While teaching is one of the most rewarding professions out there, the act itself is not exactly a piece of cake. Students differ from each other and your preferred teaching style or method may not work for everyone.
One of the most challenging things an instructor may face in his/her career is the unmotivated student. But how exactly do you help someone who’s not interested? Here are some tips:
Tip# 1: Reach out through culture and language
Get your student to interact more by showing genuine interest in their culture. Do some research about the different customs, events and latest news about the student’s country, then talk about them during the class. Learn phrases in their language or better yet, ask them to teach you how to say phrases like ‘Good job!’ themselves.
Tip# 2: Be considerate in giving corrections
While it’s normal to give corrections during the lesson, you have to make sure not to overdo it by interrupting them every 5 seconds. This will disrupt the student’s ideas and make them feel frustrated or even attacked.
Tip# 3: Let your students set short-term goals
The setting of short-term learning goals could be a good idea for students. This will help them focus on realistic targets and prevent them from getting frustrated if they can’t master everything as quickly or as easily as they expected.
Tip# 4: Connect your class to the student’s interests
Try to connect English learning to the student’s interests outside of the lessons. Ask them to read books, watch movies or listen to music and make activities out of them. For example, for one lesson, you can ask the student to show you his favorite book and tell you what it is about.
Tip# 5: Use games to appeal to their competitive sides
Most people love winning and playing games is still one of the most popular activities when it comes to making the class more lively or encouraging the students to participate more. Use games that will call to their natural competitiveness.
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