Teach English in Jiamaying Zhen - Dezhou Shi

Teaching skills in the classroom can be a very challenging experience, but it is essential (at least for any English teacher) to learn how to do it properly and in an effective manner. As it was shown in the Units 7 and 8 of this ‘60-hour’ ITTT course, there are 4 (four) basic skills in the English language (and in any other language as well), and these skills are divided into two groups: Receptive skills, which include reading and listening. And productive skills, which include speaking and writing. Both groups (and all of the skills) are very important and should be taught equally in the classroom, in the most balanced manner as possible. In the Unit 7 – ‘Teaching receptive skills’ I could see many important topics about teaching and exercising both 'reading' and 'listening' skills. Over there I learned that readers and listeners employ some specialist skills and their understanding of the context will depend on their expertise in these areas, such as ‘Predictive Skills’, ‘Specific information’ (also called ‘scanning’), ‘General idea’ (also called ‘skimming’), ‘Detailed information’ and ‘Deduction from context’. Another very important part of the Unit 7 was about the choice of a topic in a lesson which the focus will be the receptive skills. Choosing well the topic that will be discussed in the classroom is very important because it can help to motivate the students. If the topic is not interesting it is very likely that the students will not engage well and satisfactorily in the activity. So choosing a good and interesting topic is very important and advisable. It is also important to have in mind that the teacher can generate interest knowing better the students and what really interests them. A very nice suggestion given in the Unit 7 that I frequently use in my classrooms is: “a variety of topics, over a period of time, is needed to ensure that all of the students are equally catered for in the end, as a single topic may interest some of the class but not others.” And there are also other effective ways to get students engaged, such as by discussing the topic, showing pictures, predicting what the text will be about and other ‘engage’ phase activities. I also learned that a good task of receptive skills shouldn’t be too easy or too difficult; it has to be a challenge that is realistically achievable. And, as shown in the unit 7, the basic keys to successful receptive skill lessons are: - Choose material that interests/motivates students. - Build interest before reading/listening. - Pre-teach complex vocabulary or structures if necessary. - Vary the type of material. - Incorporate activate phases that naturally lead on from the text. In the Unit 8 – ‘Teaching productive skills’ I could see many important topics about teaching and exercising both 'speaking' and 'writing' skills. Over there I learned the difference between accuracy and fluency activities. While accuracy activities (usually part of the study phase) are concentrated on producing correct language and are usually controlled to ensure accurate reproduction of language, fluency activities (usually part of the activate phase) are concentrated on allowing the students to experiment and be creative with language. When we are doing fluency activities we are less concerned about with accuracy and more concerned about with the effectiveness and flow of the communication. Another very important part of the unit 8 was about the different kinds of speaking activities, such as 'Controlled activities’, 'Guided activities' and 'Creative communication'. All of them are very appropriate to use in the classroom, depending only in which phase the class is. I also learned about the importance of encouraging students to speak and interact with each other. The teacher must try to overcome some student’s hurdles (such as lack of confidence, fear of making mistakes, peer intimidation, etc) and encourages student interaction. The aim should be to create a comfortable atmosphere where students are not afraid to speak or make mistakes, and enjoy communication with the teacher and with the other students. There are some techniques to encourage interaction, such as pair work, group work, plenty of controlled activities purposeful (to create a desire and need to communicate), change the classroom dynamics and careful planning. Games are also a good way to make students practice their skills. A good teacher must have these techniques and these tips in mind, in this way teaching skills in the classroom will be much easier and for sure more effective. I am glad I had the opportunity to take this ITTT course. It gave me great ideas and it has surely helped me to become a better teacher.