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After completing a TEFL with ITTT I feel that I have gained a lot more knowledge about English and how exactly to go about teaching it in a classroom. I have taught sports like skiing and snowboarding to many people around the world in English already but that has been to people generally fluent or with a decent level of English. I have learnt many new ways to teach English in a classroom based environment that is quite different from outdoor sports. Specifically about the role of a teacher, essentially it is to teach people in the most efficient way possible ho to use English to the requirement o the class or individual. Fundamentally English should be taught from the very basics through to sophisticated language that is used when people become fluent in the language. As a teacher I will be thinking of what the students immediate goals are and what their level of English is at currently. The first thing I will do in the classroom however is build rapport with the people, this is mentioned to do in this course but I think its importance should not be underestimated. That is because if students feel that the don't like you or feel comfortable interacting with you then you have lost them form the start and it will indeed be really hard to make the like or respect you in future. So form the start it's worth spending a good amount of time in that first lesson building professional trust, respect and finding some common ground between you and your pupils. After that is done and perhaps at the same time the first thing I would find out is what your pupils current level of English is, what their main goals are then in turn I will find out their motivation. This can be done in speaking first then in more detail by a written questionnaire. After this I will start ESA lesson plans and use all materials available including external one's that I can bring into the classroom. I will always strive to make lesson entertaining for the pupils as you need to keep them entertained. I will also keep testing them throughout the course to see how quickly they are developing and what they learning. Overall I think the role of the teacher is to facilitate they class learning. In doing this you have to be a fountain of knowledge but also you have to make the students think for themselves and use English in every way possible. Basically there is a very fine line between teaching people what you know and actually making them learn things and be able to use English. So the role of a teacher involves many different things but essentially it's about teaching the pupils primarily so the teacher for example should not be talking too much, he should be encouraging pupils themselves to talk, write, read and listen. There are many ways to get pupils excited and interested in English and it is down to the teacher to make lessons engaging and fun! I think that is a big part of what makes a good teacher. Many people may be knowledgeable about the language but the actual skill of a teacher is in making pupils want to learn and making their own classes both interesting and educational. Honestly when I took English at GCSE level in England between 1997-2002 some of my English teachers really killed any fun in what I could have had from English. One teacher was really good, but he was a rare case at my comprehensive school. I think if teachers could've made it more fun I would've got so much more from the subject, enjoyed it then tried a to harder than I ever did in my secondary school days. Sadly I know that most of my old classmates would say exactly the same to this day. Anyway my main point is that it is solely up to the teacher to make his or her lessons engaging, fun, educational and informative. Also it is the teachers role to choose the most appropriate ways to develop individuals English level and it is also their job to make development possible with varying levels of ability within the same classes. The teacher must set standards right form the first lesson and make sure pupils are keeping to this high standard. There must be clear goals of achievement and the pupils must see an acknowledgement of their success or indeed underachievement. If they underachieve they must be encouraged to work even harder and be given more support. Overall I think a great teacher needs to be likable, entertaining, respectful, knowledgeable, informative, motivational and has to drive progression within his own class.
