CTEO - Unit 4 - Teaching and Learning

ITTT Specialized Course

Teaching English Online

TEO 004

Unit 4

Teaching and learning

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.1 Teachers and learners 4.1 Teachers and learners 4.1.1 Supplementary videos n 4.2 Syllabi and exam systems n 4.2.1 Supplementary videos n 4.3 Lesson styles and methods n 4.3.1 Supplementary videos n 4.4 Evaluation systems n 4.4.1 Supplementary videos n 4.5 Parents n

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4.5 Unit 4 comprehension text

As you are teaching online, your language learners could be from anywhere in the world. Many companies focus on particular countries, while others teach worldwide. Statistically, as more people in China are learning English than anywhere else in the world, there is a good chance you may teach Chinese people.

It may be surprising to learn that online lessons start for students from three years of age upwards and there is no upper age limit. Learners worldwide come from all walks of life, backgrounds, motivation to learn and interests, which is why there are so many niche markets in online EFL teaching.

Many 'classes' will be one-to-one, which would be you and the student only. Multiple student classes are taught and for both, all levels will be available. We will mention levels in more detail below.

Generally speaking English language learners are grouped into one of five levels for teaching purposes. These five levels correspond in some way to the examination systems which are mentioned in the next sub-section.

The five levels are often classified as follows: Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Starter Elementary Pre-intermediate Intermediate Upper intermediate/Advanced

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

Your students will have had, or will need to have, some form of level test to determine at which level they are operating.

Once this is known the teaching resources that are applicable to the level can be used. One important point to remember is that the student level bears no relation to age. You may teach an eighty year old starter and a 12 year old intermediate student.

Do a couple of level tests for yourself.

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1. There is an example of a level test for young learners at https://tv-english.club/education-en/tests-en/placement-tests-en/ placement-test-kids-10-16-years-age/

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Take the sample test for yourself so that you can experience the process.

2. There is another test (to test grammar) here: www.examenglish.com/leveltest/grammar_level_test.htm Do this level test for yourself too.

Another useful reference below and on the next page relates to the largest area of online teaching, early childhood teaching (kindergarten), from http://work.chron.com/qualities-good-teacher-early-childhood-development-8694.html.

Qualities of a Good Teacher in Early Childhood Development, Bean-Mellinger, Barbara A degree in early childhood development gives teachers the skills they need to help every child learn. Practically speaking, however, teachers of young children need to possess or hone the qualities that will enable them to work with and motivate young children, while finding the joy and success in each and every day.

Enthusiasm for Children According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the most important characteristic for teachers of early childhood development is enthusiasm and passion for children. This goes well beyond enjoying being with children. It means wanting to make a difference to each and every child. Teachers must have the drive to unlock every child's door to learning, overcoming any obstacle a child may have.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

Patience and Humor Working with young children all day takes huge measures of patience. The nature of their age makes young children rambunctious, with short attention spans and little self control. Every child is different, too, making the job even more challenging. After a long, tiring day full of challenges, teachers of young children must come back and meet the same and new challenges the next day. A patient nature, combined with a sense of humor, helps teachers take the ups and downs of every day in stride, while focusing on the end goals.

Communication Skills Teachers need to have learned effective skills for working with young children and for communicating with them at their level.

Then teachers need to be able to communicate with the child's parents about his needs, skills, problems and achievements, so both parties can help the child without undue emotion. On a daily basis, the teacher must communicate with other teachers who may teach her class, as well as the school principal and other administrators. The more effectively the teacher can communicate to all involved -- both orally and in writing -- the more rewarding and positive her job will be.

Respect of Differences Every child comes to school with a unique personality and learning style. To reach each child and teach each child effectively, teachers must respect these differences and work with each child's style, rather than try to force the child to adapt to another style. In our global society, teachers must also be prepared for multicultural classrooms with many ethnicities, cultures and traditions represented. A classroom where these differences are not merely tolerated but are welcomed and embraced creates an open and exciting learning atmosphere.

