Better Language Teaching
- Seven Keys
- Six Chapters
- One hundred pages of Activities
Success comes down to what you do in the classroom. It doesn't matter if you're working as a volunteer one or two nights per week. It doesn't matter if you're teaching only for a year or two abroad. It doesn't matter if you've made teaching your lifelong career. These are just labels to fit you into some false hierarchy of educators.
Yes, you're all teachers. And the daily responsibilities, the need to give better lessons, and the desire to move students towards their dreams remain ever-present. Perhaps that's why so many teachers give up after several years. With a constant need for successful results, even the best teachers begin to doubt their abilities, their commitment, their value.
But I'm convinced that anyone can excel as a teacher, that success can be had more easily.
Better Language Teaching is the result of all my years as an English teacher, teacher trainer, and curriculum developer - literally tens of thousands of hours teaching students, teaching teachers, writing courses, guiding, reading, studying, and testing ideas. I've distilled the dynamics of the classroom into essential chapters that do more than offer generalities. Each chapter, each section, each page provides specific information for better, more enjoyable lessons. There are 200 pages of information and ideas.
Here's what you'll find inside...
- Effective methods for sound lesson structure.
- The importance of Warm Ups for students.
- The importance of adequate reinforcement early in the lesson for better language production later.
- How mistakes can indicate risk and experimentation by the students... good things!
- How a student-centered class develops problem-solving skills for successful speaking.
- The learning styles of students, and how that affects their approach to language acquisition.
- How to effectively present and practice the lesson material.
- How to set up groups and pairs, and move between the two, for reuse of the language.
- The important balance between Teacher Talk Time and Student Talk Time.
- What constitutes effective and ineffective speaking opportunities.
- Methods and techniques for effective correction.
- And much, much more!
Better Language Teaching also has 100 activities. These activities here have all been tested, tweaked, and tested again and again, then tweaked some more. An immense amount of choices are available for you to meet your teaching needs. What's more, the activities maintain interest, provide challenge, and allow students to maximize their speaking opportunities in your classes.
PS: You'll instantly be enrolled in the Elite Teaching Newsletter when you purchase Better Language Teaching. Three times per month, you'll receive tips, ideas, activities, and fresh resources direct to your email account. Not only is there a wealth of information to make you a better language teacher, but the contents of each newsletter will soon make you an elite teacher!
PPS: Not sure? You're guaranteed a 30-day promise of satisfaction or your money back. No questions asked. No forms to fill out. Just a quick email and I'll refund your money.
Here's an outline of what you'll discover inside...
The first chapter covers the structure of a lesson. A sound plan for class is one of the most fundamental components for success. Without a plan, you meander from one point to another without allowing much-needed opportunities for reinforcement.
This chapter will help you get started on your journey right away. It's important to note: Making mistakes with this component is a guaranteed way to limit the effectiveness of your classes!
In this chapter, I reveal...
- How to construct effective goals and objectives, as well as the necessary steps to reach these points.
- How to tier activities, from ones that focus on accuracy with the new language to ones that allow fluency practice.
- How to use time as a means to structure the goals, steps, and activities.
With the critical methods introduced here, every class will move more smoothly, make better use of time, and allow maximum opportunity to effectively practice the language.
In this chapter, you'll discover how activities play such an important role in the success of a lesson. The same activity may appear in different portions of the lesson, yet have very different purposes. It's therefore vital to avoid poorly selected, unfocused activities that don't fit the relevant portion of the lesson.
In this chapter, you'll learn...
- The purpose of a Warm Up, and how it's critical to the lesson.
- How to introduce the target language, introduce effective activities for reinforcement, and move towards absorption of the material.
- How to give students the chance to experiment and take risks with the language. The key words here: controlled chaos!
- What to do in the final minutes of the lesson to check comprehension, provide feedback, and personalize the lessons.
You'll learn how to create student-centered lessons by limiting your talk time. But it's not as simple as just talking less, because there's the effectiveness of your speaking to consider too. The best part is, with more talking by the students, the richer and more enjoyable the lessons become for everyone!
You'll learn...
- How to balance yours and the class's speaking time.
- How to get the most out of the speaking you and your students do.
- Secrets to developing a student-centered lesson.
- What to consider if you use the native-tongue of the students.
In this chapter you'll learn what it means to provide correction. You'll see that all correction isn't equally created, as some areas of the lesson require more of your attention and input. Other areas of the lesson require you only to observe... and save your input for later.
These techniques, when coupled with talk time, give control of the learning to the students. The teacher becomes a guide who empowers the class to experiment, take risks, seek learning opportunities, and have fun. This is exactly what I've done to help thousands of students reach both long- and short-term goals.
Inside you'll discover...
- What sort of mistakes need correction.
- When to provide correction in the various stages of the lesson.
- How to provide correction.
- How to offer criticism and praise, and why it's essential for the success of a lesson.
Pairs and groups stand as one important reason for the success of my classes. In short, student-centered lessons are better than teacher-centered lessons, and pairwork/groupwork allows that success to happen.
Pairs and groups require much more than just sticking some students together for an activity. What's more, because pairs/groups tie so closely with talk time and correction, there's the potential to enhance both of these earlier requirements for success.
