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As I stood at the chalkboard writing a list of vocabulary words, I heard the 6th graders talking in Fante. I tried to grasp the attention of the students, but I could not understand why they were constantly disengaged with the lessons. No one wanted to raise their hands when I asked questions and students would look at each other and try to explain my instructions to one another. I now realize that I made multiple mistakes after going through the information in the TEFL course. The TEFL course has acknowledged the many roles of a teacher that include organizer, assessor, prompter, and most importantly, a model for the students. Initially, I never quite considered the roles a teacher could play. But, as a future teacher, I think understanding these roles along with establishing the students’ language levels will help with planning potential lessons. It seems that understanding the student’s motivation, language awareness, and life experiences in English will also add to the depth and quality of lessons I can provide as a teacher. This information will allow for more suitable activities and lessons to address the major weaknesses and concerns that students have. The TEFL course has also demonstrated differences between good and bad lessons which allowed for crucial apprehension as to why my lessons in the 6th grade class did not go well. The biggest things in the videos that stood out to me were the varied student responses based on how teachers posed questions and the significant contrast when a teacher establishes rapport through using students’ names. As a result, the difference in whether or not students responded confidently and how they participated in activities were affected. For future lessons, importance should be emphasized on using student names at the end of a question and on establishing rapport to better teacher-student interactions. One major thing that the TEFL course provided was bringing the students’ perspectives. I had forgotten my own struggles as someone that was placed in the position of learning a second language. I now understand that as a student, I just needed more encouragement and confidence that I could succeed in the class; I realized that I had not provided enough encouragement for the students in my 6th grade class. At one point, I started a book with the students that was beyond college reading material, which I reflect upon now and realize was an inappropriate move on my behalf. I also had not built rapport from the very beginning. Although I had learned the students’ names, I never set out to understand the students in what they expected to gain from learning English. I should have done proper introductions from the start and diverse activities to engage the students for each lesson. Also, there were issues with my own confidence and positioning in the classroom. Naturally, students will not have much self-esteem in learning English if their teacher does not have confidence in their own teachings. I also realized that having my back towards the students a lengthy amount of time can cause them to feel a disconnect with the teacher. Through the TEFL course, I have understood how to manage classes through eye contact, gestures, voice, using student names, grouping students, and rearranging classrooms. It is important to lessen the amount of time my back faces the students by having other students write and writing only important points. I believe I would have presented better results with this information and the confidence I have obtained now. With what I understand now through the TEFL course, I have realized that having a rapport with the students, keeping their interest, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of students are important to successfully teach English. I intend to use the knowledge gained through this course and the format provided for lessons to organize and correct my methods when teaching students. Upon much reflection of my past teaching incidences, I have changed my thinking in how to approach teaching effectively.
