Cambridge Publishers has a great newsletter, and in the latest, there was an article about different ways to pair up students for partner activities. You can find it here. The author (Alice Savage) mentions line ups, but her "line ups" are different from mine (which you can find here: Line-ups). She asks students a question, and their answer puts them in different lines. After that, she counts them off to put them in groups.
She also mentions using "split" sentences: she takes sentences, cuts them in half, distributes them to students, and they have to find the other half to their sentence. I use this idea quite often to teach grammar and for partnering students, and it's really quick efficient and uses the target language of the course of that day. It could also be used to teach expressions and certain target language being focused on at that time. It's also more exciting than asking the students to count off by however many groups you want.
Confession: this is my go-to method. It's fast and easy, especially because I devote time at the beginning of the semester teaching them this partnering method. It's not as creative, but in my day-to-day teaching, partnering students happens so often that I'm often more interested in getting them into groups quickly, rather than creatively.
For more ideas about partnering students creatively, see my post called Dictionary Entries.
Have a wonderful weekend!
As some of you may know, I am the CMU ELI's Conversation
Partner Program coordinator. For the past two months, we have joined with the ESL Association on campus and held two game nights. During these evenings, students have come to practice speaking English while playing games. Some bring their (American) conversation partner, some just come with their ELI friends. We eat pizza, play games, chat, and have a good time.
.JPG)
Usually I bring games with the president of the ESL Association, but during the most recent evening, one student brought a game... he even told me that afternoon that he was going to buy the game so that he could share it with the other students! Have you ever played Sequence? It's very fun and not language-based, which is good for lower-level students. Of course. I don't really have many games that aren't language-based... do other English teachers have this same "problem"?
Some of the other games we've played are Scrabble, Scattergories, Pictionary (large group), Uno, Bingo, Euchre, and Apples to Apples.
.JPG)
These game nights have been a pretty big hit with the international students at the ELI. Last semester I tried holding these events; however, they weren't well attended. But this semester, a lot more students have been attending. I think providing pizza is a pretty big incentive! We plan to continue these meetings, maybe even going bowling next time!
If anybody has ever held an event like this before, I would love to hear your suggestions. If you're looking to hold an after-school event, I suggest good advertising and free food for maximum attendance.
As the end of the semester draws to an end, I would like to reflect on what I've learned this year:
Planning makes life easier.
(Disclaimer: I am a planner and an organizer. It makes me feel comfortable, and if you aren't a planner, what follows may sound like madness you! )
The classes for which I did most of the planning before the semester started ended up being less and better work in the long run. Moments of genius 5 minutes before class sometimes happen, which result in an amazing lesson; however, those are few and far between. When I know what I need to accomplish for the day, week, month, I find that I am better able to hone my lesson plan to meet my students' needs and the course's objectives. I like having a long-term plan, and even though it always changes after the first week of class, I think it's important to have a goal for the course's timing and schedule. This makes life easier and the lessons better.
It's important to listen to the students.
Sometimes it's just whining, but sometimes it's valuable advice and commentary. They're the audience... it's important to listen and respond to them.
Grading will still be there tomorrow.
After some wonderful conversations with my colleagues, Danielle and Natalie, I have realized that all grading doesn't necessarily need to be finished that night. It's not always (or usually?) necessary to get two hours of sleep when I have to teach the next morning. Because, of course, it will be there tomorrow!
It's important to have a sense of humor.
While I love laughing, I am naturally inclined to seriousness. Sometimes I have to remember to lighten up a bit. There's a running joke in one of my classes that I always keep them late and that they never get out early. I always look at the clock, astonished that we only have 10 more minutes! I've embraced it and have learned to laugh about it, too.
Lower level ESL students often don't understand jokes (due to language and cultural differences), but I've been trying to make more jokes (OK friends, I know how you feel about my jokes...) and laugh. It's also fun to see which students laugh and when they start to "get it."
Speaking of jokes, here' s a good one I saw on Facebook (Thanks, Gracielle!): What are Santa's elves called?
Answer: Subordinate clauses
Here's another, of my own: What do you call Mrs. Claus after she decides to leave Santa?
Answer: Independent Clause
OK, so maybe my sense of humor is why students don't laugh at my jokes...
Reflection is important
I never really had students reflect much after the courses are over. I am usually too worried about getting through everything to provide an opportunity to reflect. However, I highly value reflection, so I decided to incorporate it into the last day of my writing course. They wrote a letter to future students explaining what they learned, what they would have done differently, what they are glad they did, and any advice they had. The results were thoughtful, funny, and well-organized (the importance of this cannot be understated). I was amazed at their self-evaluation and insight into their actions. They actually advised future students to do all of the homework (they didn't always), to trust that what the teacher has them do will make them better writers, to go to the Writing Center, and to participate in class. I was thrilled with the results and so very proud of their accomplishments.
Sometimes I feel as though I learn more than my students in a given day or semester, which is making me into a better teacher (I think). I hope to be able to post more during winter break, as I won't have lesson planning, teaching, and grading to fill my time!
Despite the endless hours spent grading, whining, and repeating (over and over and over) the directions, one student gives a token of his/her appreciation, and I remember how much I love what I do and how special teaching is.
This is a magnet I received from a very special student who is a hard worker, bright, and determined to succeed. It's the little things in life that help me remember to keep going. Thanks!
