that you finished a ll your exercises today, w ell
done.
I've noticed that your English is getting better, and I
wanted to tell you.
2 Correct any language mistakes in the student's text but
make sure the meaning is still the same.
3 In the next lesson, tell the students they are going to
have a dictation as feedback on the written text.
Tell them the text is something one of them has written
and that you have corrected. Do not mention the name
of the student who wrote the original extract.
NOTE: This works on the same principle as Catch Them
Being Good on page 55, namely that 'bad' students are
more accustomed to being asked to stay after class
because they have misbehaved. This way you are giving
extra reinforcement to the good behaviour.
5 Dictate the student's text as feedback to the whole class
on the written task.
6 Ask the students to check their dictations in pairs.
Q Point out or elicit positive features of the text and
recommend that the class bear these features in mind
in their future work.
Variation
Thank the student in front of the class at the end of the
task if you feel this w ill raise the student's self-esteem
further.
50
Discipline-friendly Tasks
Invisible Body
Discipline Problems
Listen Carefully
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To calm the class after a noisy spell
Aims
Duration
15 minutes
To encourage students to be quiet
and listen
Materials
Pencil and A4 paper
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
Instructions on cards / slips of paper
Language / Skills Parts of the body: head, hand, shin,
chin, cheek, eyes, etc.
Language / Skills Listening; speaking
Procedure
Preparation
Q After a noisy spell or a disruptive incident, ask the
students to take a piece of paper and a pencil.
Write out the instructions for Student As and Student Bs
below and make enough copies for each student.
0 Explain that you are going to read out some words that
Student A
1 Think of something interesting to tell your partner.
You could talk about:
a film a book some gossip a place a hobby
have to do with parts of the body (e.g. head, hand) and
that they have to write down the words on their piece
of blank paper roughly in the position they imagine
they should be on an 'invisible body'.
2 Tell your partner about it with a lot of enthusiasm.
You will have one minute. Keep talking.
0 Dictate the words, pausing to give students time to
write them down,
Q After you have dictated a dozen or so words
(depending on the time available and the level of the
class), ask the students to check their work with a
partner. They should check for spelling and content: do
they have the parts of the body in the same position?
Student B
Your partner is going to talk about something they
think is very interesting. You show no interest in what
they are saying. Show this by:
0 Conduct a brief feedback session with the whole class
to make sure all the students have the correct words in
the right place.
Q When the feedback session is over, ask the students to
link their words to form an outline of a body. Ask them
to compare bodies.
your voice
never making eye contact
looking over their shoulder
staring into space.
Procedure
0 Tell the students they are going to practise their
Variations
listening and speaking skills.
With young children, replace 'bodies' with 'monsters'. The
monsters can be coloured in. The end-product can form
the basis of a mini-exhibition on the walls of the
classroom.
0 Put the students in pairs and give each pair a copy of the
instructions for Student A and Student B. Give them a
minute to think about what they are going to talk about.
0 Ask them to do the activity. They speak for one minute.
You could use the same procedure to work on the
following:
Ask the pairs to reverse roles. Student A listens while
Student B talks for one minute on a different topic.
Explain that this time, Student A must:
names of countries (write where they are on a world
map)
rooms (write where they are on a floor plan of a flat)
classroom furniture (write where they are in the
class).
remain silent for one minute
maintain eye contact
give feedback only by nodding saying 'hmm'.
0 When the minute is up, Student A repeats as accurately
as possible what Student B said, in the first person (this is
to avoid this task becoming a task in reported speech!).
0
51
Ask the students to discuss the two experiments.
Discipline Problems
Discipline-friendly Tasks
Mosaic Writing
Dream Game
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To provide practice in writing in a
supportive atmosphere; to build a
group dynamic where everyone
participates
Aim
To practise writing; to guide writing
with questions; to persona se
writing
Duration
30 minutes
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
Pen and paper
Materials
Pen and paper
Language / Skills Narrative tenses: adjectives to
describe objects
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Give the students a title of a composition. For example:
M y Favourite School Subject
U Tell the students that you want them to imagine that
they're walking down a path an\ path 3n\v,here. Ask
them to describe the path in writing:
Is it straight/ winding narrow '.side'
Is it in a forest / mountain / beach city ?
2 Ask them to brainstorm ideas together in pairs under
these headings:
Useful
Vocabulary
Grammar /
Tenses
Topics
History
Maths
boring
useful
present simple
future: It w ill
be useful
school subjects
the teacher
jobs
2 Tell the students that as they are walking along the path,
they find a stick on the ground. Ask them to describe the
stick. They need to think about: size, age, colour, weight.
3 Ask them to write dour, what the\ do with the stick:
Do you p ick it up, kick it throw it away?
E J Next, they come across a fallen tree. Ask them to
describe it. They need to think about: size, age, colour.
5 What do they do now ?
Do you jum p over /go round the tree?
3 Elicit some ideas from the whole class and ask one or
two students to write up the ideas on the board, under
the correct heading.
6 Next, the students see a bear on the path. They describe
the bear and what the\ do.
When there are enough ideas on the board, the
students begin to write on one of the topics.
Q After this, thev come to a river They describe the river
and what they do.
After a couple of minutes, say: Stop! Circulate!
8 Finally, they come tc i
..ail ? :oo high to
climb, too long to walk around and thes cannot dig
under it. What do thev do?
The students pass on their composition to another
person, who continues exactly where the previous
writer left off.
9 Give them the solution beta* and ask t e n to go back
and interpret their answers.
Q After a minute or so, say: Stop! Circulate!
8 Continue until you have half a dozen exchanges.
(It could be more if you have more time.)
Solution
The path represents your interpretation at We in
general.
The stick represents life's small problems and how
you deal with them.
The tree represents life's big prohhm and how you
deal with them.
The bear represents the opposite so*.
The river represents marriage.
The wall represents death.
9 When the composition is long enough, each student
w ill have a different version of the topic, produced by
half a dozen or more fellow-students.
At home, the students write their own version of the
'mosaic' composition.
52
Discipline-friendly Tasks
Discipline Problems
Collective Dictation
i Like' Dictation
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To provide practice in writing in a
supportive atmosphere; to calm a
noisy class down
Aim
To raise students' self-esteem; to
strengthen group cohesion
Duration
30 minutes
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
Pen and paper
Materials
Pen and paper; slips of paper
Language / Skills Listening and writing
Language / Skills Varied (here: likes / dislikes;
can for ability)
Procedure
Q Divide the class into two groups.
Group 1 completes the following stem sentence on a
slip of paper:
I like watching TV because ...
Group 2 completes the following stem sentence on a
slip of paper:
I enjoy going to the cinema because ...
Procedure
Hand out slips of paper and ask the students to write
one sentence about themselves using lik e / dislike or
can. Ask early finishers to write a second sentence. For
example:
I like watermelon but I dislike carrots.
I can speak French; I can play tennis.
Q Collect the slips and take them home. Prepare two
paragraphs based on the two sentences (see examples
below):
Q Go round the class, checking and making sure the
students' sentences are correct.
correct the errors
connect the fragments into a whole
bring the level of the text up to a higher standard
by modifying the grammar and vocabulary
supply any ideas which are needed to enrich the
text and facilitate the task.
Q Collect the completed slips.
Hand out sheets of paper and ask the students to write
all the names of the students in the class down the lefthand margin, like this:
M aria
John
Peter
Example paragraphs based on students' own sentences
Paragraph 1
Children like watching TV for a number o f reasons.
First o f a ll, there are a lot o f sports programmes but
there are also comedies and quiz shows. ...
Paragraph 2
Some people, however, prefer going to the cinem a.
The cinem a is more exciting because o f the large
screen. ...
0 Redistribute a dozen or so of the slips to the class at
random.
0 Ask the students with a slip to read out the sentences
one by one, giving the rest of the class time to write
them down. Allow the student reading to read out the
sentence twice.
The class writes the information next to the student to
whom they think it applies. If they don't know and
can't guess the person, then they should write the
information anyway, at the bottom of the page or on
the back of the page.
0 In the next class, dictate the two paragraphs.
0 The students read over their text individually and
search the text to find their original sentence. They
underline it.
0 When the dictation is complete, the students check in
0 They search the text again to find any connecting
pairs for form (spelling, vocabulary, grammar) and for
content (do they agree on the person?).
devices you have used in the new, connected version
of the sentences.
0 Do a whole-class feedback. How many people were
0 Now ask them to compare their text with another
right in their guesses?
student and to make sure their texts are the same.
NOTE: You can repeat the dictation on other days with the
Follow-up
leftover slips of paper.
The students write a third paragraph, using the two
dictated paragraphs as their model.
53
Discipline Problems
Discipline-friendly Tasks
An Element of Surprise
I Remember...
Catch Them Being Bad
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To get students to reflect on events
from their past; to calm a noisy class
down
Aim
To alert students' attention to
violation of class rules
Duration
A few seconds
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
None
Materials
Pen and Paper
Language / Skills Question forms; statements
Language / Skills Listening, writing and speaking;
remember + -ing.
Procedure
Q Ask the students to copy the following table;
Ages
2-5
6-10
11-12
13-16 17-19 20-25 26-30
2 Tell them you are going to dictate things that happen to
us at various ages. Examples you could use are:
losing teeth
falling in love
feeling cold
taking exams
feeling angry
feeling sad
feeling anxious
thinking about my hair
riding my bike
leaving home
needing money
3 Ask them to write the information under the
appropriate column, depending on how old they were
when they remember having this experience.
Q Start dictating sentences like these:
I remember losing a tooth ...
I remember falling in love ...
5 When the dictation is over, the students turn to a
partner and use the completed table to talk to each
other about their memories. They should give more
specific details (why, when, where, etc.). For example:
I remember feeling anxious when I was sixteen
years old; I had to take an important exam.
6 When they have finished chatting with one person,
they should turn to someone else.
Follow-up
The students write a brief report on what they have learnt
about their fellow students.
Procedure
Q When students are breaking a written or unwritten rule
while you are working with a student in another part of
the room, ask the offender(s) in a firm voice:
(Name) what's going on over there? I'll be with you
in a moment.
(Name) you're out o f your seat.
(Name) you're talking loudly.
(Name) you're not working - what should you be
doing now?
Q Ask the class to get into groups and recall and write
down the class rules (see the activity on page 44). How
many can they remember?
NOTE: Remember that 'what' questions are more effective
than 'why' questions. They place the responsibility for
feedback on the students themselves.
An Element of Surprise
Catch Them Being Good
Discipline Problems
What Happened to the Class?
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To provide positive feedback and
raise the self-esteem of disruptive
students
Aim
To 'refresh' a previously disruptive
class by changing the classroom
layout
Duration
A few seconds
Duration
Five minutes
Materials
None
Materials
None
Language / Skills None
Language / Skills None
Procedure
Preparation
Q When you notice a usually disruptive student behaves
well (e.g. by completing an exercise, or answering a
question correctly), respond by praising the student
publicly. Disruptive students are usually accustomed to
being caught out for being bad.
You need a class with chairs / tables that can be moved
around.
2 Here are some examples of things you could say:
That's exactly the answer I was waiting for!
Excellent answer, w ell done!
W ell done! You've finished the exercise ... in record
time, too!
D id everyone hear (name)? H e /S h e had the right
answer.
Yes, you've got the right idea. Excellent.
NOTE: Make sure you do this for the well-behaved students
as well and in equal measure (if possible!). Disruptive
students tend to get more teacher attention anyway (even if
for the wrong reasons), and this can be seen as unfair by
the other students.
Procedure
Q Stop the class after a noisy activity. Explain that you
would like to reorganise the seating.
2 Q uickly sketch on the board how you would like the
seating arrangement to be. Here are some possible
seating arrangements:
a horseshoe shape - for whole-class discussion
rows - for 'serious' solo work, like writing or a
dictation
small groupings of tables together - for group work
chairs facing each other - for speaking pairwork
3 Tell the students they have three minutes to make the
class seating arrangement match the sketch on the
board. Help out.
Q Continue the next part of the lesson.
Variations
Instead of changing the seating around, ask the students to
sit on the front of their desks and continue the lesson that
way.
Tell the students to stand in a semi-circle (no pens or paper
in hand) and continue the class that way. This is good for
drilling or other pronunciation work.
If it is not too cold, sit on the floor in a circle. This is good
for refocusing the attention, for telling a story or for wholegroup discussions.
Reorganise the class seating to something completely
different before the students arrive. As they come in, direct
them to their places.
NOTE: It is also a good idea for you to change the place
from which you usually teach from time to time.
Discipline Problems
An Element of Surprise
Be My Guest
Team Teaching
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To introduce an outside visitor to
the class
Aim
To introduce another teacher to
the lesson
Duration
20 to 30 minutes
Duration
A full lesson or part of a lesson
Materials
None
Materials
None
Language / Skills This will vary
Language / Skills Question forms
Preparation
Preparation
Find an English-speaking triend or family member who
could come to your class for the last half an hour dr so.
Ask your guest beforehand to think of an interesting
anecdote or experience about their life that they would be
willing to share. This could be a great / terrible job they
had, a brush with death, a meeting with a star.
Find a colleague who will come and teach a class, or part
of a class, with you and plan the class together. Ask them
beforehand to plan the lesson with you. It need only be a
part of a lesson, say, fifteen minutes. Decide who w ill do
what - make the stages very clear (e.g. introduction,
warm-up, presentation, practice).
Procedure
Procedure
Q At the beginning of the lesson, explain briefly that
someone is coming to meet the class for the last half
hour, but don't make too much of this now.
O Start the lesson by introducing the other teacher to the
students. Explain that today you will both be teaching
the class.
0 Twenty minutes before your guest is due to arrive, tell
the students to put away their books. Wait for silence.
0 Take turns teaching different parts of the class. Here are
some possibilities:
0 Tell the students that very shortly the guest will come
in. Tell them very briefly about the interesting
experience / fact that the guest is going to share with
them. For example:
Today's guest was once attacked by a shark. She is
going to tell you about it, but you have to prepare
some questions for her first.
One teacher does the teacher-fronted part of the
lesson and both teachers circulate and monitor the
rest of the lesson.
Both teachers take turns running different
activities.
The students form two groups and one teacher
takes one group and the other teacher takes the
other group. They swap groups halfway through
the class.
If there is a game-type activity, each teacher is
responsible for a team.
Put the students in pairs and instruct them to write
three to five questions they could ask.
0 Check some of the questions as a whole group. Make
sure the students have different questions (not What is
your name? thirty times!).
NOTE: Make sure you return the favour to the other
teacher!
0 When they are ready, bring in the guest and invite the
students to ask their questions, with the guest
answering and asking questions, too.
Variations
If your guest has a great story, and even better, a photo to
go with it, then show the photo around the class at the
getting-ready stage.
If your guest is a non-native speaker of English, you could
ask them to come in and talk about their experience of
learning English and when they have used it in their lives.
56
____________________________
Mixed-level Classes
'Help! I have a mixed ability class! How on earth can I teach?'
inspiration in building techniques for co-operative learning
and making the most of diversity in the classroom. Some of
these ideas have been set out in the box on page 59.
All classes are made up of mixed levels. As soon as you
put two people together, you have a mixed-level situation,
especially if mixed levels are seen as more than a question
of ability as demonstrated in tests of language proficiency.
Mixed-level classes are also, and amongst other things, the
result of:
Derived from the principles outlined by Vygotsky, there are
different ways of generating practical classroom techniques
which we have adopted for the purposes of organising this
chapter.
the different learning styles of students
the pace at which they each learn
their level and kind of motivation
their personal interests
their background knowledge
any social problems they may be facing.
3.1 Different Level, Different Task
'The m aterial is too hard for h alf the class, or it's too easy.
It's almost like I need two coursebooks.'
Mixed-level teaching is thus only one problem (or challenge)
faced by teachers and it cuts across other 'problems', such as
failure to achieve results, discipline and - the number one
factor in learning a language - motivation, or the lack of it.
How we confront the problem of 'mixed ability' or, more
accurately, 'mixed-level' teaching will make a big difference
to the progress we make with our students. Because mixedlevel teaching is defined by diversity and making the most
of diversity in the classroom, it goes to the heart of teaching.
The activities in the first section of this chapter suggest
ways of setting different tasks for different students. This
does not mean preparing two or more different lessons for
the same class! Any solutions to meeting the diverse needs
of students should involve a minimum amount of
preparation and a maximum 'pay-off', not only in terms of
language practice but also in terms of building key factors
in motivating a class: self-esteem and rapport.
A basic principle w ill be to exploit, wherever possible, the
same text but to vary the tasks students perform on that
text. This principle can be applied to individual items of
language or activities designed to practice the four skills:
speaking, reading, writing and listening.
So, in practical terms, how do we deal with the mixedlevel class?
Someone said there is nothing as practical as a good
theory and the ideas of Lev Vygotsky are a great source of
57
Mixed-level Classes
3.2 Extending Tasks
3.4 One Teacher, One Class
'The quick students finish early and then disrupt the class
because they are bored.'
'There's more to mixed-level teaching than just adding
different kinds o f exercise for different kinds of student;
indeed, this approach may exacerbate the tensions in the
class rather than reduce them.
The activities in the second section of this chapter are
flexible, personalised and open-ended. Not only are they
mixed-ability friendly, they should help deal with the
problem of early finishers.
The tips and techniques in this section help to address the
challenge of keeping the class together.
The early finisher is already on the road to becoming a
discipline problem. The slow student never finishes any
activity and gets demoralised. It is therefore imperative to
take the early finisher into account when we deal with the
difficulty of mixed-level teaching, while at the same time
allowing the slower ones the satisfaction of completing a
task successfully.
One way of solving a mixed-ability class is to subdivide it
into smaller and smaller groups, assigning each group its
own teacher. Ultimately, coming back to what we said
earlier, this means you would need one teacher for every
student. In practice, this is simply impossible and assumes
the students are learning in isolation from each other.
The truth is that there is (usually) one teacher and one
class. And our job is to keep the class together. The
activities in earlier sections can help us achieve this, but in
the long run we need to develop ways of adjusting our
everyday teaching to meet the challenge. This includes
thinking about how we nominate students, how we group
them and how we correct them in class. It means building
on diversity, not banging our heads against it.
3.3 Catering for Learner Styles
'The other day we did an activity, and Marta (who is
usually the slowest) responded really w ell! I had no idea,
and it has made me see her differently.'
In this section, we recognise that different people learn
things in different ways. We have chosen three dominant
learner styles to illustrate how you can introduce a variety
of activities, thereby 'casting the net' wider.
3.5 One Class, Not Several
7 feel as if there are two groups in the class - the bright
ones and the slow ones.'
Visual
Visual activities cater for those who like to learn by seeing
the subject matter - pictures, diagrams, words written on
the board, video and visualisation activities.
A teaching approach which highlights the differences in
ability and achievement is likely to make this tendency in
many mixed-level classes worse rather than better. The
students themselves know about the differences in ability
and get impatient with each other, so there is an inherent
danger of the class breaking up right from the very start.
The best way to improve this situation is to come up with
activities and adaptations of existing material which unify
rather than divide.
Auditory
Auditory activities cater for those learners who need to
learn by listening - lectures, rhymes, talking to each other
and music.
Kinaesthetic
Kinaesthetic activities cater for those learners who like to
learn by physically doing things - using mime, gesturing to
demonstrate ideas, making use of physical movement in
the classroom.
There are a number of ways of building on the group's
sense of unity:
making tasks flexible enough to accommodate
different learning styles
drawing on learner input and personalising tasks
encouraging co-operation and peer questioning
using activities that do not necessarily have a
linguistic outcome but reinforce rapport.
O f course, you can draw simultaneously on more than one
of these styles (sometimes referred to as VAK) for the
benefit of the individual learner and the group. The more
the merrier, as that way you are more likely to appeal to
the diversity in the class.
58
Mixed-level Classes
Strategies such as these build on the principle of
collaboration by drawing on individual strengths, however
relative those strengths may be, as students contribute to
the task according to their current abilities and interests.
The Zone of Proximal Development
Lev Vygotsky defines the Zone of Proximal
Development (ZPD) as the 'distance between the
actual development (of the learner) and the level of
potential development as determined through problem
solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with
more capable peers'. (Vygotsky, 1978:86)
To sum up, in this chapter the following principles have
been applied:
What learners can do with the assistance of others is
more indicative of their mental development than what
they can do alone. Thus, the ZD P defines those mental
skills that have not yet matured ('the buds') but are in
the process of maturation ('the flowers').
Students support each other.
The teacher supports the students.
Tasks are co-constructed.
Tasks are flexible.
Tasks are open-ended.
Tasks are 'intelligently' varied.
Students work on their own material.
The material is of an appropriate level.
The material is of interest to the learners.
Learner input is culture sensitive.
The learner's mother tongue is a resource.
Error is a source of learner strength and growth.
Self-esteem is raised.
Positive attitudes are encouraged.
Rapport and group dynamics are strengthened.
Scaffolding is one of the many forms taken by the
specific means of assistance provided by the more able
members in the ZPD, in which more capable members
of the class share responsibility with the 'less capable'
members in the completion of tasks. The teacher
gradually lets the 'less capable' students assume greater
responsibility for the activities.
Training is when the more expert members coach or
directly instruct the learners in the completion of the
task. What is jointly constructed eventually, through
use in social contexts, becomes part of the individual's
internalised knowledge.
How we deal with the 'difficulty' of mixed-level teaching
will be a reflection of our very beliefs about teaching and
learning. Above all, how we tackle the diverse needs of
our learners depends on whether we really believe in their
potential or not. Remember the students who said about
their best teacher: She believed in me and made me
believe in m yself or She wanted us a ll to succeed, not only
the good ones.
Mediational means are tools which the more expert
use to assist 'less capable' participants in noticing,
ordering and remembering their involvement in
communicative activities. Mediational means can be
verbal, visual or physical. An example of mediational
means is the 'leading question': in this strategy, the
teacher offers leading questions to help the child solve
a problem or complete a task.
