Cвітлана В.

I have had students of a wide range of different ages and the majority of lessons have tended to be on an individual basis. All my students have had different purposes and to meet these wide demands I have used a wide range of different books. In all cases I have used well-structured, authentic materials and lessons that are planned by professionals. I often add specially adapted grammar exercises from different sources as experience has shown that no single course book provides the «answer» to every student need. I stick to the 80/20 rule, I explain something and then we practice it repeatedly until it becomes second nature. When we watch video dialogues with subtitles, we watch them and repeat, then I tell my students that now they are actors and turn off the sound. Apart from being highly effective, most students enjoy this kind of activity. The majority of my students, who can speak the language at a sufficient level to express their thoughts, like to chat freely. So I show them a picture and ask questions about it. Those questions are related to the picture and then to the own person’s experience. Then we can do pre-reading activities, which are usually questions, and then we read the text. If a student meets a word, which he or she does not know, I give the definition and then we discuss the text. Of course no two students are the same and I tailor my methods to suit specific student aspirations and circumstances.
I think that it is very important to encourage and motivate students as their go through their learning journey. I believe that all students are interested in knowing that they have made progress and that their efforts have not been in vain.
I use a warm language presenting content, a warm-up activity to make the connection between previous lesson and any new theme; it may be in the form of a short video, pictures or question prompts. Also I use Teacher talk: such techniques as a board work, asking questions and relating information to student’s prior knowledge. I use modelling language activities because they are very useful in helping students to have a clear illustrations and examples before completing the task. I use Guided practice and Independent practice (tests, quizzes, short stories, letters, essays, presentations).
As for assessment, most of it is a formative assessment because students want to have feedback on areas of progress and areas where further attention is required.