Teach English in Matou Zhen - Huai'an Shi

There are many reasons why learning the actual skills of how to teach are important. Teaching is complex, with varying components and many intricate details that go into it. For people who have never had experience with teaching, it can be a culture shock. Even for experienced teachers, new issues can arise with every group, and the tools used for a previous group may no longer apply to this new group of students. The three main reasons why teachers should learn teaching skills are to know how to deal with classroom management issues, to know how lessons should be set up, and to know what resources are available to you as a teacher. Classroom management. It sounds scary whether you are a brand new teacher, or a veteran. So what is classroom management? Classroom management is how a teacher both sets up a class for success and how they deal with any issues that arise in the class. The first key to classroom management is how you set up your room. Do you want students in orderly rows, or would you prefer they have their desks in groups? Or just ditch desks all together and opt for tables where students can work together. All seating arrangements and options have pros and cons, and it comes down to your students and your preference. Some classes might be more suited to rows and individual desks, whereas younger learners may benefit from a less formal set-up like tables for them to work in groups. It is up to the teacher to evaluate what works for them and their classes, but if it isn't working don't forget you can always change it! So your classroom is set up how you like it, but now there are behavior issues to manage. Behavior issues stem from a range of problems, like issues at home or with friends, peer pressure and lack of confidence, or even just plain boredom. With so many factors, it can be hard to plan for them all. The first step is to set up an evironment of care and sensitivity. When students know you care about them as individuals, they are more likely to come to you with any issues they are having so you can help them and minimize their effects in class. For things like self confidence issues or boredom, the first step is to make sure your activities are level-appropriate. If you are expecting students to do work above their language level, then you risk them lacking the confidence to complete the activity and master the skill. You also need to keep the activites varied, interesting, and relevant to the students. If they aren't working on the same thing all the time, and they are using materials they are interested in, they will be much less likely to act out and much more likely to participate effectively, therefore also increasing confidence! All of these things (and more) can work together to create a harmonious classroom environment. The next reason why learning how to teach is so important is so that you know how to efficently plan lessons and use your class time wisely. Lesson planning can vary widely from teacher to teacher, and even from lesson to lesson. ESL typically uses an ESA lesson planning methodology (Engage, Study, Activate) which can help the teacher figure out when to do certain activities. Even within that you can keep the lesson in the ESA order, or mix it up-as long as you start with Engage and end with Activate, your lesson will be a success. Part of learning how to teach is understanding how to dedicate time to certain things. An Engage activity probably will not be as long as a Study activity, but if you are reviewing something you did yesterday your students could probably benefit from a shorter Study phase and longer, or multiple, Activate phases. You also have to understand that you need to be flexible with your plans. Some activities may take longer than you had planned, or students didn't quite understand the new vocabualry so more time needs to be dedicated to studying. That is okay! Sometimes, activities may need to be repeated or pushed off until the next class-go at the pace of your students, and they are golden! The final reason why learning how to teach is vital is because you need to know the resources available to you. Some are obvious-asking your coworkers for help or using an activity from the course book. Sometimes, it is not so obvious. Maybe you didn't know that there are some books that are better than others for different levels. Or maybe you need help planning a particular lesson and didn't know that you could look online for premade lesson plans. Whatever the resource is that you need, there is probably a place to find it and training to be a teacher can give you those resources, or at least help you figure out where to find it for yourself. So, there are a variety of important reasons to learn how to teach before you do it. First, understanding classroom management and how to set your class up for success. Second, knowing how to plan lessons and make the most of your class time. And finally, even just knowing what resources are out there and where to find them is a good enough reason. Whatever your original reason was to learn how to teach English, probably the most important is just knowing how to be the best you can be for yourself and your students.