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Being a student can be difficult, especially in a language class that requires a significant amount of interaction/communication/participation. I remember the fear and anxiety of being put on the spot, my lack of proficiency being exposed. Along with this, the normal nervousness of interacting with people for the first time and having your capabilities tested by peers. I'm reminded that public speaking is oft cited as being generally unpleasant. I felt the same way, long ago. But during my second teaching stint in Japan, when I had the opportunity to teach a variety of classes, some with 40-50 students, effective course design became a necessity and I quickly had to develop methods to create a comfortable and motivating learning environment. In Japan, this can be a difficult task due to the cultural expectations and reluctance to express oneself. There are many other factors that play into this. Having taught many classes over the years, from the outset, my priority is to create a supportive and motivating place to learn and practice English. How can we do this? I believe it starts with establishing rapport. I try to take a sincere interest in the student's goals, and incorporate their interests into the lesson so they are learning practical English that will be relevant to their goals. One recurrent problem I've seen, apart from general reluctance to express ideas and opinions, has been the avoidance of making an attempt. Culturally, in Japan, there is quite a bit of emphasis placed on being prepared and not making mistakes, perhaps out of fear of embarrassing oneself. This is understandable. I think confidence is a central issue. So, my goal is to always create an environment that encourages participation and the expression of ideas. I do this by first eliciting useful vocabulary and simple grammar structures that everyone can use and tailor to their idea. Then, I'll provide a few examples, after which I'll give the students the opportunity to write their own ideas down. I will quickly monitor everyone's work, perhaps providing general corrections on the board so as not to single anyone out. Finally, we will go around the room and the students will give their answer. I also encourage follow up questions from other students. I find this quick warm up creates a good environment and signals to the students that they will be supported, which I think gives them confidence and motivates them to express their ideas freely. Class dynamics can be an issue sometimes, but by now I've learned how to effectively manage the class to ensure everyone feels comfortable. Recently, I taught a remedial university course, which presented a unique challenge. These were third year students who had failed the English course twice previously. Yet, they needed to pass the course in order to graduate. The class only had 6 students. I was informed that attendance would be an issue, as they had a limit of 40 absences; anything over that and they would automatically fail the course. So, my task was to create a course that would encourage them to show up! At the outset, my goal was to establish rapport; I thought that if they saw how invested I was in their successfully completing the course, perhaps they would feel accountable and that it would motivate them to show up and do the work. Incidentally, these were the same 6 students who had taken the same course last year. Having received pretty negative feedback from the previous English teacher, I expected that attendance might be sporadic. So, I made it my goal to find ways to motivate them and encourage regular attendance. I'm happy to report that 4 of the 6 students passed, and despite lower-intermediate English levels, received great scores on their final exams. I think you always remember the good teachers you've had and how much more motivating and enjoyable those classes were. When you have a teacher who seems invested in your success, it's very encouraging and I feel provides ample motivation to try your best. This is the kind of teacher I strive to be for my students.
