Experiences of a teacher of English

  Lesson planning, you asked? You, like I do, may think that that is essential to teach efficient lessons. You may also be a second or foreign language teacher.  Today I’m telling you something of what I do, just in case it helps you out.  When I sit to plan a lesson, first I think about my dear students and what they do need, and perhaps also what they may be expecting. And then I specify a couple of aims and write them down at the beginning of the lesson plan, at the top.  Even sometimes I let my students – and I teach adults but the same may be applied to teenagers I guess – know what those two goals are – also for them to become more aware and more involved in the class. The more I get them involved in their own learning English, the more they will learn, sure thing!  So I first think how things are going on my lessons and try to solve those possible problems.  And the body of the lesson plan includes stuff where I have my students speak a lot, a lot, a...

  You may be a second or foreign language teacher, like me. I would like to tell you today about clear messages in class so your dear students may understand you.  It’s well-known that you may speak to them in a bit above their level of the target language, for example English in my case. In that way they will understand much of the messages and will likely learn new vocab and new grammar – a drop above their English level, as I said.  On these new school year first lessons I’m teaching I can observe whether my students can follow me or otherwise not, and I try and speak a little above their level – well, sometimes quite much. The intake language thus must be finely tuned in at more or less certain level.  Also as I said I have to convey clear messages, for example clear instructions to carry out such and such activities in class. Otherwise the class becomes a pandemonium – a mess, in other words.  Clear messages I said. As well a temptation I have to fight agai...