How can the teacher ensure instructions are clear?

Teacher should learn how to give clear instruction even the most interesting, well thought out activity will flop if students do not know what they are supposed to be doing. Using the board, learn when to use the board and how to use it effectively, for example, drawing a picture on the board is a good way to present a new word.
Keep your language short, simple, and direct. Present new language in context through visual. Use visual aids to help comprehension and stimulate interest. Do not ask questions unless you’ve thought the students how to answer them. Never accept “I understand” without asking comprehension questions to verify learning check, use various types of check questions that really help the students to prove they have understand.
Students will better understand directions when those directions are delivered in a clear manner, expressed in language the student understands, given at a pace that does not overwhelm the student, and posted for later review. When giving multi-step directions orally, write those directions on the board or give to students as a handout to consult as needed. State multi-step directions one direction at a time and confirm that the student is able to comply with each step before giving the next direction.

What can the teacher do to help establish rapport with the students?

Be sure that you do things to encourage a sense of rapport not only between you and the students but also amongst the students themselves. Introduce icebreaker such as a game, or interview, that students could engage in to help them get to know each other and feel comfortable in the class.
Established interesting lesson that provide a variety of topics and exercise. Teacher’s uses a variety of techniques and materials that help students learn activity. Establishing rapports refers to the relationship between the teacher and learner rather than the teachers’ activity as a separate, isolated function. It is rather integrated and that is continuously changing and growing throughout their interaction as a teacher and learner. Always keep in mind that the rapport is not only a matter of affinity between two people; it is also at a higher level, a matter of rapport with oneself. When this full condition of rapport is achieved communication is fast and effective. Establishing rapports displayed a personal interest in students and their learning. Encouraged students interaction outside the class.

What’s the best seating arrangement for a class? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various seating plans?

For me the best seating arrangement is where both teachers and students need to be able to move around the classroom for various activities. There are several alternatives to the traditional rows of chairs separated by aisles. The semi circle is one of the easiest to work with and allows for easy movement between seats and the whiteboard, for example, sometimes you will just want to rearrange the student’s seats for a particular activity. The desk together makes it easy for all students to cluster to see each other and to discuss. A cluster is not good for the test because students can easily cheat off each other. Cluster can be a disadvantage to the teacher when giving direct instruction because students may not be oriented towards them. Students may have their back to the teacher and not be focused to the front of the room.

A desk row is a traditional seating arrangement of several rows of desks facing the teacher. It is easy for the teacher to monitor all the students. The problem of this arrangement is some students are going to have to sit in the corner and in the back of the room. In these locations, students participate and interact less and more behavioral problem occurs.

Table rows this set up are typical found in science labs. It is a good arrangement for group work and large group projects. Motivating students by letting them work together and it helps students learn how to learn. The problem with this set up is there are students that are at the end of the tables in the back of the room that will not be able to see during the direct instruction time. In addition, this set up allows students a lot of socializing and it is very bad for the test situation.

Semi circle – this seating arrangement is when all the desks touch each other facing the front of the room in semi circle shape. The teacher can easily see each student and they can see him/her and the instructional aids. The teacher would have full control over the students. This arrangement would be bad because the teacher would have a hard time meeting with the student’s one on one. This is because the seats are very close to each other. Also the semi circle would take up almost the entire classroom so there isn’t much room for the activities.

Pairs – having the students sit in pairs seating arrangement is when the 2 students desks are together with spaced away from each other. This arrangement allows the teacher to walk around the classroom and monitor all the students. Pairs allow the students to work together and independently. They can do activities and learn cooperatively. The disadvantage of this is, again, there are students that will be in the back and the corners of the room.

How does the teaching of young learners differ from the teaching of adults?

Young learners

It is very well known that children (from ages 5-12) are very much oriented in their minds around the “here and now” and directly visible/perceivable. Grammatical rules/explanations are usually lost on them, as are somewhat “adult” notions of what is correct and what isn’t. They develop well when given plenty of examples and patterns to follow. They tend to have much shorter attention span and need activities that capture their immediate interest. They also need much in the way of “sensory input” – that is, they need to have many or all their fives senses stimulated at once. While generally less inhibited than adults in terms of experimenting with new language, they tend to have more egos that are fragile and can be very sensitive to their peers.

Adults

Teachers of adult need to bear in mind that these learners have longer attention spans and can handle learning that requires more cognition and abstract thinking. They tend to respond well to the teaching or grammatical rules. They may not be as willing, to be “risk takers”, and generally need to feel respected and that they have a choice making role in the classroom.

Young learners have specific needs, abilities, characteristics and interest, which are different from those of adult learners. Teaching English as a foreign language to young learners requires an understanding of their cognitive development and specific abilities, as well as of their emotional, social and physical needs. It is also important to understand that all of these features are interwoven. Children are natural learners because they are curious. Young children learn through their senses, by seeing, hearing, touching and smelling. In short, children learn by experimenting with the information they receive. Pre-adolescents and adolescents or adult, on the other hand, although still curious, find learning rewarding and enjoyable when they are challenged (there is a competitive involved), when they have to solve problems and they can see the practical application of what they are learning (using information in real life). Teachers of any subject have the responsibility to create a learning environment that nurtures and supports this rewarding and enjoyable experience.

