teaching.special.groups.pdf

Teaching Special Groups Teaching beginners The term ‘beginner’ scares some inexperienced teachers. But teaching beginners can be one of the most rewarding parts of EFL teaching. There are many kinds of beginners: ? The absolute beginner – students who have no English at all. ? The false beginner –studied or been exposed to English previously but still low lesson. They will probably be able to produce a few simple structures. ? The adult beginner – usually own decision to learn English - highly motivated. ? The young beginner – often lack motivation as they haven’t usually made the choice to study and cannot see the benefit of learning the language. Younger beginners tend to pick language up far more easily than adults. ? The beginner without Roman alphabet – needs a lot of work on basic literacy skills. A lot of reading and writing practice is necessary. Teaching Special Groups Teaching beginners ?Requires special skills and psychology ?Be aware of your students’ needs ?Have clear and realistic aims – don’t try to do too much too quickly ?Adapt to suit your situation ?Be as visual as possible ?Control your language ?Give clear, simple instructions ?Pace your lessons ?Use choral repetition ?Use pair and group work ?Ask lots of questions ?Encourage students to speak English in class as much as possible ?Try not to use the students’ mother tongue even if you know it ?Revise constantly Teaching Special Groups Teaching children ?Can be one of the most rewarding of all student classes to teach. ?Children possess an innate curiosity, which is in itself a motivating factor. ?Patient repetition, positive encouragement and frequent praise ?Let the child develop a sense of self-esteem and make them less self-conscious about potential mistakes. ?Attention span or concentration is much less than that of an adult. ?Will also often seek teacher approval. ?Important for children that the teacher notices them and s