A theory about making a good English lesson - part 1 - concepts for a good lesson

So, I have recently just finished my TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) course. It was a 100 hour course with ONTESL which I would recommend. 100 hours doesn't sound like to much, but it ended up taking up a lot of my time (maybe this was just me). It had 3 modules: learning styles, grammar, and lesson planning.

The one that I see as the most important would probably have to be the lesson planning, even though I was in it for the grammar module. As a ALT on the JET program we don't always get to create the lesson plans, but when you do, you'll want to understand how to create a decent lesson. I'll give you a brief run down on some of the structures and points it taught me about lesson planning.

Improving your students reading comprehension

So I came across a great website recently that gives some great tips about reading strategies - Mind tools.

Firstly, before introducing the link... 

The article isn't exactly aimed at foreign students, but people fluent in the language. However, these are still really valuable tips. There is one important thing, make sure that you don't use the information to "slot" your students into a certain "learning level". Don't box them in. Instead, when wanting to improve the student's skills (in this case reading comprehension), first identify what they need to work on and then suggest an appropriate strategy to employ. Consider the variables, what content are they trying to tackle, and for what reason (test, report, etc)

One of the things I liked about the article is about how deep one should read. Useful for students that struggle to comprehend some vocabulary. Having a brief skim of the text can give you a lot more context.

Anyway, take a look at the article. I'm sure it'll give you a few strategies you can teach your students.

http://www.mindtools.com/rdstratg.html