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Bangkok, Thailand
I am the Primary English lead at a Bangkok-based British international school, with extensive experience with both the UK National Curriculum and TEFL. I specialize in offering Eng... Read more
Cardiff University
University of Nottingham
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I usually begin each class with a warm-up activity - for example, write a description of a place and then have a partner draw it. I'll then ask the student to attempt a 'cold write' of a given style of writing (e.g narratives, expository writing, persuasive writing etc.) I will mark their work using a RATE form to identify areas of their writing that need improvement, such as the structure, spelling, punctuation, grammar etc. Over the next few classes we will focus on developing their writing, focussing on the areas identified as needing improvement. Finally the student will attempt a 'hot write', where they write a piece in the same style as before. I'll then mark this with the RATE form to track progress.
I identify areas of SPaG which need improvement in the student's writing using the RATE form. We will then focus on each aspect in a separate class - for example, we will look at commas in one class, then speech marks in the next. Each class is constructed to be engaging and student-centred, with a fun starter activity, short instructions and then tasks for the students to complete. We may end the class with a brief writing activity in which the student is asked to focus on the target SPaG, e.g write a short dialogue between a student who has forgotten their homework and their teacher using speech marks correctly.
I first conduct a baseline assessment of the student's reading ability. I then select level-appropriate texts to read with the student. I focus heavily on active reading - students are asked to predict what they think will happen (and justify their theories), then their will be questions both during the readign and after using the VIPERS categories (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, Summary). I encourage students to read regularly, and to select texts which interest them.
I encourage students to actively engage with a text at different levels by using VIPERS (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, Summary). I teach students the PEE (Point, Evidence, Explanation) model which they can use to express and explain their opinions, as well as support them with evidence from the text. If we are comparing/contrasting two different texts, I will encourage students to use Venn diagrams to identify ways in which the two texts are similar/different and then use PEE to explain their answers.
I ask students to immerse themselves in the language through listening to audiobooks, watching movies etc. and to play close attention to the pronunciation. For practising pronounciation, I use the phonetic alphabet and repeated practice.
I believe that practice makes perfect. There are several techniques that can be used to improve student's presentation abilities, such as correct breathing techniques, hand gestures, making eye contact etc. For group classes, I'll ask students to first practice in pairs, then larger groups to develop confidence, with the rest of the group providing positive feedback.
I believe the easiest way to teach grammar is first through practice, and by relating the rules to language and experiences the students may already be familiar with. Rather than asking students to use the present perfect tense, for example, we may play a game of "Have you ever ...?', with the students answering 'I have never (been to France).' Once students have recognised the pattern, we can explain what the rule is and why we use it.
I ensure that all of my classes are set at the correct level so that students are not confused. I try to make my classes fun and engaging, with icebreaker activities, challenges, games etc.
I am an English subject lead at a British international school. As such, I am very familiar with the British national curriculum.
I have many years of experience tutoring for SATs, GCSEs, A-Levels, IELTS and TOEIC. As such I am very familiar with the requirements of these exams. I help students familarise themselves with the questions and the mark schemes so that they know what to expect. After that we can practice past papers until students feel comfortable.
My classes are engaging and student-centred. I use a mix of different approaches in my lessons - discussions, writing, puzzle-solving, games etc. - to keep the class from becoming too boring or repetitive.
Yes, I am very familiar with the requirements of the UK curriculum and several ESL tests such as IELTS or TOEIC.
Yes.
Yes.
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I have some experience teaching business English. I start by assessing the student's unique needs e.g the field they are working in. Each class will then focus on a different aspect of practical business communication, e.g emails, negotiations etc. We look at lots of real-world examples to identify the patterns and build up a bank of useful stock phrases.
We will focus on a different literary device in each class, e.g similes. I will define what that device is and how it is used, then we will attempt to create our own examples. We can then look for these devices in a text and the student can explain why and how the device was used. In our next extended piece of writing, I will encourage the student to use their own examples of each device.
I will find out what the student is interested in and passionate about and tailor the class towards those topics. For set writing tasks (e.g write an explanation), I may give students a number of options to select from so that they can choose a topic that interests them.
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