MUET Lesson Plans

Hi... I've been getting feedback from teachers wanting to know how I go about teaching my students and what syllabus do I follow. Frankly speaking, if I could be so honest, I am going to tell you that the syllabus is merely a guideline and you should follow your heart and your mind instead.

The first thing I do is assess the students... just a mental evaluation of what their level is like, how comfortable they are with the language and what 'skills' do they need to face the real world, ie uni life and working life. Give them some autonomy in deciding WHAT it is they want to learn more about.

So here is a run down of WHAT I teach...

1. My Grammar Formulas as the basis of all the lessons, including coded marking.
2. Egg Babies: Parenting Skills to teach them the values of responsible adulthood
3. Phonology and pronunciation lesson using a really cool handout with incorporates pictures as the phonetic symbols.
4. Vocabulary expansion using my Word Class worksheets, word scavenging through the dictionary.
5. Resume/CV writing, cover letters and mock job interviews (highly important and a MUST teach)
6. Academic writing using my template for very weak proficiency, and a more 'open' style for higher bands.
7. Academic essay compilation of minimum 50 essays a person (I get each one to write on a specific topic, then i painstakingly mark it using codes, students self-correct their errors and rewrite the final draft before copying everybody else's essay in their own handwriting, no photocopying, and use highlighters to indicate words/sections they like, comments etc)
8. Mock speaking activities (non-exam based: interviews/forums/presentations, exam-based: mock tests using the speaking templates I provide. I also have various activities for turn-taking, brainstorming, shadowplay technique etc.)
9. Report Writing (teach the format, do practices, find their own stimuli and write the report & present, copy each other's reports so they have a compilation of reports as well)
10. Reading Comprehension includes collecting reading materials from reliable sources (Reader's Digest, Time, Newsweek, The Star, The Edge etc and students design their own MCQs to test other groups) besides the regular model tests n actual exams.
11. Listening activities using the 'pause and play' technique, oral to written 'reconstruction' activity, model tests and actual exam practice and analysis..
12. Powerpoint presentations using the 'simulation' technique, usually a simulation of a business convention or a membership/support group drive etc.

At some point or another I have blogged about my activities, so if you'd like to ask me how I carry out a particular lesson I wl try my best to answer. :) Anyway, happy teaching people!

Oh and my seminar at Uni Tun Hussien Onn, JB is confirmed on 22 n 23 Feb.. so really looking forward to that now! Woohoo!