Vygotsky's ZD P is a very useful framework for developing
practical approaches to the challenges of mixed-level
classes as it gives all the learners a role to play in a
mutually supportive and collaborative environment.
59
Mixed-level Classes
Different Level, Different Task
Complementary Tasks
Complementary Gap-fills
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To vary the level of difficulty of
gap-fill exercises
Aim
To facilitate the co-operative reading
of a text
Duration
Variable
Duration
Materials
A coursebook gap-fill
Variable (depending on text and
questions)
Materials
A coursebook reading text
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Preparation
Preparation
Prepare two worksheet adaptations of a gap-fill activity
from your course materials. For the first one, have fewer
gaps and choose easier items. Make the second one more
difficult, with more gaps of more difficult items. Make sure
you make as many copies as you think you w ill need,
especially if you are going to allow the students to choose
which task they do.
Prepare a worksheet adaptation of the coursebook
comprehension questions (see Task B, below). Prepare to
write the extra version of the task on the board. If you
prefer, you can make copies of the adaptation, making
sure you have as many copies as you think you w ill need.
Procedure
Procedure
Put the students into 'mixed' pairs, based on your
knowledge of their relative strengths. This w ill facilitate
the 'stronger' student helping the less advanced.
Put the students into 'mixed' pairs, based on your
knowledge of their relative strengths. This w ill facilitate
the 'stronger' student helping the less advanced.
Q The students read the text from the book, for example
on the topic of a penpal advert.
0 Produce your two versions of the gap-fill text: A and B.
0 Explain that there are two tasks that go with this text:
the one in the coursebook and the one on the board.
They can choose A (less challenging) or B (more
challenging).
Task A (less challenging)
Six gaps and 'easier' items
Task B (more challenging)
Ten gaps and more difficult items
Task A (less challenging)
The student As open their coursebooks and write the
answers to these questions:
1 How m any o f the people are 13 years old?
2 How m any boys are there?
3 Who doesn't eat meat?
4 Who likes football?
5 Who lives in the country?
0 Explain to the students that there are two versions of the
task: A and B. One is easier, the other more difficult.
Ask the students to put their hands up if they wish to
choose A or B and give out the appropriate tasks.
Q The students complete their version of the gap-fill text.
Q They feed back to each other, comparing their answers
if they chose the same task or getting feedback from
their partner if they chose a different task.
Task B (more challenging)
The student Bs write the questions for these answers on
a worksheet:
1 There are three.
2 There are four.
3 Elena doesn't.
4 James does.
5 Chris does.
In pairs, the students compare their answers.
Q Conduct whole-class feedback for both tasks.
Variations
The text used may be based on a song, in which case the
students can round off the checking of their answers by
listening to the song.
Early finishers can have a go at the task they didn't choose.
If you have time and energy, prepare a third version of the
task, by providing 15 gaps (much more difficult) or only
four gaps (much easier).
Q Do some whole-class feedback.
Acknowledgement: Bowler and Parminter, English
Teaching professional Issue 13.
N O TE: This simple task demonstrates the possibilities of
working at two or three levels with an activity.
60
Different Level, Different Task
Mixed-level Classes
More Support, Less Support
Dual Choice, Multiple Choice
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To vary the difficulty of reading
comprehension exercises
Aim
To vary the difficulty of reading
comprehension exercises
Duration
Variable
Duration
Variable
Materials
A coursebook multiple-choice
reading comprehension
Materials
A coursebook reading
comprehension; slips of paper with
instructions
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Preparation
Preparation
Prepare two or three worksheet adaptations of a multiplechoice reading comprehension. Make sure you make as
many copies as you think you will need. Blank out one or
more distractors (see Note below) in the new versions of
the task.
Take a comprehension text from the coursebook and
produce two versions of the comprehension questions on
pieces of paper: one carrying extra support for the weaker
students.
Procedure
Procedure
Q Explain that the students are going to do a multiplechoice reading at three levels of difficulty: A, B or C
(ranging from less challenging to very challenging).
They can choose which level they wish to work at.
Explain that you have two sets of instructions for the
same task: one easier (A) and one more difficult (B).
The students have to choose which level they would
like to work at.
Q Hand out your multiple-choice reading text, according
to the ones chosen by the students. The example below
follows a reading text on the subject of Melina's trip to
the cinema.
0 Give the slips out to the students according to the level
they choose.
Task A (less challenging)
Answ er the questions in the book. Here are the
answers m ixed up.
Task A (less challenging)
To make the text easier, one of the three or four
distractors has been removed.
M elina didn't enjoy the film because:
A she was tired.
B she'd seen it before.
C it was too long.
Task B (more challenging)
Answ er the questions in the book.
0 Organise some feedback with the whole class or in
pairs.
Task B (more challenging)
This is the original question, with the correct option
and all the distractors, as it appears in the book.
M elina didn't enjoy the film because:
A she was tired.
B she'd seen it before.
C it was too long.
D it was too violent.
Task C (most challenging)
The correct option and all the distractors have been
blanked out.
M elina didn't enjoy the film because_______________ .
NOTE: Multiple-choice tests usually have three or four
options (A, B, C or D) of which one is the correct answer
and the others are 'distractors'. The more 'distractors' there
are, the more difficult the task.
61
Mixed-level Classes
Different Level, Different Task
Gap Listening, Choice Listening
Split the Questions
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To provide comprehension questions
for students of different levels
Aim
To provide more or less support for
listening practice
Duration
20 minutes
Duration
Materials
A coursebook reading
comprehension
Variable (depending on text and
questions)
Materials
A song or listening passage from the
coursebook
Language / Skills Reading
Skills / Language Listening for detail
Preparation
Preparation
Take any reading comprehension text which includes
about ten questions. If there are fewer, add a couple of
questions of your own to make a larger number. Rewrite
the comprehension questions as two lists: A and B. For the
A list, include easier 'information retrieval' questions - that
is, questions for which the answer should be relatively
easy to pick out from the text. For the B list, include
questions that are more difficult or that require more
interpretation of the text. For example:
List A
1
2
3
4
Choose a listening text or a song from your coursebook
and prepare two sets of questions for it. For example:
Task A (less challenging)
Instead of gaps, give two choices:
Jane wants to take the b u s/tra in to New York.
Task B (more challenging)
There are gaps for the students to complete:
Jane wants to take th e______________ to New York.
(less challenging)
Where did Romeo and Juliet meet?
What is Juliet's second name?
What is Romeo's surnam e?
Where do they decide to meet tomorrow?
Make as many copies as you think you w ill need.
Procedure
Q Play the listening once with books closed.
0 Distribute the questions. Give the stronger students the
questions with gaps and the weaker students the
questions with a choice.
List B (more challenging)
1 What is the problem between the two fam ilies?
2 How does Romeo talk?
3 W hy is Juliet afraid ?
4 What does her father say?
Q Play the listening again.
Q Ask if anyone needs to hear it a third time. If several of
them do, play it a third time.
Procedure
Q Pair up weaker and stronger students to compare their
answers.
Q Ask the students to work in pairs: one A and one B.
Give them the copies of their questions. Explain that
they should only answer their own questions.
0 Go through the answers as a class, making sure you
alternate between asking a stronger student and a
weaker student for the answers.
Q After five to ten minutes, ask the students to swap
information to complete all ten questions.
E J Get whole-class feedback.
Variation
A simpler way of using questions in the book without
making new lists is to just divide students into 'odd' and
'even': students answer only the odd or even questions in
the coursebook and then exchange answers. The
disadvantage, of course, is that in this way you cannot
divide the questions into 'easier' and 'more difficult'.
62
Different Level, Different Task
Mixed-level Classes
Complete the Story
Books Open, Books Closed
Level
Any
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To make a listening comprehension
task more challenging for stronger
students
Aim
To provide listening practice at
different levels
Duration
20 minutes
Variable (depending on text and
questions)
Materials
A short story (200-300 words)
Duration
Materials
Language / Skills Narrative tenses
A listening exercise from the
coursebook
Preparation
Skills / Language Listening for detail
Choose a story to read in class and prepare stem sentences
in lists of three levels of difficulty. This example is based
on the well-known story of The Pied Piper:
Procedure
Q The next time you come to a listening comprehension
in the coursebook, explain that there are two
possibilities: more or less challenging. Ask the students
to choose an option (you might want to encourage the
stronger students to do the more challenging option).
Task A (less challenging)
1 The town was fu ll o f...
2 The people were very ...
3 The stranger was playing a ...
Task B (more challenging)
1 There were too many ...
2 The m ayor s a id ...
3 The stranger spoke ...
Q G ive the following instructions:
Task A (less challenging)
Open your books on page 00. Do comprehension
exercise X.
Task C (most challenging)
1 The people com plained th a t...
2 As they were speaking, ...
3 The stranger offered to ...
Task B (more challenging)
Keep your books closed. After the listening, write
down five key facts that are important for the
comprehension o f the text.
Make as many copies as you will need.
0 Play the listening once and let the students work on
Procedure
their tasks.
Give the students three lists of stem sentences to
complete while they listen to the story. Tell them they
can choose stems from list A (less difficult), B (more
difficult) or C (most difficult).
Q Play the listening again so that they can check their
answers and add anything they think they have missed.
Q Put the students into pairs and tell them to compare
answers.
Q Read or tell the story. After the first reading, the
students try to answer their questions.
0 Read the story again. This time, the students can
answer more questions from the same category or they
can switch to another one (this is designed to provide a
greater challenge for students whatever their level).
63
Mixed-level Classes
Different Level, Different Task 1
)igsaw Pictures
Level
Any
Aim
To develop listening skills; to
activate visual intelligence
Duration
20 minutes
Materials
A picture; pencil and paper
Original Picture
Language / Skills Prepositions of place
Preparation
Find a suitable picture for the level of the class (preferably
a line drawing).
Make two photocopies of the picture that you intend use
in this describe-and-draw activity.
Blank out certain details from each picture, erasing more
details from one picture than the other (see examples
opposite).
Task A Picture
Make as many photocopies of each version as you think
you w ill need.
Procedure
Q Give each student one of the two versions of the
picture according to their perceived ability.
Task A (less challenging)
The students get the picture with fewer details blanked
out.
Task B (more challenging)
The students get the picture with the greater number of
blanks.
Q Choose a 'good' student to describe the original picture
(no details blanked out). You should intervene only in
case of miscommunication between the 'describer' and
the class.
Task B Picture
0 The students then work in pairs (As and Bs) to compare
their versions of the picture and exchange visual details
in order to help each other complete any missing parts.
NOTE: The use of visuals, alongside verbal tasks, will help
reach a greater number of students in mixed-level classes.
There are several more 'visual' activities later on in this
chapter.
64
Different Level, Different Task
Mixed Ability,
Mixed-up Sentences
Truth or Lie?
Level
Any
Aim
To provide oral fluency practice at
different levels of difficulty
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
A speaking activity from the
coursebook
Mixed-level Classes
Skills / Language Speaking; question practice
Level
Any
Aim
To revise grammar structures
Duration
Variable (depending on text and
questions)
Materials
A unit from the coursebook
Skills / Language Word order
Preparation
Procedure
Select a speaking activity from the coursebook that
involves personal questions and answers. For example:
What do you do in your free tim e?
Do you have a hobby?
What do you like doing at the weekend?
Towards the end of a unit of the coursebook, tell the
students to go back through the unit and pick out six to
ten sentences from the grammar practice and copy
them into their notebooks.
2 Tell them that they can choose the level at which they
Procedure
would like to do this activity: A (less challenging), B
(more challenging) or C (most challenging).
Q Set the students to work in pairs and ask and answer
the questions in the usual way.
Tell them to work with a new partner.
3 Put them into pairs and instruct them to tell each other
what level they have chosen.
Explain that they should repeat the activity, but when
answering they can choose one of the following
options:
Q Give the instructions for the exercise. Each student
must take a sentence and rewrite it with the words in a
different order, with the following options:
Task A (less challenging)
Students answer the questions normally, just like the
first time.
Task A (less challenging)
Write the first and last word of the sentence in the
correct place, but mix up the order of the other words.
Task B (more challenging)
Students answer the questions all untruthfully, that is,
they answer with a lie for each question.
Task B (more challenging)
Write all the words in a different order.
Task C (most challenging)
Write the words in a different order and put in an extra
word (e.g. to, for, that, a).
Q When the students have finished the second round, tell
them to work with a new partner. Add the following
option:
To show what you mean, do the following example
with 'W hat are you going to do?
Task A: What going to you are do? (Here W hat and
do are in their correct positions.)
Task B: you do going what to are? (Here the words
are all jumbled.)
Task C : going do you for to what are? (Here for is
the extra word.)
Task C (most challenging)
Students answer the questions but, this time, as if they
were a famous person. They have to tell their partner
who they are first!
5 Instruct the students to choose one of the three options
and repeat the activity a last time. Stress that it doesn't
matter if they repeat the same option.
5 When they are ready, tell the students to exchange
papers with their partners. They rewrite the words in
the correct order to make sentences.
When they finish, tell them to check their answers in
pairs.
65
Mixed-level Classes
Extending Tasks
Repeat, Please!
Choose Two ...
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To extend a speaking activity
Aim
Duration
10 minutes
To change speaking tasks so that
they can be repeated
Materials
A coursebook speaking activity with
several discussion questions
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
A coursebook speaking activity that
students do in pairs or groups
Skills / Language Speaking
Skills / Language Speaking
Procedure
Procedure
The next time you come to a speaking activity which
involves students asking each other several questions
(more than four), ask them to read the questions
silently.
Assign the speaking activity in the coursebook as you
normally would. Put the students in pairs of a similar
ability.
Q Tell them to choose two of the questions they would
like to ask a partner.
Early Finishers
Tell the early finishers to repeat the task in one of the
following ways:
0 Put the students in pairs of a similar ability and let them
ask their questions.
Ask the questions again, but this time giving answers
that are completely untrue.
Ask the questions again, but this time make it into a
roleplay, with one student taking the role of someone
else (see box for suggestions).
Ask the questions again, but with a new partner. (For
this, you need two pairs of early finishers.)
Early Finishers
The early finishers can ask each other the other questions
in the speaking activity.
NOTE: The early finishers will often go on and do all the
others regardless of whether you ask them to or not.
Sample Roles for Repeating Speaking Tasks
Answer the questions again, but this time answer in
the 'role':
the President of the United States
the President of your country
a film or music star (you choose)
another person from your family
the teacher
another role (you choose).
66
'
Extending Tasks
Mixed-level Classes
Give Them the Slip
The 'Early Finisher' Table
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To keep a speaking class busy
Aim
To maintain speaking momentum
Duration
Variable
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
Pictures plus questions from an
old coursebook
Materials
A coursebook speaking activity with
pictures that students do in pairs;
slips of paper
Skills / Language Speaking
Skills / Language Speaking
Preparation
Procedure
Take an old coursebook at the same level as one you are
teaching. Cut out any speaking tasks in the book which are
accompanied by questions. You should end up with a
colourful array of pictures and questions.
Ask the students to brainstorm questions they would
ask about the pictures they have been given (in the
book). The questions can be directly about the pictures
or about topics suggested by the pictures.
Procedure
Q Display your pictures on a table at the front of the
class.
0 In pairs, they write their questions on slips of paper,
one slip per question. They should also write their
name on the slip.
0 Ask the students, in pairs or groups, to do the speaking
task as assigned in their coursebook as you normally
would.
0 Collect in the slips and assign the speaking activity in
the coursebook as you normally would.
Early Finishers
Give the early finishers a slip of paper with one of the
questions written by the class. They discuss the question. If
they finish the first 'extra' question, give them another one
from your collection of slips.
Early Finishers
When they have completed the speaking task in the book,
the early finishers come to the front and choose a pictureplus-questions to discuss in their pairs or groups. If they
finish that one, they take another, and so on.
Variation
Variations
You can also use the questions for a revision activity. Write
a series of the questions (not the students' names) on the
board and ask the students to decide which ones are wellformed questions and which are incorrect. They correct
the incorrect ones.
Having the pictures displayed on a table somewhere in the
room adds 'colour' to the class but you may put the
pictures-plus-questions in separate envelopes. Early
finishers take an envelope and open it to find the task
inside. There is an element of surprise - and fun - in this
version.
NOTE: Learner-generated questions are more interesting for
students than teachers' questions. There is a greater
element of surprise and suspense (W hat question am 1
going to get? and Who wrote it?).
You can recycle other sections of old coursebooks:
grammar and vocabulary exercises and even short reading
tasks.
You can mix the tasks to accommodate your students'
preferred learning styles. On the 'early finisher table' you
may leave speaking tasks (as above) but also grammar and
vocabulary exercises and allow the early finishers to
choose the kind of tasks they wish to focus on.
NOTE: Remember to collect in all the tasks borrowed by
the early finishers so you can reuse them in future classes.
You may wish to laminate the tasks to protect them from
wear and tear.
67
Mixed-level Classes
Extending Tasks
Class Mascot
Too Many Questions
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To develop reading skills; to keep
early finishers busy
Aim
To extend vocabulary development;
to provide an extra task
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
A reading comprehension with
yes/ no and wh- questions; slips of
paper
Materials
Some kind of class mascot;
coursebook grammar or vocabulary
exercises
Skills / Language Writing
Language / Skills Reading
Procedure
Preparation
In cases where there are six questions or more
accompanying a reading comprehension task, ask the
students, in pairs, to answer only three or four
questions or only the odd questions (1, 3, 5) or even
questions (2, 4, 6).
At the beginning of the course, decide on a class mascot.
See the Notes below.
Procedure
Set the grammar or vocabulary in the coursebook as you
normally would.
Early Finishers
Ask the early finishers to answer the other questions.
Early Finishers
Tell the early finishers to write a sentence or two with the
target grammar or vocabulary but linking it to the class
mascot.
2 When the pairs are ready, they compare their answers.
Variations
NOTES: This obviously works better with younger students,
Ask the students to choose the three or four questions they
find easier / more interesting.
but it can also work with older learners too. In a Spanish
class Lindsay once saw there was a little souvenir Mexican
man on the shelf. The students called him jose and made
lots of sentences about him. At the end of the year he had
quite a history!
Write the topic of the reading comprehension on the board
and ask the students to write on a slip of paper three
questions they would like the text to answer. For example,
if the text is about 'the most popular tourist destinations
around the world' students may wish to know: 'which city
has the most visitors?' or 'which city is most popular with
young people?' and so on. Early finishers answer their own
questions or those written by another pair.
A mascot is an animal, person or object that is thought to
be lucky and that is used as a symbol for a team or
organisation. Different kinds of class mascots could be:
68
a drawing of a cartoon character
a photograph of a famous person
a puppet
a stuffed toy animal
an unusual object which you give a name to.
Extending Tasks
Mixed-level Classes
Deconstructing Words
Questionnaire, Version 2
Level
Any
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To suggest another angle on a
questionnaire
Aim
To extend vocabulary; to practise
spelling
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
A coursebook questionnaire
Materials
Dictionaries (optional)
Skills / Language Spelling; vocabulary extension
Language / Skills Writing and speaking
Procedure
Procedure
Q Assign a speaking questionnaire from your coursebook
as you normally would.
Q At the beginning of the lesson, choose a word that is in
some way connected to the lesson. The longer the
word, the better. For example, if you are doing a lesson
on people from different countries, you could choose
the word nationality.
0 Put the students into pairs of similar ability to do it.
Early Finishers
Ask pairs who finish early to make a similar questionnaire,
but with a different focus. Here are some examples of how
you could do this with different questionnaires.
0 Write your word on the board in the corner.
0 Begin your lesson as you normally would.
Early Finishers
Explain that during the lesson, if someone finishes a task
early they should try to write as many new words from the
letters of the word on the board into their notebooks. For
example, nationality could give the following words:
nation
national
nil
tan
tin
tiny
not
latin
Italy
nail
tail
If you have a dictionary, give it to the early finishers to
check words they may be unsure of.
Routines (practising the present tense):
H ow often do you watch TV?
Change the questions so they are in the past tense:
How often did you watch TV when you were a child?
Sports (practising sports vocabulary):
D id you play sports at school?
W hat sports did you like?
Change the questions so they are about food:
D id you eat at the school canteen?
What food did they serve at school?
Personal information (practising question forms):
Do you have a job?
Where do you work?
Change the questions so they are about a different
person:
Does your m other/ father have a job?
Where does she / he work?
Q In the last five minutes of class, ask all the students to
look at the word on the board and see if they can make
any.new words from it. Give them a minute or so, then
elicit answers (the early finishers may have found more
words, but this includes the students who hadn't
finished early).
0 W hile the early finishers are working on their new
questionnaire, allow the others to finish.
When the others have finished, ask each pair to work
with a pair of early finishers.
0 The early finishers interview the others with their new
questions.
69
Mixed-level Classes
Extending Tasks
The Word Collection
The Testing Box
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To extend vocabulary development;
to provide an extra task
Aim
To involve early finishers in
preparing revision questions
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
A coursebook reading
comprehension; dictionaries
Materials
Index cards or small squares of
paper; an empty shoebox
Skills / Language Reading; dictionary work
Skills / Language Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Set the reading comprehension task in the coursebook
as you normally would.
During the lesson, have a series of index cards or small
pieces of notepaper available.
Early Finishers
Tell the early finishers to choose three words from the text
and write them on a piece of paper along with the
dictionary definition / translation.
Early Finishers
When the students finish early, distribute two or three slips
of paper and tell them choose two or three sentences from
a grammar exercise in the unit.
On each slip they should write the exercise question on
one side and the answer on the other. Check that the
answer is correct before you put it in the testing box.
2 When everyone has finished, collect the new words
from the early finishers.
3 Go through the new words with the class as a followup: read out the translation or definition and ask the
students to find the word in the text.
Follow-up
You can use this box of questions for quizzes or to include
in tests.
Variations
Once you have several cards in the box, the early finishers
could work together and test each other, pulling a question
from the box and 'testing' the other person with it.
