GIVE YOUR TEACHING THE COACHING TWIST Duncan Foord, Prague, April 2016

3 Coach questions Think of a student you teach. What do you know about their English language life? Tell your partner What are their goals? How are they progressing in relation to those goals? Tell your partner What is stopping them reach their goals or slowing them down? What could they do to overcome these obstacles?

Class A Average lessons, students do lots of English outside class Class B Great lessons, students do little English outside class Which students make more progress?

three things coaches do: the Coaching MOP 1. MOTIVATE They inspire and motivate their learners, especially when they see that they are flagging. 2. ORGANISE They help their learners to set goals and monitor their achievements. 3. PRACTISE They help their learners to exploit their skills, abilities and interests to achieve their goals.

Inner game theory In every human endeavour there are two arenas of engagement: the outer and the inner. The outer game is played on an external arena to overcome external obstacles to reach an external goal. The inner game takes place within the mind of the player and is played against such obstacles as fear, self-doubt, lapses in focus, and limiting concepts or assumptions. The inner game is played to overcome the self-imposed obstacles that prevent an individual or team from accessing their full potential. Timothy Gallwey

GROW your English

If you had this conversation with students about learning English, …when would you do it? …who would do it? You with each student or students with each other? …how long would you spend on it? …would you do it just once, or regularly? …how could you organise conversations like this in your teaching situation?

English Week

Recording yourself Time: 20 mins Level: A2–C1 Practising:speaking fluency You can use a computer to record your voice or make a video if you have a webcam. Mobile phones, iPods and mp3s can also be used for recording sound and video. Step one Prepare to talk. You are going to talk about the place where you live. Think about what you are going to say. You can make a few notes, but don’t write a complete script. For example, you can talk about: • The location • How to get there • The surroundings (shops, buildings, countryside, etc.) • What you like and don’t like about it Step two Record yourself talking for 2 minutes. Step three Listen to the recording. You can record it again if you want to improve it, but don’t worry if it isn’t perfect! Do more on your own Make another recording about a different topic: a friend you met recently, something that makes you angry, a special object… You choose! Do more with other people Your English teacher or a friend with good English could watch/listen to your recording and give you some advice on how to improve.

Listening to a song Time: 20 mins Level: A2–C1 Practising: listening to a song and reading the lyrics Songs make language memorable. Listening to a song and studying the lyrics (=words) is one of the most popular listening activities for people learning English! Step one Choose a song you want to understand from your own collection or online. Step two Find the lyrics of the song (search for example ‘dancing queen lyrics’). Listen to the song and read the lyrics two or three times. Look up words you don’t know in the dictionary. You may find a translation of the lyrics into your language which you can also use. Step three Sing along to the song! Do more on your own • Make a note of 3 words or phrases you think are useful for you to learn. • Post a short comment about the song on YouTube. Respond to something someone else has posted or simply say why you like the song or the band. • Find a song with a similar theme and compare the lyrics. Do more with others Tell your friend about the song. What do you think it’s about? Why do you like it?

Write a review Time: 20 mins Level: B1–C2 Practising: writing reviews A few years ago, it was only professional critics who reviewed restaurants, movies, books, new cars, etc. Nowadays, everyone can give their opinions about almost anything on the internet. You can too! Step one Think of a product you’ve bought, a book you’ve read, a movie you’ve seen, a meal you’ve eaten in a restaurant or some music you’ve listened to recently. Step two Find a website where you can review these things. If you bought the product online, go back to the site you bought it from and look for ‘Write a customer review’ or similar. If you want to review a book, movie, etc., Google ‘book/movie/restaurant review sites’ Step three Write your review! Answer these questions to help you. What type of (movie, restaurant…) is it? What was good about it? What wasn’t so good about it? Who would you recommend it to and why? Do more on your own • Read more reviews of the same thing you wrote about. Do they share your opinion? • Read some more reviews. What adjectives do people use to describe it? Learn three new adjectives. Do more with others Tell a friend about the thing you wrote about.

duncan@oxfordtefl.com www.learnercoachingelt.wordpress.com https://youtu.be/aZBCEJJfSoQ Lydia Machova