Boardwork in the EFL Classroom

Boardwork for the EFL and ESL Classroom

Organizing the marker board for a more effective lesson is the mark of a skilled EFL teacher.

KISS or “Keep it Simple for Students” is a good rule. Walk through your lesson and as you do it, put everything on the board. Ideally, you don’t erase anything in one lesson and it should, by the end of the lesson, look very well-organized and understandable. Even from the back of the room. Go to the back and look.

Usually the best way to organize your board work is to literally present the lesson in a dry run and write everything on the board including target language, grammar structure, and vocabulary (off to the side).

As you think your way through the lesson you will probably notice that you need to reorganize or restructure your thinking. This is an excellent practical exercise just to catch the flow of your lesson as well as for organizing your boardwork.

Note that in many classrooms, students will not be able to see the bottom one-third of the board from the back of the room (other students are in the way). And, in many classrooms, the far left and right sides of the board may not be visible to students on the far opposite of the room due to the extreme angle or from bright light from windows (in the front).

Glare from windows and lights can make parts of the board unreadable for many students. If there are curtains in a room to block bright light in the front of the room – use them. What this means is that you should probably only use the top two-thirds of your board – and the middle 60%.

Write on the board in a classroom and walk around the room to see if your writing is BIG enough, clear enough and visible to everyone. You will probably be surprised how little of the board is visible to everyone in the room

Never erase anything from the board without asking your students first. Why? Your very best students are taking notes! Just a simple, “Okay if I erase this?” and a fast look around the room will do the job. It’s only polite, isn’t it? Good teachers certainly don’t mind waiting while their best students are taking notes.

A good lesson plan should have an example of what the board will look like, usually on the last page. This will help you plan your boardwork in advance.

TED’s Tips™ #1: Boardwork is a fine art that the best teachers practice improving regularly.

TED’s Tips™ #2: Help your students by presenting your lesson on the marker board clearly, visibly and in an easily understandable manner.