#3 Class Issue

Hi everybody,

I have my own private language institute where I teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL). I've chosen a basic level class where I teach 25 students in a class who are very weak.

Most of the time, I find the students of Basic Level with zero knowledge in English, willing to learn written English fast without doing much hard labour as if I have a magic wand to do so for them. The problem is that they are absent, do not give enough time at home, do not do assignments regularly, and after some time, they start losing their interest. They don't want to spend on extra materials for learning English.

Problem:

Since all the students do not have computers and those who have it, don't have internet connection, it's difficult to make them familiar with new technology. It's also difficult to make them computer literate in a short period (2 months) of time for Basic Level Course. That's why, when I take them to show some video clips, I generally have to explain everything in details with no cross-questions from them, as I expect, which sometimes makes me feel as if I teach to the objects which cannot interact. It also sometimes makes the situation frustrating.

TechSolu:

I agree with the fact that with the help of CALL, their interest can be raised, they can be motivated and they will be able to learn much as well. Teaching them using the materials from internet can work magic for them if they work hard on that with the help of language instructors.

I have decided to make them follow http://englishforeveryone.org/ so as to decrease their lack of interest. It's a good site where they will find different things to study and enjoy playing Crossword Puzzles, etc.

Funny event:

One of the funny events was in a basic level of EFL class when I was playing a video clip of Language in Use from Cambridge. I made them clear many things with repeated playing. After the class was over after an hour, one of the students asked me whether or not I was going to teach them new vocabulary, sentence patterns, or some grammatical items. He had taken the video clip as a time pass I was doing with them, however I had made them clear about what I was going to do. I mean to say, some students, especially in language class, take listening, reading, and watching visual as 'time-pass'.