Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified in Mississippi? Are you interested in teaching English in Meridian, Mississippi? Check out our opportunities in Meridian, 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!
A good teacher should have attributes such as: kindness, patience, love of teaching, lively, entertaining and motivating to name a few. A good teacher really cares about his/her teaching but cares more about the learning of the students.
The role of the teacher should sometimes be more "teacher-centred" (manager, organizer, assessor, etc.) and sometimes more "student-centred" (participant, resource, observer, etc.) depending on the type of learning activity concerned. A good teacher will know when to be more dominating or withdrawn. They will also know how to carry out each role, know which role to take and when to take it, so students are effectively involved and engaged.
A good learner should have attributes such as a willingness and desire to: listen, experiment, ask questions and accept error correction, to name a few. It is the teacher's responsibility to foster good qualities of a successful learner.
There are many differences between adult learners (18 yrs+) and young learners (18 yrs-) and each have their unique challenges. Adults usually have made their own decision to attend class so they are likely to be quite motivated, while young learners rarely made the decision for themselves so will more likely lack motivation. Adults may be more nervous and afraid of failure due to past experience, where young learners may not be as nervous. Adult learners have a greater attention span than young learners which usually results in less behavioral problems. Adults have more life experience which can make lessons varied and interesting. Young learners like games and activities which can make lessons fun. Teachers may have their preference of what age group they like to teach.
The different language levels are commonly broken down as: beginners, elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced. These terms may be different depending in which country taught and which textbook used. Teachers often have their own favorite levels they like to teach with each level having unique challenges. Class activities may be more or less suited to different levels. It is important teachers meet students at their language level and teach them from there without teaching above or below the student's level.
There are many reasons students may be motivated to learn speaking English including: career, travel, improvement of school grades, or to communicate with friends/colleagues/partners. The teacher must ensure lessons are enjoyable, interesting, varied and useful in order to maintain or build motivation so students continue to learn and attend classes. A good teacher will most likely create good students.
I have learned what makes good students and teachers in this unit, as well as teacher's roles, differences in age/levels of learners, and the importance of keeping students motivated. I think it's important that teachers know the needs of the students and are able to address those needs so the student is relaxed, confident and motivated. Teachers should be able to teach in such a way that students love to learn, and will continue to learn for themselves throughout their lives.
