Heard the expression ‘Work smarter not harder’? Well, in the ESL world, this translates to ‘Work LESS not harder’. If you work less then 15% per class, you are actually doing your students a huge favour.

Here’s the lowdown:   Yes, you are probably a very interesting and funny person and the students probably want to hear you talk all day about yourself/experiences/the majesty that is the English language BUT they will benefit exponentially more if you give the ol’ flapper a break and make your students do all the talking.  You are teaching language acquisition not history so students really need a good chance to practice all areas of communication, not just listening.

Here’s how it works: Introduce your class- topic, vocabulary, etc. Next, explain your activity using basic instructions and demonstrations. This should take you about 10-15 minutes. Lastly, sit back and watch. The students practically teach themselves!

What you will need: Communication Activities. You can make a communication activity out of any text your school gives you ESPECIALLY grammar. 

Example: Irregular verbs – have/has, do/does, go/goes

On separate pieces of paper, write 3 sentences about you and your family. Write ‘male’ or ‘female’ on your paper, but not your name:

“(female) I have two sisters. I go shopping on Wednesdays”

Form small groups and put all your sentences in a bag. Choose a paper and describe the writer. Your workmates guess the writer.

A: SHE HAS two sisters. SHE GOES shopping on Wednesdays

B: Michelle, is it you?

A: No, it’s not me …

If you are creative, the possibilities are endless. Here are a couple of my fav activities:

- Have students survey their classmates

- Find your partner- issue students with individual topics, sentences, vocab words, pictures then help them to find their partners.

- Comic strips – working in pairs, one student draws the comic strip and the other creates the text

Does your boss love your guts for working so little?

Do you have any great activities to share?

What are your secrets to working less?

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