COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH NOVICE TEACHERS

COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH NOVICE TEACHERS

1. Instruct children

It is a classic mistake of a novice teacher entering a classroom on the first day of class, standing in front of a blackboard faces a group of perfectly mute children, give a lot of instructions in a complicated English and think children are stupid because do not understand what to do.

2. Focus on the Activity Rather than Student Needs

The goal of English classes is to help your students learn English, not pass the time as quickly as possible. Make sure you are focusing on games, activities and stories that are giving your students the English exposure they need.

3. Communicating at Inappropriate Levels

Novice teachers often come into English classes and talk just like they would to a native English speaker. It can take a long time to learn to simplify language and speak at a level appropriate to students. By offering regular review and slow introduction of new targets teachers can maximize learning.

4. . Speaking too slowly

When you speak too slowly, it is hard for beginning students to understand you. Don't speak so slowly that your speech sounds unnatural! Remember to adjust your speed to match the level of your students. Knowing the skill level of your students will help you adjust your speaking speed, lesson plans, activities, and attention to students who may not be as strong.

5. Allowing students to use their native language

Students tend to fall back on using their native language because it's easier and faster to communicate and ask questions amongst peers. However, when they do this they take away from valuable opportunities to practice English. Encourage your students to use English as much as possible while class is in session.

6. - TTT (Teacher Talking Time)

The title in bold speaks for itself. The more a teacher talks, the less opportunity there is for the student to talk. Especially in an ESL class, students need time to talk. More importantly, they need time to think, prepare their thoughts, translate, and decipher how to say it out loud.

7. - The Running Commentary

Students don't need to, nor do they want to hear your entire thought process of past, present, and future activities out loud. For ESL learners, this can be boring, extremely hard to comprehend, and just plain unnecessary. This goes hand-in-hand with TTT. Tell the students what they need to know, then save your blabber for the break room.

- 8. Teacher: Do you understand?

Student: Yes…?

9 times out of 10, the student will answer yes; and 9 times out of 10, the student doesn't understand. Why? Well, nobody likes to feel like the dullest knife in the drawer. In fact, a much better way to check and see if they understand is through example. Have them use the just learned language in a sentence, repeat the instructions, or have them explain the idea further. Try your best to never end a topic of study with, "do you understand?"

9. Follow the course book.

A course book is usually not intended to be a "bible", but all too often teachers follow it "religiously". They do nothing else, nor include outside materials in their teaching.. Use the course book sequence as a guide. Freely supplement its exercises and course materials with your own creations or at the very least with materials adapted from other sources.

ESTRATEGIES FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

1. Use visual representations of new vocabulary and use graphs, maps, photographs, drawings and charts to introduce new vocabulary and concepts. Tell a story about information in the textbook using visuals.

2. Any ESL teacher can get his or her students to ask questions. There’s a lot of focus on making students ask

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