Never Fear! 7 Ways to Prevent Confusion in the Classroom
Have you ever been in the middle of a lesson only to look up and notice that your student has a strong look of confusion on their face? The student may look blank, glazed over, or they may be nervously giggling. If your student is not answering your questions and is waiting for your prompt, then it may be because they do not understand.
Breathe Easy!
No worries, fellow teachers! Here are five things to do to help prevent confusion and to make learning more seamless.
What is your English level?
Have your students complete a level test prior to your session or class time. This helps you to gauge the different ability levels in your class or with 1-1 tutoring. If you are teaching a class, have your stronger students help tutor the weaker students. Here is a link to a level test. General English (cambridgeenglish.org)
Why do you want to learn English?
If you are tutoring 1-1, have your student fill out a need analysis to determine why they’d like to improve their English. If you work for a school system, then it will make it easier as the English class is built into the school curriculum. Therefore, the need depends on what kind of school you are teaching in.
Be a People Person
Make sure during the beginning of class to engage the students on a personal level to get them comfortable and to earn their trust. This accomplishes two things: 1. It helps the students become more comfortable and confident to speak English. 2. It gives the student confidence to ask for help later when they are stuck.
A fallback plan
Create a lesson plan. Creating lesson plans helps to prepare yourself for different activities. Always have a handful of activities that you could do at different levels so that you are not left with anything to improvise should you need to go down or up an English level.
Quizzes and Homework
Give them homework and quizzes. Have them complete quizzes every so often in the classroom as well as graded homework to take home. Graded refers to work that gets more difficult as you go. This can help indicate where the class needs to focus.
Look!
Use visuals! It is so important to use visuals when teaching a foreign language. This gives context to the lesson, so the students will be able to infer the answers much easier.
Blah blah blah
Don’t blab; this ties into number 6. There is nothing worse than a teacher droning on and on. Make your point concise and clear so that your students know how to complete an exercise. It helps to make a step-by-step visual that your students can follow.
In Essence
Do not get discouraged if explanations are not making sense to your student. Just go through your different strategies until you get a spark. I am sure that my suggestions will help prevent confusion by creating a more seamless learning environment.
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Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language?
Apply now & get certified to teach english abroad!
Speak with an ITTT advisor today to put together your personal plan for teaching English abroad!
Send us an email or call us toll-free at 1-800-490-0531 to speak with an ITTT advisor today.
Related Articles:
- Top 10 Cities in Europe with the Highest Demand for English Language Teachers
- 5 Reasons To Take A TEFL Course Right Now - Even If You Are Not Leaving Yet | ITTT | TEFL Blog
- All the Documents You Will Need to Teach English Abroad
- The Impact of Positive Motivation on an ESL Classroom
- You’re Never Too Old to Change Your Life and Do a TEFL Course | ITTT | TEFL Blog
- Getting Student Placement Right - The Best Desk Arrangements for EFL Students
