BE COMMITTED TO YOUR STUDENTS: For many of our students, this is their first time in South America. Most of them don’t know anyone here and some of them don’t speak any Spanish at all. As teachers, we play an essential role in making the student feel comfortable and motivated. Bonding with students facilitates the learning process and makes for a more enjoyable teaching experience. There are many ways in which we can do this.
Each day we can ask our students how they found the previous day and whether they found their homework difficult. We can ask them what kinds of things they are interested in seeing in the city and then make relevant recommendations, as well as giving them tips on how best to move around within the city. In the same way, we can ask them what food they have tried so far and recommend other dishes worth trying. Students are always extremely grateful to receive advice in these areas. If a student is ill or down, we should always approach them to see if there is anything we can do to help them. By doing so, we can show our students that we truly care about them and ensure that they never feel alone.
ESTABLECE UN COMPROMISO CON EL ALUMNO muchos de los estudiantes vienen por primera vez a Sudamérica, casi todos no conocen a nadie, otros no hablan nada y eso le confiere al profesor un papel preponderante para lograr que el alumno se sienta cómodo y motivado. Establecer un vínculo con el alumno favorece el proceso de aprendizaje y hace que la labor docente sea más grata.
Para ellos podemos preguntarle a diario como fue su día anterior, qué tipo de lugares le interesaría conocer en la ciudad y luego recomendarle algunos, si le fue difícil hacer su tarea, que cosas diferentes ha comido y hablarle de otros platos que valga la pena probar, aconsejarlo acerca de cómo moverse en la ciudad siempre será muy agradecido por el alumno. Además si lo vemos enfermo o decaído, acercarse y preguntarle si tiene algún problema ayuda a que el alumno no se sienta solo y se sienta que de verdad importa para su profesor.
As teachers, we play an essential role in making the student feel comfortable and motivated. Bonding with students facilitates the learning process and makes for a more enjoyable teaching experience.
BE FRIENDLY, CHEERFUL AND 100% PROFESSIONAL: Remember, we are language teachers, not tax collectors! We should smile and make the student feel good. We should show them that we enjoy our jobs and that teaching and sharing with others is our vocation. Always remember that Spanish schools are not universities. Most of our students are tourists who want to learn Spanish while travelling and discovering new things. They want to leave their stresses behind and enjoy themselves. There are many ways in which teachers can act in a “professional” manner.
Support your fellow teachers and never criticize them in front of students. Listen to any complaints you receive before forwarding them to the relevant department (do not make any comments that might add to the student’s dissatisfaction). Everyone can have problems at times, but it’s best to leave personal problems outside of the classroom (taking a mental break from the issue will also be of benefit to you). Keep school supplies in order, look after them and avoid being wasteful. Always prepare your classes in good time and remember that there is always a little room for improvement. Sticking to these guidelines will make your classes unforgettable for your students.
MAINTAIN A FRIENDLY YET ORGANIZED ATMOSPHERE: Otherwise you run the risk of your classes becoming disorganized, noisy and chaotic. As teachers we should never allow our cheerful, pleasant, friendly attitudes to be mistaken for us being pushovers who will tolerate disorder.
There are therefore a number of rules that we should respect and adhere to: Students must maintain silence while teachers are explaining something. They should also show respect and listen (without interrupting) when another student is speaking. Under no circumstances should students use cell phones during class nor should they eat noisy foods (potato chips) or strong smelling foods (empanadas) in the classroom. Explain that homework is a requirement. Do not allow students to speak in their native languages or in English during the class. Do not allow any student to insult another for any reason at all. Since it is always best to lead by example, teachers should arrive to classes on time. These are just some of the things that a good teacher should always adhere to.
SÉ ALEGRE, AMABLE Y 100% PROFESIONAL Los profesores de lengua no somos empleados del servicio de impuestos. Los profesores debemos sonreír hacer sentir bien al alumno, que aprecie que nos gusta realizar nuestro trabajo, que tenemos vocación de enseña y compartir. Tengamos en mente que las escuelas de español no son universidades, nuestros estudiantes son mayoritariamente turistas que quieren aprender español, viajar, conocer, pasarlo bien, sin estresarse, etc.
En lo relacionado a ser “profesional” debemos: apoyar a tus compañeros profesores y no criticarlos jamás frente a un alumno, si recibes una queja de la empresa escúchala y luego hazla llegar al departamento correspondiente (No hagas comentarios que puedan empeorar la inconformidad del alumno), todos tenemos problemas pero no es bueno llevarse los problemas personales a clases (haz un paréntesis mental, que de hecho te dará un descanso a ti también), cuida los materiales de la escuela, no los malgastes y respeta su orden, prepara tu clase con tiempo, siempre hay pequeñas mejoras que podemos hacerle. Todo esto hará de tu clase algo inolvidable para el alumno.
