Teach English in Caoyankou Zhen - Yancheng Shi

Managing a class ultimately begins with the class dynamic which is directly affected by the attitude and mannerisms of the teacher. A teacher’s attitude needs to be positive and encouraging at all times, to motivate learners, to be lively, to be patient and be able to correct students only when necessary without hindering the confidence and wellbeing of the students which in turns leads the student to withdraw from lessons more. The teacher must be able to facilitate a lesson in all aspects of teaching and learning whether it is promoting students or managing a fun activity, you need to be able to deal with surprises and have backup plans to any problems that may arise. A teacher needs to be a consistent model to the students that can be trusted and confided in so that any individual problems faced by learners which have by some chance not not been recognized do not simply go unnoticed, and so the learners feel the teacher is approachable and has established sufficient rapport within the class. A class will be far easier to manage if a teacher has made a concerted effort to familiarize themselves with the local culture of where they are teaching. This can help to understand why people do certain things and not mistake a cultural issue with a discipline issue. Managing the class is also affected by the methods of teaching by the teacher and how effective they will prove to be for a particular group of people, so it is important to try and get to know each student individually. Students must always be actively engaged in a lesson so they do not lose interest and become restless and begin causing problems, this means it is important to always keep the lessons varied and interesting to captivate the students and keep them involved at all times, this can be done by reducing teacher talk time and get the students participating and finding new language in their own etc. or with role play and games, lesson planning becomes vital in this aspect. Managing a class can be helped with little things such as eye contact to prompt or deal with a student causing problems, using gestures to bridge the gap between the students native tongue and English, as well as the most obvious choice being your voice to manage projection and tone in various situations. Managing the class is also made easier or more difficult depending on the classroom arrangement, although this may be difficult sometimes with regards to available space and resources in the classroom, the classroom should be arranged in a way that benefits that group of students the most and is compatible with the personalities of the students, since every method has advantages and disadvantages. Learning students names, establishing rapport and giving clear instructions in simple English will all aid the class management. Becoming familiar with the students will make it easier to give individual support where needed. It is highly important for the teacher to be an example of what is expected, so punctuality, fairness, preparation and varied lessons are necessary to maintain a healthy relationship with students and maintain a positive working environment. The important thing in a TEFL classroom is always to maintain your composure. Keep calm and always have backup plans, give the students the necessary respect and plan lessons in a manner that will entertain and benefit students. Know your material and your students, learn what their aspirations and goals in the English language are in order to conduct your lessons in a productive way. Discipline is managed in a way that is in compliance with the school rules, but is also clamped down on more in the beginning and then gradually loosened up on if necessary because it is more difficult to gain control of a class later in the course than in the beginning.