Teach English in Luoxi Zhen - Shanwei Shi

This unit began by highlighting that classes can either be new or existing and that each requires a different sort of introduction. Some ideas for introductory lessons were given by the unit such as the pass the ball games which allows learners to establish rapport with each other and with the teacher. This unit also pointed out that it is not the best idea to always jump straight into teaching a lesson, as this demotivates students, but that one must rather warm the class up, using games such as Pictionary or Hangman. This I found I could relate to and will definitely look to use this in my future classes. This unit dealt with various common problems that are likely to come up in teaching learners. I found this unit useful as the awareness of these problems will help me prepare to handle them before hand. Problems are those such as dealing with large classes. The unit showed that using group work, choral drilling and other activities helps encourage more participation from the class and ensures that the large size of the class does not exclude learners or overwhelm the teacher. Another problem raised in this unit is the learners using their own native language. The unit discussed that this happens when students are either bored or do not understand, and so it was shown that ensuring that students understand instructions and that they are not dealing with language that is above their levels are ways of minimising the use of their native language amongst themselves. Other problems are those such as unresponsive students or listening skills, both of which are shown to be easily solvable by this unit.