Teach English in Hechen Zhen - Taizhou Shi

When I look back at my own time at school, concentration and focus where the most difficult things for me in class. It was not the lesson, not the teacher, but the dullness of the environment sent my gaze out. To the birds, to the people who passed by. I felt trapped in a class with 35 students. Whenever it was playtime, you did that as much as possible outside for the time being. There has bin studies that an important educational foundation in the Netherlands has done show that 95.5% of all lessons are in a classroom, and only 4.5% are taught outside of the classroom. In 2016 a national outdoor lesson day has been set up since prior to this study. The research was limited to the age group between 4 and 12 years, and in a panel of 2,800 teachers at these primary schools. Of course I could present here all the facts and figures of the investigation, but the most important thing is the conclusion. The ratio shown above does not concern what the teachers in this study would like to see. They would like to see a ratio of 75% inside and 25% outside lessons. And for the smallest groups, that ratio is even 68% inside and 32% outside. 61% of these teachers indicate that outside of teaching has a positive influence on the child's learning ability. And even 71% of these teachers indicate that the break time at school has a positive effect on the learning ability and 26% a very large positive effect. The argument thereby is that students are fresher, more concentrated and can set their energy free during these time. Of course, that study also includes the obstacles that make it difficult to teach outside. Such as, for example, how difficult it is to fit these kind of lessons in a normal schedule, the supervision outside cannot always be organized, the weather conditions play a role and the outside area can give restrictions. But that does not diminish its value. Its also investigated that the subjects on which these lessons are most useful outside of which physics and biology lessons naturally emerge first. Personally, I believe it has a positive effect on all subjects. The film Death Poets Society is a wonderful example for me. This variation of activities and subject is of great importance especially for the 4 to 6 year olds, where the ability to concentrate has yet to be trained. Not only in going outside, but also the variation in the material that must be both playful and educational. The following reasons indicate the students reply after they were asked why they would like to study outside : 1. It provides variety in the day. 2. Gives a feeling of freedom. 3. We like being outside. 4. Fresh air is nice. The main reason for me is not to follow these practical reasons as mentioned above, but also to increase the involvement and connection between teacher and student. When I look at the outdoor lessons, I see all the different ages and groups, a different approach and lesson content is clearly needed. Factors that play a role in this include: · The number of students and their age? · The safety aspect. (Is it possible on the schoolyard or in the immediate vicinity of the school?) · Do I have to travel for it? · Is it possible with 1 teacher or does it need extra guidance? · How much time do I have or do we need? Here is one short example of a lesson given outside for a class between the age of 3 and 6 years. The main objective of the lesson is: Learning to memorize and pronounce 10 different insects in the English language. The additional information about the discussed insect is information that I beforehand provided them with (next to the other knowledge they may already have about the insect). In preparation for this lesson I have: Ten cards with pictures of insects that they probably all know how to pronounce in their own language and that can also be found in the outdoor lesson. Depending on the educational material such as a TV, smart board, I will also show the various insects before we go outside. If I don't have these items I will continue with the cards before we go outside Beforehand I looked at which insects we can find around the school. If this is not the case or when its too difficult to find them, I will hide a plastic insect somewhere in an easy spot so the students can find them and we can talk about them. What can they tell about it in English? Ask about the name, how and where they live? In general what they already know about it. And I give them the information they missed or did not know yet. So I will prepare the students in the classroom, the active phase outside, and back inside were I will repeat it again and let them make a drawing of their favorite insect or if they want the insect they find scary. I firmly believe in the effectiveness especially for this group to enrich them with the English language in a playful, varied way. And I can't wait to do this in practice. Sources: https://buitenlesdag.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Rapportage-onderzoek-Buitenles-DUO-2016.pdf