There will be times in your TEFL career when you are really challenged in terms of student motivation and classroom management, notes Bruce Haxton. Students, especially children, can be temperamental – but one of the things you’ll quickly learn is that how you behave as a teacher largely dictates how your students behave. Here are some key things to take into consideration in your classes:

* Don’t shout – Students see this as a sign that they have won. Instead try different tactics such as finding a place to stand that shows the students you are waiting, or refer back to the rules and carry out the consequence. Some good punishments include increasing word counts for homework, deducting break time, letters home to parents etc.

* Do a points system - (for children) In the first lesson put students into groups of around four and get them to decide on a team name. Ask them to draw four horizontal boxes in which they must write their name in large letters to one side. Students get a point for good behaviour and get a point deducted for bad behaviour (doing/not doing homework, using/not using English). If you can, use stickers so students can put their points up themselves (gives a greater feeling of accomplishment).

* Stick to the rules you set – Set the classroom rule, from day one enforce them and stick to them. There’s no point in developing rules that you will let be broken – students need to know that measures will be taken if they step out of line! You know what happened to the boy who cried wolf don’t you?!!

* Keep it varied and interesting – If you want your students to be interested you have to keep things interesting! Use materials which interest your class and have a variety of activities. Don’t stick to the same old activities – they’ll soon get boring.

* Be positive – Students pick up on their teacher’s mood more than you think. Enthusiasm is really infectious in the classroom. It’ll also make you enjoy your job more enjoyable. Also if your students like you they will be less likely to want to disappoint you!

* Treat everyone equally – Students respect their teacher more if he/she is fair.

Every teacher has their own style and methods – work out what works best for you but remember you may need to adapt your style for different classes. What works with one class may not work for another….

About the Author

Bruce believes that teaching English abroad is the perfect opportunity for any English speaker to explore the world. As long as you’re a fluent English speaker, a TEFL course is your ticket to the journey of your life. Bruce represents www.onlinetefl.com

June on the TEFL Times has been set aside for a series of articles from Sharon K Couzens de Hinojosa, the creator and writer for TEFL Tips.

English teachers are professionals and as such need to remember somethings while in the classroom. Here are some ideas to help get you started.

Dos

● Act like a teacher. As a foreign teacher, both students and teachers will look up to you as a representative of your country. Act professional.

● Make class interesting. Prepare a variety of activities and games.

● Be consistent with the rules. You shouldn’t play favourites-make sure you treat all your students equally.
● Plan your lessons ahead of time. Winging it doesn’t work. You will have to think about what you want to teach before you enter the classroom.

● Make sure the topic is appropriate. Some issues that are accepted at home are taboo here.

● Speak clearly and loudly.

● Tell the students why you want them to do something.

● Expect the unexpected. Maybe you planned an activity for ten students and only five showed up. Always have a back-up plan.

● Keep an open mind. Some countries have laid-back ideas about timing. Students may show up ten minutes late.

● Ask your students for feedback. Most times they will be honest and tell you if they liked or didn’t like the activities you planned. They might also have suggestions for things that you can do in class.

● Adapt your teaching style. Some students like to thinking things over and have everything perfect before speaking. Others want to shout out the answer as soon as they know it.

● Bring realia into the classroom. Pictures from magazines, photos from home, real objects make lessons come alive.

Don’ts

● Wear weekend clothes to class. Jogging pants, jeans or shorts aren’t acceptable. Women should cover their shoulders, stomachs and knees. Sleeveless shirts are ok, but spaghetti straps aren’t. Men should wear dress pants and a dress shirt with a collar. Piercings and tattoos should be covered up.

● Dumb students down. Just because they can’t answer a question, doesn’t make them understand. Ask a different question or see if someone can help the student.

● Embarrass your students.

About the author
Sharon K Couzens de Hinojosa is the creator and writer for TEFL Tips, The LA Job List, and The Ultimate Peru List. She enjoys answering people’s questions about TEFLing and Peru.

By Andrew Carter

When you sit down and think about it, or even stand around and think about it (!), English words have seeped into the vocabulary of millions of people, thanks, in the main part, to the genius of marketing gurus over the past century. Not just English words, though – there’s a whole swathe of brand names that are truly international, aren’t there?