Creativity and Flexibility Planning lessons that will engage young children and educate them at the same time takes creativity. Adapting lessons to individual learning styles requires flexibility. Regardless of how organized a teacher is, and how well she has planned the day, she needs to remain flexible to handle all the glitches that can throw off the day. She must also be willing to change plans and ideas as needed. A successful early childhood development teacher will use creativity and flexibility to make every day a positive one for her and for the class.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.1.1 Supplementary videos 1.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - The 5 Student Groups

2.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - The Types of Beginners

3.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Top 10 Tips When Teaching Beginners

4.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Teaching Individuals (One-to-One)

5.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Problems with Business English Classes

6.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Teaching Young Learners

7.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Typical Process For Business English Classes

8.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Do's and Don'ts When Teaching Young Learners

9.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Do's and Don'ts When Teaching Business English

10.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - English For Specific Purposes

11.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL - Monolingual vs.

Multilingual Classes

12.

Teaching Special Groups in ESL

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These videos are all hosted on YouTube. If you are unable to access YouTube where you are, they are also available on the ITTT server at https://tefl-videos.com/teo-course/4-1-1-supplementary-videos/

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.2 Syllabi and exam systems The choice of a syllabus and if that is going to lead to an examination, will be made by any company you work for. If you are going it alone you will need to consider this also.

English exams exist for every level of student we have already mentioned and some of the larger examining bodies offer a whole suite of exams to allow students to progress from the very basic level up to exams which demonstrate they could operate at the university level for a course taught in the English language.

If you are teaching an exam level course you must familiarize yourself with both the syllabus content being tested and the format of both questions and answers.

Examples of examination systems are given in the ‘Useful links’ section of unit 6.

One of the most commonly used systems is given below.

Cambridge Assessment, English: Exams and tests www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/qualifications/schools/our-exams/ Cambridge English Qualifications Business Pre A1 Starters (YLE Starters) A1 Movers (YLE Movers) A2 Flyers (YLE Flyers) A2 Key for Schools (KET) B1 Preliminary for Schools (PET) B2 First for Schools (FCE)

A2 Key (KET) B1 Preliminary (PET) B2 First (FCE) C1 Advanced (CAE) C2 Proficiency (CPE) B1 Business Preliminary (BEC Preliminary) B2 Business Vantage (BEC Vantage) C1 Business Higher (BEC Higher

Oxford University Press Oxford Placement Test for Young Learners https://elt.oup.com/feature/global/young-learners-placement/

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.2.1 Supplementary videos 1.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Academic English Exams

2.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Business English Exams

3.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - General English Exams

4.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Practice & External Proficiency Tests

6.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Placements Tests

5.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Diagnostic & Progress Test

7.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Types of Tests

8.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Forms of Testing and Evaluation

These videos are all hosted on YouTube. If you are unable to access YouTube where you are, they are also available on the ITTT server at https://tefl-videos.com/teo-course/4-2-1-supplementary-videos/

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.3 Lesson styles and methods When working for a company, both the teaching style and material is often given to you. This means you do not have to start your lesson planning from scratch, or have to worry about any par ticular teaching methodology.

A fair proportion of online clients will be Young Learners, which we will classify as between the ages of 3 and 16 years of age. Obviously the teaching style will differ drastically between those two age points. The rest of your clients will be adults and here it is important to remember that they are all individuals and so they will come to the lesson with differing levels of motivation, determination and reasons for learning English. You should take some time to get to know all your students, why they are learning English (if they made the choice).

Typically when working for a company which specializes in Younger Learners they may have their own methodology, usually a variation of audio lingualism or Total Physical Response (TPR).

Visit these websites for more information on TPR and audio lingualism:

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https://tpr-world.com/what/ www.teflcourse.net/tefl-videos/tefl-teaching-videos/theories-methodstechniques-of-teaching-audio-lingualism/

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You should endeavor to read about these teaching methodologies to understand the pedagogy. When working with adults the teaching style may well be some variation of Engage, Study, Activate (ESA), Presentation, Practice, and Production (PPP). It is important to remember that many classes will be one to one, so these methods will need to be adapted to those situations.

