Suggestions for a 20-minute lesson for preschool teachers

9 comments

1. With my adult class with babies. We let the babies play with some toys while we chatted. I wrote questions on the board and I would ask mom one. Mom one would answer using the supplied helper grammar (I want, I like, I can), and then ask mom 2. Mom 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 to back to me. Then we would do the next question.

   I do this now with my only adult student

2. Can you use Japanese? If you can freely use Japanese then it’s much easier and usefully I think haha.

3. Are the teachers going to be using the English in their own classes, or is it simply so…they can have an English lesson?

   20 mins isn’t a lot of time and if they are beginners then a game would probably be the best way.

   Are you actually expected to “teach” them?

4. Have you tried asking the other teachers what sort of English they would like to learn. Is there any English topics or games you could go through in English that link back to the work they do in the classroom?

5. I think it would be best to figure out if you are teaching them like they actually want to learn English or are you teaching them so they can be better prepared for your classes? Class subjects would definitely be very different.

   I suppose either way, one of the best plans for a first lesson is introducing yourself. Supply basic grammar/sentence structure:

   My name is ___.
   I’m from ___.
   I like ___.
   My hobby is (playing/doing/watching/etc) ____.

   A quick, fun game is Snowball Fight. Have students secretly write down three sentences (preferably likes or hobbies). Have them crumple the paper into a ball. On the count of three, everyone throws their ball in the air. Pick up a random ball, make sure it isn’t your own, and then you have to go find the owner of the paper.

   You’ll have to supply the questions as well:

   Do you like ____? (Yes/No)
   What is your hobby?

   Once they return the paper to their owner, they can sit down. My adult students loved this. Didn’t take a whole lot of setup, and was a really engaging way for them to talk to each other.

6. Kinda hard to think about if you/we don’t know exactly why you’re doing the class. I’d ask the principal. Is it so they can be bilingual with the kids? Is it so they can communicate with an ALT better? Is it just for fun/brain training/because they have to spend the money on some form of “training”?

   One thing: They probably aren’t absolute beginners. They’ve had English throughout their own school lives.

   One fun idea might be to share some children games from your own culture, in English. It teaches them some English while also giving them ideas for their actual classes.

7. I recently did a lesson for beginner mixed adults, involving Eric Carle’s “Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me”.

   Aside from being a really great little book, I followed it with a book I’d picked up from the baby section at the library. The book was of a turtle asking others animals to get things from trees for it. An apple. A tangerine. Some cherries. The pattern, established with the Carle book, was simply this:

   * “Monkey, please get an apple for me.”
   * “Here you are.”
   * “Thank you!”
   * “Giraffe, please get some cherries for me.”

   Etc.

   Never underestimate the power of cuteness in a basic lesson, especially if it’s only 20 minutes long.

8. Look up material on audio-lingual method. Also called “the army method”. It’s not fun, but it’s probably the best way to spend 20 minutes twice a month. I had a similar situation and the principal was giving me a hard time at it not being very fun. I politely explained the time I was given wasn’t enough to make the lesson fun. He asked me if I could try to make it fun anyways. Trying to be a smart Alec about how to express how futile that was I asked “do you know how to make boiling water cook rice faster? After a little more back and forward, I was given some more time. And in the end, no one learned a thing. (Cries in futility)

9. These are Japanese preschool teachers? What do they need English for? What is their level, exactly? Most Japanese are false beginners, and there may even be one among them whose proficiency is higher than the others. You’ll need to do a diagnostic first, and a simple needs analysis.

   After that, you can create a syllabus and curriculum, and chose a textbook that meets their needs; more likely, you’ll need a combination of textbook and bespoke materials, depending on what their actual needs are.

   Nah. Just play some games. No one is truly serious about learning in this context, so why do any actual TEACHING, you know?

   Also make sure you demand to be paid for this. 🙂