It is our responsibility to become a student of the Word. Being a student of the Word does not mean the Bible is something that we casually read. We must be committed to studying the Word of God. So many have lost the desire to study the Word of God.
When we watch our favorite sports team or the next big movie we get excited, and we can’t wait until the next book comes out. How is it that we don’t get excited about the Word of God?
Seminary isn’t necessary
Today there are 215 seminaries in the United States. Seminaries in and of themselves are not bad, but it is my opinion that they have fostered an idea that they are necessary to create students of the Word. We should not let the fact that we did not attend seminary hinder us from becoming a student of the Word.
1 Peter 2:2 reminds us that we should desire the pure milk of the Word so that we may grow. We are called to be holy (1 Peter 1:16), and the Lord has given us resources to be holy. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. (1 Corinthians 6:19) We also have the Word of God that will last forever (1 Peter 1:25,Matthew 24:35). When we enter into eternity, one of the few things we will have is the Word of God.
Choosing a Bible
It is clear that we must become students of the Word. When I first felt convicted that I needed to be spending more time studying God’s Word, my first decision was determining what Bible I should use for studying.
My journey started with a wide-margin Bible, then on to a journaling Bible, and finally with the use of an iPad to study God’s Word. Yes, an iPad. Each form of study had its benefits and drawbacks of which I will discuss.
Taking notes
When I first started to use a wide-margin Bible, it was a little difficult for me. As I took notes or wrote something in the margins, I would either become unorganized or my writing became illegible, preventing me from being able to review it later. With the intentions I had in mind, this Bible just didn’t work for me. I do have a good friend, however, who it does work for. He organizes his wide-margin Bible in a unique way.
If someone is speaking about prayer, he automatically turns to 1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.” When he thinks of prayer he thinks of this verse. Using this method allows him to refer to various notes on prayer. Admittedly, his Bible has arrow after arrow all over the pages and I would find it difficult to read and refer back to at times.
A journaling Bible
The next Bible I used in my journey to become a student of the Word was a journaling Bible. I thought this Bible had solved all of my “problems”—it had lines in the margins. I thought I would be able to organize my notes and it would be much neater with lines.
Unfortunately, I found that I could only fit so much and therefore I had to be selective in what I would write in the margin. One plus about this Bible was that it was inexpensive, only $20.
Giving technology a try
I finally decided to give the iPad a try. I saw numerous people using their iPad as their Bible. I would always wonder what was so special about it but nothing ever wowed me. Someone then told me about Olive Tree Bible software for electronic devices.
There is an Olive Tree “app” you can download to your iPad. I thought it looked very useful. I decided to try out the software on my Mac before making the purchase of an iPad. I immediately loved it.
Olive Tree features
Among many others, here are just some of the features of the Olive Tree software: the ability to highlight text in any color, the option to create a note on any verse or even on any word (most Bible apps don’t allow you to create a note on a single word), and the option to add note categories. If you want to have a category of notes on prayer or New Testament principles, you just add a category.
The Olive Tree iPad app is also preacher friendly. You are able to split your screen and have notes on one side and the Bible on the other side. The split screen is also very useful for taking notes and using the resources that are available. The resources are also very valuable. You can get Bible maps, different commentaries and Bible tools such as dictionaries and cross-references.
Transferring notes
One of the first potential drawbacks to this form of study that I thought of was, “What would happen to my notes years from now if I get a new computer or iPad?” With Olive Tree, however, everything is synced over the Internet so the migration of my notes to a new device is not a problem.
All you need is an e-mail address and a password to access your content. If you do not have an Apple device, don’t worry— Olive Tree is also available for Windows and can sync from your PC to your iPad as well.
Purchasing versions
Any good thing comes with a price, however. The Olive Tree app itself is free– but the only version of the Bible you get for free is the KJV and the ASV. The ESV, NIV and NKJV do cost extra. I personally purchased the ESV with Strong’s numbers. It cost $28 but it is money well spent.
I have found there are numerous other benefits to using an iPad over a traditional Bible for study other than the Olive Tree app; however, you can research those on your own.
Conclusion
As I continue my journey to become a student of the Word, I feel comfortable with the Bible I am using. I started out with a wide-margin, moved to a journaling Bible with lines and ended up digital. It is not to say any one Bible is better than the other.
It is all the inspired Word of God. You need to use what works for you. The real issue is finding what helps you become a student of the Word. May you be challenged to commit yourself to studying God’s Word so “you may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
I Will Be…A Diligent Student of the Word
Introduction:
We in all aspects of our Christian walk need to strive to do more at all times for the Lord and for the up building of His Kingdom. If you are like me, then there are some areas in life where we can improve and do better, there are some things you may need to remove from your life or some things that you may need to make a part of your life. I pray though we never get to the place in life where we stop trying our best and that we never are content with where we are, but I pray that we are always striving to do more and be more for the Lord each day.
There has been no book more feared, more controversial or more opposed than the Bible.
Just like with prayer, there is no place in Scripture that tells us how much and how often we should read our Bibles.
One survey by the Barna Research Group found that among those claiming to be Christians only 18 percept, that’s less than two out of every ten read the Bible every day. Worse than that 23 percent, nearly one out of four say they never read the Word of God.
If your growth in godliness were measured by the amount of your Bible intake, what would be the result? For too long people in the church have been content with Biblical illiteracy. If there were to be an exam that measured our Biblical knowledge than perhaps many of us would fail. I understand that knowledge is meaningless without application, but even Paul prayed that the Christians might grow in their knowledge and dept of insight. I have heard many people say that people in the churches today are more ignorant of the Bible than ever before. Here we have the Bible in our possession and many of us fail to utilize the greatest tool we have. For years the Bible remained chained to the pulpits of the church and the people were taught a lie that they could not read the Bible or study it themselves because they were not a part of the “clergy”, so for years people in churches blindly accepted what was taught without any ability to study or read for themselves the Living Word of God. Now, we have the Bible available to us, we have the chance to study and learn, we have the duty to rightly divide the Word, most likely many of us have numerous Bibles in our homes, but I hope they are not collecting dust. This Word came to us at a great cost. Many people lost their lives in the preservation of that Word, and now many of us refuse to read it or study it.
