Chapter 2: Looking at What TEFL Teachers Actually Do 27
mistakes. Speaking to a classmate in small groups or pairs and role playing
is one of the more effective ways to learn. In TEFL the aim is to give your stu-
dents practice and a nice safe environment to try out everything they learn.
People really need to be able to speak a language to master it, so remember
that in your lessons.
Keeping things relevant
Whatever you teach the students should be realistic and have some rele-
vance to their lives. Depending on the situation, students sometimes come to
you with their own goals. If the class is a general English course, the onus is
on you to select the words and phrases most used in the situations your par-
ticular students are likely to meet. For example, youngsters often compare
their ages as soon as they meet, but adults rarely do (it’s actually quite rude
to ask someone’s age in many cultures) so teaching the ‘How old are you?’
question is far more relevant to a class of children than to a class of adults.
Likewise, students who are living in an English-speaking country need some
colloquial expressions to survive. For example, in London you teach students
that the underground transport system is called ‘the tube’ within the first
week, whereas a class of students in Costa Rica may never need to know that.
Some students have very specific goals such as passing exams or getting a
job. Once you know what these are you can more easily tailor your classes to
fit their needs. This is especially true if all the students are working towards
the same goal.
TEFL does comprise some very focused areas, such as business English, EAP
(English for academic purposes), and even courses adapted for particular
jobs like football coaching and hairdressing.
Recognising What Your Students Want from You
You may wonder what students expect from an EFL teacher when they enrol
on a course and gingerly enter the classroom. To be honest, students don’t
always have their list of wants and needs crystallised from the outset, but as
they go along they certainly pick up when things aren’t right. Then, they start
complaining or stop attending.
