Activity 1 What age group do you prefer to teach? Objective: to let students’ explore preferences in teaching certain age groups
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Handout 2
Procedure:
Tell students that in an Internet forum teachers from different countries were asked about what age group they would like to teach and why.
Post handout 2 extracts on the walls.
Ask students to walk around the classroom and read the extracts and choose the opinions that appeal to them most of all.
Then ask students to form 5 different groups according to their preferences under the headings:
Distribute Handout 2. Ask students to make a list of pros and cons of teaching certain age group.
Hold a short debate where each of the groups should advocate the chosen age group.
Summarise the debate and state that each age group has its own challenges and state that the present course will cover the practical considerations of teaching different age groups.
Present an overview of the course (See Syllabus & Assessment specifications).
Activity 2 Features of teaching different ages Objective: to let students’ explore features of teaching certain age groups
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching, Module 20 “Younger and Older Learners”, Unit 2, “Teaching children”, Unit 3, “Teaching adolescents: student preferences”, Unit 4, “Teaching adults: a different relationship”
Procedure:
Divide students into 3 groups. Distribute one of the 3 texts for reading:
Texts are taken from Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching, Module 20 “Younger and Older Learners”
Group 1 – Unit 2, “Teaching children”
Group 2 – Unit 3, “Teaching adolescents: student preferences”
Group 3 – Unit 4, “Teaching adults: a different relationship”
Ask groups to present their texts graphically (either with pictures, graphs, tables, or mind maps, etc.).
Ask students to present their posters and invite discussion on the texts.
