Teach English in Xiangchang Zhen - Anqing Shi

Motivation in the ClassroomI think one experience I have had that will make me a better teacher is my semester as a foreign language student. I had the pleasure of studying abroad under teachers who were well seasoned with teaching Russian to foreigners, one of them had taught for thirty years. Having had different teachers for different sections really gave me the opportunity to appreciate the different teaching styles and how they contributed to our learning. I would like to focus on how teachers motivate students. A large part of motivating students is the belief in the competence of the teacher. It is important that the students feel that their time is being used efficiently and that they are learning something useful. We had classmates on competitive scholarships who were very ambitious and had high expectations. The best teachers maximized every part of the class and delivered in an engaging manner. Our grammar teacher had a conversational approach, and whatever she taught, she had us practice with role playing and dialogues. We also were able to see that we were not just learning grammar?we were able to use what we learned right away. Unfortunately, we had a translation class that gave us trouble. The teacher was young, and she was not able to show how the exercises she gave us helped us in real life. It took us two or three lessons to translate a page of text. The work was tedious, without us being able to see whether we really made improvement. At our level, we barely recognized the nuances of the language. We also translated from english into Russian, when usually professionals translate from a foreign language into their native language, not the other way around. One student eventually became convinced that what the teacher taught was pointless, and he refused to continue. Another important aspect of motivating students is establishing rapport. Part of establishing rapport involves not only getting to know the students, but also recognizing the moods and needs of the class. Our course was intensive; we had language classes three hours a day, four days out of the week. The American students were also dealing with cultural adjustments. There was one memorable day when a teacher brought hot lemon honey tea and homemade cakes to class. It had, coincidentally, been one of the most stressful days of the semester. One student was on the verge of losing his temper, and even the good students were unmotivated. I remember thinking I could not possibly do another 75 minutes. Our teacher could have used the tea as bribery, but instead she asked if we would like tea before or after class. ?Before,? we begged. And the mood changed so dramatically; our motivation returned and everyone cooperated. Obviously the teacher did not give us cake every day, but she was exceptional at reading the mood of the class and knew when and where to push and when not to. Language learning is not easy, especially if the course is intensive. We appreciated the drive and challenge the teachers gave us, but on days when morale was low, those small acts of compassion, whether a game, a video, or tea, really boosted our spirits. In conclusion the key to motivation is to not only keeping the class interesting, but allowing the students, especially adults, to see how the lessons in class increase their learning and how they apply to real life. The students must be confident in the ability of their teachers to teach them, or they will lose interest very quickly. The teacher must also maintain rapport, and include warmers so that students will be in the mood to learn english (Unit 20, pg 2).