Fri, 10 Apr 2020

The Strategy of Increasing Teacher’s Confidence in the Classroom

Confident teachers can make confident learners. A confident teacher would have a positive impact on his or her students' attitude. Teachers' belief in their teaching capabilities could affect how they perceive, approach and teach their students. Having confidence as a teacher can improve your overall effectiveness as well as your well-being. Unfortunately, students can be quick to spot a lack of confidence, which can lead to issues with classroom management.

Everyone needs a confidence boost from time-to-time, whether there is a new teacher or a teacher gracing classroom for years. There are a few ways to boost confidence in the classroom.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ami M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

Be prepared

Planning includes anticipating the challenges of classes, ensuring you are ready for the lesson, potential situations that could arise and how you might deal with them. If your confidence has been knocked, try to put a little extra preparation time in. Try to allow for some flexibility to avoid panicking if you need to change track partway through partway language

Body language says a lot. It affects how others see us, as well as how we see ourselves. The attitude and confidence that we wear on our face are the things which our students notice about us, even before we speak. It is also important to speak in a firm, a clear and audible tone. A good teacher would always make eye contact with the students while speaking. A teacher should always stand straight without any slouch and look ahead confidently.

Also Read: What is the EPIK program for teaching English in South Korea?

Your classroom, your rules

Your lesson begins the moment your students set eyes on you. Calmly and confidently demand the behavior you expect from them before they come in, greet them at the door and set expectations straight away.

If you start to feel panicky or that you're losing control, take a moment and breathe. Refer to your lesson plan and then once you feel more relaxed, try to gain control of the lesson calmly and authoritatively.

Finally, if a class simply won't listen, do not try to shout over them. It will quickly frustrate and anger you and it will not encourage your class to listen. Instead, try calmly standing still (despite how you may feel inside) and wait. Eventually, the class will become quiet, it may not happen right away but be patient.

teacher by the blackboard

Also Read: The 8 Best Countries in Asia for Teaching English Abroad

Don't fear criticism in feedback, use it positively

If you've been given some feedback that you deem to be negative, then use it as a tool to change. By acting on criticism instead of wallowing in it, you can turn a negative into a positive. It could help you in building your confidence and improving your skills.

Realize your strengths

Last, but not the least, take some time to reflect on your practice and pull out the positives. Every teacher has strengths, and every teacher has weaknesses. You must spend time praising your strengths. Developing a habit of self-reflecting will lead to a natural process of evaluation. Self-reflection is not about focusing solely on the negative, it also enables you to think about what you do well. It gives you a structured method for considering what is positive about your teaching. Try filming your lesson and observe it later. It might be uncomfortable at first, but it helps to overcome negative self-perceptions and recognize your strengths in the classroom. By doing that you can not only improve your teaching skills but also build more confidence in yourself.

Also Read: Private or Public Schools in South Korea - Where is it Better to Teach English? | ITTT | TEFL Blog