There is nothing in the world as rewarding as seeing someone who knows something new because of you. That you helped that person accomplish a goal in their life, and that they are better prepared for their future.
I started teaching English 5 years ago. I simply did it because I knew English and I saw it as an opportunity to do both, practice the language and earn some money. But that was it. I had never done it before nor had I taken any sort of pedagogic training. However, I was good at public speaking and had a fair understanding of English grammar. So I didn’t think about it twice and got onboard this adventure.
I fell in love with it after my very first class. I’ll show you a little of how this world is, and hopefully you can get to understand your teachers better (that will also make you better students).
Teachers, keep it simple.
When I am in a class, I want to make sure all I teach can be expressed in simple words FOR THE STUDENT. That’s important to highlight because I am a believer of the individualism in terms of learning. Everyone has their own pace and that is the first thing us as teachers must identify. You want to make sure your classes will contribute to something new for the student, as long as it is kept simple for their understanding.
This can be something specially challenging when teaching English. The reason for that is that it is the universal language, and even if it is their first time formally learning it, many already have some notion of how it works due to the internet, media, video games, school, etc.; as well as there is people who don’t know one single word. So, testing your student before a class, and keeping a record of their advancements, is a must (I prefer to have both written and personal records of them, the latter being my favorite because learning is a human process, and it must be analyzed as such).
Get the student involved too!
It is like that. I try to keep it simple. And that also helps me to shorten the length of my classes, which will help me to do something important: let my students talk and take part in the process.
Many teachers believe that our duty is to just talk and talk for hours, so students can get as much information as possible, and then test their knowledge some time after through an exam. Nevertheless, I don’t agree with that ideology. Every time I teach something, I try to make students talk at least a 25% of the whole class (when we are in a conversational class, that number goes up to around 75% of the time). I always deliver simple instructions so every time we see something new, they will give me as many examples as possible until I know they understand what I am talking about. It would be pretty much a waste of time to just say things and not making sure at the moment whether they get it or not.
The best way for learning is not by giving them knowledge, but by awaking their interest for research.
This aspect is crucial. Classes are a great time for students to receive and practice the knowledge their teachers try to deliver, but if real learning wants to be implanted, there has to be more than just that.
Take for instance an English course. It is difficult to make a student commit to coming at least three times a week for a whole year to finish an average course in an academy. Well, that’s even worse when I say that that is not enough time to master a new language. So, what is left for students who want to learn? Well, as tedious as it may be, they have to practice at home EVERY SINGLE DAY. If you are a student, you cannot stay with just the information and practice you got from your classes. You must do other activities (the more fun there is in them, the better) to ensure the learning process. If it is languages, watch a video or read a book in such language. Look up for the meaning of new words. Review that grammar principle you do not fully understand. But there is never going to be a better teacher than yourself as you know yourself better than anyone else. A teacher is just a guide, but the one who is supposed to learn is YOU.
We live now in an era in which we have access to all kinds of information at hand. Don’t waste it.
My first English course helped me a lot to understand this concept. Thanks to that, I was capable of learning French by myself, and now I am learning coding just as well. There are so many Youtube tutorials, articles, BOOKS! However, if you are in front of a person who knows about the subject you want to learn, I suggest you ask him to give you a list with every single point you need to achieve it. Then, all current tools should be enough for you to do the rest.
In order to do that, we as teachers must keep students encouraged so they accomplish their goals. What I told above about keeping things simple is a great way of doing it. Let your students see they are learning something. That they are better than before, no matter how little the improvement is. Also, give them simple instructions to do activities at home. According to their response, you must assign them more responsibilities and more homework. But you must interpret if your student is up for that. If not, it’s better to slower the learning rhythm. There are no hurries.