subject: 5 Ways To Loose Control Of Your Tesol Class [print this page] Students, particularly the younger variety, will push you until one of two things happen. You either take control of the situation before its gets out of hand, or you crack. If youd like to avoid the latter (which isnt a pleasant experience for student or teacher), there are a few things you should try to steer clear of when teaching English overseas
1) Shouting
Start shouting and your TESOL students will soon get to know what winds you up, and more than likely try it on again... and again. So even when someone does rub you up the wrong way, take a second to gather your thoughts, and do your best to come across in a calm and collected way.
2) Not sticking to the rules
Students need rules but you cant muddy the waters by changing them or making allowances too often. For example, if you have a reward system in place, you need to keep on top of it so the right students are rewarded at the right time. If it falls apart and you dish out rewards for this and that, students wont be able to relate it to performance and will likely loose focus and motivation. Theyll also assume that if you dont stick to the rules, they dont have to either!
3) Make it like the classes you had in school
School wasnt that fun and exciting was it but that way of learning must be the most effective right? Well, not necessarily. While some aspects can and should be taken from those lessons, its important to have fun in the classroom. Languages are often easier to learn through interaction and games, so kick off the shackles and make your class one that students look forward to and get to actively learn from.
4) Being as unenthused as possible
Sometimes you just cant be bothered, so youll just plod through this lesson, no worries. This happens all too often, particularly if youve had one too many the night before? However, if you go into a class unenthused, the students are going to become bored, restless and probably wind you up. So even if youre struggling, make a point of being positive and enthusiastic in every lesson, your students will like you and learning English a whole lot more!
5) Picking on you least favourite student
Youve got a student playing up, and youd like to get your own back by picking on him, just a little bit. Maybe get them to sing a song in front of the class? Well, while this may serve to satisfy your frustration, its not going to help all that much. Its likely that theyll dislike you, the subject and cause ongoing disruption. As hard as it is, you need to stay positive, and take it as a challenge when teaching English overseas. Although its important you dont spend more time with troublesome students than the rest.
What about you? How do you keep/not keep control of your TESOL class?
