Application of Chapter 1 Reading and Class Activity

Didn’t we all read the methodology of language teaching from grammar-based to communicative approaches for the first chapter of our textbook and from the communicative approaches to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages for the chapter article reading? I wanted to apply my knowledge from the reading and the activities that we had in our class last time to my other class that I teach. I teach ESL in a small school and in my Junior High class, there are 3 students. I have three students for 45 minutes and a story of two full pages to finish reading all to myself today. I showed the textbook to the students and I was not surprised to hear them moaning: to read two pages is too long and too difficult and too boring for them! Then, I showed them three separate sheets that I had prepared with three different parts of the story and asked them if the portion was manageable. Even the face of the least motivated student lit up and he asked if that was all for him to finish today. I told them that they were to read their part and to explain what they understood from the read. Instead of the text instructions for the students to read and do the comprehension exercises, my students had a good reading and sharing the part that each of them read through communicative activity (retelling, explaining, questions and answers) much similar to what we did in our ED481 class. When the bell rang, I asked them how they liked today’s reading and the activities, they all shouted, “It was good” and asked me if they could have the same drill for the next reading assignment in class. Definitely. I just had my first successful application of what I learned in ED481/G class.