How to structure a EFL class successfully

Something I struggled with when I started to teach English was how to structure my class. How am I supposed to start it? How should I explain it? What to do to finish the lesson? As an unexperienced teacher, at first we have hard times trying to see what works and what doesnt, but with time, we find the right way. Here's how I do it.

1. ALWAYS START WITH A FEEDBACK

The first thing I do to start the class is ask my students "What did we study last class?" or "What do you remember from the previous lesson?". Highlight main ideas of the last topic and provide feedback of the mistakes or difficulties you noticed your students had with the topic.

2. ENGAGE THEM WITH THE LESSON

After having highlighted the main points, present an agenda. I know sometimes we cant afford the time to write an agenda, but still, you can explain what the objectives of the class are as well as some activities you are gonna be doing.

Something I do is to ask several questions related to the topic they are about to learn. They get really curious and that's when you start to engage them with the class.

3. WARM UP!

Usually, when the class is in the early hours of the morning, let's say 7:30 or 8:00 am, or early hours of the afternoon, 1:00 pm or 2:00 pm, students feel sleepy or down, and this is why I use warm ups.

Warm ups help students wake up and be more active in the class. They are meant to energize them, hence they should involve movement and lots of fun. Warm ups shouldnt last more than 15 minutes. It's difficult sometimes to think of a game for each class, but it is certainly helpful to make our class successful. (See my next blog to find some warm ups I play in my class)

4. ELICIT THE NEW TOPIC

You got them energized, this is your moment to take advange of their concentration and explain your new topic. To make it even more interesting, elicit it. How? Give several examples using the new structure or words, give different contexts using it, write examples on the board, let them tell you the use or the meaning of the new word or structure, this will make the topic more meaningful for your students. And then, ask them to give examples using the structure.

5. EXERCISE

Provide a worksheet or have them solve the exercises they have on their book. While they are solving the exercises, make sure to walk around the classroom and check how they are doing. Are they making a lot of mistakes? If so, what are the most common mistakes? Then, check the answers as a class,  explain each answer and provide feedback.

6. PRACTICE

I always tell me students: The best way to learn a language or anything, is by practicing it not only with worksheets but also orally, actually using the structures. This helps the brain get used to the words or structures and makes them automatic after a while. 

To practice, I provide them different activities such as games, onion rings, invent a conversation, roleplays, videos, invent a song and sing it, make presentations, debates, ads, posters, essays, etc. 

7. WRAP UP

I do two things to wrap up: Either a quick test (with 10 questions the most to see how well students understood the topic) or with a game in which students practice the words or structures learnt. 

When you have an structure of your class, it's a lot easier to plan it because you know the steps to follow. So, give it a go and see how your classes will change. 

Creative Classroom Management

We have all been there at least once. A moment we dont know what to do with our students' behaviour: They do not pay attention to the class, they speak with their partners while you are explaining an important topic, you ask them to be quiet, and  you end up frustrating because nothing seems to work right,  

I was 17 when I started working as an English teacher for 6th and 9th graders. I was only 2 years older than them! At first, things were a bit hard, so I had to come up with something to solve this problem and I looked into information to take over this situation. How to build a class with respect? How to keep control of the class?

Classroom Hack 1: The Black List

I made this up and it has worked incredibly great. On one of the corners of the board, I write "Black List" and tell Ss that those who are speaking while you are , are not paying attetion, or simply doing something they dont have to in the class, they will be in the List. 

Being in the list means taking some time off their break (The time they took off your class), extra homework to reinforce the topic they didnt listen, loss of certain privileges. 

From the moment you write a name in the list, two things can happen:

1. They stop misbehaving: If this happens, then after 5 minutes you wrote their name, you can erase and say that because  XXX is now behaving really well, you will erase him/her from the black list. 

2. They continue misbehaving: If the person is already in the list, I write a star next to his name. If the  person keeps the same, I write another star and so on. The more stars the student has, the thougher his punishment will be. Of course, if the student starts to show a positive change, I erase the stars as he behaves. 

Classroom Hack 2: Teamwork

You can carry out this activity in two or more ways

1. Break the class in groups and assign each team a number which you will write on the board. Then, you will explain that the group(s) that most participates, most behaves, most complete the tasks will obtain a point and at the end, the group(s) with more points, will go out to break 5 min before the time, or will have a privelge such as a point for homework or a test. Something important to keep in mind is that if several groups got the same amount of points, then they should all receive the prize. 

2. Assign each group a score of 10. Then, tell them that as they misbehave in the class, or dont work, you will take off some points and at the end of the class, the groups with a score under 8 or 7, will stay in the class for 5 more minutes. It's important to bear in mind that if students start behaving, give them back the points and praise them. 

