1. Be friendly, but not too friendly
I’ll be the first person to own up to this far too common mistake. When I first began teaching ESL I was quite happy to be the ‘fun guy’ always laughing and playing games, never taking lessons too seriously. Little did I know I was setting myself up for a disaster! Later on when I was left on my own in the classroom and students were getting a little, rowdy I shall say. I tried and tried to get them to settle down but it just didn't work as they didn't take me as a teacher. I was one of them, but not in a good way.
These days I take a different approach, I’m friendly and fair but also follow a strict set of rules, that when broken a punishment is served. Nothing too serious but for the younger students, losing a sticker from the front page of their book or taking away their chair for 2 minutes is as bad as anything!
So being friendly and being a friend are two very different things!
2. Consistency is king
One of the biggest mistakes I see here in China is when teachers lack consistency. Not in teaching or class standards but in class structure and discipline. When teaching young children it’s easy to forget how much they pick up from you. Because of this we need to ensure we’re teaching them the right way to behave. The only way we can do this is by being consistent with our rules and discipline.
This means that no matter what mood you happen to be in that day, whether it be happy, sad or even a bit cranky; rules are rules and they’re there for a reason. For example, in my classes I have a stand up/sit well rule. The rule is simple, stand up without asking and you lose a chair. However, if I think you are sitting particularly well, you will be rewarded with another chair. Simple, yet effective.
Again, using this rule as an example, no matter who the student or what exercise we’re doing at that time if a student is standing when they shouldn't be they lose a chair. You’d be amazed how badly they want that second chair!
On the other hand however, don’t be too hasty when dishing out the discipline. You can’t take it out on them just because you’re having a bad day. Be reasonable and firm when it comes to discipline in class.
3. Prior preparation and planning…
This is one of my most important laws of teaching that I stick to religiously. Time and time again I see people putting 5-10 minutes in to a lesson plan and then wondering why the students aren't enjoying their classes. A good plan should take longer than the intended class. At the moment I’m teaching 9 classes a day at 3 different levels. This therefore requires 3 different lesson plans a day. Tiring work. For a 30 minute class I will typically spend 45 minutes to an hour on the initial plan (choosing the topic and points to cover each day) and then a following 20-30 minutes for the following classes in that topic.
Once I've made my plan I have complete confidence and peace of mind when I walk into that classroom that my class will be a success.
There have been times where I thought to myself “30 minutes…I can handle that, no plan today” as soon as I walked into that classroom I regretted it. The students pick up on a poorly organized class and their attention immediately drops and they start talking among themselves.
So now, planning is law. I can’t go to bed unless all my classes for the next day are ready and planned to perfection.
4. Blabbering on
As an Englishman I can be known to go on and on till the cows come home. This is why I need watch my TTT and STT (Teacher/Student talk time). So, how can we know when we have been talking too much? A simple question will sort that out. At times you have no other choice than to talk, so what I tend to do is pop a quick question into what I’m saying to check that the students are tuning into what I’m saying. Then once I've finished what I’m talking about I will set up a discussion among them to get them sharing ideas and talking in English.
Be aware of how long you are talking for and make sure the whole class in interacting with you, practice makes perfect after all.
5. A lesson taught is a lesson learnt, right?
Wrong. In order to make the lesson sink in it’s vital that you add a review to your plan so that for 5-10 minutes you can review what you taught last lesson. It’s quite easy to slip into the habit of only hearing the voices of your best students and begin to hear less from the less advanced students. Well it’s likely that they are beginning to get left behind.
The chances are that these students will like you just as much or if not more than the more advanced students but just can’t show that in class as they aren't as gifted or don’t review as much at home. So it’s your job to make sure you pick up on that and listen to the whole class, slow things down and be fair to everyone. Once you do this your classes will be more interactive as the whole class can pitch in and move forward together.
Not only this but you will find that when you take the time to help out and review with the lower level students they begin to enjoy learning English and start to catch up with the others and this gives you a sense that your really making a difference to these kids! No feeling can compete with that in my opinion!
So, Try your best to avoid making these common mistakes in class and always strive to improve you classes! For more on teaching in China join our Network and become part of our team. Check below on how to get the latest and up to date info on teaching in China.
