VITTCO Kids Safir Language Academy

Podcast script module 1 (Course Introduction)

Welcome to the first podcast of the first module, course introduction, this podcast is going to
introduce some of the most ubiquitous terms in teaching, but before we start discussing each one in
detail let’s see what they are. Can you guess what each one means? If you need to think, pause the
video and make some guesses.

Now let’s check, the first term is monitor, well as you might have guessed when students are
working whether in groups and pairs or individually, the teacher has the responsibility to walk
around and observe the students to make sure they are on the right track and they have no problem
with the task at hand.

The next word is feedback, just like any other work that is followed by feedback, in class after each
activity, group work, pair work or individual work, the teacher needs to provide the students with
the right answers to make sure everyone knows what the answers are as well as to bring the activity
to a close.

Children start learning by listening to you, their teacher, therefore, in order to teach a new concept,
you need to say the word in its context a few times yourself before they can produce it. This is called
exposure. Just remember, never say a new concept without making sure the meaning is clear as
you’re saying it.

Level adaptation is what a teacher should do in order to make what he/she is saying is
comprehensible for learners, it’s not about changing your intonation or accent, here is what you
need to do, pronounce words clearly, speak slowly, don’t speak unnaturally, use shorter and simpler
sentences, be a model of what they need to produce and repeat and rephrase when needed.

So, remember, if students don’t understand what you are saying, you need to change the way you say
it, don’t repeat the same words and expect different results.

AVAs, short for audio visual aids, these aids can be videos, or short clips, pictures, realia and real
objects. They are what you need to have to establish meaning and context of the concepts faster and
more effectively. Young learners especially learn by seeing not by hearing, so, if you want to teach
them what the word apple means don’t explain it, just show it to them.

TTT or teacher talking time refers to the time when the teacher is taking up all of the talking time.
Well, students didn’t enroll in an English class just to sit and listen, they want to SPEAK English.
Examples of TTT: Echoing their sentences, echoing is when the teacher repeats exactly what a
student said as a reaction. Being too involved in the activities instead of taking a step back and
monitor, when the teacher uses teacher-class interaction instead of group work and student-student
interaction, when the teacher isn’t planned and has to improvise, in this case it will be almost
impossible to be pithy and concise.

Now, as oppose to TTT, we have STT, can you guess what it stands for? You guessed it, Students
talking time. As a general rule of thumb, to know that you have created a balance between TTT and
STT remember that students should speak 70% of the class time.

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 VITTCO Kids Safir Language Academy

Podcast script module 1 (Course Introduction)

The most important factor in teaching new grammar or vocabulary is the meaning of the target
language which should be clearly conveyed and checked. There isn’t one single way of checking the
concept, depending on the target language one can use pictures and AVAs or ask questions or ask
for examples. This will be elaborated on in the grammar and vocabulary modules. For example, if
the topic is fruit, for checking the meaning of the word “apple”, the teacher can hold an apple in
one hand and an orange in another and ask students to point to the apple.

One of the most important jobs of an English teacher is giving students the instruction they need to
do a task. A clear, short and to the point instruction goes a long way. Confusion and uncertainty
have no place in a successful lesson. Instructions must be to the point meaning they all should start
with the action and the verb, for example: take a piece of paper, use your scissors, make a heart,
work individually, etc. A good instruction always includes time limit.

Whatever you want your students to understand whether it is the meaning of a word or how to do
something, you need to check it. Think of the previous instruction, now if you want to check it, you
need to check one piece of information at a time, like, first ask, do you make a diamond of a heart?
A heart. etc. These concepts will be more elaborately discussed in the instruction module.

Sometimes the task you designed has so many complications which cannot be easily explained, for
these cases you need to do a short version of what is supposed to be done by the students to
demonstrate everything perfectly well. This demonstration can be done by the teacher and a sharp
student, or only done by the teacher. For instance, if you want students to make a decorative object
like the one in the picture, instead of saying, fold your paper in half, and then try to draw a half a
circle on it curving outward, oh I’m lost, I don’t know about your students, you can model it.

So, it is easier just to show them how it is done.

A teacher needs to connect with his/her students really well, in order to do so she/he needs to
establish a good rapport with everyone. Getting to know your students and letting them know you
can be the first step. Students need to know you care about their learning and happy to teach them.

Now a quick question, between these two women who do you think will be more successful in
building a good rapport? Of course, the one on the right will be much more successful in connecting
with her students, just look at her smile and her facial expressions.

Thank you for your attention. Take care.