Ask the students to do this for two new words and two
familiar words in the text. Repeat the same procedure, but
asking the weaker students in the class to provide the
familiar words in the last stage.
Once you have collected the words, make the last stage
into a quiz between teams. Read out a definition or
translation of the new word. The teams must consult and
then write the original English word. Organise the teams so
that there is a mixture of stronger and weaker students.
If you have space in the class, you could have a 'New
Words' board where you write up and keep these new
words and definitions / translations.
NOTE: You can also keep the definitions or translations in a
box for future use: for recycling or testing. See The Testing
Box, opposite.
70
Extending Tasks
Mixed-level Classes
Help!
Proofreading
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To involve early finishers in
proofreading each other's work
Aim
To make use of early finishers to
do feedback
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
A coursebook exercise
Materials
A coursebook grammar or
vocabulary exercise
Skills / Language Writing; editing
Skills / Language Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Assign a writing activity from your coursebook as you
normally would.
Q Assign a grammar or vocabulary exercise as you
normally would.
Early Finishers
When the students finish early, get them to proofread each
other's work. Tell them to look out for spelling,
punctuation or grammar mistakes and to underline these
with a pencil. Tell them that they are not correcting the
mistakes but identifying them.
Early Finishers
If students finish early, discreetly approach them and check
their work. Indicate which answers are good and which
they need to change.
Ask them to prepare to present their answers to other
students. They may think of explanations and further
examples to make the point of the grammar or vocabulary
exercise clearer.
When they have finished, tell them to return the exercise
to its owner to check it again and make any corrections.
Variation
Q When the other students have finished the exercise, put
all the students into groups. There should be one early
finisher in each group.
You could give the proofreaders a very simple 'correction
code' like this to work with:
Correction Code
WW
wrong word
word missing
problem with word order
problem with verb tense
E | Tell the groups to go through and check their answers
together.
Q The early finishers should feed back on the answers in
each group and settle any questions where there is a
difference of opinion.
Sp
spelling mistake
punctuation
Q Make sure, in whole-class feedback, that everyone now
has the correct answers and understands why the
answers are correct.
I don't understand this
Variation
Once you have determined that the early finishers' work is
correct, ask them to help one of their classmates who is
having trouble with the exercise.
NOTE: There are more suggestions on how you can code
corrections yourself on page 105. Here you are giving the
students a very simplified code to work with themselves.
71
Mixed-level Classes
Catering for Learner Styles
Timelines
Examples of Timelines
Level
Any
Aim
To cater for visual learning styles;
to raise awareness of past tenses
Duration
3-4 minutes
Materials
None
Present Simple for 'always true' or facts
Language / Skills Illustrating a verb tense
We live in France.
Procedure
Past Continuous
Q When you come across a new tense in your
coursebook (or revisit a tense), explain to your students
that you are going to illustrate this tense with a diagram.
Q Draw the following on the board and explain that the
vertical line represents 'now'.
past
It was raining that night.
Present Perfect for experiences
future
Take a pen or chalk of a different colour and draw a
line representing the tense on the chart. Write a sample
sentence to illustrate the tense underneath the diagram.
For example:
I've seen The Lord of tlie Rings three times.
Present Continuous
Present Perfect for 'up to no\n '
She's working in the garden.
\
j
In this case, the broken line represents an action that
began in the past, is ongoing now and continues to the
future. The fact that it's broken means the action is in
progress.
1970s
Luke's taught English since the 1970s.
Variations
If your students are already familiar with timelines, you
could give an example sentence, draw a partial timeline
and ask them to complete it.
At higher levels, ask the students to draw their own visual
representation of a given tense or combination of tenses in
a sentence.
72
Catering for Learner Styles
Mixed-level Classes
Spidergrams
Draw and Explain
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
Visual learning styles; to help
support a speaking activity
Aim
Visual learning styles; to teach
vocabulary
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
2 minutes
Materials
Pen and paper
Materials
None
Skills / Language Lexical sets
Skills / Language Speaking; 'house' vocabulary
Procedure
Procedure
Review (or teach) house vocabulary with the class:
living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc.
0 The next time you come across a lexical set in your
coursebook, draw it on the board in the following
manner, with the category in the middle of the diagram.
The following is an example for the category com puter:
0 Ask the students to take a piece of paper (or a blank
page in their notebooks) and draw a floor plan of
where they live. Tell them they can be as detailed as
they like, but they must not label anything.
keyboard
0 W hile they are doing this, draw a simple floor plan of
your own house on the board.
Put the students into pairs: A and B. Give the following
instructions:
A , you explain your map to B.
B, you listen. As A explains, you label A's map with
English words.
Q Elicit more words from the students and write them on
the diagram.
0 Demonstrate the activity with a stronger student. Ask
the student to come to the board. Explain which room
is which, signalling for the student to label the rooms as
you speak. Do this for a couple of rooms.
0 Once the diagram is finished, tell the students to copy
it into their notebooks.
Variation
Q Tell the students to do the same in pairs.
This diagram can be as simple or complicated as you
wish. You can have subcategories as well, which begin
new diagrams.
Variations
You can use this same activity format with other things that
students can represent easily with maps. For example:
NOTE: Don't feel you need to be restricted to circles - any
an ideal classroom
your neighbourhood
a place you visited
a shopping centre you know.
shape will do. In fact, it is probably a good idea to vary
the shape on the different occasions you do this activity.
73
Mixed-level Classes
Catering for Learner Styles
Artists and Dictators
In the Mind's Eye
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
Visual learning styles; to introduce
a topic
Aim
Visual learning styles; to develop
listening skills
Duration
5 minutes
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
None (optional music)
Materials
A picture; pencil and paper
Language / Skills Prepositions of place
Skills / Language Listening and speaking
Preparation
Preparation
Prepare a series of questions for a visualisation based on a
coursebook topic and some music that 'goes' with the
theme.
Find a suitable picture for the class level to bring with you
to the lesson. For example, a line-drawing of parts of the
body or parts of a house. There are many of these in
coursebooks and dictionaries.
Procedure
Label the picture with any items of vocabulary which you
think the student-describer may not know (see below) and
add any other useful expressions.
Q At the beginning of the lesson, tell the students you
would like them to put away their books and relax. Tell
them that they can put their heads down if they like, or
close their eyes. But they must be very quiet and listen
to your questions.
Procedure
a Give one of your 'good' students the picture you have
chosen and ask them to describe the picture to the rest
of the class. They must not show the picture to the class.
0 Give the following instructions (these are based on the
theme of food). If you have quiet music to accompany
this, play it now.
Imagine it is a special day. [pause] You are very
happy this day, because you are going to eat your
favourite food, [pause] Imagine you are sitting at the
table, and the food is going to arrive, [pause] Where
are you? At home? At a restaurant? Imagine the
place, [pause] Who are you with? Imagine the other
people in the room, [pause] What can you sm ell?
Imagine the sm ells in the room, [pause] Just at this
moment, the food arrives ...
0 The rest of the students listen and draw.
0 At the end of the 'student dictation', the students
compare their pictures in pairs or small groups and
help each other to complete any missing parts or
correct any misunderstandings.
To check their answers, ask another 'good' student to
describe the picture again. If the second student
introduces new details, the students adjust their
pictures accordingly.
0 Tell the students to open their eyes (or lift their heads
up). They should turn to a partner and explain what
they visualised. To help them remember, write the
following on the board:
What day?
Where?
Who with?
What sm ell?
Variations
A 'weaker' student can be given the role of dictatordescriber if the labelling of the picture is more detailed
and thereby easier to describe than to draw.
The task can be made easier and more fun by having the
student-dictator flash the picture to the class very quickly
and so giving them a partial impression of what is in the
picture. Then the dictation begins.
Q When the students have told each other about the food
they were thinking of, do some whole-class feedback,
asking individual students to report on what their
partners said.
0
Begin your lesson from the book in the usual way.
74
Catering for Learner Styles
Variations on Reading Aloud
Choose Your Words,
Draw Your Picture
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
Visual learning styles; to revise
vocabulary
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
Pencil and paper
Mixed-level Classes
Language / Skills Varied
Level
Any
Aim
To cater for auditory learning styles;
to practise sound-symbol
relationships
Duration
2 minutes (depending on length
of text)
Materials
A reading text from the coursebook
Skills / Language Pronunciation
Procedure
Procedure
Elicit from the students the kind of things they might
see in particular settings. For example: a field, a living
room, a classroom.
The next time you come to a reading text, once you have
finished with the comprehension exercises, explain that
you would like the students to read the text aloud. This
would be the most standard procedure:
0 Ask students of different levels to come to the board
and write items of vocabulary related to a particular
topic of a visual nature.
Before the students read aloud, ask them to underline
the words in a sentence they think will sound louder
(i.e. receive main stress). These words are usually the
last noun, verb, adjective or adverb.
Nominate a student to begin reading.
After a sentence or two, nominate a different student
to continue.
Continue randomly across the room, so that everyone
is following the text at the same time.
0 Ask more students to come to the board and add words
and phrases till the board contains about twenty lexical
items. For example, if the topic is 'a field', you w ill end
up with something like this:
tree river cow
hill bush farmer
gate fence sun clouds rain
Q The students draw a picture to include any of the items
in the vocabulary list.
Variations
A Chorus Line
Follow the standard procedure above, but every so often
have the whole class read a line from the text. Then go
back to individual students.
0 Erase the words from the board.
Q Ask the students to compare their pictures and identify
the items that have been drawn.
Follow-up
In Pairs: 1
Have the students face each other and begin reading the
text, taking turns. This way everyone is reading at the same
time.
Students can be asked to write a description of their
picture.
NOTE: This activity allows students to work at their own
In Pairs: 2
Have the students face each other and read the text together.
If one or the other notices a pronunciation mistake, they
should stop and start the same sentence again.
level but it also gives the 'weaker' ones an opportunity to
construct a high level of lexis by drawing on the
knowledge of other members of the class.
Variation
Mark It Up
Tell the students to select a paragraph and mark with a line
where they would pause while reading (e.g. after full stops,
commas, etc.). Then nominate different students to read.
Ask the students, in pairs, to describe their picture to their
partner, who draws it.
Quickly, Slowly, with Feeling
With a dialogue, or with individual sentences, ask the
students to vary the way they read the text. Ask them to
read it faster, more slowly, with passion, in a whisper, as a
shout, with anger.
75
Mixed-level Classes
Catering for Learner Styles
Listen and Recap
Musical Writing
Level
Any
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To cater for auditory learning styles;
to check understanding
Aim
Duration
2 minutes
To cater for auditory learning styles;
to stimulate students to write with a
musical prompt
Materials
None
Duration
20 minutes
Skills / Language Speaking; rephrasing and
summarising
Materials
Extracts of instrumental music (no
lyrics) lasting one or two minutes
Skills / Language Writing; tenses and other language
useful for narration
Procedure
Q The next time you are giving an explanation of a
grammar / vocabulary point, pause after the first part of
your explanation and ask the students to turn to a
partner.
Preparation
Make a recording of an appropriate piece of music. It can
be fast or slow, classical or modern, happy or sad, etc.
0 Give them the following instructions:
Procedure
Tell them to tell their partner everything they have
understood about whatever you were explaining.
Tell them to stop after a couple of minutes.
Tell the class you are going to play them a piece of music
and that they have to think of a story that goes with it.
0 Write the following questions on the board:
Where does the story take p lace?
Who are the people in the story?
Are they young or old?
What are they doing?
How do they feel?
0 Go on with your explanation.
Q Repeat the procedure at the end of the explanation.
Variation
This activity doesn't need to be restricted to students
recapping what you have been saying - they could equally
well do this after reading an explanation of a grammar
point. Many coursebooks have pages devoted to language
reference (with full explanations of the grammar points).
The students can read and recap in the same manner.
0 Ask the students to listen to the music and take notes.
Q When the music is over, give them time to fill out their
stories and make any changes they wish. At the end of
this phase they should have notes that tell a story,
however incomplete.
NOTE: Lower-level students can be allowed to recap in
0 The students turn to a partner (or partners) and,
referring to their notes, they tell their stories, using
present or past tenses:
John is walking along the street when he meets Julia.
John was walking along the street when he met Julia.
their own language.
Follow-up
The students can use their notes to write up their story for
homework (or to co-construct a group story in class).
NOTES: Encourage the students to take notes as they listen,
rather than full sentences (unless they actually prefer to
write full sentences). Some students may prefer to take
notes in their mother tongue, which is fine too, as the end
product w ill be in English.
Encourage those students who haven't managed to write
very much to borrow ideas from those who have written
more when the students exchange stories using their notes.
76
Catering for Learner Styles
Mixed-level Classes
Musical Variations
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To cater for auditory learning styles;
to stimulate students to write with a
musical prompt
Duration
Variable
Materials
Extracts of instrumental music (no
lyrics) lasting one or two minutes
Skills / Language Writing; tenses and other language
useful for narration
Variation 1
Variation 3
Q The students listen to three or four very different
extracts of music.
Q Prepare stem sentences for the beginning of each
paragraph of a story. For example:
Paragraph 1
Julia w ill never forget the day she met Robert...
Paragraph 2
Later that evening ...
Paragraph 3
At last they d ecid ed ...
Paragraph 4
Years la te r...
2 You pause for a minute or so after each extract
(remember to refer to them by their number: 1, 2, 3,
etc.).
3 They write what comes to mind. If necessary, prompt
them with who, what, where, when, why.
Q When all extracts have been played, the students read
out their notes at random and the class has to guess
which extract the student is describing.
For each paragraph, choose a piece of music lasting
about a minute.
5 They choose at least one set of notes to write as a
complete composition for homework.
2 In the lesson, write the first stem on the board and play
the matching piece of music. The students listen and
take notes on what they imagine is happening in the
story. For example:
Julia w ill never forget the day she met Robert; it was
a warm sunny day and she was out walking in the
park ...
6 In class, give the students a chance to read each other's
work and try to identify which piece of music 'inspired'
the composition.
Variation 2
For homework, the students write a narrative
composition inspired by a piece of music of their own
choice. It could be a fast exciting piece of music (e.g.
Rossini's W illiam Tell overture) or a slow romantic
piece (e.g. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata).
3 Pause after each extract to give the students time to jot
down notes inspired by the music.
Q Write the next stem sentence on the board (or dictate
it).
2 The students bring their homework to class, with a
5 Play the next extract and ask the students to write down
what the extract brings to mind, as before.
recording of the musical extract which inspired the
composition.
6 Continue this procedure for all the extracts.
3 You choose a composition and either ask the studentwriter to read it out or you read it out, correcting
discreetly as you read.
Q When the listening and note-taking phase is complete,
ask the students to turn to their partners and tell their
story, using the notes they have made as a guide.
The students listen and answer the following questions:
Can you guess what kind o f m usic inspired this
story? Was it fast or slo w ? Was it happy or sad?
8 For homework, they write up their story in full,
incorporating any useful ideas or language they have
picked up from their partner.
77
Mixed-level Classes
Catering for Learner Styles
Musical Timekeeping
Mime Scenes
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To cater for auditory learning styles;
to mark the beginning / end of an
activity
Aim
To cater for kinaesthetic learning
styles; to revise language from the
coursebook
Duration
3 - 4 minutes
Duration
20 minutes
Materials
A series of three- / four-minute songs
(pop songs are good for this)
Materials
Slips of paper with sentences from
the coursebook
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Present simple / past simple
Procedure
Preparation
The next time you set a quiet activity (like a grammar
exercise or a short writing exercise) that requires a time
limit, tell the students they should complete the activity
before a song finishes.
Write sentences from the coursebook on slips of paper.
2 Put the song on quietly and let the students get on with
their work.
3 When the song is finished, stop the cassette or CD and
tell them to put down their pens.
N O TE: If the students know the song, they w ill
automatically hear when it is coming to an end and w ill
be finishing off.
Procedure
Q Take a narrative text from the coursebook before
students have done it in class. Write the main elements
of the story on separate slips of paper, like this:
lane and Roger met at a party.
They went out together.
They fe ll in love.
They wrote love letters.
They got m arried.
They have two children.
They are very happy.
Give the slips out in random order to pairs of students.
The pairs prepare to mime what is on their slip of paper
(e.g. meeting someone, falling in love, going out
together, and so on).
Q The class watches each mime in turn and takes notes.
5 When all the extracts have been mimed, the pairs recall
and write down what happened and put the events in a
logical order.
6 Elicit from the pairs what they think is the correct order.
Q The whole class recreates the story as a whole-class
activity.
8 The students check their answers with the reading text
in the coursebook.
Variation
The students can mime the story for each other in groups.
Catering for Learner Styles
Matching Mimes
Mixed-level Classes
Knees, Waist, Shoulders
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To cater for kinaesthetic learning
styles; to practise vocabulary (jobs)
and adjectives for describing people
Aim
To cater for kinaesthetic learning
styles; to revise the three parts of
irregular verbs
Duration
Variable
Duration
Variable
Materials
Two sets of cards (adjectives and
nouns)
Materials
None
Language / Skills Irregular verbs
Language / Skills Vocabulary practice: adjectives
+ proper nouns (jobs)
Procedure
Q Ask the class to stand up.
Preparation
2 One student stands in front of the class and says the
Choose a set of adjectives for describing people from the
coursebook. Add some of your own to complete the set.
For example:
sleepy loving angry proud shy energetic
three parts of an irregular verb. For example:
bring brought brought
They accompany each part with a gesture (touch knees,
hands on waist, hands on shoulders).
Write out the adjectives and the nouns referring to jobs on
two sets of cards: A and B.
3 The class copies the actions, repeating the three parts
of the verb as they do so.
Procedure
Variation
Pre-teach the adjectives.
Prepare the following sets of slips:
2 Place the cards in two piles face down on the table at
the front of the class. For example:
Set 1
Write the first part of irregular verbs.
A Cards
loving angry proud shy energetic
hungry thirsty drunken sleepy clumsy
Set 2
Write the first two parts of the verb.
Set 3
Write all three parts of the verb.
B Cards
postman teacher doctor nurse ballet dancer
carpenter tailor policeman electrician athlete
vicar
As the students come to the front to perform their mime,
they choose a number (1, 2 or 3), according to how easy
or difficult they want the task to be. You give them an
appropriate slip.
3 The first student comes to the front and takes a card
from each pile and mimes the combination. The class
has to guess the situation. For example:
You're a drunken ballet d an cer/an energetic
carpenter.
Variation
Give the students a handout with a list of combinations
based on the adjectives and nouns above. Ask them to do
the 'mine and guess' activity in pairs. For example:
a sleepy vicar
a proud teacher
an angry postman
a hungry doctor.
79
Mixed-level Classes
Catering for Learner Styles
Rub Them Out
Vocabulary Relay
Level
Any
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To cater for kinaesthetic learning
styles; to revise lexical sets
Aim
Duration
10 minutes
To cater for kinaesthetic learning
styles; to check understanding of
vocabulary
Materials
Word cards
Duration
Variable
Materials
None
Language / Skills Lexical sets (furniture, food, travel,
sports, hobbies, etc.)
Language / Skills Vocabulary encountered or
to be encountered
Preparation
Preparation
Prepare three sets of cards:
Set 1: furniture words
Set 2: animal words
Set 3: sports and hobbies
Make a list of words the students should know, bearing in
mind the diverse levels in the class.
Procedure
Procedure
Q Put a list of easy / difficult words on the board in
random order (keep a paper copy of the words for
yourself).
Draw a table with three headings on the board, like this:
Furniture
Animals
Sports and Hobbies
H Divide the class into two teams.
0 The students (one from each team) take it in turns to
come to the board and explain one word they think
they know. If they do it successfully, they rub it out.
H Divide the class into two teams. Each team has a
Q As the game progresses, the words left on the board
w ill become more difficult.
different coloured chalk or board pen.
0
Put the three sets of cards on the table.
Q The winner is the team which explains and rubs out the
last word.
E J A student from each team comes to the front, takes a
card, goes to the board and writes the word on the card
in the correct category.
NOTE: This activity allows the less able students to take
part (they can choose the easier words to explain) but also
allows the cleverer ones in each team to end up doing the
final words. The kinaesthetic element w ill appeal to those
students who get bored with sitting down at their desks
doing vocabulary exercises.
Q When the first student has sat down (or passed the
chalk / board pen to the next member of the team) the
next student gets up, goes to the front, picks up a card
and writes the word on the board in the correct
category.
Q The process is repeated, till the teacher calls Time's up!
The table should now look like this:
Furniture
Animals
Sports and Hobbies
ch air
stool
dog cat
mouse rabbit
co w sheep
swim m ing
chess m usic
stam p-collecting
table
basketball painting
Q Declare the winning team the one which has written
most words on the board.
Q Make sure everyone knows the words on the board and
ask if they can add more.
80
Tips and Techniques
One Teacher,
One Class
Nominating
One of the problems with mixed-ability level is that
stronger students tend to call out the answers all the time.
To avoid this, you can nominate students.
Ask the question first, followed by the student's
name. This way all the students have to listen out for
their name.
Ask more challenging questions to the stronger students
and less challenging questions to the weaker ones.
Vary the way you nominate students to answer
questions. Don't simply start at one end of the class
and move in order to the other end. Students may
'switch off' if they know it isn't their turn for a while.
Keep a record of who you have been asking recently.
It is easy to fall into a rhythm of nominating the same
students again and again.
A particularly effective use of nomination is to
address students by their name when you have your
back turned to the class - for example, when you are
writing on the board or adjusting the CD . It sends a
message to the class that you are aware of the
members of the group and are in control of the group
dynamics. This strategy confirms the old adage about
good teachers 'having eyes in the back of their head'.
Remember: nominating can be done by other means
apart from actually using a student's name. You can
use eye contact and even (occasionally) pointing - in
a non-threatening way - to let students know you'd
like them to speak.
Remember, too, that most people like hearing their
first name being mentioned. Apart from its usefulness
in distributing contributions fairly, nominating is also
good for rapport and 'lowering the affective filter' i.e. helping students feel more welcome and relaxed.