The Scriptures liken our growth process in Christ to that of the way that we as people grow up physically. In Christ we start out as babes, needing the nourishment of milk. The reason a newborn baby does not eat solid food is not simply because they cannot chew it, but also because they cannot digest it. In the same way a babe in Christ may not be able to digest some spiritual solid food, it will be difficult to understand and digest, but as we grow we better be on solid food and off of the milk.
When Hannah was on all her crazy baby foods I tried some of them on a dare from Stephanie. Some of them were not too bad, but some were out right awful. Staying on spiritual food is like eating that nasty baby food for your whole life, when you could be eating a big fat juicy steak. People have been content on the spiritual milk and do not strive for the solid food.
Babies in third world countries that are starving actually begin to loose their appetites due to malnourishment. A lack of appetite indicates a serious illness. A lot of times when relief workers will go over to these places and bring food to those that are starving and malnourished they have to force the people because they have lost their appetites.
There are many Christians that are seriously spiritually malnourished and they have lost their appetites for the Word of God. The Bible is our source of spiritual nourishment. We cannot expect to grow and stay strong in our faith apart from a regular diet of the Word of God. We as a church obviously cannot force-feed you, but we want to inspire a desire within you to desire and crave the word of God.
Why some people do not become students of the Word of God…
1. Some See the Bible As Just Another Book
Some people do not become diligent students of the Word because to them the Bible is just another book. Perhaps some of the people that think like this have read the Bible, but see no importance in keeping on reading the Bible. It is a book of stories to them that has no real meaning or application. Therefore, naturally the people that think like that will not be students of the Word and will never become more than an occasional Bible reader.
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Last updated:
April 18, 2022
Successful Starts: How to Thrive While Teaching English from 0
Sitting before you is a classroom of unknown faces ready to learn English.
But they’re starting from zero, so where should you begin?
In this post, we’ll cover what you need to know to get started and thrive when teaching absolute beginners.
Contents
- 1. Physical Language
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- How To: Use Gestures Before Words
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- Activity: The mime game
- How To: Combine Body Language with Meaning
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- Activity: If you’re happy and you know it
- Activity: Show vs. tell
- How To: Use Total Physical Response (TPR)
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- Activity: Simon doesn’t say
- 2. Mental Language
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- How To: Process Before Producing
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- Activity: What do you want auction?
- How To: Demonstration and Repetition
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- Activity: It’s a plane, it’s big, it’s a big plane
- How To: Combine Sound with Meaning
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- Activity: It sounds like….
- 3. Spoken Language
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- How To: Teach Utterances, Not Vocabulary
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- Activity: Write your own ESL song
- How To: Enter the “Universe of Discourse”
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- Activity: What do you say when….
- 4. Shared Language
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- How To: Encourage Conversation
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- Activity: What did you do last summer?
- How To: Build Relationships
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- Activity: What do you want to be and why?
- How To: Celebrate Communication Achievements
-
- Activity: Group praise session
- How To: Share a Strong Language Learning Philosophy
- The Challenge of Teaching English from 0
- When Will You Meet Absolute English Beginners?
- The Basics of Teaching English from 0
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1. Physical Language
Our earliest communication is the non-verbal language our mothers and fathers and siblings understand.
Babies and very young children use gestures and facial expressions to communicate. You can do the same with your beginning students to demonstrate that communication is possible, even when words fail.
How To: Use Gestures Before Words
Imagine you’re in a world where speaking is a privilege earned, and people must otherwise be totally quiet.
Before you “burden” your class with oral commands like “wait,” “quiet down please” and “open your books,” spend a couple of days only using gestures.
You can easily establish gestures to signify basic classroom behaviors:
- An open palm pushed slightly forward means “wait.”
- Fingers to lips means “quiet down.”
- Opening an imaginary book.
- Writing on an imaginary sheet of paper.
After those days of silent instructions, begin to use the words when you gesture. Don’t worry about explicitly teaching the vocabulary or even the utterances you use, just make the gesture and say the instructions. Your students will rapidly connect the dots.
Similarly, you can try this next game in the first few classes.
Activity: The mime game
You’ll need:
- Situation flashcards
- Short videos of common, everyday situations
- A little bell to ring
While it may seem counterproductive in a language class, this entire activity should be silent. No words spoken either by the teacher or the students.
This “silent treatment” is like saying “no” to a kid or a husband: It will likely make them want to do just the opposite of that “no,” which is speak out—and that’s exactly what you want them to do!
Now, here’s what to do.
- Show your students a video of an everyday situation, like meeting someone for the first time, without sound.
- Silently highlight the gestures used. Pause the video when each gesture is used and mimic it yourself, for the whole class to see.
- Have your students mime the same situation.
- Play the video with its English dialogue.
- Ring the bell when it’s time to change pairs, and move on to a new everyday situation.
This exercise can be used when introducing any language usage.
To take things a step farther, hand out a situation card to one pair and have the two students mime the interaction in front of the class—the classroom audience will call out their guesses of what’s happening in the silent situation.
For the end of each pair presentation, teach your students the silent applause: Show them your hands up in the air, palms outward and shaking from side to side. Give a round of silent applause when each pair finishes miming!
How To: Combine Body Language with Meaning
Body language is present in all human interactions. Though reading body language is often a case of interpretation based upon the situation and the people in it, everybody uses body language when speaking.
You can use body language to teach many different types of language, for example emotional language like happy, sad, excited, tired, bored, expectant and so on.
For starters, try the “If you’re happy and you know it” song.
Activity: If you’re happy and you know it
You’ll need:
- Emotional / physical states flashcards: happy, sad, angry, headache, tummy ache.
- Gesture flashcards: clap hands, rub eyes, stomp feet, rub tummy.
Without the song, pull an emotion card. Mime an appropriate movement.
Sing the line involved, for example:
“If you’re angry and you know it stomp your feet!”
Once students have done the action, stop and move on to the next card.
As can be seen in this version, each of the actions accumulates and is repeated before moving on to the next action.
Activity: Show vs. tell
Your students have to get what they want without opening their mouths. If they can’t say it in English, they can’t tell you or their peers what they’re after.
They’re going to have to show it.
Until students can spontaneously use English to get what they want, you can use this charades-type exercise to get them to focus on the motivations behind what they want to say. This will also be a great warm-up for the “what do you want?” activity described below.
Show, but don’t tell!
You’ll need:
- Flashcards of things: a ball, a book, a fishing pole, a cat.
