| If the thought of facing a room full of expectant English | | | | lessons are likely to be a little shaky. Don't beat |
| learners makes your tummy go all wonky and sees | | | | yourself up about it – no one expects you to be a |
| you reaching for the door, you're not alone! Most new | | | | super-star teacher on your first day. So your |
| TEFL teachers find summing up the courage to take | | | | confidence doesn't take too much of a battering, focus |
| their first few lessons pretty tricky, but help is at hand. | | | | on your successes during your first few weeks as a |
| Here are seven easy ways to boost your classroom | | | | teacher, however small. Learn from your mistakes, but |
| confidence. | | | | don't dwell on them – otherwise you risk total loss |
| 1. Do a TEFL course | | | | of confidence! |
| Want disengaged students, sweaty armpits and | | | | 5. Enlist the help of a local teacher |
| stressful lessons? Don't do a TEFL course! Simply | | | | You're probably doing better than you think. If possible |
| being a native English speaker is enough to nab you a | | | | get one of the local teachers at your school to sit in on |
| TEFL job, but doesn't mean you'll know what to do | | | | one of your lessons and give you some feedback. |
| when faced with your students. Doing any TEFL | | | | You'll find they're very likely to be complimentary giving |
| course, no matter how short, will give you a good | | | | you a good ego boost – and if not you'll get some |
| introduction to the principles of teaching English and | | | | handy suggestions about how to improve your |
| lesson planning. And if you know what to do in theory, | | | | classes. |
| your confidence in practice will soar. | | | | 6. Don't sweat the grammar |
| 2. Be prepared! | | | | A lot of new teachers get crippled by the thought of |
| If you have a good idea of what you're aiming to | | | | having to know every single grammar rule from the |
| cover in each lesson, the activities you're going to do | | | | off. The good news is that you don't! Keep a decent |
| and the materials you'll need, stepping into that | | | | grammar reference book, like A Concise Grammar for |
| classroom will be massively less scary. Your lesson | | | | English Language Teachers, on hand to get to grips |
| plans don't need to be fully fleshed out works of art | | | | with the particular grammar point you'll be teaching |
| (most experienced teachers just scribble some ideas | | | | before each lesson. If your students start asking tricky |
| down on scraps of paper), but having some clear | | | | questions just say you'll cover it in another lesson. |
| ideas will stop you turning into a gibbering wreck. | | | | They don't need to know that you have no idea what |
| 3. Have a few tricks up your sleeve | | | | they're talking about! |
| No matter how wonderful your lesson plan, students | | | | 7. Start small |
| are unpredictable creatures and things can quickly go | | | | Facing large classes of students is pretty daunting for |
| off track. As a result it'll make you feel a lot more | | | | experienced TEFL teachers, let alone newbies. To help |
| confident if you've got a few aces up your sleeve to | | | | build your classroom confidence you might want to |
| deal out when your lesson doesn't go to plan. There | | | | give private one-to-one lessons to a few students in a |
| are some great, foolproof activities here that are | | | | more relaxed atmosphere. Not only will it give you |
| worth keeping in reserve: | | | | some extra cash, it will also help you hone your |
| 4. Focus on your successes | | | | teaching skills in a less pressurised atmosphere. |
| No matter how much preparation or study you do | | | | What do you think? How would you boost your |
| before you start teaching abroad, your first few | | | | classroom confidence? |