Communicative Activities for Large

Classes

British Council / Estado de Mxico 2011

Communicative Activities for Large

Classes
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the session, participants will be
better able to:
Understand and inform others about the
advantages and challenges of working with large
classes
Understand The Ten Principles for Teaching
Large Classes
Evaluate and adapt communicative activities for
large classes

Advantages of Teaching Large

Classes
Excitement
Although they may be noisy, large classes can be exciting
if we channel the energy creatively
Timing
Time flies in a large class! Activities may take longer and
extra activities that you did not use can be saved for later

Advantages of Teaching Large

Classes
Participation
There will always be someone who wants to answer
questions!
Fillers
Teachers dont need so many extra activities, since main
activities take longer in general
Can you think of any others?

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Teacher can feel out of control
Having so many students can make some teachers feel
helpless
Classroom Management
Even things like taking the register take much longer,
instructions may need repeating more often and moving
furniture can be problematic.

www.flickr.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Teacher can feel out of control
Having so many students can make some teachers feel
helpless So careful planning and management are vital!
Classroom Management
Even things like taking the register take much longer,
instructions may need repeating more often and moving
furniture can be problematic.
So involve students more! They can
Sign a list on the door, students can
Repeat instructions, and you can make
Arrangements to use the patio
www.flickr.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Large amounts of paperwork
Enormous amounts of homework can be problematic
Individual Learner Differences
It is hard to cater for different types of intelligence and
learning styles
Quieter students
It can be harder to reach and
encourage quieter students
istockphoto.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Large amounts of paperwork
Enormous amounts of homework can be problematic
So develop self-correction, peer correction groups and
get stronger students to help with correcting
Individual Learner Differences
It is hard to cater for different types of intelligence and
learning styles So plan activities
To appeal to different student types

istockphoto.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Intimacy
It can be hard to remember students names and it can seem hard to
get to know their students
Distractions
More students means more people arriving late, chatting or playing
together
Preparation
Making extra materials and photocopies for a large class can be very
expensive

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Intimacy
It can be hard to remember students names and it can seem hard to
get to know their students So ask them to have their names on their
desks and get them to draw or write pictures about themselves, their
families, their worries their dreams and have wall displays!
Distractions
More students means more people arriving late, chatting or playing
together So get students involved in making and keeping rules!
Preparation
Making extra materials and photocopies for a large class can be very
expensive So use realia, items in the classroom, wall charts and flash
cards and projector!

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Noise levels
Large classes can get over-excited and noisy in pair or group
activities.
Monitoring students
It can be difficult to get to every pair or group during when
monitoring

juanslife.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Noise levels
Large classes can get over-excited and noisy in pair or group activities.
So develop awareness that people can enjoy themselves quietly without
disturbing others!
Monitoring students
It can be difficult to get to every pair or group during when monitoring
..So keep careful notes and be sure that you get to each goup, say, once
per week!

juanslife.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Space
Certain activities which involve movement may not be possible for lack of
space
Textbooks and resources
There may not be enough textbooks or computers available for all students

juanslife.com

Challenges when Teaching Large

Classes
Space
Certain activities which involve movement may not be possible for lack of
space
So make arrangements to use the auditorium or the patio for some
classes!
Textbooks and resources
There may not be enough textbooks or computers available for all students
So encourage a culture of sharing and caring!

juanslife.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
1. Variety

istockphoto

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
2. Pace

Computerclipart.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
3. Interest

wpf.org

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
4. Collaboration

edu-futuro.org

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
5. Individualization

educationinmedicine.northwestern.edu

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
6. Personalization

snakeysue.co.uk

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
7. Choice

istockphoto.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
8. Routines

lsuagcenter.com

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
9. Inclusion

fundacionluisvives.org

Ten Principles for Teaching Large

Classes
10. Analyze your own
(teachers) questions!