There are numerous online resources from free lesson plans to teacher forums where information can be gained freely; you should make use of all such resources.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.3.1 Supplementary videos 1.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching ESA Methodology

2.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching Methodology Review

3.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching Suggestopedia

4.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching - Total Physical Response

8.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching The Direct Method

5.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching - The Silent Way

9.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching Grammar Translation

6.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching Repitition Drill Example

10.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching - The Classical Method

7.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching Audio Lingualism

11.

Theories, Methods & Techniques of Teaching Nature vs. Nurture

These videos are all hosted on YouTube. If you are unable to access YouTube where you are, they are also available on the ITTT server at https://tefl-videos.com/teo-course/4-3-1-supplementary-videos/

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.4 Evaluation systems If you are working for a company they will probably have evaluation systems in place for the students that you can use. These will take the form of progress tests, which may cover a few weeks to a few months, and achievement tests which usually cover an entire year or course. You will, directly or indirectly, be assessing your students with each contact you make and you may have to write a report for the company, or in the case of Young Learners, the parents.

If you are freelancing you should make sure that you adopt these same practices, so that you can give students adequate feedback on their progress and indicate to them where their knowledge is lacking.

It is very useful, though potentially uncomfortable, to have your students evaluate you. The feedback you get in this way will be the most invaluable training tool to improve your practice.

You may want to ask students to write a 250-word comment or set up a quick questionnaire for them to do at the end of a course or block of study.

Read this article for more information:

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www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/tec12%20publication.pdf

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.4.1 Supplementary videos 1.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Forms of Testing and Evaluation

2.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Types of Tests

3.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Placement Tests

4.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Diagnostic & Progress Test

5.

Evaluation and Testing of Students - Practice & External Proficiency Tests

These videos are all hosted on YouTube. If you are unable to access YouTube where you are, they are also available on the ITTT server at https://tefl-videos.com/teo-course/4-4-1-supplementary-videos/

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Where the world is your classroom

TEO 004 Copyright © 2019 International TEFL and TESOL Training. All rights reserved.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.5 Parents A huge proportion of the online teaching market is for young learners. The paying clients are therefore parents and you should ensure that you factor their possible influence into any teaching situation you find yourself in.

Many companies will not allow direct contact with parents and teachers. Any issues are typically directed through the company. If you are working for yourself, you will have to deal with this area yourself.

Parents

Guest blog post by Taylor www.teflcourse.net/blog/online-teaching-and-interacting-with-parents-ittt-tefl-blog/ Online Teaching and Interacting with Parents I've worked as an online tutor with VIPKid since 2017. I have also taught ESL in a traditional classroom setting. My experience dealing with parents in these two settings drastically differs. When I made the switch to teaching online full-time, I needed to adapt to this new way of interacting with parents.

Some online teaching companies offer classes with multiple students. Working for VIPKid, however, I only have experience in the online classroom where the teacher is one-on-one with the student. In a one-on-one classroom setting the teacher will either be alone with the student, the student and a parent, or in some cases the student and multiple parents.

I'm going to talk about my experience with this and suggest some ways to navigate parental involvement and concerns. First, I will talk about the different ways parents get involved in the classroom and particularly how to deal with over involved parents.

Second, I will talk about an opposite scenario in which the parents are under involved. Lastly, I will talk about interacting with parents through parental feedback.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

Parents in the Classroom: Over involved As most of my students are young, parents are often present in the classroom. They can be very helpful in encouraging the student or helping them understand directions. If that is the case it is smooth sailing for the lesson. Sometimes, however, their involvement can actually interrupt the flow of class and hinder the student's learning. I find this most often when parents are over involved. They may be answering and completing activities for the student rather than allowing them to attempt the task independently. For example, the teacher may ask, “what's your name?” and the mom jumps in and says, “her name is Anne.” The goal here is to get the student talking and practicing speaking English. So, a parent answering for a student before the student is able to attempt the answer themselves is extremely unhelpful.

