Teach English in Landi Zhen - Qingdao Shi

You’re in a foreign country and teaching English to students and whether you’re at a training institute or public school, this is just an overall perspective for teachers teaching different age groups. As teachers we’re faced with many different challenges about students and their needs for the English language, especially those who don’t necessarily speak the language to begin with. Being a part of various differences like cultural background, adapting to teaching methods and finding balance with your teaching style to suit your class, is always an essential step in your teaching career. At one point in my teaching career, I came across class dynamics... You always have to try and stay levelled and consistent in your performance. As a teacher you have to be patient and calm, and try to make your students feel as important as possible and the content you are teaching is exciting and keeps your students enthused and wanting to keep learning. (This is specifically within a training institute teaching children from ages 6-9 but I do feel each class needs enthusiasm from the teacher, regardless of age group). You constantly have to find new ways to make your classes come to life by doing research and use those resources to suit your classes (finding creative materials, cutouts and fun innovative games is a big help). You have to be able to take note of your student’s performances, your students understanding and where their strong and weak points are. The best solution I have noted, with student performance was an overall content test. The content test can cover all the work covered thus far. The students can take tests within monthly periods or, over half the year of the content taught. It is always a good way to see which of your students have paid attention, done their homework and tests help a teacher get a closer insight on student pronunciation, as well as their learning talents. Getting your students to say the word correctly is also a valid pointer and should be part of teaching English. I’ve also seen on many occasions that teaching with a strict focus on a lesson plan, won't necessarily always go according to the way it is on paper. If faced with certain challenges in the classroom changing up the way you engage with the class can be a great way to see student reactions. As a tip, prepare and improvise where necessary. Improvising for example: if a class doesn’t go according to the way you intended to, switch it up with alternative gameplay. Have a backup plan. There comes a time that students performance (whether they perform poorly or excel) needs addressing. The teacher will share the information with parents. If the students are higher grade classes or older students (adults) telling them their performance directly is suitable. Keeping a record of this will surely help the teacher discover which learners need the help. Teaching is rewarding and can be a fulfilling career choice. It does take dedication and some backbone but if your personality is lively and have a good way of using your vocal, then it can be a very great career choice. Final point to note: When it comes to discipline, always try out various classroom rules that will benefit your class. From experience, I have seen that discipline with younger kids could be used in the form of a point and reward system. You give rewards but they can also take them away if students misbehave. Find a method that works. With older kids, usually, it’s more a relaxing environment, but they can have their moments. Overall with older kids, give them a chance to take part and communicate with them on a level that they understand (find a balance)- also pointing out that in class students must listen and pay attention. That’s it. Time to put teaching shoes on and get ready for class!