English Lessons

I have learned a few things about teaching English over the past couple of weeks. It isn't as
easy is it sounds and I didn't think it sounded all that easy. However, my students have endured me so far without complaining too much. They are intermediate students as well which means that their abilities vary dramatically.

So far, I have been given a pretty free hand at preparing lessons. My training in Zhuhai has come in handy on several occasions and I have done a skit, a listening lesson and a couple of core dialogs.

My biggest criticism of myself so far is that I have not taken a consistent approach. I have been using the book as a guide, but the grammar I choose to cover may or may not be something they really feel they need. My other problem is homework. I have a horrible time deciding what I should do about homework.

I have gravitated toward the self-directed homework such as journal entries and writing exercises where they should try to apply what we did in class. However, some of these are really difficult to correct. Having said that, I think they are extremely valuable. When I read:

"The last Monday, I was to my work and then going to my English class..."

It tells me a few things about what I need to cover. I wouldn't likely get a phrase like that in a structured exercise. Unfortunately, when I read an entry about making stuffed zucchini, it is easy to get lost if I don't know what is going on.

The grammar focus of my last class was past, present and the future tense with a context of talking about what is going on at school. I think they started to learn something because the class was really small (only 9 students)