Classroom Hack 3: Behaviour lights

Take three color pages to your classroom: Red, green and yellow. Explain that each color represents their behaviour in the class and that you will be sticking the page on the board. If the color shown is green, it means that they are behaving really great and therefore, they will all be prized with 5 extre minutes for their break. If it is in yellow, it means that they have started to speak too much while you are speaking or they are not working, therefore they will stay 5 more minutes after the class. If it is in red, it means that they are unstoppable and you will take 10 minutes off their break to recover the time the took off your class.  (It's necessary you explain this last point so they understand why you are doing that)

TIPS

• Try to vary your classroom management strategies each quarter 
• Try to make your class as interesting as possible. Think of you as a student: How would you like the class to be like? 
• Always praise publically and tell off privately. 

Dope Websites for any EFL Class

Dope Websites

The internet is an amazing tool when it comes to learning a second language. However, it is sometimes hard to find one that suits our need. In this entry, I will share some of the websites (And apps) I have  used in my EFL class successfully and have made my students have a great time learning!

1. KAHOOT

Kahoot has two websites.
For teachers: https://getkahoot.com/ 
For students: https://kahoot.it/

It's actually pretty simple. You pretty much register for free and make quizzes.
You must assign them a topic, describe what the quiz is about and click on next.
The next step is start making the multiple choice questions. You can make as many questions as you want. 

Once you have finished your quizz, you must publish it and then, click on "PLAY".
A new window will open and you should select either the classic mode (individual) or team mode. 
Afterwards, wait a few secs while the website generates a PIN Code that students will type in on their website. 
You will be able to see the number of people taking the quiz as well as the name. 
Make sure everybody has entered the code and then, get ready to Start!

The questions will be projected as well as the options with a shape (a circle, a square, a triangle, etc). 
Your students will only see the shapes and they must rapidly choose the right option. 
Once time's up, the screen will show who answered the fastest and correctly, and that's what makes it entertaining.

 2. JEOPARDY

I wasnt really familiar with this game until a couple of weeks ago, and it worked amazingly great. 
I went to http://www.jeopardy.rocks and made my own set of questions divided into different categories. 
Each question worths an amount of money (From $100 -the easiest one- to $500 -the most difficult one-) 

You play it like this
1. Divide the class in two.
2. Groups take turns to decide on a category and a question. If they answer it correctly, they get the money,
if not, they loose it. 

Luckily, the place where I work owns a Mimio and that allows me to make my traditional board a smart board,
which makes the game more interesting. 

3. HEADS UP!

If you've never played this before, you should definitely try it! This is an app you can download from your cellphone 
and basically, it's charades. 

Once you have installed the app, open it and select a category. (I usually use "Act it out", it's honestly the one that
my students most love). Then, Ss should hold the phone on their forehead and a word will show up on the screen.
Ss will start miming the word so that their partner will guess. 

Give it a go. If it worked for me, it can work for you.

VOCABULARY GAME: Battleship

                              

Battleship

This is a game I recently found out on the net. I had seen it years ago, but I had never put it into action in my class until I really wanted to come up with a new way to practice vocabulary. Here's how it goes.

1. I draw a big 10x10 chart on the board, just like the one below, and ask my students to draw two of those in their notebooks.

2. Once they have drawn the two charts, I ask them to write at least 5 words in the grids of one chart in any position they want. The words can be about the topic being studied or just to recycle words. 

3. Then, I set them in pairs and they will take turns giving different positions so as to get their partners' hidden words. E.g.

Student A: B2

Student B : "K"

Therefore, student A writes the letter K in B2 in the second chart they drew. 

Student B: C10 

Student A: Nothing

Therefore, student B will write an "X" in C10 in the second chart they drew. 

At the end, the winner will be the one who gets his/her partner's 5 words. 

Give it a go and have your students engaged with the lesson. If it worked for me, it can also work for you.

                                     

My teaching philosophy

Teaching goes beyond writing on the board and to have students copying everything that is there. Teaching is more than dictating hundreds of words just so students complete their notebooks. 

Teaching goes far beyond standing in the front of a classroom and speak for hours. 

Teaching is building a bridge between students and knowledge by providing them all the necessary tools to unlock real learning. 

To build that bridge is indispensable to come up with engaging activities to get students' attention and interest in the class. To do so, we must think out of the box and break out the pattern most teachers have been following for years. We must make of our students the real the protagonists of the class, and they have to feel like they are. 

Getting that is hard, not impossible though. But the satisfaction of seeing your students making progress will not only make your day, but your entire life. Combining a variety of methodologies will allow you to achieve this:

1. GBL (Game Based Learning): Classes should contain a dosis of  humor and fun. Something really important to bear in mind is that the games you play must have something to do with the class. It's not only about playing, but about learning as well. 

2. PBL (Project Based Learning): Usually, at the beggining of a unit, I tell students the project they will be working on, with my assistance, during the unit and that must be handed in by the end of the unit. 

3. TBL (Task Based Learning): Class can be divided into different small activities that students will carry out throughout the class. These activities should be challenging and attention getting to have students fully engaged with the class. 

"Teaching is an art, we are building people, knowledge, we are building the world".