Utilize Your Time in School Outside of Class Time and Connect With Students

If you are working as an ESL Teacher in a school then you really must make it a policy to use every opportunity you can to get your students talking English. I have always enjoyed playground duty as it allows the teacher to interact with students in a more personal and less formal way than in the classroom.
Free periods should also be utilized, at our school I often take walks around the school premises and take any opportunity I can to start up a conversation with students. I am lucky in that I can speak a bit of the local language but even so I endeavor to bring as much English as I can into my informal conversations with students outside of class time.
A good strategy is to walk around with some flashcards. I have made my own where I simply write the word in the speakers native tongue on one side and the English version on the other. I always start with easier words and build towards the harder words. Students are much more likely to continue on once they have built some confidence after getting the first few words correct.
I also have some applications on my phone to use during these informal times. A simple program that shows a picture with the native language and English language equivalent is ideal. Especially when they can tap the word and hear the English version and repeat it for themselves. I managed to have a nice discussion with three students just the other day and they all enjoyed using the app. I learnt all their nicknames and made a great connection with all of them. I even learnt that one of the students has an ambition to become a lawyer! When I learn about the needs and interests of my students then I am so pleased as I can tailor the conversation to suit their goals and hobbies.
There is no better way to have students on your side when they know that you care about them. So use your free time wisely and interact with the students whenever you can in the playground!

Free Lesson Worksheets

Here are the four worksheets I created for my 13 year old ESL students. The students completed the work in an hour. The word search is a useful way to have the students return to work mode after a break. The translation exercise allows them to build familiarization between the new words they learnt during the word search with their own language. The third worksheet utilises a drawing exercise to assist students who favour thinking with imagery. The final worksheet has the students use the new vocabulary in correct sentences. To enhance speaking skills I walked around the class and had the students read the words to me as they completed the translation sheet. I also had the students read the sentences on the fourth sheet as a class, and asked some students to read individually. The two most common mistakes were the mispronunciation of "ride" as "rid" and most struggled to pronounce "caught" and "couch" correctly.

To consolidate the lesson I played "word bingo" with the students after they had completed the worksheets. This is such a great game and its fantastic to hear the students calling out the final word they need to win a prize in English.

Observing Other Teachers

     One of the best ways to improve your teaching methodology is to observe other teachers in their classrooms. Whilst you might feel awkward asking a teacher for permission to observe, the reward far outweighs that awkwardness. Recently a casual ESL teacher was sent to our school to replace one of our regular teachers who was suffering from the ill effects of a recent operation. I spoke with him at assembly and discovered that he had been teaching for over ten years. I knew that I had to make a request to observe him as it was an opportunity to learn from such an experienced teacher.

So how do you go about asking permission to observe without putting the teacher under pressure? I just acknowledged his wealth of experience and asked politely if it would be OK to watch him teach a class. I said I had no interest in criticising him and that even if I picked up one technique to improve my teaching then both I and my pupils would be most grateful. So he said OK and at the start of the next lesson I was observing him.

I was so pleased to watch this teacher. I saw the way he used effective warmers to He switch on the minds of his students into speaking English mode. He was warm, funny and positive and soon had the students totally engaged. He proceeded though the lesson radiating confidence and the students were enjoying and contributing to the lesson with great enthusiasm. I noted the way that his confidence gave the students confidence and the students were able to complete the more challenging tasks as the lesson proceeded.

I was able to observe him teach a couple more times before he left our school after four days. I now understand the importance of using just simple warmers to engage the students and get them to speak and understand English before the main body of the lesson begins. His experience with Thai students gave me a greater insight into their psychology and now I enliven my lessons with nursery rhyme recitals and increased use of gesture. He  reinforced the importance of approaching each class with confidence and I now better understand how a confident teacher makes students more confident, ultimately leading to more productive classrooms.

Making Connections with Students

One of the greatest pleasures of teaching occurs when the teacher is able to make meaningful connections with students. Increased motivation is the wonderful outcome that occurs when students connect with teachers.Making a connection with students comes by having a vigilant attitude as you teach and then seizing the opportunity when a student demonstrates an intensity of interest in the subject matter being taught.

I approach the goal of establishing connections with students with a dual strategy. At all times I use every opportunity to impress upon the students that I care for them and that I am trying to make there learning experience as enjoyable as possible. You can never tell when a "connection moment" will occur but by putting in the groundwork of a caring, friendly and positive approach in your pedagogy then you will create a fertile atmosphere to successfully create positive connections.

