www.gwangjunewsgic.com September 2016 46 46 EDUCATION L esson plans! As a teacher of English as a foreign language (EFL), we are all familiar with them. One teacher’s plans may be a fve-page, neatly typed document; another’s may be a web of hurried ideas clinging to the busy neurons of the cerebrum. In either case, what we have planned is most likely only the “body” of the lesson. Just as in a letter, the body is the main part of the project, but it does not include the beginning and the end – the Al- pha and the Omega, we might say. Tough a minor portion of the les- son time-wise, how we begin and end a lesson may have a more lasting impression on the class than the core lesson itself and therefore should not be overlooked. Make a Favorable Impression What do you look like when you en- ter the classroom? Remember that frst impressions are lasting ones. Te impression you give as you meet your class could easily be the impression your students leave the class with. We may walk into class serious in thought about how we will conduct the class, upset about something that happened before class, tired from too much work in too few hours or sti- fed by a cold or other malady. What expression does our face carry? It should be a smile! (I doubt if I am the only one who has been unpleasantly surprised by the facial expression I was projecting on those candid pho- tos or videos that students have tak- en.) Be aware of the impression you are telegraphing to your class, and be sure it is a positive one! Smile, and speak in a jovial tone of voice. Clearly Demarcate the Beginning and End of the Lesson Lessons very rarely begin as soon as the teacher walks into the room (with a smile on her face, of course!). Te teachers need to arrange materials, set up the computer, arrange desks or strike up some small talk with a cou- ple of students as the others are fling in. How do we seamlessly get from here to the lesson? Well, we could try to shout above 25 exuberant student voices, but we already know how well that works. Instead, we could just stand quietly facing the class; they will take the cue surprisingly quick. Or you could have a particular spot that you stand in when you’re ready for class to begin. Or ring a small bell, or tap on the board. Whatever the sound, it should be the same every time: the same ding-ding-ding of the bell or the same tap-tappa-tap-tap on the board. Whatever you choose, make it a routine that you use each lesson. Routines are great to end the lesson with too. It may be some- thing as simple as a set phrase: “Shall we call it a day?” “Okay, class, who knows what time it is?” Use routines to begin and end class smoothly and efortlessly. Preview and Review the Lesson Once you have the class’s attention (with that smile still on your face), you could go to the frst page of the day’s lesson, but this beginning would start the students of on their day’s journey like a tourist without a map. Start the lesson of with a preview of what is going to be covered and the goals of the lesson. Tese points could all be listed on a designated corner of the board and lef there for the duration of the class. At the end of class, review the new material cov- The Alpha and Omega of the Lesson By David Shaffer