How to use Films inside classroom effectively?

 Because of the advancement in technology, present day generation are more interested in visual stuff like television, cartoon movies and mobile phones. It is generally observed that most kids all over the world spend long time in front of these electronic devices watching with unabated  interests . I was just wondering how we could use this interest to promote and facilitate the teaching of English as a second language.

As it is known that most people like films, therefore using it as a tool for teaching English as a foreign language could be a brilliant idea. However the question that arises is how effective could teachers use movies?

It would be advisable for a teacher who wants to use movies to teach to take into consideration students’ taste. In this case, the teacher should check how interested the students are in film, because there is a tendency that not all of them might be interested.

If it is discovered that majority of the students  are interested in film, the next issue to consider is the type of film to be used to teach them. In this respect, one might take into account the students’ culture. The film that is introduced in class must be carefully selected to avoid any scene that might be inappropriate to students’ cultural sensitivity .This is to prevent negative backlash that will be detrimental to the process of teaching and learning English. A culturally accepted film will effectively promote the teaching and learning process.

On the other hand, identifying films or movies containing characters which are generally loved and accepted by students can positively promote students understanding and therefore the learning process. For instance, if you know that your students love Mickey Mouse ,Tom and Jerry, then these can be used for class presentation.

After completing the above steps, and you have chosen the most appropriate and acceptable movie or film, then you would like to use it in a manner that students would derive benefits from it. The following activities can be used by a teacher to make using movies in  class academically rewarding:

Firstly, I would like to show the movie in one session if it is a short one to give the students a general overview of what it is about. Nevertheless, before starting, I would like to ask them to look for how certain words are used by the characters in different situations. And also for them to predict what would happen in the next scene or at the end of the movie. This is to make them focus while watching.

A teacher might even transcribe the words of the movie in the form of text. This can allow the teacher to treat the scenes of the movies like paragraph by paragraph and gives students the chance to read what they have watched. In this way, when the movie is played scene by scene, each scene would be analyzed in class to extract grammatical, lexical as well as practical usage of the language in real life situations.

In conclusion, using movies in a class by setting specific goals for the students prepares and enables them to progress even out of the classroom, because they would have acquired the skills that  help them to deduce language benefits from any movies that they might watch. I would be most appreciative for any comment about how to use movies effectively in classroom.

Can we ensure Students’ Safety?

Is there dispute about the necessity to ensure a safe and conducive environment for our students at school?  No sensible being will indeed dispute that. Parents and teachers unanimously agree that in  order to achieve maximum success in the educational process, we need to ascertain that not only educational materials are provided;  but also an organized system must be put in place where in students are free from any kinds of fear. What should be done to achieve this? These means of safety is what I am going to look at in further details.

In a particular school, could you imagine that the Bus Driver who takes the children to school was so passionate about snakes even at expense of the children’s safety. On a fateful day, he was so careless that he took a box containing a big snake with him in the Bus. As he was waiting while the children are embarking the Bus, the snake suddenly jumped from the box.  This incident sent the children in complete commotion that resulted in some minor injuries of some of them. Fortunately, this is the type of school always maintain a school-guard. This guard quickly moved to the children’s rescue and immediately killed the snake. In as much as complete order was eventually restored and the children were finally driven home; but how fast do you think the traumatic feeling will be cure on those children and what should be done to that driver who exposed them to such children?

The above is just a tip of the iceberg, however; there are many types of dangers school children might be exposed to. For instance, school building should be built strong to prevent any unexpected collapse of any part. It must be well ventilated so that children are not exposed to suffocation. In the event of any danger like fire, dangerous animals or whatever, emergency exits should readily be available as means of escape. Moreover, teachers should receive training and educational programs about how to deal with emergency situations. They in turn should educate school children about what to do in cases of emergency. It is however, pathetic to note that most teachers do not even know how to use fire extinguishers. These are basic safety tools that one should know its operation.

Furthermore, students are sometimes exposed to other forms of danger, such as bully, racial discrimination, physical, emotional and sexual abuses. Therefore, school administration should set rules and regulations that prohibit these abuses and signs showing weapons on any sort are not allowed in school in school should be displayed. These signs would serve as a general awareness to ensure students safety. In addition, there should be appropriate punishment for those who are guilty of violations.

In conclusion, we should all come together to spread the awareness of students’ safety, so that we can have safe environment suitable for students learning free from any form of harassment. If you know of anything we can do to promote this safety, your suggestions would be most appreciated.

Does Technology make Students less Motivated?

Is technological advancement making how students becoming less interested in course books and the traditional method of learning? Nowadays, Students are mostly interested in electronics devices; spending hours using them.  I am encountering this problem with my students of English as second language and moreover they do not even want to use the course books.  Most of them lack interest in learning and so I have used various methods to get them participate including corporal punishment without success. However, I changed my strategy and my new approach seems to be yielding good result. In this article, I will be discussing how about this approach works.

I have realized that as human beings we have strong desire to be recognized and distinguish among others (being famous). Therefore, I told my students that I am introducing a system of granting them points with regards to their participation in class in answering questions, doing their assignments, as well as being well disciplined in class. At the end of the month, the student with the most points will be declared and honored as the star of the month.

When I commenced this competition among them, I observed that those who are now participating and are interested in learning English jumped from 20% to about 60% of the class. If this success is a lasting one, I think they will be motivated to learn English by themselves. Do you think of any means of getting students motivated to learn English as second language? You comments on this will be mostly welcome.

Mobile Phone Teaching helper

The advancement of technology has made it easy for teachers to diversify their teaching methods. Now even mobile phones can be used to facilitate and enhance the learning process in a number of ways. In this article I will be specifically looking at ways in which we can use mobile phones to teach English.I hope you will enjoy reading these  ideas.I hope once aday to see my ideas applied in many schools around the world .They are as following.

– Forming a network of students’

Mobile numbers to send text messages on various topics. This is the frist step, teachers should establish. Students should be informed that they would be receiving text messages from their teacher from time-to-time as part of the learning process and they must take these messages seriously.

– Organizing a monthly quiz competition:

 If students are informed that they will be given a quiz competition at a specific period of time, this may motivate them to take these text messages into good consideration.

– Grammatical Tips:
Sometimes, EFL learners find it difficult to understand certain grammatical rules. Teachers can identify these problematic areas and send them as a series of text messages to their students. The very facts that these rules are coming  in bits and pieces will make it easier for the students to focus and understand them easily.

– Reminder:

 Mobile phones can be used by teachers to remind students for a number of things; such as: date of submitting assignment, examination, important School events, information relating to teachers’ and students welfare, and recommendation of text books, blogs and websites.

Finally, teachers can also use multimedia to send various types of illustrations, flashes and pictures to
students’ mobile to help enhance to their learning.