Creating the English Only Classroom
Sorry for the podcast delay. Ran out of server space. But we’re up and running now.
The English only classroom isn’t just a myth. Eric takes us through what we need to think about, how to set it up, and the benefits of an English only classroom. Beginners to advanced classes, toddlers to adults, you’ll have an all English classroom in one week or your money back! Read more about an English Only Classroom here.
GAME OF THE WEEK: The Yes No Game
Here’s a game to play when the question is more important than the answer. It’s great for difficult to contextualize questions like ‘May I …?’ or ‘Do you think we should …?’ for example. Download and use the prepared cards or make your own!
Yes No game card download page at MES-English.com
May 15th, 2006 at 3:50 am
Hi guys,
Another good show. Thanks for the game. I will try it with my kids
livinginkorea
May 15th, 2006 at 7:08 am
Thanks! Sorry, there was a bit of a delay. We had some hosting troubles that we have ironed out. We should be good from now on for one show a week.
Let us know how the game works out. It has been a big hit in all my classes so far.
- Mark
May 20th, 2006 at 6:48 am
Hi Mark and Eric, your shows are excellent because they are live yet at the same time professional. I mean you just share real life experience with ESL professionals from around the world. As far as I know there is nothing out there like this. Most of the ESL resources of the more established companies are rather stiff and boring. Keep it up. (I’m just listening to your current show and maybe I’ll post some comments later).
Talk soon,
Torsten
May 20th, 2006 at 6:49 am
One thing you might try to adjust is the volume: the level is slightly different (either Eric’s of Mark’s voice is louder)….
May 20th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Listening to your show I’ve just taken some notes as there is so much information and some of our ‘colleagues’ might be even overwhelmed, hope this is OK:
- reinforcement plan
- reward the students
- discourage them for breaking the rule
- the rule is: stick to English/English only
- smile (smilie system)
- take smiles away for bad behavior
- reward system
- respond to the smily faces
- keep track of who is behaving how
- little gifts from the bookshop
- motivation through gifts
- be firm and consistent
- introduce the rule in English rather than the first lang
- implement a discouraging system
- first day is the hardest for teacher and students
- deal with the initial shock
- it will become second nature
- ‘from now Korean is over’
- be adamant and consistent throughout the entire program
- situations where you might need to use lang 1
- step three: you should always speaking English!
- try to explain a complex topic through English (instructions to a game)
- students will have great feeling and boost their confidence if they understand
- explain grammar structures in English
- they don’t need to understand EVERYTHING
- they HAVE TO understand that they don’t have to understand
- as long as they get the gist of it they will be fine
- step four: get the students to use their tools
- things they need to get through the class (phrases: “repeat please”, I need to go to the bathroom, what does this mean, is it a verb… = phrases of communication)
- hippie kick: don’t focus on the grammar when it comes to the function phrases
- useable junks of language when they NEED to DO rather than SAY something
- strings of sounds with meaning attached
- have a controlled space of using lang 1 (may I speak Korean?)
- define a purpose for using lang 1
- explain very complex things in lang 1 only after you have tried several times in English
June 26th, 2006 at 1:08 am
[…] A few weeks ago we talked about the advantages of having an English only classroom. After ths show Mark tested it out on his classes. Here about his experiences. If you didn’t hear the previous show, check it out here. […]