An English Proverb
The " saying " means that you can give someone the opportunity to do something but he may still refuse to do it.
An arabic translation might be "بامكانك أن تقود الحصان الى الماء لكنك لن تستطيع اجباره على الشرب "
In this post, we would like to see more Arabic equivalents to this saying and would like to see your own point of views.
2006-10-23
Why you need to get your message across
Why Communications Skills Are So Important:
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others. This is a process that involves both the sender of the message and the receiver. This process leaves room for error, with messages often misinterpreted by one or more of the parties involved. This causes unnecessary confusion and counter productivity.
In fact, a message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive it in the same way.
By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.
In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success.
In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue to struggle with this, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.
Getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and cultural context.
Communications Skills - The Importance of Removing Barriers:
Communication barriers can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback and context .
To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of these barriers at each stage of this process with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process through below:
Sender...
To establish yourself as an effective communicator, you must first establish credibility. In the business arena, this involves displaying knowledge of the subject, the audience and the context in which the message is delivered.
You must also know your audience (individuals or groups to which you are delivering your message). Failure to understand who you are communicating to will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.
Message...
Next, consider the message itself. Written, oral and nonverbal communications are effected by the sender’s tone, method of organization, validity of the argument, what is communicated and what is left out, as well as your individual style of communicating. Messages also have intellectual and emotional components, with intellect allowing us the ability to reason and emotion allowing us to present motivational appeals, ultimately changing minds and actions.
Channel...
Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters, emails, memos and reports.
Receiver...
These messages are delivered to an audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message prompts from this audience. Keep in mind, your audience also enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message and their response. To be a successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your message, acting appropriately.
Feedback...
Your audience will provide you with feedback, verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback as it is crucial to ensuring the audience understood your message.
Context...
The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surrounding environment or broader culture (i.e. corporate culture, international cultures, etc.).
Removing Barriers At All These Stages
To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist in each of these stages of the communication process.
Let’s begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor verbal and body language can also confuse the message.
Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in doubt here, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other people’s time, especially in today’s ultra-busy society.
Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audience’s culture, making sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and cultures within your own organization, in this country and even abroad.
The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others. This is a process that involves both the sender of the message and the receiver. This process leaves room for error, with messages often misinterpreted by one or more of the parties involved. This causes unnecessary confusion and counter productivity.
In fact, a message is successful only when both the sender and the receiver perceive it in the same way.
By successfully getting your message across, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. When not successful, the thoughts and ideas that you convey do not necessarily reflect your own, causing a communications breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals – both personally and professionally.
In a recent survey of recruiters from companies with more than 50,000 employees, communication skills were cited as the single more important decisive factor in choosing managers. The survey, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Business School, points out that communication skills, including written and oral presentations, as well as an ability to work with others, are the main factor contributing to job success.
In spite of the increasing importance placed on communication skills, many individuals continue to struggle with this, unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively – whether in verbal or written format. This inability makes it nearly impossible for them to compete effectively in the workplace, and stands in the way of career progression.
Getting your message across is paramount to progressing. To do this, you must understand what your message is, what audience you are sending it to, and how it will be perceived. You must also weigh-in the circumstances surrounding your communications, such as situational and cultural context.
Communications Skills - The Importance of Removing Barriers:
Communication barriers can pop-up at every stage of the communication process (which consists of sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback and context .
To be an effective communicator and to get your point across without misunderstanding and confusion, your goal should be to lessen the frequency of these barriers at each stage of this process with clear, concise, accurate, well-planned communications. We follow the process through below:
Sender...
To establish yourself as an effective communicator, you must first establish credibility. In the business arena, this involves displaying knowledge of the subject, the audience and the context in which the message is delivered.
You must also know your audience (individuals or groups to which you are delivering your message). Failure to understand who you are communicating to will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood.
Message...
Next, consider the message itself. Written, oral and nonverbal communications are effected by the sender’s tone, method of organization, validity of the argument, what is communicated and what is left out, as well as your individual style of communicating. Messages also have intellectual and emotional components, with intellect allowing us the ability to reason and emotion allowing us to present motivational appeals, ultimately changing minds and actions.
