Courage is required to be able to embrace the ever-changing methods of teaching. Even in classrooms, we can notice the integration of electronic devices such as laptops, interactive boards, tablets, etc. The interactive way of teaching is slowly breaking the traditional chalkboard method of conveying knowledge. The Department of Education have also always believed in the power of e-learning, launching several projects with tech giants.
The digitalization of our lifestyle, combined with the new interactive methods of teaching, paves way to e-learning where it proves to be just as effective, while the number of students constantly grows.
One of the emerging markets in this field of learning is online English teaching. Following this shift to interactiveness creates the question: What does it take to be an online English teacher?
Table of Contents
A Different Kind of Patience
Being a teacher is no easy job. Aside from the workload and the nature of this profession, one of the biggest concerns of teachers is the stress that they encounter with students. It is a common scene for teachers to yell during classes – to control and make the environment conducive for learning. Online English teachers don’t experience this. Their job requires a different kind of patience.
They might be giving their lungs a break from shouting, but it still requires patience to teach beginner students, which is very common. Repeating words and phrases is something that happens on a daily basis, it helps helping students remember and comprehend the lessons better.
Nevertheless, expect the students to understand the lessons faster since they have better focus due to the interactive nature of the class setup. It is not necessary to fight for their attention since distractions are also very unlikely.
Diverse Students and Their Culture
It is not difficult to get students online, however, understanding their culture and behaviour is another story. Making an effort to know your students will always help. A stronger student engagement will elevate the effectivity of the lessons, creating a better and faster learning curve.
Culture will also explain a lot of educational mysteries from students – their behaviour, understanding, and also their pronunciation. Knowing these will help teachers come up with strategies to make their classes more interactive and effective.
Learning in this environment goes two ways. It is basically an exchange of culture where both parties use learning English, creating a web of knowledge and experience. This is something that is very beneficial for online teachers and not always present in the traditional classroom setting.
Time Management
One major difference in teaching an online class is the duration. A typical online class lasts for 25 minutes. It sounds very short, but for a one-on-one setting, this amount of time is actually longer than it seems.
A typical class duration is usually an hour to an hour-and-a-half. Having that amount of time, it is easier to lose track, maximizing it will not be an easy task. A fast-paced online class has less distractions, making it productive for its short duration. Time management will come in very handy since the time allotment has more value.
In conclusion, there are key differences between traditional and online teaching, where both methods can be just as successful in achieving the same goals. Depending on the factors that benefits the teachers, both can be enjoyable and fulfilling.
Online classes are becoming an increasingly obvious choice for traditional teachers for different benefits like working at home, a flexible schedule and higher compensation.