I'm going to reveal...
- How to effectively set up pairs and groups.
- How stronger students can aid weaker students.
- How problems here can derail your lessons.
In this chapter you'll see that everyone learns differently, and how important it is for you to tap into those differences. It comes down to more than just ability levels. Some students are visual learners, others global learners, and even some analytical learners.
Levels also play an important factor, as you must cover more than grammar and vocabulary. Cultural components and skills play vital roles in language, and you must reveal these to the students through the course of their studies.
This is my favorite chapter where you'll learn...
- Skills and needs of students according to their level.
- What language components and what cultural components should be covered through the levels of learning.
- How to address and give consideration to different learning styles.
I'll be honest. That's only 50% of the equation. All the knowledge in the world about balancing accuracy and fluency, promoting high amounts of talk time, and how to best arrange groups and pairs won't result in successful lessons. You need more, more than just a lot of know-how, more than a mastery of methods and techniques. So where does the more come from? The remaining 50% comes from activities.
- Accuracy, Accuracy, Accuracy
- Add an Emotion
- Amnesia
- Answer, Add, and Ask
- Ask and Ask Again - one variation
- Back to Back Discussions - two variations
- Back to Back Negotiations - two variations
- Build a Sentence
- Charades - two variations
- Choral Drills for Grammar - one variation
- Choral Drills for Vocabulary
- Collocates
- Comprehension Questions - two variations
- Comprehension Questions Simplified - two variations
- Connectors
- Continue the Dialogue
- Definition Word Search - two variations
- Dialogue Speculation
- Dialogues - one variation
- Dictation
- Dictation Race - one variation
- Directing the Conversation
- Discussions - two variations
- Explanations
- Fantastic Tales
- Find Someone Who - one variations
- Find the Mistake
- Finish the Sentence
- First Sentences
- Four Boxes
- Free Writing - one variation
- Grammar Brainstorm - four variations
- Have You Ever...? - one variation
- How Do You...?
- How Well Can You...? - two variations
- Instructor Interrogation - two variations
- Interactive Gap Fill
- Interview Bingo - one variation
- Intros - two variations
- It All Starts with a Picture - one variation
- Last Words - two variations
- Listening for Gist
- Listening for Specifics - one variation
- Magic Wand - one variation
- Make It Unanimous! - two variations
- Match the Phrase - three variations
- Memory (Version One)
- Memory (Version Two)
- Milestones
- Mind Maps - one variation
- None of Your Business!
- Odd Word Out - one variation
- One Truth, One Lie - one variation
- Order, Order
- Pass the Question - one variation
- Pickle in the Middle - one variation
- Prompted Dialogues
- Quiz Time! - two variations
- Reading for Gist
- Reading for Specifics - one variation
- Role Plays
- Round-Robin Storytelling - one variation
- Same and Different
- Scheduling
- Sentence Scramble - two variations
- Sit Down! - one variation
- Six Sentences
- Songs
- Slap - two variations
- Steal the Conversation
- Storytelling
- Stranded! - one variation
- Substitution Drills
- Substitution Drills (with flashcards)
- Summarization - one variation
- Synonym Brainstorm
- Synonym Match - one variation
- Synonym Word Search - two variations
- Taboo - one variation
- Talk and Trade
- Talk and Walk
- Teacher Speculation - two variations
- That's Not Important - two variations
- That's the Best!
- Translate and Translate Again - two variations
- Twenty Questions
- Two-Minute Conversations - one variation
- Two-Minute Debates - one variation
- Video, No Sound
- Video Speculation
- Vocabulary Brainstorm - two variations
- Vocabulary Feud - one variation
- What Happens Next?
- What's Missing?
- What's the Order? - one variation
- What's the Question?
- What's the Reason?
- Word Association
- Write on Your Partner's Back - two variations
- Your Pace
Purchase Better Language Teaching and get the following for FREE!
● Chatter Cards: 100 question cards ideal for conversation in lower-level classes.
● Question Cards: 100 question cards for upper-level students. Challenging and interesting questions to get your students speaking.
● Conversations in the Classroom: A free resource guide written specifically for the Chatter and Question Cards. There's information on accuracy, fluency, productive level, and receptive level, as well as activities edited and tested for use with the cards.
And just like Better Language Teaching, the ideas and material here are flexible and easy to use, perfect for the needs of any class!
With your purchase of Better Language Teaching, you'll also join the Elite Teaching Newsletter!
Every ten days, you'll receive tips, ideas, activities, and fresh resources direct to your email account. Not only is there a wealth of information to make you a better language teacher, but the contents of each newsletter will soon make you an elite teacher!
Don't wait, sign up right now, and begin teaching better!
Have great classes!
Chris Cotter
One last post script. Purchase Better Language Teaching for only $19.95. You get instant access to proven methods and techniques to improve your language classes. You get instant access to activities to foster better participation and retention of key language. Plus, if not satisfied with the contents, you'll get a no-quibble refund within 30 days.
Why not give Better Language Teaching a try? Get started now and join hundreds of other teachers just like you who have purchased the ebook.