I have also had a few classes where the parents are yelling at the students or being too harsh rather than encouraging them. This tends to make the students regress and feel less confident. Let's say mom or dad starts yelling at the student when they don't understand the task and the student starts crying. This makes it difficult to get the student back on task and complete the lesson.

So, how do we go about dealing with parents who are over involved in the classroom? My first suggestion is to remember to always remain calm and be friendly. Parents are still able to review and give feedback on you. So, it's important to manage them in a way that doesn't leave a bad impression in their minds. If the parent is really hindering the students learning experience, write to the company. They will talk to the parents about better ways to be involved in future classes. For VIPKid you can do this on the student's feedback form under the section labeled 'suggestions to student through VIPKID'. Then by clicking 'parents involved too much' writing a comment on what specifically happened in the class and how you think the parents can improve.

Parents in the Classroom: Under involved Conversely, some students need more parent involvement. If a student has trouble focusing, understanding directions, or actively participating, more parental involvement can help. For example, if Timmy is running around the room and won't sit still in front of the camera. Just mom or dad's presence alone could encourage Timmy to focus more on the lesson and create a more effective learning environment. Or if Timmy doesn't understand the classroom command 'click', mom or dad can show him how to click and practice using the classroom command so he can understand what to do in future lessons without parental help.

Again, it's always important to be patient with students who need more parental involvement. One option to help with this is calling for support during the class. With VIPKid you can do this by calling the firemen and clicking 'behavior issue' or 'other issue'. They may be able to contact the parents and bring them in for help. You can also contact the company after the class on the feedback form again under the section labeled 'suggestions to student through VIPKID'.

Then by clicking 'more parent involvement needed' and writing a comment about the situation.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

Parent Feedback Another way parents are able to interact with online teachers is through feedback. Parents are able to rate you and leave comments. For VIPKid the rating scale is from 1 apple to 5 apples (5 apples being the highest rating). Multiple ratings are averaged to give you an overall rating. You are able to see who wrote the review and reply with comments.

Potential students and parents can view your reviews before deciding to book a class with you. Often times this can help boost your bookings. If your rating is low, it discourages new students from booking with you and can also prevent you from getting certified in new classes or working with the company in other ways.

If you have a low rating you disagree with, you are able to summit a ticket to have the rating reviewed. The playback for the class will be watch and the company will message you regarding their decision. If they decide that the rating was unfair or inaccurate, they will discredit it and it will not factor into your overall rating. However, it will still appear in your parents' feedback section and potential parents will still be able to view it. Again, to avoid low rating I suggest always being patient and friendly in the classroom. It's amazing what a simple smile will do!

Conclusion It is likely that you will have the opportunity to interact with parents while teaching online. Particularly if you are teaching young learners. Use the parental involvement to elevate the learning experience and make the class run more smoothly. If you have issues with parents or their feedback, contact your company for help. They will certainly take action to help improve the parents' involvement for future classes or to rectify an unfair review. Don't confront parents in an aggressive or unfriendly way. This could reflect badly on you and may result in a low rating that will affect future bookings. It's always a good idea to keep your calm and seek help if you think the parent involvement could be better.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

4.6 Comprehension text Read the following text and additional readings.

Knowledge of the text will be tested.

10 Tips When Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Children www.teflcourse.net/blog/category/teaching-ideas/ Most EFL teachers abroad will - at some point in their career - teach children. The English education market catered to young learners is a billion dollar business and many countries hire teachers to fill this need.

What you can do to brace yourself besides taking a specialized course in course in teaching English to young learners (the course here, for example) is to take the following 10 tips to heart.

Don't Think it's a Piece of Cake Teaching numbers and colors seems like the easiest job in the world, right? Wrong! The truth is, teaching children demands a great deal of energy and creativity. Kids are always on the go and will keep you on your toes. These classes can be exhausting but also extremely rewarding!

