T-T-T-TOEIC!

I started the class by asking individual students about the question types for review. I then had them do exercise 3. Before we started though, I had several students read aloud the tactics for part 7. After correcting the exercise, I handed back their answer sheets, and gave them 12 minutes to complete the mini-test. I gave them an extra couple of minutes since many were not finished, and then we corrected it together. I first asked them which question they should start with explaining that some questions are easier to answer depending on type and furthermore, answering easier questions first can give them extra help for the harder ones and thus give them extra time. Once the mini-test had been corrected, I gave them a vocabulary notebook worksheet and asked them to fill it in with any words they did not know. I decided to do this today because students need vocabulary to do well on the test, and having them do such a list in class at least gives them something to work with outside of class. Even if they don't review vocabulary at home, at least this also gives them a chance to do so.

At 10h15 I asked the students if they had finished unit 7 quiz, but since many hadn't, I told them to continue working on vocabulary or for those who had not yet finished, to do either vocabulary or quiz 7. I told them that next week we would be looking at unit 14, which also focuses on part 7 of the test, something they need practice more.

Something I am considering doing next year if possible, is having this class in the TOEIC center, a new online center for practicing the TOEIC that will be up and running in April. With such a center, students could work on the test at their own pace, and I could be there to give advice or support if needed. The only obstacle is that there will only be 16 computers, and this semester I have more than 20, so unless I can get permission to cut the class down to 16, I may have to reconsider this option. Another thing I could do is focus on the reading section particularly part 7. It might be challenging to find a variety of part 7 type questions, but I could focus each class on one question having them do vocabulary practice afterward or I could use a TOEIC vocabulary book and make lists based on that to give them, and have quizzes each week. I should not forget either that I will be receiving some samples of other TOEIC texts, so there might be something I could use there. I guess I still have a lot of bugs to work out, but I guess that is to be expected considering this is my first time teaching such a class.