Teach English in Deyuan Zhen - Chengdu Shi

Does teacher confidence affect students learning? A long existing saying tells us that “teaching is a noble profession” and it is often said that a teacher builds a nation. The influence and role of teachers can not be overemphasized and as such the quality of teachers is of great importance. It is said that one cannot give what he or she does not have and this is no less true about a teachers confidence as it relates to the students ability to learn effectively and how much they can progress in the learning process. The term ‘teacher confidence’ refer to that feeling and attitude of professionalism exhibited by a teacher in the classroom. A teacher should have great self worth in various areas as it relates to his job. First, he should have high esteem as in terms of his character. He should be one who the students know is confident about his character and attitude. Secondly, he (the teacher) should exhibit a high degree of confidence in his subject area too. Despite having the requisite qualification for his job, possessing confidence is a different thing as a teacher who is confident about his knowledge of his subject can better handle his students and class. When the term teacher confidence is used, in my opinion i strongly feel it discusses the situation where a teacher understands that he or she is required to show leadership to a group of people who have different cultural experience and exposure, knowledge base, different age group and different capabilities. Does the confidence level of a teacher affect his or her students and if yes how does this happen? From my point of view, I will strongly agree to the opinion that states that a teacher confidence level affects the learning potential of his learners and the following lines will explain why. A teacher with low self esteem when it concerns his subject area cannot be able to impact any worthwhile knowledge to his students. He will be scared to go into some topics as he is not sure what the outcome will be with the students. This will deliberately deny the students valuable knowledge. Secondly, a teacher with low confidence level in his or her self, can not confidently deliver lectures in ways that will ensure effective teaching and learning. I had a school teacher who I will describe as having a low self esteem about herself, it was so difficult for this teacher to stand boldly in front of the class and teach. She was so picky on the students and that made her less focused on impacting knowledge. She was always quick to accuse students of either laughing at her pronunciations, clothes, shoes or whatever than seeing that the students where learning what they should really be learning. Right now, I feel we wasted a lot of time being with that teacher. In addition, low confidence in teachers can create a difficult teaching environment for all. Students especially the teenage group can be naturally unruly as a result of their present developmental stage. It will take a confident teacher to understand this situation and then be able to control any classroom misbehavior and vices. Where a teacher is not able to understand this aspect of the teaching and learning process it can become difficult to help learners learn and improve. Lastly, teachers are to also serve as mentors to the younger ones. Trust me a less confident teacher would not and can not effectively serve as a mentor to his or her students and that essential service would be denied the students. I am a great example of what good mentoring students can result to. My English teacher back then in high school will always find time to sit me down and tell me about the great potential that I have and how far I can succeed. I kept those advises to heart and today I am opportune to also help influence other younger ones while serving as a teacher. Having looked at how teacher confidence level can affect the student, it will be worthwhile to outline some ways a teacher who is having that low confidence feeling can improve. Firstly, a teacher who wants to increase their confidence in class should dedicate more time planning for their class. This planning includes anticipating the challenges of any particular class, ensuring you're ready for lesson observations and potential situations that could arise and how you might deal with them. Secondly, a teacher who is suffering from low confidence in class should take out time to learn how to present a rich body language. A teachers body language says a lot! It affects how others see us, as well as how we see ourselves. A social psychologist Amy Cuddy argues that "power posing" that is, standing confidently, even if we don't feel it, can boost our sense of self-confidence and possibly have an impact on our chances for success. This will definitely put the teacher in charge of event that happen in the classroom. Also, be brave enough to come up with rules for your class and see that they are followed even by you. If for example you have students who are fun of leaving the classroom at unwarranted intervals, caution them and make a rule that abolishes such habit. Lastly, If you've been given some feedback that you deem to be negative, then use it as a tool to change. By acting on criticism instead of wallowing in it, you can turn a negative into a positive, helping you to not only build confidence but also really improve your practice. In conclusion, it is clear that a teachers confidence level can affect students learning and also obvious that any teacher who falls within that category of having low self confidence can bounce back and improve the situation by observing the four tips offered.