Another week, another post...

Hey everyone,

I’ve realized that I haven’t introduced my Monday and Friday classes, so today I will quickly go through my morning courses for those days.

Monday Morning = Friday Morning = Last Semester

Actually, these courses are pretty much the same as last semester. I had planned to do both classes in a computer room, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, it did not happen, so this semester I am in a regular classroom, but it is not too bad because it gives me a change from being in the computer room most of the time.

I had planned to do more focused listening activities like those I do in my other classes which take place in the computer room, but as that is pretty much impossible, I try to give them the regular listening practice that is done with a CD player. However, before I have them listen to a dialogue, I dictate the questions. The textbook also has, depending on the unit, some extra listening practice which I also use. Finally, I have students make their own conversation and present it after a specified time limit during which they have to practice and remember the dialogue. Here is an example:



As you can see, I give students a lot of support, but I encourage them to use their own ideas as much as possible.

So, just to recap, both Monday and Friday morning communication classes follow this pattern:

Review Test
Question Dictation
Listening Comprehension
Conversation Practice
Listening Activity
Conversation Construction and Presentation

Impression so far

I think the class is going well overall, but it would be interesting to try this in the computer room as I could have them do more extensive listening and dictation-type activities. I guess in many ways, I am focusing more on students’ passive understanding rather than active this year, and I know that some of you may not agree with such a style, but honestly, I like this new direction, and it will be interesting to see the class evaluation in the future. Actually, maybe it might be a good idea to get their opinion sooner, but as I read on ELT news a while back, consistency is important and I agree with that. If I have to completely change a class midway, wouldn’t that interrupt everything?

Cheers,
eisensei