Channel...
Messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters, emails, memos and reports.
Receiver...
These messages are delivered to an audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message prompts from this audience. Keep in mind, your audience also enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message and their response. To be a successful communicator, you should consider these before delivering your message, acting appropriately.
Feedback...
Your audience will provide you with feedback, verbal and nonverbal reactions to your communicated message. Pay close attention to this feedback as it is crucial to ensuring the audience understood your message.
Context...
The situation in which your message is delivered is the context. This may include the surrounding environment or broader culture (i.e. corporate culture, international cultures, etc.).
Removing Barriers At All These Stages
To deliver your messages effectively, you must commit to breaking down the barriers that exist in each of these stages of the communication process.
Let’s begin with the message itself. If your message is too lengthy, disorganized, or contains errors, you can expect the message to be misunderstood and misinterpreted. Use of poor verbal and body language can also confuse the message.
Barriers in context tend to stem from senders offering too much information too fast. When in doubt here, less is oftentimes more. It is best to be mindful of the demands on other people’s time, especially in today’s ultra-busy society.
Once you understand this, you need to work to understand your audience’s culture, making sure you can converse and deliver your message to people of different backgrounds and cultures within your own organization, in this country and even abroad.
Writing Skills
Before You Write It Down, Know This
Many people are intimidated by writing. Even so, there are times when writing is the best way to communicate, and oftentimes the only way to get your message across.
Write With Necessary Caution...
When writing, be mindful of the fact that once something is in written form, it cannot be taken back. Communicating through words can be more concrete than verbal communications, with less room for error and even less room for mistakes. This presents written communicators with new challenges, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, even writing style and actual wording.
Thankfully, today’s technology makes memo, letter and proposal writing much easier by providing reliable tools that check and even correct misspelled words and incorrect grammar use. Unfortunately, these tools are not fail proof and will require your support, making your knowledge in this area important.
The Importance of "Style"...
Some of the most basic tips to remember when writing include:
• Avoid the use of slang words
• Try not to use abbreviations (unless appropriately defined)
• Steer away from the use of symbols (such as ampersands [&])
• Clichés should be avoided, or at the very least, used with caution
• Brackets are used to play down words or phrases
• Dashes are generally used for emphasis
• Great care should ALWAYS be taken to spell the names of people and companies correctly
• Numbers should be expressed as words when the number is less than 10 or is used to start a sentence (example: Ten years ago, my brother and I…). The number 10, or anything greater than 10, should be expressed as a figure (example: My brother has 13 Matchbox cars.)
• Quotation marks should be placed around any directly quoted speech or text and around titles of publications.
• Keep sentences short
While the above tips cover the most common mistakes made when writing letters, memos and reports, they in no way cover everything you need to know to ensure your written communications are accurate and understood.
While this takes some practice, there are many sources available to assist with writing style, including “The Elements of Style”, by Strunk and White. One glance in any newsroom or on the desk of even the most accomplished writers and you are sure to find this small, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand, no-nonsense guide to writing. It is clear, concise and perhaps the best book of its kind. If you plan on writing a great deal of letters or even proposals, it is strongly recommended that you pick up this nifty guide, which by the way, will fit in your shirt pocket.
Letter Writing Hints...
When writing letters, it is best to address the letter to an individual. And, when beginning the letter with a personal name, be sure to end it with an appropriate closing, such as ‘Sincerely yours’. If you cannot obtain an individual’s name, consider ending it with a more generic (less personal) closing, such as ‘With kindest regards’.
For normal business letters, your letter should start with an overall summary, showing in the first paragraph why the letter is relevant to the reader. It’s not a good practice to make the reader go past the first paragraph to find out why the letter was sent to them.
The body of the letter needs to explain the reason for the correspondence, including any relevant background and current information. Make sure the information flows logically, ensuring you are making your points effectively.
The closing of the letter is the final impression you leave with the reader. End with an action point, such as ‘I will call you later this week to discuss this further’.
