Grinnell, Iowa TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

overview Evaluating students is a very important factor ,as to where they have to placed and at which level , further to this we need know whether the teacher to also know on the right track of teaching and the progress level in the class. Its basically a two way street. The feedback component is very important and how it is addressed. Tutorials : It would be a good idea at the end of a certain time period to re-cap what the class has done review it discuss if it has been absorbed and the to see what the future aims are for the teacher and students and in some way encourage slower students. Evaluation by the students: There are various ways of doing this e.g. Questionnaire or guided discussion as to whether the course is to hard or easy and where more time or attention is needed. The ultimate aim must be a good harmony in the class with lots interaction. If by any chance the level of English is very poor then this should be conducted in the native tongue. Tests Placement test or a Diagnostic test is good place to start as this will give the level the students are at. We can then progress test after a few days to see how the students are coming along. This could be formal ie written ,or just a discussion, better still be be a game which we can see the results from the students and more the feedback to the teacher. Important here is the time frame and what should be the gaps in between these tests. Another test that students might take is an achievement test, which is usually an internal test given at the end of a course e.g. at the end of the school year. Or external examinations Placement tests A small chat with the students by the teacher should suffice as to the fluency on the language generally by asking very basic questions , name ,age, what the person does, colours questions likes dislikes etc. This can the be followed by a small written test as to what skills the person has in spelling and writing ability. These tests are designed to enable teachers to place new students into the correct class according to their language ability. Progress tests This shows the absorption rate and also what has been retained by the students Progress tests should include a balance of all four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) as well as grammar and vocabulary that have been covered. Please note that progress tests should only include language items covered within the prescribed period. . Such tests also tend to encourage students to review and revise, which is never a bad thing. Its always advisable to have records of these tests as they do become handy. Activities for tests can often be unused exercises taken from the work book, or other resource books. Diagnostic tests Diagnostic tests are basically similar in content to placement tests, and are sometimes more extensive. They are given at the start of the course to see what the students already know, and to help the teacher to prepare lessons and materials that will enable students to work on the areas of difficulty identified by the test. Practice tests Practice tests should follow the format and the structure of the external examination . Results from these tests help students prepare for final exams and helps students gain confidence. General external examinations TOEFL – Test of English as a Foreign Language IELTS – International English Language Testing System TOEIC Cambridge Assessment General English KET (Key English Test) PET (Preliminary English Test) FCE (First Certificate in English) CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) Skills for life Certificates in ESOL Skills for Life: Business English BEC (Business English Certificates) BULATS (Business Language Testing Service)