Teach English in Hongmaozi Zhen - Fuxin Shi

Productive skills are speaking and writing, both having a person to communicate. When people are communicating with one another we know it they either have a communicative purpose, they want to say something, they want to listen to something or they are interested in what is being said. The teacher must, therefore, create the need and desire in the students to communicate. Accuracy activities; will check that the students can understand and use the language in a controlled way before being expected to try to use it creatively. Fluency activities; is more concerned with the effectiveness and flow of the communication. Examples of speaking activities in the classroom include Controlled activities, Guided activities, and Creative Communication. Controlled activities are when the language is being controlled by the teacher through an exercise such as drilling. Guided activities are accuracy based but a little more creative and productive. Creative communication is fluency based activities and the scenario is usually created by the teacher but the content of the language isn’t. Pair-work, group-work, plenty of guided practice before fluency activities, making speaking activities purposeful, changing the classroom dynamics, careful planning and time to prepare are all techniques to encourage interaction. Guidelines for a free/creative speaking activity before the lesson include; decide on your aims, try to predict any problems the students will have with solutions, prepare any necessary materials etc. Guidelines for a free/creative speaking activity during the activity include; try to relate the topic to the students own interests, reminding students of any structure or vocabulary that might be useful, give clear instructions, making sure the students have enough time to prepare, monitor the activity, evaluate the activity and the students performance in order to provide feedback later etc. Guidelines for a free/creative speaking activity after it is completed; indicate how well the class communicated, note down glaring recurrent errors they made using the English language and can be mentioned and then practiced another day when the teacher has a chance to prepare a suitable remedial lesson etc. Written text has quite a number of differences which operates it from speaking. Handwriting, spelling, layout, pronunciation and creative writing are all factors to consider and incorporate in a writing lesson. Handwriting for students whose native language uses a different alphabetical system from the English language will present a major challenge, they might need special training in the formation of individual letters. Spelling errors can create misunderstandings but can often be perceived, by the reader, to reflect a lack of education. As teachers, we need to draw the students’ attention to the different ways of pronouncing the same letters and have them do exercises to discover spelling rules. To help students learn the different layouts of writing they need a chance to be exposed to, and be given a chance to practice with many different styles. After students have completed a piece of written work we should get them to check it over for grammar, vocabulary usage as well as pronunciation, spelling, layout, and style of writing. Creative writing should be encouraged as it engages the finished work usually provides them with a sense of pride, they must have a desire or need to write the piece. A game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun. Many conventional and unconventional games can be adapted to language teaching. Games should be considered as an integral part of the syllabus and not just an amusing diversion on a Friday afternoon. They can provide useful, controlled practice and free practice material.