Naming students may seem to be a minor detail in the
context of the sea of difficulties teachers face, but it is
important to bear in mind that the big picture is made up
of details, a little bit like an impressionist painting.
Correcting
Correction is more of an issue with teachers than
nominating, but it is nevertheless a much-misunderstood
and abused process. Correction implies that there is
something 'wrong' which has to be put right; and this in a
Mixed-level Classes
sense is true. On the other hand, it is important to exorcise
the stigma from 'making errors' and to see error correction
as a necessary and positive aspect of learning a language.
We have always found it more constructive to refer to
steps in learning or 'good tries' rather than errors and to
make of correction a flexible instrument for encouraging
learners and building their confidence rather than making
them feel small and inadequate. Let us look more closely
at how this can be done.
When doing correction in an open-class format, it is
important to 'spread it around'.
Avoid the 'One Right Answer' syndrome whereby the
teacher seeks to get the Right Answer as quickly as
possible, usually from the best students. Allow
students thinking time and prompt them, if necessary,
to help them come up with either the right answer or
a reasonable alternative to the right answer!
Distinguish between instant correction (where
communication has broken down) and delayed
correction (which you deliver later to the whole class
after monitoring pair and group activities).
Use rephrasing to correct errors, so you don't
interrupt the flow of conversation. This is unobtrusive
and gives the student natural feedback without
reducing their self-esteem. The technique involves
slipping into your discourse a piece of language the
student got wrong, but in its correct form.
There w ill obviously be more to correct from the
weaker students, so don't forget to correct stronger
students as well.
Pronunciation is an obvious candidate for correction
of stronger students. By correcting them on aspects
such as sounds, word stress and intonation, you are
pushing stronger students to perform even better.
Build correction feedback into follow-up activities so
students see their 'good tries' recontextualised and
made constructive use of; it is one thing to identify
someone's errors and another to make use of those
errors in building new activities and model texts.
Remember to use the full range of teacher correction
techniques but also self-correction and peer
correction techniques, when appropriate.
Correction has a central role to play in language teaching;
it has rich possibilities. It is well known that correction is
good for building students' accuracy but it is less widely
acknowledged that correction can also be good for
building students' self-esteem. Finally, it is often forgotten
that there are times when we should give correction a rest,
especially when students are in full flow or struggling to
achieve some kind of flow.
Mixed-level Classes
Tips and Techniques
Grouping
Monitoring is a particular challenge in large classes and it
is therefore important to combine it with the whole range
of group formations: whole-class work, pair work and
group work; it also means you need to use the space in the
classroom creatively, by moving around and getting a
different perspective on the class. Remember: varying your
position around the room not only refreshes the class by
building in an element of surprise but it extends your control
over the dynamics of the group. It also gives you an insight
into what is going on in forgotten corners of the room.
If you are giving different tasks to different-level students,
you must make sure you group the students accordingly.
For collaborative work: pair weak and strong students
together and ask the strong one to help the weaker one.
For team activities (such as quizzes or games): ensure
that there is a balance of students in each group.
For extendable tasks, or tasks that have options for
early finishers: group the students according to ability.
For group tasks: add a specific instruction, if
necessary, so that everyone must participate (e.g. by
writing two sentences each).
Build an interactive element into mixed groups so
strong and quiet students are obliged to work
together to complete the task. Make them dependent
on each other for the completion of the task.
Make getting into groups a fun activity, to help
overcome students' reluctance to change position.
Giving Time to Think
One cannot stress too greatly the importance of giving
students thinking time - especially the 'quiet' ones. 'Quiet'
students can be observed to find their voice given a bit of
time and appropriate prompting.
G ive weaker students time to answer. So that the
lesson doesn't drag, fill the 'thinking time' with
prompts and clues to help the student come up with
the right answer.
Use the thinking time to remind students of previous
knowledge on which they can build to acquire the
new knowledge.
Re-channel questions to the rest of the class to keep
them involved and then return to the original student,
who w ill in the meantime have gathered hints to help
them come up with the right answer.
Variety in the groupings in your lessons is crucial - be
wary of letting two people always work together.
Monitoring
It is vital to circulate and monitor mixed-ability groups
carefully, in a discreet and unthreatening manner.
If you see that a student is being left out because they
can't keep up, intervene and try to bring them back
into the group.
If you see a student is getting bored, intervene and
encourage them to help the others.
Don't interfere if students seem not to want to be
monitored; give them the option of letting you know
if they want to be 'helped' or monitored.
Get students to do the monitoring by building in an
information-exchange element to your activities.
Get students to report their partner's answers rather
than just giving their own answers - this spreads out
the monitoring between you and the students.
Build in a writing element to the group tasks where
appropriate - this facilitates the monitoring process by
giving you access to the outcome of the task in hand.
Discreetly move away from the student who is
speaking or about to speak so that your field of
control is defined and extended:
by your voice (directing comments or questions to
different areas of the class)
by your position (alerting students who might
otherwise feel at a safe distance)
by eye contact (most of the class should be within
view for most of the time).
Rushing students and setting time limits is a hall mark of a
'testing' mode of teaching; it often leads to stress and
failure. Good teaching recognises the importance of giving
students an appropriate amount of time in which to dig up
their often submerged or emergent knowledge.
Asking and Listening to Each Other
Students are used to thinking that the teacher is the only
person worth listening to in class; this is part of the
traditional view of the teacher as the fount of all wisdom.
Though there is a time and place for the teacher to give
information and explanations (both vital roles), we should
also try to teach students to learn from each other. To do
this, they must be allowed to ask questions as well as to
answer them. They should also be encouraged to accept
that they can learn from peers as well as from teachers.
Avoid the 'interrogation'-type lesson: give the
students plenty of opportunities to ask as well as to
answer questions. This may require a few minutes
before the activity for students to prepare their own
questions on a particular topic (e.g. The five
questions I w ould like a TV interview er to ask me ...).
82
Tips and Techniques
One Class, Not Several
Mixed-level Classes
Make checking and cross-checking a regular feature
of the class. This way you focus attention and
encourage involvement (particularly on the part of
more advanced students who tend to get bored
easily).
Ask questions like Do you agree?or instruct students
to repeat what somebody has just said or carry on
from where the previous speaker stopped.
Get them to report back on what their partner has
said, not only their own answers.
Encourage activities which in their outcome
incorporate the views or answers of other students this makes asking questions and listening to responses
a natural part of the task in hand.
Mixed-level Classes
As Many As You Can
Level
Any
Aim
To encourage flexible input; to
personalise structure practice
Duration
5 minutes
Materials
None
Skills / Language Writing; adjective + preposition
structures
Procedure
Take a suitable sentence item from your coursebook. It
should be something that is easily personalised. It is
best to start with I ... , M y fam ily ... , or People in my
country ... . For example:
I'm afraid o f__________ .
Students will often 'switch off' unless a question is
foecifically asked of them. Setting up activities where they
ooth ask and answer questions w ill help reduce discipline
problems; question and answer routines both fill a
dangerous vacuum and also activate students' self-esteem
- they feel more in control of the foreign language.
Q Elicit examples of words or phrases that could go in the
slot.
I'm afraid of spiders.
I'm afraid o f flying.
I'm afraid o f walking in the town centre at night.
Reviewing and Recycling
It is particularly important in classes of different levels,
where some students may be moving ahead at a different
pace from other students, to give weaker students plenty of
opportunities to revisit the same language.
H Write on the board:
I'm afraid o f______________ .
I'm not afraid o f
_______ .
Use learner-produced quizzes, where the questions
are at least in part provided by the better students.
Use texts produced by the better students as the basis
for creating revision material in the form of gap-fills,
re-ordering or transformation tasks.
Pause during the lesson and get students to recap on
what has been done in class so far.
Q Tell the students to complete these sentences in as
many ways as they can in three minutes. Encourage the
students who usually finish early to also try and write
longer phrases in the slot.
E J At the end of three minutes, tell them to stop writing
and to compare their answers with a partner. Don't ask
how many sentences they wrote, as this is not the
objective of the exercise.
The challenge is to give one group of students further
exposure to the same language without losing the interest
of the students who are in less need of reviewing the
material.
Q Elicit different examples from the class.
Variations
You can use this activity with any number of structures.
For example:
Past Simple
Yesterday I .. . and I d id n 't...
Present Perfect I have ... and I haven't ever ...
Relative Clauses I like/1 don't like things that...
Future
I'm definitely / 1 am never going to ...
NOTE: By giving a topic that students can relate to and by
being flexible with the output required, you avoid the
problem of early finishers as students of differing levels can
finish at the same time and still carry out an interactive
exchange as 'equals' in a final stage.
83
Mixed-level Classes
One Class, Not Several
Team Testing
Oral Concertina
Level
Any
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To test each other on grammar
Aim
To retell a text cooperatively
Duration
1 5 minutes
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
A coursebook grammar table
Materials
A story
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Narrative tenses; listening and
speaking
Procedure
Procedure
Copy a grammar table from the book you are using
onto the board. For example, here is a typical
coursebook presentation of polar questions in the
present simple:
Question
Do you like
ice-cream?
Does she like
football?
Do they like
television?
Positive
Q Tell the students a story from the coursebook you are
using or ask them to read one.
H Begin to retell the story or ask one of the 'better'
students to do this. One sentence is enough.
Negative
Yes, I do.
No, I don't.
Yes, she does.
No, she doesn't.
Yes, they do.
No, they don't.
Choose another student at random to continue the story
from the point at which the previous student left off.
The second student may add as little or as much as
he / she is comfortable with. A word is enough. A
sentence is fine.
Q Nominate a third student to continue the story from
where the second student left off.
H Divide the class into two teams.
The process of building up the story continues in this
manner.
E | Ask two 'weak' students to come to the front,
representing the two teams.
Follow-up
Q Ask the rest of each team to close their eyes or turn
away from the board.
When the story has been reconstructed orally in the
manner described above, the students can write a
summary, either in groups or for homework.
Q Each student at the board chooses a word or two to
erase from any of the columns.
Variation
The teams open their eyes or turn round. Each team
gets time to consult and then must call out the missing
words. The students at the board write the words back
in, but only if they are correct.
The class can be divided into two teams who compete to
reconstruct the story. The teams alternate in adding the
next part of the story.
NOTE; Using nomination ensures both the flow of the story
The teams get a point for every word correctly written
back up on the board.
and the participation of students of diverse levels.
Accepting all contributions, long and short, is crucial to
the process of encouraging all students' self-esteem.
Variations
Alternatively, you can erase the material from the board, in
which case the 'weak' students should be asked to recall
the first items erased, rather than the later ones.
You can apply the same technique to a board full of
vocabulary-to-be-revised. Again, a 'weak' learner can be
the 'eraser'.
N O TE: If students are uncooperative about closing their
eyes or turning away from the board you, or the 'erasers',
can gradually erase more and more of the material on the
board and thus make the task more of a memory game.
84
One Class, Not Several
Mixed-level Classes
Disappearing Texts
Scattered Texts
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To retell a text in a collaborative
jigsaw task
Aim
To reduce and then recreate a text
in collaboration
Duration
20 minutes
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
A text from the coursebook; slips of
paper
Materials
A coursebook text or one you have
prepared
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Listening
Preparation
Procedure
Copy a text onto slips of paper, one slip for each student in
the class. The sentence on each slip should follow on to
form a coherent text, like this:
Write a text, either one of your own or one taken from
the coursebook, on the board. For example:
Akis and Stefanos, the terrible twins who were born
in Greece on 22 August 1983, were playing football
outside in the street with their best friend, Vayios,
who was twelve, when suddenly A kis kicked the
ball too hard and, with a loud smash, broke their
neighbour's window.
Once there was a farmer who
lived in the Amazon forest.
He liked climbing tall trees.
0 Ask one of the 'weaker' students to come to the board
One day, he was climbing a tree
when he found a large nest.
and rub out between one and three words from the text.
0 Tell the student to read out loud the text they have
reduced. Ask if it is still 'grammatically correct' - if it
isn't, ask others to suggest what words should go back
in. Ensure that the remaining text is still grammatically
correct before continuing.
In the nest, there were three large
eggs which belonged to an eagle.
He took one of the eggs.
Q Continue with other students taking turns to come up,
erase words and read out the text. The more text is
erased from the board, the more difficult the task
becomes. This is when you start calling on the
'stronger' students to erase words.
Procedure
Q Give out the sentences to the students in random order,
but choosing the easier ones for the 'slower' learners
and the more difficult ones for the 'faster1'ones.
0 When the text has shrunk as much as it possibly can,
0 Ask the students to read their sentence and decide if it
put the students in pairs.
is the first sentence of the text. The 'owner' of the first
sentence reads it out loud.
Q Ask-them to reconstruct it from memory and write it
down.
0 The students listen and decide whether their sentence
comes next. They read it aloud.
Variation
Alternatively, you can do a 'disappearing dialogue' which
can be personalised in terms of the students' own
experience.
Q Continue until you have constructed as much of the
text as you want.
0 The students hand in their slips and, in groups, they
reconstruct the text in writing.
Acknowledgement: This Variation is based on an idea by
Jim Rose, English Teaching professional Issue 5.
Variations
This task can be done in two ways:
after students have read the text in the coursebook as
revision or reconstruction.
before they read the text in the book as 'prevision' or
'preconstruction'.
85
Mixed-level Classes
One Class, Not Several
DIY Questionnaire
Party Gossip
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To use learner input to personalise
questionnaires for grammar revision
Aim
To introduce flexibility into speaking
practice
Duration
15 minutes
Duration
20 minutes
Materials
Pencil and paper
Materials
Split two-part exchanges on slips of
paper; blank slips of paper; party
music (optional)
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Do a 'Find Someone Who' activity in the normal way.
Preparation
0 G ive the students a blank questionnaire on a topic
Write out slips consisting of a question and an answer that
could lead on to a conversation. The questions / answers
should form pairs. For example:
relevant to the class.
E l Tell the students to complete as many of the blanks as
they can with the names of hobbies and sports that they
would like to know more about. For example:
Where did you leave your wallet?
Hobbies and Sports
I'd like to find someone who:
Name
1 (likes skateboarding)
2 (has been rock climbing)
3 (goes scuba diving)
(John)
(Maria)
(Peter)
How much do you earn?
In my handbag.
I'd rather not tell you.
Procedure
Write example wh- questions and answers on the board:
Where did you get that hat? I bought it at Zara.
Where's H elen?
I don't know. I haven't
seen her for ages.
Q Ask them to add more examples of hobbies by sharing
ideas with other students until they have completed as
many of the ten spaces in the table as they can.
Q Hand out blank slips of paper and ask the students to
write their own questions and answers on separate slips.
0 Collect in the students' questions and answers and mix
them up with the examples you have prepared.
Q They then ask other students their questions and write
in the name of any students who give an affirmative
answer. For example:
Student A: Do you like skateboarding?
Student B: No, I don't.
Student A: Do you like skateboarding?
Student C: Yes, I do.
Student A writes the name of Student C in the 'Name'
column in the questionnaire.
Give each student a slip of paper containing either a
question or an answer.
Who's that guy over there?
That's Brad Pitt.
Ask the students to memorise their sentence.
Ask them to get up and mingle as if they were at a
party (you can have party-like music playing softly in
the background).
Q When time is up (say five minutes of question and
answer), get feedback by asking the students with most
names in the name column to give the class some
feedback on their results. For example:
Student A: John likes skateboarding. M aria has been
rock clim bing.
0 They say their line to whoever they meet at 'the party'
and, when they find their other half, they stop and chat.
The aim is to have a chatty, gossipy conversation 'just
to pass the time'.
Q If they finish early, they go round in pairs and mingle
with other pairs, 'gossiping' about the other members of
the group. Alternatively, you can ask them to sit down
while the other members of the group are still chatting
and to write down their question and answer followed
by the dialogue they had.
Q Round off the task by asking the students to write a brief
report of what they have found out about their fellow
students as a result of conducting the questionnaire.
86
One Class, Not Several
Mixed-level Classes
They're the Experts
Ranking
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To exploit students' preferences
and opinions
Aim
To draw on students' general
knowledge
Duration
20 minutes
Duration
30 minutes
Materials
A list of topic-related lexical items
or statements
Materials
Student-based questions
Language / Skills Interrogative forms
Language / Skills Speaking; note taking
Procedure
Preparation
Q Ask the students to write two or three quiz questions,
based on general knowledge topics (they can do this in
class or for homework, alone or in pairs or groups).
For example: history, geography, pop m usic, sport,
film s, etc.
Prepare a list of topic-related lexical items or statements.
Procedure
Q Explain to the class that they are going to discuss a
problem by listing a number of items in order of
preference. For example:
How to survive on a desert island
0 Collect in the questions.
0 Divide the class into teams.
Q Conduct the quiz, using the students' questions (as you
read out the questions, you should silently correct any
linguistic errors, but without further comment).
0 Elicit a random list of items which the students think
they might need and draw up a list on the board. For
example:
sleeping bag aspirins knife camera
sunglasses raincoat clock
Variation
Take home the questions prepared in class and type them
up correctly as a sheet of, say, twenty questions. Give each
student (or team) a copy of the questions. This w ill not
only allow students to conduct the quiz themselves (acting
as quizmasters, asking the other team questions), but will
also provide useful feedback on student errors.
0 Add some of items of your own to the list to ensure that
there is a balance of easy and difficult vocabulary.
Q Ask the students to choose a minimum of three items and
put them in order of usefulness in the particular situation.
'Better' students may choose more items if they wish.
Q Ask them to jot down notes next to the items they have
chosen, glossing the reasons why they think the items
would be useful.
NOTE: Students are usually very happy to show you how
much they know about things that are important to them
or that they are good at, and if they are allowed to share
their knowledge in your English class, their interest and
participation (and self-esteem!) are guaranteed.
Q Ask them to turn to a partner and exchange views.
They should take notes as they listen.
Variations
Ranking activities are very flexible. Other topics suitable
for such activities could be:
the best forms of transport
an appropriate sentence for minor or more serious
crimes
the most important qualities of a good teacher/
learner / friend.
NOTES: All students have opinions and they are all equally
valuable, whether the English of any particular student is
'strong' or 'weak'. The eliciting stage is another example of
learner input, a useful device in mixed-level classes. The
final stage gives the weak students the opportunity to extend
their lists by drawing naturally on the work of others.
87
Homework
n hfloework
'The number one problem with homework is that they just don't do it.'
Homework is seen as mechanical (in fact the more
mechanical it is, the easier it is to copy).
The homework is boring, too difficult or too easy.
The homework is covered in corrections or just given
a mark, both of which may lower students' self
esteem.
Students don't have enough time to do the homework.
For students, homework should ideally consolidate work
done in class. Additionally, it should provide an
opportunity for them to review problem areas, as well as
working at their own pace and in their own way. This is
one goal of homework. Another goal is to extend learning
outside class. This means developing study skills which
w ill help students take more independent responsibility for
their learning.
Thus, homework ends up as a kind of hide-and-seek
between teacher and learner. How can we begin to
overcome this attitude and make the most of a unique
opportunity for extending and enriching the learning of
English?
Homework should also allow you, as teacher, to do the
following things:
carry out activities that are more motivating because
you can link them with the real world and the
students' own interests
save valuable class time for other activities which can
only be done in class
show students you value their work through the way
you give feedback on the homework.
4.1 Valuing Homework
7 suspect my students don't do the homework because
they think it's boring and useless.'
The activities in the first section of this chapter are about
setting the groundwork for good homework. A good starting
point is to show your students that you place a high value
on the homework they do. If you leave assigning
homework for the last minute in class, if you collect
homework and don't return it (or return it late), if you
assign homework irregularly, then it is much more likely
that students w ill reciprocate in like manner.
Time and again, however, the same complaints about
homework arise. The number one complaint is, of course,
that students simply don't do it. This is followed closely by
copying. Here are some reasons we believe that this
happens:
Homework is seen as a punishment, or useless and
irrelevant.
88
Homework
You should, therefore, find out from the students what
works best for them. How much time do they have for
homework? What are they interested in, both in class and
out of class? What do they need? How do they learn things
best on their own?
Many teachers opt for a zero tolerance policy towards
deviant language and make life not only more difficult for
themselves but also miss many opportunities for making
the learners more active players in the process of learning.
So as you try to get them to participate more in their
learning process, why not find out from the students
themselves how they like their homework to be corrected?
Even if you decide not to act on everything they would
like you to do, the very process of going to the students
and asking them to express their preferences is very good
for rapport, positive attitudes and participation (or RAP, for
short).
4.2 Linking Homework to Classwork
'/ only give the workbook for homework - and they never
do it.'
The activities in the second section of this chapter give
suggestions on motivating kinds of homework that link to
classwork. There are ways of making homework a
collaborative, cooperative activity rather than a lonely grind.
4.4 Following Up Homework
Homework w ill be seen as more important if the link with
classwork is visible. This can be done:
'I don't have time to mark thirty pieces o f hom ework!'
The activities in this last section illustrate ways of
'recycling' the students' work to give it new life and value.
from class to home - by starting something in class
and finishing it at home
from home to class - by doing something at home
and bringing it to class.
Homework needn't always be marked and controlled by
you. Students can be encouraged and trained to selfcorrect and edit their own homework and that of their
peers. You can also use models of homework to foster
learning. This doesn't necessarily mean using only the best
homework, either. If you use the 'worst' student's
homework as a vehicle for learning for the whole class,
this is the most effective way of 'valuing' that student's
work. Many teachers, metaphorically at least, toss
students' work into the dustbin by covering it in negative
marks and remarks.
This doesn't mean avoiding the workbook (if your students
are using one), but making the link stronger. If homework
is seen as integral to what happens in class, it may be
easier to build an intrinsic motive for doing it: if students
don't do it, they experience at first hand, in class, the
impact of this non-compliance. This is a much more
effective 'carrot' than simply preaching about the virtues of
homework or expressing threats and / or disappointment
when students fail to do their out-of-class work.
