All those classes give us the opportunity to practice the skills that we have already learned and allowed us to do nice activities that our classmates brought.

     It was a nice experience because we could observe the weaknesses and the stregthens that we are presenting in order to improve the way how we are teaching.  

    Some of the most important things that I learned regarding teaching in a effective way are the following:

    First, educators have to take into account that when they are going to teach they have to plan their classes and they have to avoid improvisation.  That is the reason why it is recommended that they work in a lesson plan that helps them to establish the purpose of their classes and to state the activities that they are going to present in order to achive the objective of the class.

     It is relevant that teachers make emphasis in all the skills reading, writing, listening and speking, because in that way students will communicate effectively using the target language. In order to do this there are many things that the instructor has to consider:

  When we bring a listening to the class, it is important that we adapt it to the level that we are working with. In that way, students will be able to comprehend the information presented and they are going  to get familiar with the English pronunciation, accent and intonation step by step.  In addition, when the teacher identified new vocabulary in the listening activities it is relevant that s/he presents  a pre- listening  in order to clarify that content before the students listen to the information.

 Regarding to writing activities, the teacher has to give information about useful techniques, such as brainstorming, pre- writing, punctionation, the correct use of some connectors, between others, because in that way students can learn how to write and how to pass the message across using this skill.

  When the instructor brings to the classroom a reading activity s/he has to clarify doubts reagarding vocabulary  before they start reading deeply, in that way they are going to comprenhed easily. It is important that the teacher brings interesting reading for them such as biographies of well- known singers, actors, models or cartoons, tales and short stories, beacuse in  that way they are going to feel motivated while they read. Here there are some sites where you can find interesting readings:

http://www.biography.com 

http://www.anacova.com/news

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories.htm?mtklink=kids-stories-kids-popular-offers

  Finally, teachers have to include pronunciation and speaking practice in their classes. Doing this students can forget about their fears and limitations and they can communicate orally using the language that they want to learn.

Georgi Lozanov ( a Bulgarian Phycologist) introduced a  method in order to accelatate the process of learning a foreing language. This method was called Suggestopedia.

     This method focused on “desuggestion” of the limitations learners think they have, consists of providing the sort of relaxed state of mind that would facilitate the retention of material to its maximum potential.

      One of the most unique characteristics of the method is the use of soft Baroque music during the learning process. Baroque music has a specific rhythm and a pattern of 60 beats per minute, and Lozanov believed it created a level of relaxed concentration that facilitated the intake and retention of huge quantities of material. This increase in learning potential was put down to the increase in alpha brain waves and decrease in blood pressure and heart rate that resulted from listening to Baroque music.

    Another aspect that differed from other methods was the use of soft comfortable chairs, dim lighting in the classroom that recreate a comfortable environment where  the students could learn the information as a part of their environment.

     Other characteristics of Suggestopedia were the giving over of complete control and authority to the teacher and the encouragement of learners to act as “childishly” as possible, often even assuming names and characters “in” the target language by doing activities such as role plays, playing games, listening to stories or songs, between others.

    All of these principles in combination were seen to make the students “suggestible”, and therefore able to utilize their maximum mental potential to take in,  retain new material and introduce all that knowledge into their personalities. Consequently, the use of the target language was really important during the process.

      Despite the fact that applying this method costs a lot of money (especially the training of  teachers) there are so many techniques that we as English teachers can use in the classroom, such as the use of classical or baroque music (that helps the students to retain more information), the use of games and interesting activities to our students that help them to feel motivated and to learn more. Also,when teachers and students decorate the classroom as a group using words and phrases in English, learners can get the information as a part of their environment while they are learning new vocabulary and structures. Taken from:

http://www.englishraven.com

   Taking in consideration this experience, I realized that the participation of students in the process of learning a foreing language is very important. When the teacher introduces activities where learners have to interact with other classmates using the target language, learners  notice that the task is not that difficult and they realized they can communicate easily. When  students practice and feel comfortable doing it, they start to feel motivated and they want to learn more.

     Teaching English as a sencond language is not an easy task, especially because students do not have a close contact with the target language. That is the reason why  I think that the  study of methodology is very important for future teachers because we can  get information about methods and techniques that will help us a lot with our students. It is important to consider that students have differents ways to learn, there are many skills that we have to cover and many activities that we have to present in a class. Consequently, we have to be prepared enough if we want to teach in an effective way.

     These activities can be adapted to introduce the class, to present new content and also  to close the class. Also, they are interesting because with them you can work with the four second language learning skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing.

     So, take a look at them:

British Council Kid’s Page

Kids English SyvumBook

Crossword Puzzles for ESL Students

I am very interested in sharing information about how to teach English in an effective way.