MANTÉN UN AMBIENTE CORDIAL, PERO ORDENADO el punto antes mencionado, si no se aplica bien podría derivar en una clase desordenada, bulliciosa y caótica. Nosotros como profesores nunca debemos permitir que el ser alegres, simpáticos y amables se confunda con permitirles todo y tolerar el desorden.
Para ellos hay muchas cosas que debemos siempre respetar y seguir: que los alumnos guarden silencio cuando el profesor va a explicar, que escuchen con respeto (sin interrumpir) cuando otro alumno habla, que por ningún motivo hablen por teléfono celular durante la clase, que no se coman cosas ruidosas (papas fritas) u olorosas (empanadas) en clases, exigirles que hagan sus tareas, no dejarles que hablen en sus lenguas maternas o en inglés durante la clase, no permitir que ningún alumno ofenda a otro por ninguna razón, predicar con el ejemplo es ideal, por eso el profesor debe llegar siempre puntual a clases, esas son algunas de las cosas que un buen profesor debe mantener.
Remember, we are language teachers, not tax collectors! We should smile and make the student feel good. We should show them that we enjoy our jobs and that teaching and sharing with others is our vocation.
MANAGE FRUSTRATIONS: Language learning is a very slow and gradual process. It will be necessary to visit a topic many times, revising and correcting frequently. Understanding is one thing but applying that understanding is another matter entirely. It is completely normal for a student to forget what they have learned, to get confused and make mistakes or to mispronounce something after having pronounced it correctly. These are all perfectly normal, everyday situations that arise during the learning process. However, the “frustration threshold” varies greatly between people.
Some people will only get frustrated when huge errors are committed, yet the slightest mistake might be frustrating to others. For some a mistake can be a total catastrophe while for others it doesn’t matter at all. As teachers, our task is to make the student see that mistakes are a natural part of learning and if they didn’t understand something today, they will understand it tomorrow. A good way to limit frustrations is to outline the expected results before beginning an exercise. For example, by telling students that the goal of an exercise is to grasp the overall idea, they won’t get frustrated if they didn’t quite understand a few phrases. Sometimes correcting errors in a friendly way helps to remove any tension.
VARY YOUR METHODS: Monotony is a dangerous enemy to any good teacher. When classes are exactly the same every day they lose their excitement and students are more likely to get bored or drift off. As teachers, we should dominate a wide range of activities for different types of students. There are those who prefer calm, cultural activities and those who prefer activities to be brief and entertaining. Then there are those who prefer activities that are innovative and different, while others prefer listening activities, visual activities or more traditional types of activities. Some people like to work alone while others would rather work in groups or in pairs, etc.
By varying our methods in accordance with the type of students that make up our classes, we are able to keep students excited about the next activity, as well as maintaining their interest and desire to learn. You will find that time will pass much more quickly in the classroom as a consequence.
MANEJA LA FRUSTRACIÓN el proceso de aprender una lengua es muy gradual y lento, debemos ver los temas varias veces y repasar y corregir mucho, porque entender es una cosa, pero aplicar lo aprendido es otra muy diferente. Es completamente normal que a un estudiante se le olvide aplicar lo aprendido, o se confunda, se equivoque pronuncie algo bien y luego mal, todos son situaciones perfectamente normales y cotidianas en un proceso de aprendizaje. Pero el “umbral de frustración” de los individuos varía mucho, algunos se frustran por pequeños errores, y otros por fracasos grandes.
Algunos ven un error como un holocausto y otros prácticamente no lo toman en consideración. Aquí la misión del profesor es hacer ver al alumno que el error es una parte NATURAL del aprendizaje, que si hoy no entiendo una cosa, mañana sí lo entenderé. Un muy buen consejo para minimizar el impacto de la frustración es antes de un ejercicio explicar que se espera como resultado, por ejemplo el resultado es entender la idea central (de este modo el alumno no se frustra si no entendió algunas oraciones del mensaje total), corregir los errores a veces de una manera simpática ayuda a quitar tensión.
VARÍA TUS DINÁMICAS la monotonía es un peligroso enemigo para un buen maestro, una clase que es igual día a día, tiende a aburrir a quitar emoción y a adormecer a los estudiantes. Como profesores debemos dominar una amplia gama de actividades para diversos tipos de estudiantes, los que prefieren cosas clamadas y culturales, los que prefieren actividades entretenidas y rápidas, los que prefieren actividades novedosas y diferentes, los que prefieren actividades auditivas, visuales, tradicionales, grupales, individuales, en pares, etc.
El variar nuestras dinámicas de acuerdo al tipo de estudiantes que componen nuestra clase nos permitirá mantener viva la sensación de “expectación” del alumno ante la actividad que vine luego, el interés y el deseo de aprender y por ende el tiempo de la clase pasará volando.