 Re: Hello from Japan
Sometimes a simple technique really helps.
Here are three techniques that I use in my classes to provide order, increase student interest, and expand their vocabulary.
1. Take attendance by asking a question every day on a piece of paper. For instance, students write down their name and share some personal opinion. What's your favorite sport? Website? Movie? Book? Ideal vacation? Students like to share and it builds rapport.
2. Create opportunities for the students to design to their own projects. I know this sounds impossible, but you can build in student choice without losing group unity. For instance, have everybody bring in a photograph, magazine ad, or postcard and have them write a paragraph describing the picture and what will happen next.
3. Give a consistent homework assignment. It can be anything from write down five new vocabulary words to five new questions to summarize and evaluate a newspaper article. The content is less important, it seems to me, than consistency so students know what to expect.
Perhaps these tips work better with older students, but you might try them with your class.
Good luck! |