Quelques petits conseils dans la langue de Shakespeare pour mener à bien des séances d'anglais (travail mené avec des assitants en langues lors d'un stage qui s'est déroulé en novembre 2011. Ceux sont les mêmes qui m'ont aidé à compléter la partie "activités ludiques". Un grand merci à eux pour leur collaboration). Bonne lecture.

Advice to teachers

Try to speak in the target language as much as possible

Use lots of different resources or medium (songs, stories, games, flashcards, videos…)

Create a safe environment (use routines, try to have the same structures for lessons as much as possible)

Always smile, be happy, enthusiastic

Celebrate the students when they try or manage to speak or do something (“good job”, “check”, “hi five”, and sometimes applause the whole class at the end)

Keep students actively involved by using games and activities it is possible for them to do

Give them responsibilities (let them be proud of themselves)

Try to arrange the classroom (use different groups: girls, boys, teams…)

Show them they have achieved something

Always think about the cultural background (it is supposed to be authentic)

Always think about a goal (have projects : the projects can be “small” – sing a song, a small play, recording - or “big”) – Try to culminate previous lessons in the final project.

The structure of the lesson (example)

1) Routine :

a- Warm up (roll call, weather, date, game…)

b- Review (previous lesson : briefly)

2) New lesson

a – new vocabulary (speak and act : TPR)

b – new structure (create a real life context where the students need to apply a structure they don’t know, that the teacher introduces).

3) Phonology

4) Comprehension check point : the teacher tries to verify that the students understand the new structure (no explanation)

5) Listening comprehension :

a – The students just listen to the track

b – They listen and do something (listen and point, listen and circle, listen and match, listen and put you hand up…)

6) Learning to read / learning to write (reading or writing exercices) OR communicative task

Students have problems

The student does not understand : ask a friend to help him/her (but the teacher doesn’t speak French)

The student can’t pronounce a word well : the teacher repeats and the children too. And after the student can try by himself (be patient with the student)

The student forgot a word : ask a friend first to help him/her

The student is “sleeping”: you can break the lesson (game, song) ask the student to do something or to answer a question

Students are moving : change activity (think about the “safe environment”). If the student moves, it means that he needs to do something : differentiation.