Teach English in Chongyi Jiedao - Chongqing

Building confidence in studentsBefore becoming a teacher one of the things I was scared of the most was standing in front of a class of silence. A class who when prompted to ?repeat after me? said nothing I unison. I have learnt through experience and reading that it isn?t the end of the world and in most cases that situation is avoidable. I always asked myself why students who were capable and with levels well above the basic level couldn?t or wouldn?t follow a simple instruction. The answer was simple, ?students lacked confidence?. It is important as a teacher to address problems like this and there are things we can do to help build confidence in our classrooms. Before tackling a problem like confidence we should first do some research into the class we are teaching. For example teenagers might lack confidence due to peer pressure or as a reaction to the hormones they might possible be dealing with. Some students might have has past experiences with bullying or could possibly be dealing with personal problems that will obviously effect their moods during class time. Whilst we can not control these kinds of problems there are things we can do during lessons to help this. To help build confidence we should ? Be aware of the students levels students who are being taught at a level way too high for them will struggle and start to doubt themselves. They are likely to give up if the content is too hard and it could effect there outlook on studying English as a whole. Teaching at a level too low wont motivate students because its too easy. They may find they aren?t learning anything new or are bored with the content. Though they may not give up they might fail to see the point in studying keeping motivation at very low levels. By being aware of their levels we can cater too their needs, teach relevant English that they can go on to use outside of class. students should who see that they can do the work and can see their improvement will stand a chance to be much more motivated during lessons. ? Recognize the difference between unable to do and unwilling to do students who are often quiet especially in a large classroom atmosphere can get lost in the shuffle. An inexperienced teacher might simply concentrate on the more competent and outgoing members of the class but its important for a teacher to notice when a student isn?t trying to do something or simply cant do something. Speaking one on one with a student can usually solve this problem. Younger students often tell you the problem straight away i.e it?s too hard, it?s too easy, I?ve already finished ect. By showing you care about them students feel almost obligated to study more. ? Create fun and engaging lessons Particularly for younger students a fun interesting lesson is very important. Beginners remember things like colours, pictures, movies, music basically anything that can take the focus of simple reading, writing and drilling English into them. By creating fun and engaging lessons students will tend to look forward to your lesson and try harder during it. The reason doesn?t always have to be that the like English but that they enjoy being taught by you which becomes their motivation. ? Encourage and reward students who are rewarded for their work instantly see a reason to do the work you have set. By encouragement can come from simply saying ?well done? to constructive criticism regarding their work they just completed. It required the teacher to know their students well and what they are likely to respond too. ? Remove pressure from the classroom students who lack motivation often feel pressured to speak up in class. It could be for reasons we as teachers cant control but we can defiantly remove pressure from the classroom. Ease students into answers, giving hints, using simple English are ways to help them feel comfortable about learning. Personally I feel building confidence in students is an important part of teaching; some could argue the most important. I however do feel that by creating a fun, interactive, interesting and relevant teaching environment that you are likely to create students with more confidence and motivation. Links http://buildconfidenceinchildren.com/building-confidence-in-students/ http://www.selfesteemawareness.com/lack-of-self-confidence.htm http://www.2knowmyself.com/self_confidence/Building_self_confidence