Teach English in Songbǎi Zhen - Rizhao Shi

From my experience, teaching beginner students can be one of the most rewarding and challenging experience for any teacher. In this essay, I would like to put my perspective on what any teacher, experienced or not, can stumble upon when teaching students that have absolutely none or insignificant level of English. One of the greatest advantages of teaching beginner students is that most of them have no previous English learning, and so are keen on having fewer errors when it comes to pronunciation for example or grammar understanding. Therefore, beginner students are like a blank sheet of paper that a teacher can write on. This advantage can be, however, one of the greatest disadvantages, because such students have no foundation a teacher can build on, therefore it is the role of a teacher to build this foundation first. That can be in essence a challenging task, because many factors have to be considered, such as – age, social background, motivation, and willingness to learn and make mistakes. Another point that has to be mentioned is that beginner students are usually of younger age (most of the time kindergarten students or first grades of primary school), and thus the classes can be more active not only for the students but the teacher him/herself. Games, activities, tasks; all of these can appear more appealing to students who have possibly no want to learn English to begin with, and make a TEFL class more lively. On the other hand, such classes need far more preparation from the teacher, as compared to those, where basically any teacher can walk into the classroom, pick up a book, and teach grammar. Not to mention, that these classes tend to be a lot more tiring. Looking at beginner students from different perspective, one can also point out, that beginners need completely different approach when learning as compared to advanced students. With this in mind (and especially considering that most of the TEFL classes appear outside of English speaking countries), one large disadvantage can be the language barrier. Any good TELF teacher will try to use the least amount of native tongue in the class, as the students tend to pick up a trend, where they not only don’t have to think in English, but also often turn to “easier” part of learning, where the teacher translates everything to them without even trying. This is rarely ever present in the advanced classes, as the use of native tongue is almost unnecessary, since only very hard words or idioms need translation. While all above can be true for many teachers (and classes), one can also turn this disadvantage into his or her advantage – many complicated words or sentences can be turned into a playful experience, where, for example, students guess the meaning of the word that is mimed or acted. Last, but not least, the beginner students can pose biggest “threat” to inexperienced teachers, because while the advanced students usually already have a process of learning language behind them, beginner students are completely reliant on their role model, which a teacher presents. Therefore, there is far less room for mistakes within beginners’ classes, as one mispronounced word can stay with the students for quite some time, and might need correction later on, which might prove difficult. In my own experience, beginner classes are always hard and require far more extensive preparation, as opposed to those, where I simply walk into the classroom for adults that only want to practice their oral English. On the other hand, it’s far easier for me to win hearts of the kids while making the class vivid and active, incorporating many games, elicitation, and activities in order to keep the students entertained and active. Although I prefer older students with some English background already, I can never say no to a beginner class either.