Teaching English for Beginners

Teaching English for Beginners A Lessonplan for Volunteers Designed for Elementary Schools By Lukas Beermann

Foreword If you re ever down, read this, because the idea and raison d etre for you stepping off the plane was not only to help others but to improve yourself. So chin up, kid. Why do you even try? Because someone has to. Because you re better than that. Because you need to toughen up or shatter. Cause when it comes down to it, all you have is a piece of chalk and a dream. The lesson plan you have in front of you was developed in the course of one year during the time of my voluntary service with Taman Bacaan Pelangi (Rainbow Reading Gardens) and World Horizon in Flores Island, Indonesia in 2013/2014. Every time you step into a classroom and become a teacher you will face challenges. You stand in front of a group, you are responsible for what is happening and you want the students to learn as much as possible during your time with them. A well-structured lesson plan will help you, especially at the beginning of your teaching career, to be less nervous, work more effectively and have a more satisfying teaching experience. Through this lessonplan I try to share some of my experience in teaching English in remote villages and provide some help for future volunteers. Remember that noone will judge you if you do not deliver a perfect lesson all the time. You cannot. Remember that people appreciate you are there and will be happy to help you. You are not alone. Remember that you are teaching for the kids. If you don t do the job noone will. Remember that all you can do is to try again every day and give your best. Nobody expects more. This lessonplan is designed to provide elementary school students aged 8-13 without any previous knowledge with basic English skills. All lessons have been tried several times in classes IV, V and VI (some also in class III) and have proven to be working. It contains 20 lessons which are enough for 3-4 months of teaching if you do two lessons per class and week. This lessonplan aims to give you an orientation on how to start and includes only very basic materials. After you finish all the lessons you will be able to continue yourself easily. The time per session is calculated with 70 minutes (equals two Indonesian lessons). 1

Every lesson is structured as follows: 1) Warm-up (usually a song) 2) Review (time to check homework, play a little game and answer questions) 3) Main Part (continue the last lesson or introduce a new topic) 4) Closing (give homework, another song and maybe prayer) Since you are teaching elementary school kids the review part that is set at the beginning of every lesson should take up to 50 percent of every lessons time. I recommend doing vocabulary tests from time to time. Within 20 lessons 4 to 5 tests should be enough. It will give the kids a boost in motivation and usually they will be happy to do it. You should always keep in mind to do everything very slow and explain things step by step. Some lessons of this plan seem to contain very easy or very little material but I highly recommend to stick to the timeframe and not to join lessons. Experience has proven that the key to successfully teaching English at elementary school level is not to be too fast. Even this lessonplan was developed in Indonesia it is applicable for any country. You should use this as a basis for your lesson planning. See what goes well (as well as what does not), modify and adapt to your particular teaching situation. Happy teaching! Lukas Beermann August 2014 2

Table of contents Foreword Page 1 Bahasa Indonesia in the Classroom Page 4 Lesson # Topic Page 1 Introduction 6 2 Alphabet & Daily Greetings 7 3 Introduce Yourself I 9 4 Introduce Yourself II 10 5 Introduce Yourself III (Questions) 11 6 Basic Conversation I 15 7 Basic Conversation II 17 8 The Classroom 18 9 Numbers 20 10 Days and months 22 11 Colors 24 12 Food 26 13 Animals 29 14 My Family 31 15 Singular and Plural 34 16 Conversation at the Market I 36 17 Conversation at the Market II 38 18 Personal Pronouns I 39 19 Personal Pronouns II 41 20 Story 43 3

Bahasa Indonesia in the classroom Especially for beginners it is essential to know some phrases and commands. Classroom Exercise book Teacher desk Blackboard Pen Chalk Eraser Homework Task/Exercise Example Vocabulary Stand up please Sit down please Let s sing a song first Let s start Who is absent? Did you do your homework? Close the door/window Please bring me some chalk Please open your books Please copy this from the blackboard Who knows the answer? Who can translate this? Who has already finished? Who has not finished yet? Are there any questions? Do you understand that? What is the problem? Ruang kelas Buku tulis Meja guru Papan tulis Bolpoin Kapur Penghapus PR (Pekerjaan Rumah) Soal/Latihan Contoh Kosakata Silakan berdiri Silakan duduk Kita nyanyi dulu Ayo kita mulai Ada yang absen? Kalian sudah bikin PR? Tolong tutup pintu/jendela Tolong ambil kapur Silakan buka buku kalian Silakan tulis ini dari papan Siapa tahu jawaban? Siapa bisa terjemah ini? Siapa sudah selesai? Siapa belum selesai? Ada pertanyaan? Kamu mengerti? Apa masahlah? 4