Additional reading:

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Five Activities for Using Movies in the ESL Classroom www.teflcourse.net/blog/5-activities-for-using-movies-in-the-esl-classroom-ittt-tefl-blog/

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

Involve Your Students in Hands-On Activities Kids learn incredibly well by absorbing ideas and concepts actively. This means getting your students out of their chairs, moving around the classroom, singing, dancing or even outside exploring the world around them. Different props and materials will also go a long way so you better stock up on dice, colored paper, crayons, blocks, and all kinds of props you can use in the classroom. Have them actually touch fake fruit and vegetables when teaching those vocabulary words and you'll be surprised how attentive they will be and how well those words will stick in their heads.

Don't Talk for Long Periods The worst thing you can probably do is the complete opposite from the point above. When you spend too much time talking about vocabulary, grammar or even just instructions for a task, the energy level of the classroom quickly drops and your young students will lose interest. Keep your explanations brief and move on to the actual activity quickly. If a planned activity doesn't work, move on. Always keep a few extra activities up your sleeve just in case.

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Additional reading:

Seven Awesome ESL Conversation Activities To Really Get Your Students Talking www.teflcourse.net/blog/7-awesome-esl-conversation-activities-to-really-get-your-students -talking-ittt-tefl-blog/

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Children Learn Through Personal Interactions Communicating and interacting is key in a classroom full of young learners. Talk to each child individually and plan activities that involve group or pair work to make the kids interact with each other.

Cater to Multiple Intelligences Another great way to keep things fun and interesting is to plan your lessons according to different learning styles and multiple intelligences. These include Visual – Spatial, Logical – Mathematical, Bodily – Kinesthetic, Musical – Rhythmic, IntraPersonal, Inter-Personal, Naturalist, and Spiritual. You can accomplish this, for example, by teaching an ESL element with a song, such as Hickory Dickory Dock when teaching how to tell the time. Another example would be to use the game of Simon Says to teach body parts or to use maps for teaching places around town.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

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Additional reading: 11 Fun ESL Activities for Young Learners www.teflcourse.net/blog/11-fun-esl-activities-for-young-learners-ittt-tefl-blog/

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Review, Review, Review While adult students often understand new information after the teachers explain it once, young learners really need constant reviews. It's a good idea to do a short review session at the beginning of each class to get the material really stuck into your students' heads and store it in the long-term memory.

Encourage Self-Correction Self-correction or self-regulation is an integral part of learning and something every teacher should encourage. The questions “How am I doing?” and “Am I doing this right?” should be asked in an open and non-judgmental environment. This not only allows for barrier-free learning but also creates a safe learning environment, where your students can thrive.

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Additional reading: The Five Best Ways To Build Rapport With Your TEFL Students www.teflcourse.net/blog/the-5-best-ways-to-build-rapport-with-your-tefl-students/

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Use Learned Information in Different Contexts Using new grammar or vocabulary in a variety of contexts really helps in making your students understand the correct usage and the more contexts the better. It also helps to use 'real life' context by talking about them and their lives.

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Unit 4 Teaching and learning

Praise, Praise, Praise It might feel strange at first, but you really need to praise your young students constantly. Whenever they say something correctly or show positive behavior you should praise them and throw a “Good Job!” out there. Rewarding your students for positive behavior is also a big part of successful classroom management. For example, you could create sticker boards and give out stickers as encouragement when your student is doing a good job. When the sticker board is full, they will get a reward.

Be Prepared to Deal with Parents Last but not least, you will have to deal with parents when teaching young students. Sometimes, language schools abroad have a separate local teacher for this due to possible language barriers but every teacher of children needs to communicate with parents to some degree. This could be informing them about the goals for the next semester, the children's learning goals, such as the syllabus for the school year and, most important, the child's individual progress.

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Additional reading:

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Several ways parents can help TEFL teachers (www.teflcourse.net/blog/several-ways-parents-can-help-tefl-teachers-ittt-tefl-blog/) The essentials of parents’ roles in children’s education (www.teflcourse.net/blog/the-essentials-of-parents-roles-in-childrens-education-ittt-tefl-blog/)

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This topic will be discussed in greater detail in Unit 6.

You should now be ready to attempt the test for unit 4.

Go to your course control panel to open and take the test.

(Note: There will not be any questions on the test about the supplementary video content.)

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