Teach English in Shidui Zhen - Weifang Shi

When teaching students you come to find out that they learn differently from one another. In order to keep the class structured but also make sure each student is getting the right amount of teaching is what you need to balance, after being able to cope with the task there are some valuable lessons learned that will help your teaching. After having a spot as a long-term substitute for high school students I was faced with the mission of teaching according to the students learning abilities. It was a good lesson learned for me but it also helped the class move at a good pace and left no students behind while others strived. There are numerous ways to keep the class balanced such as giving group activities, giving ongoing activities, and keeping a good rapport with students. The best solution for teaching classes of mixed abilities is to understand how each student learns and being able to bring something to the table that will help without isolating them from the other students. To keep students on task but also have them participating is to have the lesson structured in a way that the whole class is involved. Asking questions and keeping the students intrigued will give them all the opportunity to learn the language. Having the students aware of their language needs and what helps them learn best will also be a good way of balancing the class. Having the students in small groups while going over the lesson plan and keeping them in those groups to complete the activity will keep the class energetic and make sure no student is cast out. When pairing students you can put some of the stronger students with some of the weaker, giving individual help to the weaker student but also having the stronger student learn more by teaching or advising. Pairing stronger students together and vice versa also can help with more comfortable interactions between students. Group work can also help students feel less pressure when presenting in front of a whole class by themselves. Teamwork and responsibility is a valuable lesson learned for students when participating in group work. When working individually some students finish earlier and feel they are being held back while the others feel they are weak and stress about finishing. Group work is a great way to keep all students learning the language intrigued but also capable. Another good way to teach classes with mixed abilities is to give ongoing activities. The ongoing activities help when students finish earlier than others so they don't feel they aren't getting enough out of the class. A good example of an ongoing activity is a journal, giving the students something fun to write about after completing the original task. Keeping the ongoing activity fun or interesting will keep the students from feeling punished and also motivate students to get the work done. This strategy is good for motivating students while also keeping them excited about learning a new language. Building a good rapport with students and knowing their strengths and weakness will help teach as class of mixed abilities as well. Learning about the students, personalizing the lessons and activities, and having a relationship with them will help give them the most out of the course. Starting off by having students communicate what they are good at and comfortable with but also what they struggle with will help you gage the way you teach them. Letting students be involved and have a voice in what they are learning also gives them confidence in the teacher and want to learn more from the course. This also helps motivate the students more while giving them the knowledge of their capabilities and progress throughout. Learning a new language is hard and can get discouraging, keeping students engaged and comfortable will help balance the class. From previous experience and what I've learned from this course, teaching a class with mixed abilities is challenging but in return will improve my teaching skills. Having group activities, ongoing activities, and building a rapport with students is the best way to maintain a class of mixed learners. Keeping the class moving while not leaving students behind is most important when running a class. Giving the students opportunity to communicate their abilities and what they are capable of will help guide a teacher in keeping the class balanced. What is also important is keeping students comfortable in their learning environment and with the lessons. After taking this course I feel I am prepared to teach a class of mixed abilities.