The Importance of Careful Proofing
Perhaps the most important thing to remember when writing a letter is to check it thoroughly when it is completed. Even when you think it is exactly what you want, read it one more time. This “unwritten” rule holds true for everything you write – memos, letters, proposals, etc.
Use both the grammar and spell check on your computer, paying very, very close attention to every word highlighted. Do not place total faith on your computer here. Instead, you should have both a printed dictionary and thesaurus nearby to double-check everything your computers editing tools highlight, as these tools are certainly not always reliable, for a variety of reasons.
When checking your written communications make sure the document is clear and concise. Is there anything in the written communication that could be misinterpreted? Does it raise unanswered questions or fail to make the point you need to get across?
Can you cut down on the number of words used? For instance, don’t use 20 words when you can use 10. While you do not want to be curt or abrupt, you do not want to waste the reader’s time with unnecessary words or phrases.
Is your written communication well organized? Does each idea proceed logically to the next? Make sure your written communications are easy to read and contain the necessary information, using facts where needed and avoiding information that is not relevant. Again, outline the course of action you expect, such as a return call or visit.
Close appropriately, making sure to include your contact information. While this may seem obvious, it is sometimes overlooked and can make your written communications look amateurish. This can diminish your chances of meeting your written communication’s goals.
Many people are intimidated by writing. Even so, there are times when writing is the best way to communicate, and oftentimes the only way to get your message across.
Write With Necessary Caution...
When writing, be mindful of the fact that once something is in written form, it cannot be taken back. Communicating through words can be more concrete than verbal communications, with less room for error and even less room for mistakes. This presents written communicators with new challenges, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, even writing style and actual wording.
Thankfully, today’s technology makes memo, letter and proposal writing much easier by providing reliable tools that check and even correct misspelled words and incorrect grammar use. Unfortunately, these tools are not fail proof and will require your support, making your knowledge in this area important.
The Importance of "Style"...
Some of the most basic tips to remember when writing include:
• Avoid the use of slang words
• Try not to use abbreviations (unless appropriately defined)
• Steer away from the use of symbols (such as ampersands [&])
• Clichés should be avoided, or at the very least, used with caution
• Brackets are used to play down words or phrases
• Dashes are generally used for emphasis
• Great care should ALWAYS be taken to spell the names of people and companies correctly
• Numbers should be expressed as words when the number is less than 10 or is used to start a sentence (example: Ten years ago, my brother and I…). The number 10, or anything greater than 10, should be expressed as a figure (example: My brother has 13 Matchbox cars.)
• Quotation marks should be placed around any directly quoted speech or text and around titles of publications.
• Keep sentences short
While the above tips cover the most common mistakes made when writing letters, memos and reports, they in no way cover everything you need to know to ensure your written communications are accurate and understood.
While this takes some practice, there are many sources available to assist with writing style, including “The Elements of Style”, by Strunk and White. One glance in any newsroom or on the desk of even the most accomplished writers and you are sure to find this small, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand, no-nonsense guide to writing. It is clear, concise and perhaps the best book of its kind. If you plan on writing a great deal of letters or even proposals, it is strongly recommended that you pick up this nifty guide, which by the way, will fit in your shirt pocket.
Letter Writing Hints...
When writing letters, it is best to address the letter to an individual. And, when beginning the letter with a personal name, be sure to end it with an appropriate closing, such as ‘Sincerely yours’. If you cannot obtain an individual’s name, consider ending it with a more generic (less personal) closing, such as ‘With kindest regards’.
For normal business letters, your letter should start with an overall summary, showing in the first paragraph why the letter is relevant to the reader. It’s not a good practice to make the reader go past the first paragraph to find out why the letter was sent to them.
The body of the letter needs to explain the reason for the correspondence, including any relevant background and current information. Make sure the information flows logically, ensuring you are making your points effectively.
The closing of the letter is the final impression you leave with the reader. End with an action point, such as ‘I will call you later this week to discuss this further’.
