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GUIDE to Special Classes on National and Entrance Exams 2 Years, 3 Months ago
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Karma: 42
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I am giving all of you now the glimpse of my program for this special class, as I have observed that Thai learners usually spend time and money for this type of classes off their regular learning schedules, i.e. during sembreaks or summers. This means the challenge is so huge that you have to work things out in a very limited period of time. They are willing to spend for “your magic” and the financers (parents’) eyes are rolling wide. But mind you, once you have proven your worth, your name will be posted in the annals of their needs for a worthy education. They will spread your name like fire in the forest that you will even end up bargaining for a minimum fee of 800 baht per hour. Hey, that is a little bit more than the hourly rate of teachers at the most famous language school in Silom, that one with the UK flag on a tongue, he he he….And so, we (sic) can safely say with reason that we are really better than the “natives” who are “only needed” in that language school because they don’t get that hourly rate. Mabuhay to all of us, then! So, take this down:
(For High-Level Learners in a 1-month, 3-day-a-week, 2-hour-a-day learning period)
Day 1: Lecture them about the parts of speech and grammar rules; and, on this day too, you can give them related techniques in taking a test over a limited time. Consume the remaining time (usually about 30 minutes) by giving them a grammar test, i.e. error identification. I usually give them a 20-item, 30-minute test for this.
Day 2: Check with them the first test. I don’t need to mention the element of thrill you are imposing as they are too eager to know their performance from the previous test. Highlight their major mistakes from the first test. Explain how they failed to apply the rules in grammar, etcetera; then proceed to give the lecture about the other parts of such exams, by giving them pointers on how to answer questions about a passage, conversation, meaning in context etcetera. In passage analysis, you can deal deep by teaching them the principle of skimming or clustering since they have a high-level of understanding; BUT, don’t use much time on it because it is not a TOEFL test that they are going to take. Just give them a brief and emphasize that this kind of diagramming technique is very useful not only in passage analysis (reading and listening), but also essay writing. You better consume the remaining time (usually about an hour) by giving them a general test covering all aspects of learning they expect in their upcoming exams, i.e. speaking/conversation, vocabulary, grammar, and passage analysis.
Day 3: Stick with the element of thrill by checking with them the current test you have given. Then again, highlight their major mistakes from the test. Give them another set of exam. By this way, you have consumed the day applying the principle of “practice makes perfect”; you can elaborate on this if you need to explain your program to them in the beginning. This type of learners usually finds this approach interesting.
Day 4-12: Make sure you have prepared battery of practice tests. They will surely help your student, as both of you will know the weak points you need to iron out. You can split the time in between by concentrating on the practice tests of those obvious weak points. In that way, you are in complete control of the learning strategy and you are, no less, a very effective coach. Be flexible on the time, you can extend a very gracious 30 minutes for free. After all, you have made yourself comfortable during the practice test as you have just been sitting and waiting for your student to completely answer it.
Now, for mid and low learners, you can either extend the learning period or the program itself according to your student’s need. As the teacher, you shall be able to decipher the most effective way to deal with your students. BUT THEN again, the system I have stated above is very effective, not to mention, very interesting (plus profitable) for this type of learners. Remember that they expect something different than their classroom experiences, so give them one. You can get the drive from calculating your total earnings of almost half of your monthly salary for only 12 days in a 2-hour schedule per day. That is a real uhhhh!
And don’t forget to be always beautiful or smart-looking, not stinky and all….And, this is where I say a comparative joke, our plus perhaps! (a smiley here) 
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