TEFL / TESOL Blog
If it is your first day of teaching English online as a TEFL teacher and you're a little bit shaky, believe me, it's absolutely normal and okay. The first day of class is supposed to be a new experience for you because you shall be meeting different kinds of students and the type of your tutor support depends upon your learners totally.
You can be teaching business English or your students might be young learners and therefore, you have to plan the lesson according to your audience. The job does not end here as you have to practice how to deliver the lesson based on the students' grades who will be learning English.
Online TEFL courses or a diploma in TESOL/TEFL online courses will provide you with every detail that is required to teach English. You will learn about classroom management, lesson planning, lesson delivery, assessing the students, and so on. Then again, as soon as you step into the real world, you will begin to have real-life teaching experiences as you have to teach anywhere in the world.
Chalk out these points if you feel that you're losing your nerves as an English teacher on the first day.
A SIMPLE ROUTINE:
You might feel that conducting an English class for non-native English speakers is just about delivering a lesson plan but you're totally mistaken. Getting a list of participants and their background history is possible but you will not be aware of their personalities as well as behavioral pattern. Hence, try to calm yourself down before the session begins.
Waking up early in the morning, going jogging, or practicing Yoga can definitely help you to attend a state of mental peace. Do never skip your breakfast and stick to something healthy as your body must be totally fueled to bear with long TEFL classes. It is not necessary to frame a routine that is very rigid but you must always remember that you have to be physically fit and mentally calm to conduct online English classes.
Keep a few things in mind and give a kick-start to your teaching career online!
SELF-LOVE IS ALWAYS A PRIORITY:
Being an English teacher you definitely have to spend a lot of time in front of the screen while delivering the accurate lesson and above everything, you have to keep a track of how well your students are learning. Keep yourself hydrated and stay abstain from junk foods.
Sitting at one posture for a long time will hurt your back and eventually will lead to joint problems. Taking a small walk inside your home after every 1 hour or stretching will be beneficial to overcome such issues. You should never overstress yourself because your brain needs some rest to charge up once it has exhausted itself while teaching.
Hence, your sleep cycle should be sufficient enough to give proper rest to your body so that you do not wake up clumsy the next morning.
BRUSH UP YOUR LECTURE:
A high-quality delivery session can be attained in your TEFL and TESOL online classes once your lecture is to the point and crisp. It is necessary to make a list of topics or subjects that you shall deliver in your next class. Stay abide by those points and practice your lesson before the session begins.
If your way of lecturing is disorganized and has no proper direction, your students will end up feeling distracted. Try to maintain a chronological order because it will not hamper the flow of the learning process.
CHECK YOUR GADGETS:
In order to teach online, you must make sure that your gadgets are working in order and there is high-speed internet supporting the sessions properly. Before you begin the session, check your gadgets and ensure that the camera, microphone, and any other software that you're planning to use are not malfunctioning.
Keep a backup ready always as you never know when electronic gadgets will start behaving anomalously. Let's say, you're using your laptop to conduct classes but keep your phone ready as a backup in case of the former runs out of order. Check beforehand if your phone is capable enough to run the software you're planning to use and check the speed test as well.
AFTER ALL, IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS:
The earlier you understand this point, the better for you. Not every student loves learning using the same chalkboard method or a mundane lecture does not appeal to everybody. Therefore, you have to dive deep and measure the comfort zone of your students.
Suppose, your learners are business professionals who are attending an online TEFL certificate class. They are adults, have a different outlook, and hence the method of teaching to be used for them should be extremely subtle but interesting. Whereas, young learners are always enthusiastic, and teaching them English can be a fun experience.
Since you've already learned how to tackle students in your online TEFL courses, you must be aware of what happens in the classroom. Therefore, if your palpitations do not stop on the first day of teaching English, follow these points and be confident!
