Discipline in a Chinese University takes on a different form to the discipline I was used to implementing in an ESL class. Most students at universities are very motivated and want to study very hard. However, you may find some students in your university have issues with discipline, motivation, or responsibility.
Struggling ESL students will be something that every teacher faces, and it is important that you help them in the right way. If you are lucky enough to have an ESL class that is all at the same level, enjoy it!
Filler activities are essential and every good ESL teacher has a handful (or more!) of simple, no-set-up filler activities for when a lesson finishes super early. But sometimes you don’t have ten or fifteen minutes – or even five! – to go into a more elaborate activity.
Lesson planning is something that all teachers will have to do, but we are often confined to a course book or teachers guide, but what happens when you have no limits? where do you begin from there?
The University in China that I am currently teaching at is far different to what I was doing before. My first job abroad was at a buxiban but I always wondered what the public schools and universities were like in Asia.
Your ESL class should always have a daily routine to follow to allow some structure. We all need routines throughout our days. They keep us focused, keep us productive, and help us know what to expect.
As teachers, we have numerous teaching tools and teaching games that can help our lessons and motivate our students. These tools range from physical objects and toys to the feedback we give and diction we use every single day with our students.
Correcting your ESL students is necessary, but overdoing it isn’t always the right way to go. Of course, we all want our students’ English to improve. And if your instinct is like most teachers, it feels natural to help them improve by correcting every little mistake they make. After all, if you let them go on pronouncing their words wrong or mixing up their tenses, how will they ever get it right?