4.3 Correcting Homework
It is what we do outside class on a regular, habit-forming
basis that makes the difference in language learning;
reading an English-language newspaper or magazine as a
matter of routine, listening to songs and other audio
material in the target language, watching DVDs, keeping a
notebook of useful expressions, interacting with other
English users either face-to-face, by e-mail or in
chatrooms, and so on.
'/ don't think they ever actually read my comments. They
don't learn anything from m y corrections - I correct
because I feel I have to. '
This section focuses on the integral part correction
techniques play in making homework a purposeful
learning activity. Indeed, students often see teachers as
full-time correction machines. We think it's important to
put the human factor back into the machine - and to put
the student in the centre of the cycle:
classw ork
correction
hom ework
follow-up
The challenge is how to activate this huge out-of-class
resource. The activities and techniques here illustrate a
general but vital strategy: to make the homework appear to
be useful.
89
Homework
Valuing Homework
Homework Survey
Level
Any
Aim
To get students to think about
homework
Duration
10 minutes (in class)
Materials
Homework Survey (see page 91
opposite)
Skills / Language Reading; speaking
Preparation
Follow-up
Make enough copies of the Homework Survey for each
student.
You now have a selection of ideas for homework that
students have at least expressed approval of and,
implicitly, a willingness to do. You can decide what to do
with the survey. Here are some suggestions:
Procedure
Q At the end of the lesson, distribute the surveys so that
each student has one. Ask them to complete the survey
for homework. Tell them not to complete the final To
be completed in class section yet.
Go through the results of the survey with the class
and highlight the top three types of homework
students expressed a willingness to do. Assign one of
those types of homework first.
Write and post up a list of the types of homework you
are going to assign throughout the year.
Write and post up a list of homework tasks and each
class puts a tick next to the ones the students have
done. Review this list with the students from time to
time to show them what they have achieved.
Half way through the year, come back to the original
survey and ask the students if they would like to
change anything and if they feel they have been
doing useful homework.
Q In the next lesson, ask the students to work in pairs and
compare their answers.
B Ask the pairs to come up with three types of homework
task that they feel have worked for them in the past.
Tell them to write these down at the bottom of the
survey in the To be completed in class box.
Collect in the surveys.
Variation
For very low levels, the students could be encouraged to
do the activity in their own language.
90
DESIGNED TO PHOTOCOPY
Homework Survey
Tick ( j> ) the option which is true for you:
Tick (y0) the kind of homework you would like
I usually do my homework:
to do more of.
at home
grammar exercises
in the library
learning new words
at work
exercises in the workbook
internet-related activities
practising exam questions
other
I usually do my homework:
alone
Tick ( j> ) the kind of things you would like
with a friend
to write.
with someone from my family
other
letters / e-mails
stories
reports
I usually do my homework:
in the morning
essays
in the afternoon
at night
other
Tick ( j> ) the kind of things you would like
other
to read.
I usually do my homework:
stories
in bits and pieces
poems
all in one go
news stories
a long time before the deadline
academic texts
just before the deadline
other
I listen to music when I do my homework.
true
false O
I like doing homework.
true
false
To be completed in class. Please leave blank.
Three kinds of useful homework we have done:
Dealing with Difficulties Lindsay Clandfield and Luke Prodromou published by
91
d e lt a p u b lis h in g
Homework
Valuing Homework
Homework Log
Level
Any
Aim
To keep a record of homework
Duration
10 minutes (first class), 3 minutes
(each you assign homework)
Materials
An exercise book for each student
Skills / Language Writing
Procedure
Variations
Q Ask each student to buy an exercise book for their
homework.
You can add other columns, such as 'Mark received'.
For Young Learners
You can make copies of the title page for a homework log.
The students can further decorate the title page by
colouring it, or pasting other pictures on it.
0 At the beginning of the course, set aside ten minutes
and ask the students to make a title page for their
'homework log'. On the title page they should write
their name, the class, the class times, their phone
number and / or e-mail address.
You can also use this book to communicate with their
parents. At the bottom of each page you can add
comments about the student's behaviour (good or bad) and
work done in class. You can ask parents to sign the book
as well (especially for younger learners).
E J Tell the students to find another student in the class
who w ill be their 'homework contact'. If a student
misses a class, they can find out about any homework
assigned from their homework contact. They should
write their homework contact's name and number in
their log.
NOTE: Keeping the homework in one exercise book means
that you can collect all the books from time to time to
check them.
Q On the second page of the log, ask them to make three
columns, one for the homework assigned, one for the
date due and one marked 'Done'. See example below.
Q Each time you assign homework, ask the students to
record it in their logs. Tell them to tick the homework
when they have finished it.
Homework Aeeigned
Date Due
Write a le tte r introducing yourself to the teacher.
March 24
Write a description of a family member
April 1
Complete unit 4 o f the workbook.
April
92
<3
Done
Valuing Homework
Homework
Check After, Check Before
Level
Any
Aim
To raise awareness of the value of
homework; to help students learn
from their mistakes
Duration
5-10 minutes (in class)
Materials
A handout on writing problems to
give students at the beginning of
the year
Skills / Language Writing; self-editing
Elementary Checklist
This could be translated into the students' own language.
Preparation
Create a checklist for students to use to self-check their
homework. The ones in the examples opposite are for an
elementary and an intermediate class, but you can make
one for the level of your students and the typical mistakes
they make.
Things to look out for in my homework
1 I need to be careful with h e / sh e/ it + 's'
in the present simple.
Procedure
2 I used present simple instead of past simple.
D G ive the students the checklist and go through the
meaning of each item. Tell them that you w ill always
be looking out for these things in their homework, too.
3 I need to be careful with spelling.
4 I need to make my sentences shorter / longer.
Q Mark the students' homework in the usual way, but
make sure you indicate their errors in a clear manner:
underlining, writing what the problem is, using codes,
etc. See Proofreading on page 71 for the use of codes
in correction.
5 I didn't use the definite article.
6 I put in unnecessary articles.
7 I need to make sure my verbs have a subject.
8 I need to be careful of word order in questions.
E3 As you give them their homework back, ask the
students to take out their original checklist.
Intermediate Checklist
Q Tell them to go through their homework and tick off
any relevant points from the checklist.
Things to look out for in my homework
Q Ask them to use the checklist when they do their next
piece of homework. They should check their homework
before they give it in each time, from now on.
1 I need to use more linkers.
2 I used the wrong linker or too many linkers.
3 I need to be careful with spelling.
NOTE: This task helps students focus on and learn from
their errors. It raises awareness not only about the
language but the value of trying to use the language even
if one makes mistakes. The point is to see mistakes as steps
towards better English, not as things to avoid at all costs.
4 I need to check any irregular past simple verbs.
5 I left out the definite article.
6 I put in unnecessary articles.
7 I didn't use paragraphs.
8 I used language that was too formal.
9 I used language that was too informal.
10 I didn't write a conclusion.
93
Homework
Linking Homework to Classwork
Finish It At Home: 1
Finish It At Home: 2
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To make homework a cooperative
activity; to provide support to the
less able students
Aim
To make homework a cooperative
activity; to provide support to the
less able students
Duration
5-10 minutes in class,
30 minutes at home
Duration
15-20 minutes in class,
30 minutes at home
Materials
None
Materials
None
Skills / Language Varied
Skills / Language Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Q Towards the end of the class, explain the homework
task. For example:
You are going to write a story beginning with the
words:
'He was the strangest man I had ever met
Q Dictate the first sentence of a story. For example:
A man was walking down the street.
0 Read out the following questions and ask the students
to make notes of their answers.
What did he look lik e ?
What was he wearing?
Where was he going?
W hy was he going there?
Was he going to meet anyone?
How was he w alking?
Was he alone?
Q Brainstorm ideas and language (vocabulary, connectors,
tenses, etc.) and put them on the board.
0 Dictate the first words of the story to the class.
Ask the students to write the next sentence or two.
Q Ask them to compare each other's texts so far and add
the next sentence to their texts.
0 Get feedback and check errors.
0 Ask the students to compare notes and help each other
with ideas.
Q Ask them to finish the story for homework.
Q Ask them to finish the story for homework.
NOTE: This technique can be adopted for any genre of
Variation
text: letters, discursive, argumentative, opinion, reports,
and so on.
Give less able students support by providing more
questions, (e.g. about the background to the story):
What was the weather lik e ?
Where does the story take place?
Who else was in the street?
What time o f year was it?
94
Linking Homework to Classwork
Homework
Memory Tests
Level
Any
Aim
To learn new words and phrases
Duration
Variable at home, 10 minutes
in class
Materials
A list of words or phrases learnt
in class
Skills / Language New vocabulary
Procedure
Ways of Remembering New Vocabulary
Hold a quick whole-class discussion on what the best
way to remember new words is (with low levels you
can do this in the students' own language).
Make a list with the translation next to it.
Make a diagram showing how the words relate to
each other.
Q Write up the suggestions on the board, incorporating
some of your own. See suggestions in the box opposite.
Draw pictures of the words.
0 Direct the students to the vocabulary (words or phrases)
they have learnt in class recently. Choose between
fifteen and twenty items.
Say the words out loud before you go to sleep and
when you wake up.
Make a story with the words. Read the story to
yourself two or three times.
Q Tell them to choose one of the memory methods and to
use it at home to test themselves on the vocabulary.
Ask another person to test you on the words at home.
Ask them to test you over and over again.
Q In the next lesson, tell the students to take out a piece
of blank paper and write down the words they
remember with a translation or definition (depending
on the level).
Repeat the words over and over again.
Write example sentences containing the words.
Q Tell them to compare with a partner. Who has
remembered more? W hich system works better?
Make cue cards with the words on one side and a
definition / translation on the other.
Q Repeat these last three stages for the next lesson.
Put the words on cards with a definition on the back
and test yourself while you are waiting in a queue.
Q Go back to the original set of words two weeks later
and ask them to write as many as they can remember.
Write the words on Post-it notes and put these around
the house, in the car or on your diary.
------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------
95
Homework
Linking Homework to Classwork
Transform It
Hometeach
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To revise classwork at home;
to personalise grammar exercises
Aim
To review the English students have
learned by asking them to teach it
Duration
10-15 minutes in class,
15-30 minutes at home
Duration
5 minutes in class, 20 minutes at
home, 5 minutes in class
Materials
A typical grammar / vocabulary
exercise from the coursebook
Materials
None
Skills / Language Varied
Skills / Language Sentence transformation
Procedure
Procedure
Q Tell the students that for homework they must find
someone (at home, preferably) who has a lower level of
English than they do and offer this person a free lesson.
This could be their parents, siblings or partner.
Q Go through the grammar/ vocabulary exercise in your
usual way. The following example is from an
intermediate-level exercise:
Nobody asked me for my opinion of the idea,
(thought)
Nobody asked m e____________________ the idea.
0 At the end of the lesson, give the students five minutes
to think about and plan their lesson. They can look at
their coursebook or other lessons that they have done.
Tell them they should exchange ideas on what to teach
with other students (this w ill help those who don't have
any ideas on what to do).
This is the best music I've ever heard, (better)
I'v e ____________________ this.
She was the only one who didn't enjoy the film,
(apart)
Everybody____________________ her.
0 For homework, they have to give the lesson and then
be prepared to report back.
Q In the next lesson, ask the students to report back to
each other on their mini-lessons. Do some whole-class
feedback on this. You can ask questions such as:
What did you teach?
Who was your 'student'?
H ow long did the lesson last?
D id you enjoy it?
How did your 'student' react?
What have you learnt about teaching: is it easy/
difficult?
Q Make sure all the students have the correct answers to
the grammar exercise.
0 At home, the students rewrite the original sentences
from the coursebook to make them more personal, for
example by adding the names of people they know to
the original, impersonal sentences. They then transform
them in the same way they did in class. They should
come up with something like the following:
My parents didn't ask me for my opinion about our
holiday this summer.
M y parents didn't ask me what I thought about our
holiday this summer.
Variation
You can ask the students to prepare a short 'lesson' and
then teach each other in class the following day. They can
do this in groups.
Beethoven's symphonies are the best music I've ever
heard.
I've never heard better m usic than Beethoven's
symphonies.
Marialena was the only one who didn't enjoy the
film.
Everyone apart from M arialena enjoyed the film .
Follow-up
For an exam-based version of this task, see In Reverse: 1
and In Reverse: 2 on pages 116 and 117.
96
Linking Homework to Classwork
Homework
Writing to Each Other
Level
Any
Aims
To give a purpose to students'
writing
Duration
10 minutes in class, 1 hour at home
Materials
Pen and paper; copies of a letter or
e-mail you have written to the class
Skills / Language Varied
Preparation
Q At home, they now write a letter to their partner. They
post it. On receiving the letter, the student writes a
reply and posts it.
Write a 'letter to the class' or an 'e-mail to the class'. See
examples below.
In the next lesson, the students bring a copy of the two
letters for you. You take them home and write a general
letter to the class. In this letter, you provide feedback
on the content and language of the letters as a whole.
This final letter closes the cycle and acts as a summary
of what has been learnt from the whole letter-writing
process.
Procedure
Q Give a copy of your 'letter to the class' to the students.
Q Give them your address and ask them to write a reply
at home and post it, so you receive it at home.
Q Reply to any letters you receive. If you can afford it,
post your replies along with the original letters.
Alternatively, put them in an envelope and 'deliver'
them in the next lesson.
Variation
A similar task can be set up using e-mail, where students
have e-mail. Copies of the e-mail messages should be
printed out or 'cc-ed' to the teacher.
Q The students read your reply to their letters and take
note of useful expressions that w ill help their own
letter-writing. Get them to focus on the layout and
structure of the letter.
NOTE: This whole process is a classroom return on their
investment for those students who wrote you a letter, and it
will make those who haven't done the homework realise
what they are missing!
EJ Put the students in pairs and get them to exchange
addresses.
Beginner-level Letter
Intermediate-level Letter
Dear class,
D ear class,
H i. My name's Luke and I'm just dropping you a line
to introduce m yself and so I can start to get to know
you a bit. I am from the U K but I've been living in
Greece for quite a few years now. I've been m arried a
long time and we have three kids: Rosa, M ichael and
Antony (the tw ins!).
M y name is Lindsay Clandfield. I am your teacher for
this year. I am from Toronto, Canada. I live in Spain
with my wife, Sofia, and two children: M arcos and
Lucas.
Please write and tell me something about you. I look
forward to hearing from you.
W hy don't you drop me a line to tell me a few things
about yourself and your fam ily? I look forward to
hearing from you.
Lindsay
Luke
97
Homework
Linking Homework to Classwork
English in My Home: 2
English in My Home: 1
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aims
To raise awareness of English outside
the classroom
Aim
To learn vocabulary of things around
the students' homes
Duration
5 minutes in class, 20 minutes at
home, 10 minutes in class next day
Duration
15 minutes in class, 20 minutes at
home, 15 minutes two classes later
Materials
None
Materials
Post-it notes or paper and adhesive
tape
Skills / Language Varied
Skills / Language Varied
NOTE: This activity works best in monolingual settings
where English is not the native language of the country.
Procedure
Q Distribute Post-it notes (or slips of paper with adhesive
tape) to the students and ask them to make a label for
everything in the classroom that they can. The labels
must be in English.
Procedure
Q Put the following table on the board and ask the
students to copy it into their notebooks.
2 Tell the students to put the labels around the classroom
English In My Home
Kitchen
Living Room
Bedroom
in the correct place (it is best to check if they are
correct before you do this).
Other
3 At the end of the lesson, tell the students to choose a
room in their home and to do the same.
Q Tell them to leave the labels there for two days.
5 After two days, tell them to remove the labels and bring
them to class.
2 For homework, ask the students to find any and all
items they have in their house with English words on
them. Tell them to write the English words they find at
home in the relevant column on the list.
Put the students into groups of three or four. Tell them
to show each other their labels and explain what the
words are (if they can remember them!).
Variation
Instead of bringing in the labels, tell the students to ask a
friend or family member they live with to rearrange all the
labels so they are on the wrong things; they then have to
try to label everything again correctly.
3 In the next lesson, ask the students to work in small
groups and compare lists. Write the following questions
on the board for them to discuss:
Who has the most English in their hom e?
Where do you find most English words ?
What do the words mean ?
Acknowledgement: We learnt the Variation on this activity
from Jim Scrivener.
Q Follow this up with a discussion on the presence of
English in the students' country. What do people use
English for? Why?
98
Linking Homework to Classwork
English All Around You
Homework
Phrasal Verb Hunt
Level
Any
Level
Aim
To raise students' awareness of
English as an international language;
to expose students to authentic uses
of English in their own environment
Aim
To encourage students to
notice
specific language items in a natural
context
Duration
Variable at home, 1 5 minutes in
class
20 minutes at home, 20 minutes in
class next day
Materials
None
None
Skills / Language Phrasal verbs
Duration
Materials
From intermediate onwards
Skills / Language Varied
Procedure
a For homework, ask the students to search for phrasal
Preparation
verbs in a natural context. They could look:
Collect and bring to class some examples of 'real English'
(e.g. supermarket products, advertisements in magazines).
Procedure
For homework, ask the students to keep a record, in a
special notebook, of words and phrases found in the
environment: graffiti on walls; the names of shops,
clubs, and so on; the names of magazines (local and
imported) and brand names.
on the Internet
in their coursebook
in an English novel from the library
in the newspaper
on the street (if they are in an English-speaking
country).
2 Set a number of phrasal verbs to find (e.g. five). Explain
that when they encounter a phrasal verb, they should
record it along with the sentence and source they found
it in. They could also use a dictionary to record what
the phrasal verb means (or a translation).
2 In the lesson, instruct the students take it in turns to
present their findings, which should be written on the
board in categories and copied into their notebooks.
For example:
Graffiti
No war!
A ll property is theft
3 In the next class, tell the students to share the phrasal
verbs they have 'hunted' in small groups. Elicit
examples from the groups to put on the board - make it
a 'trophy room'.
Magazines
Status
Business
Focus
Variations
You could ask students to find examples of phrasal verbs in
different genres of text. For example:
an advertisement
a-poem
a story
Shops, Pubs, Clubs
Relax
Blow Up
Corner
Fast Food
a news item
an informal letter
a note.
You could set this as homework after you've presented the
language item, or as homework before you present it: that
way you have some authentic examples to start off with.
Brand Names
Pampers
Tasty
Softex
You can do a 'hunt' for any structure (e.g. a verb form or
tense) or lexical item (words in a lexical field, synonyms,
idioms, etc.). We provided phrasal verbs as an example
because understanding phrasal verbs is much easier if one
encounters them in real life rather than in coursebooks.
3 Once this pattern is established, make the presentation
of findings into a guessing game. The first student reads
out the examples of English and the other students have
to guess the type: shop, pub, cereal, clothes, etc.
99
Homework
Linking Homework to Classwork
My Song
Pictures in My House
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To practise the skill of describing
pictures
Aim
To integrate students' interests into
the lesson
Duration
50 minutes at home, 10 minutes
in class
Duration
20 minutes at home, 5 minutes
at home, 5 minutes in class
Materials
Copies of pictures (your own and
ones students bring from home)
Materials
None
Skills / Language Listening
Skills / Language Speaking; there is / there are; in the
background / foreground / in the
m iddle o f the picture
Procedure
Tell the students that for homework they have to listen
to a song in English. They must try to transcribe the
words. Ask them to bring the words and a recording of
the song to class.
Preparation
Choose and bring in a painting of your own choice which
you w ill describe to the students. You can bring a copy of
the painting to class or make an O H T copy of it.
Q Collect in the homework (words and song).
0 Choose one song and produce a complete / correct
version of the text, by adding the parts the student
failed to transcribe. If you can't make out the lyrics
yourself, try to find them on the Internet.
Procedure
Q Describe your painting to the students.
0 Provide them with key words and expressions for
describing pictures in English.
Q Return the homework, including the complete version,
to the student.
0 For homework, ask the students to choose a painting. It
could be one hanging up somewhere in their house or
a painting from a book or a magazine if they prefer.
They should:
0 Ask the student to gap the text (making, for example,
ten gaps) and return the gapped text to you.
Q Use this gapped text as a completion task for the whole
class.
describe the painting in note form
say why they like it
find out and write something about the painter
bring the painting (or a digital photo of the
painting) to class if possible.
Get the students to check their answers by listening to
the song.
Variations
Ask the students to write a resume of their favourite lyrics
(the original lyrics may be in English or in their own
language): what is the song about?
In the next lesson, ask one of the students to come to
the front and show their picture to the class. They use
their notes to say a few words about the painting and
why they like it.
Ask the students to:
Q The other students then ask a few questions about the
painting and / or the painter, which the presenter tries
to answer.
write a story built around the characters and situation
referred to in the song
write the biography of the main characters in the song
write a translation of the song
find out some facts about the singer / group on the
Internet.
Q Repeat the last two stages in subsequent lessons, with
different students bringing a picture to talk about.
Follow-up
NOTE: Songs are a popular 'way into' English. You can
The students give you a copy of their notes. This text has
been used to guide their presentation to the rest of the
class, but it can also be re-used as a gap-fill activity with
the whole class. You simply use the notes to write out a
continuous text with gaps which the students then give to
the whole class as a kind of revision.
make this a regular feature of your classes, asking for a
different student's song each week.
100
Linking Homework to Classwork
Homework
Watch It!
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To integrate homework with realworld activity
Duration
1-2 hours at home
Materials
For students: D VD or video
Skills / Language Listening; speaking; present simple
(for narratives)
Preparation
Procedure
Prepare a short synopsis of a film that you like:
Q Explain that the students must choose a D VD / video in
English (with or without subtitles depending on the
level).
King Kong (2005)
Set in the 1930s, this is the story of a group of
explorers and documentary filmmakers who travel to
the mysterious Skull Island to investigate legends of a
giant gorilla named Kong. They discover that King
Kong is a real creature who lives in a massive jungle
with creatures from prehistoric times. The explorers
search for the great ape, fighting Kong and his
dinosaur enemies. Finally, King Kong is attracted to
the beautiful human in the expedition. The explorers
capture Kong and take him back to New York, where
he is put on display, but of course he escapes and is
free in New York.