The Importance of Careful Proofing
Perhaps the most important thing to remember when writing a letter is to check it thoroughly when it is completed. Even when you think it is exactly what you want, read it one more time. This “unwritten” rule holds true for everything you write – memos, letters, proposals, etc.
Use both the grammar and spell check on your computer, paying very, very close attention to every word highlighted. Do not place total faith on your computer here. Instead, you should have both a printed dictionary and thesaurus nearby to double-check everything your computers editing tools highlight, as these tools are certainly not always reliable, for a variety of reasons.
When checking your written communications make sure the document is clear and concise. Is there anything in the written communication that could be misinterpreted? Does it raise unanswered questions or fail to make the point you need to get across?
Can you cut down on the number of words used? For instance, don’t use 20 words when you can use 10. While you do not want to be curt or abrupt, you do not want to waste the reader’s time with unnecessary words or phrases.
Is your written communication well organized? Does each idea proceed logically to the next? Make sure your written communications are easy to read and contain the necessary information, using facts where needed and avoiding information that is not relevant. Again, outline the course of action you expect, such as a return call or visit.
Close appropriately, making sure to include your contact information. While this may seem obvious, it is sometimes overlooked and can make your written communications look amateurish. This can diminish your chances of meeting your written communication’s goals.
Active Listening
Hear What People are Really Saying
by Kellie Fowler
It is obvious to say that if you have poor interpersonal communications skills (which include active listening), your productivity will suffer simply because you do not have the tools needed to influence, persuade and negotiate – all necessary for workplace success. Lines of communications must be open between people who rely on one another to get work done.
Considering this, you must be able to listen attentively if you are to perform to expectations, avoid conflicts and misunderstandings, and to succeed - in any arena. Following are a few short tips to help you enhance your communications skills and to ensure you are an active listener:
1. Start by Understanding Your Own Communication Style
Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your personal style of communicating will go a long way toward helping you to create good and lasting impressions on others. By becoming more aware of how others perceive you, you can adapt more readily to their styles of communicating. This does not mean you have to be a chameleon, changing with every personality you meet. Instead, you can make another person more comfortable with you by selecting and emphasizing certain behaviors that fit within your personality and resonate with another. In doing this, you will prepare yourself to become an active listener.
2. Be an Active Listener
People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute (WPM), but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 words per minute. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift - thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening - which involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc.
If you're finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say it - this will reinforce their message and help you control mind drift.
3. Use Nonverbal Communication
Use nonverbal behaviors to raise the channel of interpersonal communication. Nonverbal communication is facial expressions like smiles, gestures, eye contact, and even your posture. This shows the person you are communicating with that you are indeed listening actively and will prompt further communications while keeping costly, time-consuming misunderstandings at a minimum.
4. Give Feedback
Remember that what someone says and what we hear can be amazingly different! Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. Repeat back or summarize to ensure that you understand. Restate what you think you heard and ask, "Have I understood you correctly?" If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: "I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said personally. What I thought you just said is XXX; is that what you meant?"
Feedback is a verbal communications means used to clearly demonstrate you are actively listening and to confirm the communications between you and others. Obviously, this serves to further ensure the communications are understood and is a great tool to use to verify everything you heard while actively listening.
by Kellie Fowler
It is obvious to say that if you have poor interpersonal communications skills (which include active listening), your productivity will suffer simply because you do not have the tools needed to influence, persuade and negotiate – all necessary for workplace success. Lines of communications must be open between people who rely on one another to get work done.
Considering this, you must be able to listen attentively if you are to perform to expectations, avoid conflicts and misunderstandings, and to succeed - in any arena. Following are a few short tips to help you enhance your communications skills and to ensure you are an active listener:
1. Start by Understanding Your Own Communication Style
Good communication skills require a high level of self-awareness. Understanding your personal style of communicating will go a long way toward helping you to create good and lasting impressions on others. By becoming more aware of how others perceive you, you can adapt more readily to their styles of communicating. This does not mean you have to be a chameleon, changing with every personality you meet. Instead, you can make another person more comfortable with you by selecting and emphasizing certain behaviors that fit within your personality and resonate with another. In doing this, you will prepare yourself to become an active listener.
