Teaching EFL to non-native English speakers has never been easy as I have mentioned in my previous article. Most of the time, the language barrier, cultural differences, and study behavior challenge tutors in making the students engage in the lesson. At times, the depth of the lesson is also a factor in imparting knowledge to the student. Thus, a teacher is required to try different teaching approaches in class. In the setting where the space is limited, there are moments that you lose the student during the lesson in ways like:
● They tend to get distracted by what they see or hear in their surroundings.
● They lose comprehension of the lesson hence they are overwhelmed with information overload.
Cases like these require much patience on the teacher's end. Needless to say, the tutor becomes frustrated at times but in the end, losing focus on the class goal is not an option hence one is opting to impart knowledge and gauge the student's learning come hell or high waters. In my years of experience, overcoming these obstacles is the real fruit of labor-when one student can learn and grow from you.
As an observation, another hindrance to an effective lesson is the disorganized workplace of the tutor. In the usual setup, the online teacher has few devices on her table plus other teaching materials. There are moments that the worktable
becomes chaotic especially when the teacher is not able to organize beforehand.
Hence, there are moments that her thoughts become chaotic too in a way that the clutters such as paper with a lot of reminders and class evaluation, little notes, markers pile up on the table. As a result, the tutor becomes confused and loses focus while teaching which affects her class. With this, let us have the tips on how to make the worktable more organized while having online classes:
I.How to Make your Work Surface More Organized:
● Plan all your class activities ahead of time:
This is the reason there should be a class plan or lesson plan. Every teacher must anticipate twists and shortcomings in his classes. In certain detailed lesson plans, teachers are asked to include how the students would react to certain activities so they could be able to plan on how to handle certain situations.
● Get rid of the clutters such as an extra sheet of paper:
This will save a teacher time. To do this, it is better to choose a product such as the one from Flexispot. This is the Height Adjustable Whiteboard Standing Desk. An innovative product that could help you prepare well for your classes. Through this, you may avoid too much hassle caused by too many clutters and a pile of paper on the work desk.
● Clear your workspace and put out the needed props and class materials:
By doing this, one would be able to save time and effort because he would not exert much effort focusing on the lesson and it would take him a short time picking the materials that he would need in class. For example, if your lesson is about shapes and numbers, try to incorporate sing and dance in finger counting with the finger puppets or cutouts that could make your students engage in the lesson. Make sure that no scissors or extra pencils would be around the surface.
With these little tips, you may avoid class delays. Most students find it difficult to focus on the lesson; their attention span is short that even a minute of making them wait could make you lose your connection with (the length of their attention span varies depending on the personality and behavior of the student) them. It is also advisable to make the house rules clear to them because with that you would be able to assert your authority and they would know what their limitations are. In this next part of the discussion, we would understand why some students find it difficult to focus on the lesson which you may consider observing the next time you encounter problems in class.
II.Reasons The Student Loses Focus in an Online Class:
When a student loses focus on the lesson, there are possible factors that trigger him and make him avoid learning. The following factors are:
● The student might be having a learning disability:
Most of the time, students who look disengaged on the lesson might be a sign that he has a learning disability such as Dyslexia. You might see this when he finds it difficult to follow the pacing in class during spelling, or reading activities. Hence, you should provide a more spacious board such as the Whiteboard standing desk from Flexispot. With this, you would be able to accommodate their needs without any conflict or misunderstanding. Remember that every child is unique and special thus, as teachers we need to help them realize that despite a learning disability.
● Personal Problems At Home:
This one is a tricky thing to deal with. In most cases, students find it difficult to speak their minds. They are mostly confused and hesitant to talk about their problems. Hence, if you encountered this situation, try to incorporate class activities using very reliable equipment such as Flexispot's Whiteboard standing desk that is an adjustable standing desk that has a dry-erase board; you can easily jot down notes on its high-gloss film. The activities that you could incorporate may be through writing which you could do through the said product above.
Maximizing online lectures would be very challenging with the given difficulties above. However, with the precision and durability of the Whiteboard standing desk from Flexispot, every tutor may be able to optimize the student-centered approach that he wants to try. He may be able to put his ideas in action because of this reliable product that features a flippable top and a dry-erase board. With this, a very effective sharing of knowledge may take place and you would be able to help a child realize his true potential without getting stressed and unmotivated.
