Job Discussion Forums

[Mojoski]

[maarg]

[NilSatis82]

[maniak]

Sorry, but Im of the opinion a good teacher has to be just a good performer. Even with grammar exercises this means having an upbeat voice and dropping some interesting tidbits, with just the right amount of massaging to make the students understand why its important but also have a bit of fun, in the end its still boring grammar.

Jokes and laughter count. I take pride in that my lessons are sometimes nonstop laughfests, but have the ability to steer the lesson in such a way that a student learns quite a bit as well, if not just pure vocabulary needed for jokes. I guess it helps also knowing how to take a shot at yourself and having some humility, and that realizing that you are in fact a commodity that needs to sell as much as teach.

[spiral78]

maniak, it may be true and work well in some teaching contexts - but most definitely not all.

[maarg]

[hrvatski]

You don't need to be a clown, but it's preferable to be extroverted and spontaneous (among many other things). I have seen both teachers with very little humour, as well as joke-a-minute types be very successful.

Well-chosen material, sensitivity to students' reactions and the ability to keep interpersonal contact smooth has a lot to do with students liking a teacher in my experience.

[spiral78]

I agree with hrvatski, except for the 'extrovert' label. I'm not one...but because I have a genuine interest in the goals and success of my students, I've always been able to build a genuine rapport.

One example I can think of where humor is definitely off-limits is in my classes of Saudi students. They are older men, living in Europe temporarily to study - and not at all receptive to joking. However, they are receptive to a quieter, attentive, responsive, and supportive approach.

Europeans often 'get' humor in English, and enjoy it. But that's most definitely not true of all students - and not the focus of most European students, either.

[Glenlivet]

[maarg]

Apparently, there are as many views as teachers (and probably students). I wonder if DOSes take that into consideration...

In any case, whenever a DOS goes on about how I should move around the class more (individual lesson), how I'm creating distance sitting behind a desk and not right in front of the student, with my head in his book, or that I should open the window in the class for instance, and things like "you're good at explaining things" or "I like the fact that you encourage self-correction" are mentioned last and sound almost like a reproach, then I'm thinking "this is bull***t".

[simon_porter00]

[Harry from NWE]

Unfortunately the best lesson joke can only be used one day a year. It's the fourth, fifth and sixth conditionals lesson. Just make up any old rubbish featuring if and then spend three minutes presenting them to your students. The sixth condition should be something along the lines of "If I were had having been paid attention to the date, I will were had understood all of this."


Oops, nearly forgot to say that this lesson is only for 1 April.

[spiral78]

Cool

[Jack Walker]

[the new guy]

i had an evaluation done a month ago.

I teach direct method.

afterwards the DOS gave me a list of notes about what she observed. She got angry with me because i didn't correct every single little mistake the students made.

I explained to her that I felt it was more important for the student to gain confidence speaking. I said that it would be a demotivator for me to stop them at every word that was said wrong and make them start again. No winner.

If i stopped every single mistake, the class would have no flow and take forever to get anything done.

We obviously didn't see eye to eye.

and wtf is with polish women as DOS's?? they have some complex that the are superior to a native speaker and that you should be subserviant to them and be happy you have a job with her.