Q Ask them to watch the film and jot down words or
phrases that stand out or catch their attention. They
should have about twenty such expressions by the end
of the film.
E J Tell them that they w ill be expected to use these notes
as a guide for telling their partner or group about the
film.
Q In the next lesson, give your presentation of a film you
saw and liked (the box opposite gives an example).
0
-------
For lower-level students, a model could be provided,
like this:
Put the students into pairs or groups of three and tell
them to take turns describing their film to the others,
using their prompts. Circulate and help.
Follow-up
The students write a review of the D V D / video.
/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
King Kong (2005)
Set in (when and where), this is the story o f (who or
what). It stars (actors, actresses). I thought it was
(adjective). Some o f the lines I can rem em ber in
English are (insert memorable lines here):
101
Homework
Linking Homework to Classwork
Phone Survey
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To report on information found
outside the classroom
Duration
Variable in class, 90 minutes
at home
Materials
None
Skills / Language Speaking
Procedure
Q Put the students into groups to choose a topic for their
survey.
Q Explain to the students that they are going to conduct a
survey by telephone. They are to collect information
about (a) people's opinions (b) people's habits and
routines. Suitable topics for a phone survey might be:
Holidays
The most popular places
Q The groups write their questions collaboratively in
English, although they may have to ask them in their
own language during the survey.
Q At home, the students phone friends and relatives and
ask the questions in their survey. They take note of the
answers.
Sport
The most popular sports
In the next lesson, students sit with the others in their
group and compare results.
Consumer habits
Where people shop and what they buy
Variations
Roles in the home
Who does which chores
The students produce a written report of their findings. For
this variation, it is a good idea to spend some time first,
explaining how the report should look (title, paragraphs,
organisation of data).
Q Brainstorm the questions that w ill be needed for the
investigation. Here is an example for 'Consumer
Habits':
What have you bought in the last w eek?
(a) food
(b) clothes
(c) electrical equipment
(d) furniture
The students produce posters of their results which are
displayed on the walls.
Where were these products made?
(a) in our country
(b) abroad
Were th e y ... ?
(a) expensive
(b) cheap
(c) reasonably priced
Were you happy with the product?
(a) yes
(b) no
102
Linking Homework to Classwork
In the News
Homework
Poster Project
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To link classroom work with
real-world tasks
Aim
Duration
30 minutes at home, 15 minutes
in class
To integrate language and skills and
to link classroom work with realworld tasks
Duration
Variable in class and at home
Materials
At home the students w ill need a
poster, pictures, coloured pens, glue
Materials
A collection of headlines from
the news
Skills / Language Reading; speaking
Skills / Language Varied
Preparation
Procedure
Collect seven or eight headlines from the current news to
bring to class.
Q Go through your coursebook lesson in the usual way.
0 Choose a topic from the book as a basis for a 'poster
project'. For exam ple: Sport Around the W orld.
Procedure
Q At the end of the lesson, write the headlines on the
board.
Q Explain the framework of the project:
Find information about the most popular sports
and sports stars in different countries.
Take notes.
Collect pictures.
Stick photos and pictures on the poster.
Add notes about the country, the sport and the
sports personalities.
Use different coloured pens.
Make your poster eye-catching.
Q Ask the students to work in pairs and choose one
headline.
U Tell them that for homework they must find out more
about this news item.
For higher levels:
Tell them to research the news item on the Internet,
using an English news site (e.g. w w w .b b c.co .uk).
For lower levels:
Tell them to research the item using the Internet or
newspapers in their own language.
Q The students bring their posters to class.
0 Organise an exhibition and ask the students to stand
next to their posters and answer questions, giving
information about the topic of their poster project.
Q In the next lesson, put the students into the same pairs
and tell them to compare their findings. They must
prepare a short (three-minute) presentation about this
news item.
N O TE: If you provide the class with a number of possible
projects to choose from, this not only provides more
choice, but the exhibition phase w ill also be more
interesting.
0 The students swap partners. Each student should be
sitting with someone new.
You can also put students into pairs so they can help each
other and learn to work cooperatively.
Q Tell them to explain their news story in English to their
partner.
N O TE: W hen the students have done this activity once,
they can choose their own news stories for the next time.
103
Homework
Tips and Techniques
Correcting
Homework
When you collect the students' homework to check
it, add more personal comments on the work they've
done. W hile a 'very good' is better than nothing,
feedback becomes more meaningful if it is specific
and can also reflect on earlier work and progress.
Be consistent with marks and comments. If a piece of
homework is not very good, or was done in a rush,
then say so. It will make the other, better, comments
and praise more worthy.
If you have gold stars or other stickers, you can put
them on good work along with comments. This
practice doesn't have to be restricted to children. As
the teacher Maria Tzovaras says, there is no student
in the world (young and old, believe me) that does
not find a small dose of joy in receiving a sticker for
a job well done.
Correction Questionnaire
It is important to know how the students themselves like to
be corrected. To find out, what better way than to ask them?
Elicit from the students the way they like to their oral
and written work to be corrected.
Add their ideas to your own in order to construct a
'Correction Questionnaire'.
Prepare the questionnaire and hand it o u t..
How I like to be corrected - speaking
In spoken work, I like the teacher to:
write my errors on the board
use translation to correct me
tell me: no, that's wrong
echo what I say correctly
finish what I want to say when I can't remember
correct me immediately
wait until I've finished speaking
correct me later, when the activity is over
make a tape of my errors and play it back
ignore unimportant errors
Above all, use 'errors' as a starting point or 'pretext' for
further learning - recycling gives new life to what is
usually thought of as useless.
Caring Criticism
Getting back a piece of homework with the same old
comments tacked on at the end (good, very good, try
harder ... ) or with no comments at all is a disheartening
experience and does little to motivate the student to do
more homework or better homework. If you vary your
comments on students' written work, it is not only more
likely the students w ill read them, but they may actually
be motivated to act on them! Here is a variety of ways of
responding to students' written work:
How I like to be corrected - writing
In written work, I like the teacher to:
correct all my errors
correct only the more serious errors
indicate the kind of error in the margin
(e.g. prep = preposition; sp = spelling, etc.)
indicate the location of the error only
tick correct items, cross incorrect ones
summarise the main errors at the end
write comments in the margin
write comments on the content
read out errors and ask the class to correct
dictate wrong sentences correctly
Positive Comments
A lovely piece o f work.
This was an excellent piece o f work.
I especially like the way you ...
The (X )... was especially good.
You've made a lot o f progress in this area.
You're using the language we've learnt in class very w ell.
In-need-of-improvement Comments
I think you need to work on ...
There are very few mistakes in this homework, but the
vocabulary / grammar is very sim ple. At your level I think
you can use more com plex structures / words.
Allow students to complete the questionnaires and collect
them in. In the next lesson, point out which were the most
popular choices. Explain that you w ill use a variety of
correction techniques from this list, including the most
popular.
Responding-to-the-content Comments
Is this a true story? Am azing.
What a frightening/ funny / exciting experience.
What happened at the end?
I agree / disagree.
Constructive Correction
It is important, too, to stress certain strategies for raising
the 'profile' of homework and giving it more value in the
students' eyes than is often the case. For example:
Writing and reading homework is a two-way process; we
hope students w ill reciprocate the interest we show in their
104
Tips and Techniques
Homework
This is only a sample - each teacher w ill have their own
preferred style of code. The important thing is to be
consistent.
work. It is important not to underestimate the power of
words to shape attitudes.
Homework RAP
DIY Correction
Traditionally, reading and correcting homework is an
opportunity to find out what students have or have not
learnt and to make sure they get effective feedback on
their errors. This remains fundamental to the purpose of
correcting homework, but correction can also be an
opportunity for achieving much more in terms of the
students' approach to learning. We can have an impact not
only on what students are learning but how they learn.
These additional benefits of correction can be summed up
in the acronym 'RAP': Rapport, Attitude, Participation.
There is a simple procedure for using a marking code like
the one above with large classes, but first you must make
sure the students learn it.
Raise student awareness regarding the variety of
correction processes: self-peer, group, teacher-group,
teacher-student, teacher-class, etc.
Teach your marking code.
Work through the following steps:
1 The students attempt to correct their own work.
2 In pairs, they engage in peer-correction.
3 The pairs join up to form groups.
4 Monitor the groups, facilitating the correction
process.
5 'Tutor' individuals while the groups work alone.
6 Do some teacher-class feedback.
Through the way we correct, we can build better rapport
between teacher and students, we can build more positive
attitudes towards learning and, ultimately, we can extend
students' participation in the learning process. Here are
some tips for creating 'RAP' in the classroom:
Give the students opportunities:
to check their own work
to check each other's homework (but always monitor
and provide feedback on such tasks to make sure
they don't identify mistakes wrongly or reinforce
mistaken ideas).
Use a marking code such as the one below to
activate the students' involvement in the correction
process.
Set aside time every week to go through this process. The
group nature of the correction w ill help exert pressure on
the students to do the homework!
Codes of Behaviour
While it is good to get the students to 'do it themselves' it
is, first and foremost, up to us, the teachers, to take a
positive and constructive attitude to homework correction
and have our own code of good correcting behaviour.
Here are some suggestions:
If the students can correct their own work, this tells you
that the 'deviant' language was merely a slip or superficial
mistake rather than a serious error.
Avoid using terms like error or mistake and prefer,
instead, more positive terms such as slips, attempts
and good tries.
Approach errors and mistakes as evidence that
learning is developing and, as such, as necessary
steps in the learning process.
Make a habit of correcting errors that affect the
meaning of a whole sentence rather than correcting
minor language points inside a word or phrase.
Take a balanced approach between accuracy and
fluency. If you insist on accuracy on all times then
you w ill be forever trapped in correcting all deviant
language.
Correcting Codes
Here is a sample code you might use to correct work:
A
#
WO
ww
VF
WF
T
Prep
Art
?
Sp
P
0
NA
[
=
=
=
=
something missing
number or agreement
word order
wrong word
wrong verb form
wrong form
tense
preposition
article
what do you mean?
spelling
punctuation
not necessary
not appropriate in this context
start a new paragraph
And remember: don't use correction as a display of teacher
power - let the students have the p o w e r... and the glory!
105
Homework
Following Up Homework
Second Draft, Third Draft
Second-time-around Homework
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To draft and edit a piece of
written work
Aim
To develop writing skills through
process writing
Duration
Variable
Duration
15 minutes in class, 1 hour at home
Materials
None
Materials
Pen and paper
Skills / Language Drafting written work
Skills / Language Editing written work
Procedure
Procedure
D Give the students a topic to write about,
Next time you assign a piece of written work, collect it
the following day and keep it for a week. Look at the
work, but don't mark it.
For example:
How to D eal with Waste
Q Brainstorm ideas and write them on the board for five
minutes.
0 When it is time to assign more writing homework, hand
back the original written work, unmarked.
E J Tell the students to use the ideas on the board to write
about the topic for ten minutes. They should write as
fast as they can and produce as many words as they
can (errors at this stage should be ignored). They can
use note-torm, too.
Q Tell the students that you want them to work on the
same piece of writing, but to make it even better. Tell
them that once they've done this, then you will give it
a mark and comments.
E l After ten minutes, stop the writing and ask the students
to write a second draft at home, correcting as many
errors as they can.
Q Collect the writing homework the next day. Mark this
second draft.
NOTE: Most students often won't bother drafting writing
Q Ask the students to bring the second draft and a
photocopy of the second draft to the next lesson.
unless they are made to do it in class. This forces them to
re-examine a piece of work and take the time to improve it.
Q In the next lesson, tell them to exchange the
photocopies with a partner.
Acknowledgement: This activity came from Paul Seligson
at a workshop at TESOL Spain in 2004.
Q For homework, ask the students to write a third draft.
They can use material from their partner's second draft
(the photocopy) if they wish.
Follow-up
In the next lesson, collect in the drafts. From one of the
students' pieces of work, produce a fourth draft, which can
act as a model and for feedback with the whole class.
106
Following Up Homework
Homework
Providing Models
Recycling Homework
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To encourage students to do their
homework
Aim
To provide feedback on homework
Duration
10-15 minutes in class
Duration
10-15 minutes in class
Materials
Materials
A 'Find Someone Who'
questionnaire for each student
(copied from the board or dictated
to the class by the teacher)
A composition by one of your
students
Skills / Language Listening
Procedure
Skills / Language Speaking; focus on tenses
Collect in the students' compositions and correct them.
Q Choose one of the worst pieces of homework. If the
text is long, take a continuous extract and make a
correct version. If the text is short, you can do the
whole text. Keep the student's original ideas, only
correcting grammar, vocabulary and punctuation.
Procedure
Q Set the class some homework that involves extensive
reading (to read a magazine article, a chapter from a
book, etc.). Tell the students to write a few words by
way of a summary of what they have read.
0 Without saying whose homework it is, explain that you
are going to dictate one student's homework.
E l Collect in the homework.
Use the students' homework summaries to construct a
questionnaire like the one below:
Find someone who:
Dictate the correct version to the whole class.
Q The students compare their 'dictations' in the normal
way.
Name
NOTE: By choosing one of the worst pieces of homework,
1
2
3
4
5
6
read an article about the Titanic.
read an article about rock music.
read an article from Newsweek.
is reading a book by Agatha Christie.
is reading a sports magazine.
has just finished The Count of
Monte Cristo.
7 has just started a Sherlock Holmes story.
you are validating the student's effort and also (discreetly)
showing them how it can be improved. Additionally, the
'worse' students are probably not accustomed to having
their work held up as a model and it may encourage them
to do better in the future.
Ask more yes / no and wh- questions to continue the
discussion, for example:
What did you think o f it?
W hy d id ... ?
Have you read other articles ab o u t... ?
Q When you return the homework, give the students each
a copy of the questionnaire.
Q Students circulate and ask and answer questions to
complete the questionnaire.
Q Do some whole-class feedback, asking, for example:
Who can tell me someone who read an article
about the Titanic?
What did they say about it?
107
Homework
Following Up Homework
Good Tries
Procedure
Level
Any
Aim
To give feedback on homework
Duration
5-1 0 minutes
Materials
A list of correct and incorrect
sentences from the class homework
for each student
Q Give each student a copy of the worksheet. Explain that
these are all 'good tries' at the homework.
2 Tell them that some of the sentences are correct and
some are incorrect (for weaker classes, you can tell
them how many are correct).
3 Ask the students to work in pairs or groups to identity
the correct sentences and correct the incorrect ones.
Skills / Language Writing; editing and correcting
Q When they have finished, go through all the sentences
with the class making sure that at the end everyone has
twelve correct sentences on their worksheet.
Preparation
Read the students' homework and select a dozen sentences
(a mixture of correct and incorrect ones) to make a
worksheet.
Discussing Homework
Procedure
Level
From elementary onwards
Aim
To focus attention on particular
errors in homework and make it a
supportive activity
Duration
15 minutes.
Materials
Written homework; a 'Find Someone
Who' worksheet (see below)
Hand back the marked written homework and let the
students read through the comments you have made. If
you have done the activity Check After, Check Before
on page 93, then let them complete their tables.
Distribute the 'Find Someone Who' worksheet.
Tell the students to stand up and circulate. They must
ask questions to find names to go next to the sentences.
Demonstrate by asking a student:
D id you use enough paragraphs?
D id you leave out the definite article?
Skills / Language Speaking; a mixture of tenses and
modal verbs
Peparation
Q Tell the students that they must have at least three
different names on their list.
Make a 'Find Someone Who' worksheet containing items
that reflect the typical difficulties your students are having.
For example:
Find someone who:
5 The students circulate, asking questions and filling in
their sheet.
Name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
needs to be careful with spelling.
needs to use more linkers.
used the wrong linker.
should use linking sentences more.
left out the definite article.
put in an unnecessary article.
mixed up the past simple and the
present perfect.
8 did not use enough paragraphs.
9 used language that was too informal.
10 did not write a conclusion.
Ask them to keep the list of problems as a checklist for
future reference.
NOTE: When the students repeat the task with different
problem areas, they can identify things that are perennial
difficulties for them and areas where improvement has
taken place.
108
Following Up Homework
Homework
Playing Games
Level
Any
Aim
For students to self-correct errors
from homework
Duration
20 minutes in class
Materials
None
Skills / Language Varied
Preparation
Variations
Collect nine sentences with errors from the students'
homework and make them into a multiple-choice exercise.
For example:
Sample Errors
I keep fit by: joking / jogging.
A big problem today is : drugs / drunks.
I love m y: uncle / ankle.
M y father is: a beggar/a baker.
M y father: beat m e /b it me.
I eat when I am : angry / hungry.
There are two men and two women sitting on a :
chauffeur / sofa.
M y mother has problems with her: b ag /b ack.
You can use errors from students' homework to make other
games and competitions. For example:
The Race
Give out ten sentences from the homework (some
correct, some incorrect). Which pair of students can
find all the mistakes first?
Double Your Money
Read out sentences from the homework and allow the
students to bet imaginary money on them. If the
sentence is correct, they double their money. If it's
incorrect, they lose it.
The examples opposite are authentic 'oral' errors,
collected during Luke's First Certificate interviewer
experiences.
n o te:
Procedure
Q Draw a 3 x 3 grid on the board and divide the class
into two teams. Assign one team the O and one team
the X.
2 Explain the rules:
one team calls out a square that they would like
to occupy
you write the two choices on the board
the team may consult and then must say which
one is correct
if they get the answer right, then they can put their
'mark' in the space
if they get the answer wrong, it's the other team's
turn.
3 The game continues like this until a team gets 'three-ina-row'.
109
_____
Teaching Exam Classes
'I'd like to do more fun activities in class, but I have to prepare them for the test.'
The table below summarises the approach we have taken,
in contrast to the traditional 'testing' approach of many
classrooms. Here 'testing' refers to a way of teaching
which is influenced by a 'testing mentality', rather than
what happens when students take a formal test.
The main difficulty with teaching exam classes, or any
class where exams have a role to play, is how to stop the
exam from taking over everything we do as teachers. It is
only too easy to abandon our usual teaching practices and
to teach to the exam. This usually means practising the
kind of test items typical of the particular exam our
students have to take: gap-fill, multiple-choice,
transformations, true / false, and so on.
Testing
Teaching
... is product-oriented
... is process-oriented
... is failure-oriented
... is success-oriented
... is stressful
... is relaxing
... is individualistic
... is group-oriented
... is competitive
... is collaborative
... works with one right
answer
... accepts more than one
answer
... withdraws support
... provides support
... is context-less
... is context-sensitive
... is culture-bound
... is culture-sensitive
... is monotonous
... is varied
5.1 Making the Most of It
... uses closed-ended
exercises
... uses open-ended tasks
'I'd love to drop the test, but the system insists on it.'
... is teacher-controlled
... allows learner-control
This first section provides a number of suggestions and
principles for how to make the most of your exam classes.
It addresses the question: How can test items be used to
bring out the best in the students?
... is judgemental
... raises self-esteem
... measures success in
marks
... measures success in
many ways
Tests and exams were not designed to be taught in class on
a regular basis: they are a way of checking the progress of
our students and identifying problems to work on. Yet what
we often find ourselves doing is test items throughout the
year instead of developing the skills which are to be
tested: speaking, reading, writing and listening. To make
matters worse, we may be teaching towards a test which
addresses language (grammar and vocabulary) without
skills - which means that we prize grammar and
vocabulary over everything else in the class and give few
opportunities for speaking, one of the main reasons people
learn a language.
110
Teaching Exam Classes
5.2 Teaching Not Testing
It goes without saying, however, that testing at the right
time and in the right proportions has a valuable
contribution to make in assessing learners' progress and
proficiency. Some tests provide useful and even
communicative activities for normal classroom use; but
this 'positive backwash' is sadly the exception rather than
the rule in most exams.
'It's hard not to let the exam dominate everything, but I
have to make sure my students are prepared.'
The second section of this chapter includes activities that
will help you 'work exams' in a creative and learnerfriendly way. Research into memory suggests that we
remember things which are unusual, humorous or
'outstanding' in some way. Clearly, memory plays an
important part in a three-hour exam during which the use
of reference material and other learning resources is
forbidden. The more the candidates remember, the better
they w ill do in terms of scores. The use of humour and
topics that relate to the students' experience and cultural
background transforms the usual gap-fills and multiplechoice exercises where form is all important and content
counts for little into more memorable learning.
Exams are not going to go away. Any suggestions
concerning the 'teacherfication' or 'learnerfication' of exam
material must take this fact of educational life into
account. Everything in this chapter has therefore been
based on this reality and on exam material. It is not an
alternative to exam material. We have tried to show how
the most unpromising material might be transformed into a
vehicle of curiosity and self-expression, without teachers
having to abandon their examination syllabus.
5.3 Testing without Tears
'M y students panic so much about the test they can't
concentrate.'
The activities in the final part of this chapter are designed
to help reduce the anxiety associated with tests (usually
associated with marks and results). They are not designed
to replace tests, but rather help you 'test without tears'.
Tests, as all teachers know, are also the simplest and
quickest way to impose discipline on an unruly class. They
are a form of extrinsic motivation. The sudden
announcement of an impending test w ill calm the beast in
learners and increase attention and attendance.
However, tests can also be a source of immense anxiety,
anxiety which leads to the detriment of other classroom
activities. The 'backwash' (or 'washback') effect is the
direct or indirect influence of examinations on teaching
methods. This effect may be negative or positive. The
negative effect means that many methods of teaching
English fail to be applied in the classroom because both
teacher and students are trapped in an exam-preparation
cycle that is difficult to escape from. From the students'
perspective, negative backwash makes language learning a
stressful textbook or testbook-bound process. In most
learners, it raises anxiety levels and leads to inferior
performance.
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Teaching Exam Classes
Tips and Techniques
Making the
Most of It
What did you feel after you read the text. W hy?
What kind o f person do you think the writer is? Why?
Would you like to read more about the topic?