- An egg timer to limit turns to one or two minutes.
Pull one student to the front. Have them choose a flashcard, which only they see.
That student mimes an action with the thing that he wants.
Students raise their hands and the mime calls on them one at a time.
If the guess is correct, that student becomes the mime. If not, the mime calls on the next or continues miming.
If no one guesses before time runs out, you mime the item while repeating its name and encouraging all to also mime and repeat.
Keep this activity agile by limiting the time for mime and answer to just a minute or two.
How To: Use Total Physical Response (TPR)
TPR seems to be the latest fashion in language teaching methods. Generally, behind the method is the valid idea that connecting language with related physical movement helps both in understanding and acquiring that language.
With appropriate training, you might be able to base your entire teaching method on TPR.
However, for teachers who have a busy objectives list, you can skim the cream from TPR and combine it with other techniques.
Along those lines, then, here’s a fun variation on the well-known “Simon Says” game:
Activity: Simon doesn’t say
You’ll need:
- Active verb flashcards: jump, sit, walk, laugh, clap.
- Several red “silent” cards mixed into the deck.
Pull a card from the stack and say “Simon says eat!” Everyone should eat.
Continue until you come to a “silent” card. The next card you won’t say, but rather mime.
Students must shout out the word that represents the action.
An alternative is to put students in a circle and have each one, in turn, act out what Simon Says. When the silent card comes up, rapidly go from student to student until one says the action verb correctly. That student becomes Simon.
2. Mental Language
How To: Process Before Producing
Linguists have studied language learning and acquisition for decades. They’ve drummed up some pretty interesting theories to explain their observations. From a physical Language Acquisition Device buried somewhere deep in the grey matter through a Social-cultural Interaction theory, there are a number of opinions on how we first learn to speak.
One thing all theories share though, is that language begins with thought. One of the most motivating thoughts we share from birth is wanting something. We want a hug, we want our breakfast, we want a special toy, we want to watch TV. “Want,” or motivation, is behind a great deal of the language that we produce.
Take advantage of this basic “want” impulse to produce simple, then ever-increasingly complex language. The following activity lends itself to expansion:
Activity: What do you want auction?
You’ll need:
- A bag of props
- Some paper money
Then, get the activity into motion:
- Hand out a fixed amount of dough to each student.
- Pull an item from the bag of props, hold it up to see and describe it without saying what it is.
- Begin the auction with a “Who will bid $100 for this [thing]?”
- Students call out ever increasing amounts they’re willing to pay for the item.
- Move the bidding quickly, sell the “thing,” but don’t hand over the thing until the highest bidder can name the “thing.”
- Ask, “Do you want it?” and the student answers with “yes,” or “Yes, I want it.”
How To: Demonstration and Repetition
Demonstrating language patterns and having students repeat them is one of the keystones of the Audio-Lingual approach. Teachers would pull out a couple of puppets and act out the everyday scene, drill a specific sentence structure, drill the scene, then have students produce the scene.
Today, teachers seem to shy away from drill activity in class, mainly because it has a reputation for being drab and uninteresting. Who wants to play drill sergeant to their English students?
Yet, there are ways that this type of activity can be incorporated in the ESL class without putting your students in a trance. Try this one!
Activity: It’s a plane, it’s big, it’s a big plane
You’ll need:
- A print-out of pairs of pictures that differ in a basic aspect, described using a single adjective. For example:
a big plane / a small plane
a beautiful woman / an ugly man
a full glass / an empty glass
- A guitar or autoharp to strum out a few chords.
Begin with “It’s a” (or “It’s an”!). Run through the entire page, marking the time, 1 – 2 clapping the rhythm:
It’s a plane. It’s a plane. She’s a woman. He’s a man.
Once you’re pretty sure everyone has most of the basic nouns, change to the adjectives:
It’s big. It’s small. She’s beautiful. He’s ugly.
A couple of rounds of adjectives and you’re ready to combine nouns with adjectives:
It’s a plane, it’s big. She’s a woman, she’s beautiful.
Keep the rhythm going, 1 – 2 throughout.
The next-to-the-last step is modifying nouns with adjectives:
It’s a plane, it’s big, it’s a big plane. She’s a woman, she’s beautiful, she’s a beautiful woman.
The last step is returning to simple “It’s a” + noun / “It’s a” + adjective, as a repetitive song.
T: It’s a plane. – Ss: It’s a plane.
T: It’s big. – Ss: It’s big.
T: It’s a plane. – Ss: It’s a plane.
T: It’s small. – Ss: It’s small.
Make up the melody yourself and keep the rhythm, especially on longer words, like “beautiful,” where those three syllables have to fit into the same space as “big.”
How To: Combine Sound with Meaning
Edgar Allen Poe gave us an enchanting lesson in onomatopoeia with his poem “The bells.” The descriptive language he used brings to mind the sounds each bell makes:
- silver bells: tinkle, tinkle, tinkle (and don’t forget the tintinnabulation!)
- wedding bells: molten, gloat, swells, dwells
- alarm bells: brazen, shriek, clang, clash, roar
- iron bells: tolling, rolling monotone
While this poem is delightful, it’s hardly appropriate material for a beginning English class. However, you can use onomatopoeia to cement words into your students’ minds through the concept of sound as meaning becoming a word.
Activity: It sounds like….
You’ll need:
- Onomatopoeia word list. Slip in a few silly words even if they aren’t common.
- Different props: cars, bell, telephone, etc.
Using images and sound, introduce your students to a couple of these each day. For example:
Push two toy cars about your table, making motor noises. Have one accelerate, screech to a halt. Then have one crash into the other. There you have three onomatopoeia:
motor (mmmrrrrr); screech (eeeeeee!); crash (kkkshshsh)
Now teach the words associated to those sounds.
3. Spoken Language
Fun and mime games established, it’s time to get students using their minds and their mouths to produce language.
How To: Teach Utterances, Not Vocabulary
A lot of teachers, faced with absolute beginners, think it’s better to teach individual “words” instead of complicating things with so-called “complete sentences.”
Think about it, though, just how often do you speak in single word utterances? How would you react if someone entered a room and simply said “table?” You’d be missing out on what that person meant, most of the communication would be in his or her head.
