How to teach English effectively.

HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT MINDS: MANI JACK 

I understand it is not easy to deal with the minds. I believe it is easier to deal with machines. Therefore, I would like to share with all of you on how to teach effectively based on my 8 years of teaching experiences. Perhaps this article can help the fresh graduates.

1. The first question that you should ask yourself is why you choose to become a teacher. The first reason why I decided to be a teacher is because I want to see changes in my students especially their mindset. The second reason is I believe that good education is the key to survival in this very demanding world. The third reason is I want my students to get out of poverty through education. The last reason is I want my students to understand that English is the international language and also the source of all the knowledge in this world through continuous evolution. In other words, English is not the colonial language. Obviously, if you wish to be a great teacher, you must first find strong and solid reasons why you decide to become a teacher.

2. In order to be a great teacher, you must understand that you are a student. Why do I say that? The first reason is because each day is a new day. Everyday you will gain many types of experiences. Sometimes, what you see and feel in class may badly affect you as a teacher. Therefore, if you have the will to understand and learn more about the expected and unexpected circumstances, you will grow mentally and you will definitely be wiser than yesterday. A teacher is also considered as a student because a teacher learns about many things in class especially the student's characters as they do not share the same upbringings. As a teacher, you will have to struggle in order to find out the best solution on how to deal with this complexity. Last but not least, you have no choice but to teach yourself about your own subject as the teaching and learning approaches change over time. You have to keep up with the latest pedagogies and most importantly, internet is the best source to help you to stay updated and relevant. I believe there are some grammarians out there who successfully come up with new approaches on how to teach grammar effectively. The same thing goes to other subjects.

3. To be great, you have to be versatile. As a teacher, you must also learn how to motivate your students. You cannot be effective in class if the students do not like you. You must first love and care about your students because they are still learning about the many faces of this life. If you fail to win their hearts, you will not be able to produce the result that you have always desired. You may share with them some of your own real life experiences. You can also get them to watch movies about life or anything that can help them to be more interested in your lesson. I believe the law of teaching is very simple. If you hate them, they will hate you too. If you learn to like them, I believe they will gradually like you. However, you have to be patient. You will enjoy the fruits after a very long battle as this is all about psychological war between hearts and minds.

4. A great teacher focuses on improvement rather than perfection. It is good to be a perfectionist but using force in the learning and teaching process will cause the students to stay away from you. There is no magic in education. Acknowledgement is very important because sweet words can be very effective in getting them to be fully engaged in the learning process. However, giving credits should be done at the right place, at the right time and with the right person. I don't mind if you wish to punish your student but you must punish them because of strong reasons and good intention.

Good luck. I hope all of us will be able to achieve this level because if we can give the best education to our students, we don't have to waste a lot of money sending them overseas.