It does not matter whether you are an experienced teacher or a new one, the first day with a new group is not easy. You are probably worried thinking if your students will accept you if your English is good enough for this particular group if the group is too big or yet if you have the sufficient tools to manage the class.
I have two good news for you. First, you are not alone, we all go through this feeling of insecurity and self-consciousness. The important thing here is to breath in deeply, relax and face your fears. Although it might seem scary at the beginning students everywhere are interested and eager in learning new things, and I'm sure you as a teacher has something to teach.
Second, this blog was designed to help (especially new teachers) to give their first steps into this wonderful world of teaching a second language. So I am here to help you through this process.
Two things of paramount importance on the first day:
Firstly get to know your students. As important as having a good English level, being a good teacher also requires being friendly and receptive with your students. It's believed that having a bond with your students will make them learn better and more pleasantly, increasing productivity. How can we create this bond? My first suggestion would be, wear a big smile. You will soon notice the power of smiling. Another thing is expressing interest in what your students have to say. Everybody likes to talk about themselves every now and then and you can make use of this for several purposes: Decreasing TTT, developing your students' discourse and strengthening your bond with them. So have them talking, ask them questions about their routine, about their preferences, about the reason why they are studying another language. You will be surprised at how much you can learn from your students' experiences.
The other important aspect of a first class is a well-planned warm-up activity or game. It's important to have in mind that a warm-up activity doesn't necessarily have to be related to your target language. A warm-up can simply be an activity to get students engaged and draw them out of themselves.
There are several activities and games we can do at the beginning of a class. Obviously, you must have in mind the level of your students before you prepare the warm-up activity. If you are teaching elementary students you can have an alphabet game in which they have to tell a word in English with each letter. If they are intermediate or advanced students you can have a meaningful conversation and at the same time you can evaluate their proficiency and start to understand their difficulties to prepare the upcoming classes. Or yet if you are teaching kids you can have an enjoyable game with your pupils. There are some games that always work like hangman, Simon says, pictionary, and mime. (If you are a teacher currently teaching kids we will have some more specific articles on teaching English as a second language to children).
Sufficient - enough for a particular purpose
Self-consciousness - a nervous and uncomfortable feeling when you are worried about what people think about you or your actions
Paramount - more important than anything else
Receptive - willing to listen and accept new ideas and suggestions
Every now and then - sometimes but not often
TTT - teacher talking time
Discourse - communication in speech or writing
Strengthen - make something stronger
Warm-up - a game or activity usually done at the beginning of a class to get students engaged
Draw sb out - help someone express their thoughts and feelings more easily by making that person feel less nervous
Elementary - related to the early stages of studying a subject
I have two good news for you. First, you are not alone, we all go through this feeling of insecurity and self-consciousness. The important thing here is to breath in deeply, relax and face your fears. Although it might seem scary at the beginning students everywhere are interested and eager in learning new things, and I'm sure you as a teacher has something to teach.
Second, this blog was designed to help (especially new teachers) to give their first steps into this wonderful world of teaching a second language. So I am here to help you through this process.
Two things of paramount importance on the first day:
Firstly get to know your students. As important as having a good English level, being a good teacher also requires being friendly and receptive with your students. It's believed that having a bond with your students will make them learn better and more pleasantly, increasing productivity. How can we create this bond? My first suggestion would be, wear a big smile. You will soon notice the power of smiling. Another thing is expressing interest in what your students have to say. Everybody likes to talk about themselves every now and then and you can make use of this for several purposes: Decreasing TTT, developing your students' discourse and strengthening your bond with them. So have them talking, ask them questions about their routine, about their preferences, about the reason why they are studying another language. You will be surprised at how much you can learn from your students' experiences.
The other important aspect of a first class is a well-planned warm-up activity or game. It's important to have in mind that a warm-up activity doesn't necessarily have to be related to your target language. A warm-up can simply be an activity to get students engaged and draw them out of themselves.
There are several activities and games we can do at the beginning of a class. Obviously, you must have in mind the level of your students before you prepare the warm-up activity. If you are teaching elementary students you can have an alphabet game in which they have to tell a word in English with each letter. If they are intermediate or advanced students you can have a meaningful conversation and at the same time you can evaluate their proficiency and start to understand their difficulties to prepare the upcoming classes. Or yet if you are teaching kids you can have an enjoyable game with your pupils. There are some games that always work like hangman, Simon says, pictionary, and mime. (If you are a teacher currently teaching kids we will have some more specific articles on teaching English as a second language to children).
Sufficient - enough for a particular purpose
Self-consciousness - a nervous and uncomfortable feeling when you are worried about what people think about you or your actions
Paramount - more important than anything else
Receptive - willing to listen and accept new ideas and suggestions
Every now and then - sometimes but not often
TTT - teacher talking time
Discourse - communication in speech or writing
Strengthen - make something stronger
Warm-up - a game or activity usually done at the beginning of a class to get students engaged
Draw sb out - help someone express their thoughts and feelings more easily by making that person feel less nervous
Elementary - related to the early stages of studying a subject
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