Who can help? Please distribute this among the class Please raise your hand Please be quiet everybody If you do that again I ll throw you out of the classroom I m going to report this to the headmaster Let s go home Siapa bisa bantu? Tolong bagi ini Tolong angkat tangan Tolong diam semua Satu kali lagi dan kamu langsung harus keluar Saya akan lapor kepada Kepala Sekolah Mari kita pulang 5

Lesson 1: Introduction 1) Warm up Introduce yourself and the purpose of you being there. Make a short introduction on why English is an important language (communicate with foreigners; understand English songs, films and books; be able to travel) Distribute exercise books and have students write their names. Encourage students to use these books for English only and bring it every time there is an English lesson 2) Review 3) Main part Give materials to the kids and let them produce name tags which they can place in front of them on the desk. Use colored paper, crayons etc. Teach them What is your name? and My name is Have every student present his/her name tag in front of the class. Ask What is your name? The students answer My name is Teach the students the ABC- which you can use for the following lessons. Write the song on the board and point out the letters which are different from Bahasa Indonesia. Have the students copy the text. 4) Closing Sing the song (Pray) Homework Learn the ABC 6

Lesson 2: Alphabet & Daily Greetings 1) Warm up Sing the song from Lesson 1 2) Review Have some students present their name tags again Ask randomly: What is your name? Review the ABC from the ABC-. Have students recite the ABC in front of the class. Learn about same and differently pronounced letters. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 3) Main part Introduce the daily greetings: Good Morning Good Day Good Afternoon Good Evening/Night 7

Also explain about Hi, Hello, Good bye, Bye Bye Write on the board and have the students copy. Ask randomly. Combine with What is your name? and My name is Have the students practice with their classmates. Write the following text on the board and have students copy it. Explain about the vocabulary. Read the text several times. Have students read the text. When I go to school, I say Good morning to the teacher. After I go home from school I say Good day to my family. In the afternoon I meet my friends and say Good afternoon. When I go to bed I say Good night to my family. 4) Closing Homework Memorize the daily greetings and practice reading. Learn the vocabulary. Vocabulary Note: Have students start a vocabulary list at the last 5 pages of their exercise books. You can extend it over time. Add words after every lesson. Make a vocabulary list from the text and translate: good morning, good day, good afternoon, good evening, good night good bye, greetings, song, homework, vocabulary I, go, school, say, teacher, go home, family, meet, friend, go to bed 8

Lesson 3: Introduce Yourself I 1) Warm up 2) Review Check the vocabulary. Have students stand in front of the class and ask. Also check on the ABC again. (Note: A very useful game to learn vocabulary is Hangman. You can play against the class or divide the class into teams. You can also make a spelling competition.) Review the sentences from Lesson 2. Practice reading again. 3) Main part Develop categories for Introduce yourself. Do it like a brainstorming. a) Name (full name/nickname) b) Address c) Age d) Birthday e) School, Class f) Religion Have students copy the list. Develop the corresponding sentences. a) My full name is My nickname is b) I am from c) I am years old. d) My birthday is e) I go to school at I am in class 9

f) My religion is Have students fill the sentences with their data. Let students introduce themselves to their friends. Let students introduce themselves in front of the class. 4) Closing Homework Practice Introducing Yourself Vocabulary name, full name, nickname, address, year, age birthday, class, religion, from, introduce yourself 10

Lesson 4: Introduce Yourself II 1) Warm up 2) Review Check the vocabulary and sentences from Daily Greetings. Check the categories and sentences from Introduce Yourself I. Have students introduce themselves in front of the class. 3) Main part Write the sentences from Introduce Yourself I on the board again. Do it like a short text. Good Morning! My full name is My nickname is I am from I am years old. My birthday is I go to school at I am in class My religion is Introduce the category Hobby. Do a brainstorming. My hobby is (playing football/volleyball, singing, reading books, etc.) 4) Closing Homework Learn the vocabulary 11

