I worked as a volunteer in the Summer school of the Russian language at SibFU where I taught Russian at an elementary level to students aged 18 to 25 creating lesson plans and activities to keep students engaged and eager to learn. I also gave one-to-one lessons to a teenager at an elementary level (I created lesson plans to reach the student's needs and based classes around building a strong grammatical foundation), and I took a TEFL course several months ago.
Au pair work, 2015-2016
Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics (majors: English and Spanish languages) in Siberian Federal University, 2011-2015
Course in English Studies (exchange year) in University of Barcelona, 2014-2015
Course in English Studies (four months exchange program) in University of Cadiz, 2013-2014
My teaching approach
My approach to teaching is based on ESA method. ESA stands for Engage Study Activate. These are three stages which need to be covered in every class.
The Engage stage is basically a warm up where students complete 1-2 short activities in order to become engaged in the content of the class. In this sense I think QQ (Quick Questions) are great for introducing students to class.
During the Study stage students learn new grammar/vocabulary units and practice it under the guidance of a teacher.
In the Activate stage students enjoy free practice of the units learnt in the previous stage.
There always should be an introduction to a class and its conclusion. Students need to know what they are going to learn in this particular class, and at the end of it they need to see what exactly they've learnt and what needs further practice. All the activities in class should be linked smoothly so that students cannot notice when one task is finished and another begins. Otherwise, they will be distracted by the amount of seemingly unrelated information. CCQ (Concept Checking Questions) are necessary, too. They make sure students understand the meaning of words correctly. Grading your language is essential; students of any level should be able to understand what you say.
Moreover, students have to be constantly exposed to the language they learn, that's why it is of especial importance that a teacher uses TL (Target Language). Mistakes and errors need to be corrected as much as possible, otherwise they become fossilised in the students minds. However, be careful: in the Activate stage the main objective is for students to speak, and correcting every single mistake may make them self concious and unwilling to talk.
It is important to be prepared for class and adapt the material according to learners' needs and levels. Be kind and friendly, manage the classroom and your time well, and students will want to come back to your classes.
