In the context of teaching English to speakers of other languages there is no set definition of what constitutes a ‘large’ class (Ur, 1996, Hayes 1997, Hess, 2001). This definition will, quite understandably, differ from one teacher to another, one situation to another and from one country to another. A response may also be influenced by what sort of English class is being taught. For example, a class on pronunciation compared with a writing class might well produce a different definition of large.

In Australia, English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students’ (ELICOS) classes have a maximum number of 18 students per class and as such might well be considered a la

There are various other suggestions which readers may find useful when dealing with large classes. Alimi, Kassai and Azeez, (1998) suggest using a team teaching approach to overcome some of the problems encountered in teaching large classes. “Team teaching may be explained as any form of collaboration between two or more teachers in order to improve classroom teaching/management to enhance learning”. The authors report that both students and teachers benefited from this approach. The teachers through student observation overcome problems identified in the teaching materials and the students improved in their capabilities, particularly writing skills.

Locastro, V. (2001). Teaching English to large classes. TESOL Quarterly, 35(3), 493-496.

Based on experience of teaching in China (Haozhang, 1997) describes a number of activities used in teaching large listening and speaking classes that have resulted in improved oral communications. Through focussing on the use of authentic language, appropriate feedback and correction and encouragement of speaking strategies an effective program has been developed.

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