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The Art In almost all of the things we do, there is always a particular style we adopt and possibly adapt to in executing it. How we sleep, how we brush our teeth, how we dress, how we walk, how we eat and how we sleep. The list goes on and there is possibly no complete correct way of carrying out each ‘task’. However, there is always a better way and this also highly depends on what kind of audience we have or who is on the receiving end. The Teacher As a student who can hopefully become a teacher at some point, I will most definitely try and find the most suitable teaching methods according to my style. However, it is also good for me to share my thoughts and opinions before having any real time teaching as this will allow me to see how far away I am from reality based on my common sense, thus allowing me to identify areas that needs to improvement. The Student(s) There are so many aspects that we need to consider when teaching, however, there are fundamentals that needs to be adhered to and without this it will only make the lessons less enjoyable. As a teacher we need to consider numerous factors, such as, the reasons why the students wishes to learn English, the level of English they are at, is this an individual or a class room of students, are the students more of an introvert or extrovert and so on. With these information we, as a teacher, are able to make an educated guess on the kind of method and style we need to use. Knowing more about the students allows us to possibly identify their personality patterns so we are able to focus on their attention, emotion, and values. Understanding these differences allows predicting the way learners react and feel about different situations. As teachers, just like all other educators, have to bear in mind that people differ consistently from each other in their preferences whether it’s the environment, their emotional attachments and there are ways we are able to process these information in order to make an assumption on what method is best used. But are classroom teachers always prepared to try matching their teaching styles with learning styles of their students? Do the teachers always remember to cater to different learning styles? I guess we sub-consciously adapt to different styles on different students, like how we speak to friends and strangers on the same topic may differ tremendously. Teaching an individual would differ vastly to teaching a group of students and no one student or class is the same as another. In saying that it is necessary and important for teachers to maintain a high level of patience as we are looked upon as a role model in what we are teaching. The Art of Teaching From a personal perspective, the Art of teaching really lies on the teachers’ instincts and be able to bring in a personal touch. The personal touch could be anything from being a motivational individual, entertaining, interacting directly with the students and empathy. With these teaching traits, I think it is of utmost importance that students find their lessons fun, interactive and personal. As mentioned early, there is no right or wrong way in teaching but there is always a better way than the way you are teaching and for teachers to improve it is always good to record yourself whilst teaching and take constructive criticism from both fellow teachers and students. So, the Art of Teaching is being able to find the best possible style that is specifically designed for each different class or individual student based on the teachers’ intuitions.
