Teach English in Yixing Zhen - Jinzhong Shi

Topic: Ways to encourage ESL students Title: Teachers Roles in Encouragement Ganli Demyttenaere To learn a foreign language can seem quite daunting, for any language, but I would imagine that learning English may seem particularly daunting for students without backgrounds in romance languages, those based on ancient Greek or Latin. A good teacher, however, can ease the fears of their students no matter how reluctant they may be. Even if ESL students are not reluctant to speak or participate in class it is important that they feel encouraged by their teacher. Students who feel that their teacher is not only teaching them but also personally excited by their progress may do much better, the primary way to demonstrate caring is through encouragement. Encouragement could come in many forms and begins even before the teacher steps foot in the classroom, from selecting the course materials to preparing for the class to the steps engage, study, and activate, all of the teachers' actions help students become more encouraged and better prepared for speaking English. Before a teacher begins teaching their students the materials a teacher decides to use will have huge impacts on the class itself. Sometimes teachers are provided with a course book that they must teach with and perhaps they will not be given anything at all. The teacher must decide how much of the book, if given, they will rely on, and if they do not want to use the book or do not have one, what material to give the students. If a teacher does not set their students up for success, equally, they will not be encouraged. For example, if a teacher is going to be teaching a group of young learners who have little to no experience, a teacher should not choose to rely mainly on authentic materials as the students will not be at a level where they can fully comprehend the text much less decipher some of the words from it. However, the teacher should also not rely mainly on the coursebook, since the odds are high that the book may not be entirely suitable for the students, whether that is because it is outdated, speaks to a general audience instead of specifically to the demographics of students being taught, or even just because the students do not enjoy it. A good teacher will have thought about the ways in which they will teach the class, such as using a blackboard, whiteboard, or even an overhead projector which will further diversify the class and add to coursebook learning. If the school is only providing one of these tools, or if the teacher is able to decide between a few options, either way, they must ensure that they are utilizing the tools given to their greatest potential for the greatest benefits for the students. A teacher should look for a combination of materials for a student, created or authentic, using the tools provided be it blackboard or interactive whiteboard, which will best serve the needs of their students, and further encourage their language learning desire. Encouragement within the classroom is crucial, and a delicate balance with correction must be kept. Teachers can do this in a variety of ways, one of the first would be to follow the steps of Engage, Study, and Activate (using whichever plan suits them, Straight Arrow, Boomerang, Patchwork) because they inherently place interaction and variation into the lesson. By creating variation in the lessons teachers provide their students with different activities and learning styles which may be better suited for them, or not. If a student is struggling to understand grammar, they may feel extremely frustrated, however during an activate stage maybe they can better grasp the subject through the activity. Another way to encourage students may be through progress testing, by using shorter more frequent tests, students may see higher scores which encourage them to continue to do well. I one of the best ways of encouraging students is to ensure lengthy activation stages with free or creative speaking activities, because students who are too shy will need to speak (especially if you are using techniques such as pair or group work etc.) and may lose some of their fear of speaking if there is little correction, other students will be able to practice using English, which may not happen much in their day to day lives. It is important that a teacher sets their students up for success in the activity by ensuring preparation, practice and good feedback all of which will naturally encourage students. Students who receive more encouragement will do better, and being an encouraging teacher starts with caring about the students. If the teacher is invested in their student's success, they will receive far more encouragement as each lesson will be carefully planned out, and enjoyable for the students. Of course, there will be bad days, students may misbehave for any number of reasons, but if the teacher has a positive outlook, maintain their cool and can use their body language and classroom management skills to maintain behavior then students will respond accordingly, especially if they have a good rapport. Correction is necessary for students to learn the language, but encouragement comes not only from compliments but also from success which the teacher can provide by allowing students their time to shine, be it from high scores on tests (obviously not compromising the difficulty of the test), creative speech dialogues, or just succeeding in difficult areas. Teachers play a vital role in their student's success, being an encouraging teacher also means being an invested one.