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Teach English in Gaoban Zhen - Chengdu Shi

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Gaoban Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Chengdu Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.

A short guide to teaching children online. To begin with there are a few differences between teaching online to teaching in a classroom. Distance is an obvious one, you will more than likely be in a different time zone to your student. Your classes will be small,either one to one, or a group of three or four. Lesson time will be shorter, thirty minutes to an hour. Lesson content will be small and simple. Tools. Some of the equipment may be new to you. For example, laptop, headphones, web camera, Skype, lesson planning programmes. Your laptop doesn’t have to be expensive but a good stable internet connection is a must. Be familiar with Skype, how to add contacts, create groups, share files etc. Headphones with a good microphone and noise cancelling ability would be good. You will be video chatting so having an external web camera could be an advantage. Environmental factors are important too, lighting, atmosphere, ambient noise. A range of other useful tools could for example include flashcards, objects like coloured wooden blocks, toys, books, hand held white board, cardboard smiley face or thumbs up, a puzzled face or an ooops sign. Facial expressions are also important. Smile, laugh, don’t give any sign of frustration. Tone of voice is also a key factor, remember you’re talking to young children. Communication. Establishing a good rapport with any student can be vital for a productive environment but can be difficult in the beginning with children. Talk to the student on their level. Simplify your sentences. Talk slowly and enunciate clearly. The use of stuffed toys or puppets can be very useful in eliciting a response. Smiling, laughing, song are all good techniques for getting the student talking. Don’t be afraid to clown around and make fun of yourself. Introduction examples. Hello my name is teacher Ian, today we will we talk about the letter M. ( wrong) Hello my name is teacher Ian. What’s your name ? (Correct) Don’t worry if you don’t get a response other than a nervous smile. Use your cards, show them a smile, ask them “ can you smile” Hand gestures are important. Wave when you say hello, point to your mouth when mouth when talking, cup your ear when your waiting for a response. Spend a few minutes on this, use a puppet, sing your name and the question. Give praise, a good job,high five or hand clap goes a long way to encourage a response. Teacher As with any teaching situation you must be prepared. Your lessons will either be planned for you or by yourself depending on the company you work for. Either way it is important to log on early, have your plan laid out and make sure you have all the necessary tools, props ready. You maybe teaching multiple lessons which are different so plan ahead, you may have limited time between each class. Be aware of what’s behind you in the room and try not to move out of sight of the camera. Adjust your vocabulary accordingly to the age and ability of the student. Use conversation to introduce the lesson goals. You can still have good interaction by using body language. Smile, laugh, use your hands to demonstrate what your doing. Time management Your lessons will usually focus on one or two simple things. Could be a letter, phonetic sound, colour, object etc. Take your time, talk slowly and clearly. Have a timer going or watch your lesson programme for when the next slide is ready. Resources There are a multitude of resources out there. From magazines, books to the vast number of internet web sites and YouTube videos. http://www.bushttp http://www.film-english.com/ http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learning-english/ VIPKID ( YouTube ) These are just a few I found in under 2 minutes. Potential problems You may not be able to solve all problems but you should be aware of them. Boredom is a big one with kids, keep your lessons fun and happy, use plenty of bright coloured props, use song and plenty of praise. Uncooperative will also be very common. Many young children will be shy and nervous. Again keep smiling, talk to them on their level. Don’t get discouraged and praise them. Use a reward system like a poster with their name on it and give them stars. Home issues. Not much you can do about this except be a friendly face and have a lot of patience. Not their idea to learn. Keep it fun and they may forget they would rather be elsewhere. Be creative and adaptive. Don’t show your disappointment or frustration. This concludes my advice for useful hints and tips, there are many more but I feel these are the key ones to remember.


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