Teach English in Heluo Zhen - Yantai Shi

In order to be effective and efficient in a classroom, teachers need to have different skills. But among all of them, teachers definitely need one to make the best use of all the others: confidence. However, being in front of a live audience and having to deliver can be quite overwhelming and intimidating. No matter how skilled teachers can be, if they lack confidence they can never reach their full potential or even worse, they might not even be able to be acknowledged as good teachers. Indeed, confidence is a key skill to convey the message to the students. They will not feel that the teachers know what they are doing if they are not confident in the classroom. So, how can teachers increase their confidence in the classroom in order to become more efficient? I will develop my reflection on four notions; preparation, communication, observation and practice. By experience, I have found that a key to gain confidence in the classroom is to be well-prepared. Preparation is of the utmost importance as it allows teachers to have a guideline as how to conduct their lesson, it helps to anticipate the eventual problems that might occur during the lesson and it gives a strong base for a successful lesson. Planning starts with the syllabus. It should be clear, thought out to meet the needs of the course and realistic in terms of content for the amount of time allocated to the course. Other than the syllabus lesson plans are highly important for teachers to build up confidence. Knowing that everything is planned and the content is set usually brings a certain peace of mind that is necessary to feel confident in what needs to be done and how it has to be done. To prepare more thoroughly, it is important to review the lesson plan before the lesson starts. Teachers should make sure that they can explain the vocabulary that students might not know and find difficult, and if not, look up for a clear and simple definition. After all, it is easier to conduct a successful lesson when being confident in the lesson plans. If preparation is a key, so is communication. It helps to build cohesion in the teaching team, but it is also a useful way to learn from experienced teachers. It is a good idea to ask coworkers for tips on how to manage a class, how to introduce and explain new grammar and vocabulary to students. Indeed, not knowing how to do these contribute to the lack of confidence as it may lead to students not understanding and therefore losing control of the class and confidence. Coworkers have also probably experienced the same problem regarding self-assurance in the classroom, and they might have a solution to overcome it. However, talking is not the only way to learn from others’ experiences, teachers might as well want to observe their peers in their classroom, and see how they conduct their lesson and how they face issues occurring in class if such thing happens. The observation should be active. While doing so, it is important to take notes on how the other teacher is managing the lesson, to look at students and how they react, and to think of what they can use and adapt to their own teaching style. Unarguably, teachers should be themselves and have their own teaching style in order to feel comfortable teaching, therefore some adaptation is necessary when taking techniques from others. To adapt coworkers techniques to one’s own teaching style, and to make sure that the lesson plans are flawless, practicing before the actual lessons is also an effective way to gain confidence when the time to teach comes. As the saying goes “practice makes perfect”, thus practicing in front of family or friends, even if it is not exactly the same, can help to get familiar with the lesson and an outside eye can also highlight problems that might have been overlooked while planning. Rehearsing works for performers and so does it for teachers who are performers to a certain degree. Conducting a lesson in a classroom can be quite intimidating and probably most teachers, at some point of their career, have felt lack of confidence while teaching. It is most likely inevitable to go through this phase as we set out on the journey to become teachers. As we strive to become the best self possible, and we keep trying to improve and overcome the different obstacles in the classroom, we can see that there are ways to surmount that feeling. This becomes experience, and thanks to it teachers can increase their confidence in the classroom.