Grammar

Teaching grammar is one of the most essential parts of language. Many people
misunderstand grammar as a skill but in reality it’s a target language. Teaching
grammar help students to improve the four skills. They will become better in
reading, they will understand and comprehend in a different way after
understanding the grammar structures.
When students learn grammar correctly they will become great speaker
and professional writers. And as Joan Didion said “Grammar is a piano I play by ear.”,
which emphasizes the importance of grammar for listeners as well. Let’s go deep inside
the grammar lesson to see how much it’s important in teaching and for learners.

To make sure the learning grammar is taking place we have to pay attention to a
major point which is Noticing. Noticing is the prerequisite for intake, it’s the first step
into learning. As a result, grammar should be taught explicitly and directly. Another
point that goes under what do we know about the learning grammar is reasoning
and hypothesized. We have to encourage students to make hypothesis to think
deeply about the structure and the rule. Teachers can use the deductive method
' in teaching grammar where she gives the students examples of grammar tense and
students have to think and come up with the rule.

Vocabulary

David Wilkins claimed that: “without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” Individuals need to use words to convey what they want for others. We can understand a conversation with broken grammar and pronunciation but it’s impossible to have a conversation without the use of vocabulary. It is true that vocabulary was one of the skills that was hindered for a long period. Not long ago researchers shed the light on its usage and importance for language learning. Moreover, vocabulary is one of the most important skills a language learner needs to learn and assist her to use the language better and more authentically.

     In order to understand better the task involved in learning the vocabulary we need to look  at two aspects of meaning. The first concerns the link between meaning and the world to which words refer. The second involves the sense relations that exist among words.

We have to encourage students to learn as much as they can new vocabularies
through reading, practicing and repeating the words in context. We should give
students explicit instructions which they can follow while acquiring new vocabularies.
Reading books is one from the most important ways that can help students widen
their repertoire of new and different vocabularies.  

Reading

     Students should read texts that are suitable to them in order to help them
understand the vocabularies and the structure of sentences. One major goal for us
as teachers is to encourage students to read more. The teacher has to encourage students
to read extensive reading which can happen outside the classroom, another way to
encourage students to read is to give them choices to choose the book which they want
to read in the class without forgetting the role of the teacher which is to guide students
to choose the right book. Our responsibility as teachers is to point on the aspects
that students need to become good readers and to train them.

     When we ask students to read they should know the purpose behind the reading.
For example the teacher can ask her students to read piece of article and identify the
purpose of the author and after that they reflect on what they’ve read and discuss it with
their classmates and the teacher.

Teaching reading should be something enjoyable for both teachers and students.
Book club is one method to encourage reading and teachers should use it at least
once a year. After knowing the students well, the teacher can choose a book which
students really will like and she should be aware of the level,length and the topic of
this book. Students will be asked to read the book then they will have  discussion about
it not necessary in the class they can meet out with the teacher an this way will be really
helpful and encouraging students to read.

Teaching Young Learners

The age of students is a major deciding factor where you decide how you teach and what you ask them. If you are teaching young learners it’s not the same as teenagers and adults, the strategies and the methods which you will use will be totally different. For instance, if the you’re teaching young learners you will be worried about their interests. As you start to teach young learners first you have to make the learning process fun, this doesn't mean to make learning boring for teenagers and adults but young learners should have fun while learning to stay engaged and motivated which is challenging for teachers.

      Activities need to be changed regularly and with a lot of structure. Teachers has to pay careful attention to students’ attention span where she has to change the activities every now and then to keep students concentrated and on the track.

      Kids will stay focused when activities are interactive. So, the teacher has to be clever enough by implementing different strategies, and methods while teaching these kids because as we all know this age is very critical because it's where we plant the seeds of knowledge, and develop their self-esteem and we work on adding to their repertoire.

“Children are good learners. They first learn to act what they hear and see.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita

     When it comes to young learners we have to make sure that we are providing them with the most convenient comfortable environment. They have to feel safe to make mistakes and to express their own feelings and thoughts because this the only way the learn and develop their learning abilities and repertoire. Because their attention span is really short we have to work on activities and ways to grab their attention before we start and to keep them focused.

ISG Experience

It all started at October 15, 2016 when I started my first teaching at Saudi Arabia. As it was my first experience I was more than worried. The environment was totally different from the one I know. Being in an international school is something different, working with different mentalities, different cultures and having a new program depending only on workshops was scary for me. 

It was hard for me at the beginning because I started as a sub-teacher for grades 9 &10. I had boys and girls in the same class which is not normal in KSA. I had in the class Japanese, Americans,Indians, Lebanese and many many nationalities which make the task harder for me as a fresh graduate. 

Students were misbehaving they didn't want to listen to me and some of them were impolite. I cried a lot and every morning I used to say I want to resign this is my last day. But with more patience and believing that I can do it and these students will love me everything changed.I taught grades 9&10 for four months then their teacher came from her vacation, after that I taught grade 6 for 2 years.

My Second Family(Middle School)

Lovely picture with grade 6 students

We've spent an amazing year together because I believed in myself and because I believed that these students will change with me.

Your philosophy of teaching and your expectations as well as your beliefs are such  important factors in teacher's life.

Classroom Decoration

Yesterday I was checking my Facebook account and one post stopped me.
This post was named Dos and Dont's of classroom Decorations".

After that I started to think about the importance of decorations in the classroom and their

effect on students' learning.

When a student first steps into a room they will make a judgment about the type of class
they are going to be taking. They will look to see how desks are arranged.

They will notice what is hanging on the walls. The way in which a teacher sets up their class
allows them to communicate with their students non-verbally.

Decorations help students to memorize what they were taught better.
It's important to know that decorations play an important role in learning where students are exposed
to all the to the posters in the classroom.

The setting of a classroom can also have a huge influence on whether students feels comfortable
and included in the learning environment.

Classroom design is very important and can affect students’ behavior in the classroom.
Students need to be in a classroom that is designed to benefit them by making sure there are
minimal distractions and maximal opportunities for quality learning.

Time saving tips for teachers.

As teacher we always worry about the time, and if we are able to finish the curriculum on time, the task and the explanation. But sometimes things happen the opposite that why it's really important to pay attention to following points:

1. Behavior Management
2. Classroom Management
3. Classroom Organization 
4. Homework
5. Planning
6. Working with Others 

“Time is an illusion.” 
― Albert Einstein

I will give you some tips that can help you to save some time:

Behavior management is crucial to save time because when the teacher controls and prevent bad behaviors she will save her time. Put a good dicipline plan at the beginninng of the year will help you a lot.

Classroom Organization: Get your teaching desk organized and have all your papers placed according to their use, that saves loads of time the moment you want to find something quickly.

Homework: -Use Google forms for homework

-Print homework for the entire of the year in the beginning of the year.

Planning:- Always have a B plan
-Prepare your material before class.

Work with others: -your Co-Workers should be your friends .

-Ask for help when you need, never think that it's inappropriate to ask.

These are not the only tips that the teacher can use. The teacher must be wise and aware of her students and class in order to know what fits and what not.