Do you agree / disagree with the writer?
Ask for a personal response to the test experience.
For example:
How did you feel about this test?
Do you think you could have done better? H ow ?
How could the teacher help you better prepare for a
test like this?
How could you help yourself better prepare for a test
like this?
Tortoises and Hares
In 'testing' rather than 'teaching' procedures, the quiet and
often erroneously labelled 'slow' learner is often penalised
by the collective assumption that a 'quick' answer is better
than a 'slow' one. Thus, 'fast' students put their hands up
and shout answers, filling the pause that is created by the
quiet students while they ponder their answer.
This way the test becomes an opportunity to develop
better learning habits, better class routines and more skills
practice.
Provide learners with 'thinking time' and where
necessary fill this time with helpful prompts and
follow-up questions.
Encourage the quiet or slow learner, choosing one of
their essays, rewriting it and using it as a model for
the whole class.
Test Types
Part of being successful at language tests means being able
to understand test question types, not just the language
being tested.
Testing abhors a vacuum. Teaching, on the other hand, fills
these pauses with useful hints and prompts and thus helps
not only the faster students to come up with a right answer
or a partially right answer.
In answering gap-fill or multiple-choice type tests,
students should make a habit of reading the whole
text before choosing.
In preparation for gap-fill tests, students should learn
whole phrases rather than individual words: learning
collocations is useful preparation for tests of grammar
and vocabulary.
When dealing with sentence-level test items, you
should show interest in the content, relate the
fragment to a real-world context; arouse and satisfy
the students' natural curiosity about those shadowy
nouns and pronouns on the page.
In and Out
It is important to use lead-ins and follow-ups when
presenting a topic or even a simple comprehension
question.
Don't be satisfied with getting the correct answer
from the best student in the shortest possible time.
Provide an opening for the quieter students and
increase their chances of participation.
Draw on the students' own knowledge and thereby
facilitate learning.
Show that the topic being tested is not just a
mechanical device for eliciting a correct answer.
Whatever test type you use with your students, it is
important to ensure that they get a chance to practise with
the question type first. It's unfair, for example, to include a
sentence transformation exercise in a test if the students
have never encountered one before in class.
Lead-ins arouse interest and get everyone involved and
thinking. Follow-up comments and questions send out a
positive signal to the class, telling them that the activity is
of intrinsic interest.
Correcting Tests in Class
Part of testing includes going through the answers. There
are things that you as a teacher can do to make this a
more positive learning process for the students.
Getting Personal
Encourage the students to respond to tests in a variety of
ways, not just in terms of correct / incorrect. There are
various ways of doing this.
Don't stand close only to the 'good' students waiting
for the right answer - this leaves out the rest of the
class and is bad for group dynamics.
Don't fix your gaze on the good students or only the
'bad' students; this gives the impression you are
'testing' them.
Ask for a personal response to a reading / listening
text. For example:
112
Tips and Techniques
Teaching Exam Classes
Give verbal feedback rather than quantitative results.
Avoid classifying the class into 'good, bad, worse,
worst'. Some learning qualities are not easy to
measure.
Make testing a group activity with group results as an
occasional alternative to the traditional 'lone ranger'
approach to testing where the isolated student
struggles alone in competition with other
'candidates'.
Take every opportunity to make students feel they
have achieved even a minor success.
Use eye contact to include rather than exclude as
many students as you can. Don't look only at the
student answering a question or volunteering
information: cast an eye over the rest of the class to
ensure they are paying attention and to send a signal
that when one student is speaking 'we are all
involved'. Otherwise, the eye contact can convey the
message to the rest of the class that 'I am only
interested in checking up on that individual student;
the involvement of the rest of the class is not
important'.
Occasionally get students to read each other's work
and even to evaluate it using the official criteria avoid test answers becoming exclusively 'for your
eyes only'.
Computer-corrected tests insist on 'only one right answer',
which is a pedagogically limiting concept. So where
possible, when checking test answers in class, you may
find you can accept more than one answer and that the
alternatives are often produced by those 'quiet' students
you want to encourage.
Testing should ideally have 'positive backwash' - meaning
that the test has a good effect on teaching and the learning
environment.
Error or Terror?
Your students will take more risks if they feel safe when
speaking out.
Avoid creating error-phobia. Use errors as positive
steps in learning.
Don't be obsessed with correcting all errors
immediately - this w ill make quiet students even
quieter and make your better students even more
dominant.
Don't monopolise authority in exam-preparation
classes; the premium placed on the 'one right
answer' inevitably inflates teacher power; our role
becomes that of the arbiter of success and the fount
of wisdom.
Use techniques and management processes that
validate and value the students' contribution.
It is in testing situations that we become 'the expert' and,
as a result, cramp the potential of the students. A learnerinput approach is a good way to embark on this delegation
of authority.
On Your Marks ...
Finally, we have seen that marks earned in tests can be
very motivating but they can also demotivate those
students who are not collecting enough of them.
Use marks sparingly and judiciously and prioritise
successful attempts at using language rather than
complete formal success.
113
Teaching Exam Classes
Teaching Not Testing
Without Distractors
Naming Names
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To personalise test sentences; to
empower students to produce their
own test items
Aim
To give students insight into how
exam questions are constructed
Duration
20 minutes
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
Materials
Multiple choice / gap-fill test items
from the coursebook / testbook
A reading comprehension test with
multiple-choice questions
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Write the questions (but not the distractors) of a
comprehension test on the board.
Q Give the students multiple-choice or gap-fill sentences
consisting of six or seven items. For example:
I suggest___________________ her a box o f chocolates
for her birthday.
2 Ask the students to open their books at the reading
comprehension test and to cover the questions. They
should look only at the text, not the questions (keeping
them covered up if necessary).
2 Ask them to rewrite the stem sentences replacing the
pronouns with the names of people in the class or
other people they know. They may use the names of
famous people if they wish.
3 They read the text and answer questions you have
written on the board.
Ask them to uncover the multiple-choice questions and
choose the correct option.
3 Tell them they can also change any vocabulary items
to make the sentence refer to a 'real' situation or one
imagined by the students. For example:
I suggest______________________Luke a new briefcase
for his birthday.
NOTE: A brief note on the use of distractors can be found at
the end of Dual Choice, Multiple Choice on page 61.
Q The students exchange their rewritten sentences with
other members of the class and complete the test item.
They write theanswers on a separate sheet, to allow
the sentences tobe done by more than one student.
5 Do whole-class feedback, during which students read
out their completed sentences. Use some of the
sentences for follow-up discussion.
114
Teaching Not Testing
Multiple Choice Minus One
Teaching Exam Classes
Jumbling Distractors
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To give students insight into how
exam questions are constructed
Aim
To make multiple-choice a teaching
rather than a testing device
Duration
20 minutes
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
A reading comprehension test with
multiple-choice questions
Materials
Test items from the coursebook /
testbook
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Preparation
Procedure
Prepare a copy of a multiple-choice reading
comprehension test, minus one distractor. For example:
What does the writer say about Sue's career?
A She took a long time to become famous as
a tennis star.
B She is better known as a TV presenter than
a tennis star.
C She obtained a better TV job after a short time.
D ________________________________________________ .
Take six multiple-choice test items (sentence-level only)
and write up the options, including the distractors, on
the board, in random order. For example:
fee agree fit reward
like bribe tip suit
Procedure
0 Check any items of vocabulary the students may not be
Q Ask the students to identify words with a similar form
or meaning and to group them together.
Group 1: agree, suit, like, fit
Group 2: bribe, reward, fee, tip
Q Ask the students to read the text and choose the correct
option.
sure about.
Ask the students to choose between one and three
items and to write example sentences of their own.
0 Ask them to add one more distractor themselves.
0 They now do the test in the book in the normal way
and, at the same time, check their example sentences
with the original test items.
Would it ______________ you if we came on Thursday?
A agree B suit C like D fit
Variation
Prepare a copy of a multiple-choice reading
comprehension test without the questions. For example:
?
A She took a long time to become famous as a tennis
star.
B She is better known as a TV presenter than a tennis
star.
C She obtained a better TV job after a short time.
D She has tried a career in pop m usic.
Give the students the text and answers to the reading
comprehension.
The students read the text and write the missing
question:
What does the w riter say about Sue's career?
The service was so good, we gave the waiter
a large__________ .
A bribe B reward C fee D tip
115
Teaching Exam Classes
Teaching Not Testing
In Reverse: 1
Gender Bender
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To encourage students to interact
more with the meaning of test items
Aim
To recycle test items in a different
way
Duration
15 minutes
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
Sentence-level test items
Materials
Gap-fills (sentence-level or
text-level)
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Q Take any test of grammar or vocabulary that refers to
male or females. An intermediate-level example could be:
Although he overslept; C live wasn't late for work.
Harry couldn't get his parents' perm ission to buy a
motorbike.
John's behaviour at the party annoyed me.
Sheila had to finish the accounts and write several
letters as w ell.
Sally decided not to do her homework and went to
a nightclub.
Diane was supposed to write to her parents last week.
M y grandfather was sixty when he learnt to swim .
Liza's grandfather is teaching her Chinese.
Give students a gap-fill type test. For example:
I'd _________not spend another day at the beach.
You can change your view o f life__________ to
psychologists.
0 After they have finished, go through the answers and
ask the students to correct themselves.
E J Tell them to turn over the page and give them one of
the missing words from the test. For example: rather
Q The students must try to remember the original
sentence from the test that required the word and write
it down:
I'd rather not spend another day at the beach.
Q Ask the students to rewrite the sentences, changing
males to females and females to males. For example:
Although she overslept, Karen wasn't late for work.
Harriet couldn't get her parents' perm ission to buy a
motorbike.
Joanna's behaviour at the party annoyed me.
Shawn had to finish the accounts and write several
letters as w ell.
Luke's grandmother is teaching him Chinese.
Q Repeat the procedure with another word. For example:
according
You can change your view o f life, according to
psychologists.
Q When they have finished, tell them to check their
answers with the original sentences or text.
Variation
You can adjust the level of difficulty of the reconstruction
by providing the students with more or fewer words from
the original gapped text:
I'd rather not
The students write:
I'd rather not spend another day at the beach.
Q Follow up this exercise by asking the students to decide
which sentences have changed most. Are they all still
correct / possible? Which ones sound strange? Why?
Follow-up
As a further option, you can ask the students to write a
report on men and women in this exam:
Men tend to oversleep and go to work, they behave
badly at parties and they learn to ride motorbikes and
to swim when they are old. ...
Women do homework and go to nightclubs, they do
the accounts and they write letters. But they also learn
foreign languages, like Chinese ...
Further questions, using this task as a starting point, could
also be:
Is this text true o f m ale / females roles in your country?
What are the gender differences in different countries?
116
Teaching Not Testing
In Reverse: 2
Teaching Exam Classes
Beginning, Middle, End
Level
From elementary onwards
Level
For intermediate onwards
Aim
To recycle test items in a different
way
Aim
Duration
15 minutes in the first lesson,
15 minutes a week later
To integrate grammar and writing
tests; to make exam composition
part of writing skills development
Duration
60 minutes at home
Sentence transformation tests
Materials
Sentence-level test items
Materials
Language / Skills Syntax; grammatical structures
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Preparation
G ive the students a series of transformation type test
questions to practise a grammatical structure or element
of syntax that you have been working on recently. For
example:
Jill cooks better than B ill.
B ill______________________ .
Take any sentence or sentences from a sentence-level
grammar test that you have already administered and write
them on separate pieces of paper (some of the sentences
can be repeated). For example:
Elizabeth hadn't realised the film had started.
(to practise: didn't know that)
He no longer works at Sony.
(to practise: no longer versus used to)
The trip was cheaper than he had expected.
(to practise: cheaper than versus not as expensive as)
2 After they have finished, go through the answers in the
normal way.
3 Tell them to turn over or cover their questions. Now
give them the answer sentences and tell them to
transform them back again.
B ill doesn't cook as w e ll as Jill.
Procedure
Q Distribute the test sentences. Ask the students to write a
short composition and to include their sentence at the
beginning, middle or end of their composition.
J i l l _____________________________ .
Q After a week or so, revise this test by repeating the
above stage. G ive the 'answers' and tell the students to
transform them back into the original.
2 When the students have handed in their compositions,
redistribute them to other students and ask them to find
the original test sentence and write it down.
3 Do whole-class feedback to make sure everyone has a
list of the sentences which have been re-used.
NOTE: Students are often asked to write a story beginning
or ending with a particular sentence. For exam ple:
The telephone rang as she was leaving the house.
It was-the most important day o f his life ...
Grammar or use of English tests that consist of random,
context-less sentences make them poor vehicles for
remembering what the student has to do in the examination.
This activity makes the sentences found in grammar tests
the basis for a narrative composition. It is a good w ay of
recycling such sentences and making them more memorable.
The technique has the added advantage of giving students
a good reason for reading each other's compositions.
Variation
G ive students more than one sentence to include in their
compositions.
117
Teaching Exam Classes
Teaching Not Testing
Your Sentences, My Essay
Lost Sentences
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To make exam composition part of
writing skills development
Aim
To make exam writing an
interactive skill
Duration
15 minutes
Duration
60 minutes at home
Materials
Composition titles from past papers
Materials
Composition titles from past papers
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Q Dictate two or three composition titles from past
papers:
A A meal when everything went wrong
B The most popular tourist sites in your country
C A letter o f com plaint to a tour operator after a
disastrous holiday
Read out a number of narrative titles from past papers.
Q For each title, ask the students to write down the first
and last sentence of their narrative composition on a
piece of paper.
0 Tell the students to exchange their sentences with
someone else.
2 Ask the students to draw up a table with three columns:
Q They each write a story, ending with each other's first
and last sentence.
A, B and C (one column for each title).
A
Q When the composition is complete, the students read
each other's compositions.
Variations
The same technique can be applied to other composition
types (argumentative, letters, descriptive).
3 Read out some sentences, one by one, and ask the
students to write them in the correct column, like this:
A
The potatoes
were still hard.
We have
thousands of
visits o f every
year.
The hotel was
a two-star hotel
not a four-star.
The exchange can take place at the note-taking stage:
students write a composition using each other's notes. This
will increase their awareness of the usefulness of notetaking before writing a composition.
Q Ask the students to compare their answers and then
check in whole-class feedback.
Follow-up
For homework, the students choose one of the essay titles
and write their composition using the dictated sentences as
well as their own ideas.
118
Teaching Not Testing
Teaching Exam Classes
Hidden Treasure
Cut Them Up
Level
From intermediate upwards
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To develop writing skills through
topic sentences; to make exam
reading interactive
Aim
To make composition writing
interactive and fun
Duration
60 minutes at home
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
Composition titles
Materials
Reading comprehension texts from
the coursebook / testbook
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied; writing and reading
Procedure
Q Ask the students to write a composition in their usual way
but, as they write their composition, to include in the text,
at random points, words from their favourite song. For
example:
Preparation
Take the first sentence of each paragraph of a reading
comprehension text and write them on slips of paper.
There should be one sentence for every two students in the
class (this may mean repeating sentences). For example:
Women who want to change their jobs cannot because
they have the wrong qualifications.
Women can't find the opportunities they need.
It is difficult to convince girls that they should take up
scientific subjects.
Dear S ir or Madam,
I
am writing to ask for more information about
the Safari Holidays which I saw advertised in the
D aily News. I see skies o f blue.
First, I would like to ask which anim als live in
the Park. Trees o f green. Secondly, I wondered
whether the 'luxury hotel' you mention doesn't spoil
the environment. I see them bloom for me and you.
The main reason I am writing is to ask whether
you can arrange a Safari H oliday for a group o f four.
And I think to m yself. We are interested in coming
in the m iddle o f July. What a wonderful world. We
wouldn 't mind flying but we are not sure whether
your tours are by plane or helicopter. The colours
o f the rainbow look so pretty in the sky. Another
thing w hich is not clear is the difference between
the 'Night D rives' and the 'Overnight Trail'. They're
also on the faces o f the people going by.
Finally, we would like to know whether I see
friends shaking hands a package tour saying how
do you do is possible from Paris.
We look forward to hearing from you, they're
really saying.
Yours sincerely,
I love you.
B G Moaner
Procedure
Q Put the students into pairs. Give one sentence to each
pair and get them to write notes on the topic in their
sentence.
0 They compare their notes with another pair (or group)
of students. They combine their notes to make two
paragraphs for a composition.
0 Ask the students to write a composition for homework
using these sentences.
Q When they have handed in their compositions, they do
the reading comprehension test as it is in the book.
0 Ask the students to compare the original test with their
own composition: what similarities and differences can
they find?
0 The students exchange compositions and read each
other's work. As they do so, they underline the words
from the song buried in the text.
Follow-up
Play one of the songs to the whole class, accompanied by
listening tasks of your choice.
119
Teaching Exam Classes
Teaching Not Testing
From Questions to Composition
Heads and Tails
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To integrate reading and writing tests
Aim
Duration
1 5 minutes in class
To make exam reading part of
reading skills development
Materials
Reading comprehension test (a
narrative text)
Duration
10 minutes
Materials
Reading comprehension texts
from the coursebook / testbook
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Procedure
Q Ask the students to turn to the question page of a
reading comprehension test, made up of multiplechoice, true / false or wh- questions. Tell them not to
read the accompanying text.
Before the students read the text, ask them to make
predictions about what they are going to read by using
one of the following, which you write on the board:
the first sentence of the text
the last sentence of the text
the first and last sentences of the text.
2 Explain that they must use the questions as clues to
building up a story. They should read the questions and
infer the context (who, what, where, when, why, how,
etc.). For example:
W hy does the w riter ask the postman about his
baby?
A He is interested in the baby.
B He wants to create a good impression.
C The postman is always polite to him.
D The postman enjoys a chat.
You can also suggest other options, writing whatever is
necessary on the board:
two or three sentences drawn at random from the
text
words chosen from the text which are connected
with the topic of the text
the multiple-choice or true / false questions that
accompany the text
various pre-questions related to the topic of the
text (e.g. agree / disagree statements).
From this, the student might infer that the writer asked
the postman about his baby to be polite or because
they both like chatting.
2 During the reading, the students check their
3 The students continue in the same way with all the
other questions.
predictions. Who was closest in their prediction?
Q They do the reading comprehension (which should
now be of much greater interest to them - and it should
be much easier to identify the correct answers).
Follow-up
After the test has been completed in its original form, ask
the class to do further activities, such as:
Narrative texts: continue the text by adding the next
sentence or short paragraph
Argumentative texts: underline points they agree /
disagree with.
Variation
Before doing step 4, ask the students to write a story based
in their notes:
"M ary had just had a baby and when she found out the
postman had also just become a father, she always
asked 'How's the baby'? One day,
120
Teaching Not Testing
When, Where, Who?
Teaching Exam Classes
Musical Test
Level
Any
Level
From intermediate onwards
Aim
To make exam reading part of
reading skills development
Aim
To use a song as a basis for (a) open
cloze practice (b) listening practice
Duration
10 minutes
Duration
15 minutes
Materials
Reading comprehension texts from
the coursebook / testbook
Materials
A song, preferably slow
Language / Skills Collocation; listening
Language / Skills Varied
Preparation
Procedure
Prepare a gapped worksheet to go with a song and make
copies for the student? in the form 01 an open cloze test
(this is similar to the Use of Engi.n gap-fill test used in
Cambridge First Certificate exams). See the Notes below.
D G ive the students a reading text from an exam
question.
Q Ask them to read it first quickly. Set a time limit (e.g.
four minutes).
Procedure
D Tell the students thev are go ng to Oo a t\pical exam-
O Ask the students to work in pairs and briefly tell each
other what they have understood about the text (they
could do this in their own language if they want). Ask a
pair to share their answers with the class.
type activity w ith a text
F I Distribute copies of the gap-nfl test and ask the students
to complete the gaps wail a statable word. Do the first
one with them as an example Don't (HI them where
Ask them to do one or more of the following,
individually:
the text comes from
underline all references to time
underline all references to places
underline all references to people
put a circle round all reference items (the above,
plus h e / s h e / it/ they/ these) and link them to
the things they refer to.
0 When thev ha\e fin shed ?e-ll --r
are going to
hear the text and must check fe a r own answers.
Q Play the song and let A o n check the answers
themselves. If they don't get t e n afl tfie first time, you
can play the song
-- ; r .
happy!)
or simply go throu;- --- * - em n the
usual way.
Q Tell them to compare their answers in pairs and then go
through the answers with the whole class.
NOTES: The text of the s o ^ d n d U U k Hhe an exam text
(which will make the m anaf p iase a pleasant surprise). In
other words, make it into a p n p a p k ft is important that
the gaps you make can onkr be i M by one word. Putting
gaps for collocations. p ^ p aiM o u d f a r y verbs or
pronouns works w e l. tf fan a s not ane, pwe vour
worksheet to anotne*- fta n ? -1 "assr r v *esr
0 G ive the exam questions based on the text.
Songs by artiste such as B is
lofanv Cash and Bob
Dylan are suitable tor A it Iriarfavactiai^ r - #iey shouldn't
be too fast and Ihev w o k even beau tfA o e is a spoken
interlude. For e o n p ic . Bm s Ate t e Umesame Tonight?
is particular wr B * m ti
121
Teaching Exam Classes
Testing Without Tears
Co-evaluation
Group Test
Level
From intermediate onwards
Level
Any
Aim
To encourage self-evaluation of
students' written test
Aim
Duration
15 minutes
To experiment with a different kind
of test; to encourage student
cooperation in test preparation
Materials
Any test items
Duration
20 minutes in class, 20 minutes after
the test
Materials
Any test material
Language / Skills Varied; writing
Language / Skills Varied
Preparation
Prepare a copy of the marking criteria of the written exam
your students are going to take. Here is a sample of the
sort of criteria for a writing test administered by an
international examination body:
C High
" pass (18-20) Ideas well developed, easily
Procedure
Q Put the class into test groups of four or five students.
The groups can be heterogeneous in terms of ability.
Make a note of who is in which group.
