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Because teachers who are new a class do not know the dynamics of the classroom, they should be aware of these tools for troubleshooting in the classroom. Building rapport between teacher and students is essential to a successful teaching relationship. Therefore, the first lesson should not deal with learning new information at all. Instead, it should be focused on the teacher getting to know the students and vice versa via communication games, questionnaire or surveys. The first lesson should also be used as a time to determine what the class's motivations and goals are for learning English as well as what their language ability levels are. While some schools have entrance and placement exams are able to efficiently separate students into different language levels, not all schools are like this, and even within the same level, there will be students who are stronger and those who are weaker. To address this, teachers need to either be able to split the class into stronger and weaker, pair weaker and stronger students together, make extra activities for stronger students, or adjust the activities and lessons in general so that no student is too far behind the learning curve or too far ahead and is bored. While there are stronger and weaker students in all classes, this can become exacerbated by large class sizes. In large classes, it is essential to use worksheets, group leaders, and group or pair activities to make sure everyone is engaged and learning. Worksheets can also be used as time fillers if stronger students in the class finish activities early and you are unable to attend to them individually. Other tips for dealing with reluctant students and students who want to use their native language in the class is to be as clear as possible with instructions, give them time to practice their language skills before presenting them to the group, and support them by doing activities such as role play which will allow them to practice English outside of their personal identity. Lastly, listening skills are important and even though many students may have trouble with their listening skills, it is important that we maintain an emphasis on the receptive skill as it's necessary for their development into English speakers.
