Teach English in Quanzhang Zhen - Yuncheng Shi

Teaching a language class has many difficulties. There are numerous obstacles that new teachers must face; one of which is learning how to minimize the instructor’s talking time. This is an issue that has many possibilities as to why it occurs. This includes nervousness, unpreparedness, or even possessing an exuberant personality. However, the problem that arises from talking too much in class is that it does not give the students the time to practice in a way needed for language success. This may not be what first comes to mind when thinking of teaching abroad, but my own personal experience with teaching English students gives me insight into the importance of allowing them the space to explore their new language. Practicing active listening, building the students’ confidence in themselves, setting up a student-student question and answer system, and enlisting conversation that is on the students’ language level are all ways that this can be achieved. Active listening is a skill that can help in work places where conversation is key to success. It relies on the individual who is listening to take in information from the speaker, and relay it back to the speaker in a different way. At first glance, this may not seem very important to a language learner’s growth, however, working with students from around the world has taught me otherwise. Many students come into the classroom feeling nervous, scared, or uncertain. By using active listening, the teacher reduces their talk time and encourages open dialogue among the students. In Business English, specifically, the teacher will not know all of the business terms there are in regards to the company they are teaching for. However, this does not have to serve as an obstacle. If the teacher utilizes this lack of knowledge as a way to generate conversation in the classroom, the situation benefits both parties. The student gets to practice their English, and the teacher gets to learn more about the students and their workplace. This skill will help produce a lasting experience in which the students are comfortable learning and working in an open atmosphere. In my experience, the teacher may feel an urge to talk frequently if their students are not engaging enough. However, this is can be a result of the student being apprehensive due to learning an unknown language.This can serve as a problem because much of learning English comes from having to take the time to practice speaking it. One way that I have gotten my students to participate, is to hone in on things that they do well. It can be one, or even a few, but it needs to be something related to their English speaking abilities that lets them know they are not failing. When I have done this, my students feel more comfortable engaging with me and their fellow classmates. The environment is centered on growth through positive feedback. When I have not done this, it has proved to be very difficult to engage my students. Overall, confidence helps the students to open up and join in the lesson. This approach takes the focus off of the teacher and allow students to flourish. The next strategy that has proven useful is providing students the space to ask each other questions. It is important to acknowledge that this is a method that can only be done within select cultures. If the culture acknowledges it as appropriate, the teacher can initiate dialogue between the students by instructing them to ask each other questions. Cases in which this would occur include: if they do not know the answer to a question I ask or are not comprehending a lesson point. Encouraging students to practice with someone who is on their level of understanding has proven, in my experience, to be successful in improving their comprehension and speaking ability.This acts as a growing experience for the teacher, who instead of playing the role of instructor, becomes the facilitator. This minimizes the teacher’s talk time, and gives the students space to engage fully with the English language. The last technique that would help the teacher decrease their talking time is introducing conversation topics that are interesting to the students and within their language level. If one knows the interests and hobbies of the students, they can ask about these things specifically. The key to drawing out the language from the students is using language that they already know and are comfortable with using. Many of my students are not fluent in English, but asking them simple questions allows them to explain to me how they view a specific topic. When they run into a problem, such as not knowing a word for something, I have them explain it to me in the best way that they know how. Then we define the word together. This aids them in building their vocabulary on their terms. This technique reinforces the translation process by letting the students develop definitions of new words with vocabulary they are familiar with. By effectively reducing the students’ reliance on the teacher for defining new words, the teacher’s talk time is limited. In conclusion, the best way to decrease teacher talk time is by making an effort to observe the students through empathy. Once this has been accomplished, the techniques I have outlined intuitively follow soon after. These methods are helpful when teaching Business English because this particular type of English can seem like a daunting task, but by practicing confidence building, active listening, setting up a dialogue through questions, and having conversations on the learners’ level, the teacher can encourage their involvement and speaking time.