Different teaching methods and techniques
Day-to-day ESL lessons aren’t only challenging for your students.
They’re challenging for you as well.
It’s crucial that you develop teaching strategies that will inspire and motivate your students and yourself.
If you’re not getting the results you want, how are you going to stay in good spirits and lead your classroom in a positive direction?
Here, we’re going to make sure that you’re reaching out to each and every student in your classroom.
There are seven major learning styles that students possess.
By creating lesson plans that appeal to multiple learning styles, you’re sure to see class-wide improvement.
While we don’t know how many lesson plans sit idly in your recycling bin, we do know that the result of your hard work can only be carried out with a sound ESL teaching strategy. So, before you toss out that most recent “failed” lesson plan, let’s stop a moment and think strategically.
When we think about lesson planning, the saying, “It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it” rings especially true.
I like to tell teachers and educators, “It’s not the lessons you planned, it’s how you planned your lessons.”
You may have created a brilliant lesson plan on paper, but if you don’t have a strategy to actually carry it out in the classroom, you are heading for some bumpy rides and unpleasant surprises!
Thankfully, a solid ESL teaching strategy remedies all that by giving you a map and a compass to navigate your ESL classroom.
The students you interact with have different personalities, learning styles and preferences. A great ESL teaching strategy is one that integrates a variety of methods and techniques — appealing to this diversity of students — while allowing you to maintain relative flexibility to adapt to various classroom situations.
Students are humans, too. They differ from each other in their preferences. When it comes to learning a new language, each student receives, processes and stores information differently. Some students may thrive using traditional papers and pencils, while others prefer collaboration and even hands-on activities. If their ideal learning styles are not recognized in the classroom, studying becomes drudgery — and students who have a hard time tend to lose their motivation.
Luckily, reaching out to different students isn’t guesswork for ESL teachers anymore.
Differences in student preferences have been loosely categorized into 7 major learning styles.
The categories are defined broadly, and it’s not uncommon to find students that fit into more than one. Sure, you may have an oddball who doesn’t seem to fit into any group — but by appealing to these major learning styles and shaking up your classroom routine, you will be well on your way to reaching more students than ever before.
1. Visual (spatial)
Pictures, images and spatial understanding are the preferred learning media of visual learners. These learners love to see lessons come to life, and often sit at the front of the class to not only get a full view of their teacher’s body language and facial expressions, but also to avoid potential visual obstructions (and distractions).
Tips for Teachers:
Visual learners are your detailed note takers. They think in pictures and learn best from visual displays, slide shows, posters, clips and other visual tools. Sometimes, simple things like writing an outline of your grammar lesson on the board will also satisfy your visual learners’ desire to take notes and capture everything in their own creative and vivid manners.
