Teaching a 9 Yo Chinese Kid

[Glazyan]

Recently I have received my first assignment to teach a child. I have never taught a kid before and this kid has a very low level of English. He also has a hard time focusing even though I can tell he is smart in the instances where I do grab his attention. I have 5 classes with him and each is 2.5 hours long (I know, this is far too long per class for a 9 year old).

So far I have had 2 classes with him and have been struggling. I feel as if I am not giving him the right material to keep him interested and teach him efficiently. I am aware that 5 classes is not really enough time to make a huge impact on his English abilities, but I would really like to feel as if I left him with something. I really want the last 3 classes to be more productive than the first 2.

Does anyone have any advice for me on teaching children and keeping them interested while learning?

Also, a major help would be suggestions of any really good one-on-one games you know of. He loves games (duh!).

My next class is in 4 days so I am working on a time limit here, I appreciate the help.

Thanks in Advance!

[systematic]

I wonder why you didn't get any replies to this, and your course is probably over by now. However, for anyone else joining this thread2 1/2 hours is of course far too long - for both of you. There should be a clear break of at least 15 minutes at half-time. Diversity is crucial. Some young children are unable to stay focussed on any one aspect of an English lesson for longer than 15 minutes. It is essential to present your lessons in a ludic environment and manner - a child has enough traditional classroom teraching at school. games are an excellent idea, but don't use them all the time. Scrabble, and WordUp are good examples. There are also plenty of activity books* for children, and you could also base your lessons around the units and activities in course books* for children of that age. Check out the publishers' online catalogues.

Activity Book for Children, Oxford University Press

Course books:
Bravo, Macmillan
Get Set GO, OUP
Get Ready, OUP
Primary Colours,
the Jungle Grammar Book, OUP
etc.
You'll also get more ideas in this department:
http://www.tefl.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=4