Monday, May 7, 2012

How to Teach English




How to Teach English

Vaughnlea Leonard
Vaughnlea Leonard started her professional writing and editing career in 2005. Her work has appeared in "Press Journal," "Atlantic Publishing Company" and "Hometown News and Florida Today." A former military police enlistee and Florida certified educator, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Central Flo
If you want to teach English, be sure to focus on a certain area of concentration. Basic English entails reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, speech and spelling, no matter if the student is a native speaker or not. Higher level English focuses on areas such as diversity, philosophical and literary theory, text and subject analysis, linguistics, rhetoric, writing and persuasion. Be sure to keep some additional thoughts in mind if you want to teach English effectively.

Instructions

o    1
Develop an overall and daily plan. To teach English you will need to formulate both an overall and daily course plan to follow, so complete a planner for about a week ahead of time. Some educators have been known to fill out their curriculum schedules a month ahead of time, but this is somewhat problematic as schedules can change periodically for a number of reasons. Each day, write out a daily time schedule on either a chalk or white board for students to observe.

o    2
Focus on the basics for starters. Depending on what age group you teach, be sure that your students know basic English structure and grammar. Students will have to know basic forms and language structure to progress to other grade levels, so help them acquire more complex language efficiently.
o    3
Practice spelling and vocabulary. Be sure to incorporate new vocabulary every week in your lesson plans. Make a game of spelling by have students compete for rewards. If you do not like the competitive approach have students work cooperatively for their rewards.

o    4
Do varied readings. Try to keep your lessons interesting by letting the students pick some of the material they need to read. A good way to keep their interest is by having them read news and feature articles. Children acquire much of their language abilities by modeling what they see and hear.

o    5

Work thematically. Take a thematic approach to learning by inviting other teachers to work with you. Talk with a history teacher at your school and figure out a strategy together. Student tend to perform better and retain information on a more long-term basis if ideas and concepts are taught in relations to others. If the history teacher is focusing on World War II, develop a strategy to teach works by Charles Dickens or George Bernard Shaw, for example.


Tips & Warnings

·         Use music and film to teach English concepts as some kids learn more visually than others.
·         Make a sincere attempt to be culturally sensitive. Avoid ethnic generalizations and stereotypes.

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