Online TESOL Center

Personally from this course I have gained a wealth of information. I obtained skills to aide me with lesson planning, classroom management, grammar and understanding what to use in the classroom that is effective for students of every ethnicity. I really liked learning about the lesson planning in terms of the engage, study and activate. I think it is very useful for the students in learning english. It also provides me with a guide and structure to lesson plan effectively. I'll put this into action by writing lesson plans that involve engaging the students with something fun, teaching them the curriculum and then allowing them to apply it in the activate stage. In addition, learning about the different type of tools to use in the classroom is helpful for me as a teacher as well. Using a computer, projector, whiteboard, smart board, or just paper and markers is helpful to know about and gain ideas in the classroom. I will apply that section of learning by exploring the different materials I have at the school I am in. I am currently teaching in Shanghai, China and feel pretty fortunate to have a smart board in every single one of the classrooms. The computer is connected to it and it is interactive. I am able to show videos, pull up the hiteboard and allow students to come up and write down what I ask, or I can just show them using the Internet or power points I have created. The activities that are introduced and explained in the TEFL course has also been very helpful. Games like hangman, ball toss, chinese whispers, splitting students into pairs, splitting students up into teams and engaging them in the language is important. They are fun activities and they engage all the students. Both the outgoing and the introverted kids alike. I have actually been incorporating these tactics into my classroom already. In Shanghai, the children really love hangman. It is a great way for them to review the vocabulary in a fun way. I often ask them who wants to be the teacher and they come up to the board and write spaces for the word of their choice. I have them tell me the word and then they are the teacher and go through the process of hangman with the class. It is very fun for the students and they are applying the english language in an amazing way. Learning about large class sizes and classroom management has also been very helpful in this course. At my school now I have large classes and utilizing the tactics taught in this course has been helpful. For example, splitting them up into pair work often, handing out worksheets and splitting them into teams really does work. In addition, positive reinforcement for the job well done is so important rather than scolding the student for doing the wrong thing. For instance, when I have students not behaving in class, I say thank you and acknowledge the students who are doing the right thing. I usually write everyone's name on the board (or have them write in on the board) and I incorporate a star system. If they are doing well they get a star next to their name. So when students are misbehaving I give the students who are behaving stars and acknowledge them with positive reinforcement. At that point all the students get on track because they want a star. In extreme scenarios I will erase a star from a child who is not paying attention or being extremely disruptive. So in reality I have already put all these practices into motion and they are working so well. This course really has set me up for success in the classroom from lesson planning, to games, to splitting students up and finally to classroom management. I would recommend this to my friends to take.