How to make self-study English interesting. How to conduct the first lesson. Interesting lessons on the example of colloquial

Good winter day everyone!

Autumn is coming to an end, it’s incomprehensible snow outside the window, and your phone suddenly rings and, having picked up the phone and prepared to refuse to take a loan or have a very necessary procedure in a beauty salon, you hear that someone is eager to learn a language, and certainly under your sensitive leadership.

What to do and where to run?

Let's try to figure out what to talk about on the phone and what to do on first lesson in English.

Phone conversation

By phone, I always try to discuss the points that concern me in order to understand whether we can cooperate or not. And the answer will be negative if:
1) not suitable time or place conducting classes;
2) not satisfied price;
3) target teaching a student does not coincide with my goals in teaching (for me it is when a mother wants me and my child to do homework in English or an adult declares that he will only talk, without tedious rules and memorizing words);
4) on the other end of the wire they say as if I already have something must caller.

If everything suits us, we agree on the place and time of the first lesson. I warn you that the purpose of the first meeting there will be a language level determination, it is free and lasts about 40 minutes. You need to take a notebook and a pen with you.
I also learn how the student himself can determine his level of knowledge in order to imagine what level of material to prepare. As a rule, adults quite adequately assess their capabilities, while with schoolchildren one cannot be sure of anything.

It happens that parents say: “we have been studying with a tutor for two years, but she can no longer study with us, so we turned to you”, I prepare A2 level materials, I come to class - and the child barely reads, and say he can’t do almost anything… The student becomes embarrassed because he doesn’t meet my expectations, my mother sees his discomfort and also starts to worry… It’s a stupid situation, I usually try to cheer me up in every possible way to smooth this moment, otherwise after the first meeting there will be an unpleasant impression.

First meeting

If the first class is with a student, I always leave early and try to dress more formally to good impression, it determines the opinion of the teacher for a long time. This is when we get to know each other better, you can walk in torn jeans and a T-shirt ...

Impressed, proceed directly to the lesson:

1. We start the meeting with dialogue. I have not yet seen a single student who cannot speak English at all. Before the conversation, I say to speak English as they say, without fear of making mistakes. If he does not understand or does not know something, let him speak in Russian.
   I ask standard questions: How are you? The name of? Where does he/she study/work? What does he like to do in his free time? If I see that I am doing well, I ask about the purpose of the study and wishes for conducting classes in English, if not, in Russian. (Accordingly, if there is a student in front of me, I ask this question to my parents, who always sit next to me at the first lesson).
2. I give further vocabulary and grammar test(about 20 questions), about 5 minutes. (If the student is an adult, I can send him to the post office before the meeting so as not to waste time in class.
   It is better to save the results in a separate folder specially dedicated to students. For what? If during the training the popular phrase “we have been studying for six months now, but I don’t feel that I have progressed in learning the language” pops up, show it every time I hear it. This is especially popular with USE students, recently one of them wrote me a sampler for 86 points (against 72 points six months ago), and still the same song: “I know the language worse than before” ...
3. While I'm reviewing the test, I give a small text for reading comprehension, with post-text speaking tasks, and ideally with listening, where the end of the story is recorded (for example, for adults, I like the text about the hotel with a ghost from lesson 6B New English File Elementary).

After all the manipulations, I say what level the student has (as a rule, the dialogue-test-text in unison repeats one thing, but there are also cases when the student understands what he read and writes the test well, but he can’t say almost anything and understands poorly by ear ), and which tutorial and why we choose. When choosing a textbook, I focus not only on the level of knowledge, but also on the tasks assigned to us.

In the end, I ask you once again to express any wishes for the classes, and for my part I warn that:

• at class cancellation(ill, work, urgent matters) must be reported 24 hours in advance. If more than three times in six months a lesson is canceled right before the lesson, I transfer it to an advance payment and increase the price. If I cancel the lesson (due to illness of myself or the child), we can reschedule it at the request of the student for the weekend or for a window in my schedule;
• at unfinished homework(more than three times in six months) we part. I don't believe in progress without independent work. I can make an exception for adults, who may not do homework for one lesson and we chat with them the whole lesson, and for the second they do double volume;
• raise the price I won’t be studying for a year (unless, of course, the goal changes - I suddenly want to pass the exam), and if I decide to raise from the next school year, I will inform about it in three months;
• if the student has something do not like during the lesson, I want to focus on some type of activity or any other doubts arise - all complaints are accepted and considered.