Sentence Puzzle! Put the words in the correct order. is-full name-my- from-i am- I am- -old-years hobby- -my-is school-go-to-at-i- -class-in-i am my- -is-religion is-birthday-my- nickname- -my-is Vocabulary hobby, play, football, volleyball badminton, swimming, sing, read, book, 12

Lesson 5: Introduce Yourself III (Questions) 1) Warm up 2) Review Check the homework and the vocabulary from Introduce Yourself I+II Have students introduce themselves to their friends and in front of the class. Let students try without their exercise books. 3) Main part Introduce a number of questions corresponding to the categories of Introduce Yourself What is your name? Where are you from? How old are you? When is your birthday? Where do you go to school? What is your class? What is your religion? What is your hobby? Practice reading and answering, then have the students copy the questions. Ask the class and single students. Have students standing in front of the class asking their friends. 4) Closing 13

Homework Find the pairs What is your religion? Where are you from? When is your birthday? Where do you go to school? What is your class? What is your hobby? What is your name? How old are you? I am from I am years old. I go to school at My religion is My hobby is... My name is My birthday is I am in class Vocabulary Question Words: what, where, why, when, who, how, question, word, 14

Lesson 6: Basic Conversation I 1) Warm up (Note: If you get bored with the ABC- introduce a new song) 2) Review Check homework Have students stand in front of the class and ask their friends the questions from Introduce Yourself III 3) Main part Make a basic conversation. Use student s names as an example. Write on the board. A: Good morning! B: Good Morning! A: How are you? B: Thank you, I am fine. And you? A: I am fine, too. A: Where are you going? B: I am going to the rice field. B: What is your name? A: My name is What is your name? B: My name is Where are you from? A: I am from And you? B: I am from How old are you? A: I am years old. And you? B: I am years old. A: Ok. Nice to meet you B: Nice to meet you, too A: Good bye! 15

B: Good bye! Practice reading and explain vocabulary. Have students copy the conversation. Have students practice with their friends. 4) Closing Homework Practice Reading Vocabulary you, How are you?, thank you, fine, and, rice, field, Where are you going?, nice, meet, conversation 16

Lesson 7: Basic Conversation II 1) Warm up 2) Review Have students practice reading the conversation from last lesson with their friends. Have students read in pairs in front of the class. 3) Main part Have students write their own short conversation. Use the questions and answers from Introduce Yourself III. Work in pairs. Have pairs read their conversations in front of the class. 4) Closing Homework Write a short conversation. Minimal six sentences. I recommend doing the first vocabulary test after this lesson. Tell the students to learn all the words from their vocabulary list. 17

Lesson 8: The Classroom 1) Warm up 2) Review Do the vocabulary test Check homework 3) Main Part Introduce a number of objects in the classroom by pointing at them a pencil a pen a rubber a ruler an exercise book a textbook a chair a cupboard a piece of paper a piece of chalk a blackboard a picture a bin a clock a desk Make easy sentences with the classroom objects. Introduce sentences of possession using have/has. In our classroom we have a bin. In our classroom we have a clock. In our classroom we have a cupboard. Selni has a pencil Ana has a textbook The teacher has a piece of chalk. The students have chairs. 18

4) Closing Homework Write five sentences about what is in your classroom. Vocabulary Classroom vocabulary + classroom, in, our, we, have/has 19

Lesson 9: Numbers 1) Warm up 2) Review Return the vocabulary test. You can bring small presents for the best students. Check homework. 3) Main part Introduce numbers. Normally students can count up to 20 or further but do not understand the system that enables them to form every higher number. Write the numbers from 1-20 (numeral and word) and have the students copy them. Write some higher numbers as an example. 1 one 11 eleven 20 twenty 200 two hundred 2 two 12 twelve 30 thirty 300 three hundred 3 three 13 thirteen 40 forty 400 four hundred 4 four 14 fourteen 50 fifty 500 five hundred 5 five 15 fifteen 60 sixty 600 six hundred 6 six 16 sixteen 70 seventy 700 seven hundred 7 seven 17 seventeen 80 eighty 800 eight hundred 8 eight 18 eighteen 90 ninety 900 nine hundred 9 nine 19 nineteen 100 one hundred 1,000 one thousand Teach the students the system through forming different numbers. Write down some numbers (numeral) and have the students write the words. Do it vice-versa. For further application try a game of bingo and/or do basic math problems in English. 20

