Distance Learning TESOL

The course influenced me a lot as it showed me how many responsibilities an english teacher has. First of all, teachers have to play numerous roles as soon as they enter the classroom. Now I realize how important it is for teachers to be able to switch between these roles appropriately. Personally, I will try to carry out each of the roles required, influenced by the type of activity the class is doing or which stage of a lesson we are at. It is not an easy thing to manage the students in the classroom, so in order to involve and engage my students within a lesson, I will use as many possible options as I can including mime, gesture, voice, visual aids, different forms of grouping the students, etc. Any teacher would like their students to be successful throughout and at the conclusion of their course. Therefore, there are a lot of things to take into account: students’ age, language level, learning experience, motivation, language awareness, reasons for wanting to learn another language, etc. It will help to establish a good rapport between the teacher and their students. Good relations make teaching and the learning process much more enjoyable for everyone. When we start teaching, we have to select which methods and techniques will bring us the best results. Each one has its own pluses and minuses. This means that when I am making my choice I will rely on the importance of developing not only speaking skills, but listening, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar as well. So a combination of several different approaches is the best solution to achieve success in this sphere. Usually teachers begin to think of appropriate methods while they are planning a lesson. A good lesson plan should be logically organized then it will certainly bring a good outcome. Again, there are different ways of how a plan might look. This depends on the aims of the lesson, and its objectives. There are three stages, which are essential for any lesson. These stages are engage, study and activate. In other words, during a lesson we should involve our students comprehensively thus arousing their interest. Then we have to help them focus on the language that they need. Finally, we should let them use this language in different situations with the help of various activities. While developing the lesson plan the teacher needs to think of the learners’ objectives, personal aims, the context of the lesson and what teaching aids would be required. Also, the anticipated problems which could arise for me as a teacher and for my students. As soon as the lesson is over, it will be useful to reflect on what I have or haven’t managed to do and why, in order to improve my future lessons. As every class has students not only with different interests but also with different abilities, I will provide my pupils who have some special needs with my individual support and assistance during or after the lesson. It has been mentioned many times during the course that teacher’s language can sometimes cause problems for the students in different areas. To avoid these challenging situations I will always try to give short and clear instructions, using a simple language. I will always be consistent and use visual clues where it will be necessary. Any language is a very complex and complicated system. This includes very many aspects such as vocabulary, grammar, functions, phonology, receptive and productive skills. We cannot teach them in isolation. When we introduce them to our students we must show them what an item means, when it is used, etc. Our students must realize that people have different reasons and purposes for gaining or getting information from various sources. It is just necessary to find the right balance between these aspects within a lesson or course as well. It is a well-known fact, that most course-books are not perfect. So in order to make a lesson really effective a teacher needs to develop their own or to find some published materials, which they can bring to the classroom and include them in the teaching process. This will not only bring some variety to the lesson, but it will also demonstrate that a teacher is flexible, open-minded and really does care for their students.