KIDS ENGLISH LESSON

SIDE BY SIDE
Describing People

TEACHERS’ GUIDE

51Talk TRAINING TEAM 2013

 Table of Contents

Objectives 3

51Talk Leveling System 4

Beginner 5
Elementary 5
Intermediate 6
Upper Intermediate 6
Advanced 7
Expert 7

General Flow of the Free Trial Lesson 8

Important Reminders 8
Warm-up 9
Textbook Teaching 10
Lesson Material: Side by Side 11
Sample Dialogue: Intermediate 14
Wrap-up 16
Wrap-up Flow 17
Recommended Textbooks according to Levels 18

Appendix: Sample Warm-up and Wrap-up Spiels 19

51Talk TRAINING TEAM 2013

 Objectives

1. Learn and understand the 51Talk Leveling System;

2. Demonstrate the proper procedure in conducting free

trial lessons;

3. Help the teacher use the learning material effectively;

and

4. Convince the students to enroll at 51Talk.

 Leveling System

 6 main levels or “stages”

 16 levels

IELTS - <3 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-9

TOEFL - - 57-86 87-109 110-120 -
TOEIC 120-220 255-245 550-780 785-940 945-990 -

The 51Talk Leveling System is comparable to the scoring system of

popular English exams. For example, this diagram illustrates that a student in
our Intermediate stage is comparable to an IELTS examinee who can get a
band 4-5 score.
 Leveling System

BEGINNER
English beginners with little or no experience.
CAN…
 make simple statements on personal details and very familiar topics;
 manage very short, isolated, mainly pre-packaged utterances; and
 search for expressions and articulate less familiar words independently,
albeit with much pausing.
CAN USE:
 “Be” verbs
 Simple Present
 Present Continuous Tense
 Yes-No Questions with Do

ELEMENTARY
English users who have basic knowledge of grammar, structure, and know
some situational conversations.
CAN…
 relate basic information on familiar matters using simple terms;
 make himself understood in very short utterances
 use some simple structures correctly, but may systematically make basic
mistakes.
CAN USE:
 Regular Verbs—Simple Past Tense
 Irregular Verbs—Simple Past Tense
 Simple Future Tense
 Comparatives

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 Leveling System

INTERMEDIATE

English users who have limited expression patterns but can conduct daily
conversations with ease.

CAN…
 relate comprehensibly the main points he/she wants to make;
 link simple elements into a connected sequence to discuss familiar
subjects within his/her field of interest; and
 use a general repertoire associated with more predictable situations.

CAN USE:
 Present Perfect Tense
 Past Continuous Tense
 Should/ have to/ ought to
 Verbal—Gerund
 Verbal—Infinitive
 Verbal—Participle

UPPER INTERMEDIATE

English users who can use English expressions and conduct conversation
fluently using good grammar.

CAN…
 express points of view at length without noticeable strain;
 interact on a wide range of subjects related to his/her field of interest;
and
 correct his/her communication errors independently.

CAN USE:
 Future Continuous Tense
 Present Perfect Tense
 Modals of Obligation
 Used to
 Conditionals
 Conjunctions

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 Leveling System

ADVANCED
English users who can communicate in English confidently and have
mastered professional and business English.

CAN…
 show fluent, spontaneous expression in clear, well-structured
speech; and
 give clear, detailed descriptions of complex subjects with high
degree of accuracy and minimal errors.

CAN USE:
 Past Perfect Tense
 Present perfect Continuous Tense
 Subjunctive Mood
 Causatives
 Mixed Conditionals
 Adjective + Preposition Pairs

EXPERT

English users whose skills are the same as those of native speak-
ers’ skills.
CAN…
 convey finer shades of meaning precisely and naturally;
 interact spontaneously and fluently; and
 produce clear, smoothly-flowing, well-structured descriptions.

CAN USE:
 Future Perfect Tense
 Future Perfect Continuous Tense
 Past Perfect Tense
 Registers
 Mixed Conditionals
 Discourse Markers
 Subjunctive Mood

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 Free Trial Lesson Flow
3-minute Warm-up
19-minute Textbook Teaching
3-minute Wrap-up
25-minute Lesson

 IMPRESS the student! Be responsive to the student - the experience of

the student must be pleasant/good otherwise they won't enroll; and if
they don’t enroll, you won’t have lessons to give in the future.

 BEFORE THE LESSON

MAKE SURE THAT:
 your internet connection is STABLE enough for QQ and Skype.
 your background is a SOLID-COLORED WALL (preferably WHITE).
 your teaching space is BRIGHT and well-lit.
 your attire is PRESENTABLE (preferably business casual).

 DURING THE LESSON

 Video Call is a must.
 Speak slowly and clearly.
 Give corrections using the chat box for ALL lessons (including
FREE TRIAL IELTS LESSON).

 DURING THE WRAP-UP

 Evaluate the student based on his/her
 PRONUNCIATION;
 GRAMMAR AND SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION;
 VOCABULARY; and
 FLUENCY.
 Estimate the student’s level based on his/her performance during the
lesson.
 Explain how more lessons will help the student become better in
English.

