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Overview.
Teaching aids are a necessity in any English learning institution . The question as usual is the resources that are available to the Institution. We must remember one thing that we must have a back up plan in all our lessons. Some countries have a very serious problem of a stable power source thus lots of equipment can go up in smoke , and sometimes there is no power we must fore see these problems before the occur in class while the lesson is going on.
Below are the most common items which are generally used.
White/black board
Interactive whiteboard (IWB)
Overhead projector (OHP)
Visual aids
Worksheets and work cards
Cassette recorder
CD player
Videos and DVDs
Video camera
Dictionaries
Course books
Resource books
Photocopier
Computers
Online resources
The new mobile telephones can also help by eliminating a few of the above as they do have an assortment of attachments which could come into play.
1.) The board (would be nice if it was magnetic for stick-on )
All classrooms should have a board of some kind, or flipchart. It is important for all board work to be planned and organised. It can be a very useful idea to make a board plan on a piece of paper beforehand, to show what you intend to have on the board and when.
Boards can be used for many things; writing, drawing, sticking things on, projecting overhead transparencies etc. Boards draw and hold the attention of the students very effectively. Most teachers prefer whiteboards to the traditional chalk blackboards, as they are cleaner and easier to use.
Basic principles for board-work:
?Start with a clean board.
?Write legibly and neatly.
?Use the correct writing tool for the board.
?Keep the board clear and easy to read.
?Try to section off the board, to give areas for vocabulary, grammar and notes. Many
teachers use columns to achieve this.
?Use different colours and/or underlining or circling to highlight particular language
points to focus on, or to show irregularities, differences in language etc.
?Adjust the size of your writing to the size of the board, and make sure that it can
always be seen and read from the back of
?the class.
?Only put essential or requested information on the board.
?Erase what is no longer needed.
?Avoid unnecessary capitalisation, as all text on the board should reflect natural
writing. Additionally, studies show that.
?CAPITALISED TEXT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO READ than lower case text.
?Bear in mind that students will often note down everything they see on the board, so
accuracy is essential.
?Involve the students in the writing process.
?Clean the board at the end of the lesson.
2 .)Interactive whiteboards
Interactive whiteboards, often referred to as IWBs or smart boards, are increasingly being used in both state funded and private classrooms world-wide. However, their expense inevitably delays the introduction of IWBs in many schools,especially in less developed regions.
For further reference to the above read pages 2 – 3 of this unit.
3.) Overhead projector (OHP)
Are very good but have high running costs . It would be advisable to have a good maintenance program for the.For advantages and disadvantages please see page 4 of this unit
4.) Visual aids
Many different types of visual aids can be used in the classroom, but the most common are real objects, pictures and photos.
5.) Worksheets and work cards ( very high in use)
These can be bought from a publisher, or made by the teacher, and are particularly useful in the following situations:
?To adapt published materials
?To act as prompt / cue materials
?To write your own exercises with authentic material
?To make cards (role-play) for communication activities
?They can be used for reading and grammar exercises, and cards for presenting new vocabulary, etc.
?Please note that if you wish to re-use cards it may be worth covering them in plastic to keep them clean/undamaged.
6.) The cassette recorder
Has generally lost its place in the present age because of new inventions.
e.g. new mobile phones with external loud speakers and an in built recording device.
7 .) CD player
This to is slowly going out of fashion as mobiles have an internet connection with YouTube as an app.
8.) Videos and DVDs
Please refer to page 6 of this unit.
9.) Video camera
Video cameras can be extremely useful in the classroom. One of their major uses is to record the students during an activity, and then play it back to them for analysis and discussion. The camera can also be used by the students to record a film as part of an activity or project. They may wish to record their own news broadcast, play, soap opera episode etc.
They might also want to take the camera onto the streets to record interviews as part of a survey.
More recently, most smartphones are capable of HD quality video recording, so the need to purchase expensive and often complicated video camera systems has now become a thing of the past for many people.
The main thing to watch out for when using any camera to record video is correct usage of the equipment. Some training for the teacher and students may be necessary to ensure effective usage. After all there is not much point in recording an activity if the picture isn't clear or the sound cannot be heard!
