Teach English in Port Blandford - TEFL Courses

There are two key factors that influence a teacher's confidence in the classroom: Attitude and preparation. The teacher should have a positive attitude. He/ she should extinguish any negative thoughts and believe that he can do it. He should not put pressure on himself to be a perfectionist – everyone makes mistakes – you just have to be able to laugh at them. He should see himself as the one in charge and not the one being judged. Attitude and posture go hand in hand. The teacher should stand up straight, shoulders back, chest out and SMILE! This seemingly insignificant gesture sends endorphins through the body and a feeling of confidence-to the audience and to the teacher's body. This will have a bearing on ‘how the words come out'. Being confident or at least appearing confident is a product of itself, as it transmits to the students a sense of security which is then, in the form of their positive participation, transmitted back to the teacher. At the end of the day students are not there to judge, but to learn. So teachers should not be worried about what they look like or but should focus on what they are teaching. Hence, the better prepared a teacher is, the more confident he can be. The lessons should be “well thought out and focus on a particular teaching point with activities to stimulate the students and should elicit the targeted language in a real-life situation. Above all, they should be interesting enough to keep the students engaged” (according to instructors at Via Lingua, tefl international.) So the teacher must plan at least the initial 10 – 15 lessons meticulously, using a lesson plan template and developing the programme in a logical way. The teacher must plan plenty of materials which should be creatively put together. The teacher should bear in mind students' interests and incorporate these into the lessons. Current and appealing material should be used. A high proportion of student-student interaction should be incorporated, as this usually goes down very well with students. The teacher must be sure to be able to explain language points very clearly. For particularly shy or unconfident teachers rehearsing or practicing in front of a mirror is useful, taking time to practice pacing himself when speaking, relaxing breathing and connecting with the audience by making eye contact and smiling. Other factors, such as talking to colleagues for advice and support and asking the students for feedback can give a teacher's confidence a boost. In conclusion, a teacher's confidence will be increased if he sees that the students are responding in a positive way. The students will respond in a positive way if the teacher gives confident and positive vibes. So therefore a teacher, who needs to increase confidence in the classroom, should work on his attitude and content of the lesson plans and materials prepared.