Reasons Why Teaching Skills are Crucial for Your ESL Work Path
There is no doubt that the demand for learning English is increasing dramatically in the last few years. The reason is that the world seems to get smaller through globalization (trade between countries) and the increases used in technologies. Almost everyone can communicate with other people from different countries through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc; and English is the most commonly used and accepted language in the world; therefore, the demand for learning English is increasing rapidly. Hence, the demand for Teaching English in a foreign country has increased in the last few years. Although the demand of English around the world has increased in the last few years, however, not all teachers who choose to teach English has become successful in their job. Before going abroad to teach English, almost everyone has completed the English Teaching Certification, however, many teachers have failed because they don't know what teaching skills that they will need in the classroom. Throughout my research, I've found many skills that the teachers could use in the classroom, however, the two skills that I think are most important are: Public speaking skills and planning and time management skill.
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Vu T. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Speaking skills
The first skill that the teachers will need when teaching English in the classroom is public speaking skills. I think public speaking skill is one of the most important skills that the teachers must master when teaching in the classroom because it doesn't matter how good of your teaching materials are in the classroom if you couldn't communicate and pass those materials down to your students through your class; then it would be worthless and you will end up not having a good class. There are many aspects of public speaking skills, but the two most useful for the teachers when teaching English abroad are to inform and to motivate the students. The teacher's ability to inform the study materials to the students in the classroom is very important because as the teacher, we want to pass our knowledge in English to our students through our classes. A good informative lecture must improve the students' knowledge in English through every class, and makes the students remember the lesson through the class long after the class is finished.
Also Read: Which TEFL courses are accredited?
The Ability to Motivate
The teacher's ability to motivate students to learn English is also important because as we all know, learning a new language is not easy especially when you live in a country where English is not a primary language. Many students don't have the chance to use the English that they've learned in the classroom in the real world, and the only time that they have an opportunity to apply is in the classroom. Therefore, teachers need to motivate his or her students to continues learning English because it is very common that students drop out or stop going to English class because they don't see any improvement in their English ability.
Planning Skills
The second skill that the teachers will need when teaching English in the classroom is planning and time management skill. Lesson planning is considering one of the most useful skills for teachers in the classroom because it is a road map for the teacher in the classroom. Lesson planning determine what topics for the teachers to teach in the classroom and how those topics should be taught in the classroom; these questions are very important because, from those questions, teachers can match their lecturing patterns to the learning abilities of their students; which will increase the student's ability to learn and improve teacher's ability in teaching. Besides, having a good lesson planning help teacher feel more comfortable when teaching and increase their confidence in the classroom, which most likely to have a good class at the end of the day.
Also Read: Where do schools provide free housing for English teachers abroad?
Time Management
Time management skill is also important because this skill will help the teachers to prioritize their work. Teaching English overseas is not an easy job and most of the time it gets very busy. For instance, when teachers teach English at an international private school overseas, they will need to grading papers, tests, prepare lessons for your classes, etc. Most of the time, the teachers won't be able to get through everything as they have planned, therefore, the teachers need to figure out what they should do first. It is a good idea for the teachers to focus on an important and urgent task first before doing something else. For example, if he or she doesn't prepare the teaching materials for his or her English level 2 class before she or he leaves today, then that will put a lot of pressure and stress on he or she later that day because he or she still needs to grades the tests and return them to the student's tomorrow morning. Prepare the teaching material is important in this case and the consequences of not doing that task are high.
Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course!
In conclusion, master the teaching skills in the classroom before the teachers are going to the different countries to teach English is very important because by mastered these teaching skills, the teachers are prepared and ready to go through the challenges that they will face in their teaching career. Almost everyone around the world has the speech anxiety while they are presenting or teaching; those teachers who want to be successful in their teaching career must overcome that anxiety and be able to manage those fears. The teachers who are master their public speaking skills and planning and time management skill before going abroad to teach English are more likely to be successful in their teaching career because those skills help them to be great English teachers.
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