My Blog put on hold

Please not that due to cersorship of Blogspot in China, I am unable to access my blog and am thus unable to update it with content.
This most unfortunate situation will continue indefinitly, and I will only be able to access my blog from outside China.

Apologies

"Merely speaking a language does not a good teacher make."

Teaching is more of a passion than a profession, and great teachers have certain traits and abilities that make them special.

Here is a list of characterisics that I feel a good teacher should have:

• A sense of Purpose and Responsibility

A great teacher should be aware of the PURPOSE of being a teacher, and the role a teacher plays in their students' lives. A teacher has enormous influence on their students, and can make or break their interst in a subject. With this power and influence comes the RESPONSIBILITY to carry out our duty effectively.

• A Positive Attitude

Teaching is full of trials and tribulations but, as teachers, we cannot let these issue affect how we teach and interact with our students. Teachers are role models for students, and having a positive attitude both in and outside the classroom will make you a more successful, happier teacher.

• Creative and Resourceful

Teachers need all the help they can get to keep their students motivated and interested in the class. A great teacher will compliment the books they are using with interesting, fun, and effective methods of making what is being taught, applicable and meaningful for their students. Presenting new ideas to students in creative ways is an important part of the teaching process. Great teachers are always thinking of new ways to get the point across to their students. They find inspiration for their teaching methods in their everyday enviroment. Using the things at their disposal, to get the job done.

• Empathy for your Students

A great teacher can put themselves in their students' shoes, and look at the content of the lesson from their students' point of view. They understand the difficulties and problems their students may have in learning the new material, and find ways to help their students overcome these difficulties.

• Be Prepared and Flexible

A large part of a teacher's job is the preparation process. Being well prepared for a class is a basic requirement for every teacher and is a responsibility a teacher owes to their students. Being prepared for a class enables a teacher to focus all their attention on their students and the teaching/learning process in the classroom. Preparedness also enables the teacher to be more flexible in dealing with unforseen circumstances, that may arise in the classroom. A teacher with a well planned lesson is much better equipped to deal with any disruptions to the class. They will also be more confident to explore and elaborate on any particular point that the students are having a problem with, or which they find interesting. Being prepared and flexible are thus complementary concepts.

• High Expectations
  

A great teacher has high expectations of their students and themselves. They set goals for their students and themselves, and then plan strategies to attain these goals. They not only set the goals for their students, but they help students to attain the goals.

• A Love of Students

A great teacher treats each student in their class as a child of their own. After each class a great teacher asks themselves the question: "If my child was in the class today, would I be saticefied with the teacher's performance?" The honest answer to this question will determine how good a teacher you are.

Beijing Radio Program - Teaching Phonics 2 of 2

Beijing Radio Program - Teaching Phonics 1 of 2

Using Alliteration Flashcards to teach Phonics

Phonics is a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning to associate letters or letter groups with the sounds they represent.

Students' first impressions of the letters and the sounds they make are very important, as first impressions are often the lasting ones. It is thus very important for teachers to introduce the letters in a fun, interesting and memorable way. I created a set of alliteration alphabet flashcards to help students, not only learn the lower-case letter and its sound, but also two words beginning with that letter. For example, the flashcard for the letter Aa has a lower-case 'a' on one side, and a picture of an 'angry apple' on to other side.

The alliteration of the letter 'a' in angry apple helps students to hear the sound that the letter 'a' makes, clearly. In my teaching, I found that the students learn the two words 'angry' and 'apple' just as easily as they would learn one word 'apple'. After finishing the alphabet, my students have learned 52 words as opposed to the 26 featured in normal sets of flashcards.

The alliteration also forms a rhythm that helps students to produce and remember the sound and the words.

The word combinations for the letters are also unusual, humorous, and interesting. This maintains the students' interest, as well as stimulating their imagination. I encourage the students to mime the object that is presented on each card. The students say the sound of the letter and the word combinations as they mime. This TPR method helps to internalize the sound and the words.

Using the alliterated flashcards results in students being motivated to learn the alphabet in a positive, fun,interactive way, that gives students a solid foundation to the most basic of language learning steps.

The birth of my Blog

Hello Everyone.

I would like to welcome you, one and all to my blog. This blog will serve as a place on the world wide web for us to connect and share ideas on English Language Teaching, and life in general.
I will be putting my thoughts, ideas and experiences down on this blog. You are more than welcome to check back on a regular basis and keep in touch with me.