ELTWeekly Vol. 3 Issue#108 | December 19 | ISSN 0975-3036
This video shows three negative teaching habits: talking to the board, echoing student comments, and interrupting students to supply answers. The teacher demonstrates alternative behaviors to help you change these ineffective approaches.
This video nails three common errors among ESL/EFL teachers: talking to the chalkboard; always echoing student responses; and interrupting students – and filling in their missing words.
The third common error – or what I prefer to call a “good mistake” – is particularly hard habit to break when working with lower level students. While the Talking Heads song proclaims, “patience is a virtue, but I don’t have the time”, we must develop great patience and avoid the temptation to finish student thoughts in our English classes. We need to nudge – or gently push them – to complete their ideas in English – and expand their vocabulary because few native speakers will actually wait for them to complete their sentences in the real world. Our classes, however, are safe places for them to develop and practice their speaking skills.