TEFL White House Tennessee

From this course I have learned how to be clearer in giving instructions. I have learned that vocabulary is just as important as grammar and yet is harder than I had imagined to introduce and teach to students. As a practicing english teacher, the grammar units were mostly review, but it was nice having all of the information summarized in such a clear manner. I had not considered the difficulty with pronunciation that some Asian countries have, especially with the “r” sound. Knowing this difficulty, I can make adjustments to my speaking, making sure that I clearly articulate my words without placing unnatural emphasis on sounds during normal speech. I had not considered that classes would have different needs because they are approaching the learning of english for different reasons. When I learned spanish in high school, it was because I wanted to and we spend two years learning vocabulary and simple phrases. I do not want my students spending that amount of time doing such disconnected tasks. Vocabulary does need to be taught, but unlike how I learned it in high school, it needs to be taught in the context of use. Grammar must also be taught in context. Without having a purpose to the use of the language, the skills taught are only remembered until an assessment, and then forgotten to make room in the brain for a new selection of disconnected information. I must provide context so that students can see how the words and grammar are used together to form a cohesive language, not tourist sound-bytes. Lastly, I learned that my teaching style is not as productive as I would like it to be. As a teacher, I have been lacking the “engage” phase during the standard lessons that I teach. I believe it is this lack that has caused my students to disengage and be bored with many of the curriculum required tasks. As I continue teaching, whether it by in my current classroom or in a tefl classroom, I must find ways to get the students' interests and relate the materials to the students' lives. This will improve student performance because they will retain material more if they can see how it is relevant and useful. As students retain more material, their overall understanding of the subject will improve, assessment scores will improve, and, I believe, discipline issues will decrease because students will no longer be acting out due to boredom.