During last term my course material involved activities that asked students to consider the meanings of words like "ambition", "aspire" and "desire" and the vocabulary was linked to the concept of "a dream job." This topic struck me as being extremely important as a key motivator to get my public school Thai students to gain an appreciation of how the study of English is a key element in making their ambitions a reality. I spent extra time on the topic and whilst the majority of students were unable to give a clear description of their "dream job", I asked the question of each student hoping to plant some seeds of thought concerning their future career ambitions whilst emphasising the importance of English as a bridge that can realise their ambitions.

Advance the time 5 weeks later to today. I went early into my classroom for a Matayom 6 (the final year of public secondary education in Thailand) class which usually has about 40 students to find 6 students waiting even though class did not officially begin for another 15 minutes. Straightaway I engaged them as it was a valuable opportunity to teach them in a small group. I asked them if they remembered our class last term about "ambition" and began asking each of them if the had been thinking about their dream job. I was pleasantly surprised that thy had improved their understanding of the concept regarding ambition. Three of the girls said they were hoping to become nurses, two indicated that they were considering becoming teachers whilst the other student said she would like to work in hospitality. This was a great moment as I could see that they had begun to focus on life after school. As our discussion continued the student who was interested in hospitality described to me how she would like to work on big boats so that she could work and travel at the same time. I explained to her (just as the majority of pupils began to enter the classroom) that the correct term for "big boats" was "cruise ships." She had never heard of this description before and had me repeat it to the group several times before asking me if I though her ambition was a good idea. I emphatically agreed and praised her for having such a great ambition whilst reminding her of the importance of mastering English in order to have a successful career in international hospitality. The other students had entered the classroom by now and I had to get on with the job of teaching the whole class.

When the class ended the student thanked me for the lesson and I happened to notice on the inside of her thumb that she had written the words "cruise ship". I was so pleased to feel that she had discovered a worthy ambition for herself and that I had made a genuine connection with that student who now had an enhanced motivation to study English.

First Day back after the Holidays

I returned to my school for the second term today.
I enjoy teaching and had had enough holiday time so I went to school feeling enthusiastic and pleased to be back in my role of assisting students to improve their conversational English.
After assembly I felt like I was returning to a lovely family. Students were constantly greeting me and speaking to me in both English and Thai. I enjoy walking around the school yards and engaging with students as much as possible and when I could see their smiling faces and see their confidence in approaching me with English then I can't tell you how rewarded I felt for my efforts of the first term.
The teaching vacation is extremely challenging but I really feel that if you are GENUINE in your respect and care for not just your own students but all pupils on campus then you will be viewed positively and can make successful impacts on the learning experiences across a wide spectrum of students.
There are over 2700 pupils in our school at Phutthaisong and I have to declare that the joy I felt on my first day back at school was far greater than any of the pleasantries I experienced on holidays. Working with young people is so refreshing and being involved in education brings so many worthwhile outcomes that are spiritual rather than mercantile.
Buriram Province is situated in one of Thailand's less wealthy areas, the Isaan region. I have taken a lot of time to put myself in the shoes of my students and have come to realize that many of them come from big families and often don't see their parents for long periods as they are away working. That's why I try to give my students as much attention as possible. I have adjusted my teaching persona to provide some sort of fatherly concern for my students. It is tricky to balance the role of teacher and parent together but if you fuel your efforts with compassion then it is possible.
Bring a high energy, super positive attitude to the classroom is a must. The bigger the class and the more the tendency of the students to be off task then the more positive energy and compassion must be brought to the classroom by the teacher. This is especially true if you want to teach in a warm classroom that can sustain learning in a fun atmosphere as opposed to a tough disciplinarian approach that creates a more sterile classroom.
I took three classes today and overall their performance was good. The students having returned from holidays were a bit slow out of the blocks but I was patient and positive and eventually we completed our workbook tasks and had some meaningful English conversation about what they hoped to do next year after school and in identifying their dream jobs.
A useful technique that I employed with success today involved adding a sentence which was associated with their list of vocabulary words for the day. This caught the attention of some students and rather than just repeating the word they were seeing, saying the word in a short phrase or sentence thus assisting the subconscious mind to become more competent with grammar patterns.
So for example we had the word "tiny" with a picture of a small frog in a man's hand. So instead of just repeating the word "tiny" over and over, I wrote some sentences on the board: "He has a small frog", "He had a small frog", "They have a small frog". By having the students repeat the word and then the sentences they are get a sense of how to use tense correctly and when to use 'has' or 'had'. I was able to explain some grammar rules to the more engaged students while the others still had the opportunity to hear and practice saying the word "tiny."
I definitely recommend adding a short sentence or phrase to any word you teach on a vocabulary word list as a way to enhance to enrich the learning advancement of your ESL students.

