Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Xili Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Zibo Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
In order to properly convey course material to his students, a teacher must be able to maintain a basic level of discipline and order in the classroom. Without this, chaos will rule and no matter how thorough his explanations of grammar or vocabulary, students will not walk away having learned anything. There are a number of ways to ensure your students stay on task and remain focused, and these go beyond merely being a strict teacher and reprimanding students at every turn. The first way to do this is to establish early on the tone of the class through your own presence. For this reason, it is important for the teacher to show up on time and to come prepared with your material so that the students can see that you are taking the course as seriously as you would like them to. In dressing the part, coming prepared with appropriate materials and handouts, and not wasting time trying to get devices up and running, students come to see that the teacher is at the helm of a well-oiled machine. Part of this also has to do with looking the part. A teacher that commands students’ attention does not show up in messy attire or looking like a slob. He or she speaks with authority and with enthusiasm and this sets the tone for the rest of the class. With that said, depending on the age of the students, it is possible that some disciplinary issues will arise. These should be dealt with sooner rather than later so that the others in the class can see that the behavior is unacceptable. To do this, it is best to speak with a disruptive student directly. In my own experience, I have found this to be the most efficient method. With that said, most disciplinary issues can be avoided provided that the teacher keeps the students engaged and does not allow time for minds to wander. For this reason, it is essential that the teacher create a multi-modal classroom in which the type of material being covered as well as the exercises themselves are constantly varied. A disruptive student is generally a bored student unless there is some kind of issue going on outside the classroom. If this is the case, the teacher does not have much control over this, other than speaking with the parents directly. But even the most disruptive student can be made to focus if the material presented is relevant and interesting. For this reason, it is crucial that the teacher select material that can speak directly to the student experience. For instance, if you are teaching a group of younger students it would not make much sense to show old silent films from the 40s and 50s. Instead, you would want to show recent films that can excite their imagination and pique their interest. It is also important to vary the types of activities done in the classroom to keep students on their toes. Sometimes students can work together in pairs, other times they should be working alone, and other times they can be together in large groups. Similarly, the layout of the classroom can change in order to keep them engaged. Students can work silently on worksheets, or come up to the classroom to present, or participate in debates that involve the whole class. With this multi-modal approach, the layout and style of the classroom is constantly changing, and this prevents the class from stagnating. These are a few ways to avoid having to discipline unruly students. In my opinion, it is the job of the teacher to present the material in a fresh, interesting way at every turn so that the students remain motivated and focused on the course.
