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Although this unit was one of the shortest and most straightforward, I believe it was nonetheless a very important part of the course overall. It covered many common issues in the classroom such as how to deal with first lessons, establishing rapport with the students, leveling the playing field in terms of stronger/weaker students and encouraging reluctant students to participate. I have run into a number of these issues myself and found many of the suggested solutions helpful. In particular, listening skills are an indispensable part of taking lessons in English in general because if the class is not able to listen to the teacher's instructions or the information they might be trying to relay the entire plan falls flat. On the other hand, I found the suggestion to not respond if a student attempts to speak with you in their first language rather standoffish and unrealistic. Ignoring a student is possibly one of the fastest ways to damage any rapport you have built up and is a straight up mistake. Even if the students are unwilling to use productive skills it is still important to at least respond in the target language so that they can practice listening. In fact one of the biggest reasons why my classes have been successful is the lack of pressure I put on my students to immediate use productive skills before they are mentally ready to do so themselves. Language should be used out of necessity and desire, but it cannot be effectively taught by bullying students into speaking.
