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Adjusting English teaching to online learning is important because there is high demand for online teaching. Even if a TEFL teacher is in a standard classroom, he or she may want to make extra money by tutoring online at some point. In general, this is an important skill to acquire. Something that must be adjusted when teaching online is checking student’s work. You are not able to walk around and check up on them. I think that one way to adjust the lesson plan is to do more frequent check ins. By double checking that they understand the directions first, occasionally checking in with the students, and then reviewing at the end, it overcomes the barrier of not being able to see their work. Another option could be by utilizing Google Docs. Each student would have one link that they use, and I can jump from sheet to sheet to check in on their process. This could also help me do pair work with students that aren’t together as well. Another aspect that has to be adjusted is board work. I think that teaching online has a benefit that I can create PowerPoints that are attractive and prepared ahead of time. This completely takes away any time I’d spend with my back to the class writing on the whiteboard. Now I can make sure my information is accurate, complete, and visually appealing for my students. When teaching online with a group, there can be a higher chance of students talking over each other. I have participated in group facetimes, and it can be difficult to get one person to talk at a time. By clearly lining out the rules of respecting others and how to know when it is their turn to speak on day one, it will set the boundaries needed for a classroom setting with students who feel comfortable enough to speak up. Since speaking English is a huge part of learning English, these boundaries are vital to a successful classroom. Teaching online also has a much higher likelihood of teaching single students. This is when it is important to remember the section of teaching individual students in unit 19. We won’t be able to do as many of the activities that were suggested, because some involved talking to multiple people. But that’s okay because now we can tailor the activities based off of the student’s interests. We can focus on doing other activities such as learning their personal history, focusing on pronunciation, or discussing their favorite news article. There are higher cancellation rates on 1x1 online classes, because of the perceived lack of commitment. One way to combat this is by making your student excited about what they are going to do and learn in the next class. By showing them the agenda that they are going to learn an extremely important section of vocabulary and will be learning it by watching a clip of their favorite American sitcom, they will then feel eager to come! Also, you should always have their phone number and call them in the case of a no-show. Overall, TEFL English online still has the main components of TEFL. The same rules of only speaking English, using ESA structures, and continually noting your students’ performance and growth is vital. There are a few challenges that are presented and a few benefits that can be drawn from this situation as well. Overall, I think that online teaching will be right for me.
