Teaching a second language is a hard job. Not only do you have to drag your students out of the comfort zone of their first language, but you also have to convey the complex grammatical rules. These are rules that people usually learn from childhood. These rules are almost instinctive to us. Teaching them becomes a difficult job without adequate approaches to teaching. Undergoing language training for teachers is an important way to ensure that your teaching remains effective and adequate. Here, we talk about some steps that you can take to be a better language teacher.
Hone your own skills
One of the best ways you can be a good teacher is to work on improving yourself constantly. You can do this by ensuring that your knowledge is updated. Do frequent research on new methods in teaching. You should familiarize yourself with the language and its culture by always staying updated with news. Read newspapers in the foreign language every day. Whenever possible, attend teaching workshops and seminars. Nothing is more helpful than being part of a community of practitioners from whom you can get practical advice.
Encourage your students to participate in the culture
Your students will become more enthusiastic about learning the language if they can participate in the culture of that country. Introduce them to different mediums of learning. Instead of focusing on reading and comprehension, try to show movies in class. Make them play word games whenever possible. You should try to bring in native language speakers. If possible, take your students on trips to a place where the language is spoken. Organize events such as fairs and festivals related to that culture.
Ensure that your students can participate in class
Always make each class an interactive session. Don’t let the teaching be a one-way process. Keep your students engaged throughout by holding dialogues and posing questions. Your students are more likely to gain conversational skills if they are encouraged to participate in class. Activities such as role play, extempore speaking, and acting can make them more comfortable and confident in their communication.
Check in with your students
Following a strict syllabus doesn’t always work. Sometimes, you have to adjust the pace of your class to keep your students interested. Check in with your students individually to get a sense of which stage of learning they are in. if they are lagging behind, you might want to slow down the class so that they get a chance to learn. If they are ahead of the class, this means that you need to step it up to make them retain their interest.
Use technology
Don’t forget to use technology in the classroom. There are many resources available online, which can facilitate teaching. You can use websites to track student progress and assign them activities online. These activities will utilize a range of media such as audio-visual teaching tools.
Being an effective teacher boils down to how much effort you can put in to better yourself. The important thing is to hold yourself to a high standard and apply innovative teaching methods in the classroom.