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This unit deals with the problems that a teacher can face during their lessons. Many teachers face the problems of teaching language to New group or Existing group. A new group means students who don't know each other and are not familiar with the EFL methodology. The teacher may need to play games/exercises in order to build a rapport between the students and also between the students and the teacher. In an existing group, the students know each other and are familiar with ESL methodology. Here the teacher needs to build a rapport with the students. In such situations, the teacher should not stick to the course book right away, he/she must gather information about the students,find out the needs of the students and find out the level of English of the students so that they can plan the future lessons. The activities can include - Passing the ball(question-answers), needs analysis, speaking and telling about themselves or may be giving the students some questionnaires. The teacher should motivate the students through fun learning activities, eg, Tongue twisters, hangman, pictionary, etc. These activities would make the students comfortable and reduce their hesitations as they would be motivated to participate. The teachers may find situation where they have to deal with students with different levels of English understanding. This can be challenging as some students would complete tasks in short time as compared to other students. In such a scenario, the teacher can use different materials for different students based around same themes, so that the class can be brought back together at some stage. The teacher can also prepare same material but with longer or complex tasks for stronger students. Another method is by pairing a strong student with a weak student so that the stronger student can help clarifying things to the weaker student. Sometimes, the teacher would leave the mixed level as it is and allow the students to settle in or accommodate in the class according to their level. This can be disadvantageous when the weaker students feel frustrated and the stronger students feel bored. The teacher may be faced with a challenge of a large class. Since the class size is big, a mix of students with different levels of English would be there. The teacher can use worksheets to involve all the students. The teacher can also use pair work or group work as required. This will increase student involvement. Large classes are often difficult to handle, so the teacher can appoint group leaders/representatives to give clear instructions. Another problem that the teachers face is that of using Native Language by the students. Since the students are comfortable in their native language, many students resort to communicating in their language instead of in English. In such cases, the teacher should only respond to the student when they speak in English. The teacher should make sure that the lessons and activities are at the same level as that of the students, otherwise the students would be not be motivated. The teacher should not explain in the student's native language, instead he/she should explain in very simple and clear words in English. These can be reminded to the students over a period of time so that they don't forget the words and their meanings. When the students are comfortable in their native language, they are reluctant in participating in class activities which are held in English. This is another challenge that a teacher faces. Many students are shy and even though they know the answers, they would be reluctant in speaking or participating. In such a scenario, the teacher can use pair works. This would open up the students and build up confidence for class participation. The teacher can also use role play to make the students comfortable. Teachers can also ask the students to record what they feel and later they can discuss the errors. If the students have problems with Listening texts, the teacher can pre-teach potential vocabulary so that the students are able to relate the words when they listen. It is also advisable to keep extra exercises as some students may complete the task before the others and they might feel bored. Keeping extra exercises would keep those students busy and would also not disturb the slow students for completing their tasks.