A balanced learning environment requires teachers not only to recognize individual needs and to challenge all young learners, but also to foster the development of positive self-esteem. Self-esteem is the foundation upon which we build the rest of our lives. In childhood and adolescence, self-esteem is developing, this in every aspect of the learning process there is the potential to damage, maintain or increase self-esteem. Teachers of all sorts have strong influence upon young learners’ self-esteem. Young learners’ instruction must be developmentally appropriate and learner centered. All instruction must be tailored to the needs and characteristics of individual learners, and must take into account the influence of social.

Here are some common testing-evaluation tools that teacher can use:

Multiple-choice tests. Multiple-choice items can be used to measure both simple knowledge and complex concepts. Since multiple-choice questions can be answered quickly, you can assess students' mastery of many topics on an hour exam. In addition, the items can be easily and reliably scored.

True-false tests. Because random guessing will produce the correct answer half the time, true-false tests are less reliable than other types of exams. However, these items are appropriate for occasional use. Some faculty who use true-false questions add an "explain" column in which students write one or two sentences justifying their response.

Matching tests. The matching format is an effective way to test students' recognition of the relationships between words and definitions, events and dates, categories and examples, and so on.

Essay tests. Essay tests enable you to judge students' abilities to organize, integrate, interpret material, and express themselves in their own words. Research indicates that students study more efficiently for essay-type examinations than for selection (multiple-choice) tests: students preparing for essay tests focus on broad issues, general concepts, and interrelationships rather than on specific details, and this studying results in somewhat better student performance regardless of the type of exam they are given. Essay tests also give you an opportunity to comment on students' progress, the quality of their thinking, the depth of their understanding, and the difficulties they may be having. However, because essay tests pose only a few questions, their content validity may be low. In addition, the reliability of essay tests is compromised by subjectivity or inconsistencies in grading.

Short-answer tests. Depending on your objectives, short-answer questions can call for one or two sentences or a long paragraph. Short-answer tests are easier to write, though they take longer to score, than multiple-choice tests.

They also give you some opportunity to see how well students can express their thoughts, though they are not as useful as longer essay responses for this purpose.

Problem sets. In courses in mathematics and the sciences, your tests can include problem sets. As a rule of thumb, allow students ten minutes to solve a problem you can do in two minutes.

Oral exams. Though common at the graduate level, oral exams are rarely used for undergraduates except in foreign language classes. In other classes they are usually time-consuming, too anxiety provoking for students, and difficult to score unless the instructor tape-records the answers.

Performance tests. Performance tests ask students to demonstrate proficiency in conducting an experiment, executing a series of steps in a reasonable amount of time, following instructions, creating drawings, manipulating materials or equipment, or reacting to real or simulated situations. Performance tests can be administered individually or in groups. They are seldom used in colleges and universities because they are logistically difficult to set up, hard to score, and the content of most courses does not necessarily lend itself to this type of testing. However, performance tests can be useful in classes that require students to demonstrate their skills (for example, health fields, the sciences, education). If you use performance tests, recommends that you do the following:

Specify the criteria to be used for rating or scoring (for example, the level of accuracy in performing the steps in sequence or completing the task within a specified time limit).
State the problem so that students know exactly what they are supposed to do (if possible, conditions of a performance test should mirror a real-life situation).
Give students a chance to perform the task more than once or to perform several task samples.

Why do teachers plan their lessons?

A lesson plan is a framework for a lesson. If you imagine that a lesson is like a journey, then the lesson plan is the map. It shows where you start, where you finish and the route to take to get there.

Lesson plans are the product of teachers’ thoughts about their classes; what they hope to achieve and how they hope to achieve it. Just like a newly qualified teacher  may rely on a less detailed, but still fairly comprehensive written plan. As teachers gain experience and confidence, planning is just as important, but teachers develop the ability to plan much quicker and with less need for details. In addition, a very experienced teacher may be able to go into a class with just a short list of notes or even with the plan in their head. Whatever the level of experience though, it is very important that all teachers take the time to think their lessons before they enter the classroom.

Why planning is important.

Imagine starting a journey but with no idea where are you going. You are the driver of a bus full of students and although you know, you have to drive them for a particular period, without your map you have no idea where you want to go or how to get there. It may still be an interesting journey but it would be very easy to get lost and your passengers would not be very happy.

Without some kind of planning, a lesson could be as chaotic and could leave the students with no clear idea of what they were doing or why. This kind of uncertainty is not good for effective learning or class discipline.

One of the most important reasons to plan is that the teacher needs to identify his or her aims for the lesson. Teachers need to know what it is they hope to achieve in the class, what it is they want the students to be able to do at the end of the lesson that they couldn’t do before.

Here are some more reasons why it is essential to plan:

1. Planning is a sign of professionalism. Students expect teachers to be professional. If you are prepared, the students can tell. They also know if you are not prepared. Planning is a way to help gain the respect of your students.

2. By planning, you are considering your teaching situation and your particular students. However good your teaching materials or course book may be, it is unlikely that it was prepared for your particular students. Planning gives you the opportunity to tailor your materials and teaching to your class.

3. Planning gives the teacher a chance to predict possible problems in the class and think about ways to deal with them. By thoroughly researching the target language and being prepared for difficult questions, for example, the teacher can feel confident in the classroom.