So now you are getting a better assessment of your students. You know your strong ones, your weak ones, your clowns and your closed off ones. You know how long each class takes to get through parts of the book. You are familiar with the class' textbook and material. Now what?
Pace Yourself
Don't get blogged down by test prep and textbook completion frustration.
Some schools want you to complete the course book before the end of the semester or by a certain date in the academic calendar. Few could care less as long as you have the students warming their seats. Some need a portion of the book to be completed but not all of it. When you find out which circumstance is suitable for your class, you can make a plan.
If you fall under the category of who could care less, jump ahead. If not, keep this in mind: planned pacing is important. If you have an idea of where you need to be that week as well as where you need to be next month, it will make planning easier and you will not be stressed at the end of the year as you try to cram the last 10 units down your students throats. Believe me, it's not pretty for anyone. Students are confused and missing the lesson objectives aka they learn nothing. And you are stressed out and running thin on patience.
So on to the less stressful path. First, get yourself a calendar that has all your school holidays marked on it. This way you know what days certain classes will not be in session and you can plan how to make up those missed days. Next, count out the days you have with your students then divide them by the number of pages you have to get through. If it turns out to be an impossible number say you have to get through 3 or more pages per class, then you might want to consider giving out homework for certain pages or skimming past material you are confident your students know well enough to skip.
After that the hard parts done. Just check before planning that you are on the right track then plan away. At the latest, you'll be a planning pro by winter break.
I Went Through The Book Too Fast
Oh no, I still have two months left and I'm done with the book. What happened? Well, you messed up, son. You didn't accurately calculate your pacing guide or barely glanced at it. Or you just didn't do one. Don't worry you're not screwed just yet.
Go back and look at material which you feel your students have not quite mastered. Make a list of them then factor in how much time you have left. Then make a new pace guide. Unfortunately, you now have to come up with material for your students to do. If you have a computer and a projector in your class, scan or download extra exercises for your students to complete in class. Homework can be given by telling them what webpage to visit to complete their practice of the selected skill or grammar point. There are loads of places on the internet that have practices needed for most ESL learning objectives.
You could also incorporate projects. Projects are great speaking opportunities that get students showing off their skills and interests.
Check here to see what resources you can use to effectively fill the rest of the school year. Trust me, movie days are not an option you want to do and most language school directors would not be happy about that.
Remember use the book but present the material in a way that will engage and help your students. Anyone can buy a textbook and fill it out at home. ESL student are in class to (a) be motivated to learn a new language; (b) practice listening and speaking in that new language with a native speaker; and (c) immediate error correction. How you plan your lesson can satisfy all these needs in an engaging way.
Have fun with it without the stress!
What do you do to get through the rest of the year? What is your planning process like?
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This is a resource for teachers in ESL. To help the community, please leave comments about other ideas that have worked for you, or how some of these ideas have been successful in your classroom. Thank You.