4) Closing Homework Have the students write some numbers. You can write the numerals and tell the students to write the words. Do it also vice-versa. Vocabulary Numbers 21

Lesson 10: Days of the week and month of the year 1) Warm up 2) Review Check homework. To review numbers you can ask the students the number of tables, students, pens, etc. in the classroom and/or play bingo again. You should also check the material from Basic Conversation I+II again. 3) Main Part Introduce the days of the week and the month of the year: Monday January July Tuesday February August Wednesday March September Thursday April October Friday May November Saturday June December Sunday Form little sentences: Yesterday was Tuesday. Today is Wednesday. Tomorrow is Thursday. On Monday we go to school. On Sunday we go to church. 22 Last month was January. This month is February. Next month is March. In April we celebrate Easter. In December we celebrate Christmas.

4) Closing Homework Learn days of the week and month of the year Vocabulary In addition to the days and month: day, week, month, year, yesterday, today, tomorrow, church, mosque, last, this, next 23

Lesson 11: Colors 1) Warm up 2) Review Check homework You can ask simple questions like: What are we doing on Monday? or When do we go to church? 3) Main Part Introduce the colors black white red blue brown orange yellow green purple grey tourqise pink Assign colors to objects (inside and outside the classroom) The blackboard is black. The wall is white. The tree is green. The sky is blue. 24

Ask simple questions. What color is the book? What color is my T-Shirt? 4) Closing Homework Describe min. six objects in your house. What is their color? Vocabulary Colors + several objects you described (wall, tree, sky, T-Shirt) 25

Lesson 12: Food 1) Warm up 2) Review Check homework Ask about colors 3) Main Part Introduce different foods Rice Plate, Fork, Spoon Bread Noodles Vegetables Potato Chicken Egg Fish Water Tea Coffee Apple Mango Papaya Avocado 26

Coconut Guava Banana Orange Watermelon Rambutan Snake Fruit Strawberry Make simple sentences with eat/drink Lena eats rice. Kelvin eats bread. Michael eats potato with chicken. Ika drinks tea. Lintang drinks tea. Dad drinks coffee with sugar. Nuna likes to eat coconut. Anja likes to drink water. My favorite food is fried rice with fish. 4) Closing 27

Homework Sentence Puzzle! Put the words in the correct order. Nuna-guava-eats Simon-to-likes-water-drink Chicken-and-Lita-eats-noodles Vocabulary Food and Fruits + food, fruit, eat, drink, like, favorite food, sugar, salt, chili, with 28

Lesson 13: Animals 5) Warm up 6) Review Review on fruits. Combine with colors. What do you like to eat? Who likes to eat fish? What is your favorite food? What color is a banana? Which food is green? 7) Main Part Introduce animals 29

Make sentences. Combine with color, numbers, food and sentences of possession. The frog is green. The cow is black and white. The cat eats mouse. I have a pig. Whayu has a dog. Fara has six chickens and a horse. 8) Closing Homework Describe five animals. Recommendation: Prepare vocabulary test. Vocabulary Animals 30

Lesson 14: My Family 1) Warm up 2) Review Do vocabulary test. Review Food and Animals. 3) Main Part Explain family vocabulary Grandfather Grandmother Father Mother Children Son Daughter Siblings Brother Sister Aunt Uncle Niece Nephew Grandchild Cousin 31

Create an example. Draw on the board. Have students copy. Explain the family relations. John is Diana s father. Mary is Garry s mother. Martin is Mary s son. Fiona is Garry s daughter. Peter is John s grandchild. Ann is Denis cousin. Diana is Fiona s aunt. Charles is Jean s brother. Peter and Sandra are married. 4) Closing 32