I’ll be the first person to own up to this far too common mistake. When I first began teaching ESL I was quite happy to be the ‘fun guy’ always laughing and playing games, never taking lessons too seriously. Little did I know I was setting myself up for a disaster! Later on when I was left on my own in the classroom and students were getting a little, rowdy I shall say. I tried and tried to get them to settle down but it just didn't work as they didn't take me as a teacher. I was one of them, but not in a good way.
These days I take a different approach, I’m friendly and fair but also follow a strict set of rules, that when broken a punishment is served. Nothing too serious but for the younger students, losing a sticker from the front page of their book or taking away their chair for 2 minutes is as bad as anything!
So being friendly and being a friend are two very different things!
2. Consistency is king
One of the biggest mistakes I see here in China is when teachers lack consistency. Not in teaching or class standards but in class structure and discipline. When teaching young children it’s easy to forget how much they pick up from you. Because of this we need to ensure we’re teaching them the right way to behave. The only way we can do this is by being consistent with our rules and discipline.
This means that no matter what mood you happen to be in that day, whether it be happy, sad or even a bit cranky; rules are rules and they’re there for a reason. For example, in my classes I have a stand up/sit well rule. The rule is simple, stand up without asking and you lose a chair. However, if I think you are sitting particularly well, you will be rewarded with another chair. Simple, yet effective.
Again, using this rule as an example, no matter who the student or what exercise we’re doing at that time if a student is standing when they shouldn't be they lose a chair. You’d be amazed how badly they want that second chair!
On the other hand however, don’t be too hasty when dishing out the discipline. You can’t take it out on them just because you’re having a bad day. Be reasonable and firm when it comes to discipline in class.
3. Prior preparation and planning…
This is one of my most important laws of teaching that I stick to religiously. Time and time again I see people putting 5-10 minutes in to a lesson plan and then wondering why the students aren't enjoying their classes. A good plan should take longer than the intended class. At the moment I’m teaching 9 classes a day at 3 different levels. This therefore requires 3 different lesson plans a day. Tiring work. For a 30 minute class I will typically spend 45 minutes to an hour on the initial plan (choosing the topic and points to cover each day) and then a following 20-30 minutes for the following classes in that topic.
Once I've made my plan I have complete confidence and peace of mind when I walk into that classroom that my class will be a success.
There have been times where I thought to myself “30 minutes…I can handle that, no plan today” as soon as I walked into that classroom I regretted it. The students pick up on a poorly organized class and their attention immediately drops and they start talking among themselves.
So now, planning is law. I can’t go to bed unless all my classes for the next day are ready and planned to perfection.
4. Blabbering on
As an Englishman I can be known to go on and on till the cows come home. This is why I need watch my TTT and STT (Teacher/Student talk time). So, how can we know when we have been talking too much? A simple question will sort that out. At times you have no other choice than to talk, so what I tend to do is pop a quick question into what I’m saying to check that the students are tuning into what I’m saying. Then once I've finished what I’m talking about I will set up a discussion among them to get them sharing ideas and talking in English.
Be aware of how long you are talking for and make sure the whole class in interacting with you, practice makes perfect after all.
5. A lesson taught is a lesson learnt, right?
Wrong. In order to make the lesson sink in it’s vital that you add a review to your plan so that for 5-10 minutes you can review what you taught last lesson. It’s quite easy to slip into the habit of only hearing the voices of your best students and begin to hear less from the less advanced students. Well it’s likely that they are beginning to get left behind.
The chances are that these students will like you just as much or if not more than the more advanced students but just can’t show that in class as they aren't as gifted or don’t review as much at home. So it’s your job to make sure you pick up on that and listen to the whole class, slow things down and be fair to everyone. Once you do this your classes will be more interactive as the whole class can pitch in and move forward together.
Not only this but you will find that when you take the time to help out and review with the lower level students they begin to enjoy learning English and start to catch up with the others and this gives you a sense that your really making a difference to these kids! No feeling can compete with that in my opinion!
So, Try your best to avoid making these common mistakes in class and always strive to improve you classes! For more on teaching in China join our Network and become part of our team. Check below on how to get the latest and up to date info on teaching in China.