Hello Soup,
First and foremost, thank you for your reply.
Allow me to inquire further about your suggestions.
Quote:
I. Investment
Invest the students in the topic by having them talk about what they already know about the topic in pairs or in small groups. This could be a question, a series of questions, pictures, whathaveyou. The purpose is two-fold:
(i) the students have a chance to warm-up their English while getting to know their classmates.
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Ok.
Here’s the thing.
This is completely new to me.
What kind of topic would you have in mind?
I teach two hours classes, so the way I see it:
a. I either have to find something fascinating for them to talk about.
b. Talk about two different topics (one for each hour).
As far as I know, the students have been together for quite a while, although they might not know each other that well. At least not each and everyone of them.
I’ve tried switching people around for team-based games to makes things a bit more fair.
It seems to me like a good idea to put people in different teams so that they can get to know each other more.
You might be right about not asking questions/talking in class, although students (not my students) have repeatedly told me during my two years stay in China, that it wasn’t their custom to ask questions in class.
This being said, it might be possible to switch things around by making them more comfortable.
In other words, I will definitely try this in my next class.
I agree about the monitoring, I will definitely do this as well. I think the students will also feel more confident if they see I’m taking notes, monitoring what they’re doing.
Anyways, I have my doubts about whether or not this will motivate them but I will give it a try. I have nothing to lose.
Would you mind clarifying what you mean by the whole using topic/sentences beforehand?
Do you mean that I give them a topic and give them some sentence structures to use related to that topic?
So you mean, I give them some “real” material once they’re finished discussing the topic in team?
More examples would be appreciated here, as this is still rather nebulous in my mind.
…
Ok, I’ve read everything.
You know what would really help? If you could give me a real example, by sharing one of your lessons.
That would really open my eyes and allow me to synthesize the theory with practice.
Looking forward to reading you again.