Help
 

I am really struggling as I am doing a tefl course through long ditance training and my resources where I live are extremely!!! limited. having gone through so many teacher links everything has become very confusing and really expensive (we have one of the highest charges in the world for internet for starters).

My query is loaded I am afraid

I need very specifc lesson plans pertinent to what I require for my exams and I am not getting the answers - namely lesson plans.

1. ASKING DIRECTIONS - practice for intermediate class - 60 minutes

2. Devising a lesson plan using a song for a 45 min lesson for 15/16 age group.

That is just for starters

Please help -

Re: Help
 

Shelley - it's pretty obvious that you're working on some classwork but all of this definitely has the feel of doing someone's homework. I don't mind helping you out or giving advice but you need to give us some of your own ideas. It's a lot easier to give you tips to make a lesson plan better or tell you were so problems might lie.

As far as using music in the classroom, here's a podcast you can download and listen to on-line or off-line with some lesson plan ideas and games.
http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/0...the-classroom/

Here's a thread here on activities for large classes:
http://www.eslhq.com/forums/esl-forums/esl-games-activities/does-anyone-know-some-good-activities-large-classes-167/

I hope those help.

Re: Help
 

yes, i am feeling the same as mark. please show us that you've at least tried to answer these questions and we'll try to help you come up with the best answer.

Re: Help
 

Thanks _ I am in panic mode as I do not have any more than the very brief course notes and the advise I received from my tutor was - go onto the internet. I have done this and as stated am having problems coming up with anything that makes much sense at the moment. What is the point of all the teacher sites if one cannot make use of them? All I am asking for is guidance/pointers on where to search> I have my views and ideas etc but am just trying to to ensure that I know what I am doing and if going in the right direction as everything is quite new to me. As already stated I was advised to go on the net to research and thre are just too many to take in and needed to be pointed in the best direction. Thank you anyway for all your assistance

Re: Help
 

Well, I can agree with you there. There are many ESL teacher sites and finding specifically what you need is like entering a mall with 1000 huge department stores and you're looking for a blue tank-top with flowers on it.

Also, most of the sites are set up for teaching teachers and we assume everyone has already studied.

When you're asked to do a hypothetical lesson plan, remember that it is hypothetical. Take advantage of that. You can say you will use
- a fill-in the blank worksheet for vocabulary practice
- a worksheet that differentiates between the past and present perfect using keywords.
You don't have to make or have the worksheets.
Then, you will practice using the model dialogue.
You don't have to make or have the dialogue.

So, basically it's up to your imagination.

If you're wondering why we don't actually write out lesson plans, it because we don't like to do it either. :p And most teachers actually just use skeleton lesson plans. They just write out the basic points to cover and don't go into detail because the plans are for themselves. Some school systems and places require extensive write ups on goals and methodology by administrators but that's generally when they are trying to fire someone for incompetence.

Re: Help
 

=> teachers who are teaching

Re: Help
 

shelley,

are you expected to teach a 45 minute lesson around 1 song? that seems fairly unrealistic but if that's what you have to do...

here's a little bare bones lesson plan for a song:
1. warm up: elicit some song vocab
2. gap fill/cloze activity while listening to the song
3. sing
4. game involving lyrics or "actions" of the song

you dont want to spend the entire 45 minutes singing the song over and over. trust me, that would be a nightmarish class... dont ask me how i know, i just do...

i didn't know that but it's good to be aware of... :whistle:

Re: Help
 

Use a song with a story to it or a theme that can be discussed. I like to use:

Last Kiss by Pearl Jam - story of a man whose girlfriend died in his arms after a car crash

Working 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton - the music is not to everyone's taste, but there's a great discussion lead in (on working hours, work-life balance etc)

Stan by Eminem - for advanced level students, this is a great story of a fan who is driven to murder and suicide by his obsessions. Discussion topics - obsessions, problems faced by celebrities

Any of these three songs can easily be extended into a 45 minutes lesson. => 5 minutes warmer =>15 min listen to song, review vocab, sing song =>15 minutes discussion topics =>10 minutes students write their own verse

For your homework assignment, you won't need the music, but you'll need the lyrics, which you can download from various sites, like http://www.seeklyrics.com/

btw, it sounds like your TEFL course is not very well run