Hi everyone,
I got a job at Hess. However I am new to teaching. May I please ask you do you know how to create a lesson plan from the book? How to divide up the lesson plan timing wise? Also, what English books do most elementary schools in Taipei use? Do you have any classroom speaking tips for a newbie to English teaching? Alsom do you gave any links to teacher guides or English books they use in Taiwan elementary schools?
Thanks,
Patrick
Don’t they give you some training? Honestly, my advice is always have more work they can do then planned.
Hi Andrew, they do give you training but I am a social moron, who overthinks things, I fear I won’t be good enough for the job.
PS I saw your profile pic. Do you train at Taiwan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
No, that was in Thailand training in the pic. I train at O3 fitness, mostly muay thai. Not much of a BJJ guy, it’s hard to find time to be multi disciplined in striking and grappling.
Honestly, go in with confidence, children smell fear and weakness and will take advantage of it. I sure made it hell for substitute teachers when they came in when I was young when I saw they couldn’t control the class. It’s far better to be a strict teacher in the beginning, and ease up as you get to know them than a teacher who lets them do whatever and try to be strict. Set clear rules and boundaries in the beginning.
Lesson planning skills take time to get better, as long as you plan you will be fine. It gets easier when you know the class as well, there’s no cookie cutter way to lesson plan that will fit perfectly for each class. Just have extra stuff for some kids who finish much faster or else they will be running around.
Thank you. It is good advice.
I just looked it up and O3 Fitness is less than a mile from where I live. Hahaha 
You get the forumosa discount at O3. Check it out.
Thank you for the offer, I really appreciate it. But I am not much of a Muay Thai person, I am a guard playing Jiu-Jitseiro 
I divide the class into speaking and singing class for 20 minutes and then grammar/spelling/writing for 20 minutes with a game to end the class. Kids tend to lose interest after 20 minutes so I mix it up. Small toys can make class more fun but you can dangle one piece of candy in front of the class and have them compete for it. I can tell you that there is no single book that schools use. Every school has a different book and a different method…
That is really helpful, thank you. Do you work for Hess?
Have you gone through training yet? Or just nervous, lol
Just nervous
is this the first job you ever had?
Hi Andrew, I’ve worked as a courier, produce clerk, essay scorer, and janitor; all since I graduated from university in 2015. Back in Colorado, I also taught Jiu-Jitsu to judo people for free, because they wanted to become better grapplers.
Then you know that you’re not going to be perfect at it when you start, you probably never will. You’ll make some rookie mistakes like everyone else, I know I did when I used to teach coming here before moving on. Don’t over think it.
Pretty much set a goal, then go in and try to achieve it.
Write down everything you plan to do. What subject you are teaching and how you plan to get that across to the students. Make a list of all materials, and be prepared to parse down all information into bite-sized bits. Then, be prepared to make adjustments as needed. And they will be needed.
I have been doing this for 6 years, and I still do not have it all figured out.
The students also hate task-masters. They hate repetition, as well.
My kids hate writing, reading, and homework to the point they will not do it, and not even the bosses at the school can make them do it. A common theme as I have learned. As the kids get older, the harder they are to teach. They will do everything to get a rise out of you. The worst kids…are the bosses kids. They can take over a class in a heartbeat. They are the leader of the class. The other kids will follow them. If you can get that kid on your side, that is a win. If not…well, you tried.
Also, hope like hell that no one of any authority at your school corrects you, contradicts you, or nullifies any directive given by you in front of the kids. They will see that and they will learn their out.
Seriously, if kids put a fraction of the effort they use getting out of doing their work, into actually doing their work, they themselves would be amazed.
Expect little, if any, backup by the parents. Where I teach, it is basically non-exsitent. I have heard in other counties it is different, so, go with that.
Every mistake you make, will be the worst mistake you make. You are under a microscope. I almost lost a job because of the differences between American and British grammar and spelling!
This was not my experience at all when I did teach for 2 years. Older kids were much easier and relateable. No one likes homework or any work besides maybe that one rare kid. Fuck I don’t even like to do write stuff unless I have I do. Parents always backed me up, so did my bosses.
Wow. I am guessing you do not do it anymore?
I want to express everyone will have a different experience. I have often heard about experiences as yours, I have yet to see them.
The parents complain about too much HW for their kids at real school. The bosses will back me up, until the parents push back. I have actually gotten into trouble enforcing school policies, when parents complained about said policies. There was a bathroom policy at my first school which was strictly enforced by management. Until one day a student wet themselves. The policy was immediately scrapped and I was written up for not allowing them to go to the toilet. After enough time passed, it was reimplemented.
I dunno. There is some good, some bad. Some people are charmers, others are not. It really depends on the person and how well others take to you.
Wow! I hope my experience is way closer to Andrews, JB.
May I ask you guys one more question? I am a quiet person but I have been told that I am “nice” sometimes to a fault. This scares me a bit about teaching. I have a weird neoteny to my face, not fat, but making me look very juvenile in a relative sense. Beyond that, I am the more of a person who has spent my entire life at the grindstone, rather than trying to build social skills, I took this approach at university and do it with pretty much everything I do at life.
This niceness and aspect about me scares me in the classroom. Will I learn to become more stern as a teacher as I gain experience? Can you play the role of a stern teacher in the classroom if you are not that way in real life?
Again, others may contradict this…
But, from my experience you have to be stern in the class. You will pick it up as you go. Remember, as said above, the kids can sense what you are about and will react to that.
You are going to have rowdy kids, you are going to have calm ones. You will have confident ones, and shy ones. You are going to have kids who are learning below their level, and the opposite. You will have ones where it comes easy for them, then ones who try and try, but cannot get it. A few types that get on my nerves are the ones who do not want to be there and go out of their way to make it known, and the ones who have been doted on far too much. They are both annoying, and how you deal with them is up to you. The former, I have learned to just ignore them. The later, sometimes requires a more deft touch. Be prepared for some crying and dealing with parents and admins.
For what it’s worth, I wish I had the experience of Andrews.