Here are 10 of the top secrets that will help you turn your first-time students into raving fans;
When interacting with someone that is stone-faced and one that is smiling, which one do you feel more drawn to?
It is natural, smiling stirs up a positive environment that makes learning more exciting. When you smile while teaching, your students become more relaxed and receptive to what you are teaching, realize that you are interacting with foreign students who might have never interacted with a foreign teacher like you. When you smile, you make them feel at ease.
It is also important that you have a friendly attitude so that the smile does not come off awkwardly. Bear in mind that you are teaching say children or adolescents who look up to you – and the best way to get on the right foot with them is to start with a friendly tone.
Before you can get started with the class, you need to learn the students' English-speaking abilities. This will go a long way in helping you adjust your lesson plans to fit their abilities and needs. The last thing you want is to spend a whole class getting a student with low abilities to read and master Shakespeare.
You might be wondering, "how then can I assess their English-speaking abilities?”
The best way you can get to know their abilities is to engage your students in simple conversations and questions at the beginning of lessons– how are you? What is your name? Where do you come from? How old are you?
If they are too shy to respond to these questions, then the chances are that they don’t understand the English language at its basic level. This means that you need to adjust your lesson plan to fit their abilities. Some of the tips you can employ for students at this level include;
This is one of the best ways to help students with lower abilities –,, especially young students. If you are teaching Korean students, for instance, you can repeat the word Zebra at least three times. Also, make sure that they repeat the word three times.
One thing you must bear in mind when teaching ESL is that repetition is key. You must cultivate it and make it a habit. It helps students to remember what you just said – helps them to stick.
Remember that you are teaching students who probably have never used English before. If you are going to help them master the language, you must be able to speak slowly to help them grasp the pronunciation of words better.
As a native or someone fluent in English, you may be used to getting another person's quick mumble. However, when it comes to online students, you must tone it down so that they get what you are saying and can copy the way you pronounce words – correctly.
One mistake most online ESL teachers make is repeating things over and over again, even when the students have already mastered what they are saying. This can make the class boring. If you ask them questions around that, you can gauge their mastery and determine the need for repetition or not.
We are human, and we all enjoy a little bit of praise every so often. When teaching an online class, praising your students when they respond to questions correctly goes a long way in helping their motivation to learn more. Even if it is online, you can give them a high-five whenever they impress you.
This will not only make them happy but also comfortable learning from you. It will grow their eagerness to work harder to impress you more. When praising them, you must say their names a lot – to build a strong connection with them. Tell them things like, “Well done, Cheng, you are doing a brilliant job.” English is indeed a tough nut to crack, and when they show progress in the right direction, it is worth applauding their efforts.
No one wants a class that is flat out dry – no jokes at all. When teaching concepts in class, it is important that you throw in-jokes that will make the students laugh. You must bring a little bit of comedy into the classroom. Realize that students will be using what you teach them outside the class, and the last thing you want is to make them feel as though they are in a school.
Bring in educational jokes that will spice up the lessons and make them look forward to when you have the next class. Take a minute to picture yourself as a TV presenter for a kids’ show. What is it that kids love most – whacky and outrageous acts. You can make faces and bring on funny voices. The last thing you should worry about is being silly. Notice that the sillier you are, the more the students enjoy learning what you teach.
Think of humor as your way of embracing the inner-child in you.
Remember that you are not giving a lecture – like in colleges or universities. You must bear in mind the age group of your target audience. If they are young children, props are some of the fantastic tools to keep them engaged and bring fun into the classroom.
Whenever you notice their minds wandering about, bring out a prop. Some of the greatest props you can use include;
This is a great wat to bring shy students out of their cocoons. If they are hesitant to interact with you freely, the chances are that they will interact with your monkey pal or your talking tiger. All you have to do is find a puppet, give them a name, a silly voice, and make them real. When teaching various concepts in English, such as greeting, they make the best examples of teaching basic English.
Children love music. Identify one nice and catchy song to use when teaching them how to make phrases memorable. Simply come with a ukulele and sing. It does not matter whether you are musical or no. What matters is that you make the concepts fun for the students to learn.
These are some of the brilliant visual encouragements you should use in class to encourage your students to respond. Whenever a student sees a gold star as a reward, it motivates them to work extra hard for more gold stars. The best way you can encourage your students to speak interactively during the online class is if there is a reward that awaits them.
Encourage them to be interactive by being yourself. When your students realize that you are authentic, they will connect with you more. Using props makes it even easier.
Have you ever heard of ‘incidental language?’ Well, as an online teacher, you must minimize the use of incidental language as much as possible.
Let us consider the following example;
“Let us move on to the next topic.”
This is a phrase most teachers like using in class – mostly referred to as incidental language. The problem with using such phrases is that students don't understand this type of phrase. Therefore, try as much as you can to avoid using it because it does not add any educational value.
So, how do you get your students to use The Total Physical Response (TPR)?
First, the foundation of TPR is an over-exaggeration of body language. For instance, if you want your student to say, "This is an apple,” you could use your hands. In other words, you can simply cup your ears using your hands and hold them close to the screen.
This gesture will tell the students that you would like them to speak. On the other hand, if you want your students to draw a circle in the air, simply demonstrate that in the air. When you use this technique, you avoid confusing students.
In short, use more of TPR, and less of incidental language.
At the end of the class, you must leave your student's helpful feedback on how they did during the lesson. You must use their names when giving feedback – this will strengthen your connection with them.
Praise them for the good job they did, but don't omit the things they found challenging. When you mention to them their weak points, be sure to include ways they can improve upon. During the next class, those are the things you need to look out for. This will not only help your students want you teaching them more but also demonstrates to the parents that their children are making positive progress.