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Teaching English as a foreign language to large, multilevel classes
MANUAL M0046
INFORMATION COLLECTION & EXCHANGE
Peace Corps` Information Collection & Exchange (ICE) was established so that the strategies and technologies developed by Peace Corps Volunteers, their co-workers, and their counterparts could be made available to the wide range of development organizations and individual workers who might find them useful. Training guides, curricula, lesson plans, project reports, manuals and other Peace Corps-generated materials developed in the field are collected and reviewed. Some are reprinted "as is"; others provide a source of field based information for the production of manuals or for research in particular program areas. Materials that you submit to the Information Collection & Exchange thus become part of the Peace Corps` larger contribution to development.
Information about ICE publications and services is available through:
Peace Corps Information Collection & Exchange
1111 - 20th Street, NW Washington, DC 20526 USA
Website: http://www.peacecorps.gov Telephone : 1-202-692-2640 Fax : 1-202- 692-2641
Add your experience to the ICE Resource Center. Send materials that you`ve prepared so that we can share them with others working in the development field. Your technical insights serve as the basis for the generation of ICE manuals, reprints and resource packets, and also ensure that ICE is providing the most updated, innovative problem-solving techniques and information available to you and your fellow development workers.
This manual may be reproduced and/or translated in part or in full without payment or royalty. Please give standard acknowledgment.
Acknowledgements
This book was produced by a team of experienced teachers, materials developers, and teacher trainers working with the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL).
We are grateful to Vincent Sagart, our graphic artist, for enhancing our work and stretching our words with his illustrations. We hope you will enjoy his work as much as we do.
We would like to thank Dr. Mary Schleppegrell, the Peace Corps Education Specialist who initiated this project. Mary`s vision for giving students relevant English language education is woven into the fabric of this book.
We are also grateful to David Wolfe (Director, ICE), Dr. G. Richard Tucker (Carnegie Mellon University), Dr. Grace Burkart (Senior Advisor, CAL), Judy Benjamin (Materials Development, ICE), and Sonia Kundert (Production Specialist, CAL) for their contributions and support.
This work is dedicated to family, friends, fellow teachers, and especially you, Peace Corps` remarkable TEFL/TESL Volunteers. As you read this book you will hear your own voices. We want to thank you for sharing your ideas with us and for giving us the opportunity to pass on your enthusiasm and hard-won wisdom.
Mary Jo Larson
Project Director and Peace Corps Education Specialist
November 1992
Introduction
Since 1961, thousands of Volunteers have joined the Peace Corps to promote global understanding and cooperation through education. Most Peace Corps Volunteers are willing to work under difficult conditions. They expect limited resources and ill-equipped classrooms. But few Volunteers are prepared to deal with these serious constraints and large classes of secondary school students with varying skill levels.
This teacher reference book has been written with an eye to the difficult teaching environments that challenge you as a Volunteer. Produced by a team of TEFL teacher trainers, most with Peace Corps experience, this manual provides practical strategies for coping with huge classes, outdated textbooks, irrelevant curricula, and no duplication equipment.
The collection of TEFL teaching suggestions, lessons, and activities in these chapters will give you an opportunity to learn from the experiences (and mistakes) of others. The ideas we have collected in these chapters offer:
• current approaches to large, multilevel classes,
• helpful management tips collected from experienced teachers,
• suggestions to help you assess student needs, appreciate their preferences, and design lessons to meet a variety of learning styles,
• information about planning and implementing a content-based, thematic curriculum that is relevant to the school and community setting,
• descriptions and samples of whole class, paired, small group, and individual study activities,
• information about ways to assess language skills, and
• Iistings of recommended resources and sources of support.
As you read through Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) to Large, Multilevel Classes you will find that this information is organized to help you answer four key questions:
Your host country requested an English education project to improve opportunities for future development. English language skills provide access to information and technology from around the world. While your students are learning English, they also have an opportunity to stretch their minds in new ways. Through communicative activities, they have their ideas challenged and they are exposed to an active style of learning. And working with enthusiastic Peace Corps Volunteers like yourself, students and teachers raise their aspirations and ideas of what is possible to achieve.
As educators, we believe that one of the greatest obstacles to development is ignorance. And the only way to fight ignorance is through the determined efforts of teachers like yourselves. The dedication that you bring to your work has been a powerful impetus for change. But without a realistic, systematic plan of action, you can become exhausted and discouraged. We encourage you to be creative, yet caution you to organize and pace yourself. Plan your contribution in relation to the project plan developed by the Peace Corps, the Ministry of Education, and your local school system.
Recognizing that Volunteers are infinitely resourceful, we hope that this Peace Corps manual will inspire you to promote cooperation, address relevant issues, and challenge students to think critically about how to address the problems in their lives. And in the spirit of cooperation, as you develop effective lessons and materials, we hope that you will organize yourselves to brighten the way for future teachers and Volunteers.
Taking stock
WHEN WE UNDERTAKE A DIFFICULT TASK, OUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS ARE INCREASED IF WE UNDERSTAND THE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY INVOLVED SO THAT OUR EFFORTS CAN EQUAL THE CHALLENGE.
KAY LElGH HAGAN FUGITIVE INFORMATION
“What am I doing here?”
It may have already occurred to you that this "toughest job you`ll ever love seems almost impossible. Look at some of the obstacles you may be facing. Your students are numerous; many may be older than you. Textbooks are scarce, and again, many may be older than you. The physical conditions are austere, with a tin roof that creaks as the temperature rises and obliterates all other sound when the rains come. Pictures and posters disappear from the classroom walls. Desks are too few. The blackboard has been worn to a light grey and chalk stubs are worth their weight in gold.
Your students have made it clear that they want just enough English to get a passing grade on the examinations. They cannot see any other reason why they should learn the language. Sometimes you agree with them. The national English curriculum looks like a grammarian`s shopping list and only tells you what to do, not how to do it. You hear your predecessor praised and it`s sometimes hard not to hear in that criticisms of your own efforts.
But large numbers of education Volunteers have enjoyed the challenge of making the impossible possible. They`ve developed coping strategies and ways of teaching effectively in very large classes. This book brings you some of those strategies in the hope that they will be of use to you. We have included practical, obvious, and bold suggestions that have been made by Volunteers Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in well-established programs such as in francophone Gabon, or Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) in newer projects such as Namibia.
The language learning and teaching theory you will find in this book has been used in classrooms similar to yours. We have consulted the works of educators teaching and writing in Europe, South America Africa, Asia Australia and the United States. The key question has been: Will this work for a Volunteer facing large multilevel classes? There are no pat formulas, no easy solutions to help you in your job, but in this book you will find many ideas and techniques to choose from.
In this opening chapter, we invite you to take stock of your situation: of the resources available to you from Peace Corps; of the educational ideas you may encounter in staff room discussions; and of the differences you may find between your own educational experiences and the ones in the educational system of your host country.
Taking stock of your peace corps resources
As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you are part of an education project with country-specific objectives, and there are milestones and tasks that you and your group are expected to accomplish. These may include introducing new methodologies or working with other teachers to develop curricula, materials, or resource centers. Finding your strengths, learning about the strengths of others, and knowing whom to go to when you need help are a major part of how you are going to survive and flourish during your service.
OTHER VOLUNTEERS
As you explore your new environment and work on your project, you have access to a major resource: other Volunteers. Just as the cultures you are working in value community spirit, so too
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