Chapter 5: Standing in the Spotlight: Presenting to the Class 69
✓ Deal with learners according to their level; don’t try to elicit an interme-
diate level answer from an elementary level student.✓ Once students are speaking, don’t cut them off mid-sentence. Remember
that one of the aims of eliciting is to increase student talking time.Creating Interest with Visual Aids
Visual images and aids add interest and often add meaning in a way that
words can’t. This is especially true of EFL students who don’t have sufficient
words to understand detailed spoken explanations.Showing and telling – pictures and objects
People learn in different ways. For example, some people learn well by listen-
ing (auditory learning), some by movement and touch (kinaesthetic learning)
and many people respond well to seeing things (visual learning). These are
some of the different learning styles. So having variety in your presentations
gives attention to these different styles and helps everyone succeed.Bringing something of interest into the classroom gets students quite excited –
there’s a certain novelty value involved in pictures and objects you personally
have chosen.Things visual learners love to see in a presentation include:✓ Flash cards: Not just for primary school, flashcards are good fun for
adults and children alike. The traditional flashcard has a picture on
the front and the equivalent word in writing on the back or below. By
holding up one side of the card you can elicit the information on the
other side.
You can use flash cards for vocabulary groups such as jobs, food, ani-
mals, weather and hobbies. Or how about having the infinitive verb
form on the front, and the past simple and past participle on the back?
Likewise, try having opposites front and back.
✓ Drawings: A simple stick figure drawing is enough to make students
smile and give them something to talk about. If you’re a bit nervous
about your art work, do it before the lesson and then just stick your pic-
ture to the board. Use a clipart website if you really can’t draw anything
recognisable.