About this manual
TEFL/TESL: Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language is for Volunteers who are currently
teaching or who are about to teach English. It is a practical guide for the classroom teacher.
The manual describes procedures and offers sample exercises and activities for:
\u2022 a wide range of listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills
\u2022 whole-class, small-group, and individual participation
\u2022 classroom testing and preparing students for national examinations
It covers a great variety of teaching situations:
\u2022 primary and secondary schools and college
\u2022 the office or workplace
\u2022 school and work settings which have limited facilities for instruction and those which provide ample
support
\u2022 any geographical or cultural setting where Peace Corps Volunteers may be found
You may already have training in the teaching of English, or your specialty may be in another technical area.
Regardless of whether you are an old hand or a newcomer, this manual was written for you. Clear directions
are given for presenting the sample exercises. Possible problems are anticipated. Where different
approaches and techniques of teaching are discussed, the reasons for using them are explained. In short,
both experienced and novice teachers will be able to use the manual with confidence.
When using the manual, you should keep one important point in mind. Because many different teaching
situations are represented, you will find procedures and materials to meet the needs of every Volunteer. If
you can lift an exercise from the manual and use it unchanged tomorrow morning with your students, well
and good. On the other hand, you should not expect to use every procedure and exercise exactly as it is
presented in the manual. Some suggestions will seem wrong for your class. But don't just discard those
which appear unsuitable. It is often possible to change a technique or an activity so that it will work for you.
So rather than look at the suggestions only in the forms presented in the manual, get into the habit of looking
for ways to adapt the suggestions for your own purposes.
You will probably turn to this manual because you need the answers to one or more questions. What better
way then to explain how to use the manual than by trying to anticipate some of your questions?
Your first question may be How do I find out how much English my students know?
Chapter One begins with several possible answers to this question. It shows you how to go on a fact-
finding mission to discover not only what your students know, but also how much more they need to
know.
Next you may ask How can I teach a class of 50 students which meets only two times a week?
The second part of Chapter One deals with these two problems and others, such as not enough
textbooks, poorly motivated students, and the need to follow a prescribed syllabus. It also considers the
special problems of teaching English to your co-workers or to their families.
Leave a Comment