Importance of Lesson Planning

"The more you plan your lesson the more you and your students will enjoy and benefit from the lesson"

On Saturdays I teach a class of Matayom 1 students. (in Thailand M1 is the first year of Secondary School). As the class is on the weekend the students generally are a bit jaded and tend to drift off task very easily, so having a thorough lesson plan is crucial, especially as I teach them for 3 hours in a row!
There is no doubt that lesson planning takes a lot of time. You really need to think about the students and how you can make the lesson interesting enough for them so that they can stay on task as much as possible. Its always a bit tough at first when you are getting to know the students. Plan patiently and as you come to understand their needs and learning strengths the efficiency and effectiveness of your lesson planning and will improve.
Its so important to bring compassion to the classroom. This is particularly true of students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds and from a culture that is different from your own. A good teacher must always care for all their students but will know how to balance discipline with empathy. Some students need the "tough love" approach and discipline must be metered out fairly and appropriately as required in order for learning to take place. Students are all different however and that's where combining compassion with discipline is so important in creating a happy, warm and friendly classroom rather than a sterile, top-down, disciplinarian approach.
Most of all don't forget to have plenty of compassion for yourself. If you have the students' interests at heart then you will always come out on top. Give yourself the time to develop your ability to interpret student body language and to develop a skin thick enough to repel the occasional student barbs that strike you.
So lesson planning is great armour to take into the classroom. A well thought out lesson plan keeps you focussed and you can keep the lesson flowing to the students who are focussed. For my group I plan a dual structured lesson plan. One plan is based on games and student to student learning while the other plan is based on a series of worksheets that I can give to students at anytime when they need to settle down and reduce noise from getting too excited during a game activity. Worksheets are great for getting students to focus on their work when they begin class and can be distributed to late comers thus avoiding disruptions.
As I have learnt about the different skill levels of my students I prepare extension worksheets for stronger students who finish tasks quickly. This keeps them occupied and gives me more time to give attention to students who need personal assistance.
It is my preference to get the class active and enjoying the games in my lesson plan and once they are working as a group I can introduce the rules of the new game and prepare them to play the game. They also know that if their behaviour gets out of control then they will have to do worksheets again.

So plan lessons as much as possible, the more prepared material you have in class means that you have more options to deal with the ebb and flow of student mood and behaviour. If all is going well and you have a lot of games up your sleeve then you can keep rewarding good behaviour with more and more games. If some students are not suited by the games then have your worksheets ready to keep them occupied and to prevent them from interfering with students who are enjoying using English in games. If your advanced students are flying along then have activity after activity ready for them to keep them in the zone for as long as possible.
My three hour lesson is quite long (yes I do let them take breaks) so I try to keep in mind that the fun should increase and the academic demands of concentration can be reduced into the last hour. Listening to a popular song, completing a lyric gap-fill and then having class groups sing the song is a fun way to finish. A recap of the day's vocabulary with Pictionary where everybody gets a chance to draw is always enjoyed by the students. Word bingo is also great as the students have to read short phrases and do their own classroom discipline by keeping each other quiet as they listen to the words being read out in order to mark their cards correctly.

Successful ESL Games

SUCCESSFUL ESL GAMES

My name is Adam Crittenden and I have been teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to secondary school students in a province called Buriram which is located in the Issan region in the North East of Thailand.

Here are a list of some successful games that I have employed in the classroom.