 AFTER THE LESSON

 Send the lesson memo right after the lesson (especially if you have
no succeeding lesson).

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 3-minute Warm-up
SMILE! Hi! Good morning, Summer! Welcome
Start with an enthusiastic, lively to 51Talk English Online School. We
voice. are number 1 in China. I am Teacher
Make sure you make a video call. Bianca and I will be your teacher for
Project a light and positive impression. today. How are you?
Sit down properly.
Type down your name as you say it.

Let me explain what we will do

Give an overview on how the lesson
today. First, I will be asking you
will proceed. Establish rapport with
some questions to help me as-
the student as you do so.
sess your English skills. Then, we
will study the textbook you
If the student mentions appre-
chose. Finally, I will give feedback
hension regarding the lesson, reas-
on your strengths and weak-
sure him that you will guide and help
nesses in English.
him during the lesson.
Don’t worry. I will help you.

Make sure that your rate of speech

Is my English okay? Is it too fast
is adjusted to the student’s. Give
for you?
enough time for the student to re-
spond. Choose words appropriate to
the student’s level. In general, the
simpler the language, the better.
Can you hear me well? Can you see
Ensure that your connection is stable me clearly?
enough for QQ and Skype by asking the
student. Adjust your video and audio
settings accordingly. Okay, Summer, I've been teaching
English for two years. I've taught
M a k e the student feels that you are students from different countries
credible enough to teach. Don’t mention including China...
any other information that’s not needed.

Ask the following questions one at a time. Pay attention to the student’s answer.

 Tell me, why do you want to improve your English here?

 Do you want to improve your speaking? Listening? Vocabulary? Pronun-
ciation? Grammar?

* Please make sure you give the student enough time to respond. Para-
phrase the student’s answer to verify your understanding.
Before we start our lesson, I would like
Tell the student that you will give you to know that I will give corrections
corrections during the lesson. when needed. Is it okay with you?
 19-minute Textbook Teaching
Ensure a good transition from the
warm-up to the textbook teaching. You reserved “Kids English-
Proceed to the lesson that the stu- Side by Side 1, Describing
dent has chosen. Speak confidently People” am I right? Have you
as you confirm the lesson. opened the textbook?

In this lesson, you will learn help-

Explain the lesson objectives and
ful words that you can use to de-
stay focused on them.
scribe people and things.

Facilitate the discussion by asking Let’s go to the first part of our text-
questions that allow the student to book: Vocabulary Preview. Could
talk most of the time. Avoid discuss- you please read the first two words
ing irrelevant topics for the entire 20 on the list?
minutes.

TIPS: Do not be too mechanical when teaching. Explore and re-

late the lesson to the student’s life. Make sure that the stu-
dent learns something from the lesson in a fun and interesting
way so that you can easily convince him to study in 51Talk.

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Lesson Material

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Lesson Material
Lesson Material
 Side by Side 1 Sample Dialogue
VOCABULARY BUILDING
Teacher: I am beautiful and smart. Do you agree?
Student: Yes, teacher!
Teacher: Haha! What about you? Can you describe yourself for me, please?
Student: Well, I am thin and tall and am pretty.
Teacher: Nice start! You can improve that sentence though. You can say: Well, I am thin, tall and pretty.
Could you repeat that?
Student: Well, I am thin, tall and pretty.
Teacher: Great job! Are you smart, too?
Student: Yes, I am smart.
Teacher: I think so, too. What about the weather? Can you describe the weather today?
Student: It’s very hot today.
Teacher: Do you like this kind of weather?
Student: No. It’s too hot. I feel very uncomfortable. I want to go swimming.
Teacher: Perfect! We can now proceed to our textbook.
Teacher: Let’s talk about new words. Please read the words from number 1—4.
Student: Sure. Tall and short. Young and old. Heavy/ fat and thin. New and old.
Teacher: Great! Do you understand all the words you read?
Student: Yes. No problem.
Teacher: Good. Now, let’s go to the next number.

CONVERSATION
Teacher: Let’s use the new words that you learned as we practice answering yes or no questions.
Let’s read the sample dialogue. I will read letter A and you will read letter B. Are you ready?
Student: Yes, I am.
Teacher: Let’s start. Is Bob tall or short?
Student: He’s tall.
Teacher: Is Bill tall or short?
Student: He’s short.
Teacher: Good job. Who is taller?
Student: Bob is taller than Bill.

Teacher: Who is shorter?