Teach your beginning students complete utterances, that is, strings of sounds that communicate, rather than lists of words. Being able to count from one to twenty doesn’t mean a student can automatically tell you how many fingers you’re holding up (without always beginning at “one”!)
Try teaching the very basics of classroom utterances through simple song.
Activity: Write your own ESL song
Using basic nursery rhyme tunes, you can build useful English utterance songs that will stick in your students’ heads for years. Let’s start with “Here we go ’round the mulberry bush.” On your part, it’s simply a task of replacing the original lyrics with the phrases you want to teach:
Here we go ’round the mulberry bush
- Can I go to the restroom, please?
- Can I borrow a pencil, please?
- Can I answer the question, please?
Pull this song out when needed. In my beginners classes, if any student wanted to borrow a pencil but was unable to use the accepted question, I’d stop everything, pull down the guitar and we’d all sing “Can I borrow a pencil please?” a couple of times.
I had another, called “Please and thank you,” that I used whenever manners were forgotten.
Be musical and make up your own songs. Buy yourself a cheap guitar and learn a few chords. Students of all ages will love it.
How To: Enter the “Universe of Discourse”
The Universe of Discourse, or context, is fundamental when using language. It isn’t enough to simply teach vocabulary and grammar. Students will need to know when it is appropriate to use everything.
Among other things, universe of discourse will implicate who is speaking, where they’re speaking, what they’re speaking about. Highlight these aspects of conversation with activities, like this one:
Activity: What do you say when….
You’ll need:
- A couple of dozen situational cards, like:
- Meeting someone for the first time.
- Arriving at an already-formed waiting line.
- Opening lines for each of these situations:
- Pleased to meet you.
- Is this the line for…
- Reply lines for these:
- Nice to make your acquaintance.
- No, that line is over there.
Word descriptions of situations can be replaced with simple drawings, since focus should be on what is said in the situation, not the situation itself.
Divide the class in half. Give each member of one half a situation card and an opening line card. Give the other half reply line cards. Have the pairs find one another matching their situations with the appropriate opening/replies, then practice together the short dialogue.
Monitor the practice then have each pair present their short play, while others try to guess the situation they’re in.
4. Shared Language
How To: Encourage Conversation
People use language to communicate thoughts, opinions, efforts to get what we want from the other person.
On the other hand, we also use language to discover what has been going on when we’re not together. Being interested in your students’ activities between classes is not only a linguistic opportunity to practice past tenses. It shows them that you’re interested in them as people. This motivates them to make efforts to share with you.
Activity: What did you do last summer?
You’ll need:
- Everyday activity flashcards: play soccer, go to the cinema, do homework, meet friends.
- Include extreme or unusual activities: go scuba diving, swim with sharks, climb Mt Everest, fly to the moon.
Pass out the cards to your students and ask them: “What did you do last summer?”
In the beginning, allow students to charade their summer activity.
Let others call out the noun that represents the action. Gradually have them add the verb, then the pronoun.
How To: Build Relationships
Except for more casual exchanges, like asking a stranger for the time or dealing with a shop assistant, our conversations are with people we either have relationships with or are building relationships with. Mom, dad, boyfriend, workmate. We speak with these people daily.
Build a healthy teacher-student relationship with your students. This is a pretty easy: Show interest in their lives. For example, with younger students, you can ask them the time-worn question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?
Activity: What do you want to be and why?
You’ll need:
- Occupation flashcards (include some out-of-the-ordinary ones!)
Review the patterns:
- I want to be a…
- Because [I can / I like to / I enjoy] + verb form
Hand a card to a student and ask your question. Ask the first student, then they ask the person to their left, and so on.
How To: Celebrate Communication Achievements
Finally, reward will come in many different forms and colors. Be consistently positive in all comments you make in class. “Good” and “well done” should effortlessly rush from your mouth.
Students applaud one another when presentations are made. Teach congratulatory language early on, use it often and encourage your students to use it among themselves.
Activity: Group praise session
Arrange your students in a circle. You begin.
“Juan, you’re a very good student.”
Juan continues with the person on his left, perhaps throwing a beanbag to her.
“María, you’re a very good student.”
When the beanbag comes back to you, change the compliment:
“Pedro, you pronounce words very clearly.”
You can help your students out by having compliment flashcards prepared that they can pull from.
How To: Share a Strong Language Learning Philosophy
This one is mostly for us as teachers, though we should share and nurture this type of idea with our students.
My classes, of all levels, began with a simple set of concepts I called the “Four Rs.” These four were: Regularly, Repeat, Review and Reward.
Regularly: Our students need to build good study habits and regularly attend to their English learning and use.
Repeat: Language habits can be learned and remembered through repetition. Habit is so often just the repetition of action, like how we make coffee every morning or how we greet coworkers on arriving at the office.
Keep repetition from becoming a rote, parrot-like behavior. It should be a reflection of how much we actually repeat in real world communication.
Review: Also an important part of language learning at all levels, but especially so at early, beginning levels. Students will need multiple exposures to new material before it ceases to be new material. Build upon previously studied material and reserve time to review that material before laying on the new.
Reward: Work well done deserves recognition. Always remind your students that they’re advancing through recognized rewards: game play, smiley stickers, an end-of-term party.
The Challenge of Teaching English from 0
In today’s technologically-overrun world, English content is available to anyone with access to a smartphone, tablet or computer. Even so, there are still people who have had little to no contact with English, either in formal class study or in everyday life.
If you add to this zero-level English background the fact that you don’t share your students’ native language, or that there are multiple native languages in the classroom, you’re seemingly in a tight spot.
How are you going to teach language if you can’t communicate with your students?
Well, not all is lost. Comfort yourself knowing that you’re not the first ESL/EFL teacher who has had to face this challenge. That’s where it’s really exciting for you—teaching absolute beginners is a challenge, but it’s one that will certainly enrich your experience as an English teacher.
When Will You Meet Absolute English Beginners?
There are many situations in which you may find yourself teaching absolute beginners:
- Children who have moved to an English-speaking country with their family.
- Very young children who have been signed up for their first English class.
- Adults who have studied a second language other than English, mandated by the school system in their country.
- Anyone with limited access to modern technology.
The Basics of Teaching English from 0
No matter what the demographic in your classroom, there are some basics to keep in mind that will help you to jump-start those students.
Your goal? Get them saying and believing: “I speak English well.”