Homework Describe the relationship: Garry and Sally Roger and Jaudie Diana and Denis Fiona and Charles Jean and Marion. Diana, Garry and Martin. Vocabulary Family vocabulary + family, relative, married, divorced, husband, wife, died, generation 33

Lesson 15: Singular and Plural 1) Warm up 2) Review Return vocabulary test. Review My Family. Ask Questions: John is Martin s? Charles is Jean s? Have kid s describe their own families. Let them draw in their exercise books and write sentences. You can also explain about your family. 3) Main part Write down some sentences to introduce singular and plural. I eat one apple. You eat two apples. I eat one banana. You eat five bananas. I eat have one pineapple. You have nine pineapples. I have one watermelon. You have ten watermelons. Point out the difference between singular and plural, the letter s at the end of the word. Have students copy the sentences from the blackboard. Write sentences and have students decide: Singular or Plural? Why? Have students write their own sentences. 4) Closing 34

Homework Write own singular/plural sentences. Min. 6 sentences. 35

Lesson 16: Conversation at the Market I 1) Warm up 2) Review Check homework Have students explain the difference between singular and plural again. Also review My Family again. 3) Main part Make an easy conversation that includes conversation skills, numbers, singular/plural and food vocabulary A: Good morning! B: Good morning! A: Do you have coconuts? B: Yes, I have coconuts. A: I want to buy two coconuts. B: Ok. Anything else? A: Yes. I also want to buy six oranges, nine apples and four watermelons. B: Ok. Anything else? A: No, that is all. How much is the price? B: The price is 75.000 Rp. A: Ok, here is the money. B: Thank you! A: Good bye! B: Good bye 36

Practice reading and explain vocabulary. Have students copy the conversation. Have students practice with their friends. 4) Closing Homework Practice reading Vocabulary market, want, buy, Anything else?, also, that, this, all, How much?, price, here, money 37

Lesson 17: Conversation at the Market II 1) Warm up 2) Review Practice reading Conversation at the market Have students stand in front of the class and read in pairs. Review Singular and Plural 3) Main part Try a little role-play. Divide the class into Sellers and Buyers. Have students go to the market. If it s too difficult students can write their conversations first. 4) Closing Homework Translation: Have students write a conversation both in English and Bahasa Indonesia. 38

Lesson 18: Personal Pronouns I 1) Warm up 2) Review Check homework Review Conversation at the market briefly 3) Main part Introduce personal pronouns (without he/she/it). Write on the board. I eat a banana Saya/Aku You eat a banana Kamu/Anda We eat a banana Kami/Kita They eat a banana. Mereka All of you eat a banana Kalian Explain the different personal pronouns. Have students copy the list. Have students form easy sentences. Have students translate sentences. 4) Closing Homework Have students translate easy sentences. 39

Vocabulary I, you, we, they, all 40

Lesson 19: Personal Pronouns II 1) Warm up 2) Review Check homework Review Personal Pronouns I 3) Main part Introduce he/she/it. Explain the difference between male, female and neutral. He eats a banana She eats a banana It eats a banana. Make easy sentences. Explain irregular forms (have has, go goes) Have students write and/or translate easy sentences. 4) Closing Homework Recommendation: Prepare vocabulary test Have students form sentences. Max goes to school. He goes to school. Riska has a dog. She has a dog. 41

The cat eats a fish. It eats a fish. Paul and Johann like music. They like music. Vocabulary he, she, it 42

Lesson 20: Story 1) Warm up 2) Review Do vocabulary test Check Homework Review Personal Pronouns 3) Main Part Make an interesting story using vocabulary and topics covered in the lessons before. Example: This story is about Lintang. Lintang is a girl. She is twelve years old and lives in Yogjakarta. Lintang has two brothers and one sister. In the morning Lintang goes to school. She likes to learn English. After schools Lintang goes home. She eats together with her mother, her sister and her brothers. They eat rice with vegetables and chicken. After lunch the family sleeps. In the afternoon Lintang and her brothers play volleyball. Later Lintang does her homework together with her sister. In the evening Lintang goes to bed and sleeps. Note: You can follow up the story and learn about daily routine. 4) Closing 43

Vocabulary story, about, girl, boy, live, morning, learn, after, home, together, lunch, sleep, afternoon, evening, bed 44