Video timeline
00:00 Introduction
01:06 1. Enthusiasm and Subject Knowledge
01:39 2. Clear Instructions. Limited Information
02:03 3. Space and Time to Practise
02:38 4. Just in Time Correction
03:11 5. Generous with Praise
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Video transcript
What can a pottery teacher teach an English language teacher about teaching? More than you might think!
What makes a language teacher a GREAT language teacher? Here are FIVE things that, in my very humble opinion of course, are elements that stack towards that aim. Want to know what they are? Keep watching.
I’m Jo Gakonga, I’m a teacher educator, a CELTA tutor and assessor and I’ve got a website at ELT-Training.com where I make video based support material for English language teachers at all stages of their careers. Check it out and if you like this give it a thumbs up and subscribe. I make a new video every week.
I started pottery lessons recently and the teacher is great, so it got me thinking about analysing what exactly it is I like about her approach and how this equates to language teaching. This is what I came up with:
#1. She’s really enthusiastic about her subject- this is very infectious- and she’s talented so she’s credible. For language teachers the equivalent is loving the language and knowing a lot about it. That obviously means you have to have a high proficiency, but it also means that you understand the way it’s put together and you can explain grammar and vocabulary. If you want help with this, try one of my courses!
#2. She gives clear instructions and not too much information at one time- then I can get my hands dirty. This one’s pretty much directly translatable to the language classroom. Don’t talk AT them… (just) small amounts of explanation and then get them practising.
#3. She’s got a very hands-off approach. When I’m learning a new technique, she gives space and time for me to do it -she’ll say ‘I’m not watching you’. There’s time to make mistakes, to try to sort them out on my own. She trusts me to try, to play with it, to have fun. It seems to me that this is exactly how practising a language should be.
#4. Is connected to the last one because although there’s space and time to try, she’s also very aware of what I’m doing and she’s quick with correction where that’s necessary. I can already feel that this is going a long way towards forming the right habits. I can hear her in my head saying ‘two hands’! because she’s had to say it so often! But it’s done with humour and warmth and it helps, just as it does with language learning.
#5. The final thing is probably the most important one and certainly one that’s useful to think about for any teaching situation. She’s really generous with genuine praise. Even when I KNOW what I’m doing is far from perfect, it’s very supportive and motivating to be told that you’re doing well. I think that praising your learners is something that can become a bit automatic and not so authentic? How much do you praise your learners? And how much do you mean it?!
So that’s it- how many of these do you think YOU do well? And if you want some help becoming the BEST teacher you can be, head over to ELT-Training.com for lots of ideas and support.
