Teaching Workshop

Teaching a foreign language is a really cool thing, but to get it right you need few pointers. On that note, I attended a teaching workshop at the International Society given by a former teacher there to freshen up my skills! :)

 note: These tips could be applied on any kind of teaching as well! :)

Starting a class:

• when you start a new class, you need to get to know your students, their skills, and the language they speak (some languages are close to each other, and this could help learning certain languages faster). 
• Also, ask your students what they want to get out of the sessions, it will help you establish a plan that will interest them. 
• It's a fun idea to maybe start with a game just to break the ice and get everyone used to you and the other people in the class. 
• It will be helpful for you and the student to have an idea of where you want to teach them from (books? websites?) and if you are going to give them homework or not with the number of times. Being organized from the beginning gives a good impression of you as a teacher, and it will comfort your students. 

Learning Styles:

not everyone has the same learning style, and it's unfair to expect everyone to understand just one certain way, so it's good to mix it up. So people are visual, some are more into sound, others love to learn through movement. So, it's advised to mix it up! ;)

• use pictures 
• use sounds & videos
• use games & exercise  

Planning Lessons:

• have a topic/theme it will help you generate ideas! 
• have a structure: Introduction  review of previous class, new grammar rule, applying the new rule, solving problems, & recap. 
• have an extra lesson or a practice just in case you have extra time.
• be flexible if you don't finish just mix it up with the coming lesson or give it as a HW. 
• you can follow a set lesson structure: like presenting a lesson, practicing on it & producing another practice with less help for students. You can reverse it or mix it up as well.

Get your students involved:

• Let your students talk form lesson one. Ask them question. Let them repeat sounds. Pair them up and let them talk to each other.
• Give them games like hangman/shark/fill the gap from a song/memory(pairs)/ and whatever games that you have in mind. You can also adjust any game, like you can use BINGO for letters and words! :)

HAVE FUN with it! and the more you practice the better you will get! :)

To volunteer to be a teacher in the International Society in Manchester city or Salford, you can go here