module 1
introduction and daily routine
45 minutes
Objectives
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Describe the primary focus of English SLC's classes
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Name and follow all parts of the daily routine
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Identify best practices in following the daily routine
introduction
The classes here at English SLC are unique--rather than a single teacher leading a class of students through a lesson (often from a pre-designed curriculum), our classes are designed to support students in authentic practice of their skills as they work toward personal language goals.
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To keep it personalized, students work one-on-one or in groups of two with a volunteer. Your role as a volunteer is to help students set their own goals and to practice skills required to achieve them.
You will always have a coordinator who can help you out, but most of the time you will be working on your own with students. This training will provide you with the tools you need to work effectively with students, even if you have never taught English before.
meet paula
Listen to Paula describe some of her experiences in an English SLC class.
consider
Why might it be helpful or not helpful to follow a consistent classroom routine? What has your experience been with in-class routines? Write your responses.
lesson
Routines are important for language learners, because they provide a sense of familiarity and comfort. The more comfortable a language learner is, the more risks they'll be willing to take, and the faster they'll learn. As a volunteer, you'll help foster a comfortable language learning environment simply by following a daily routine.
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The classroom routine at English SLC has 7 steps, as explained in the PDF:
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The first step, welcoming, helps initiate a comfortable learning space, and helps you get to know your students.
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Following up on homework and filling out the Language Study Plans (LSPs) promotes student accountability as they work toward their goals.
Warming up, or reviewing previous content, helps students get ready to learn new information.
The lesson doesn't have to be complicated, but it should introduce something new to the students that will help them reach their next goal.
Practice during class gives them a chance to try out the new information in a safe space where they are free to ask questions and make mistakes. Homework assignments should be given to help them practice the skill in real-life scenarios.
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You'll have access to a hard copy of this PDF in your volunteer folder to help remind you of the steps whenever you need it.
practice
Read each scenario below, and then respond by a) determining if the volunteer could or should have done something differently, and b) briefly discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the volunteer's performance of the daily routine. Record your responses.
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Example Scenario: Lana rushes into class a few minutes late, having just come from a jb interview. Her student are already waiting for her. She sits down, and a little breathlessly asks how her students are doing. After they chat for a minute she has relaxed and starts asking about their homework. As they respond she realizes she forgot to pick up the Language Study Plans. she gets up to retrieve them. Then she starts the lesson, and realizes she left something at home and has to go sort through the class materials to find something she needs.
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Example Feedback: Lana is running late, but she still welcomes her students. She does the followup and starts the lesson, but they are a little impeded by the fact that she is unorganized and unprepared for class due to her late arrival.
Scenario 1
Vanessa, a volunteer, is sitting at a table waiting for her students to arrive. She is a university student, and as she is waiting, she gets an important email from her professor. Deciding that she should respond immediately, she begins responding on her phone just as her students, Daniel and Maria arrive. She hurriedly says, "Hi guys! Hold on a minute." They sit, and after a minute she finishes. She smiles and says, "Okay! Sorry. How'd your homework go this week?"
scenario 2
Jason has to get home from volunteering as soon as it ends, so that he can watch the baby while his wife goes to a meeting. Their lesson went well, but practicing went a little long and he needs to be out the door. He ends the practice session, tells them to practice over the coming week, says goodbye, and heads home.
scenario 3
Amanda warmly greeted her students when they arrived and talked to them about what they did over the previous week with their families. She then asked about their homework assignments from last week, and listened as they told her about their successes and struggles. After, she says, "Great job on your homework this week. Today we're going to talk about the future tense, since you both want to work on explaining your career goals in job interviews."
scenario 4
Tim planned a fun lesson for Carlos. After they did a brief activity in which Carlos practiced introducing himself as a mechanic (what he learned last week), Tim and Carlos went outside and, using Tim's car, practiced vehicle-related vocabulary by pointing to and naming the parts of the car. The lesson went long, though, as Carlos had many questions, and Carlos did not get much of a chance to practice what he learned. Tim told Carlos to watch a few car-related YouTube videos and to write down the parts he saw. Then Tim said goodbye, and after Carlos left, he completed the LSP.
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Answers
1. Vanessa should either wait to respond or should excuse herself for a moment before returning. She forgot to welcome her students and jumped straight into followup. She is warm and friendly, though.
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2. Jason forgot to give his students goal-specific homework assignments and did not fill out the Language Study Plan. He did well during the lesson and practice time.
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3. Amanda does really well in all aspects, except that she seems to skip over the "Warmup" phase.
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4. Tim does really well, but his response would have been stronger if he gave Carlos more time to practice before he went home.
assessment
Complete the quiz below to complete Module 1. Match each part of the daily routine to the sentence that exemplifies it.
A. Welcome
B. Followup
C. Warmup
D. Lesson
E. Practice
F. Homework
G. LSP
__ 1. Jenny records what happened in class that day and requests colored paper
for the next class.
__ 2. Arnold asks his student if he was able to fill out a bank slip this week, his goal
from the previous week.
__ 3. Maria asks how her student’s family is doing this week.
__ 4. Chad shows his student a video about cooking vocabulary, a topic they
covered last week.
__ 5. Penny asks her student to read something from the newspaper every day this
week and to
write about what she reads.
__ 6. Using the whiteboard, Natasha draws stick figures doing various tasks and
writes the verb conjugations beneath the pictures.
__ 7. Tomas asks his student to role play with him, as if his student wanted to find
something in the grocery store.
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Answers
1. G 2. B 3. A
4. C 5. F 6. D 7. E