No matter what subject you’re teaching, or whether you work at school or give private lessons, students (or a student) may become quite bored at your lesson. It’s not always easy to keep the attention of the students, to keep them focused and willing to learn new information.
I’m a teacher, a private tutor and a student myself, so I’ve had enough of opportunities to watch my colleagues at work and try some methods on my students. I’d like to share some tips that will help you to make your lesson easier, reduce the tension and make the learning process flow smoothly, so students won’t feel bored afterwards.
My subject is English language, but I think my advice will be useful for any teacher or tutor.
1. Switch activities
Before starting the lesson, make a quick review of the things that need to be done. For example, you need to do some writing, listening and speaking. Try to break these activities in halves and mix them up: it will be better for the student to write a little, then switch to another kind of activity and then go back to writing. The student(s) will most likely grow weary if they remain involved into the same activity for a long time; they won’t learn the material so well; and their attention will suffer as well. When time comes to begin another task, the students won’t have enough energy and they’ll do it worse.
So try and break all your lesson activities into smaller parts and interlace them with each other. It will help your student(s) to stay focused and they won’t grow tired of monotony.
2. Make pauses
Give your students some time to relax and catch their breath. You may think that the lesson is short, and there’s not enough time to do everything that was planned, but if you keep your students in constant tension and hurry them up, they will – voluntary or not – reject some information coming from you. If they’re tired or overstrained, they will start checking their cellphones, looking at the windows or just idly staring at the walls. They will take their time for rest anyway, so it’s better than you give them a minute or two to clear their thoughts. Such intervals can be introduced after every 15-20 minutes of a lesson.
Tell your students a joke, a small story or an episode from your teaching experience, let them stretch and chat a little, ask them some random questions – anything to make them relax a little. This way they’ll concentrate on the next activity much better.
3. Be friendly and praise them when you can
Teachers and tutors often think that it’s better to be strict and demanding at the lesson. While it helps to keep up discipline, it may also make your students too shy and unwilling to communicate. Tell them a couple of good words if you see they’re doing well; choose a bit easier task for the ones that seem to fall behind the class – it’s always better to help students feel more confident and stimulate their wish to learn more and work harder.
If you use these simple methods, your classes will have a nice, friendly atmosphere, and it will be easier for the students to focus. Your explanation will fall on eager ears, the students will remember and learn much more, and they will be always looking forward to your classes.
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