What can we teach with. tessa w.

What can we teach with?

• Part of the challenge in becoming better at a job is getting to know the range of tools available, what they’re called, how they work, when and how to use them wisely and how to look after them.

What materials and equipment are available and where?

The dictionary.• It’s a very handful tool. There are several

types including these:

4. Standard Dictionaries.

5. Learners’ dictionaries in both one and two language varieties.

1. Picture dictionaries.

2. Production dictionaries.

3. Specialised dictionaries or phrasal verbs, or common mistakes, language and culture, etc.

4. Subject specific dictionaries, eg. for medicine, etc

• Uses of dictionaries. You can use them for example, to:3.Look up a word or phrase met in listening or

reading to find its meaning.4.Check the spelling or pronunciation of a

word.5.Check alternate uses and meanings of a

known word met in a seemingly different or unusual setting.

1. Check the root, etymology, word class or morphology of a word.

2. Check the use of a word or phrase by studying the examples and noting collocation.

3. Find out about the register, connotation or association of a word.

1. Find synonyms and compounds from the entry for a headword .

2. Learn about the cultural significance of items looked up, the biography of a famous person or, with a subject specific dictionary, more about, for example, a concept in engineering or science.

• Production Dictionaries are similar to a thesaurus but have been written with the second language learner in mind and are much easier to use.

• You can use production dictionaries to:3.Find the right words to express an idea.4.Learn new words in a specific semantic

area by going from the known to the unknown.

1. Find out quickly which of two or more words similar in meaning is right in which context.

2. Find out which subject and objects go with particular verbs and vice versa.

• Use dictionaries yourself.

If possible have a pile of good sized dictionaries in the classrooms where you work.

Some uses:

Looking up words you know.

• Some ideas for helping students to get used to using English-English dictionaries of a reasonable size:

2.Ask students to look up words that are either:

c)International, e.g. ‘coke’,etc.

d)False friends or cognates.

a) Ones students are sure they know in the target language.

2. Whichever category you choose, ask students to look the words up and tell you one thing about them that they didn’t know beforehand.

• The board.

Main types of board.

There are:

d)Flannel boards.

e)Black and green boards nailed to walls.

f) Whiteboards.

a) Whiteboards that print out whatever has been written on them.

b) Magnetic boards that you can stick things to using small specially manufactured magnets.

Uses of board:

• Write up what you need in a lesson before the lesson starts.

• Avoid photocopying.

• Add visual impact to a lesson, especially if you use colour pictures and icons as well as words.

• Provide a model for writing.

• Explain a word.

• Tell a story, record points in a game, explain a task.

• Test the mood of the class.

• Facilitate thinking by recording brainstorms, mind maps, flowcharts, and so on.

• Write up homework so there are no excuses!

• Picture packs.

You can use them to:

3.Generate vocabulary.

4.Do mutual picture dictation .

5.Play guessing games.

6.Generate dialogues between the characters in the pictures.

1. Create stories by guessing what would come before and after the picture if it was in a cartoon strip.

2. Help students relax and enjoy themselves.

3. Bring the outside world into the classroom.

• The music C.D.

Some practical tips for using music in class:

3.Make sure you can find the music you need quickly.

4.Don’t have it on all the time.

5.Don’t have it on too loudly.

1. Don’t turn it off instantly if one person complains.

2. Let students join in by bringing their music to class.

You can use a music C.D. for many things including to:

• Relax yourself and put yourself in a good mood.

• Relax students while they’re coming into or leaving class.

• Play quietly in the background to help small, quiet classes to speak out in the target language.

• Play quietly in the background during group work so that groups are not so conscious of what other groups are saying.

• Start a musical thread to your lessons.

How to use a music C.D.:

Mental Images.

4.Explain to your students that you’re going to play a piece of music. Ask them to listen with their eyes closed, and see what mental pictures they get.

1. Play them one minute’s worth of some music.

2. Ask students to discuss in pairs what they saw in their imaginations.

3. After the pair work, ask students to throw out ideas and record useful vocabulary and phrases on the board.

Getting materials ready.

• If you’re inexperienced and not yet good at thinking on your feet, assume there will be a power cut, photocopy jam, or any disaster on the day of your classes.

• Get copies done beforehand, and have a plan B up your sleeve.

• Prepare more material than what you think it’s necessary.

• Have a list of five – or ten-minute activities that require no materials or preparation which you can whip out when needed.

• When making materials such as reusable worksheets, cover them to protect them from wear and tear.

• Label and number CDs so you can find your place easily.

• Stick visuals onto card and then label them on the back so that you can display them fast in class the right way up without peering at them.

• Label expensive items with your name and tie extension cords and leads to machines so that they don’t get separated.

When you get into class:• Having made a list on your lesson notes of

the materials you need to prepare for a particular class, have a last check to make sure you have then all with you.

• Lay out the materials in the order you’ll need them.

• Clean the board if necessary and write up anything you need to have there in advance.

• Put up any notices.

• Check your student name list to refresh your memory of who’s in your class.

In class:

• Once you’ve finished with materials, tidy up everything.

• If you notice that something is missing or broken, make a note of this.

• Olga Mella S. olga.mella@gmail.com

• Adapted from Planning Lessons and Courses.

Tessa Woodward