Every now and then, one of your lessons may not go as planned. Technology could fail you, leaving you without an important resource upon which other parts of the lesson rely. You could misjudge the timing of your activities so that you are left with an unexpected gap of time to fill. Or, your students could respond differently to how you thought they would and have little (if anything at all) to contribute. If this occurs, we have a few tips to help you through what could otherwise be a stressful experience:
#1 Stop!
If the lesson is really not working and no value is being gained from what you are doing, wrap up the activity the students are doing calmly and without fuss. Remember, there is no need to let your students know that the activity isn’t going as you had planned, you can simply say “Let’s complete this step and then we will move on to the next thing” or something level-appropriate to the class. As important as it is to have a lesson plan, it is also essential that you know when to let go of something that isn’t achieving its aims.
#2 Activate Plan B
All of the TEFL training and literature out there encourages the practice of having something up your sleeve for when things go wrong. This could be a game, a vocabulary activity or a fun review that you know will get the class engaging, working together, or having fun while they practise their English. A Plan B should be something that you can insert at any stage. With that in mind, if there is any preparation required, make sure you do it beforehand so that you’re always good to go!
Some of the best Plan B’s are those that are designed and delivered by the students themselves. For example: a quiz where students come up with the questions and answers themselves and then play against one another (we recommend banning Google from this activity and letting them use their own general knowledge). Another idea is for the students to storyboard, script, cast and film their own short movies on a particular theme that you have been covering. All they need for such a task is a smart phone, some target language and their imagination.
#3 Shift the dynamic
There may be times when one or more students are in a particular mood or going through something in their professional or personal life that is affecting their ability to focus. If this is the case, or if the class as a whole seems a bit flat, you can very quickly change things around by getting students to work in pairs or groups to figure out a task. Encouraging collaboration when students are unmotivated helps them to get things done and draw on each other’s energy and knowledge. Likewise, setting a calm activity to be done on their own can help a class that is boisterous or students who are in a disruptive mood. Once you have reset the tone, you can then continue with the rest of the lesson, hopefully with a renewed focus and atmosphere.
#4 Do something they don’t expect
Nothing grabs students’ attention like the unexpected. If you are having a difficult time in the classroom, a great way to get things back on track is to interrupt the norm with something that nobody saw coming. This could mean busting out an unusual skill you have to share – like a dance move, a song, or clapping a rhythm with your hands. It could mean switching the lights off and on again, just for a second, or getting the whole class to stop and touch their nose, head or feet. Once you have their attention, you can get back to the business of whatever you were doing.
#5 Finish on a good note
If you have had a tricky time during the lesson (even if your students haven’t noticed because you followed the tips!), it is good to finish with something you know they will enjoy or are likely to remember as a high point. For example, a few energetic rounds of a vocabulary review game where you stick some words up around the room and then, while you play music, students dance from card to card until the music stops and they have to stop where they are and discuss with the people closest to them all the things one can do with the word they are next to. Alternatively, you could screen the short films that the students made or stage a “Night at the Oscars” event where students are acknowledged for best script, best actress, etc. These kinds of activities stay in your students’ minds a lot longer than a rocky start to the lesson.
#6 Learn from your mistakes
No teacher is able to teach the perfect class to a perfect group of students every day. There are humans involved in what we do and therefore many variables at play. The most challenging classes lead the way to the biggest growth in your planning, delivery and understanding of the art of teaching. Remember that another day is another chance to do it all again – and this time, differently: slower, with less or more instructions, with a different type of follow-up activity, or with more group work. The possibilities for improvement are endless. All it requires is a reflective spirit, the willingness to keep trying and, when needed, a big dose of faith in yourself. Keep at it, Teacher – you’re doing great!
–
If you found this article useful, you may also like ESL games to break the ice with a new class.
Comments (35)