Ron and I are actually already on a break from doing shows. There's one more from Season 2 that might get published this week (weather permitting .) We've bounced around some ideas for Season 3 of the show kicking off in the next couple months.

Season 1 was basically survival ESL teaching techniques and advice.

Season 2 got a little technical mixing in methodologies, lesson planning, exam preparation courses.

I thought for Season 3 topics we might do shows on more focused teaching strategies. For example we might cover in detail with games and tactics how we teach different tenses to students or how we deal with 'when' clauses.

Does anyone have some ideas for Season 3? What would you like to hear about? Season theme or even single show ideas are very welcomed.

It would be fun to hear a show about activities that are "outside the box". The other day I read about and tried an exercise where I kept one student in the room and had him/her make (five) changes. The others waited outside. Finally the students came back and had to find the changes. Of course the students had to say (in English) what changed. We were working on the past tense so there were sentences like: "The book was on the table", "The chair was over there", etc.
Obviously, this isn't so wild but it does break down ideas about student, teacher, classroom, learning, etc. The students loved it and it gave them a real situation where they needed to use English.
I wouldn't have thought about using my whole room as a prop and so, for me, it was a little outside the box. I had done that same activity with a worksheet so many times. Not that my worksheets were bad but why not just use the room!
Anyway, I'd like to hear about any "outside the box" activities you have done in a future show (if possible).

Anthony

I've read some stratagies that different teacher's use, but I'd love to hear what your great minds have to say about teaching classes that have students with drastically different abilities both with the English language and other skills.

For example I have a few classes where some students can read and speak pretty well, yet some of their class mates can barely read or say the alphabet.

Seriously Mark, I have a 6th grade class and some of the studnets are high level and others take 5 minutes to right their name after I tell them how to spell it; they pause and have to think about almost every letter I say. Or when we are doing the work book some students have already finished 2 pages and others are still on the first question. I hate to just write the answer on the board and have them copy it; that's not learning

Also, how do you guys handle classes where students have different motor skills, my kindies are aged 4 to 7 (korean age) and some of them can barley hold a crayon, less alone color with it, and lets just forget about using scissors. For these classes I usually do all the cutting for the smaller kids before class or have an older student help them when they have finished.

Finally, how do you guys handle classes that have mentally handicapped studnets or students with serious A.D.D. in class with regular students.

I usaully come up with extra work for the more advanced studnets and I give easier homework to the lower level students. I also change the questions depending on who I am asking.

I don't like to leave any student behind, but I don't want to lose any advanced students cause they get bored.


Anyway, I'd like to here what you 2 gurus of English do and what strategies you suggest for situations like these.

I like the idea about different tenses. I wouldn't mind something dealing with irregular verbs. I enjoyed the various methodologies, so if there are more ya'll would like to cover that would be cool. I'm looking forward to the 3rd in the Phoinics series if you are still planning to do it.

Sorry for the novel.