These basics fall into four main categories: Physical language, mental language, spoken language and finally, shared language.
In each, we’ll see some common denominators between native language and English. We’ll also look at how to take advantage of each of these types of language to get the ball rolling and to build upon for ever-increasing proficiency in English.
A simple exercise or activity is included in each category. You can expand upon each one according to your own objectives and plans for your absolute beginner English class.
It is fundamental that you also introduce heaps of comprehensible input into the classroom. For this, native video content becomes an invaluable resource as your students can match action and body language with spoken English. If you’re wondering how to do this, then get started with a FluentU teacher account today.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.
By adding authentic content into the classroom the students will become more confident with their abilities while also building an English vocabulary base from actual English speakers!
Absolute beginners will come with one language under their belt. Some will come with more.
They all know how to communicate, they simply don’t know how to do so in English.
If you accept the premise that communication is possible despite not knowing English, you will have overcome the biggest hurdle in getting your students jump-started and on their way to learning English.
Revel Arroway taught ESL for 30 years before retiring into teacher training. His blog, Interpretive ESL, offers insights into language teaching, simplifying the classroom, language class activities and general thoughts on ESL teaching.
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
“Excuse my bluntness sir, but what exactly are you?” Raven asked Anon as they walked the halls of the castle.
“Please don’t call me sir, not really a fan of titles, just call me Anon.” Anon said to her.
“Okay then Anon.” Raven replied.
“As for what I am. Well I’m a human, I come from a different world.” Anon explained to her. “Now if I may ask you what exactly would be your job in the castle Miss Raven?” Anon asked wondering if her cutie mark of a quill in an ink pot had anything to do with it.
“I am Princess Celestia’s advisor, I also deal with any paperwork that she doesn’t have to oversee.” Raven explained to Anon.
As they walked through the halls Anon noticed that they were passing ponies in golden armor, each of them holding a spear at their sides. “Don’t worry about the guards Anon. They won’t hurt you, unless you provoke them.” Raven said noticing Anon gazing at the guards.
“Not scared of them Miss Raven, just interested in them. Tell me do you ponies have such a thing as knights?” Anon asked as they continued their journey through the halls of the castle.
“Well we used to have individual knights. But the knightly order of Equestria disbanded a few years ago when their keep was set alight by a dragon. Although if memory serves me correctly there should be a few members of that order within the ranks of the day guard. Why do you ask?”
“Well where I came from I always had an interest in knights and chivalry. It’s been sort of a hobby of mine studying them.” Anon said as he remembered his many nights at the local library researching about medieval times. “Heck I even went so far as to learn sword play from my uncle.” Anon said remembering the first time he picked up one of his uncle’s swords.
“Sounds like fun. Maybe you should ask around the guard if you could talk to those veteran knights.” Raven said as they came to a stop out side of an oak wood door. “Well here we are.” Raven said as she opened the door and walked inside gesturing Anon to follow here inside.
“Whoa.” Anon said as he admired the room. The room was about the size of Anon’s house’s living room and kitchen combined. Anon noticed that opposite the entrance door was a king sized bed, on either side of the bed were small tables. To the right of the bed was a large desk with rolled up scrolls, ink pots and quills on it. Next to the desk was a cabinet that Anon guessed was used to hold clothes. On the side of the room opposite the desk and cabinet was a door which when Anon investigated found led to a bathroom.
“Quite the room isn’t it?” Raven spoke up.
“Yeah it is. I’ll have to give the princesses my thanks.” Anon said walking over to inspect the desk. “Um, there isn’t anything on these scrolls right?”
“No there isn’t. They’re just there if you need to write something down.” Raven said turning to the exit. “Now if you would please follow me there is someone else you would probably want to see.”
“Who would that be?” Anon asked her as they left the room.
“The castle’s seamstress. As I’m guessing what you’re wearing now is the only clothes you have with you.” Raven said as they made their way deeper into the castle.
“Yeah they are. And I would like to have more than one set of clothing.” Anon said as they soon found themselves outside of another door.
“Well here we are.” Raven said as she opened the door.
“Why hello Raven how have you been as of late?” A voice said from inside the room. “So are you here for a new dress?”
“No. I’m here to show you a friend of mine. Anon.” Raven said before Anon decided to enter the room.
“So this is the creature that the princesses brought back from Ponyville.” Said the seamstress. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well Miss…” Anon said hoping that she would fill in the blank.
“Oh forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Cross Stitch.” The mare said holding out a hoof towards Anon.
“Well as Raven said my name is Anon. It’s a pleasure to meet the castle’s seamstress. You are the castle’s seamstress correct?” Anon asked as he shook her hoof, uncertain whether she was an assistant or the actual seamstress.
“Yes I am.” She said removing her hoof from Anon’s grasp. “Now what can I do for you?”
“Well Anon here needs some new clothes and he was hoping you’d be able to provide.” Raven said to the seamstress.
“Alright then. Anon can you please stand on this pedestal please.” Cross said gesturing to a part of the floor that was raised slightly.
“Well I’ll leave him here with you Cross.” Raven said catching Anon’s attention. “Also Anon, I’m going to go ask the princesses something. I’ll be back to get you when my business is done.” With that she gave Anon a small wave before leaving the room.
“So then Mr. Anon, what sort of clothes do you want?” Cross asked before she began taking Anon’s measurements.
“How about something casual. A pair of pants and a t-shirt if you would be so kind.” Anon said as she gave a small hum in thought.
“Any particular color or pattern?” She asked writing Anon’s measurements down.
“Nothing to fancy or flashy. Just plain and simple please.” He said as Cross began to pull out a small list.
“Well then let’s get started.”
“Good afternoon princesses.” Raven said to the two sisters as she teleported into the throne room.
“Good afternoon to you as well Raven.” Celestia said to the unicorn.
“Have you shown Anon to his room Raven?” Luna asked raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
“I have Princess Luna. For now, he is in the care of Cross Stitch. He’s currently getting a new set of clothes.” Raven replied to Luna.
“And you left him alone without a guard?” Luna said raising her voice slightly.
“Calm down sister, Cross Stitch can handle herself quite well, and I doubt that Anon would have a reason to hurt anypony.” Celestia said calming the lunar princess. She then shifted her gaze to Raven. “Is that you wished to tell us Raven?”
