Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zhutai 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.
I have been helping teach American public-school children for several years now in a classroom environment. Several of the students I have had are English language learners or English is their second language. The joy of teaching children is a passion of mine and I grew a fondness for helping teach the English language learners. That is when I decided that I wanted to be able to do that more. Teaching children online is an option that seems fun and challenging, but how can I effectively teach children English online? The first thing I need to be able to do is form a bond with the child, or children, that I am teaching. Teaching a child online, or in person, requires the child to feel comfortable and secure. This helps with the initial motivation to want to learn English. In order to do this, I would spend our first class session just hanging out online, talking and getting to know each other. Sometimes acting goofy and joking around can help the child feel more at ease in a new situation or with a new person. After first assessing the child’s English level and getting to know them, I would create a lesson plan that would best suit where that child is language wise and what learning methods would benefit them the best. This would include using props of things that they are interested in, like cartoon characters or video game themes. I would use flashcards and posters or drawings to help physically show the child what I am teaching to them. While doing these lesson plans and games, I would be sure to ask plenty of questions to make sure that they are understanding. Using a tone that is pleasing to the child is helpful to keep their confidence. As well as changing tones to funny voices or sound effects to keep things fresh and amusing. I will also use gestures to convey what I am saying and help associate the lessons to other things. By making sure to use universal gestures that the child would be comfortable with and know, they can be more confident in what I am teaching and what they are learning. Giving praise to the child can help to boost their confidence while learning a new language. Distance learning can be hard and confusing at times, even for adults. By acknowledging the child and confirming that they are doing a good job or on the right track can help open up more, be less shy or nervous, and fuel the desire to keep learning. Constantly telling a child that they are doing it wrong is not going to make them want to log back into a classroom and could also damage future learning efforts. Online teaching can be difficult with children because you can form more personal relationships with them or be able to effectively see what they are writing or thinking as well as you could in a physical classroom. Planning assignments and homework that the child can have easy access to and be able to obtain materials where ever they are located is important. I would make sure that the assignments given during class time, as well as possible homework, are within the child’s capabilities while still being able to scaffold them higher. Homework would be thing that I could possibly email if needed, so the child could print off or complete online. Teaching English speaking children is already a difficult task on its own. Teaching children English as a foreign language ups the challenge. Furthermore, teaching English as a foreign language to children online can be very challenging. But the reward of satisfaction for the teacher and the opportunity for success of the child, that makes the challenge worth every second.