Product names – for example Coca Cola, Sony and Nokia; Car brands – Toyota, Nissan, Renault, Mercedes; Place names – London, Paris, New York; and how about Sushi, Hamburger, Karate, Brad Pitt, Titanic, Soccer, Microsoft and Marlboro? When faced with students in their early hours and days of an English As A Second Language course, using these words is a great confidence booster. They help get brains in gear – the cranial juices flowing!

Ask the class, or better still, SHOW the class a series of pictures of things which are internationally known – encourage them to speak out the names and words they see. The very best thing, with beginners is if the teacher says very little – merely encouraging words out by gesture and expression – then the students are searching for the words themselves (and they KNOW these) and getting quick results. When the words come – write them on the board.

Then the critical part – speak them out. The students are now hearing the words spoken in English. They are hearing English sounds for familiar words. They will see and hear mouth and lip shapes and sounds that may not be familiar to them, but which are wrapped around familiar words. They’ll have a go, and you’ll be setting foundations for the new English words they will learn in the coming weeks, using materials that they already have in their armoury!

It’s a really encouraging strategy for the teacher to employ. Whenever the student hears or comes across a word as the course progresses that he regards as ‘international’, get him to point the fact out. Then marvel at how many of the words we use every day really do span continents and cultures!

About the author

Andrew is a qualified TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher, with 15 years experience of the global Automotive Industry as a Sales manager with an International component and systems supplier. For more information about learning English with Andrew at his home in the UK, visit the Lets Talk 2 website.

By Gene Grzywacz

Effective study habits are essential for achieving and maintaining a high GPA. More importantly, effective study habits help you to store information in long-term memory, allowing you to use the learned information in a novel setting. Applying the following rules for studying will aid you in earning excellent marks in school.

Do:

1. Keep the area around your desk neat and tidy. If possible, the area should also be quiet. If you are having trouble finding a quiet place to study, try the local library or park. The library is a perfect place to have peace and quiet. The park may not be as quiet, but the fresh air can make studying less nerve-racking. If these options are unavailable, then try listening to some music while studying.

2. Have a scheduled study time for each school day. Remember that one classroom hour should be reinforced by two hours of studying at home.

3. Sit down for 45 minute intervals, followed by 15 minute breaks. Having an easily attainable goal, like sitting for set duration of time, is effective for increasing motivation.

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4. Reward yourself if and only if you have met your goal for that study session. For example, if you plan to study one chapter and succeed, then you may reward yourself by doing something pleasurable. Examples of positive reinforcement are: food, exercise, videogames, etc.

5. Make correspondences between your class notes and your textbook. This will help you to fill in any background information not covered in class.

6. Prepare questions about the chapter that will be discussed in the following class. This will help you identify areas that you don’t understand.

7. Put any new words or concepts to use. The more you use the learned information, the more likely you will be to remember it. This is especially true for language classes.

8. Finally, review what you have studied just before you go to bed. You will find that you will remember the words very strongly the next morning.

Don’t:

1. Procrastinate. Cramming is not beneficial for producing long term memory.

2. Highlight. Highlighting is a form of procrastination, because you are saving note taking for later. This means you must use the book twice instead of once. Instead, make careful notes to compliment your classroom notes, along with page numbers so that you can refer back to the book if necessary.

3. Study on the computer. You are bound to be tempted to check your email or surf the net.

4. Leave your cell phone on during study time. No matter who is calling or texting you, usually it can wait 45 minutes. Having your cell phone on during study time can be a major distraction and is not conducive to learning.

5. Study just after you have eaten. Studies have shown that thinking is slower after having a meal.

6. Space out. When you feel your mind begin to wander, remind yourself to concentrate. If you are reading, using your finger is a good way to keep your mind on track. The movement of your finger on the page forces you to pay attention to what you are doing.

About The Author

Gene Grzywacz is dedicated to teaching college study skills to serious students and is author of The Brute Force Study Guide. To learn more visit: http://bruteforcestudyguide.com/page4.html

By Caroline Mackay

How many of you have heard this? Well, I’m here to tell you that this is false. Everyone can teach, but not in a classroom. Some years ago the newspaper reported of a very successful lawyer who had always dreamed of being a teacher. He had made a lot of money as a lawyer and decided to follow his dream and become a teacher. He became a teacher and because he was a very successful lawyer he felt that he could be a very successful teacher. He started in September and lasted until Christmas and then resigned. It was too much work.

