As we add new English Forward teachers to the web portal, I’m getting more and more questions each month. I’m starting to feel a bit like Dear Abbey:) For our August post, I’ve selected a few questions I thought would apply to many of our English Forward teachers.
Norma Lopez of Hispanic Community Services in Jonesboro, Arkansas wants to know what to do when something doesn’t go as planned in the classroom. How does one get back on their feet and keep control of the class? Well – I’ll start by saying this is not an uncommon occurrence, even with the most experienced of teachers. Sometimes I’ll find an activity that worked great in one class, bombs in another. Being flexible and rolling with the punches is the name of the game in ESL. I’ve learned to be comfortable with my mistakes in the classroom and even discuss them with students. Many of my students are a bit apprehensive about being in the classroom, and letting them see I’m not perfect can go a long way towards lowering their level of anxiety. I’ve also learned not to try and force an activity on students that obviously is not working. I’ll even ask the class for feedback if something isn’t going well. They often have great suggestions for alternative ways to do an activity or explain an idea. Sometimes they are able to get a point across to each other that I am not. Letting the students step in and give an explanation can be a great confidence booster to them. Unexpected situations are also a great chance for a teacher to reflect on their own teaching. If something doesn’t go well, after class I take a few minutes to think about what happened and brainstorm ways I could improve the lesson if I were to teach it again. Above all, don’t let it discourage you. Those unplanned occurrences are a natural part of the learning process – both for your students and for you as a teacher.
Lindsey Engleman from Austin volunteers at a refugee center one night a week, but classes are taught from M-Th (3 diff. levels). The result is that students are bombarded with different subjects and teaching styles every night of the week. Lindsey is looking for ideas for volunteers to overcome this struggle? This is a tough one! I will say it’s not always a bad thing for students to be learning from different teachers with different teaching styles. Different students will respond differently to each teacher, and the variety could be beneficial. What is difficult is when the topics jump around and classes don’t build on each other or reinforce learning. The result I’m sure is frustration on the part of students as well as the teachers. It sounds like there isn’t a lot of interaction between volunteers? Is there a way to communicate with the other volunteers and at least select a topic you all will plan your classes around for a set amount of time? Even better – you could survey your students to find out what topics are of most interest to them, and use this to plan a calendar for the semester outlining which topics you all will teach at what time. Another idea is to have a box or folder in class where you leave activities or a copy of your lesson plan for the volunteer the next evening, and they can do the same for you. Then take each other’s materials and use as the basis for an upcoming lesson, or at least review at the beginning of class. Not only are you giving you students more continuity and reinforcement, but by borrowing from your co-teacher, you’re also making your lesson planning easier!
Have a question to ask? Submit it using the ‘Ask A Question’ box on the right of the pages. We’ll select a few questions and answer them each month.