Teach English in Rushanzhai Zhen - Weihai Shi

Teachers play the essential role of conducting classes, a role which includes responsibilities such as planning, distributing materials, explaining concepts, and keeping students disciplined and motivated to learn. Due to their central importance to creating and monitoring the learning environment, it is natural—and necessary—for teachers to direct many classroom activities. However, as I will explain below, this is not always the case, and there are several situations where students can best facilitate their own learning with some oversight from the instructor. As one might expect, there are indeed many instances where the teacher must conduct the class from the front of the room, so as to direct the students’ focus to the blackboard, to herself, or to some teaching object (such as a prop). Even when the teacher is attempting to engage the students in a class discussion, this is usually an activity that the teacher will initiate and then facilitate, even while being mindful of reducing teacher talk time (TTT). Additionally, teachers often begin the class by directing the attention of the students to herself, so that she can introduce that day’s topic (for instance, new vocabulary items), as well as explain class exercises that are to be conducted in that session. Thus, even exercises that require group-work or pair-work between students need to be explained beforehand by the teacher, so that they can be conducted properly, so as to guarantee effectiveness of the exercises. But this does not mean that the teacher need always direct the activities as they are being carried out; student often benefit from learning from one another, as well as making presentations to one another. As mentioned above, one such situation where students can benefit from directing their own activities is group-work. Although teachers should explain group tasks before students are assembled to begin the exercise at hand, it is the students who are responsible for carrying out the task, and learning from each other. In such situations, the teacher should monitor students, but it is essential that the teacher not hover over them, or interrupt them unnecessarily, because such behavior is likely to degrade students’ confidence and interfere with the learning process. For instance, even if the students are doing a group exercise that focuses on speaking, it is not in the students’ best interest for the teacher to point out every grammar or pronunciation mistake. Rather, the students should be allowed to gain confidence and independence through working together without the aid of the teacher. After all, it would be difficult for the students to genuinely converse if some third party were always interrupting them, thus defeating the purpose of the exercise. Similarly, pair-work requires both independence from the teacher, as well as interdependence between classmates; in such situations, the students are learning from each other, pushing each other forward, and supporting each other’s progress. Peers are better suited to such learning independent of an overbearing teacher. However, it is important to note that the teacher should continue to monitor students to ensure that they are properly conducting the pair-work activity. Finally, students may sometimes give presentations in class. In such situations, the presenting student typically stands at the front of the class, thus assuming the role of the instructor. Presentations help students to build confidence, as well as to feel in charge. The presenting student may be aided by the teacher if the student is struggling, but should otherwise be granted the same deference the teacher would expect in directing the class; after all, language learning is so often about confidence and encouragement, and students are, along with the teacher, in charge of their own learning.