“No it isn’t Princess.” Raven said adjusting her glasses slightly. “Anon has actually told me something very interesting. He has told me that back where he came from he had an interest in knights and chivalry. I thought that maybe one of the guards could give him some training, which could lead him to help out around the castle as a member of the guard.”
Celestia then placed a hoof to her chin in thought. “He told you this information freely, as in it is not meant to be a secret between the two of you?”
“He told me that freely without asking me to keep it a secret.” Raven replied.
“Sister if I may interject.” Luna started.
“Of course sister. What do you have to say?” Celestia said glad to hear Luna’s take on the matter.
“Don’t get me wrong Miss Raven’s plan is quite the brilliant one, but I recommend something else. Now Before you ask I’m not saying that we shouldn’t allow him to become part of the guard. No.” Luna said.
“So what is it you recommend sister.” Celestia asked wondering where Luna was going with this.
“I recommend that I teach him what he wishes to learn. Not only would I be able to guide him along Miss Raven’s plan, but I may also be able to learn more about him and his species.”
“Hmm that sounds like a good plan Luna.” Celestia said glad to here that she wished to help Anon.
“Alright then I’ll go tell him.” Raven said as she made her way towards the door.
“Wait Raven.” Luna called out to the unicorn. “Tell him to come to my chambers tonight. I would like to get his training started as soon as possible.”
“Of course Princess.” Raven said giving a final bow as she left the throne room.
“And there we go. Done.” Cross said standing back to admire her work.
Atop the small pedestal Anon stood looking down at his new suit. He found that his new suit was a giant mess of blues and purples. “Um it’s nice.” Anon said uncertainly not wanting to hurt Cross’ feelings.
“You don’t like it do you?” Cross said a downtrodden look on her face.
“No, no, no… Yes, it’s sort of a bit too flashy. Don’t get me wrong I liked what you made for my casual wear but the suit just doesn’t suit me.” Anon said.
“Well don’t worry about it dear because that wasn’t your real suit.” Cross said her mood changing from downtrodden to happy in an instant. Using her magic she pulled out a coat hanger from the back room, on it was an exact replica of the suit that Anon had arrived in. “Here’s the real thing. Now I know it’s the same as your other one but your other one fitted you so well so I decided to remake it.” She explained as Anon looked at her dumbfounded.
“You mean this isn’t my real suit!” He exclaimed gesturing to the mess of blues and purples for emphasis.
“What am I not aloud to have any fun.” She said pouting a bit. She then saw Raven enter the room. “Hello Raven, like what I made for Anon?” Cross asked gesturing to the suit.
“It does look quite nice.” Raven said a small smirk on her muzzle.
“Whatever. I’m going to get changed.” Anon said walking behind a changing screen getting changed into his suit that he had arrived in. “Well then where to now Raven?” Anon asked remerging from behind the screen with his joke suit draped over his arm.
“Well then anything you wish to do here Anon before we go?” Raven asked him as he hung his joke suit up on a nearby coat hanger.
“No not really.” Anon said as he joined Raven next to the door. “See ya Cross.” He said giving the seamstress a wave as he and Raven left the seamstress to her business.
“Bye Anon!” Cross called out after them.
“So then Raven where to next?” Anon asked raising an eyebrow.
“Well first of all remember how you told me that you had an interest in knights?” Raven said to Anon as they continued their journey through the castle.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Well I told the princesses about that interest, and they said they would like to teach you the ways of the sword.” Raven said as they found themselves outside of a set of oak doors. “Here we are. We can continue this conversation over food.” She said before opening the door.
After finding a seat at a large table that dominated the room Anon decided to pick up the conversation. “So how would the princesses be able to help me?”
Before Raven could give an answer an earth pony stallion appeared next to her. “Hello Madame Raven, what can I do for you and your guest?”
“Ah good evening Quick Service. Before we continue with our order I would like you to meet a guest of the princesses, Anon.” Raven said to the stallion before gesturing to Anon.
“Good evening Anon, a pleasure to meet you.” Quick said extending a hoof towards Anon.
“Good evening to you as well Quick.” Anon said shaking his hoof.
“So then what would you like to order?” Quick asked, pulling out a menu for Anon before turning to Raven. “I’m guessing you want the regular Miss Raven.”
“If it isn’t to much of a trouble for the chefs to make a simple garden salad.” She replied before looking back to Anon. “So then decided on what you want yet?”
“Well if it isn’t to much trouble can I please get a T-Bone Steak please.” Anon said hoping that the ponies wouldn’t have a problem with his order.
“Of course not. I’ll be back in about ten minutes.” With that said Quick then left the dining room out through a small side door.
“You don’t have a problem with me eating meat in front of you, do you?” Anon asked hoping he wasn’t going to drive Raven into an uncomfortable situation.
“No I don’t. You sort of get used to it when you have political guests from species that eat meat visit.”
“Good point. So what’s with the early dinner?” Anon asked raising an eyebrow.
“Well Princess Luna has asked for you to meet her tonight to begin your training. So it would be best to have an early dinner and not keep her waiting.” Raven explained.
It was at that moment that Quick returned with their dinner. “Here you go hope you enjoy it.” With that said he left the dining room once more.
“Well let’s not let our food get cold.” Raven said before digging into her salad.
“Good plan.” Anon said before tearing into his steak.
“Thanks for taking me to dinner Raven.” Anon said as he and Raven left the dining room.
“Your welcome Anon.” Raven said as he led him through the halls of the castle.
“So where do I have to go to meet Luna?” Anon asked as he noticed that the sun had set outside.
“Well all you have to do is follow me and I’ll show you.” Raven said as they rounded a corner and Anon found himself looking at a set of dark oak wood doors that stood at half the height of the throne room doors. As he and Raven got closer to the doors he noticed that to either side of the doors were two guards wearing dark blue and black armor. He also took notice of the intricate patterns on the doors which held similarities to the night sky.
“Good evening Miss Raven. Do you have business with Lady Noctis?” One of the guards asked.
“Well not me personally but Anon here does.” Raven said gesturing to the human in question. “Anon I would like you to meet two members of Luna’s night guard. A couple of things to note the night guard or more commonly known as the Lunar guard is made up entirely of Thestrals.” Raven said gesturing to the two guards. It was then that Anon noticed that they had bat wings.
“So their like pegasi but with bat wings instead?” Anon asked Raven. She gave him a small nod in response. “Cool.”