Results

It's great if you have a business card with coordinates. It looks professional, and it becomes clear that you are serious about the matter. I want to do everything for myself, I even came up with a design, but my hands won’t reach it.

Over time, at the first meeting, it becomes clear whether the person is serious. This helps to avoid that feeling when you allocated a place in the schedule, prepared for classes, tried to captivate and entertain ... and after a vacation or vacation, it disappears forever, leaving an unpleasant aftertaste on your soul.

I don’t want to end the article on a sad note, so I’ll say that the percentage of students who go nowhere is small - two students left me in a year. When I remember our first meetings, I understand that now I would not waste time. The first one on the phone said “it’s expensive for you”, but she started to study anyway, the second told me every lesson: “I like everything, I’m ready to study and do everything” and also disappeared after the holidays.
There are much more of those who come by word of mouth, so look at everything philosophically - "when one door closes, another one will certainly open."
Happy New Year everyone and good luck!

P.S. About the first lesson with those who are going to prepare for the OGE or the USE, I am writing.

What can be done to make children want to learn English themselves? How to conduct English lessons for children so that they want to learn?

The answer is simple - do not strain.

Put 80% of your efforts into making English lessons easy and effortless for your child. No need to try to conduct the lesson strictly according to the rules: the main thing is that you and your child are interested.

And what is the easiest way to arouse interest and turn the lesson into a favorite pastime? We need to fill the lesson with joy and laughter! Make the child laugh.

It is important! The brain just needs a little rest, and laughter will help you relax and absorb information. After all, information, with an emotional upsurge, is absorbed much deeper.

And, since children's humor is different from adults (children's jokes and fables no longer seem funny to us), let's remember a few ways to make a child laugh.

9 Ways to Make English Lessons Fun and Loved

1. Use things for other purposes. For example, during tea drinking of your toys, one of them began to drink tea from a shoe, and not eat soup with a cup or fork. If you have an outdoor game with the study of clothes and body parts, then you can offer to put on a hat on your leg or socks on your hands, and mittens on your feet.

1. Add inappropriate items. For example, if you are playing with toys, you can add a ladle or a shoe to them. Imagine how funny it is when a toy store tries to sell one shoe.

1. Get dirty. Kids always laugh when someone gets dirty in something. For example, if a bunny fell into flour or a mother got her nose dirty.

1. Tickling. Another easy way to cheer up a baby when the plot of a book or game requires a laugh is simply to tickle him. How do you like the idea of ​​holding an English lesson, under the joyful squeal of your beloved child?

1. Faces. Children love to make faces, but they are even more amused if their mother makes faces. Use faces when playing role-playing games or reading a book.

1. Funny voices. Change your voice when speaking on behalf of different characters, it will be at least interesting, and if the bear suddenly speaks in a thin voice, like a mouse, then it’s also funny.

1. confuse the place. During the game, when you sort objects according to some criteria, put the object in the wrong pile, this will make the child laugh. If suddenly the child did not understand that you were mistaken, then you can artistically turn your head (or even grab your head) and say “no, no, no, it should be right here.” For example, when sorting large and small items, put a very small item next to the larger ones.

1. Confuse things. You should not use this technique if you have just begun to study the topic. But when the child already knows the names of objects on the topic well, then try to confuse the name, for example, call the bear a monkey. If the child does not notice the mistake, you can always quickly correct yourself, which also most often causes laughter.

1. Something out of the ordinary, out of the ordinary. For example, a toy jumped over their heads or it started raining soft toys. The fish tried to take off, and the plane went along the rails instead of the train.

