Teach English in Koudong Jiedao - Tianjin

Building Confidence in the StudentsIn teaching of english as foreign/second language, there may be no more important task than that of cultivating confidence within the students. A teacher who goes into a classroom and sees the material as independent from a student?s confidence is severely misinformed. Students can only learn effectively when they have an internal confidence that propels them toward a higher level of understanding. I have experienced teaching firsthand, coming off of a year of experience teaching Theology to Freshmen in High School. While teaching, I realized that many students come into class with a mentality that they are simply ?average.? They convince themselves that the material is unimportant, uninspired, and means nothing to them. Typically, I discovered that this mentality went hand in hand with a lack of confidence on the part of the student. These students were very often down on themselves, and resulting, they became down on their situation. Only by overturning this negative mentality can these students truly open themselves up to learn. For when they are absorbed within their negativity, they will adopt the attitude of ?memorize to get by? and be unsuccessful in retaining any information overtime. Further, I discovered that many students have adopted such a negative mentality toward schoolwork because of their past teachers. These past teachers provided primarily negative feedback to the students, never hesitating to point out a student?s shortcomings or issues. This propensity toward negative feedback effectively crushed the morale of the students, ripping away their interest in the subject and often their interest in education as a whole. A negative mentality toward something is a mentality of defense, preventing one from truly seeing the benefits of that which one rejects. Therefore, a lack of confidence in a student mixed with that student?s internal negativity will prevent the student from gaining anything from education. It is very clear to me that the teacher plays the most fundamental role in building confidence within his or her students. A student likes a class as much as he or she likes the teacher of the class. Students like teachers who truly care and who truly show that they are there for the betterment of the student. A teacher can establish this rapport with a student by building the student?s confidence. Teachers do so by providing positive feedback to their work. Students find motivation in positivity as opposed to negativity. Once assured of their ability, they will work hard to thrive, realizing that they are truly growing into their own intelligence and ability. If self-doubt is the foundation of their learning experience, they will never see themselves as adequate and will never be able to confidently follow their own inner voice and truly open up to all that is to be learned in the world. Teachers also help build student confidence by getting them involved. The student must see that he or she is not simply observing the class but is playing a fundamental role within the very structure of the class. Teachers get students involved by keeping class fun, positive, and engaging. They allow the students much time to have group work and to interact with one another. A teacher must see that his or her role is to build confidence in their student. The best teachers are those who prepare students not only for the upcoming test but for life itself. These teachers show students how to truly live, how to accept themselves, and how to flourish. They give students ideas and skills that will last with them throughout their lives, truly making them better people. And a teacher?s most effective way of demonstrating how to truly flourish is to be a model of that in his or her own life. Positivity truly goes a long way.