[Noego]

I'm teaching my postgraduate in China.

They are non-English majors, so not especially interested from learning the language from the get-go.

This being said, I've managed to keep them interested so far, which I think is due to the fact that I've refrain from teaching the same kind of thing too often (avoiding repetition/boredom).

It's a Listening and Speaking class and I'm pretty much free from teaching anything I want.

I don't have extensive education in teaching (TEFL certificate) but I enjoy my job and I consider myself efficient at what I do.

My philosophy:

Get them to do as much as listening and speaking as possible (practice makes perfect).

In other words, I don't teach a huge quantity of new words and expressions, I rather focus on practicing their listening and their speaking.

I have no text book so I'm on my own to plan my lessons.

I follow my judgment but I'm open to other input from other teachers.

Before you repy please keep in mind:

*Big classes (40ish to 50)
*Being non-english majors, the level of English from student to another varies drastically. I have almost bilingual students while some of them can hardly say their names.
*Being non-english majors, providing some entertainment is mandatory.
I would never be able to get away with teaching dry grammar because:
*The difference in level varies too much from one individual to another. Some would be bored to tears if I go whatever basic stuff my poor students need.
*The class is a front:
Postgraduates in China are required to take English classes even if it's not related to their majors. The school told me nobody can fail my class.

So it's sort of a way for the school to bypass this regulation set by the Ministry of Education which apparently the school doesn't adhere to.

What I've done so far:
1. Game about idioms.
2. Watch a movie (with movie related questions)
3. Role-playing
4. Tongue twisters
5. Listen to songs (fill in the blanks)
6. Audio stories (True or false about the stories)
7. Audio stories with crosswords.
8. Mime gesture game (students have to guess what a customer wants in a hotel)
9. Riddle contest
10. Enigmas

That's all I can think of at that moment.

Most successful:
Mime gesture game.

Least successful:
Tongue twisters:
They got tired of this after 10 minutes or so I think.

role playing:
I think Chinese students require a lot of direction, they require teachers to tell them what to do at all times.

It's hard for them to take initiative and create things on their own. From my personal experience at least, and from what the students have told me.

I've read on the internet, browsing for days but the suggestions are not to my liking.

Having discussions in groups is something I've considered, but I'm about 90% that they'll end up either:
a. Not doing anything
b. Speaking in Chinese

It's a really strong gut feeling but I'd be inclined to try it out if I got some positive feedback from people who have tried it.

I thought of having a debate but the difference in level is so dramatic, I would get a student saying:

"Hum... I... you... dis.. disagree.. what.. with.." and the other students going:

"Your argumentation is preposterous! Give me one tangible fact that..."

I find there's a huge quantity of TEFL websites but:
-The relevancy of activities vary greatly. Some of them are poorly explained and provide limited instructions.
-A lot don't provide any context or level proficiency of the students.

In other words, it's a big mess out there. It's hard to find any websites (without tons of ads) with well planned and explained lesson ideas.

I got tired of browsing through such chaos and decided to post here.

I am most interested in any input, suggestions you might have.

Learning never stops and I'm always looking forward for some new activities and lessons.