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Making English Songs for Children Work in your Classroom 1. To start, use games and flashcards to teach the key vocabulary included in the song you plan to use. Expand from there into simple syntax and grammar examples, letting the children use the words in sentences or phrases. 2. Preview the song by playing it during your vocabulary teaching sessions and gradually implement listening games, where children can point to or hold up a card when they hear a specific word. 3. Play the song only two or three times per session to keep it fresh and interesting. You can focus on learning only a line or two at first, then reviewing and adding another line or two during each subsequent class. You can turn the music off and practice the line slowly, then turn the music back on and practice each line in rhythm. 4. Add actions to the song if possible. Let your students help you brainstorm for actions to describe vocabulary words, and implement them in the song for a performance all can participate in. 5. After the song is learned to perfection, have your class perform for another class or a teacher and parent group. Then move on to a new song. You can still revisit the old song by using the lyrics learned to formulate reading, writing and spelling lessons. http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/articles/index.pl?page=2;read=4069

轉載Seveen Tips For ESL Claassroom Maanagement By:Shelleeyee Veernonee If you are an ESL teacher who is having problems with classroom maanagement, there are ways of taking back control and maintain order in your classroom again. There are methods to deal with a few troublemakers and approaches to dealing with an entire class which is out of control. First you need to assess why you're having ESL classroom management issues. Let's take a look at why children might be misbehaving. Are the children bored? Are they tired of sitting in their desks? Do some of the children have behavioral issues such as ADD or ADHD? Some children might find learning English difficult so they end up misbehaving rather than admitting they do not understand. Perhaps they have not been praised enough and feel the teacher doesn't like them. The most effective way to regain control of the ESL classroom is to be the boss. If you don't step up and take control the children most certainly will. There's a fine line between being friendly and kind and letting the children take control of the classroom. You really can be both the friendly helping hand and the boss. Ideally, you must take control of the class from the very first day you enter it. Unfortunately, many newly certified teachers don't realize this right away and are shocked that they've lost control of the group. Ultimately, you must find your own personal style in teaching but there are many proven techniques and strategies for good classroom management. Of course, you must comply with the rules of the school you work for. Your school should always be your ally and not your foe. The first key to ESL classroom management is your attitude toward the students. Students who respect and love their teacher will be more apt to behave in the classroom. Here's how to make that happen! Rule #1 - Are you trying to be hip and cool? Do you want to be friends with your pupils? If you try to be the hip teacher who is a friend to all, more than likely the students will laugh at your expense the moment you are out of earshot. Be their mentor. Teach by example not only how to speak English but how to behave in general. In class behave as a role-model for ideal classroom behaviour. The children will at least have the example to follow. If you cannot control your temper, why should they? If you find yourself barking at your pupils something is wrong! Rule #2 - Are you predictable? I'll never forget Miss Bain. Oh a truly terrifying woman with spectacles and a cardigan who dished out detentions for real and whose name one only mentioned with dread. I only had her in the sixth form but her reputation proceeded her. In fact she was a nice old lady! She never raised her voice, she wasn't even bossy! I could not believe it actually. She just EXUDED the fact that we were there to learn and messing about was not tolerated. Full stop. Really an outstandingly simple formula. Earn trust by being fair, consistent and firm. Establish rules from the very first day and do not bend. Lean more toward being overly strict in the beginning as it is harder to become strict if you've started out being lenient. If rules change on a day to day basis the students don't know what to expect and cannot trust you. Rule #3 - Are you trustworthy? Oh yes there are teachers out there who lash out at pupils and put them down in a futile effort to feel important. When people put others down they are trying to elevate their own self-esteem. This systematically backfires as putting others down truly undermines ones sense of self-worth, though some people have such low self-esteem that a bit more self-degradation hardly notices! Thirty one years ago a English teacher in France put me down in front of his class and I can still see and hear the scene today - that is how much it marked me at the time. He was scared of the fact that he had a native speaker in his class and was too stupid to use me to enhance the class. Never belittle your students. Avoid losing control and yelling. Never call a student names, put them down, use sarcasm or embarrass them. They will never trust this kind of behavior. In addition in the worst case scenario you could put them off wanting to learn ANY subject, and not just your subject. Rule #4 - Show them you care Take the time to ask questions about their lives. If you can talk with them, informally, outside of the classroom, such as walking from one class to another, you'll find an opportunity to get to know them. Your students will feel special if you take the time out to find out about them and who they are. It will be much harder for someone you've had a conversation with, on a personal level, to act up in the classroom. Eye contact will help let your students know you are paying attention to them. Think about how they may be feeling. They might not want to take this class but have to. Put yourself in their shoes and try to come up with positive ways to see your students. Rule #5 - Move around Come out from behind your desk! Take the time during a writing assignment to walk through the desks and stop for a moment or two at each student's desk. This is a good time to hand out praise and to ask your students how they are doing. Ask them if they have any questions about the work they are doing. Rule #6 - Onwards and Upwards! Generously hand out praise and encouragement! Imagine how much good you can do in a person's life by giving them encouragement and praise. You can change a student's whole way of thinking about themselves and in turn, this changes how they view the world. Think about how people are always telling kids what NOT to do. Some parents' entire dialogue with their children is negative. Don't fall into this trap. Remember, what you give out, you get back. Children who are given negatives often give negatives back. Children who are given positives will more than likely give back positives! Reward good behavior. Ask for children who behave well to be your helper and thank them for their good behavior in front of the class. Having a student of the week will reinforce good behavior. Rule #7 Vary the way you carry out lesson plans. Don't always use the same technique. If you use varied activities, games and teaching methods, that appeal to different learning styles, chances are you'll reach each one of them in time! By using these tips, you'll keep order in your room, your students will respect and trust you, you'll have an impact on their self-esteem and you'll teach them much more than just how to speak English. About the author: Shelleey Veernon, conscious of the vital role teachers can play in the lives of their pupils, promotes learning through encouragement and games. Receive free games and ideas on ESL Resources for children http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/ Make your job easy and fun teaching English to children through games, stories, songs, plays and skits.