Using teaching aids helps the learning process and brings variety to a lesson. Teachers are advised to use the following teaching aids while teaching EFL classes:
1. The Course Cassette:
This is an essential aid to the teachers. It contains a recording of dialogues, reading texts…. etc. in the Students’ Book by native speakers. References are made to use in each lesson note.
The teacher should play the cassette at home first to familiarize himself with the sound of the language, to give him a good model of pronunciation for his students.
The teacher should play it in class to give a model for the dialogues or to expose his students to the longer reading passages.
The main advantages of course cassette are as follows:
- Students will hear native speakers of English, with correct pronunciation, rhythm, stress, and intonation.
- They will also get used to hearing different voices speaking English.
Playing the cassette for the listening activities is obviously much better than reading the listening texts by the teacher.
Teachers must be careful about using the cassette in the reading lesson. If they play it or read the text aloud before the students do the reading tasks, they are practising listening, not reading.
Teachers can play the cassette, or read the passage aloud, only after students have done and checked the reading task.
2. The Board:
The board is a visual aid. What is written on the board helps to reinforce learning, so teachers ought to think carefully about what they write (the form of a new word, model sentences, etc.) and how they write it (the position on the board and a good model of handwriting).
Quick drawings on the board are often a good way to show meaning.
Teachers must remember that what is written on the board will be before the students’ eyes for the rest of the lesson unless the teacher removes it, so he should clean the board regularly during the lesson to prevent attention from being focused on what is no longer relevant.
3. Flashcards, Pictures, Wall Charts, Real Objects, Maps:
Any visual aids the teacher prepares and brings to class will help to make the language more alive.
Pictures can be used for presenting the meaning of new words, for quick drills, for revision, and for encouraging wider discussions.
Word cards will give a variety of presenting the written form of the target language, practice spelling and structures, and sequencing exercises.
Teachers can encourage students to help in preparing or bringing some visual aids or real objects.
4. Gestures and Actions:
The teacher, himself, is the best visual aid. His facial expressions and body language can convey a lot of meaning to students.
Miming, or doing actions without words, is often a very effective way of showing meaning, and it reduces the amount of explaining or “teacher’s talk”.
Gestures can also be used for quick prompts, for example, present, past, and future; today, tomorrow…etc.
If You Like This Content, Share It.
You can also join my email list not only to be notified of the latest updates on elttguide.com but also to get TWO of my products: Quick-Start Guide To Teaching Listening In The Classroom & Quick-Start Guide To Teaching Grammar In The Classroom For FREE!
Join My Email List Now (It’s FREE)!
Want to Continue Your ELT Professional Development?
I offer various ELT publications on teaching English as a foreign language.
In these publications, I put the gist of my experience in TEFL for +20 years with various learners and in various environments and cultures.
The techniques and tips in these publications are sure-fire teaching methods that worked for me well and they can work for you, as well, FOR SURE.
Go ahead and get a look at these publications to know more about each one of them and the problem & challenge each one focuses on to overcome.
Then, you can get what you have an interest in. It is very easy and cheap. You can afford it and you’ll never regret it if you decide to get one of them, FOR SURE.
