A Good Warm up

A Good Warm up is:
Kinesthetic
A little challenging ( involves guessing)
Is personalized
Simple
Instructions are easy to understand
Involves language students know
Short (5-7 mins.)
Can be related to the previous or new lesson or be a general one)
New to students
Interesting
Involves everyone

how what we learned in the Hungarian lesson affect our teaching

Activities (a lot).
Target language (no excuse to use L1).
Feedback.
Preparation.
Student centered method.
Low cost material ( dice and pictures).
The use of visuals.

Things that help learning and things that hinder learning:
I learned the Hungarian number s from one to six, the words for names and sit down. What helped us learn was motivation which was done through games, that really engaged me. repetition was also helpful, As it helped me practice and made the information stick to my mind.

What hinded my leading was fear of being mocked, stress, and the fear of getting it wrong.

Factors that affect learning include resources, environment, teacher, peers, and self.

The class being spacious, the choice of the activity, classroom management, hearing only Hungarian, repetition and concentration, recalling information, linking sounds to known words, visuals and helping peers was also helping factors.

In addition being exposed to different tasks and exercises were also helpful.

Hearing different pronunciations, expectations, lack of  motivation, fear of making mistakes, lack of familiarity of the sounds, too much information at once, and poor memory were factors that hinder leading.

As teachers we should put all of this mind in order to improve results.

Icebreakers

An icebreaker is a facilitation exercise intended to help a group to begin the process of forming themselves into a team. It is also used in the first class of course to break the ice between people, familiarize the people and create intimacy.

 Icebreakers are commonly presented as a game to "warm up" the group by helping the members to get to know each other. They often focus on sharing personal information such as names, hobbies, etc.

There are many different types of icebreakers. Some of the most common are:

    Introductory Icebreakers

    Many times when people get together, they do not all know one another. Introductory icebreaker games and activities not only help people begin to know each other, but also help them recognize and appreciate differences and similarities. Introductory icebreakers can be as simple as asking each person to tell the group their name and one fact about themselves, or they can be complicated exercises designed to build trust and a desire to work together.

   Getting-to-Know-You Icebreakers

    Icebreakers are frequently presented in the form of a game to “warm up” a group by helping the members to get to know each other. They often focus on sharing information such as names, personal facts, hobbies, etc. Getting to know you icebreakers also help people who already know each other become more acquainted. The outcomes are often humorous and always interesting.

 
   Team Building Icebreakers

    Many icebreaker games are intended to help a group to begin the process of forming themselves into a team or teams. Some teamwork icebreakers, such as building activities, aid group dynamics by building trust, communication, and the ability to work together.

 
   Party (Fun) Icebreakers

    No one likes walking into a party where few people are familiar. For a party to be exciting, guests need to be put at ease. Party icebreakers serve this purpose, introducing guests to one another. Use icebreakers that are simple and entertaining to coax people to converse and laugh. This sets the right mood for the rest of the party.

  Icebreaker Questions

    As the name implies, icebreaker questions simply illicit information from people in an effort to get them comfortable and relaxed. Icebreaker questions can be serious or funny. The best icebreaker questions are designed specifically for an identified age and purpose and prepare people for activities or experiences that follow.

Introduction or warm-up exercises

Examples of these kinds of facilitation exercises include:

The Little Known Fact

    Participants are asked to share their name, department or role in the organization, length of service, and one "little-known fact" about themselves. This "little-known fact" becomes a humanizing element for future interactions.

Two Truths and a Lie

    Participants introduce themselves and make three statements about themselves — two true and one untrue. The rest of the group votes to try to identify the falsehood.

 Interviews

    Participants are paired up and spend 5 minutes interviewing each other. The group reconvenes and the interviewer introduces the interviewee to the group.

The exercises are particularly popular in the university setting, for instance among residents of a residence hall or groups of students who will be working closely together, such as orientation leaders, perhaps, or peer health teachers.