Gradually, you will understand which jokes the child likes more and it will not be difficult for you to come up with new ones, right on the go. Improvisation often works better than any planned action.

I want to return to the games that went easily and naturally again and again. Come back, play, joke and have the most fun.

And then English lessons for children will become beloved and long-awaited 🙂

Sincerely yours, Anastasia Rykova

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Gubanova Alla Sergeevna

MKOU "Nikolskaya secondary school"

Anninsky district,

Voronezh region

teacher in English

Times change, we change. From traditional forms and methods in pedagogy, we are moving to innovative ones. One of the proverbs says: "The right beginning is half the battle." Indeed, the beginning of the lesson is the key to a successful lesson. How to start an English lesson in order to interest children?

The classic beginning of the lesson is a dialogue with the teacher.

These are familiar questions from our childhood:

How are you?

What day is it today?

What's the weather like today?

Whatisyour homework?

Students memorize answers fairly quickly. The next stage is the ability to ask other guys. The role-playing game "I am a teacher" is especially liked by my students. You can also invite attendants to write questions in advance with missing words, for example:

How____ you?

What is ___weather____ today?

The student reconstructs the question and then answers it. In the future, you can gradually add a new lexical unit. For example, you can learn to use not only “like”, but also verbs such as “to be fond of, enjoy, …”

In implementing the Federal State Educational Standard, I consider it appropriate to have a constructive dialogue so that students and listeners become direct participants in what is happening. You can start the lesson on a friendly note, asking how the students are feeling, how they spent the weekend, or what plans they have for tomorrow, what they are going to after school. This allows the guys to open up on the other side, learn about their hobbies and hobbies.

But how to diversify such obligatory parts of the lesson as checking homework and consolidating the material covered? A lot of it depends on the topic. If the topic is “Weather”, you can play meteorologists, if the topics are “House”, “Family”, “Appearance”, you can connect your imagination and ask one of the guys to tell about their vision of the future. All advice and recommendations must be given in English. Favorite forms of vocabulary repetition are crossword puzzles, loto games, shifters.

Speech workout. It is designed to create a special foreign-language atmosphere in the classroom, for the so-called "entering the lesson". For the teacher, speech warm-up is, firstly, a way to help students enter language environment after they come to the English class after studying others school subjects; secondly, tune in to communication in English; thirdly, a positive attitude for the whole future lesson. All this at the same time and in just 1-2 minutes.

Personalization is the main principle of teaching English, which is that only what is directly related to a person is well absorbed and remembered.

Here are some examples of speech warm-up:

1. digital conversation

Students are given any topic for discussion, but when discussing this topic, five must be said. different numbers: date, price, phones, time, dimensions, etc.

2. News. A review of the news was given to students to do in the previous lesson. Various kinds of news are heard: political, criminal, musical, sports, etc. Some of the guys were too lazy and did not do their homework, and therefore they take news from their mobile phone on the go. It's okay, let them practice in translation.

3. Follow the answer

The purpose of this warm-up is to learn how to ask and answer questions correctly. This warm-up is suitable for fixing any grammatical structures. Questions can be prepared for students in advance, or they can be asked to create their own questions. The participants stand in a circle, but the questions are not asked to the neighbor, but to the one behind him. Anyone who gets confused or answers the wrong question is out of the game.

4. Tongue twisters can be used for these purposes.

Pansies purple, poppies red,

Primrose pale with golden head. (p)

Lovely colors gleaming brightly

Laughing water lapping lightly. (l)

William Winter and Walter Wilkins always wash the walls between the windows white with water.(w)

5. Chants, songs

Chants are good because they are easy to remember, which means that vocabulary and grammar rules are remembered.

Working with a chant: one student reads left side, the rest answer in chorus (right side).

Example:

Banker's Wife Blues

Where does John live?

He lives near the bank.

When does he work?

He works all day and he works all night

At the bank, at the bank, at the big, grate bank.

Where does he study?

He studies at the bank.

Where does he sleep?

He sleeps at the bank.

Why does he spend all day, all night, day, all night

At the bank, at the bank, at the big, grate bank?