“Another thing when they say Lady Noctis they mean Princess Luna.” Raven further explained.
When she finished saying this the doors were wrapped in a dark blue glow as they swung open. When they were fully opened Princess Luna walked out of the room a spear at her side. “Ah. Good evening Anon, Raven. I was just about to go looking for you Anon.”
“Well here I am Princess.” Anon said as he took notice of the spear.
“Good to hear now if you will please follow me and we shall start your training.” Luna said before walking in the direction Anon and Raven had approached Luna’s chambers from.
“Well see ya Raven.” Anon said giving the unicorn a wave as he followed after Luna.
“I do hope that you don’t mind staying up late during our training sessions.” Luna said as Anon walked by her side.
“Not at all. Always been more of a night owl anyway. Something about being able to look up at the moon and not have my retinas burned out made me like the night even more than the day.” Anon said getting a small chuckle from Luna.
“Good to hear that.” Luna said as they walked out side into a small courtyard.
“Whoa. Didn’t know that it would be a full moon tonight.” Anon said admiring how the moon illuminated the courtyard. “Didn’t think that Equestria’s moon would be brighter than earth’s.” Anon said admiring the full moon.
“What is this earth you speak of?” Luna asked as she floated a sword over to Anon.
“Earth is where I come from. So what are we going to be doing?” Anon said gripping the sword and proceeding to give it a few practice swings.
“Well we will be starting with the simple things.” Luna said giving her spear a few practice swings and thrusts. “Nothing to advanced to begin with.” Luna was then caught off guard as Anon thrust his sword out to intercept her spear causing a small metal clang to ring out through the night air.
“Don’t bother teaching me the simple things. I learnt those from my Uncle. Instead let’s go to the advanced steps.” Anon said drawing his sword back to his side.
“Alright then but if you think we should tone down the difficulty please tell me.” Luna said before disarming Anon with her spear. “We wouldn’t want for you to get hurt.”
“Okay got to admit that was pretty cool.” Anon said as he picked up his sword. “But one rule no using magic okay.”
“Then how am I to hold the spear?” Luna said cutting her magic off for a second to let her spear rest on the ground.
“You can use your magic to wield your spear but nothing else okay.” Anon said as she picked up her spear.
“Alright then.” Luna said before taking a defensive stance. “Show us what skills you have.”
At this a stream of memories came flooding back to Anon about what his Uncle had taught him. Anon then decided to let the princess have her fun as he made the first move giving a small thrust toward the princess. When she shifted her spear to deflect the thrust Anon changed the trajectory of the thrust to be aimed at the ground.
Once Luna had seen her mistake she jumped back a few feet with the help of her wings. Anon then saw that her spear was still hovering above his sword. Before she could levitate the spear back to her side Anon stretched a hand out to grab it, once the staff of the spear was in his grasp he gave it a quick tug pulling it from the blue aura that was wrapped around it.
Luna let out a gasp of shock as she found that her hold on her spear had been removed. When she looked back to where her spear was she found that Anon had managed to get his hands on it. “Impressive. Very few can say that they have bested me in combat.” Luna said dropping her defensive pose slightly.
“Technically I didn’t beat you.” Anon said as he saw the blue aura return around the staff of the spear as it floated back to Luna’s side. “You could have hit me with a blast of magic. Or reclaim your spear with enough magic.” Anon said as he saw Luna discard her defensive pose.
“A good point Anon. Now I must know did you learn to do that with your Uncle, or did you have another source?” Luna asked as she approached Anon.
Anon then saw that Luna was shifting her spear in her magic. In a split second Anon then threw his sword up to guard his neck. As he did that Luna moved her spear to hover over Anon’s neck, but instead finding noting but air to stop the tip of her spear she found that her spear had collided with Anon’s blade.
“Nice try Princess.” Anon said before using his blade to push Luna’s spear away from his face.
“How did you?” Luna asked taking a step back from Anon.
“Saw you rotating your spear into a position where it could do what you just made it do.” Anon explained. “Now for how I learnt that little disarm trick. Well some of it I learnt from my Uncle but the rest I learnt from a few books that I had managed to find on swordplay.”
“Impressive.” Luna said before looking up and down Anon’s form. “Also quite the impressive stance you have there. Ready to both attack an enemy or defend yourself.”
“Well it does help to be ready to perform either of those things.” He said before giving a quick flick of his sword so it was resting against Luna’s neck. “Maybe you should keep the same pose.” Anon said jokingly as Luna realized how she had left herself open to attack.
“In all my years I never would have thought I’d see the day when somebody had gotten the drop on me.” Luna said as Anon removed the blade from her neck.
“Word of advice no matter how good you think you are you always have to be on the defensive. Just in case you come across someone how’s better than you.” Anon said sheathing his sword. “That’s something my Uncle always told me.”
“Well your Uncle sounds like a wise man.” Luna said letting out a small chuckle. “Like a unicorn that my sister and I once knew.”
“Who would that be?” Anon asked wondering who this unicorn was.
“His name was Star Swirl the Bearded. He was a very wise Unicorn, and a close friend of my sister.” Luna said looking up at the skies.
“Sounds like a cool guy.” Anon said following her gaze to see the stars shining more than they would back on earth. “Whoa.” Anon said as he admired the night sky.
“A fan of my night?” Luna asked Anon as she noticed him take a seat.
“What do you mean by your night?” Anon asked looking at the princess as she took a seat next to him.
“Well as princess of the night it is my duty to not only raise and lower the moon, but to also arrange the position of the stars.” Luna explained. When she looked over to see if Anon had understood what she had said. Instead all she found was Anon wearing a dumbfounded expression on his face.
“Y’know what I’m not going to say how that is impossible as most of the things on this world shouldn’t even exist.” Anon said causing Luna to give a small chuckle. “How about we get back to training?”
“Good plan.” Luna said rising back to her hoofs and taking a defensive stance. “Let us continue from where we left off.”
Advantages and disadvantages of being a student: One of the most memorable and life-changing stages of life is that of student life. There are plenty of turning points in this stage that we will never realise until that stage gets over.
A student can never realise that his life is the best one ever. And by the time he or she realises it, they would have already passed that age. This has happened to each and every one of us.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
We have all been there, haven’t we?