1. Sentence Race.

Rules: Students are split into two teams. Each student on one side receives an individual word printed on cardboard in a similar color. Then each student on the other team receives a word that is identical with the word received by a student on the opposing team. (so if there are 40 students, one team gets 20 different words in one color and the other side receives the same 20 words on cardboard of a different color.) I always take care to match students of similar ability as maintaining the confidence of students regardless of learning levels is paramount in creating a fun and friendly atmosphere in the classroom.
The students are then told that when I call out a word, the two students with the corresponding word from each side will come to the front. Each are given a marker and after a count of "1-2-3 go!" each student simultaneously writes a sentence on the board using the given word. The first to finish a grammatically correct sentence is declared the winner. (Setting a minimum word length for the sentence is essential so that the students feel that the game is fair.)
After the winner is declared a point is awarded to the winning side. I get the winning student to read the sentence to me and then I call the next word to the class. The game continues until all students have had a turn.

Modifications and Comments: The students enjoy the game and build confidence with their writing and ability to form sentences. As the students waiting for their word to be called there is plenty of time for (student-student) interaction as fellow team mates can assist students with creating and remembering sentences. The students who are not writing enjoy cheering and encouraging there classmates as they write. Its a great feeling to see the students co-operating and having fun while they are learning English!
With students who may struggle to write English in full sentences I have used a scaffold where I provide each student with a list of pre-written sentences which they can commit to memory before they write. Scaffolding is crucial in mixed ability classes as I want to generate a very inclusive and positive atmosphere in the class at all times.
Sentence race is a great game but should be used sparingly as it can take quite a bit of time. I have found that one round of students takes about 20 minutes so you need to bear this in mind when lesson planning.

2. Word Bingo

Rules: Word Bingo is an excellent game to play with students as it is fun and encourages the students to read, listen and assist each other. The rules are simple. Each student is given a grid with a number of words and phrases. The teacher (or a student who is selected) draws each word or phrase randomly from a box. If the student has the corresponding word on their grid they cover it with a piece of paper. When a student has covered all the words on their grid, they call out "Bingo!" The winning student comes to the front of the class and reads their words to the teacher who checks that no errors have been made. The student is declared the winner and can be given a small prize like an individually wrapped piece of candy.

Modifications and Comments:  This game is very popular with students and is very useful to revise previously learnt vocabulary and phrases. As the students need to listen and concentrate the level of class noise drops dramatically and the game is very useful when played towards the end of class as it invigorates waning attention spans. Generally during the first game I will call the phrases out and also write them on the whiteboard. This lets the students become familiar with the game and gives them an opportunity to hone their reading skills. The students can play individually or have one grid between two. For students of lesser ability I prefer to single words rather than phrases but I will use phrases with students who have the sufficient reading skills. You can adjust the game to be student-student whereby a student is chosen to draw the words and phrases from the box. This is a great way to play as the teacher can walk about the room and assist students as they check the words, whilst the student in charge builds confidence as they read out the words. Its very easy to prepare the materials as their are many free word bingo generators on-line. If you want to re-use the cards then ask your students to simply cover each word with a piece of paper.

3. Pictionary

Rules: This game is easy to play and is always an absolute winner with my Thai High School students. I like to use it especially with my straight-after-lunch classes as the students become quickly engaged in the game and get into learning mode. To play the game I use a set of flashcards. I have the word written in Thai on the back and its English equivalent on the front. I select a student show them the word in Thai (making sure the English word is not revealed to anyone), I then ask the student if they are comfortable to attempt to draw the word, and if they are happy, I let the student draw the word on the board. The rest of the class have to try to guess the word in English. The first student to correctly call out the English word is declared the winner and then it is their turn to look at the next card and draw the picture. The game can be played for as long as you like, or until every pupil has had a chance to draw.

Modifications and comments: I am a huge fan of Pictionary as all students can take part regardless of their level of English competence. The students really do enjoy the game whether they are drawing or trying to guess the answer. If the students are struggling to guess the answer I will put up a hangman chart and slowly fill the letters in until someone is able to guess the answer. Should the student be struggling with their drawing I will assist by miming the action of the word until the students are on the right track. To get full impact from the game I will write the English word clearly on the whiteboard and have the whole class repeat the word a few times. I will also write the word in a sentence and have the students repeat the sentence a few times in order to consolidate their learning before we move onto the next picture. As a teacher you can prepare as many flashcards as you like in order to keep the game interesting and to have appropriate words to meet the learning capacities and interests of your students. By doing this you will also build up a library of useful flashcards that are always great to use when you are mingling with students during breaks in the playground or if you have some spare time at the end of a lesson.