Thelearningwell.com

Communicative activities for Large

Classes
Now please work in small groups and appoint a scribe
for the group
Look at the 5 suggestions for communicative activities
with large groups in your books
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each
activity, in relation to your own classes and how you
might adapt the activities for your students
The scribe will take careful notes to post on the wall for
the whole group

Communicative activities for Large

Classes
1. The Hot Seat
English Skills: Speaking, Listening, Vocabulary
Objective: Communicate words without saying them
Put students into groups of 4/5. One of the students must sit with
their back to the board, the other students facing the board.
The teacher can draw or put a flashcard on the board (or write a
word). The students have to describe what is on the card to help
the student (with their back to the board) to guess what it is.

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travel-guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes

Communicative activities for Large Classes

2 (a). Guess Who
English Skills: Speaking
Objective: Form questions and identify a person or thing
Choose a student leader for the class (or smaller groups)
Ask the leader to think of a famous person
Group members have to ask yes/no questions to get information
When a group member receives a 'yes' to their question, they can ask one
follow up question
If the answer to a group member's question is no, the next student gets to
ask a question
The game continues until the students guess who it is

http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travel-guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes

Communicative activities for Large Classes

Guess What
English Skills: Speaking
Objective: Form questions and identify a person or thing
The same game can be played as 'Guess What', in which case students
are playing to identify an object, animal, etc (its a good idea to start with an
object in the room until students get the hang of it).
You may choose to prepare a handout of possible questions to get things
started and help weaker students. Some possible questions are: Are you
famous? Are you a man? Are you a woman? Are you an actor? Are
you a singer?
** Music can add to the fun and tension of this game. Add recorded sound
effects such as a ticking clock, Jeopardy, etc. to create a better
atmosphere for the game.
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travel-guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes

Communicative activities for Large Classes

3. I Went to the Market
English Skills: Grammar, Speaking, Vocabulary
Objective: Use memory to reinforce past-tense structure and focus on
correct use of articles
Divide class into groups; select one group to help demonstrate the rules
Teacher starts by saying, "I went to the market and I bought an apple."
Student next to the teacher follows by saying, "I went to the market and I
bought an apple and some eggs."
The next student continues by saying, "I went to the market and I bought
an apple, some eggs, and a potato."
Play continues with each student repeating what previous members said
and adding one item to the shopping list
Variation: you can change the game to practice all kinds of verb tenses
and vocabulary!
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travel-guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes

Communicative activities for Large Classes

4. Hold them up!
English Skills: Listening, Reading and Vocabulary
Objective: For students to revise vocabulary.
Split the class into groups 4/5
Before the activity, write a different word on a separate piece of paper for
each team (the vocabulary you want students to revise)
Have one student from each team sit in an allocated chair with the papers
on a desk in front of them or on the floor
Say one of the vocabulary words on the board (or you could give a
definition for higher levels)
Students have find the word on the board and hold it up!
The student to hold it up first gets one point for their team
Repeat until everyone has had at least one turn
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travel-guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes

Communicative activities for Large Classes

5. Word Challenge
Number of Students: Teams of 4-10
English Skills: Listening, Speaking, Spelling
Objective: One team says a word and the other tries to spell it
Have students get into teams of 4-10 people
One person from each team does rocks, paper, scissors/rolls a dice
Winner says a word and opponent tries to write the word correctly
If they get it right, their team gets a point
If they get it wrong, the person who said the word can write it out for a
point for their team
Have another person from each team play 'Word Challenge'
Make an 'arena' in the middle of the class for two students to face off
Students will start to look up difficult words to stump the other team!
Remember to do a follow-up assignment for new words used such as
teaching the class the meanings and having students make sentences with
the new words.
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travel-guides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes

Communicative activities for Large

Classes
The scribe will now post a report on the wall
Participants should go and compare reactions with
their own.
Finally, discuss points of agreement and disagreement
together

Communicative activities for Large

Classes
For final reflection activity, see Trainers notes

Bibliography
Benwell, T., Teaching Large Classes
Tefl.net, http://edition.tefl.net/ideas/teaching/teachinglarge-classes/
Hess, N. (2001) Teaching Large Multilevel Classes,
Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers.
Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/travelguides/231-Top-5-Activities-for-Large-TEFL-Classes