I have just received an e-mail from the user Bhuwan Bhandari and he asked me for some help on how to proceed during his classes. I have decided to post a new blog entry for I believe other teachers can also profit from the tips and can provide other suggestions as well.So, if you are an inexperienced teacher and you have to face a new group of students, I'd suggest the following:
1- Get to know your students and let them know about you through a warm-up activity, such as the following: you can write words and numbers related to you on the board and have them guess what they mean to you. Write the city you were born, your favorite kind of music and whatever you think is interesting. This way you can have a very relaxed activity to break the ice and you will gain some self-assurance in order to proceed. To know your students, you can get them to talk about their favorite music, tv-show and so on through a game or questionaire.
2- Plan your class ahead: it is extremely important to have your class very well planned before you start. Remember you need to assess you students' needs, so prepare your classes having that in mind. If it makes you feel more comfortable, write down a list of topics containing what you are going to to during your class, stressing the objectives of each activity and keep it with you so that you can check it every now and then.
3- To avoid feeling nervous, remember you are the one who knows the language and the students count on you and your knowledge to help them. Make yourself comfortable and make your students comfortable as well. You can put them in pairs, trios or groups, and have them change pairs/groups for a specific activity. Getting them to move around will also break the ice and they have the opportunity to get acquainted with their classmates.
4- If you do not know the answer to a question, don't feel bad. Tell your students you are going to do some research about it, after all, you are not a walking encyclopedia. Students appreciate a dedicated teacher who gives them accurate information.
5- Take a look at the TRY section of the Teaching English site. There you will find loads of activities, lesson plans and other resources you can try.
I hope I have helped you and I count on other teachers' contribution to any inexperienced teacher. After all, that's how we all start!
Comments
Chris Lima
This is a nice list and I think teachers starting their practice can benefit from it. I think that it is really important for inexperienced teachers to have some tools in their teaching kit. However, I think it is also important for novice teachers to have an understanding of the principles behind what they are doing in the classroom to be able to develop their own activities and tools.
For example, why is it important to know your students, use warm-up activities and bring in songs and videos they like, and 'make them relax in order to proceed'? Is this just a socialisation technique or is there some learning theory and neurolinguistic reason behind this? Of course, we know that there are, but I think it is also important that novice teachers get to know and reflect about this.
Cheers - Chris
carladelia
Dear Chris,
Knowing why you should do specific things in the classrooms and practicing techniques is extremely important. That's why I believe all teachers should invest their time and money on training and specific literature on the subject. The can also get a lot of valuable information for free in great quality sites, like this one.
Thanks for your comment!
Best Wishes
Carla D'Elia - English Teacher