jueves, 17 de octubre de 2013

TEACHING ACROSS PROFICIENCY LEVELS

Teaching Beginning Levels

There is a number of points that must be taken into account when teaching this three levels: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. 

 Students`cognitive learning processes

For basic levels in the first days and even weeks the target language will be focused on repetition , you do not to worry if time goes on a lesson remember that students must assimilated it as possible.
For intermediate levels structures  rules and patterns are increasing and that leads to automatic process into students`mind.
For advanced levels students are gaining the confidence to develop in a real environment by applying interactive communication but still details need to be shaped.

The role and the teacher talk

For beginners  levels the teacher is the center and he or she have to be careful with the vocabulary he uses an the speed he talks.
For intermediate levels  the students become the center and now  they are encouraged by the teacher to speak.
For advanced levels  Student now are independent but the teacher have to channel their abilities into the class work by guiding them. Natural speed in the language is required.


Authenticity of language

For beginners levels students must know the language as it is with simple greetings an introductions.
For intermediate levels teachers must be careful with the grammar doubts that student have because students do not have to worry about it too much.
For advanced levels teacher must provide every material from academic prose in order to increase their students` vocabulary.

.Student creativity

For beginners levels students are not forced to produce creativity only with the guide of the teacher.
For intermediate levels  students feel more hunger of knowledge and now are capable to apply the classroom language to unrehearsed situations.
For advanced levels students are able to apply classroom material to real situations.

Techniques


For beginners levels  the teacher have to apply a variety of techniques very simple to understand.
For intermediate levels the teacher may search for more complex techniques because of the increasing vocabulary of the students.
For advanced levels now the variety of techniques are infinitives because the student is able to understand any context.


Speaking, listening, reading, writing and grammar skills


For beginners levels students have to start practice all the skills in small amounts.
For intermediate levels students keep on training all the skills, they become more complex.
For advanced levels the skills have specific purposes, they are progressing in complexity. 
TEACHING ACROSS AGE LEVELS

Teaching Children

Let us get the picture: a classroom full of children standing, yelling, running, etc. in other words; being children. The teacher has a lot of work to do, he or she must be focus on teaching the essential, in an entertaining and interesting  way because kids get bored easily.  The activities must be physical and short, in order to keep the children`s all five senses stimulated.
The teacher needs to help children by encouraging their self-steem bcause children are very sensitives, tthey can be extremely damage with only one word.  A special person is needed to be able to teach children. He or she must be patient, tender, active and at the same time disciplined. I believe we all remember with love and gratitude a special teacher from our childhood and is because he or she full filled  our learning necessities in a loving way.

Teaching Adults 

Many of the rules of teaching children are applied in teaching adults. The activities must be kept short, teachers must be careful with the emotional factors as well, the teacher have to encourage the student. The most excited part about teaching adults is that they are able to understand context of language, they can memorize structures  patterns, but not because they can do that, the teacher will demand the student to know everything. The teacher must remember that even though the student is an adult, he is still learning.

You have to keep in mind some differences between teaching children and adults:

1. Do not treat adults like children, avoid call them "kids" 
2. Do not push them to much remember that they are learning
3.The activities must be according to their level and capacities

Teaching Teens

This teaching level is the one  that has major challenge because teens are between childhood and adulthood it means that they still do not know who they really are and what they want, at this stage they are shaping their personalities so the teacher must implement activities that caught their attention and to keep their self-esteem high; this is because teens are extremely sensitive.
 The teacher have to evoid embarrasing situations such as laughing from others mistakes,yelling in front of the group by telling the student that did it wrong. 
On the other hand the teacher must encourage the student by feeding their ego in phrases like"you are doing a good job", "excellent", etc.; in that way  the teacher will be providing a comfortable atmosphere in which the student will feel free to work on.