We want to go to college when we are in school, we desire to start working and earning money when we are in our college days and when we finally come to the working phase of life, we realise that our student life was way better than anything else.
Nevertheless, a student’s life is the golden age to achieve a lot of things.
Before we go into the advantages and disadvantages of being a student, in this article when we refer to a student, we are talking about the following
Types of students
- Kindergarten students
- Primary students
- High school students
- Middle-class students
- College students
The pros and cons of being a student are plenty and that is exactly what we will be talking about in this article.
No one, except the student, will argue on why a student’s life is the best one! That’s the irony of life.
So let us discuss a few points on Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Student.
Student’s life is undoubtedly the best phase of life. And here’s why
Students make Friends
Friends are basically our family without blood relation. Friends are a big reason why a student’s life is colourful and fun. In school, we make friends over our common interests. For example, students who like playing cricket connect quickly and they become friends. Like-minded people usually become friends very easily and students life is the best platform to find those like-minded souls. Friends in school help each other in understanding the class activities, and homework.
During our college life, we take our own decisions without the involvement and influence of our parents. Also, many live in a hostel and are hence away from their family. Studying together, staying together, nurturing interest together, adjusting to conflicts with each other, helping each other all these makes the bond stronger.
Students will get networking opportunities
Another great benefit of the student and being in university or schools is that they get the opportunity to network. Meeting new students, making connections, and building relationships will all help down the line when they grow up. Networking is especially important for university students to find jobs and career opportunities. Because they’re all part of the same organization, people with similar interest will surely cross paths in future. So networking is a golden opportunity that students can make use of.
Practical experience through clubs and activities
Participating in a club or an organization based around their particular area of study will give them practical experience within that field. Learning leadership skills, ten skills, team spirit, developing new relationships are all possible while being an active part of student clubs and activities.
Students can learn good communication skills
From writing love letters to writing leave letters, a student will grow through all phases of relationships. And a key to a relationship, whether it’s personal or professional, is proper communication.
Debates, speeches, group discussions and various other activities will help a student hone his or her communication skill. The communication skill, both spoken and written, that one learns in student’s life will become a great too once they start their corporate life.
Students can learn digital fluency
College and school students today are well trained in the digital world. They engage in online classes and platforms, and are exposed to different software and use of various course materials
Companies look for candidates who are well versed digitally and have tech-savvy bend of mind. These tools that students learn in classrooms can help them gain a job in the future.
Because let’s face it, technology is the future!
Students get a good education
This is the primary reason why children are sent to schools and colleges. This is an apt age to learn things and get educated. It is not just to make a good career and land up in a high paying job, but a good education is important for students to become a better human being.
Teachers, parents and other stakeholders should make sure students get high-quality education from their institute. Because a well-educated child is the future of the country.
Now that we have discussed the advantages of being in schools and colleges, let us now talk about the other side of the coin.
Disadvantages of being a student
While it might be hard for elders to believe there might be any sort of disadvantages at all, it only says that we are forgetting our own school days!
If we recall well, not everything was hunky-dory for us as a student, was it?
The problems that students face:
Bullying of students
Bullying is a type of aggressive behaviour that takes place when an individual intentionally causes someone else discomforts on repeated occasions.
Students can experience bullying at either very young age or in university stage, but it most commonly happens among school-aged children. Irrespective of what age it is, bullying can have a serious impact on the mental health of a student. it is not only about the victim, but bullys in student life can also exhibit harmful behaviour as they grow old. Both the parties involved in bullying will suffer one way or the other.
Bullying can have a long term cascading impact on students, especially given their gullible mind-set. Parents, as well as school authorities, should take cognisance of the situation to help out children to come out of the trauma caused by bullying. Any students, irrespective of his or her background, can experience bullying. As elders, we should teach them to be strong and stand up to bullies.
Students can’t pursue their ambitions
Every parent’s dreams about their children having an illustrious career. Popular choices usually are an engineer or a doctor or an accountant. Any profession that has less risk and better financial stability
This direction of career path will be inculcated to them right from their childhood. But it would be difficult to convince the kid to pursue the dream career for their parents. Some kids might want to pursue you their ambitions which might not necessarily have financial stability or less risk, like sports or arts. This will be a difficult phase for students to fight the challenges in order to do what they want with their lives.
Exam stress faced by students
This is one of those disadvantages that every student can relate to. The nervousness and anxiety during this phase is a commonly discussed sight in schools and university campuses. However, wise and a good education system, advise and tips from teachers help students to tackle this phase very easily. A goof backsupport from elders can come a long way in students scores and interest in the subject.
Schools should design the curriculum such that this concept of exam stress is eliminated. The education system of Finland has completely done away with examinations. There are various innovative techniques used by universities across the globe that every school in India should follow.
Discriminations that students face
Discriminations that students face can come from various sources. Teachers, classmates, authorities or anyone on campus can discriminate a student based on their gender, race or nationality. This can negatively affect the kid.
There comes a time where the topic of gender will come up. Some people believe in it, while others don’t. Regardless of a person’s decision, it’s something we all need to get comfortable talking about and understanding
Gender will also be brought to the conversation in regards to equality. Boys and girls and men and women need to be treated equally. The values that students learn at home will mostly be replicated in classes as well. These societal stereotypes should be broken in the home itself before they enter the classrooms.
Difficulty in learning how to study
While the very reason children are sent to school is for studying, not everyone can do well with it.
When you’re an adult who already graduated from college or are already a parent, think of the last time someone taught you how to study. Looking back, it seems like something most of us students just did, but somewhere down the line, we were taught how to study effectively. Without having a teacher explain to us what to highlight or when to take breaks when studying for an exam, most of us would just be reading the books not sure what to take from it. Studying effectively is important and is valued when learned.
The responsibility that students won’t face this type of situation lies equally on teachers and parents.
Students do comparison
Comparing ourselves with each other is a basic human tendency. When adults compare themselves with each other, how can we expect kids not to?
A healthy comparison can lead to a healthy completion which is ultimately good for students, whether it is in academics, sports or extracurricular
Do Check:
- Great Personalities who are inspirations for children
- Motivational Movies for Students
- Role of Parents in Education
But too much comparison can become toxic. Sometimes parents and teachers commit the mistake of comparing children with their friends or classmates. This can discourage a child and if the problem is not rectified, it can lead to a traumatic childhood.