2. Be an Active Listener
People speak at 100 to 175 words per minute (WPM), but they can listen intelligently at 600 to 800 words per minute. Since only a part of our mind is paying attention, it is easy to go into mind drift - thinking about other things while listening to someone. The cure for this is active listening - which involves listening with a purpose. It may be to gain information, obtain directions, understand others, solve problems, share interest, see how another person feels, show support, etc.
If you're finding it particularly difficult to concentrate on what someone is saying, try repeating their words mentally as they say it - this will reinforce their message and help you control mind drift.
3. Use Nonverbal Communication
Use nonverbal behaviors to raise the channel of interpersonal communication. Nonverbal communication is facial expressions like smiles, gestures, eye contact, and even your posture. This shows the person you are communicating with that you are indeed listening actively and will prompt further communications while keeping costly, time-consuming misunderstandings at a minimum.
4. Give Feedback
Remember that what someone says and what we hear can be amazingly different! Our personal filters, assumptions, judgments, and beliefs can distort what we hear. Repeat back or summarize to ensure that you understand. Restate what you think you heard and ask, "Have I understood you correctly?" If you find yourself responding emotionally to what someone said, say so, and ask for more information: "I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said personally. What I thought you just said is XXX; is that what you meant?"
Feedback is a verbal communications means used to clearly demonstrate you are actively listening and to confirm the communications between you and others. Obviously, this serves to further ensure the communications are understood and is a great tool to use to verify everything you heard while actively listening.
2006-10-19
كل عام وانتم بخير
To everyone who views our blog we would like to say:
Happy Eid Fiter كل عام وانتم بخير
Happy Eid Fiter كل عام وانتم بخير
Using Games in Teaching English
The Court
The class is divided into two teams. The teacher says " the court is the living room ". One team starts by saying an object that can be found in the " court ", the living room in this example. The opposing team answers with another object that can be found in the " court ". The game goes on until one object is repeated or a team can not say another object to answer back. Then one point is given to the winning team. The teacher then changes the " court " and another set " is played. The team that wins three out of five sets is the winner.
Julio Valladares
Richmond Publishing Consultant - Peru
Clap the Number
Materials: none.
Sit the students in a big circle around the class but leave some random seats free. Tell the students that they are going to count but that every 5th student must not say the number but clap her/ his hands. If a student forgets to clap ( saying the number instead ), says a wrong number or takes too long to count, s/he is placed in another seat while the counting continues, the student is not taken out of the game. Alternatively, the teacher may decide to ask every 3 rd, 7 th, Nth student to clap her/ his hand.
Cesar Klauer
Spelling
Materials: Chalk or markers to write on board.
The class is divided into two teams. A line is drawn on the board to make two equal areas. Each team sends a representative to the board. The teacher says a word which the team representatives write from top to bottom of their corresponding board areas. Then, with each single letter of the word, they write another word. Proper nouns and the original teacher´s word are not permitted. The student who finishes first shouts " Ready!" so that the other student stops writing.This student should be the winner, provided that all the words he/she wrote are correct and will award one point to his team.The members of the team who are sitting must not say what words to write to their representative. The game finishes when all the team members have had a go at the board. The team with more points wins.
Battleship 2
The game is played on a grid similar to a game of battleship. The size of the grid depends on the number of students and the time limits of the class. Basically the students pick a grid reference, say " A 1" and then you pick the task. There can be many tasks, you have them roll a dice and then they need to think of that many words for a letter of your choice. Then they recieve that many points, ie, what ever they rolled. You can vary it at will if you pretend you are working of a prepared plan, sometimes I have them name ten body parts, or five things from the kitchen, bathroom, etc. Thus it can be modified to suit anything you have been working on. To add a bit of spice I also have a bomb every now and then that I throw in when 1 team is running away with it, they just miss a turn with the sound and drawing of a bomb. The kids love this bit and are always wary of the bomb. I also have a missle, the drawing of a missle which can be used to blow up one of the oppositions scores. You can use all these but make sure you pretend to be working of a plan as if the kids pick up that you are making them up to suit the game they go nuts. The winner of the game is the team with the most points. Make sure you have enough time to finish as the students get pretty angry if squares are left on the board
.Good luck
Bingo
Good for the end of the lesson for practising numbers (or general vocab.).
