Teach English in Chaogewendu'er Zhen - Bayannao'er Shi — Bayan Nur

Teachers have the ability to improve a student’s life for the better or in some cases (hopefully not) for the worse. Able and skilled teachers are able to inspire their students immensely, give them more confidence and offer students encouragement to progress and further their studies. On the other hand, a lesser teacher without adequate teaching skills could be a disparagement to students and actually impede their progress, leaving students disillusioned and frustrated. In order to be an exceptional teacher, there are a number of factors that need to be considered and taken into account, for example, leadership, commitment, compassion, enthusiasm, be a great communicator and be dedicated to the lesson and the students. Helping students to succeed is the main task for a teacher, so subject knowledge is a critical teaching skill, there needs to be a developed trust between students and the teacher. These are all a vital part of the teaching process. It is also important for teacher to be continuously self-upskilling and maintaining current personal professional development. It stands to reason that a teacher needs to have outstanding communication skills, both verbal as well as written. They also need portray a professional outlook yet have friendly and positive body language. Another vital component of teaching is to be able to actively listen to students. Leadership is an important skill in the classroom and depends on a healthy and productive interpersonal relationship between teachers and students. In building this type of relationship, students will tend to feel closer to and will gain a deeper trust for their teacher. Leadership depends on the teacher’s capacity to adapt in the class, we must be able to demonstrate various kinds of behaviour when the situation requires it. Teachers should not portray themselves as being the boss or on the other end of the scale, they should not be buddies with students either. Teaching English as a foreign language requires commitment. A teacher not only needs to be committed to the students but also to our profession. We need to abide by the rules and embrace the principles as professionals in what we do. It is an attitude that a person has towards their job. Compassion is an important life skill. As a part of our teaching skills, compassion can improve the success of any strategies we would put in place. Compassion will give our students the chance to trust our choices and decisions and they will also feel confident when we request anything from them. Enthusiasm is recognized as an essential as well as a necessary quality and characteristic of an effective teacher and therefore an important teaching skill. Enthusiasm creates excitement and enjoyment for students and encourages them to participate in activities and exercises, and stimulates them to explore. Thus, teacher enthusiasm sparks the curiosity of students and jumpstarts their motivation to learn. Teaching students is a form of communication, so we need to have excellent communication skills, both verbal and written. We need to be able to adapt our communication style to the needs of diverse student groups, determining factors may be their age, culture, ability, and learning style. Another important teaching skill is not only to teach listening skills but also learn to listen to our students. It is not always about the us teachers, by giving students the chance to talk, we can learn a great deal about our learners, this not only encourages lesson participation, but we can learn where students are having difficulties, where they need assistance. By creating a positive learning environment for our students, we will certainly improve student learning, it will help teachers in building an organised classroom environment and create a pleasant learning space for both teachers as well as students. There are so many things that can be done to do this from getting to know our students, making ourselves available daily for our students to be able approach us whether its learning related or personal issues. Be positive and make students feel valued, make them feel that they are achieving in class and promote inspiration. Teachers should be filling classrooms with positive energy, positive quotes and messages in order for students to feel that they will achieve greatness, offer constant positive feedback and encouragement. Teachers should be doing everything they can to make the physical environment of their classroom as comfortable and cheerful as possible. “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail”, no truer words when it comes to organisation. Teachers need to be able to juggle a number of tasks at any one time, from teaching to attending meetings, and from lesson planning to grading. As such, they need to be able to keep all of these duties organized, and complete tasks in a timely manner. In conclusion, teaching skills is a vast topic and yet critical for students and teachers alike. They are a vital part of the teaching experience, from class leadership to motivation, from being patient to being inspirational, mindful to being a good listener. The bottom line is teachers are the drivers of education, the example to students, the motivators of education, they need to act in a pastoral role, the disciplinarian and the leading example. Teachers can make such a huge impact on their students. When I look back at my learning years, there are a couple of teachers that still stand out to me and I will never forget them for being my guide and mentor through education, I want to be that kind of teacher to my students, I want to be the best I can by honing my teaching skills in the classroom. I want my students to remember me for all the right reasons and they will if I stay focused and mindful of my teaching skills.