3 Simple Things To Help You Become A More Effective Teacher

For those of you who actually care about your students and the education you are providing for them, here are 3 simple things you can try that have helped me become a more effective teacher.

  1. Write on the side of the white board today’s lesson schedule.
    (e.g. 1:00-1:30 Text Book, 1:30-1:35 break, 1:35-2:00 Science) If my boss comes in my class this technique makes me look somewhat professional, it helps me stay on schedule, and it helps the students anticipate what the day has in store for them.

  2. For very young classes, use a puppet for teaching simple conversations.
    I have a conversation with a monkey hand-puppet. Then I have the children play the role of me and they talk to the puppet (me). Finally the students have the conversation in pairs. This visual tool engages children who become bored in class and it is fun because you can develop a puppet personality (e.g. Sally the silly Snake).

  3. If young students start to lose focus or are being wild simply say, “Hands on your head.”
    The first kid to put their hands on their head gets one point/sticker/piece of candy and/or the last student loses a point/has to do something slightly unpleasant. Then say, “Hands on your feet. Hands on your knees.” Then resume your lesson.

Please contribute 3 simple things that you have discovered over your teaching career that have helped improve your teaching style.

Nice!
Good suggestions!

  1. Keep a hard copy of your lesson plan in front of you at all times. DO NOT look at it unless the class totally derails, but in case your boss or assistant teacher wants to know what’s going on, it’s useful and helps to add to your image as a professional.

  2. Let complicated lessons be a series of “games” and hands-on activities complimented by explanation, and not vice versa. Young learners especially need to be engaged and not lectured.

  3. Keep a pocket-sized journal on you in case you have any great ideas. I find that I often wish I could write down ideas for a lesson topic, or a new game, or a twist on a class favorite, or a new way to organize my lessons, but I often forget the idea by the time I get home. When I remember to carry a journal, it has helped me out a great deal. If you have the time to, take notes about individual students’ consistent problems. See if you can use these notes to find ways to tailor your lessons to your classes strengths and weaknesses accordingly.

Sorry, these are kind of obvious, I suppose, but it’s the best I could come up with off the top of my head :confused:

OK to all 108 teachers out there who actually care about the education you are providing: to make it easier just list one thing!

  1. canes
  2. sticks
  3. rulers
    Edit: 4. whips

In all earnestness, those wee sprogs rarely see their parents. As a teacher in Taiwan, one becomes a surrogate. Appreciate this and respect it. One sometimes fails to comprehend the influence that we have. Responsibility.

A kitchen timer is a good tool for keeping the class on task and getting things done.

In younger grades, have an attendance chart/star chart. In order to earn stars (or whatever the bribery point system you’re using is) students must move their name markers to the first star (points for attendance make kids beg parents to attend bushiban–bosses will like this.) This saves time once students are used to the procedure because you never need to call roll, just check the chart.

Introduce at least one book per week to your students by having a “read aloud.” Chose one scene, or chapter, from the book and read it to students. It should be something engaging and a bit of a cliff hanger. Make the book available for students to read, but not required. Offer students who DO read the book extra poings. Good for all grades. (The youngest students can use picture books–you must “make up” a story to “read alloud” with cues from the pictures–be sure to NAME things and actions in the pictures.) Be sure to display the read aloud books in an interesting way in a special place in the classroom.

P.S.

The first and second tips I’ve listed are nothing but procedures. Google classroom procedures for more information.

Just thought of another one for ESL–Vocab building game.

On the board, or on A4 paper, write a common word, i.e. “walk.” On smaller cards, like index cards, write synonyms, i.e. “saunter, swaggar, gambol, etc…” Find synonyms online if needed. Use several common words. Shuffle small cards and deal them to students. First student to get all their small cards correctly associated with the common word wins–or have two complete sets of materials and divide the classroom into teams and let them compete (what I’d do in Taiwan).

i love this post. I’m not an English teacher, but really want to and can’t. I’ll be working for my dad in Taiwan soon. But my boyfriend might come with me to Taiwan and be an English teacher. I’ll pass this stuff on to him.

ALSO, i love this post because I find that most teachers (I’m about to graduate last year of undergraduate college and I am a private tutor and always wonder about new techniques) waste my time, don’t care, have no direction or purpose in class, etc. And I do know that the younger kids need more attention than college kids, and they are honestly really excited to be there, so to hear this from English Teachers makes me think, “ah, there IS a God” Maybe school isn’t so bad!

[quote=“XinBiDe”]Nice!
Good suggestions!

  1. Keep a hard copy of your lesson plan in front of you at all times. DO NOT look at it unless the class totally derails

:/[/quote]

All good suggestions, but why not look at your lesson plan whenever you need to, a lesson is not a memory test.

I watch the clock continually, and reference the plan regularly to ensure that I’m on schedule. Mind you, my classes run 2-3 hours.

I’m really enjoying this list. I’m always looking for ways to improve my teaching. I teach adults and university classes, so perhaps not all of my ideas will be applicable to your situation.

  1. Put your students’ names on index cards. This is great for checking answers, as well as putting students into pairs or groups. Also, you can flip through them when students are doing pair work or group work and test yourself on their names.

  2. Recap new vocabulary at the end of a lesson. This means you always have an extra activity at the end of class. It also helps students review a few things they’ve learned.

  3. Look for ways to personalize the teaching material. Think of how you can get students to relate the language they’ve used in class to their own lives. You can ask them personal questions or get them to write sentences.