Preparation:
Make a different grid of sixteen random numbers for each class member. Write a number list for yourself.
Play:
Explain that the students must mark off the numbers in their grids as you call them out, and that if they finish the grid, shout
"BINGO!"
Call out the list:
When a student shouts "BINGO", ask them to read out their numbers, and check them off on your list.
The winner gets a pencil sharpener or rubber, which they will treasure.
Variation:
Draw vocabulary objects in the grids (eg. cabbage, tall man, short man, computer etc.), then call them out or (for artists) write in the grids and draw them on the board.
Tic Tac Toe 4
Alternative Tic Tac Toe (for paper or whiteboard)
Draw the usual # but instead of using a pen, use only 3 items per student (instead of the normal 4). Three blue paper pieces, 3 red etc (use tape on the back for white board). The game does not end until there is a winner. In otherwords, the children keep moving the pieces in turn until there is a winner.
If you want to use vocabulary lists, they need to take a new word each time.
The Lion Game
Materials: 4 lions, each a different colour, an explorer, a jeep, two special dice and a playing area. I usually draw a grid on my whiteboard to make the playing area. By varying the size of the grid I can control the game length.
Set up: place one lion in each corner of the playing area. Place the jeep and the explorer anywhere, preferably as far apart as possible.
Method of play: give a student a simple task. If the student succeeds give the student the 'explorer' dice. If the student makes a mistake give the student the 'lion dice'. The explorer can escape the lions by getting to the jeep and then driving the jeep off the playing area. The lions always move towards the explorer. If a lion lands on the explorer, the explorer is eaten. If the jeep is rolled move it away from the explorer. When the explorer has reached the jeep only move the explorer when the jeep is rolled (i.e. ignore explorer rolls).
Comments: The above description assumes that the students want to save the explorer. One alternative is to let the students choose which dice to throw which may create competition if some students want to save the explorer and others want to get the explorer eaten. Another possibility is to ask the students where a playing piece should be moved. With very young students it is possible to play the game without them realising that there are actually two dice.
Pass the hat!
You will need two objects, a bag and a hat and some music (lively is better). Fill the bag with questions, requests whatever you may be reviewing at the moment. Start the hat at one side of the room and the bag at the other. Have the students pass the bag and hat while listening to music. When the music stops, the students who are holding the bag and the cap must stand up. The person with the bag must ask a question to the person with the hat. Keep going alternating the time between stopping the music. The students get really excited with this activity, it is really a lot of fun!
HINT: Use a funny hat and when explaining the game put the hat on the students heads, they really get a kick out of it!
Word Games
Put any word known to the kids on the board, eg: lemon. Circle the "n" and get them to make a word beginning with that letter. Then take the last letter of that word, and repeat the process. This can be done in teams, or just getting kids to shout out words at random. They may not repeat a word.
Another word game: put a simple word on the board, eg. big. They have to make a new word, by changing only one letter at a time. EG: big, bag, rag, etc. This also works well in teams, especially if you set a time limit and the winning team is the one who makes the most words, no repeats allowed, of course.
2006-10-13
RELAX
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; there is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.
-Henry David Thoreau-
They aren't aliens. They're human beings--people in small bodies, people with short attention spans, people who think in concrete rather than abstract terms, but people, nonetheless. They are also impressionable people. Your young pupils will reflect your attitude toward the class just as clearly as a thermometer reflects the temperature of the classroom. If you are tense, your students will be as well. Behavioral problems will ensue. Conflicts will develop between students. Valuable class time will be wasted. And everyone involved will leave exhausted and frustrated. A relaxed teacher, however, contributes significantly to warm, supportive classroom atmosphere. How does a teacher relax?
