TESOL/ELT chat thread

[BertieBotts]

Anyone there in the woodwork? I know there are a few of you around and I thought it might be fun to have a kind of international staffroom thread.

I've been teaching just over 2 years and I'm in Germany :) What about everyone else?

I'll kick off with a question - I'm looking to move away from doing silent, individual paper-based activities in the classroom and shift them more to homework, with more active participation in the actual class itself. I don't mind if it's me getting up and doing stuff or the students, but sitting there and waiting while they fill in a worksheet makes me want to fall asleep. I'm finding this okay with any classes of A2 and up but really struggling with my beginners. The school I work in has tiny classes with a maximum of 6 students, and my current beginner classes are a one to one and then a group of 3, although normally at least one of them doesn't show up every week. The group class is easier, aside from having to plan three different lessons , the one to one is slow, slow torture.

I'll join in
I teach ESL and English lit at a tiny private school in Malaysia. (only 140 on role- Early years to Y11)

I've just started my 3rd academic year there.

I teach upper primary and lower secondary English lit, which is nice as I get to choose my books, we work on some vocab, some discussion etc. I'm doing Harry Potter with my Y8s , Holes with Y7 and Dahl and Michael Morpurgo with the younger ones.
I also have a Y9 English language class this year, who are quite challenging- they have mainly come from a very very traditional chinese school background. They will hardly speak in class, so getting any kind of discussion going is tough.

Hello fatowl :)

I teach mostly adults but the school I work at does run some after-school classes for children. They are mostly at the times that I have DS so I can't teach then.