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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:
Classroom Management Classroom Management is a skill that all teachers have to have. esl teachers have a more unique situation than a regular teacher though when most of your students don?t know how to speak English. There is no one way to manage a classroom but there are key elements that have to happen in every ESL classroom in order for learning to happen. Teachers have to be able to make students feel confident about themselves and their learning progress, when to leave students alone and when to intervene, and how to discipline the class calmly. The most important aspect is flexibility and likeability. As students? skills and levels change during the year, so must your teaching and pace. In order for students to learn, they have to come to like the teacher and no student wants an angry one. Be kind, friendly, and relaxed. It?s stressful enough that students are learning a new language; a stressful teacher just makes it worse.
Eye Contact is one of the many aspects of getting and maintaining control of the classroom. You look at students to get their attention as well as to show them respect. You should not glare or stare down a student but just a quick look in their direction will push them back into the activity they are doing or to check that all students are listening. By giving a student eye contact who is not contributing so much in the classroom, it is an non-threatening and quick way to encourage participation. Eye contact only applies if the students are not working in an activity with other students or doing independent work.
Gestures are very important tool in the ESL classroom. It is an easy and silent way to guide students in the classroom. Instead of saying Listen which the student might not understand, just putting your hands behind your ears gives the same message. The same can be said of gestures that say sit down please, louder, go on, stop, a thumbs up to say good job, and a wave of the hand to say you?re almost there. By pointing to a student and saying their name is a good way to increase confidence in the classroom.
Voice plays a large part in the classroom as it dictates the mood of the activity as well as of the class. Having a calm and clear voice is impertinent to giving clear and firm instructions. The clearer the teacher?s voice is, the more the students will understand. Depending on the activity, the teacher?s voice may be loud (talking to a large group) or quiet ( when talking to individuals). Voice plays a great part when saying students? names. You only want to use their names when you want to recognize the student and get their attention, indicate who is going to speak next, or to organize students for an activity. Yelling or screaming a student?s name will only make them scared and lose respect for the teacher.
Grouping students can create better or worse classroom management. Know your students and know who gets well with whom. You can pair students in pairs, groups, or use the whole class for an activity. The key is to watch out for timing of the activities.
Teacher Talking Time and student Talking Time should be balanced. As the students get more experienced, the student Talking Time should increase to give students as much chances to speak as possible. By giving more time for students to speak in the classroom, they will feel much happier with their progress and therefore the classroom will be stable and also fun.