•Prepare thoroughly.
If you aren't sure what you are doing when you walk into the classroom, you will be stressed--and with good cause. A detailed lesson plan, however, frees you from the nagging question, "Now what do I do?" A thorough lesson plan includes the following:
•objectives--What do you want the students to learn?
•instructional procedures--How are you going to help students learn what you want them to learn?
•evaluation--How will you know whether students have learned what you wanted them to learn?
•materials--What materials will you need to fulfill your instructional procedures?
•assignment--What follow-up task (if any) will you expect students to complete on their own?
•Plan for potential problems.
Problems happen. Students finish in fifteen minutes the project for which you allotted thirty minutes. Little Youn-mi's complaints of "Teacher, I don't feel good" turn to cries of "Teacher, Youn-mi just got sick!!!" Students forget pencils, erasers, crayons, and even textbooks. Other teachers call in sick, and you find yourself with a combined class. The power goes out. Having contingency plans for foreseeable emergencies can significantly reduce your stress when the crisis strikes.
•Try to include at least one more activity than you think you'll have time for on each lesson plan.
•Keep a card file of five and ten minute "filler" activities.
•Keep a folder of photocopied review or practice worksheets that you can grab and distribute at a moment's notice. (Handwriting and reading comprehension worksheets, if not overused, can be great "backup" activities.)
•Have extra pencils, crayons, and erasers readily available.
•Develop a contingency plan for missing textbooks. (Will the student be able to share a book with a classmate? Do you have an extra copy you may loan out? Can you step out of the classroom long enough to photocopy a work page? Is the student expected to sit quietly through class, then complete the assignment at home? etc.)
•Know the school's policy regarding student illnesses. (Do you send Youn-mi to the office at first complaint? Do you keep her in class, but tell her she can put her head down on the desk and rest? Are you supposed to ignore complaints and teach until disaster strikes?)
•Know who to contact in case of an emergency and where to find cleaning supplies.
•Always have a large group activity on file that you can pull if you end up with a combined class. Possibilities include craft projects, creative writing tasks, outdoor games, role-playing exercises, and English videos for which you have written comprehension and discussion questions.
•Get enough rest.
Split shifts in particular take their toll. Some people need eight hours of sleep a night. Others can function on six. Still others require nine or ten. Figure out how much rest your body needs, then plan your schedule accordingly. While it may be tempting to go out on the town with all the other teachers when classes end at 11:00 pm, it's not wise to make a habit of nights on the town if you have to be back in the classroom at 5:30 or 6:00 the next morning. Not only are you in less than ideal condition in the classroom, but you are also jeopardizing your health. Tired teachers tend to be grouchy teachers. Tired teachers tend to be ineffective teachers. And tired teachers tend to become sick teachers.
•Teach students, not the textbook.
Teachers bent on teaching the textbook, on completing every language exercise and/or covering every page in the workbook, within an inflexible time frame get frustrated. Students don't always learn according to schedule. Some students learn English rapidly and will be bored to tears if the teacher insists on prolonging a unit until every related activity has been completed. Others struggle to learn English and will be incredibly frustrated and discouraged if the teacher rushes through one unit to get to the next one "on schedule." Remember that the textbook is a tool, a means to an end, but not the end itself. Use the textbook; use the scope and sequence chart; use the teacher's manual; use any other related materials. But teach the students. If the scope and sequence chart says students should master a skill in one week, but most of your students are struggling with the task, don't be afraid to take a few more days. If the workbook includes five pages of exercises related to a certain grammatical skill, but the majority of your students evidence clear mastery of the skill on the first page, don't feel like you "have" to do the other four. Remember, whether your students learn and love learning is far more important than whether they finish the text precisely on schedule or complete every exercise mentioned in the teacher's guide.
-Henry David Thoreau-
They aren't aliens. They're human beings--people in small bodies, people with short attention spans, people who think in concrete rather than abstract terms, but people, nonetheless. They are also impressionable people. Your young pupils will reflect your attitude toward the class just as clearly as a thermometer reflects the temperature of the classroom. If you are tense, your students will be as well. Behavioral problems will ensue. Conflicts will develop between students. Valuable class time will be wasted. And everyone involved will leave exhausted and frustrated. A relaxed teacher, however, contributes significantly to warm, supportive classroom atmosphere. How does a teacher relax?
