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ESL forum >
Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > Help with a student - conversation
Help with a student - conversation
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SaraMariam
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Help with a student - conversation
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Hello everybody, I need your advice once again since I really run out of ideas :s.
I have one student (11 or 12 years old) who recently started English classes in school. His mum brought him to me in order to learn with him.
At the beginning all went well, but now she totally changed her point of view on what I should do with him.
She told me that she doesn �t want him to take normal classes anymore, like with writing, speaking, listening, but only conversation classes.
Which I - for my part - find a bit hard since that kid barely knows any words to communicate with.
Oh yes, and the topics to talk about should be according to the topics in the school book (like rooms in the house, for example). So I started to do some games like Who is who etc but since there is only limited vocab, I �m really running out of ideas. The mother doesn �t want that he writes anything (!) and wants that he just talks.
I have this kid 1 on 1 for 60 minutes and I reeeeallly have no idea what to do with him during all that time. If you have any smallest advice I would more than appreciate it!!!
Have a nice day :) Hugs Sara |
15 Apr 2013
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LenaG13
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Hello!!!!!I understand the difficulty of your situation!!!!There is a site called: englishtips.org where there is a wide range of english books.I believe that there is a great chance for you to find a nice book with speaking tasks that will help you.I hope my advice is helpful!!!Good luck!!!! :) |
15 Apr 2013
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laurabarcelona
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Hi Sara
This is a very common problem: some people wants to speak but not learing grammar (specially adults who go soon on holiday..). Once, one lady insisted in comming to our conversation seasons, although I didn�t recommend it. At the end of the first class she had to recognize that nobody can talk something if previously this person doesn�t know how to say it.
The "super- intelligent" mother wants that his child talks like Hamlet without studiying but you know that this is impossible: what I do here is explainining a little of theory (20 minuts), giving a sheet of vocabulary and spending the rest of the class doing sentences, (after it will be stories), with videos of youtube, printable sheets, and squeezing . The boy will go home and will explain that he has talked a lot. And first, try to explain the mother that grammar is necessary but you are going to be practical and to avoid to tire his precious child with boring sessions of grammar.
Ufff, apart of teacher we must be "sellers" too...Good luck, from Barcelona
Laura |
15 Apr 2013
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ueslteacher
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what about online exercises? typing isn �t writing right?:) speaking cards with prompts? cards with words to put them in order to make sentences? |
15 Apr 2013
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douglas
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Try a change of perspective--imagine you just woke-up in an isolated room and this kid is the only other person you have contact with. Each day you receive a topic and have to speak to the kid about the topic in order to be fed. Originally, neither of you speaks the same language, so you have to learn to communicate and build a common vocabulary together.
In the begining sessions will be very simple and seemingly non-productive (What is your name? My first name is George, my last name is Smith.), but as time passes the sessions will become more productive as the mutual vocab grows.
If the kid is game for this, you could give him this same scenario where you both have to play a role.
Important is that you don �t expect extreme measurable progress at first--you are making progress that is not really measurable but abssolutely essential to establishing a foundation for his learning hte language.
Just a suggestion,
Douglas |
15 Apr 2013
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cunliffe
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I think the mum is being unreasonable, but I guess she is the paying customer. You do need some prompts, you can �t just talk without reference to a topic or something! I wonder why she won �t accept grids/graphs or other such reading activities that can prompt talk? Anyway, I suggest: 1) Use pictures - give a quite �busy � picture with lots going on. (There are plenty on this site) First, ask the student to describe it. Ask many questions, using the wh- words. Then, build up a role play between two people. Or ask �deductive � questions - what might have happened before.. What might happen later. Why this and why that... Also,get hold of some �spot the difference � pictures. First, discuss the differences, then turn the pictures over and ask the student how much he can remember. Still on pictures, hold a picture that the student can �t see and describe it, he has to draw what you describe. Then, vice-versa, give him a picture to describe while you try to draw what you hear. 2) Show short youtube clips to prompt talk. Bernard the Bear is great - there is no talking but plenty of action. Mr Bean (obviously). Also, show the news and talk about the news. What has happened today? Where? Why? etc 3) Bring a bag of real objects - a corkscrew, a fork, a clock, a dress, a pin, a packet of crisps;a sheet of paper, whatever. As you take them out of the bag, he has to say - what it is/what it �s made of/ size/shape/colour/what it is used for/where it came from, where you can buy it/how it was made etc....
Just a few ideas. |
15 Apr 2013
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SaraMariam
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Thanks a lot for all your precious help! There are some really great ideas, I �ll use in my next lesson. I must admit I was about to stop the lessons with him because I didn �t enjoy teaching him under those circumstances, but you gave me some hope that it can be done ;)
Thanks again :) Have a great evening everybody!!
Sara |
15 Apr 2013
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marie.marron
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Most of my classes are like that. What I do is choose a vocabulary topic and play games and try to get kids to speak. First I start with a board game with only pictures that they have to name. You can also use dominoes or memory game with picture-word combination. Then you can play Go fish to practise questions or bingo where he has to explain you the word, in stead of only naming it. My kids also love Who am I, when you put a picture on their forehead nad they have to ask questions to get to the word or battleships. Then you can do many things with flash cards or magnets. With time and lots of repeating they do start speaking, but from my experience I would recommend you games, games and more games :) Marie
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15 Apr 2013
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Iciar
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I teach Science in English to very small children. They can barely read and write in Spanish, so we do not do any writing or reading at all, they are just starting now (8 months later) to write some words, so all the lessons are oral. I always start with a daily routine (the day, weather, month, temperature, how they feel...). You can start asking him the same questions every day, but after a while you have to swap and then he would have to ask you the questions. You can use a song to start every day with, a good one for a 12 year old is You say good bye and I say hello form the Beatles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pFMC4D-JJ0
Doing the same every single day for the first quarter of an hour makes the children confident because they know already what they a expected to say (and sing), and makes them receptive to talk. Then they do a game to review the vocabulary from the previous day, this is still part of the daily routine
Then, I introduce them to the new vocabulary with a video or a song, or flashcards, or even a game. Afterwards, we do some games with it so that they learn it. Sometimes is not just vocabulary but more complicated contents like what causes the Earth seasons. The first games are total physical response games, or games in the computer where they have to do. I do games with the flashcards, matching vocabulary with their words, finding pictures with a definition, doing as a card ask them to do, acting, etc.
When I am sure that they have learnt the vocabulary or the contents, it is when I ask them to talk about the issue. They aren�t perfect but once they know the vocabulary they feel confident enough to try, and believe me all this takes me a whole hour or more!!
I do not teach them any grammar but they learn it somehow. Honestly, they never forget to put the -s in the third person, for example, they have just learn it that way and they have never thought that it could be any other way! If they do the mistake I correct them, but I never explain them why. They will learn it in the future, for sure. Their English teacher will explain them the reason one day.
Hope this helps.
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15 Apr 2013
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