Because he loves his bank more than his wife

And he loves his money more than his life.

Practice questions and answers in simple present tense.

An experienced teacher can come up with his own chant with the current vocabulary.

Songs - source new vocabulary, but more importantly, they help students relax, learn correct pronunciation and feel capable of learning English.

Songs need to be changed more often, but sometimes return to the studied ones. Song lyrics can be changed.

If there are pictures associated with the song, then you can stop singing and devote 2-3 minutes to describing the pictures.

6. Idioms, proverbs

Once a week, an idiom or proverb changes, which students talk about - explain the meaning, use in short story, dialogue, talk about the origin, describe a funny picture, pick up the Russian equivalent. By the end of the week, the idiom becomes "native" and is actively absorbed.

Students can be asked to draw a picture to explain the idiom. Drawings are very successful and are used for more than one year.

Proverbs can be studied very intensively - one in two lessons, you can come up with stories that end with a proverb.

7. Poems

For younger students, these are simple verses that game form almost everything is easy to learn. It is desirable to associate the poem with the topic under study. You can recite in chorus, line by line, even read, but the text must be with missing words.

You can pick up an idiom or proverb for a poem, which we explain when everyone (or almost everyone) has learned the poem. You can change the poem, moreover, with active participation children. For example, consider the following poem:

Fly, little bird, fly!

Fly into the sky!

1, 2, 3, you are free!

The students were able to creatively rework the poem:

Run, little rabbit, run!

In the forest have fun!

one, two, three, four,

Do you want to run more?

Some verses can be read very quickly and they turn into tongue twisters. For example:

Cats

By E. Farjeon.

cat sleep anywhere

Any table, any chair,

Top of piano, window ledge,

In the middle, on the edge,

Open drawer, empty shoe,

Anybody's lap will do,

Fitted in a cupboard box,

In the cupboard with your frocks

Anywhere! They don't care!

Cats sleep anywhere.

It is advisable to choose a picture to describe the poem. But that's the next step.

8. Pictures

It is better to use student drawings and real photos.

It's good when the textbook has a good picture on the current topic.

Then you can give homework - to describe it, but in the class you definitely need to add your question, a new word, an expression that you definitely need to remember in the next lesson.

If a large stock of pictures is collected, then there are problems with phrases:

He is reading.

She is eating.

will not be. But there can be a lot of pictures and you need to train often. Modern textbooks for elementary school are good, but for older students (especially those who are lagging behind), you need to use additional pictures.

Learning new vocabulary can turn into an exciting game for toddlers

junior schoolchildren they love another game "Hidden pictures" very much, with the help of which they also practice new words, as well as new phrases. For example:

I have got a pie. My pie is red.

If there are 10 words hidden in the picture, then you can give 3-4 words and collect pictures that are not signed, so the next time the pie can get green.

The beginning of the lesson occupies an important place for creating a foreign-language atmosphere in the lesson and the so-called "entering the lesson", this is a way to interest students and attract their attention. There are many methods for creating a productive mood, and each teacher forms his own “piggy bank”. It is important not to use them often in the same class, modify them and understand that the choice of means should depend on the mood of the class and each child individually.

Have you chosen the profession of a teacher? One of the most difficult, but also the most interesting. The advantage is that you don't stand still. And every day you develop, keep up with the times. After all, it is the children - your students - that helps you stay young at heart. In addition to the knowledge, skills and abilities that a teacher gives to children every day, sometimes you have to prove your professionalism to colleagues. How to be persuasive?

Prove that you are competent. If you are a teacher foreign language, then it is sometimes difficult to compose and conduct, for example, an open lesson in English. But everything comes with experience. Gradually, day by day, you learn not only to interact with children, but also to apply various techniques, to notice the most effective ways and teaching methods. Yes, at university or other educational institution you are given a base, a foundation, a classic approach. And you, in turn, must unleash your creative potential.

How to conduct an open lesson in English?

Holding an open event, which can be attended by both colleagues and the administration, often inspires fear. Why? How to make a lesson interesting, productive, varied - many teachers do not know. It is necessary not only to demonstrate your skills as a teacher, as an organizer, but also the knowledge that you have taught children. So where to start?

