Teach English in Hedian Zhen - Liaocheng Shi

Rapport occurs when meaningful relationships have been established between people or groups of people. It means that those involved in the relationship have come to a mutual understanding of some sort. Rapport in the classroom means that teacher and students have effectively managed to create a meaningful and respectful learning environment, where they learn from and with each other. Establishing rapport may differ depending on the age group. Adults, who have sought out English lessons themselves, have a different motivation than young learners who are enrolled in classes by their parents, for example. Although adult learners may have internal motivation, it is still important to understand their needs and learn about them and some of their interests in order to provide lessons which they will enjoy and in which they’ll be engaged. Learning the needs and interests involves rapport. Younger learners often need more external motivation in order to become engaged. Younger learners also need to know that their teachers care, not only about the language learning, but about them. When a teacher is able to establish rapport with a child, they are also demonstrating that they care about them individually, not only about the language. They are not there to simply pass on information. By getting to know their students, teachers open up to a variety of topics that they can work with beyond the book. When working one on one it can be easier to establish this kind of relationship because you only have one student to cater to, though topics may be more limited. Larger groups, however, are comprised of many different personalities and it is important to make sure that you are connecting to all students and that students are also connecting to each other. How then, can we establish rapport? Smile. Smiling automatically creates a connection. Show an interest in the students. Learn their names. This sounds simple, but depending on your class size and how many times a week you meet, it can be tricky. It also can be more difficult to learn their names correctly if you are teaching students who come from different cultures. A good way to learn their names and an introductory lesson for a “getting to know you” topic, can be a very simple throw the ball to each other activity where the one throwing asks “what’s your name” and the one catching answers “my name is…”. Another option is having them wear nametags. There are a variety of different things you can do with names that will add fun to the classroom. Young learners and adults can have fun creating anagrams of their names for the others to decipher. Take the time to ask about the students’ day or find out how they are. Besides being a way to ease into the language, it shows you care and gives you an insight into each one and the general mood for the day. Going hand in hand with this, it is important to be sensitive to their moods. We do not always know what is going on outside the classroom that can be affecting our students’ learning. This is especially true of young learners, but also not to be forgotten when teaching adults. Being sensitive to the overall mood and being able to be flexible in our teaching goes a long way in building a respectful relationship. Be aware of student needs. If the students have not grasped a language concept, avoid causing frustration and take the time to go over it again and again until they feel comfortable. There is no point rushing through it if you’re just going to have to go back to it again later. Again, allow for flexibility in your planning. Be yourself and have fun. Having fun in class has to be the number one rapport builder. Although some aspects of the English language can be daunting to even the most fluent of us, there is no reason to make it all boring. A class that has fun together can most definitely learn together. Allow the students to take over sometimes and come up with ideas for activities. There are times during class that the lesson has to be teacher centered and the teacher does the talking and directing of the class. There are other times, however, that the lesson can be student centered, allowing them more freedom to talk and create. Beginners will have a harder time and need more direction as they still don’t have enough receptive or productive language, but as students become more fluent, they can become more engaged in some of the decision making of the class Building rapport is an essential part of teaching. Once rapport has been established, trust and respect has been established. A trusting and respectful environment allows for flow and automatically takes care of some classroom management issues that could otherwise come up, permitting the teachers and students to do what they are there to do. When there is a mutual understanding about how the class works, it is easier to carry on from activity to activity and to work through issues. Rapport provides students with the confidence to learn and practice language in an non-threatening environment.