Ideally structured school?

[fatma]

What is the ideal, or best way to teach English, or rather, to structure an institute's lessons? What do the good schools do?

For example, where I'm currently teaching, they have given me 5 levels to deal with in one day of 8 hours (Absolute beginner, beginner, level 1, 2, 3). I find it v. difficult to cope with such a variety. It's v. hard preparing lessons for each level, for every day, keeping in mind speaking, writing, listening, reading, games, h.w. planning, etc. With such a load to cope with, I feel I'm short changing myself by sometimes taking the easy route of just 'doing the book' and not doing much supplementary work or speaking activities.
Whereas when I was working in another institute, they had given me 1 level to teach for 4 hours daily. That way, I could plan their entire lesson, from speaking to writing, to reading etc....I wasn't stretched in so many directions, and therefore it was easier to cope with. Is this a mark of a good school, that they give one, or max. 2 levels to one teacher to teach? Or is this too 'ideal' ?

[Lucy]

Dear Fatma,

I understand your situation. You certainly have a lot of different classes in one day and it must be a challenge preparing for all of them.

There is no best way to structure a school's timetable. Anybody who's planning a timetable has to think about the times students are available to come to the school. I guess the director of your school has structured the classes in a way that attracts students. Unfortunately, teachers have to live with the results of timetabling, or at least for one term. You could volunteer to help your head timetable the classes for next term.

Finally, there is no need to think that you are shortchanging yourself or your students by following the course book. Most course books have been written by experienced EFL professionals and have been piloted widely in the classroom before publication. I'm sure your students will learn a lot. It does you credit as a teacher that you care so much about your students; that is the best thing for students: a teacher who cares about their learning outcomes.

Lucy