2 Give the class an outline of what is to be tested in the
understood. Clearly addresses the issue. Good control
of both complex and simple structures. Some localised
errors do not interfere with comprehensibility.
Vocabulary generally appropriate.
Pass (14-17) Ideas easily understood, but might not be
well-linked. Addresses the issue. Good control of
basic structures and basic vocabulary.
Poor pass (10-13) Ideas understood but sometimes
communication breaks down. Not well-linked. Does
not address topic. Some errors of structure which
make communication difficult.
Fail (0-9) Ideas incomprehensible due to serious
errors; irrelevant to topic; a lot of errors which make
understanding difficult. Poor organisation and linking.
Negative effect on the reader.
I
next test. The groups then do their preparation together.
You may want to give them some ideas on how they
can do this. For example:
choosing difficult areas and reviewing them
explaining things to each other
testing each other.
3 Monitor the groups from a distance. Don't let yourself
get drawn in to one group. If you do provide support,
make sure it's minimal and evenly spread among the
groups. Ideally this is work they do together.
On the day of the test the students take the test
individually. Collect the tests.
5 Put the tests into groups (see step 1). Mark each test in
the group and then calculate the average mark of the
group's tests.
Procedure
6 The next day, give each group their mark. Don't give
individual marks.
Q Give out the marking criteria to the class. Use the
students' own language to explain any difficult
concepts and use examples from actual compositions
to make these concepts clear. Ask the students to
complete the writing test bearing these in mind.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to Mario Rinvolucri for this
idea.
2 When they have finished, the students mark their own
work using the criteria and hand it in to you.
3 When going through the students' work, give it a mark
using the same criteria.
Take the two scores (the student's and yours) and
calculate the average between the two (student score +
your score /2). This is the final score.
5 For feedback, you can initiate a diagnostic discussion
in class, or between yourself and the students
concerned, of any discrepancy between the scores.
122
Testing Without Tears
Teaching Exam Classes
The Joker
Cheat Notes
Level
Any
Level
Any
Aim
To reduce the stress of a
test situation
Aim
To reduce the stress of a test
situation
Duration
Variable
Duration
Variable
Materials
None
Materials
Joker cards or slips of paper for
each student
Language / Skills Varied
Language / Skills Varied
Procedure
Preparation
Q Next time you announce a test, explain that each
student will be allowed to bring to class one sheet of
notes which they can refer to during the test.
Prepare small slips of paper or cards with the word Joker,
or a related image, one for each student.
Q Tell the students what areas the test w ill cover (e.g.
units 4, 5 and 6 of the coursebook). The students can
prepare their notes at home.
| Before you administer the test, tell them to take out
their page of 'cheat notes'.
Q Set the test. The students can refer to the notes if they
wish.
0 Collect the tests and mark them in the usual way.
Procedure
Before the test, explain that each student w ill be given
a card with a Joker on it. Explain that Jokers are special
answer cards.
NOTE: When we have tried this activity we have noticed
three things:
It didn't make a noticeable difference to the final
results (meaning that those who would have failed
the test, fail anyway).
The students said they felt more comfortable about
the test (the notes provided security).
Many students said they didn't refer to the notes at all
during the test, as the mere fact of writing them out
had committed most of it to memory.
0 Give the following rules.
During the test, the student may exchange the
Joker for one answer from the teacher.
To do this, they must raise their hand and wait for
the teacher to come to them.
When the teacher reaches their desk, they must
indicate which item they need help on.
If the teacher gives them the answer to that
question, they must return their Joker card and
they can no longer ask for any answers.
This coincides with our own experience of taking tests as
students: we often didn't have to refer to the cheat notes
we had written as we already knew them.
Administer the test in the usual way.
NOTE: This works well with tests which have lots of
discrete items in them. 'G iving'one answer makes a small
difference in terms of the overall result but it can make a
big difference in how the student feels.
Variation
You can make the Jokers cumulative - that is, if the student
doesn't use the Joker in one test, they can keep it for the
next (and therefore have two Jokers). We have found this
works particularly well with younger learners, who end up
not asking for help at all, so as to keep all their Jokers!
123
6
Professional Development
7
rush from one lesson to the next and I hardly ever get the chance
to talk to other teachers. It's a lonely jo b .'
6.2 Read On!
Up until now, we have been discussing difficulties as if the
only two parts of the equation were you and your students.
But no teacher is an island, and the difficulties we mention
in this book are shared by hundreds, if not thousands, of
teachers.
It is a pity to miss out on what others have thought about
the problems you may be experiencing. Reading lessens
our feeling of being alone and also begins to build the
knowledge on which new skills can be built. So don't try
to reinvent the wheel and, of course, don't believe that
reading alone w ill solve all the problems. However, taking
an interest in the subject, its theory, practice and
development, is itself a form of teacher development.
Books like the ones listed (and more!) may just help you to
see things from a different angle and make a fresh start. In
the end, this interest in your work shines through and
communicates itself to students as enthusiasm, which
research has shown is a prime factor in successful teaching.
We can learn to develop our classroom presence by
reflecting on our own experience as teachers and, by
becoming aware of our strengths and weaknesses, perhaps
learn to build on the former.
We can also learn from those teachers who seem to have
relatively greater success with classes than other teachers.
Here is what a teacher with a reputation for 'presence' said
about discipline in her class:
I had to get their attention in the way I spoke, what I said,
the w ay I moved and so on. The last thing I wanted was to
be seen as just another boring old teacher. The thing was
to create an atmosphere w hich said we're having a good
time together ... I didn't claim to be perfect. If I didn't
know the answer to any o f their questions, I'd admit it.
(Teacher in a private language school)
Finally, reading about our teaching problems and the
interesting research that has been done into these
problems may even inspire us to engage in our own
classroom-based research. This is an excellent way of
growing more confident, more professional and more
enthusiastic - which in the long run are the best remedies
for many of the difficulties we face in class.
Research into teacher morale has shown that teachers
working in supportive environments are far less likely to
burn out. If you are finding it difficult to cope with your
students, it might be time to start looking outside the
classroom for help. Remember: you are not alone!
The long-term solution - if there is one - to the difficulties
explored in this book lies in your hands, in your mind and
in your own experience. This short chapter is about
building up your confidence and skills in collaboration
with others in a similar situation and taking responsibility
for your own development.
6.1 You Are Not Alone
We make some suggestions on how you can deal with
difficulties collaboratively: from the simplest to the more
elaborate, from the immediate solution for a particular
problem to the wider issues within your own teaching
environment.
This book's recommendations are finished but your further
development may be just beginning. When he was in his
80s, the great Spanish painter Goya said 'I am still
learning'. Perhaps we teachers can learn from great artists
and, by making learning and development a life-long
process, we can perhaps make our teaching just a little bit
like a work of art.
124
Tips and Techniques
You Are
Not Alone
Professional Development
Have the group appoint someone to take notes and to
write up the main points of the meeting. This role, of
course, should be rotated.
The very fact of sharing makes the process of developing
as a teacher less judgemental and threatening. The more
teachers can be involved in this exchange, the more
democratic it is and the less 'competitive'. 'Star teachers'
are replaced by good members of a team, who note that
outstanding teaching practice depends on the work done
by others.
Discuss the Problem in the Staffroom
One of the best places to start dealing with difficulties
outside the classroom is the staffroom. Between classes or
at the beginning of the day is a good time.
Ask other teachers informally how they deal with
different problems.
Share techniques that have worked with your
colleagues.
Listen to and be supportive of your colleagues, too.
Organise a Teacher Development Group
All of the ideas mentioned so far can be brought together
and synthesised over a longer period of time by the
formation of a Teacher Development Group. The aim of
such a group is decidedly not to 'train' teachers and assess
their abilities but to create a sharing, supportive context in
which teachers can grow together. Here are some ideas to
get you started:
It is crucial to avoid the downward spiral into endlessly
complaining about students - sadly all too common in
staffrooms.
Set up a teacher development group with the
established aim of discussing and sharing teaching
techniques.
Try to find a regular time and place to hold a gettogether.
Focus on a different area each time.
Set the first theme yourself and do some background
reading (see Read On! on page 127 at the end of this
chapter) to get things started.
Find an article from a professional magazine or
journal and distribute it a few days before the
meeting.
Discuss articles and issues brought up by the group in
the light of what you have read and / or your own
experience.
Arrange a Teacher Meeting
If you do find you are not alone in having trouble with a
class or an aspect of teaching (large classes, homework
never getting done, etc.), a less informal exchange may be
called for.
Organise a teacher meeting to discuss it more formally.
Draw up a new code of behaviour to be established
in the school, or a set of suggestions on how to
manage the problem.
It is always best if you have the support and participation
of management for this kind of initiative.
Set Up a Workshop
Apart from encouraging teachers to get together for
discussion, you can also:
The atmosphere and ethos of such a group is, by
definition, non-judgmental and exploratory.
organise a workshop to address a particular difficulty
invite an outside teacher trainer or speaker to deliver
the workshop
lead the workshop yourself.
Ask a Colleague to Watch You Teach
If you have been having trouble with a particular class, try
asking a colleague you trust and respect to come and watch
you teach (assuming, of course, this is possible, time-wise).
The outcome of a workshop should be a practical activity
(or activities) that teachers can go and try out in their
classes 'tomorrow' or 'on Monday morning'.
Tell your colleague what you would like them to look
out for (e.g. opportunities to have students speak,
transitions between activities, moments when
'disruption' or lack of attention occur).
Ask your colleague to make notes but not to interrupt
the class.
Find some time to share views and ideas about the
class when it is over.
Set Up a Swap Shop
An alternative idea is a 'swap shop', where everybody
brings ideas relating to a certain theme (e.g. 'more
speaking in English' or 'judicious use of L1') and presents
them to the group.
Bring up some ideas yourself to begin with to get
things started.
125
Professional Development
Tips and Techniques
For most teachers, being observed is one of the most
nerve-wracking experiences we have to go through. This is
a great pity as it is also one of the best ways of discovering
what kind of teacher we are: it helps get away from the
'lone ranger' view of teaching. Knowing ourselves is
difficult without the fresh view an outside observer brings
and it is an excellent way of 'not feeling alone'.
school-wide behaviour policies.
Talk to the Head Teacher or Director of Studies about
what options are available to you.
Ask them to observe a difficult class of yours (it is
better if you initiate this, rather than them coming in
uninvited) and talk about the problems afterwards.
Suggest a review of behaviour policies if the current
ones aren't working.
Watch a Colleague Teach
Behaviour policies developed in conjunction with all
parties (management, teachers, students and parents) tend
to be much more effective.
Do you have a colleague who is renowned for excellent
classroom management or discipline? Have you always
wondered how they do it? You'll learn a lot from seeing
another teacher in action - and it is something that
teachers don't get to do that often.
Get the Parents on Your Side
If you are working with younger learners, you should
never underestimate the power of parents to help you deal
with difficulties. Most parents want their child to do well
at school but perhaps don't know how they can help.
Ask to sit in on their class once.
Conduct an informal interview, before and after, and
listen to how that teacher explains his or her success.
But we don't have to limit ourselves to 'good' teachers. It is
often said that observing a bad lesson can teach us as
much as observing a good lesson. This is a bit like saying
'I didn't like the film but it made me appreciate the films I
do like'.
Keep communication lines open with parents through
meetings, letters or phone calls home.
Send positive feedback as well as negative feedback
and explain why you are using the methods you
choose.
Invite parents to observe a class and discuss it with
you afterwards.
Get away from the idea that we watch other people
at work, whether teachers or not, in order to judge
them.
Change the framework and mind-set of observation to
something like 'I am observing in order to understand
the mechanics of teaching, in all its rich and subtle
variety; how one thing we do in class has an impact
on another'.
Having supportive parents on your side can help
immensely; at least, getting them 'on side' if not always on
your side!
Get the School on Your Side
Some difficulties may stem from a negative 'vibe' in the
school. It is difficult to analyse, but we all know the feeling
when the 'norm' in the school has become alienation and
cynicism - and when that cloud has descended over the
school even positive things get interpreted through a
negative filter. Here is a short list of things that we can do
as individual teachers to help try and build a good 'wholeschool ethos'. Some of them may involve convincing
management.
In observing other teachers, we are learning to see more
clearly what teaching is all about.
Exchange Classes
Assuming always that this is possible, why not exchange
classes one day with a colleague who is teaching at the
same time as you? This tactic may also be useful in
moments of stress with a particular class - it gives both
sides a chance to calm down and reflect - and even
appreciate the strong points of the other side.
Suggest and start extra-curricular activities (like an
English Club, or English Video Afternoon).
Promote cooperation between departments (a joint
wall poster project between the English department
and another department).
Encourage students to take 'ownership' of space by
displaying their work (on classroom walls, in the
halls, in the playground).
Get together after the class and compare notes. How
did the classes go?
Make suggestions for each other.
Suddenly having to face another group of students is
another potentially refreshing process and a way of
improving the way we see both teachers and learners.
With such reciprocal involvement, you may see that the
cloud that some teachers seem to carry with them like a
sad aura has begun to fade.
Get the Management on Your Side
This may seem obvious, but you should be aware of
126
Read On!
Professional Development
Read On!
Lantolf J and Thorne S Sociocultural Theory and the Genesis o f
Second Language Development O U P, 2006
Appel | D iary o f a Language Teacher M acm illan, 1995
A teacher's reflections on teaching in difficult state-school
circumstances. You are not alone!
A comprehensive but dense introduction to the work of Vygotsky,
cooperative learning and its applications to ELT. Well worth the
effort.
Campbell C and Kryswevzka H Learner-Based Teaching OUP, 1992
Recipes for using student-generated material in the classroom.
Useful where there are few or inappropriate materials.
May P Exam Classes O U P, 1996
Cook G Language Play Language Learning OUP, 2000
A useful recipe book on teaching rather than testing exam classes.
One of the more theoretical books in this list, it offers an excellent
rationale for many classroom activities that fell out of favour
because they weren't 'meaningful' (e.g. drills, language games).
McManus M Troublesome Behaviour in the Classroom (2nd
edition) Routledge, 1995
An analysis of discipline problems in general secondary education
with lots of ideas that can help ELT practitioners.
C ow ley S Getting the Buggers to Behave Continuum , 2001
Neill S and Casw ell C Body Language fo r Competent Teachers
Routledge, 1993
Although more for the British school system than the ELT
classroom, it still contains lots of useful advice and interesting
studies. Does what it says on the cover.
Looks at the effects of teachers' body language on classroom
management. Also gives hints on how to detect trouble from
students' body language. Great drawings.
Cross D Large Classes in A ction Prentice H a ll, 1995
Lots of recipes for dealing with large classes, focusing on grammar
activities and skills. There is a 'teacher's diary' after the activities
to encourage critical reflection on the recipes.
Palmer P J The Courage to Teach Jossey-Bass, 1998
An inspiring and honest account of the many roles of the teacher
and how they grow in difficult circumstances. The author's basic
answer to discipline and motivation problems is to teach yourself,
in both senses of the phrase.
D eller S Lessons from the Learner Pilgrims-Longman, 1990
Abundant humanistic activities for using what the learners' bring
to class, literally and metaphorically, as a basis for teaching and
learning.
Parrot M Tasks fo r Language Teachers CUP, 1993
A practical resource book for training and development. Deep and
detailed, but good to dip into, especially in teacher groups.
D eller S and Rinvolucri M Using the M other Tongue DELTA
Publishing, 2002
Painter L H om ew ork O U P, 2003
Full of activities and a strong rationale on making the most of the
students' mother tongue while teaching English. If you've been antiLi in the past (or work at a school that doesn't allow it), read it.
A whole book devoted to making homework less of a chore for
teachers and learners. Great stuff!
D ornyei Z M otivational Strategies in the Language Classroom
C U P, 2001
Rinvolucri M Humanising Your Coursebook DELTA Publishing,
2002
A balanced combination of theory and practical advice with lots
of examples from the author's own experience of dealing with
demotivated students. An entertaining and well-researched
handbook.
Here you'll find some real gems of activities that are tried, tested
and true. And it's compatible with your coursebook!
Rogers B The Language o f D iscipline Northcote House, 1994
Written by an expert in discipline in secondary education, it is
essential reading for ELT practitioners.
Dornyei Z and Murphey T Group Dynamics in the Language
Classroom CUP, 2003
A very accessible introduction to the theory of group dynamics
and its relevance to the language classroom.
Scrivener J Learning Teaching M acm illan, 2005
A detailed and imaginative approach to teacher development;
with thorough analysis and inspiring ideas. This new edition is
considerably longer, with good additions.
Edge J Cooperative Development Longman, 1992
Practical activities for raising teachers' awareness of their role and
potential, especially when working together in a supportive
atmosphere with other teachers.
Thornbury S H o w To Teach Gramm ar Longman, 1999
Thornbury S H ow To Teach Vocabulary Longman, 2002
Two of the best books in the Longman 'How To' series, in our
opinion. Offer just the right mix of theory and practice.
Hadfield J Classroom Dynamics O U P, 1992
Recipes on how to handle difficult classes in terms of
management skills and motivation, within a humanistic,
interpersonal and reflective framework.
A beginners' guide to the basics of handling a class and the
classroom.
Hess N Teaching Large M ulti-Level Classes C U P 2001
Vygotsky L S M in d in Society H arvard U niversity Press, 1978
Underwood M Effective Class Management Longman, 1987
Lots of activities and ideas for these kinds of classes, in recipe
format.
A dense but essential analysis of the roots of cooperative learning,
based on the authors' socio-cultural approach to language.
loannou-Georgiou S and Pavlou P Assessing Young Learners
O U P , 2003
IATEFL Teacher Development The Teacher Development SIG
Newsletter
An award-winning resource book on testing and assessing young
learners. Offers a broad range of activities on assessment - both
realistic and accessible.
127
rofessional
ersvectives
professional perspectives is a series of practical methodology books
designed to provide teachers of English with fresh insights,
innovative ideas and original classroom materials.
Other titles in the series include:
Creating Conversation in Class
Unlocking Self-expression through NLP
by C hris Sion
by Judith B aker and M ario R in vo lu cri
More than 100 imaginative ideas and stimulating
O ver 100 integrated activities w hich draw on the
activities designed to get students talking in class
insights into com munication provided by
Neuro-Linguistic Programming
Humanising your Coursebook
by M ario R in vo lu cri
Spontaneous Speaking
A w ide range of activities designed to extend typical
by D avid H eath field
coursebook language practice by engaging students
A series of drama activities w hich promote positive
creatively and productively
classroom dynam ics, build confidence and lead to
improved fluency
The MINIMAX Teacher
b y Jon Taylor
Challenging Children
Practical, easy-to-use activities that generate the
B y H enk van O ort
maximum student output from the minimum teacher
O ver 100 imaginative and adaptable activities w hich
input
challenge young learners and make learning fun.
Using the Mother Tongue
b y Sheelagh D e lle r and M ario R in vo lu cri
Ready-to-use activities w hich make creative use of
For a full list and further details of titles
the students' mother tongue in the language learning
in the professional perspectives series,
classroom
contact the publishers at:
The Resourceful English Teacher
DELTA PUBLISHING
b y Jonathan C hand ler and M ark Stone
Q uince Cottage
A complete teaching companion containing 200
Hoe Lane
classroom activities for use in a wide range of
Peas lake
teaching situations
Surrey G U 5 9SW
Tel +44 (0)1306 731770
Talking Business in Class
E-m ail info@ deltapublishing.co.uk
b y C hris Sion
Web w w w .deltapublishing.co.uk
More than 50 engaging activities to provide free-stage
conversation in professional classes
128
rofessional
Dealing with
Difficulties
ersveetives
Solutions, strategies and suggestions
for successful teaching
Teaching English is about more than just
resources which teachers can use to
teaching language and skills. It is also
enrich the learning experience of all
about dealing with everyday challenges
students, raising their self-esteem and
such as noisy, unmotivated students and
mutual respect along the way.
the huge variation in ability and learning
styles in many classes. Good teaching
and learning cannot flourish in situations
of stress, conflict and demoralisation.
The more than 150 activities in this book
do not require special knowledge or skills
to use and can be implemented with
minimum preparation. They are designed
How can teachers cope?
to yield high returns in both student
D ealing with D ifficu lties looks at the
motivation and language production.
typical classroom and teaching
management problems facing teachers
The introduction to each chapter
and students in five main areas:
describes typical problems and raises
large classes
awareness of what teachers can do to
discipline
address them. The regular Tips and
mixed-level classes
Techniques sections provide practical
homework
advice and ideas which w ill enable
teaching exam classes
teachers to tackle the problems identified
Luke Prodromou
Luke has written over twenty
coursebooks and has trained
teachers and addressed
conferences in many countries.
He is still an enthusiastic teacher,
trainer, textbook author and
researcher. He has a PhD from
the University of Nottingham, UK,
in English as an International
Language. He is a visiting fellow
at the University of Leeds
(Metropolitan).
with renewed confidence.
In each category the authors provide a
wide variety of techniques, activities and
In the final chapter, Professional
tips which w ill enable teachers not only
Developm ent, the authors offer advice on
to cope with the classroom problems but
how teachers can share successful ideas
also to turn them into actual learning
and continue to learn from each other.
opportunities. What have traditionally
There is also a reading list of inspirational
been seen as potential obstacles to
books which have contributed much to the
learning can be transformed into
practice of successful language teaching.
ISBN 978-1-905085-00-2
DELTA
PUBLISHING
7819 5 0 8500
Ankara M e r t o : Tel +90 312 419 8096
Istanbul ube : Tel +90 216 450 1708
Izm ir ube
: Tel +90 232 482 0971
[email protected]
www.nuanskitabevi.com
Lindsay Clandfield
Lindsay is a teacher, trainer
and materials writer. Since his
initial training in Canada he has
survived classrooms in Mexico,
the UK, the Czech Republic
and Spain. He is the author of
coursebooks and online material
for language teachers, and has
spoken at conferences across
Europe. He currently lives and
works in Spain.
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