Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified in United States? Are you interested in teaching English in Cambridge, United States? Check out our opportunities in Cambridge, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English in your community or abroad! Teflonline.net offers a wide variety of Online TESOL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Here Below you can check out the feedback (for one of our units) of one of the 16.000 students that last year took an online course with ITTT!
In this unit, I learned about teaching beginners, teaching individual students, teaching children, teaching adults, and teaching monolingual or multilingual classes. Teaching each category of students, some of which fall into multiple categories, all have specific needs that need to be addressed. Some overlapping themes are addressing the students’ interests, encouraging the students to use English only, using only English in the class, evaluating the students' levels, creating lessons based on their needs, always being prepared in lesson plans, and there is no such thing as being over-prepared. Techniques and methods for teaching beginners are familiar through my personal experiences as a beginner language learner. When beginning to learn a new language, it can be very overwhelming. It is important to not rush through lesson plans and to check for understanding since the students may say they understand but they do not. Also, being prepared to explain or elaborate in other words will be helpful and possibly provide clarity of instructions or concepts.
Teaching individual students is exceptionally challenging because it is very fast paced, so the teacher needs to prepare more, but can also be very intimate. The teacher can quickly form a bond with their students that can help with motivation and achievement. Teaching children can also be challenging but, as stated in the reading, incredibly rewarding. Children are enthusiastic and curious learners who can absorb language. Nevertheless, children will be children; they will have short attention spans, require rewards, need tons of guidance, and a need a variety of activities to maintain their interest. The teacher’s attitude has a significant effect on classroom discipline. It is important always to check your attitude and remember to uphold certain etiquettes. Most of all, young learner need patience, positive encouragement, numerous praise, and overall fun in their English lessons.
Adult learners are different from young learners since they usually are choosing to learn English rather than it being a requirement. They are highly motivated and usually have a specific purpose for learning English. Nowadays, many adult learners learn business English, which is English used in a business context. It is not a requirement to be familiar with business to be able to teach business English. When teaching business English, the teacher must consider different aspects compared to a general English class such as group dynamics and the needs and wants of the individual clients versus their company’s expectations. Finding a balance is critical. The teacher can and should use authentic materials, especially since the clients themselves are a valuable resource of material. It is important to remember that since business English has a specific purpose, the teacher needs to form a curriculum that addresses those particular needs of the clients and the company.
There are advantages and disadvantages to multilingual and monolingual classrooms. In multilingual classrooms, students usually do not share an L1 which forces them to communicate in English. Furthermore, these types of classes usually take place in an English speaking country allowing for daily exposure to English in many different contexts. However, although there are many advantages, there are disadvantages in that many different mother tongues will mean that there will be many different types of possible errors that can occur. The opposite can be true for monolingual classes. Sharing a mother tongue will mean that they will experience similar language errors. These classes usually take place in the home country of the student, and since they have a common background, they all may share some common interests.
Differences in class category require for the teacher to prepare for many different scenarios. I believe that the ability to adapt to unexpected occurrences comes with experience. In conclusion, always being prepared, having the right attitude, encouraging and motivating the students, and focusing on the students’ needs are essential traits in being an English teacher.
