Teachers of English should avoid the following mistakes to be more effective and enhance their performance in the classroom:
1. Rushing the lesson
Teachers do so in order to finish all the exercises in the student’s book.
2. Making no notes of the lesson that had been finished.
Teachers should reflect on their lessons to improve their future teaching practices.
3. Neglecting vocabulary.
Teachers should give regular oral and written vocabulary quizzes and encourage students to learn some new words every day or stress the fact that they should spend some time in the library, pursuing short stories, news magazines…etc.
4. Missing one goal that is essential for all students.
That is to learn to communicate because language is communication.
5. Keeping the teaching aids away.
Not using these aids properly is a big mistake. It makes your performance very poor.
6. Discouraging students to speak up in class.
Students will not dare to speak when you correct them too much and interrupt them very often.
7. Asking students to just repeat.
Students should not repeat in a chorus anything that they do not understand.
8. Pointing suddenly and unexpectedly to students to answer a question.
Ask the question, then give them some time to think. Next, ask who knows the answer to raise their hands.
9. Helping gifted students only, not the slow ones.
Always return to those who had given incorrect answers and ask them to give the right ones after correction had been made.
10. Talking too much.
Reduce the amount of talking by using mime, drawing on the board or making pair and group work.
11. Trying to read the preparation notes while teaching.
Study the notes for each lesson in advance.
12. Translating each item into the mother tongue.
In this case, very little English is used.
13. Having poor command of the target language.
You should listen to the English Broadcasting Corporation, read English texts or attend meetings where English is the means of communications
14. Making the class climate boring.
The teacher should smile, praise, or joke.
15. Criticizing students’ behaviours.
Students, therefore, show no signs of enthusiasm to participate.
16. Asking students, ” Do you understand? “
The teacher should never ask such a question because students are too shy to show their ignorance and they remain quiet.
17. Ignoring the importance of testing.
Testing actually enables teachers to measure their own success and failure in the classroom helping them to know when lesson plans must be modified to meet the students’ unforeseen problems and urgent needs.
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