Guide to Teaching English - Standard Curriculum Planning, Language Recycling
This continuation of advice for
non-trained teachers of ESL / EFL focuses on building a program for your class
or private students. The first part focuses on the basics of ESL.
There are a few important aspects to
always keep in mind while developing any curriculum, be it only a few lessons
or a full course:
- Language skills need to be recycled many times before they are actively acquired.
- All language skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening - should be involved in the learning process.
- Understanding grammar rules does not mean that a student can use that grammar - students need to actively practice skills they are learning.
Use All Four Skills
Employing all four linguistic skills
- reading, writing, listening and speaking - when working through a lesson will
help you recycle language during the lesson. Learning rules is important, but,
in my opinion, practicing the language is even more important. Bringing all
these aspects into a lesson will add variety to the lesson - and help the
learner pragmatically practice the language. I've met many learners who can
knock off a grammar sheet without a mistake and then, when asked, "Could
you describe your sister?", have problems. This is generally due to the
emphasis given in many school systems to learning grammar.
Putting It All Together
So, now you understand the basic tenets
of teaching English effectively. You might be asking yourself the question:
"What do I teach?"! When planning a course most coursebooks build
their curriculum around certain themes which help glue everything together.
While this can be rather complicated, I would like to provide a simple example
developing the present simple and past simple. Use this type of outline to
build your lesson and remember to provide a number of elements including
listening, reading, writing and speaking and you should find that your lessons
will have purpose and specific objectives which are clearly definable - helping
you and your learners recognize the progress you are making!
1.
Who are you? What do you do? - Daily
Routines
o
Present simple Example: What
do you do? I work at Smith's. I get up at seven. etc.
o
"to be" present Example:
I'm married. She's thirty-four.
o
Descriptive adjectives Example:
I am tall. He is short.
2.
Tell me about your past - Where
did you go on your last holiday
o
Past simple Example: What
did you go on holiday when you were a child? I work
o
"to be" past Example:
The weather was fantastic.
o
Irregular verbs Example: go
- went, shine - shone
Finally, the lesson generally will
be divided into three principle sections
- Introduction - introducing or reviewing the grammar or function.
- Development - taking that grammar and working on it in a reading, listening, or other form. This section should make up the bulk of your lesson and include a number of different activities if possible.
- Review - review the principle concepts covered during the lesson. This can be very straight forward and either student or teacher led depending on the level of your learners. Take a look at some of the lesson plans here at esl.about.com (feel free to use them!) and notice how the various methods mentioned above are employed while focusing on one specific linguistic function.
Reference
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