Teach English in Banpu Zhen - Lianyungang Shi

CHALLENGES IN CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM AS A TEACHER OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE Personally, I have a little experience in teaching students with a different first language, and also students of varied classes. Therefore some, if not most, of the experiences shared below will be those that I have faced personally or seen my colleagues, at the different places I have been to, go through. The challenges the teachers face are brought about by a number of things like from among the students' parents and administrators, or with the many roles and responsibilities, he or she has to maintain. A change in the teaching approaches can help to create a more productive and casual environment for both the teacher and the students. Below is an outline of some classroom problems faced when teaching English as a foreign language. Occasionally students can become overly dependent on the teacher. Students will automatically look to the teacher for correct answers instead of trying themselves. If the teacher indulges them with the answer each time, it can become a detrimental problem. Instead, the teacher should focus on giving positive encouragement. This will help to make students more comfortable and more willing to answer even if the answer incorrectly. The persistent use of first-language, when teaching English as a foreign language, this is possibly the most common problem. As an ESL teacher, I encourage students to use English. However, if students begin conversing in their first language, establish a set of class rules and develop a penalty system for when they use their first language. At one place I have volunteered, if a student is heard using their first language, a star is subtracted from whatever number they previously had. The more stars a student has, the greater the chance to get a reward at the end of each week or semester. From time to time the students become a distraction to others. This typically happens in every classroom. If the entire class is acting up, it could be the fault of the teacher, that is, boring material or poor classroom management. If it is one particular student, the teacher should react swiftly to show dominance. In order to resolve the issue, an ESL teacher must be strict and institute discipline if needed. If it continues to happen, further disciplinary action through the school's director could be pursued. Every now and then, I have encountered students who were reprimanded by teachers or even their own parents in regard to their classroom behavior, this acted as a positive reinforcement to their learning. Young learners, in particular, tend to "take over” the lesson this is when the lesson doesn't go where they want it to. When teaching English as a foreign language, one can always count on students hijacking a lesson. To some extent, this can be a good thing. It shows that student’s curiosity, and as long as they are participating and conversing in English, it is a productive experience. However, if the lesson strays too far off-topic, in a direction you don't want it to go, it's important to correct the problem by diverting the conversation. When going over English stories and comprehension I have experienced students bring up what they have each come across, say from related home experience and in a blink of an eye the whole class is talking about everything else except the story or comprehension at hand. Occasionally different personalities clash. Not everyone in an ESL classroom will become the best of friends. If issues or some drama arises between certain students, the easiest solution is to separate them from one another. If the tension persists, switching a student to another classroom may be your only option. At times two or three active personalities do not agree concerning something and hence throw the whole class into tension, I have once been forced to take a student to the principal mid-lesson, this disrupted the whole class and myself included. Students, every now and then, become unclear of what to do, or they do the wrong thing. This happens far too often when teaching English as a foreign language. The fact is, it's often the fault of the teacher. If the instructions to a certain assignment yield look of confusion and soft whispers among students, but in order to solve this problem and avoid it, it's important to make sure that the instructions are clear. The teacher should use gestures, mime, and short concise sentences. The teacher should speak clearly and strongly. Most importantly, models should also be used and examples of the activity. Sometimes I have had to explain and illustrate with a teaching assistant; some Engage level activities, like warmups; and later when one or two students catch on, they illustrate it too, and eventually, the whole class picks up on it. In a nutshell, the best way to overcome all this and still do your job well is reminding oneself of the goal of teaching, and involve in self-development by learning as much as possible concerning teaching. One cannot approach the role of a teacher as a novice; therefore, some training and learning is essential and goes a long way to show just how committed one is to the profession. It’s also important to account for exceptions because there are times when the rules concerning a certain behavior or activity may not work, in such cases, it is vital to be creative and reason without panicking. In order to be a great ESL teacher, one must not only teach but inspire and empower. The goal is to excite the students about learning, speaking, reading, writing, and comprehending English. It is also important to set a good example and model to the learners because they will not only learn from what you teach but also what you do outside class, this could be in reference to one’s use of the first language or how they relate with colleagues at the workplace.