Teach English in Dainan Zhen - Taizhou Shi

Small Class Teaching a small class, as a ‘new’ EFL teacher, is relatively easier. If he/she gets children to teach, then another good thing has happened to him/her. Reason is that children hardly notice the weaknesses of a teacher and a determined teacher grows in confidence and experience as days go by. Also teaching children in a small class comes with lesser load of course contents. The only challenging thing is putting the class under control. If the class is small, it is easier for the teacher to put the students under control. A good EFL teacher will be able to change the moods of children by introducing different types of games, and talking less. In a small class, giving attention to students is also easy because the teacher can cover the whole class with few steps. Also, he can make eye contacts with all the students easily . Also any gesture the teacher makes is seen by all the students. An experienced EFL teacher finds giving attention to student in a small class very easy. He/she is able to know the names of his/her students within days, if not hours. An experienced teacher easily tells if a student has come to class or not. If an experienced teacher is taking over from a previous teacher of that class, he/she usually asks for information about the class. He may ask for academic records, ways to control the class, students with special problems, interests of students, etc. An experienced teacher starts off relatively easily with little problems after collecting relevant information about the class. Large Class Life, as a teacher of a large class, is relatively difficult. Yet, not impossible to teach. If it is a large class of children, teacher is faced with a set of challenges. If it is a large class of adults, the teacher should surely expect another set of challenges. To give attention to all students in a large class, the teacher may do the following. 1. Arrive Early A teacher should arrive at least 5 minutes to time. This will enable him to build rapport by talking to students while they enter the class. Simple statements like ‘welcome’ is for the ears of the students. Once there is rapport, students feel that the teacher is interested in all of them. Especially hold or softly touch the shy students. This will go a long way by breeding a sense of belonging among students. Touching students should be based on the understanding of the culture. Else, a smile is enough. 2. Absent Students If a teacher has divided a large class into groups, it is easy to tell which students have turned up for class or not. A teacher should enquire of absent students. Students will take note that you have your attention on all of them. 3. Sensitive to students needs It is advisable that a teacher gives extra work to stronger students and then make time to attend to the needs of weaker students. While the stronger students are engaged, they will not be bored or feel neglected by the teacher because he/she is attending to other students. Also, all activities should be tailored according to the interests of the students. If students like dancing, activities should be more dancing than others activities. 4. Energy and Instruction Sometimes, students seating at the back do not feel that they are part of the classroom; especially if (1) the voice of the teacher is not of good projection and volume and (2) if instructions are not easy to understand. Though a large classroom seems complex to the eyes, it requires the opposite of teachers. It requires that a teacher is simple in all he/she does in the classroom. Especially a teacher’s instructions should be simple and easy to understand. For example “stand,” “sit.” Producing a good projection of sound at a good volume drains energy from the teacher. If a teacher’s instructions are not clear, he will be repeating and explaining over and over. Quickly the teacher loses energy and then fails to give attention to students because he is exhausted. No class requires simplicity of activities than a large class. 5. Class dynamics It is good if a teacher shuffles the seating positions of students with time so that students who need more attention are brought in the front. 6. Ability Grouping A teacher can divide the class into groups A, B, C, etc. From A to C is a decline in abilities to grasp the concept taught easily. Teacher then knows which materials are appropriate for groups A, B, C etc. 7. Choral Repetition A large class requires that a teacher uses choral repetitions often. This will encourage total class participation and weaker and shy students say along as the choral repetitions get interesting. A teacher will really suffer and be very ineffective if he/she wants each and every students in a large class to recite or read a sentence in turns. 8. Pairs and Group Activities A teacher faced with a large class should do a lot of group or pair activities. This gets all students involved and a teacher can attend to one group at a time while the other groups are working. Also, a teacher should select group leaders to help him distribute worksheets. When a teacher does the sharing, he/she easily skips over students; and it is not good for attention seeking students. 9. Publishing A teacher can use the drawings of each group as a wallpapers in the class. This makes each group members feel that the teacher cares about their efforts. 10. Smiles A teacher should smile at each and every student as often as his/her eyes see any student. In summary, to give attention to students, a teacher should manage his energy; be sensitive to needs of students; and do a lot of group work. Thank you. Yours, ELIKEM ATSU BANINI.