All teachers come across a grab bag of problems in their classes. These problems may come in all shapes and sizes. I call these problems “obstacles”.

At university, we all learnt a lot about classroom management. We know a good deal of methods to overcome the obstacles.  In theory, it sounds  very easy to solve any kind of problem.  A particular technique seems like a magic wand to surmount a particular obstacle.  But, when it comes to practice, you understand that there is no silver bullet or a magic touch.

The most frequent obstacles I’ve met in my classes are lack of motivation and need to learn. I believe they are the main causes of other problems we confront in our classes.  In my very first years of teaching, when I faced problems, I used to go into the theories  wholeheartedly. You know “a drowning man will clutch at a straw”.

As I gained experience in education, I realized that overcoming problems is a matter of process.  You hardly ever solve them on the spot. The first thing to be done is realizing that problems are mostly caused by lack of motivation and need to learn. 6th, 7th  and 8th graders must find themselves needs to learn a foreign language.  We must always bear in mind that they are children and they can’t always realize the needs to do something. In situations such as this, we should plant the needs.  If they don’t need to learn something, they won’t learn it. This will cause side effects.

Another important point to get rid of problems is changing the way we teach. Young learners get bored easily. So, we should seek for activities that are both entertaining and  informative. They should go with their ages, as well. There are many other practical and applicable ways of overcoming the obstacles confronted in the classes. I would like to learn the obstacles and techniques you make most of in your classes.

I believe in working together on the common problems we share. Only then, we can spot and stop them!