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Keep English Real!
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Come back better in 2017 - A Challenge for All Teachers!

12/22/2016

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It is almost Christmas – who‘s excited? (I am!)
 
Today I want to do two things:
1. Wish you all a Merry Christmas.
2. Discuss the importance of reflecting and learning from experience (so we can come back with fresh ideas in 2017).
 
Before I discuss point 2 please check out the following clip (or at least the first minute).
So we are not all gym junkies or exercise enthusiasts, but I think we can all learn from someone like this. This guy (Jeff Cavaliere) understands the importance of turning your mistakes into little nuggets of wisdom that can be passed on to others to help make their training (or learning) experience easier. On top of this he also understands the importance of applying new research findings and current methodologies in his quest to help his athletes/clients get better results. Lastly, he does not stay static, but remains dynamic in his pursuit of helping people become better incarnations of themselves.
 
So let me ask you this: How can we use these same approaches to better help our students learn English in a more effective and enjoyable way?
 
I am going to leave this question with you to mull over until school starts again in the New Year. I am going to leave it with you because I believe that since we all come from different learning and educational backgrounds it is very difficult to offer a one-size-fits-all solution (plus, it’s a self-reflection task). Therefore, I want you to reflect upon the teaching mistakes you have made in 2016 and come up with ways to use these mistakes as fuel for development. I want you to think of the different ways and approaches you apply to your own study and question their efficacy and utility. And finally, I want you to think about the last time you researched or used a new teaching idea or method in one of your classes.
 
I think that’s enough homework for 2 weeks.Let's all come back in 2017 with new ideas, new activities, and new ways of helping our students.

Thanks for reading and have a great Christmas and an awesome 2017.
 
Josh 
​
Keep English Real!

Search terms: reflective teaching, becoming a better teacher, EFL in Seoul, EFL training, EFL blog, ESL blog
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Teachers Are Leaders!!!

12/13/2016

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“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

Recently (OK, not that recently) Harvard Business Review published an article that discussed the 10 most common characteristics of bad leaders. Their list, as seen below, is not dissimilar to the characteristics shown by bad teachers.

Bad Leaders/Bad Teachers
1. Lack energy and enthusiasm.                          6. Don't walk the talk.
2. Accept their own mediocre performance.       7. Resist new ideas.
3. Lack clear vision and direction.                        8. Don't learn from mistakes.
4. Have poor judgment.                                          9. Lack interpersonal skills.
5. Don't collaborate.                                               10. Fail to develop others.
 
This list made me think: If bad leaders and bad teachers share so many things in common, could it not also be possible that great leaders and great teachers also share many things in common? Well, I think the answer to this is a resounding YES! The traits that great leaders and great teachers have in common are almost identical. Seriously! Think about it.
 
Ok, you don’t have to think about it, Forbes did that for us. In a 2012 article Forbes listed their Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader – a list that includes many of the traits evident in great teachers.

Great Leaders/Great Teachers
1. Are honest                                                         6. Have a positive attitude
2. Know how to delegate                                       7. Are creative
3. Have great communication skills                       8. Have intuition
4. Are confident                                                     9. Inspire others
5. Show commitment                                           10. Use suitable approaches
 
My conclusion – Teachers need to understand their roles as not just teachers, but also as leaders.
 
I hope you feel the same way. I hope you don’t just see yourself as someone who goes into a classroom to teach English (or your chosen subject). Instead, I truly hope you see your role as both an educator and a leader.
 
The reason I think that having this mindset is important is very simple. This type of mindset helps to create a situation where we have teachers who personify many of the characteristics we are trying to instill in our students (i.e., setting a great example for students to follow and emulate).  

By seeing ourselves as leaders and educators I believe we can more effectively inspire our students to reach greater heights (the overall goal of teaching) as a direct result of our own sense of value, duty, and leader + educator mindset. 
 
Thanks for reading (and for pondering),
 
Josh
 
Keep English Real!

Search terms: josh esl, josh efl, efl josh, esl josh, www.joshefl.com, teaching English in Korea, how to teach English, TESOL, eslblog, eflblog, efljosh, esljosh.com, efljosh.com, leadership for teachers, teacher's mindset, positive teaching
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Stop Teaching and let the Students Learn!

12/5/2016

1 Comment

 
Hi again team,
 
In this post I want to discuss the importance of stepping back and giving the students time to learn, practice, and enjoy.

All too often teachers get overly enthusiastic about explaining things, giving examples, and telling anecdotes, instead of just letting the students learn through practice and engagement.

You see, as teachers we often want to cram as much information as possible into the limited amount of class time that we have. Unfortunately, this mindset, although well-intentioned, can lead to overteaching - a situation which results in the teacher taking up most of the available class time with “teaching” and leaving precious little time for learning and practicing.

I personally believe that our classrooms should include time for explicit teaching, implicit learning, and practice. But, as many of you already know, fitting all of these elements into our classes is not such an easy task.

Therefore, in order to make this task a little easier I have decided to provide you with a few simple tips. I hope you like them.

Josh’s Five Tips on Stepping Back and Letting Your Students Learn!

1. Think about your delivery method (i.e., stop talking so much): Please check out these posts for more information - Teacher Talk - Preferences and Practices and Teacher Talk Time - Making Cutbacks, and Teacher Talk - What Can We Do To Make It More Effective?

2: Give students time to think: Don’t jump straight in to answer you own question. Don’t jump straight in to offer a prompt. Instead, allow a little more time. And then a little more. Finally, encourage your students to lend a hand (if needed)

3: Well-planned and engaging activities are crucial: The activities you set should be engaging and require the students to use the language. They should not require you to spend half of the class explaining the activity and then the other half clarifying what should be done. Activities should be easy to understand and easy to implement.
​
4: Have time set aside specifically for learning: Yes, it sounds simple, but set time aside to let students use the language they have just been presented. This allows the teacher to monitor progress and ensure review sessions and future teaching can be targeted in the areas that it is needed most.

5: Don’t judge: Yes, it is our job to make corrections and give feedback, but it is also our job to ensure our students remain (or become) motivated to learn (for more information please see Josh and Theo's lecture on motivation in EFL classes). Maintaining motivation can be hard when you are constantly being corrected. My tip is simple – have certain times where you don’t provide explicit feedback or corrections (unless they are really needed) to an individual student. Instead, give a ‘wrap up session’ at the end of the activity to the entire class. Praise and encourage what was done well and then provide a few points for everyone to remember.
 
What about this guy? Is he overteaching? 

Thanks for reading,
 
Josh
 
Keeping English Real!

Search terms: josh esl, josh efl, efl josh, esl josh, www.joshefl.com, teaching English in Korea, how to teach English, TESOL, eslblog, eflblog, efljosh, esljosh.com, efljosh.com
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    Josh's ESL Blog

    Josh' blog about teaching ESL/EFL in Seoul, South Korea.

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