1. Time spending usually known in advance, so you can find and pick up the material. The main thing is not to put it off until later.
2. Choosing a topic, give preference to lexical. A foreign lesson should be in a foreign language. And if you explain grammar, you still have to use a lot of Russian words sometimes. Another thing is if the topic is already familiar, and you want to work it out in practice.
3. We define the goal. It must be comprehended and carried out throughout the lesson, so that at the end you can easily show that it has been achieved (Goal - one, tasks - 3-4).
4. We develop a plan-outline. We will not delve into the structure in detail now (In the article “Development of English lessons” you will find all the information). In this case, it is necessary to work out all the expected answers of the children and describe all their actions. In other words, make a detailed plan.
5. Then we select the material. Try to include a variety of activities: reading, speaking, writing, listening. If in ordinary life If you like to deviate from the standard structure, then it’s better not to do this in an open lesson.
6. We use modern technical means. This will be an additional plus in your piggy bank.

Common Teacher Mistakes

If you already have a lot of teaching experience, then you do not sometimes make stupid mistakes. But young professionals - often. When conducting an open lesson, try to keep the following points in mind.

• Customize the kids Do not be scared inspectors. After all, teachers are tested, not students. So it will be psychologically easier for them. Sometimes many teachers intimidate children. Under no circumstances should this be done! You set them against yourself, they will be afraid to say an extra word, to raise their hand, although they will know the answer. And you after all need to show activity pupils.
• Despite the fact that the teacher checks, he does not have to speak the entire lesson. The teacher guides, asks questions and gives instructions children act. Most of the time should be oriented towards showing their skills and knowledge of the language. And you, teachers, only help them and move them towards a certain goal.
• With the activity of children, sometimes problems also arise. We all know perfectly well that there are weak and strong students. In an open lesson, do not pull only those who “know for sure”. Ask everyone. For those who are weaker, ask an easier question, do for them separate task. Show that you are using a differentiated approach.
• If this is a foreign lesson, then speech must be foreign. Do not speak Russian, only in case of "total difficulty". Alternatively, if the class did not understand the task, ask someone who is considered best student in class.
• In an open lesson sum up all those skills, that students have mastered during your cooperation. Therefore, it is not necessary to explain again, for example, how to read the text, how to listen, how to speak. Only some hints can be used.
• Any activity lead to conversation. The main goal of any training is the development of the ability to communicate in a foreign language. Show that children not only know how to repeat after the teacher, but also express their thoughts in a foreign language themselves.
• Many teachers love "rehearse an open lesson." Not worth it to do this. The subsequent conduction will not be interesting for children, and even (these are children), they can get ahead of the material, say something superfluous. If you want to trace time or structure, for example, do this development in a parallel class. So, you will take into account all the minuses and shortcomings, correct them and you will feel more confident.

We reviewed in the article general recommendations for conducting open lesson in English language. More specific developments on classes and topics can also be found on our website. I would like to give a few more tips in the end. Try to focus the class on work as much as possible, interview everyone, pay attention to each student. The main thing is to keep the kids interested. If they get carried away, you will succeed.

Teachers bet that their English lessons are extremely intensive and informative, based on their long experience; but often in the end we get the usual, no different from all the others, lessons. It turns out that it's not a matter of experience? Or do we just not understand a lot about interesting lessons?

In this article, we will tell you what qualities lessons should have in order to get the status of “interesting”, as well as how to find these very ones among the many gray ones. That is, this article is suitable for both novice teachers who do not stand still and want to always improve, and students who want to learn how to choose quality teachers in English. Of course, until you try, you won’t understand, because in words all the teachers are good. But if there is nothing to compare with, then even after trying it, it is sometimes difficult to assess how useful and interesting the lessons are in one or two lessons and whether they will bore you in the near future.

What does the word “interesting” mean to us?

