The core skills involved in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) are divided into productive and receptive skills. Productive skills include writing and speaking, while receptive skills include reading and listening.
Find TEFL Lesson Materials to Teach Writing and Speaking Skills
The ability to undertake effective lesson planning is a key skill required by TEFL teachers. Thankfully, there are plenty of books, materials and Websites which can help provide resources for teaching core language skills. One very useful book for those involved in teaching English is How to Teach English by Jeremy Harmer. This text has a valuable section, entitled How to Teach Writing, located from pages 79-86. The book also contains an informative section on How to Teach Speaking, located from pages 87-96. Sample lesson plans on writing exercises are available from tefl.net and esl.com.
Further information on how to teach speaking skills to EFL students, is provided by Swan & Smith's Learner English. Global English recommend this teacher's guide, as it compares key features of the students' own languages with English, thus enabling teachers in identifying likely problems. A total of 19 different languages are covered in this highly practical resource for TEFL teachers.
Teaching Materials for EFL Students – Reading and Listening Skills
Two other important language skills, which EFL students need to master, known as receptive skills, include reading and listening. To find material for reading lessons, simply head to your local library and find ability-appropriate magazine features/quizzes, newspaper articles and leaflets. Most libraries will cover different health topics and have regularly changing displays on key themes. Travel brochures provide plenty of interesting lesson planning materials for teaching students about everything from eating out to transport to accommodation. Again, Harmer's book on How to Teach English offers many practical ideas for preparing effective reading lessons, located from pages 68-78.
When undertaking lesson plans on helping students improve their listening skills, think about choosing songs which are popular with the age group you are teaching. Two excellent songs for helping teach EFL students about conditional tenses, include Madonna's "Holiday" and Abba's "Money, Money, Money."
There are also many DVDs and CDs available for helping teach English, which may be lent out to students who are struggling or included in a lesson plan.
As highlighted above, the core skills of learning English, include reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. One extremely helpful resource for preparing lesson on all four skills, is Jeremy Harmer's book, How to Teach English.
Sources:
Harmer, J. How to Teach English. NY: Longman Books, 2000.
Global English TEFL Coursework
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