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Being a teacher is not always easy job, especially when it comes to this area of managing the class and ensuring order and discipline among your students. Many of the obstacles teachers encounters can arise from many directions like from among the students, parents, administrators, or with the many roles etc... Many times, this means dealing with a variety of problems in the classroom, many of which are all too common occurrences. A good teacher must be able to recognize these common problems, and work to find solutions. Even a small tweak in the teaching methods can help to create a more productive and casual environment for both the teacher and the students. The following will outline some common classroom problems faced when teaching English as a foreign language. The students can become overly dependent on the teacher. Many times, students will automatically look to the teacher for correct answers instead of trying themselves. If the teacher obliges 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, it's important to encourage students to use English, and only English. However, if students begin conversing in their first language, the teacher should at least move close and ask the students direct questions like "do you have a question?" Another idea is to establish a set of class rules and develop a penalty system for when they use their first language. For example: if someone is caught using their first-language three times, have them recite a poem in front of the class in English. the students become defiant and a distraction to others. This usually happens and will happen, no matter what, in every classroom. If the entire class is acting up, it may 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. The Students "hijack the lesson" this is when the lesson doesn't go where you want it to. When teaching English as a foreign language, you can always count on students hijacking a lesson. To some extent, this can be a good thing. It shows that students interest, 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. Sometimes 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. The Students 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 looks 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. As to conclude, I believe the best way to be able to overcome all these issues and still do your job well is reminding oneself of the goal of teaching. Usually being able to stay awake and be interested in class can be very tough but it is very essential. And again, what's even more difficult is being responsible for keeping students awake and interested. This is the job of an ESL teacher first and foremost. 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.
