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Building Confidence in StudentsDuring my independent research I have identified a few areas that I believe can build confidence in students when teaching English as a foreign language. tefl teachers have many roles to play in the class room. The most important role of a teacher is building students confidence this creates participation in the class room. The teacher needs to build an environment that does not intimidate but is fun, enjoyable and creative. This can be achieved by getting to know the students, being approachable and available, calm, friendly and consistent. When the teacher demonstrates these attributes the students gain confidence and are more likely to contribute and take part in lessons when the atmosphere is relaxed and they get on well with the teacher. Grammar is an important aspect of the English language it?s the rule for using words and to correctly structure sentences. If the teacher does not know anything about grammar they will lose the confidence of the students in the class room. So it?s important that teachers gain the ability to teach grammar so the students are aware and have the basic understanding to put words together to structure sentences. When teachers are introducing new vocabulary it is important that drilling exercises are introduced in the study phase of a lesson as this will increases accuracy and fluency. This can help students with difficult sounds or help them with intonation that may be different from their own language. Drilling is by means of repetition which will assist students with their memory and listening skills to identify the correct pronunciation of words and phrases. This technique will add to their confidence to speak the English language. When the teachers pair and group students together during the study or activate stage of a lesson it allows the students the opportunity to interact and support each other to complete tasks. This increases their confidence especially when students demonstrate weakness in some areas. The activate phase of a lesson encourages students to use any or all of the language they know. The focus during this phase is much on fluency than accuracy with no restriction on the use of the English language. Role play encourages individual creativity and builds their confidence speaking the English language. So it?s important that there is flexibility within the activity so students can communicate freely. During this stage of a lesson the teacher needs to observe from a distance and identify difficulties without any interruptions as this will interfere with the desired outcome. All students require feedback as this builds their confidence, self-awareness and helps them improve on their skills. To ensure teachers build confidence in students during the feedback stage they should focus on their positive points as well as identifying mistakes. Teachers need to be clear when providing feedback so students have an opportunity to correct their own work. The teacher can display good work and use as a model as this can encourage other students to better themselves. At the end of the feedback teachers should always leave on a good note like ?well done? so the students feel encouraged and they know that their efforts have also been recognised by the teacher.