Group-interaction exercises

Challenging icebreakers also have the ability to allow a group to be better prepared to complete its assigned tasks. For example, if the team's objective is to redesign a business process such as Accounts Payable, the icebreaker activity might take the team through a process analysis. The analysis could include the identification of failure points, challenging assumptions and development of new solutions — all in a simpler and "safer" setting where the team can practice the group dynamics which they will use to solve the assigned problem.

Examples of these kinds of facilitation exercises include:

    The Ball Exercise

    Immediately after introductions, the facilitator arranges the group in a circle and asks each person to throw the ball to a person on the other side of the circle while stating their name. When every person in the group has thrown the ball at least once, the facilitator announces that "we are going to do it again but this time we'll time it" and announces the rules. 1) Each person must touch the ball in the same order as the first round. 2) Each person must touch the ball with at least one hand. 3) Time stops when the ball is returned to the facilitator. (For further complication, the facilitator will sometimes introduce three balls in succession to the process.) Regardless of their performance, the facilitator expresses disappointment with the group's performance and urges them to do it again faster. When asked for clarification, the facilitator only reiterates the rules. An effective team will creatively redesign their process to meet the requirements of the rules. After several iterations, the facilitator will call a halt and use the exercise to draw out morals which will be relevant later in the day such as "Challenge assumptions", "Don't be satisfied with the first answer", "Be creative", etc.

   The Human Spiderweb

    The facilitator begins with a ball of yarn. He/she keeps one end and passes the ball to a participant. Each participant introduces him/herself and role in the organization then, keeping hold of the strand of yarn, unrolls enough to hand the ball to another person in the group, describing how they are dependent on that person (or role). The process continues, often with multiple dependencies until everyone is introduced. The facilitator then pulls on the starting thread and asks the group if anyone's hand failed to move. The facilitator then uses the yarn as a metaphor for the interdependencies of the group or the process which they will be discussing.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson019.shtml

Tactics to Engage Students

Regular school work is not that engaging. As teachers we should try to engage our students by using activities, using online sites. Once students are engaged in learning, it seems there are totally different students sitting in our classes. One could tell how savored they are each and every minute of class.

When interested students work really hard and with great enthusiasm on each task.

Tech tools can really help our students connect with learning. As students who live in the 21 th century their reality is the internet, video gaming, web 2.0 tools and iPods. They are also expert expert technology users  and know more than us.

Students keep proving they want to learn and are exceptional students when they find learning meaningful.

As teachers we should encourage our students to pursue their passions; empower them via learning, we should also believe in ourselves and our role.

We can really make a difference: it’s up to us educators to help our students, foster the love for learning, familiarize them with the internet resources that they can use anytime and anywhere.

Believing in Our Students

As Egyptian teachers we always complain about the level of our students, we never pause to think about what we do in class, how we deal with them and how we under-estimate them. We also never think whether we use the right techniques in teaching, and whether we are qualified or not. 

I started to work on myself as a teacher two years ago. I am aiming at improving myself, building a better community and becoming more positive.

Our first step was to focus on what a group is, how it should work and how special each and every member is.  I encouraged my students to imagine that our class was like a giant puzzle and that each puzzle piece was one of us. It was a highly enriching opportunity to discuss our thoughts, feelings and expectations.

I became excited to see how engaged students were and how everyone spoke their mind.

I want to ask my coworkers the following questions:

Do you believe in your students?

Are you qualified?

Do you do your best inside and outside class?

Are you positively convinced you can make a difference for them?

PCELT

Thanks to PCELT I’m not just a teacher in a classroom anymore. I’m a teacher who have a big professional community. It’s powerful to know that amazing educators from all around the world can interact with me. It’s amazing how much I get to learn from them.

The course was absolutely beneficial. The material, the exercises, the conversations that took place in the course were inspiring. In general, the course challenged me to think and act differently. I’m a learner and a teacher. The course and blogging about the course connects everything in an immensely enriching way.

Yes, blogging has helped me rediscover the material, recap, and publish my experience.  

Reflecting on our teaching is essential in a world that keeps changing. Stepping away from our comfort zones and sharing what we do are essential if we are to transform education.