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iv) Ask the students to recite the names of the foods after you.
v) Then play a pointing game ask for hands-up for volunteers, then
pick students to give you the correct pronunciation of the food you
point to. The Malagasy students can play this game enthusiastically for
a long time, and it is excellent for learning. You can also expand on it
in many ways.
4. Keep a record of your lesson plans
-You will often teach different classes within the same year group, be they
within your school, at different schools in your placement village, or between
different placements. Therefore it is useful to keep your lesson plans,
especially the ones that you thought worked well. You can reuse them to good
effect, and save yourself wasting time by repeatedly drafting the same
exercises.
-It is also a good idea to keep a log-book of what you have been teaching for
the next set of volunteers so that they dont repeat your work.
-Also dont forget to make a note of what you have covered towards the end of
each class in the registry booklet provided for each class. The local teachers
and administrators will really appreciate this.
5. Learn the useful Malagasy classroom vocabulary
-The students will be surprised if you use Malagasy, rather than French or
English, to discipline them. They will probably respect you more for it. They
are also used to being disciplined in Malagasy by their own teachers. Also,
some children may not even understand simple instructions in French, so
Malagasy can be a good tool for clarification.
-Here are some examples. Most important: discipline
-Mangina! Be quiet!
-Mipetraka! Sit down!
-Others:
-Misowtr (pron. meesowtrch) Thank you.
-Azo? Do you understand?
-Tsy azo (pron. seez azo) Dont understand.
6. Understand the importance of discipline (in secondary schools).
Primary schools have good discipline. In secondary schools, it is generally
good, the usual reason for poor discipline is that the students cant understand what
you are teaching, or are not engaged, so the first thing you should ask yourself if there
is poor discipline in the class is: is it my fault? Am I teaching poorly? If so, you
should think about how to use better exercises. For example, role play is an excellent
exercise because it forces the students to get involved, helps them practice their
speaking in a real environment, and forces them into the spotlight, where it is more
difficult to misbehave. Try making one student a shopkeeper, and the other a
customer. Provide props for them, and create a role play for them to follow.
-If you are sure that your teaching methods are up to standard, and you still
have disciplinary problems, then you will have to use techniques for
controlling behaviour. Each class has a student monitor a responsible and
intelligent pupil whose responsibility it is to lead by example. You may hear
them shout Mangina! at times when the class is particularly rowdy! Find out
who this is, and ask them to help you with discipline. Also try some of the
following:
i) Identify the most common trouble-makers. Give them some chances,
and sufficient warning first. But if they continue to act out, send them
just outside the door of the class. Bring them back in after a few
minutes of cooling down. If they still act out, bring them to the
headmaster.
ii) If students sitting together are talking, laughing, or misbehaving a
lot - separate them! Move them across the room from each other, and
forbid them to sit together again.
iii) If you notice somebody talking while you talk, or otherwise
behaving inappropriately, just stare at them. Stop talking, silence the
class, and ask them why they are talking.
7. Find the right balance
-Finally, remember to keep things simple. Dont speak too fast. Keep a good
pace of learning and instruction. Alternate the usage of speaking, writing, and
listening exercise. It is best to start the class with the simplest information,
such as new vocabulary, and then gradually build up to the more complicated
exercises towards the end.
-Pay attention to the pupils. You can tell by the looks on their faces, and by
their behaviour, if they can understand you. Speak clearly. But dont let things
get too simple. The students need to be intellectually challenged to stay
interested, and to learn. Teaching is most often about finding the right balance.
When you find this, everything else, such as discipline, should just fall into
place without you having to think about it. Use entertaining and engaging
exercises. Enjoy it!
(Note: Most of the above points apply to secondary level education, but they
sometimes apply to primary school. The main differences are that you should have
fewer difficulties with discipline, and that the exercises should be significantly
simpler. Again, it will require some practise in the classroom before you can find the
right balance, so dont worry if everything doesnt go smoothly at first. Just think
about why things arent going smoothly and see if you can fix it next time.)
(Note 2: The first time you go into the classroom you may feel daunted by the
multitude of faces looking at you. By the second or third time, youll be getting the
hang of teaching in class, and should only notice the eagerness to learn.