[wynroncheong]

Do you watch any TV programs such as game shows in Indonesia? To get my class active, I take the TV show games and create into my classes. 16 to 20 year olds watch TV and they certainly love to watch western shows. I'm sure a lot of them know how to play Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Pictonary, etc etc. Incorporate these games into your classes. The students will enjoy the lesson and enjoy competing with each other. Play something like Battleship.

Another thing is that your presence is not felt in class. Give instructions and directions loudly and clearly. Ask the Ss (students) if they understand or not. Nod for yes, Shake for no. If they nod, get them to explain what they need to do. If they are wrong, explain again. This is a surefire way to establish a connection with Ss.

Not sure what your personality is like, but if you the passive kind then you gotta work on it. I see many teachers who are shy and not open to be active, loud, lively in class end up being discouraged to teach Ss when their Ss aren't responding well to their requests.

You kind of need to become an comedian. When Ss ask you to explain a word, use body language (this is also where I make funny sounds, movements). Visual representation is more effective than verbal communication.

Yesterday, I taught a beginner class about communication. Good lesson to learn vocabulary and speech. They had two different kinds of lessons. The first is a verbal kind (with words), the other is the non verbal kind (without words). With words, I taught them intonation and stress. This part of the lesson improves they pronunciation and encourages them to speak with style. Will also boast their confidence. Without words, I taught them to communicate using hand gestures and facial expressions. (Hand gestures) they learn stuff like wave goodbye, say hello, nod for yes, shake for no, what, who, sorry, excuse me, etc etc. (facial expresssions) sad, happy, confused, angry, etc etc.

Then what I did with them was to put them into pairs and act out a dialogue without using words. That is, they must use hand gestures and facial expressions to act it out. Two Ss act, while the rest sit and watch. After the act, have the rest of the Ss guess what the dialogue is about. Make up a few funny dialogues. I had a dialogue about monkey and the students had to act like a monkey. The class laughed so much. They loved the class. Although most were shy to act. But once they know they all have to do it, then they'll live with it. A practice is to do the dialogue with a student (of course, something that is wacky) first. When the students see that the teacher is fun, not embarassed to be a fool, then they will feel more open-minded. You can trust me on this.