Friday 27 August 2010
Thursday 26 August 2010
TeacherTube.com
TeacherTube.com
check this out for videos and audios related to the classroom and teaching. have fun!
check this out for videos and audios related to the classroom and teaching. have fun!
Tuesday 24 August 2010
Wednesday 11 August 2010
Idiom of the day: an arm and a leg
we use this idiom when something costs too much money = very expensive= pricy
Examples:
- my father`s car costs an arm and a leg.
- `how much do I need to buy that bag?` ` An arm and a leg!`
Examples:
- my father`s car costs an arm and a leg.
- `how much do I need to buy that bag?` ` An arm and a leg!`
Monday 9 August 2010
the best movie ever!
hello dear teachers! we all had some moments in which we felt bored in our classrooms, it`s even worse when our students feel bored! wanna have fun with your students? try to make a movie day. it could be twice or just once a month. the best movie ever is The ant bully; so funny, so educative, so plain,and so interesting.your students are going to love it. here is a tip on how to `teach it`.
1- ask your students the following question: `what do you know about the life of ants?`
students are going to give you a lot of interesting answers that will pave the way to the movie
2- make some `while watching` exercises such as: watch the film and put the events on the right order.
3- make ` post watching` exercises such as: who`s your favourite character? did you like the movie, or how did the film inspire you.
learn english and have fun!!
Sunday 8 August 2010
Do you need a reliable website that has every grammar lesson you need? check this one out. I use this website all the time and I recommand it to you
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/
It`s free and you don`t have to subscribe or anything.
It`s free and you don`t have to subscribe or anything.
Friday 6 August 2010
The first English lesson
The first English lesson for many teachers is the alphabet. For me, the first lesson is self introduction, introducing people, and greeting. How I do that? It’s very simple. I draw two little characters on the board (If you’re not a good drawer you can draw just little heads with eyes and mouths.) I give then names like John and Sara. I write nothing on the board I just say the whole conversation myself, I use a little bit of acting. I repeat the conversation like twice and then I call a volunteer. We repeat the dialogue, and then I ask students to repeat the dialogue in pairs. Students are encouraged to use their own names.
Here is the dialogue:
John: hello I`m John. what's your name?
Sara: my name`s Sara.
John: nice to meet you.
Sara: nice to meet you,too.
Here is the dialogue:
John: hello I`m John. what's your name?
Sara: my name`s Sara.
John: nice to meet you.
Sara: nice to meet you,too.
getting the students ready to get started.
After setting the rules and motivating students to learn English, I start teaching some of the most used sentences and verbs in the classroom, because I don’t want my students to use their mother tongue all the time. Some of the most used verbs in class are: read, write, listen, look, copy, match, complete, repeat, and of course shut up! Well, just kidding lol. I don’t use this last verb in my classroom. I use other methods to discipline my students and make them pay attention and that’s what I’ll talk about later in one of my posts. So stay tuned ;)
Here are some of the sentences that I teach to my students in the first or the second sessions. I entitle this section “useful language”
1- Sorry, I don’t understand.
2- Can you repeat please?
3- What does ‘apple’ mean?
4- How do we say ‘une fille’ in English?
5- Can you speak slowly please?
6- Can I go to the toilet?
Here again, you can add more sentences that you find relevant and important to your classroom.
Here are some of the sentences that I teach to my students in the first or the second sessions. I entitle this section “useful language”
1- Sorry, I don’t understand.
2- Can you repeat please?
3- What does ‘apple’ mean?
4- How do we say ‘une fille’ in English?
5- Can you speak slowly please?
6- Can I go to the toilet?
Here again, you can add more sentences that you find relevant and important to your classroom.
what you need to do to motivate your students
After setting the rules I tend to talk about the importance of learning English, so as I can motivate my studnts more to learn English. I usually ask them the following question: “why do we learn English?” These are the answers that I often get: because it’s an international language , it’s the language of business, to get a good job, to communicate with the world and so on.
teachers! get ready to take over the class!!!!
At the beginning of every school year I always feel excited and a bit nervous. Those feelings disappear once I meet my new students. the fist thing that I do every year when I meet my students is introducing myself , and then setting the rules of the classroom , A.K.A the code of the conduct. This step is very important to me, because I want my students to know the things we need to have a suitable environment for both teaching and learning.
The method of setting the rules may differ from one teacher to another but what I usually do is the following:
1- I prepare a list of rules to have something to refer to.
2- After introducing myself I ask students to take a piece of paper and a pen and jot down the rules that they find important for a successful classroom. In the first day I don’t mind using our mother langue, Arabic, to give the instructions because I need a 100% interaction with the students. The students also can write the rules in their first language.
3- While students are writing are writing I like to monitor them to make sure that everyone is involved and also to answer their question if they have any.
4- When the students finish their list I encourage them to say the rules and discuss the ideas of their peers
5- At the end I write the most relevant rules that the students came up with on the board.
The rules that the students usually come up with are:
1- Respect yourself , your peers , and your teacher
2- Wear the school uniform.
3- Switch off mobile phone.
4- respect the school and the classroom properties
5- don’t eat or chew gum in the classroom
6- Bring the material needed for the subject (books, notebooks, pens…)
7- Participate and ask questions when needed.
8- Attend regularly.
9- Be punctual.
P.S the rules may differ from one class to another and also from one culture to another. So always feel free to modify the rules to suit your classroom.
The method of setting the rules may differ from one teacher to another but what I usually do is the following:
1- I prepare a list of rules to have something to refer to.
2- After introducing myself I ask students to take a piece of paper and a pen and jot down the rules that they find important for a successful classroom. In the first day I don’t mind using our mother langue, Arabic, to give the instructions because I need a 100% interaction with the students. The students also can write the rules in their first language.
3- While students are writing are writing I like to monitor them to make sure that everyone is involved and also to answer their question if they have any.
4- When the students finish their list I encourage them to say the rules and discuss the ideas of their peers
5- At the end I write the most relevant rules that the students came up with on the board.
The rules that the students usually come up with are:
1- Respect yourself , your peers , and your teacher
2- Wear the school uniform.
3- Switch off mobile phone.
4- respect the school and the classroom properties
5- don’t eat or chew gum in the classroom
6- Bring the material needed for the subject (books, notebooks, pens…)
7- Participate and ask questions when needed.
8- Attend regularly.
9- Be punctual.
P.S the rules may differ from one class to another and also from one culture to another. So always feel free to modify the rules to suit your classroom.
what you need to know about teaching
Hello everyone, this blog will be all about teaching English as a second language. I’ll post lessons, articles, diaries, and reviews of some books I use in my classroom. I’ll also blog about the websites I find useful. Feel free to leave comments, impressions, or even correct mistakes if they are any.
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