for others, you need to go with the feel of the class. If any groups have been
working slowly, warn them a couple of minutes in advance that you will
have to stop shortly.
9 Have something planned for early finishers. This could be a continuation
of the original task, or something quite different that emerges, such as study
of a particular language point. If your learners are more independent, you
could invite them to choose their own activity.
10 Get pairs and groups to report to the class. Many learners gain
reassurance and emotional satisfaction from telling the whole class what
work they did. It’s also very valuable language practice: they get a ‘second
chance’ to use the language of the task, in a situation where they will want to
be as accurate as possible. You don’t have to ask every group to report every
time, as long as everyone gets a chance over a series of lessons.
11 Be aware of L1 use. If your class is monolingual, you may find that they
sometimes use L1 during group work time. You need to be sensitive about
this, because sometimes L1 serves a useful purpose—for example, learners
may be conferring with each other on actually how to do the task. Try and
make sure that they at least do the task itself in English.8 Working with large classes
In many parts of the world, ESOL teachers find themselves working with groups
of 60 or more learners. The following suggestions should help you to cope with
the practical demands of large classes. They also explore ways of adapting
techniques typically associated with smaller groups.
1 Address learners by name whenever you can. This helps learners to feel
that you are aware of them as individuals and that their presence and
contribution in class are important. We do not underestimate the difficulty
of learning so many names; but techniques such as name cards, seating
plans, or games at the start of the course can make the task more
manageable.
2 Don’t compete for the floor. If the level of background noise means that
you cannot speak comfortably, stop speaking. Learners will almost always
quieten down. This is a good way of demonstrating to them that they share
the responsibility for creating a productive learning atmosphere.
3 Elicit learners’ practical help. Management tasks like recording
attendance, distributing and collecting materials and sharing around
resources can be time consuming in a large class. Younger learners
especially can enjoy taking on some of these responsibilities.
4 Call on learners randomly, but equally. During whole class work, it is you
who must invite learners to speak and not everyone will get a chance in one16 500 TIPS FOR TESOL