Por: Thiago N. 31 de Janeiro de 2019
Level Placement and Student Diagnosis
As teachers we are directly involved in the lives of our students and understanding each one of them is very important to our success.
Inglês Todos os níveis Profissional
Encontre um professor e combine aulas particulares Presenciais ou Online
In order to plan how to teach our students, we need to know what motivates them to study, what background they bring to the classroom, as well their interests and past school history with the language. This is the reason why promoting an initial interview with your students is the best tool to find out more about them. Similarly, this conversation is the best opportunity for our students to understand more about our philosophy as both an educator and a person.
The online interview helps us to get a good idea of their Oral Communication abilities like Pronunciation, Listening, Speaking, Fluency, Accuracy and Confidence. By talking to the students, their personalities start to show in the way in which they express themselves verbally and non-verbally. Is the student open and using hand gestures, confident in what they say, or maybe uncomfortable speaking in English?
We know, however, that just talking to the students will not provide us teachers with enough information to decide what teaching strategies might work best for the learning process of each student. In order to complement the assessment of the students, we can also use different resources available online. One of them is platform Learning Community. The exercises available on the website assess the academic performance of the students in different areas and are also an important way to evaluate key skills like Vocabulary, Reading and Writing. There are many other resources online that also provide good exercises and can be used to assess the proficiency of the student using the English language.
Some teachers are willing to make their placement tests even more complete and accurate and want to include a Grammar evaluation section on this initial process to get to know their students better. One useful resource we recommend in these cases is the Grammar Diagnostics Quizzes, provided by Julie Sevastopoulos, specialist in Linguistics and English Language Teaching.
Finally, it is important to show a brief summary of your professional background and experiences that qualify you as a teacher. After that, explain your methodology and how you usually conduct the lessons. Make sure that the student is acquainted with the virtual environment for distance education and with the materials that shall be used during the course.
What should you be careful not to say?
Students do not need to know everything about you. In particular, it is not helpful to say you’ve never taught the course before, or that it is your least favorite course to teach, or to disclose any irrelevant personal information that can undermine you in the eyes of your students.
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Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate relevance and impact to their job or personal life. Knowles theory of andragogy identified five assumptions that teachers should make about adult learners. Self-Concept – Because adults are at a mature developmental stage, they have a more secure self-concept than children. This allows them to take part in directing their own learning. Past Learning Experience – Adults have a vast array of experiences to draw on as they learn, as opposed to children who are in the process of gaining new experiences. Readiness to Learn – Many adults have reached a point in which they see the value of education and are ready to be serious about and focused on learning. Practical Reasons to Learn – Adults are looking for practical, problem-centered approaches to learning. Many adults return to continuing education for specific practical reasons, such as entering a new field. Driven by Internal Motivation – While many children are driven by external motivators – such as punishment if they get bad grades or rewards if they get good grades – adults are more internally motivated. |
