This meeting
will cover
General
teaching advice
How the course
is run here
Your colleagues
The Academic Manager
Other managers
Dave Russell
www.elaceducation.com
By the end of the day:
•
Make sure you know where things are
•
Make sure you know what’s there
•
Look at the Elac lessons for the first two
days of the course, on excursions, social
activities, the workbook and centres – the
planning has been done for you!
The adolescent learner is experiencing changes
and challenges in several domains simultaneously:
• Physical: maturing at varying rates, often restless or
lethargic.
• Emotional: sensitive to criticism, self-conscious, lacking
self-esteem.
• Social: testing limits, insensitive to those outside peer
group, often confused by large impersonal environments
(like a school).
Capitalizing on teenage learners’
characteristics
Using the
20-minute
Rule:
Getting
student
input
after 20
minutes,
students
say what
they have
learned,
then you
start a new
activity
in
determining
classroom
rules and
procedures
Making the
Getting
Using a
classroom students to variety of
a safe
move
groupings
place
and engage that suit the
in which to
take risks
and
participate
in situations purpose for
kinaesthetic
learning
-ally
1. Make your classroom an interesting and comfortable place
to be.
2. Produce professional-looking, clear materials.
3. Make your handwriting clear on the board.
4. Compliment people; don’t put them down. Teenagers have
fragile self-esteem.
5. Encourage positive attitudes to the culture and its people.
6. If you want to say something negative about Elac, its
facilities or its staff then take your comments to us.
7. Don’t dress down in an effort to be informal and friendly.
Think
What do you
expect from a
teacher?
What
personality will
you project?
What first
impression will
your students
get?
How should you
dress?
•
Respect for each other and the teacher
•
Commitment, cooperation, engagement
•
Using English in class invariably (almost)
•
Responsibility
•
Abiding by the rules
From day 1, lesson 1
Establish an
English-only culture
Know the sanctions
Be clear what is and
is not acceptable
Use the systems
Bad behaviour is not
(usually) your fault!
• Make your policy clear from the very first
lesson – in this classroom we speak only
English.
• Put a notice up to remind all your learners –
something like:
THIS IS AN ENGLISH-ONLY ZONE
• Don't overstretch the class in speaking
activities and make sure they are well
prepared.
• Think carefully about grouping and seating
arrangements.
• Be alert to what’s happening around you and
in all the groups when you are working on
tasks.
• Take a break in the middle of long activities and
relax the English-only rule for 5 minutes (only!).
Make a Day-1 Contract with your
classes to cover at least:
Use of L1
Attendance
and
punctuality
Courtesy
and
listening
Elac has standards to adhere to and sanctions to apply. We
know about the standards, here are the sanctions.
Step 1 – the
teacher talks to the
student(s) and
explains the
problem
Step 2 – the
Academic Manager
talks to the
student(s) with the
Group Leader
Step 3 – the Centre
Manager and the
Group Leader talk
to the student(s)
and, if necessary,
impose a
punishment
Step 4 – the
student(s) may be
sent home – last
resort!
What are my
feelings about
being
observed?
What can I
gain from
being
observed?
What do I have
to prepare for
an observer?
Do I have to
do something
special when
I’m observed?