Student: Bill is shorter than Bob.
Teacher: What about you? Are you tall or short?
Student: I’m not very tall, teacher, but you can’t describe me as short, either.
Teacher: Oh, I see. Well, let’s now answer the activity. I will ask the question and you will answer.
Are you ready?
Teacher: Let’s answer number 1. Wow! Look at that! Is Kate young or old?
Student: She is young.
Teacher: Good. Is Peggy young or old?
Student: She is old.
Teacher: Good! What about you? Are you young or old?
Student: I’m young.
Teacher: Is teacher young or old?
Student: Teacher is young, too.
Teacher: Perfect answer! Let’s go to number 3. Can you read question number 3?
Student: Is Howard heavy or thin?
Teacher: He is heavy. What about number 4? Is Mike or thin?
Student: He is thin.
Teacher: Good answer! What about teacher? Am I fat or thin?
Student: You are thin, teacher!
Teacher: I think so, too! Haha! What about you? Do you want to be fatter or thinner?
Student: For me, I’m very thin so I want to be fatter.
Teacher: I don’t think so, you look good! I think you just have to maintain your weight.

NOTE: You can ask more follow up questions for this type of student. You can talk about the pic-
tures by asking the student to describe them. Continue answering the activity until you reach
number 22. Don’t forget to give some corrections as you go along.

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Side by Side 1 Dealing with other Stages

If your student is in the BEGINNER or ELEMENTARY

STAGE:

 FOCUS ON THE PRONUNCIATION AND DEFINITION OF

VOCABULARY WORDS, AS WELL AS HOW TO USE
THESE WORDS IN A SENTENCE.

 DEFINE WORDS THAT YOUR STUDENT DOES NOT

KNOW.

 CHECK IF YOUR STUDENT UNDERSTOOD YOUR DEFINI-

TION.

 ASK THE STUDENT TO MAKE A SENTENCE USING THE

NEW WORDS.

If your student is in the INTERMEDIATE or UPPER

INTERMEDIATE:

 FOCUS ON THE SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND THE

GRAMMAR OF YOUR STUDENT’S ANSWERS.

 CHECK ON YOUR STUDENT’S PRONUNCIATION.

 DEFINE WORDS THAT YOUR STUDENT DOES NOT

KNOW. EXPLAIN WHEN TO USE THE WORD. CHECK IF
YOUR STUDENT UNDERSTOOD YOUR DEFINITION. MAKE
YOUR STUDENT USE THE NEW WORDS IN HIS/HER OWN
SENTENCES.
 3-minute Wrap-up

N T !
TA
IMP OR
Your WRAP-UP should include:

 a RECAP of the day’s lesson, especially the objectives;

 SPECIFIC FEEDBACK about the student’s pronunciation,

grammar and sentence structure, vocabulary, and fluency;

 an ESTIMATE of the student’s level according to the leveling

system;

 RECOMMENDATIONS about future lessons and textbooks*;

and

 SOFT-SELLING of 51Talk lessons. Convince your student to

enroll!

*Make sure that you include your recommended textbook in your

lesson memo for the reference of the Chinese sales team.

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 3-minute Wrap-up
Go back to the lesson objectives as You did well during our lesson today!
you evaluate your student. Mention You were able to use the words in your
how the objectives were met during own sentences, and you were able to
pronounce them properly. I was really
the lesson.
impressed! We just need to work on
your grammar. I noticed that you were
Give specific feedback regarding using the present tense to talk about
your student’s performance during events in the past. In our future les-
the lesson. Tell the student his/her sons, we can practice the three main
estimated stage based on his/her tenses: past, present, future so you can
performance during the lesson. Use improve your sentences. Do you think
that would help?
the leveling system indicators
wisely.

What do you think of our lesson today?

Did you like it?

Ask the student for feedback of

the lesson.
I’m glad to know that you liked our les-
son! This is a free trial lesson, so en-
rol now if you want to have more les-
sons like this!
Respond to the student’s
feedback.

As I said earlier, for our next lesson we

can talk about the different verb tenses
or we can continue using another text-
book/topic that you want.
Tell the student exactly how you
can help him improve if he enrols  You can also choose another book
for your next lesson.
like...
 For your stage right now I think you
can use…
 We can have fun in our next lesson
by studying ….

Join 51Talk and book my next lesson. I’ll be waiting for you, okay?

See you! Goodbye!

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 3-minute Wrap-up

Go to http://www.51talk.com/course/level2.php to copy-paste the textbook title

into the chat box for the student’s reference. Include the textbook in your lesson
memo.

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Appendix Sample Spiels

Hi! Good evening, Summer! Welcome to today’s

lesson. I am Teacher Bianca of 51Talk and I will be
your teacher for today. How was your day?

Hello! Good morning, Summer! Welcome to today’s lesson. I hope

you’re having a great day so far. I am Teacher Bianca of 51Talk, the
number 1 online English School in China and I will be your teacher
for today. How are you doing?

Hi, Summer! I’m glad to have you here at

51Talk. I am Teacher Bianca and I will be your
teacher for today. Are you having a good day?

From the way you answered the questions during the lesson, you were
able to express yourself quite well, using coherent sentences and ap-
propriate vocabulary. You paused a lot though. I think you need to be
more confident. You seem to have trouble with the /l/, /r/, and /v/
sounds, like English and overseas. In our next lesson, I can help you
improve your pronunciation.