College of Pension Actuaries

If you will be working with adult learners of English, start by assessing their needs. Many English as a Second Language students know what they want to learn. At the beginning their needs will most likely be “survival” phrases (i.e. Where is the bathroom? How much does it cost? Traffic sign reading.). Then they will need basic functional English for filling out job applications, getting medical care, and signing their child up for school.

Ask your students to identify what they want to learn by using any of the following methods or a combination of them.

1. Have the students look through their textbook or picture dictionary and place Post It Notes on five pages with the information they think is most important.
2. Have students check off things they want to learn on a pictorial list depicting different activities (grocery shopping, reading a note from school, filling out a driver’s license application, job applications, etc).
3. Show students a pictorial strip illustrating three reasons why Antonio wants to learn English; then brainstorm with the class and substitute their reasons for learning English.

This gives the students a voice in their instruction and makes the content relevant to their lives. It also gives you a chance to evaluate what skills your students have already and what they need to strengthen.

Once you know what your students hope to achieve, use the principles of adult learning. Adults are problem solvers, self-directed, and disciplined. They already know how to think and they know how to learn new things. They will want to know why something needs to be learned and that it is applicable to their life.

Music exams can be daunting for many students, regardless of instrument, age, or ability. Just the thought of someone other than the teacher listening to them play can cripple the most accomplished musician. Never fear! After taking many exams myself, and entering many students for exams, I would like to share my experience with you, whether you are the teacher or the student.

Exams taken through one of the international examining boards, such as Trinity Guildhall College of Music, or The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, have very clear guidelines and advice as to what to play and how to play it. But they don’t give much advice on how to make sure you are mentally prepared for a music exam. Here are some basic tips that might help.

Firstly, your music exam is not about someone testing you. It does seem like that, with marks and certificates and so on, but your exam is really an opportunity for you to show off. Everyone who plays an instrument likes to share their talent with their friends and family. Think of the examiner as someone who is expecting to be impressed by your talent, just like your family. The examiner is not the bogey man out to get you. He or she will listen to you critically and in your report give advice that will help you improve.

Secondly, your exam is your opportunity to really enjoy what you play. If you are an instrumentalist who rarely gets the opportunity to play with an accompanist, enjoy the experience. Music is about playing together, and your exam is a chance to make music with others. If you are a pianist and therefore doing a solo exam, your exam is your concert debut. Enjoy the challenge of playing your musical selection to an audience with a trained ear.

India is a country of many religions and beliefs. It is one of the most majestic countries of this world. There are many languages that are spoken in this part of the world like Hindi, English, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi etc. People who have a good knowledge of English are treated with utmost respect in India. The demand for English speaking persons is increasing day by day. The demand is due to the mushroom growth of many multinational companies.

If you have a passion for teaching abroad then India is the place where you should explore the teaching opportunities. There are plenty of teaching opportunities available in India and for most of these; a TEFL certificate is a must. TESOL or TEFL Certification Course is a Three week intensive onsite initial Teacher training course. This is a widely popular course which would equip you with all the necessary education to handle the responsibilities of a teaching job abroad. If you love teaching, love to mix with people of different religions then India is the place for you.

English teachers are in great demand in India and people treat the teachers with a lot of respect. Besides getting a job in the government sector, qualified EFL teachers can get a job with the help of various voluntary placement agencies. To get a good job, one must have a degree in the field of education or a good deal of teaching experience, as well as a TEFL or similar certificate is usually necessary.

TEFL certificate holders can get a good salary depending on the kind of experience he/she possesses. Several schools offer furnished accommodation to the qualified persons. There are usually 6 working days in a week so if you planning to come to India then be prepared to teach for six days a week.

If you’re a tutor or a teacher, you’re likely interested in finding out how you can become better at your job. The idea that great teachers are born and not made is untrue – there may be some teachers that naturally have the skills and talents that make them a great teacher, but that does not mean other people who don’t naturally have those talents can’t develop them. Even without natural ability you can develop the abilities that will make you a great teacher, it’s just going to require some extra effort.

1. Great tutors are organized and prepared.

This is an easy characteristic to understand and it is also easy to develop in yourself. Even if you’re not naturally organized, you can develop this skill – it’s as simple as following a checklist of things to do to before and after each class or tutoring session and having the discipline to follow the checklist.

Being organized includes developing a long-term plan before the start of a semester, individual class plans before each class, and follow-up after each class to analyze what went well and what needs improvement for next class. It’s also important to have the tools to stay organized. This includes a calendar, lesson plans and lesson notes for your students.

2. Great tutors engage students and motivate them to learn.

Students learn in different ways, they have different attention spans and different things interest them. Great teachers understand this and they try to teach material in a way that relates to the students interests to make it personally relevant for each one. First, try to find out what interests your students, next try to tie the concepts you’re teaching to what the students find interesting. Your students will find it much easier to learn new material when it relates to something they’re passionate about.

The cornerstone of any education initiative is to ensure that class time won’t be wasted on non-beneficial activities, such as simply showing a movie to pass the time. Over the years there has been no single method more widely misunderstood and grossly misused than using movies in the classroom. For some, the mere mention of the word “movie” in a classroom environment is a dirty word. For others, the act of showing a movie in class is simply viewed as un-acceptable behavior by a teacher. These reactions unfortunately deprive teachers of an important educational tool, the feature film.

In fact, every day in classrooms throughout the nation teachers are energizing their students, enriching their lesson plans, and getting better performance on assignments by occasionally using quality movies in the classroom. They do this in response to changes in society, attributed in part to technological innovations, that have rendered traditional teaching methods ineffective.

Today, electronic devices like portable computers, mobile smart phones, tablets and PDAs are ubiquitous. The new generation is often rightly referred to as the “screened-age.” And it is true that the majority of media and story-based content on the electronic devices that dominate our age is delivered through a screen, be it a movie screen, TV screen, computer screen or mobile phone screen. In every day use written text are being limited to the technical and the old-fashioned.

Thus, a problematic situation was created. The average ELA class is designed to analyze written works, not screened productions. At this point, the teacher is starting at a significant disadvantage because they are competing for the attention of a student against devices and stories designed to do just that by the very best minds in our society. This affects students’ motivation to pay attention in class. Who wants to learn about the literature of the past using the technology of the past? This is due to the fact that both the method of delivery and the material are of no significant relevance to the daily life of today’s student.