Teach English in Dongzhou Jiedao - Shanwei Shi

I think it's very natural to be self-conscious about how we teach and how we are perceived when we do. During one of my student teaching internship assignments, I had to video-record myself teaching and while watching myself teach I was slightly mortified: I seemed to ramble a lot, make minimal eye contact with students and kinda just \"stared off into space\" if I needed to recall or think of what to say next. But after getting over my initial self-embarassment, I really observed my gestures, eye contact and just the general way I interacted with my students. I made notes on how I would like to improve in the classroom regarding my presentation skills. After getting comfortable with myself and finding my \"voice\" for teaching, I quickly gained confidence and my students were responding well and interactions were more meaningful. Unit 5 really ties all the concepts of proper eye contact, gestures and general classroom management. One of my favorite tips was actually WAITING to use the student's name at the END of the question, not the beginning, to keep the whole class alert and on their toes. Reflecting on my teaching experiences, I can recall moments where I would use the student's name first, while the rest of the class breathed a sigh of relief because they didn't have to answer the question and even worse, this was their cue to stop paying attention. For the group work, I am a huge fan of pairing stronger students with the struggling students--this creates an interesting dynamic where I believe the struggling students get a chance to learn from their peers, and the stronger students get a chance to teach.