Great thread :bravo:

1. Puppet ‘assistant’.
The kids love seeing the puppet come out, but I only introduce him if they have behaved well all class. Surprisingly the older kids (junior high) seem to love it more! They beg me to bring out ‘Max’ to have a chat…
I have always loved puppets so bought a nice one in Australia before I came over. He cost about 3,000 NT and worth every cent.
Usually I adlib a bit first and then get into the conversation or language pattern.
Ive created a persona for the puppet that is slightly dumb, eager to please and a bit naughty too. Occasionally he speaks in Chinese which is not allowed in the classroom! I scold him and he hangs his head in shame - the kids go wild :slight_smile:

2. Brainstorm with friends who also teach.
Ok this may seem a bit lame, but when I meet with teacher friends I usually pick their brains for ideas on activities and games. It’s not a regular thing but I have learned some great stuff by asking other teachers for ideas.

3. Have a set routine for discipline
This is really obvious but last time I was here it was a real uphill battle with some of my classes. I wanted everyone to like me and be the lovable clown but it just doesn’t work here.
My simple discipline regime is …
a) Have 3 or 4 rules for the classroom and STICK TO THEM. Consistency is the most important part here…
b) Have a set punishment for kids who don’t obey the rules. Have them sit out on a game, write lines for homework or just stand in the corner with their hands on their head for 3 minutes.
c) Positive reinforcement - If somebody does something good, congratulate them. Have the whole class clap for a few seconds and give them a word of encouragement. Positive reinforcement turned my job around when I was here last time. The kids LOVE being told how great they are, and it pulled 2 of my classes into line when I started doing it.

Most of this stuff is obvious (now) but I didn’t have any formal or even informal teacher training before and had to learn this all myself.

I teach adults so the simple things are different.

  1. A Starbucks-type mug with a screw-on lid.
  2. Teaching at the weekend, teaching more than 20-25 hours a week, is a recipe for burnout.
  3. The sincere and non-hateful acceptance that if 70% of English speaking adults are fuck-heads that make you want to cry, then adult students are going to hit roughly the same percentage. Live for the 30%.
  4. Your boss does not have your best interests at heart.

Acknowledging and accepting the four noble truths in a non-hateful way leaves you free to focus on technique. Get a pile of books, get out of Taiwan and experiment!

I think I’m going to do just that. Thailand is in my sights. The salary is lower but at least there are jobs there…!

I think I’m going to do just that. Thailand is in my sights. The salary is lower but at least there are jobs there…![/quote]

Teaching in Thailand is fun. Pointless but fun. sanuk/mai sanuk is just about all there is to it. Maybe it was because I was so young and inexperienced; it would do my head in, these days.

I love being in Thailand, though. Good luck, pubba.

  1. Give equal time to students. They paid the same so they should get the same speaking time.
  2. Remove any distractions from the classroom walls. This means any pictures, posters, pot plants, clock etc.
  3. Dictation - this is good for all levels (and is a lifesaver for the teacher when he is too pissed to write on the board). As you walk up and down the room, you can imagine that you are Churchill at home in Chartwell dictating to his secretary, and not some burnt out ESL loser in Taiwan.

Ha! I’m so happy that someone else has visualised this before and just me :laughing:

Buttercup - I’m going to PM the hell out of you to find out more about your experiences :wink: Or maybe start a new thread. Teaching in Thailand vs. teaching in Taiwan

Get the bs stuff that they think is so important here finished and out of the way in the first part of each class so you have a few minutes left to actually teach, or rather to facilitate learning. You have to follow the program or you might not have a job, but you need to actually help your students learn or you might not be able to sleep well at night and you will burn out quickly.

[quote=“almas john”]…
2. Remove any distractions from the classroom walls. This means any pictures, posters, pot plants, clock etc.[/quote]
I have to disagree with this one. Visual aids help a lot of students remember (visual/kinesthetic learners)
If you mean remove/cover that stuff before dictation, then I would agree.

[quote=“tatterdemalion”]2. [color=#FF0000]Recap new vocabulary[/color] at the end of a lesson. This means you always have an extra activity at the end of class. It also helps students review a few things they’ve learned.

  1. Look for ways to personalize the teaching material. Think of how you can get students to [color=#FF0000]relate the language they’ve used in class to their own lives[/color]. You can ask them personal questions or get them to write sentences.[/quote]

  2. Recap new vocab at the beginning of the next lesson as well and tie it into the new lesson if at all possible.

  3. Making the lessons pertinent to real life is a great way of helping kids practice and retain.

  4. I would add developing a relationship with your students. Maintain professionalism but let the kids know you’re a real person too. I talk to my kids when I see them in town or before and after school. I’m not afraid to laugh at myself in class either. Like he old saying goes, " They don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care."

I’ve stopped teaching so that I can spend more time with Mandarin, so this goes out to all the Mandarin teachers out there (then again I doubt any are reading this):

  1. (In adult classes find out more about your students) ask them why they are studying - find out their motivation, their study goals.
  2. Identify areas where the student needs to make improvement, make corrections!
  3. Give a damn about your students! Ask yourself ‘Are my students making any progress or are they just sitting there bored out of their minds - wondering why this idiot teacher spent 2 hours reading vocabulary out to us when we all have dictionaries anyway’!!!

The majority of my Mandarin teachers have failed miserably on all 3 accounts! However, if we English teachers (previous, current and future) fail to make such observations - then we’d be in deep sh*t!

[quote=“kjmillig”][quote=“almas john”]…
2. Remove any distractions from the classroom walls. This means any pictures, posters, pot plants, clock etc.[/quote][/quote]

[quote]I have to disagree with this one. Visual aids help a lot of students remember (visual/kinesthetic learners)
If you mean remove/cover that stuff before dictation, then I would agree.[quote]

Glad someone called me on it. I was in fact joking. I like to decorate my classroom walls with artwork and the ceiling with sheep posters.