First of all, it is worth understanding what is meant by the concept of "interesting", and how much it is necessary. After all, if you ask a person what he wants to ultimately get from English lessons, then the majority will answer “knowledge”. That is, interest is not the only criterion for successful language acquisition. However, like any other activity, learning English involves a fairly long period of time. Throughout this segment, you should try to approach the learning process with the greatest zeal: after all, if there is a desire, there is a positive result. It is not for nothing that with small children all kinds of lessons are always held in a playful way.

At the same time, one should not resort to extremes. If the teacher only plays with you in his lessons, without introducing any new information, you are unlikely to be satisfied with your progress in English, and soon you will quit English altogether. In the same way, lessons cannot be only educational. We all had enough dry cramming at school. And if you pay money for English lessons, then you want to get pleasure, well, at least a little bit.

Lessons should be moderately interesting and informative. It's a language learning process, after all, and learning isn't always about games. Rather, the lessons should be motivating enough. In other words, you must be willing to learn and practice new material You should be happy to go to class.

Interesting lessons on the example of colloquial

Interesting lessons- these are those who clearly maintain a balance between "gaiety" and "seriousness". For example, if these are conversation lessons, you can’t just talk and play all the time. After all, the goal is to learn to speak English. And in order to speak, you need to know grammar, a lot of words, and also be able to pronounce all this correctly.

This can be achieved in different ways. Here is one of options maintaining balance in conversational English lessons:

A good, interesting lesson should be, first of all, diverse. After all, even the most interesting game gets bored over time. Therefore, in our sample lesson plan, we have included different types activities. Again, this lesson is one of many options!

• So, if this, of course, is not the first lesson, let's start with repetition of past material. Let's not repeat ourselves: if in the last lesson we did, say, interpretation from Russian into English, now we will try to solve a crossword puzzle for our old active words or play some board game in English to repeat the previous material.


• grammar We will also do it in stages. A new grammar should never be passed on new words, otherwise the head will be a complete mess. Let's go through the grammar, work it out on the old ones, already familiar to us, English words, and only when the grammar sits in your head a little, you can try to apply it with a new vocabulary, having previously worked it out.


• New vocabulary work well in a playful way. After all, new words are always hard to remember. And if you teach them in class, doing role-playing games, presentations, conferences, etc., then you will be involved in the process, and new words will be worked out by themselves. If only it were interesting!


• Phonetics you can work out as a short break. Break the language and have fun, take a break from brain activity. Here, too, there are many options for practicing sounds and intonation: tongue twisters, rhymes, dialogues and much more.


• In the end, when everything is more or less worked out, and there are 10-15 minutes left until the end of the lesson, you can just relax and discuss some topical and exciting problem or just chat on an interesting topic.

Conclusion. Qualities of an interesting lesson

So, what qualities should a lesson have in order to get the status of "interesting":

• The lesson should be varied. The same lessons, even if they seem interesting at first, will soon bore you.
• The lesson should be educational. No matter how interesting it may be, if you do not learn new things, there is simply no point in such lessons.
• The lesson must be structured. You can’t jump from grammar to vocabulary, from vocabulary to grammar, a little phonetics, then back to vocabulary. You can get dizzy from such jumps, and you certainly won’t learn much.
• The lesson should be moderately intense. You can't constantly learn and practice new grammar and vocabulary. The lesson must have pauses for relaxation: games, phonetic exercises in the form of funny rhymes or tongue twisters. In other words, the brain needs to rest.
• The lesson should be exciting. If several people are present at the lesson, then from time to time it is necessary to arrange some kind of competition, interesting debates and games. Human beings naturally like to compete and win. If there is only one student in the lesson, then you need to set your own records. They will also tell you about your progress.
• The lesson must be rational. A professional teacher will plan the lesson so that new material is learned with the least amount of effort. New grammar necessarily learns from old words, new words from old grammar. Phonetics and even more so on the "children's" vocabulary. In every aspect of the lesson, the emphasis should be the same: you cannot train and learn everything at once.

Of course, all this is difficult to recognize in the first lesson, you just need to try to pay attention to such things, and you will definitely find these very ones!