Happy Monday Everyone! I hope that everyone is happy, healthy, and ready to teach some ESL this fall – whatever that may look like.
With the Delta Variant of Covid on a rampage, many programs have decided to once again head for the virtual hills for the safety of their students and their instructors. Last year, I was thrown into virtual classes headfirst with the rest of the world, and let’s just say it was a learning experience. Now that I’ve survived at least one school year virtual, and I feel a little more prepared for this coming year, I wanted to share at least 5 things that I won’t be doing this year.
- Requiring cameras – I know this one seems odd. Why wouldn’t you want to see your students faces? If you can’t see them how do you know they’re getting it? Participating? Not getting lost? Not having cameras does make all of those things harder, but I have found that requiring cameras may feel like an invasion to some students. When they’re in class, people only get to see the version of themselves that they want to be seen. Now that students are learning from home, they can’t do that as easily. Trying to learn English in a crowded kitchen, or with young children running around in the background, or even just having a bad hair day, might feel a bit more uncomfortable when you know that your entire class can see it. I tried having cameras on as a requirement at the beginning of last year, and I found that many of my students were reluctant to do so, and then reluctant to participate so as not to call attention to themselves. When I stopped requiring cameras, it seemed to take a little stress off of my students shoulders. So this year, I won’t be requiring cameras at all, just participation.
- Trying everything at once – Last year, I was scrambling. It had been years since I had to take a live online class, and I had never taught one. So, being the anxious human that I am, I researched everything. I dug deep, and far, and wide for any and every online resource I could find, and I definitely got what I was looking for. However, in my excitement, I may have scared my students briefly. I wanted to try everything, so I was adding resources and activities to my classes by the bundle. It was a terrible idea. Don’t get me wrong the resources and activities were great, and I still use some of them, but it was chaotic – much more chaotic than my normal chaos. I spent way to much time explaining how everything worked, it took way more planning time to make everything fit, and I could never find a groove to get into let alone remember to use everything. So this year, I am not trying everything at once. I’m going to sprinkle the gems of the internet and the ESL educators world sparingly into my classes so that my varied instruction is not overwhelming.
- Teaching like you’re in classroom – But Taynim, we’re literally in a class? You know what I mean! With virtual classes you can’t just throw the lessons you have saved on your computer or in your desk drawer online. It absolutely does not work the same. It was tough to break out of my in person teaching groove, and get into a virtual one, but it is 100% necessary. Online, neither you nor your students can move around like in a classroom, conversation partners can be a little tricky, and even class discussion can get weird. You have to adapt your lessons a bit. Use breakout rooms for small group activities, increase your voice, energy, and expressions to make up for physical movement, and get used to whole class activities for simplicity’s sake.
- Don’t overcompensate by rambling – You know that feeling, when you’re standing in front of your class teaching your heart out and the students are looking at you like you’re an alien. Blank stares and silence. *shudders in teacher embarrassment*. It’s worse online. A sea of black squares with names and silence. Don’t be tempted to fill the silence with rambling! If you have ever met me in person, you know that I am a professional rambler. I should really put it on my resume. But, no matter how much students say they want to practice speaking, if you give them the opportunity to not speak, they will take it. Instead give them time. Offer prompts instead. Rephrase your question if you need to, but let them carry the conversation.
- Don’t forget to clock out – They say a teacher’s job is never done, and boy oh boy is that true. When you’re working from home it can sometimes be a bit difficult to escape the work staring at you from the corner of your desk. *Just one more activity*; but don’t forget to “clock out” sometimes. Take care of yourself, get some rest, spend time with your family, and you’ll be able to give your students your best teacher self in the classroom.
These were all my personal mistakes from last year, and I am so grateful that I was able to use them as a learning experience. I hope that sharing some of my “virtual fails”, helps someone else avoid making them as well. Until next time, blessings and happy teaching!
What was something you learned through trial and error last year? Share it with us at info@literacyconnexus.org. We’d love to hear from you.