Maximize Interaction in your Virtual Classroom
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2024 4:31 am
Online language teaching is big business, and many language learning providers now offer some (or even all) of their classes via video conferencing. As an English teacher, you'll probably have some experience teaching English online, or at least have thought about trying it out. But can you be sure that your face-to-face teaching skills will translate easily into the online environment? If you're just starting out teaching English, what can you expect when teaching in a virtual classroom? How can you make sure you keep students engaged and give them plenty of opportunities to practice their English?
Online teaching seems like a really attractive option for cambodia phone number data many teachers. Unfortunately, teachers find that when they enter the virtual classroom, things don’t always go as smoothly as they hoped. When I first started teaching adult groups online, I was already an experienced EFL teacher and thought I knew how to engage students and respond to their needs and interests. But online, I suddenly found myself struggling to get students (particularly at lower levels) to participate in conversational activities or respond to me, and worse yet, to interact with each other. I found the radio silence awkward, and my teacher monologue time went through the roof as I filled the silence. What is going on?
The death of student engagement
One of the most common means of delivering materials for online classes is through a PowerPoint presentation. They are easy to create and can be uploaded to most online platforms. But you’ve probably heard the expression “Death by PowerPoint,” and it’s particularly apt for language teaching. Once teachers have uploaded their presentation to the video conferencing platform, there is a huge temptation to simply run through the presentation from start to finish, without considering whether students want or need the content it contains.
Online teaching seems like a really attractive option for cambodia phone number data many teachers. Unfortunately, teachers find that when they enter the virtual classroom, things don’t always go as smoothly as they hoped. When I first started teaching adult groups online, I was already an experienced EFL teacher and thought I knew how to engage students and respond to their needs and interests. But online, I suddenly found myself struggling to get students (particularly at lower levels) to participate in conversational activities or respond to me, and worse yet, to interact with each other. I found the radio silence awkward, and my teacher monologue time went through the roof as I filled the silence. What is going on?
The death of student engagement
One of the most common means of delivering materials for online classes is through a PowerPoint presentation. They are easy to create and can be uploaded to most online platforms. But you’ve probably heard the expression “Death by PowerPoint,” and it’s particularly apt for language teaching. Once teachers have uploaded their presentation to the video conferencing platform, there is a huge temptation to simply run through the presentation from start to finish, without considering whether students want or need the content it contains.