Communicative Activities for Large Classes British Council / Estado de México 2011

Communicative Activities for Large Classes Learning Outcomes: By the end of the session, participants will be better able to:  Understand and inform others about the advantages and challenges of working with large classes  Understand The Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes  Evaluate and adapt communicative activities for large classes

Excitement Although they may be noisy, large classes can be exciting if we channel the energy creatively Timing Time flies in a large class! Activities may take longer and extra activities that you did not use can be saved for later Advantages of Teaching Large Classes

Participation There will always be someone who wants to answer questions! Fillers Teachers don’t need so many extra activities, since main activities take longer in general Can you think of any others? Advantages of Teaching Large Classes

Teacher can feel out of control Having so many students can make some teachers feel helpless Classroom Management Even things like taking the register take much longer, instructions may need repeating more often and moving furniture can be problematic. Challenges when Teaching Large Classes

Teacher can feel out of control Having so many students can make some teachers feel helpless …So careful planning and management are vital! Classroom Management Even things like taking the register take much longer, instructions may need repeating more often and moving furniture can be problematic. …So involve students more! They can Sign a list on the door, students can Repeat instructions, and you can make Arrangements to use the patio … Challenges when Teaching Large Classes

Large amounts of paperwork Enormous amounts of homework can be problematic Individual Learner Differences It is hard to cater for different types of intelligence and learning styles Quieter students It can be harder to reach and encourage quieter students Challenges when Teaching Large Classes istockphoto.com

Large amounts of paperwork Enormous amounts of homework can be problematic …So develop self-correction, peer correction groups and get stronger students to help with correcting Individual Learner Differences It is hard to cater for different types of intelligence and learning styles …So plan activities To appeal to different student types Challenges when Teaching Large Classes istockphoto.com

Challenges when Teaching Large Classes Intimacy It can be hard to remember student’s names and it can seem hard to get to know their students Distractions More students means more people arriving late, chatting or playing together Preparation Making extra materials and photocopies for a large class can be very expensive

Challenges when Teaching Large Classes Intimacy It can be hard to remember student’s names and it can seem hard to get to know their students …So ask them to have their names on their desks and get them to draw or write pictures about themselves, their families, their worries their dreams and have wall displays! Distractions More students means more people arriving late, chatting or playing together …So get students involved in making and keeping rules! Preparation Making extra materials and photocopies for a large class can be very expensive …So use realia, items in the classroom, wall charts and flash cards and projector!

Challenges when Teaching Large Classes Noise levels Large classes can get over-excited and noisy in pair or group activities. Monitoring students It can be difficult to get to every pair or group during when monitoring juanslife.com

Challenges when Teaching Large Classes Noise levels Large classes can get over-excited and noisy in pair or group activities. …So develop awareness that people can enjoy themselves quietly without disturbing others! Monitoring students It can be difficult to get to every pair or group during when monitoring..So keep careful notes and be sure that you get to each goup, say, once per week! juanslife.com

Challenges when Teaching Large Classes Space Certain activities which involve movement may not be possible for lack of space Textbooks and resources There may not be enough textbooks or computers available for all students juanslife.com

Challenges when Teaching Large Classes Space Certain activities which involve movement may not be possible for lack of space …So make arrangements to use the auditorium or the patio for some classes! Textbooks and resources There may not be enough textbooks or computers available for all students …So encourage a culture of sharing and caring! juanslife.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 1. Variety istockphoto

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 2. Pace Computerclipart.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 3. Interest wpf.org

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 4. Collaboration edu-futuro.org

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 5. Individualization educationinmedicine.northwestern.edu

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 6. Personalization snakeysue.co.uk

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 7. Choice istockphoto.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 8. Routines lsuagcenter.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 9. Inclusion fundacionluisvives.org

Ten Principles for Teaching Large Classes 10. Analyze your own (teacher’s) questions! Thelearningwell.com

Communicative activities for Large Classes Now please work in small groups and appoint a scribe for the group Look at the 5 suggestions for communicative activities with large groups in your books Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each activity, in relation to your own classes and how you might adapt the activities for your students The scribe will take careful notes to post on the wall for the whole group

Communicative activities for Large Classes 1. The Hot Seat English Skills: Speaking, Listening, Vocabulary Objective: Communicate words without saying them Put students into groups of 4/5. One of the students must sit with their back to the board, the other students facing the board. The teacher can draw or put a flashcard on the board (or write a word). The students have to describe what is on the card to help the student (with their back to the board) to guess what it is.

2 (a). Guess Who English Skills: Speaking Objective: Form questions and identify a person or thing Choose a student leader for the class (or smaller groups) Ask the leader to think of a famous person Group members have to ask yes/no questions to get information When a group member receives a 'yes' to their question, they can ask one follow up question If the answer to a group member's question is no, the next student gets to ask a question The game continues until the students guess who it is Communicative activities for Large Classes

Guess What English Skills: Speaking Objective: Form questions and identify a person or thing The same game can be played as 'Guess What', in which case students are playing to identify an object, animal, etc (it’s a good idea to start with an object in the room until students get the hang of it). You may choose to prepare a handout of possible questions to get things started and help weaker students. Some possible questions are: ‘Are you famous?’ ‘Are you a man?’ ‘Are you a woman?’ ‘Are you an actor?’ ‘Are you a singer?’ ** Music can add to the fun and tension of this game. Add recorded sound effects such as a ticking clock, Jeopardy, etc. to create a better atmosphere for the game. Communicative activities for Large Classes

3. I Went to the Market English Skills: Grammar, Speaking, Vocabulary Objective: Use memory to reinforce past-tense structure and focus on correct use of articles Divide class into groups; select one group to help demonstrate the rules Teacher starts by saying, "I went to the market and I bought an apple." Student next to the teacher follows by saying, "I went to the market and I bought an apple and some eggs." The next student continues by saying, "I went to the market and I bought an apple, some eggs, and a potato." Play continues with each student repeating what previous members said and adding one item to the “shopping list” Variation: you can change the game to practice all kinds of verb tenses and vocabulary! Communicative activities for Large Classes

4. Hold them up! English Skills: Listening, Reading and Vocabulary Objective: For students to revise vocabulary. Split the class into groups 4/5 Before the activity, write a different word on a separate piece of paper for each team (the vocabulary you want students to revise) Have one student from each team sit in an allocated chair with the papers on a desk in front of them or on the floor Say one of the vocabulary words on the board (or you could give a definition for higher levels) Students have find the word on the board and hold it up! The student to hold it up first gets one point for their team Repeat until everyone has had at least one turn Communicative activities for Large Classes

5. Word Challenge Number of Students: Teams of 4-10 English Skills: Listening, Speaking, Spelling Objective: One team says a word and the other tries to spell it Have students get into teams of 4-10 people One person from each team does rocks, paper, scissors/rolls a dice Winner says a word and opponent tries to write the word correctly If they get it right, their team gets a point If they get it wrong, the person who said the word can write it out for a point for their team Have another person from each team play 'Word Challenge' Make an 'arena' in the middle of the class for two students to face off Students will start to look up difficult words to stump the other team! Remember to do a follow-up assignment for new words used such as teaching the class the meanings and having students make sentences with the new words. Communicative activities for Large Classes

The scribe will now post a report on the wall Participants should go and compare reactions with their own. Finally, discuss points of agreement and disagreement together

Communicative activities for Large Classes For final reflection activity, see Trainer’s notes

Bibliography Benwell, T., Teaching Large Classes Tefl.net, large-classes/ large-classes/ Hess, N. (2001) Teaching Large Multilevel Classes, Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes