Task 3 - 7B

The techniques we use will depend to some extent on how big our classes are”

• Make a comparative chart distinguish possitive and negative aspects of one-to-one classes, and large classes.

Teaching one-to-one

Large classes

Possitive aspects	Negative aspects	Possitive aspects	Negative aspects
Teacher is focused in only one student. Student has opportunity to do all the speaking Both teacher and student can tailor the course to exactly what is suitable for a group as a whole. Both can manage the class even better than 30 students.	The intensity of the relationship makes the rapport between teacher and student vitally important. Some teachers find individual students difficult to deal with  - sometimes simply because they don't like them very much. Some private students are lacking in confidence or untalkative for other reasons. Students and teachers can often become tired and sleepy in one-to-one sessions. Some individual students can be very demanding and constantly expect more and more from their teacher.	theR are always enough students to get interaction going there is a rich variety of human resources.  Furthermore, there are many possible 'teachers' in the class, we will never get bored because the challenge is great!	How, can we give students personal attention? How can we get students interacting with each other? What can we do to make organisation smooth and effective?

•  Enumerate and explain briefly the guidelines for private classes and the key elements in successful large groups (250 words).

Private classes guidelines:

• To make a good impression: It is very important to to create the appropiate atmosphere for learning and the rapport,

• Be well-prepared: We have to prepare the class according to the different between some students and other students. We have to give them the activities in the right shape to make them feel confidence.

• Listen and watch:  Make students respond to different activities, styles and content. Teachers have to be dynamic and fluently with them, talk, watch, listen to each other, in order to achieve an interactive atmosphere.

• Give explanations and guidelines: When students feel insecure and they can't do the activities in the right way, we have to give them explanations, examples and guidelines to help them.

• Don't be afraid to say no: Teachers have to say "no" in some situations, the personality match with the student is, unfortunately, unsuccessful. We can get over this by being extremely profesional, maintaining a distance between ourselves and the student.

Key elements in successful large groups 

• Be organised: We have to be organised, specially with a large group in order to make them learn properly.

• Establish routines: Teachers have to establish daily routines to make jobs like talking the register, setting and collecting homework, getting into pairs and groups, etc, easier for the students.

• Use a different pace for different activities:  In large groups we will need to be more careful about how we organise different activities with them . If we ask students to say something in a lage class, we need to give them time to respond before charging ahead.

• Maximise individual work: When we get students to build their own portfolio of work, we are asking them to work as individual. We can get students to write individually - offering their own responses or points of view.

• Use students: Students can take the register or organise their classmates into groups. We can ask some of our students to teach the others.

• Use worksheets:  One solution is for teachers to hand out worksheets for many of the tasks which they would normally do with the whole class.

• Use pairwork and groupwork: In large classes, pairwork and groupwork play an important part since they maximise student participation.

• Use chorus reaction: The class can be devided into two halves. Each row/half can then speak a part in a dialogue, ask or answer a question or repeat sentences or words.

• Take account of vision and acoustics: We have to ensure we show or write can be seen and that what we say or play to the whole group can be heard.

• Use the size of the group to your advantages: They can talk much than little groups, and the interaction between them is much better.

Task 2 - 7A

• Point out some characteristics of these places (schools, language schools, private language schools, in school, in company, real and virtual learning). Consider advantages and disadvantages. (200 words)

Schools and language schools: Many students learn English in primary and secondary schools around the world. They have not chosen to do this themselves, but students learn English because is on the curriculum. Many of this schools do not have the appropiate resources and equipment, as useful technologies, and these missing factors may influence the education of students.

Private language schools: On the other hand, private language schools are better equipped than some government schools. They will frecuently have smaller class sizes and, the students in them may well have chosen to come and study.

In-school and in-company: Teachers have to be aware of school policy and conform to syllabus and curriculum where the decisions were taken by whoever is responsible for the academic running of the school. The teacher may need to negotiate the class content, not only with the students but also with whoever is paying for the tuition (parents and tutors).

Real and virtual learning environments: The common form of education takes place in a classroom, inside schools. But there are many technologies that allow us to learn everything in Internet, from the commodity of our homes. Teachers from other countries teach us and leave us homework from websites, like OpenEnglish.com.

• Reflect on: types of instructions in Argentina and your area. Which one do you find more appealing and why? (80 words)

I think Direct Instruction (the teacher giving instructions with little to no input, I´d say output since the teacher is the input in this case from the students, as in a lecture) is best type of instruction. Because, the teacher is near to you, she/he explains everything and you are able to understand all that she/he says. So, the teacher should be there to join in the lecture, and be alert if someone has a question or doubt. Also, at the same time, you can hear opinions from your classmates, and make your own.  That’s why I prefer that type of instruction, it helps me a lot everytime.

Task 1

• Write a paragraph (300 words) relating to this words: rapport, teacher's roles, TTQ, TTT and STT.
  

When we talk about teaching, we have to take into account some features. One of them is rapport. Rapport is the relationship that students establish with the teachers and vice versa. It depends on the shape teachers interact with students. So, we can say that teacher's roles are related to rapport, because all of them require an interaction between teacher and student. Teachers should be able to adopt a variety of roles within the classroom which facilitate learning. Teachers need to switch between the various roles, judging when it’s appropriate or not. The different roles are: Facilitator: Teacher guides students democratically Controller: Teacher stands at the front of the class, watching and talking about every activity. Prompter: Teacher encourages students helping them to achieve more knowledges. Participant: Teacher joins in an activity as participant (remember, when you try to explain or define do not use the same words you´re defining) . Resource: Teacher helps students in their tasks, responding their doubts. Tutor: Teacher is like an advisor who responds to what the students are doing and advises them on what to do next. But also, to create a relationship is important too. That's how teacher's roles modify the relationship between teachers and students.  Teacher talking time (TTT), because if teachers talk with students, they can be more connected. . Because we have to talk in a shape that students can understand and be part of it. At the same time, TTT can modify teacher's roles. When TTT prevails in the classroom, the main role is Controller. One key element of many modern approaches is to reduce the amount of TTT as much as possible, to allow learners opportunities to speak, and learn from speaking. The relative value of TTT and STT is a complex area. Learners need to produce language in real time conversation; to give them a chance to notice their own mistakes, and for the class to be student-centered. They also need input from an effective language user in order to form hypotheses about language rules, and the teacher may be one of the main sources of this input. A teacher can start exploring this area by investigating themselves and finding out when, why and how much they and their students talk. Also, the quality is important (TTQ). It is the quality of what we say that really counts. And as to when say it, that depends on how students fits in, to get a better result in the activities and all the other myriad aspects of the curriculum. And also, quality is related to teacher's roles, this transmision of information could be associated with Controller, standing at the front of the class, giving the tasks and the information (Resource).