•Prepare thoroughly.
If you aren't sure what you are doing when you walk into the classroom, you will be stressed--and with good cause. A detailed lesson plan, however, frees you from the nagging question, "Now what do I do?" A thorough lesson plan includes the following:
•objectives--What do you want the students to learn?
•instructional procedures--How are you going to help students learn what you want them to learn?
•evaluation--How will you know whether students have learned what you wanted them to learn?
•materials--What materials will you need to fulfill your instructional procedures?
•assignment--What follow-up task (if any) will you expect students to complete on their own?
•Plan for potential problems.
Problems happen. Students finish in fifteen minutes the project for which you allotted thirty minutes. Little Youn-mi's complaints of "Teacher, I don't feel good" turn to cries of "Teacher, Youn-mi just got sick!!!" Students forget pencils, erasers, crayons, and even textbooks. Other teachers call in sick, and you find yourself with a combined class. The power goes out. Having contingency plans for foreseeable emergencies can significantly reduce your stress when the crisis strikes.
•Try to include at least one more activity than you think you'll have time for on each lesson plan.
•Keep a card file of five and ten minute "filler" activities.
•Keep a folder of photocopied review or practice worksheets that you can grab and distribute at a moment's notice. (Handwriting and reading comprehension worksheets, if not overused, can be great "backup" activities.)
•Have extra pencils, crayons, and erasers readily available.
•Develop a contingency plan for missing textbooks. (Will the student be able to share a book with a classmate? Do you have an extra copy you may loan out? Can you step out of the classroom long enough to photocopy a work page? Is the student expected to sit quietly through class, then complete the assignment at home? etc.)
•Know the school's policy regarding student illnesses. (Do you send Youn-mi to the office at first complaint? Do you keep her in class, but tell her she can put her head down on the desk and rest? Are you supposed to ignore complaints and teach until disaster strikes?)
•Know who to contact in case of an emergency and where to find cleaning supplies.
•Always have a large group activity on file that you can pull if you end up with a combined class. Possibilities include craft projects, creative writing tasks, outdoor games, role-playing exercises, and English videos for which you have written comprehension and discussion questions.
•Get enough rest.
Split shifts in particular take their toll. Some people need eight hours of sleep a night. Others can function on six. Still others require nine or ten. Figure out how much rest your body needs, then plan your schedule accordingly. While it may be tempting to go out on the town with all the other teachers when classes end at 11:00 pm, it's not wise to make a habit of nights on the town if you have to be back in the classroom at 5:30 or 6:00 the next morning. Not only are you in less than ideal condition in the classroom, but you are also jeopardizing your health. Tired teachers tend to be grouchy teachers. Tired teachers tend to be ineffective teachers. And tired teachers tend to become sick teachers.
•Teach students, not the textbook.
Teachers bent on teaching the textbook, on completing every language exercise and/or covering every page in the workbook, within an inflexible time frame get frustrated. Students don't always learn according to schedule. Some students learn English rapidly and will be bored to tears if the teacher insists on prolonging a unit until every related activity has been completed. Others struggle to learn English and will be incredibly frustrated and discouraged if the teacher rushes through one unit to get to the next one "on schedule." Remember that the textbook is a tool, a means to an end, but not the end itself. Use the textbook; use the scope and sequence chart; use the teacher's manual; use any other related materials. But teach the students. If the scope and sequence chart says students should master a skill in one week, but most of your students are struggling with the task, don't be afraid to take a few more days. If the workbook includes five pages of exercises related to a certain grammatical skill, but the majority of your students evidence clear mastery of the skill on the first page, don't feel like you "have" to do the other four. Remember, whether your students learn and love learning is far more important than whether they finish the text precisely on schedule or complete every exercise mentioned in the teacher's guide.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)