Everyone teaches someone and something, but teaching 32 students is a whole different matter. Some people feel that since they have raised a family of five children then surely the classroom can be no worse. Maintaining control of 25-30 students takes talent, persistence, and training. From day one until day 190 you must maintain with no days off. If you are lax one day it will take you two to three days to get the student back. Maybe that is one reason that teachers do not take many days off because if they get the wrong substitute they have to retrain their students

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A teacher in a classroom of students is not like a doctor ordering nurses around or a coach directing his team because many students do not want to be in the classroom and they don’t get paid for being there. Now the nurses receive some pay and the team wants to be there because they enjoy it, but that is not the case with all students.

Teachers are not like many other professionals because they deal with multiple students at a time while most other professions deal with only one person at a time. Teachers don’t schedule appointments with the students, they must deal with all the students NOW, not when they get around to it. When that bell rings in the morning the teacher cannot walk in 30 minutes late because they have been dealing with something else, they must be there.

Teachers are not like CEO’s. They may be over the classroom, but all the students do not jump to do their bidding like other employees would with a CEO. In fact it takes talent to get those students to jump and do what they are required to.

Teachers are not like food processors, or resteraunts because if they receive materials that are not up to par they cannot send them back for replacement. If the blue berries are bad they go back, not so with a students that has problems. Teachers must work with the students they receive at the beginning of the year, they don’t get to send them back for a better batch.

Teachers are not like manufacturers because if the product doesn’t turn out like the mold then they cannot melt it down and start over. They have to work with the misshappened student that has not been fed, is cold and doesn’t care if he is in school..

Basically teachers are not like any other profession because they have no control over the incoming, raw product. They must deal with the student as they are and try to make them a better person in only one year.

About The Author

Caroline Mackay is a retired teacher of thirty seven years and writer and producer of many school programs. She is the host of http://www.ezeducationplays.com/articles.html and http://www.ezelectronicelements.com/page/page/3966316.htm

By Adam Waxler

As an adjunct education professor I am often asked, “How do I motivate students to learn?”

Motivating students to learn is a struggle that all teachers face.

Since I also teach middle school social studies it is the challenge I personally face everyday.

The truth is motivating students to learn is one of the key components of effective teaching AND classroom management.

If students are not motivated to learn then they are most likely not involved in the lesson and if they are not involved in the lesson they are much more likely to cause classroom management problems.

Therefore, it is critical for teachers to increase student motivation to learn and the best way to do this is for teachers to spark student interest at the beginning of every lesson.

Here are six effective strategies for motivating students to learn I do at the beginning of lessons:

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1. Use critical thinking questions ~ The great thing about using these types of questions is that they don’t necessarily have a right or wrong answer so students are allowed to express their own opinions as opposed to simply being told to memorize facts.

Here’s a quick example. Let’s take a social studies lesson on the use of the atomic bomb to end World War II. To spark interest at the beginning of the lesson the teacher can ask students to all write down an answer to the following question… “Do you think President Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bomb to end WWII? Why?”

Teachers can then let students share their answers for a quick class discussion and then take a class poll. Now that the students are interested in the topic it is much easier for the teacher to start the lesson.

Then, at the end of the lesson, the teacher can take another poll to see if the student’s opinions have changed.

2. Use music to teach ~ Music is one of the most underrated learning tools and is a great way to spark student interest. For example, when teaching a lesson on the slave trade and the Middle Passage I introduce the topic by playing the Bob Marley songs “Buffalo Soldier” and “Catch a Fire”.

3. Use video ~ Video is one of the most misunderstood teaching tools and is often abused. However, if used correctly video can be a great tool increase student motivation to learn. The key is to use short clips from movies and documentaries at beginning of lessons rather than the end. Hollywood movies are great for this, but you can also use unitedstreaming.com to download short clips from documentaries on any subject for any grade level.

4. Relate what students are learning to what is going on in the “real world” ~ This is obviously easier done with some subjects than others, but it can be done. Students need to know “why” they are learning something.

5. Relate what students are learning to what is important to them ~ The trick here is to get to know your students and learn about their own interests.

6. Use technology…or rather, have the student use technology to learn ~ Have them create podcasts, videos, web sites, brochures etc.

Increasing student motivation to learn can be challenging, but it is an essential element in being an effective teacher. The added bonus is you will also find yourself enjoying teaching much more when it doesn’t feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get your students involved.

About The Author

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