FOUNDATION OF TESOL

1. INSTRUCTION

Learning how to give clear instructions and to elicit information from students are very
important skills for EFL/ESL teachers, but can be difficult to master when you first start out
teaching. You need to learn to train yourself in giving concise and clear instructions and to elicit,
rather than always give, information. Let's look at each of these skills and what is involved in
doing them well.

Importance of demonstrating new activities, and not explaining them.

Cut out the other long expressions that will just confuse them! Thinking about useful
high frequency words will make your instructions much clearer and your students happier!

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) measures the ability of non-native English-
speaking people to use English in everyday work activities.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test that is growing in popularity in the
Asia-Pacific region. Most universities, many employers and most government agencies in Australia, New
Zealand and also in China are now increasingly using results from IELTS tests as part of their entry and
administration procedures.

The nature of the TOEFL test means that like in a TOEIC preparation course, your students will be really
focusing on improving their skills in listening, grammar, vocabulary and reading. For example, you may
do tasks and activities that center on these areas on which your students will be tested:

1. Truth or Lie?

Each person must write down three things about themselves - two are truths and one is a lie. Others
then must try and guess which the truth is and which the lie is by asking questions. The aim of the game
is to make everyone believe the lie is a truth! After people have asked about most of the others' truths
and lies, everyone can reveal their lie. Then everyone should count up how many correct guesses of
other people's lies they made, and take away the number of people who correctly guessed their own lie.
The winner is the person who gets the highest score (and is therefore the best liar!).
2. Three things about me

Everyone should write down three facts about them, but have only a clue as to what the fact is. For
example, you could say 1978, Rufus, Germany. Then, the others have to guess what that fact relates to
by asking questions. For example: Is 1978 the year you were born? Was that the name of your first pet?
Is Germany your favourite country? Keep asking and answering until they guess the fact correctly!

3. Vocabulary Brainstorm

Write down a word, and then try and brainstorm as many words which relate to that word as possible in
just 2-3 minutes. For example, if the word is "green" then you may brainstorm words such as "grass,
grasshoppers, frogs, trees...". The more words that are brainstormed, the better!

4. Fruit, Vegetable, Animal or Mineral?

Think of a fruit, a vegetable, an animal or a mineral, but keep it a secret! The others must try and guess
what it is you are thinking of using only yes/no questions.

Using what is in the Classroom

1. Desert Island Scenario

Don't tell your students what will happen in the game, but just ask 6-7 students to take an object, any
object, out of their bag. Put each of these objects on a desk at the front of the class. Then explain that
these are the only objects that you have on you when you get lost on a desert island. You could even
draw the island with a lone stick figure person on it to help your students to visualise. Then put your
students into groups and get them to decide what they would do with each object. After they have
discussed this, tell them they can swap one item for any other item they want and get them to discuss
what they would swap and why! You can do a whole-class feedback at the end. This activity really
stimulates students' thinking!
2. In my bag

Get your students to choose five items from their bag - it can be anything at all! They have to then move
around the class with their bags, telling people what they got, what they use it for and why they keep it
in their bag. After students have spoken to a number of other students, get them to report back on what
they found out about another student. A variation of this is for you to select some items that came from
your bag, and to show each item to your students. Then get them to work in pairs or groups to figure
out why you keep each.

3. Sales People

Again, select whatever items you can find in the classroom - it could be the rubbish bin, a chair, a pen, or
any item that your students have brought with them to class - making sure there is one item for at least
half the class. Half the students in the class select an item each. Then tell them that they are sales
people, and they have to try and sell the item to one of their classmates who doesn't have an item for
sale. The sales people have to convince the others that their item is worth buying, so they practise their
persuasive speaking skills. It is a lot of fun too when you have a student trying to sell a toothbrush or a
hairbrush!

Listening

Focus on idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs and similar sounding expressions

Grammar
Focus on subject-verb agreement, collocations and complex phrasing

Vocabulary

Focus on lists of verbs, adjectives and nouns with a variety of definitions

Reading

Focus on drawing conclusions and inferences from various styles of written material

You will also teach test-taking strategies specific to the TOEFL, and answering the CBT style questions.

Pictionary

This game is GREAT for getting your students to practise their speaking and for reviewing vocabulary you
have taught. Choose the vocabulary items you want to review. Then put your students into teams and
get them to choose one person from the team to go first. The first person will come up to the front and
you can whisper the word in their ear. Then they must return to their team and draw that word. The
first team that guesses correctly what the word is gets a point! Then play again with a different team
member being the drawer. Very competitive and fun!

You really are only limited by your own creativity - make the most of the resources that you do have
available and always think of ways in which you can utilise what's available to you!