How do we effectively use the available time in 60-minute classes?
Careful planning is essential, and we need to pay closer attention to time frames for each task during the class. The 60-minute classes need to be very dynamic to be effective. Plan for shorter warm-up and cool-down phases! Agree with your students on home assignments, as most of the grammar practice should be done as homework. The 60-minute time frame doesn’t really allow for grammar and lengthy listening comprehension tasks; however, they can be used effectively as homework. Of course, we can discuss any difficulties, and we can even plan specific sessions within the course for grammar review and systematization, but it’s important to maintain the speaking-centred nature of the course. What does this look like in practice?
Below, we would like to help with structuring your class:
Our methodological principles also apply to 60-minute classes:
- 100% target language use!
- Intensive speaking skills development during classes
- Teacher-student speech ratio of 20-80%
- Reading tasks should be given as homework, and we can incorporate the related vocabulary review into the warm-up. Additionally, we activate this vocabulary during language skills development.
- Real workplace situations are essential for developing workplace language use.
- Regular feedback and assessment both orally and in writing.
Learning material:
Course book: Our digital textbooks for English and German, designated textbooks for other languages, designated textbooks for specialized language courses, and supplementary materials from the teacher’s own sources.
Grammar: Given as homework – in class, we clarify only the difficulties and incorporate new grammar into communicative tasks. Recommended: online practice exercises for both home and classroom use.
