Teach English in DazhongzhuAng Zhen - Tianjin

Establishing RapportA human being is not complete until he is educated. Education is defined as the process through which one generation passes along its wisdom and aspirations for a better world to another generation. This process starts as soon as we are born. The way it is approached is widely diverse and many positions are taken. Mind, body and emotions are interrelated, each affecting the others. Being thoroughly familiar with the subject matter is not enough. Teachers should have good knowledge of human development, educational theories and methods and establish rapport with students. By definition, rapport indicates the relationship between and among individuals. Rapport with students is an integral part of classroom preparation for the implementation of good collaborative learning. Students want to feel that they belong, that they are important and vital in the classroom. Building rapport with our students should start the very first day and every day afterwards. Rapport is both a process and outcome. The teacher follows many different steps to accomplish that process and the outcome is simply a better and more effective teaching. Teachers show their students that they can be trusted and communicate with their students. We need to share a little about ourselves and explain to them motives for teaching. Some of the following may be a good start to boost that relationship: ? Try ice breaking activity at the beginning of the course: Tell me about yourself sheet (hobbies, favorite color, nick name, fun activities you like?.) ? Learn students? names as fast as we can. ? Invite the class to express their feelings about learning the language. Share the weakest moments we encountered when we were in their shoes. Tell the class how thrilled we are to teach them. (ask the students about their opinions, fear?.) ? Try to find out about the students characters, how much they get along to create a good seating arrangement. ? Use a variety of activities and grouping of the students. ? When we love our job, it shows enthusiasm and the feeling is passed to the students. ? Give clear instructions. ? Present situations where the answer should come from both parties: ?What do we think makes a great communicator?? ? Using humor. ? Smile, be positive: we are a role model for the students ? Relate topics to student?s lives to emphasize importance. People usually engage in important issues that may affect their lives. ? Share creating a list of the classroom rules with the students. ? Use activities that provide the students with opportunity to communicate with each other and learn more about each other. ? Different learning styles: use variety of teaching resources (hands on, visual, ?) ? Make time for the student before, after or during class ? Show interest in them ? Encourage them ? Understand the difficulties they may face ? Trust them (unless there is a reason not to) ? Be respectful and polite ? Be gentle if the student performs poorly ? Be flexible: we are dealing with human beings not machines. Any of these suggestions by itself wouldn?t work towards having good rapport with the students. You have to use them consistently over time and use a combination of these behaviors. Rapport has positive effects on academic behavior. You would find increased enjoyment between the teacher and his students of the subject matter. When students enjoy what they are learning, engagement is to the maximum, behavioral issues are not present. Motivation drives attendance to the maximum. Teachers that motivate their students will have an eager to learn environment in their classes. Such an environment enhances the quality of learning, make it less time consuming and create a healthy productive classroom. Rapport creates a sense of belonging where everyone is equally important. All will stay alert and will exert more effort to accomplish and be successful. The teacher is a role model to his students. When students observe that model to socialize, trust, show respect, be polite and gentle, they would learn to mirror that and possess those qualities. Never forget, one of the most effective qualities of a teacher is good ?rapport? with his students. The most successful classrooms have a welcoming, friendly and enjoyable environment. Both parties in this relationship share the mental space of each other.