Having a natural conversation
I remember one teacher who made a very strong impression on me.
Our conversation started with an introduction as usual, and this was followed by a nonstop wide-ranging discussion of many different matters. I usually check the time at least twice during class, but this time our lesson was over before I knew it! Surprisingly, I felt it had only been about 10 minutes though the actual time was 25 minutes. In short, her lesson blew me away!
In hindsight, she had good listening and questioning skills. She was always interested in my words and asked questions one after another, but it wasn’t unnatural at all, but rather showed an attitude of wanting to know more about me.
And above all, the questions she asked were excellent. I felt that the topics unfolded seamlessly. In short, she was a first class ‘communicator’. Remember, good questions lead to good conversations!
Sharing your passion
I have met many teachers who were trying to start new things to change their lives. They had many different types of challenges, including starting an online cake shop, growing vegetables, and applying for employment with a foreign company. As a learner, to see the efforts they made to improve their current situation was a great stimulus and led me to identify with them.
Another teacher I encountered had a great spirit of enquiry. He never gave up trying new things, even though his plans frequently ended in failure. I was very impressed with his ‘never say die’ attitude, which motivated me to continue online English lessons for however long it took until I reached my target level.
If you have a passion for something and you can share that with your students, I’d love to hear from you.
Knowing topics that students are interested in
One of my teachers always offers me an enjoyable free conversation lesson. He’s not particularly handsome (sorry!) and doesn’t crack jokes all the time like a comedian, but the conversation never flags during the whole 25-minute lesson. So his lessons leave me with a great feeling of satisfaction and make me keen to take another lesson with him ‘next time’.
So, when I took a lesson with him the other day, I tried to listen to him more carefully than usual to analyze his characteristics. And there was one thing I found out. He is extremely well-informed about current affairs, and has an ability to pick the best topic off the ‘shelf inside his head’ to suit the preferences of his student.
Here are some examples of topics that interest me.
- The current relationship between Philippines and China
- Recent developments for other Japanese students
- Anything about the current situation of Filipinos living in London
- The latest news in America
- Filipinos’ reaction to recent events in Japan
Have you noticed one feature that all these topics have in common? All of them are related to “what’s happening NOW!”
For a student like me who has been taking online lessons for a long time, subjects like culture, food, hobbies, and work are ‘old hat’ – not fresh any more. But the latest topics about things that have something to do with me or Japan are of much greater interest to me.
Gathering the latest news would not be too difficult for you as it doesn’t require any special knowledge or skill. Providing up to date and contemporary items in your class will upgrade your status in my estimation from an ‘ordinary’ teacher to a first class teacher – one with whom I would really like to book a lesson again!
In conclusion
I have enumerated everything that, for me, makes an ‘extraordinary teacher’.
As I said, what is written here is my personal opinion and is not representative of all Japanese students.
What these wonderful teachers have in common is that they all want their students to learn something through their lessons. There is a world of difference between a teacher who provides a lesson with genuine passion for the subject and real consideration for the needs of the student, and one who just ‘goes through the motions’ and simply carries out lessons as ‘work flow’.
Doubtless there are many good teachers ‘out there’, but the probability of meeting one who has all of these characteristics is actually quite low; so when I DO find one, I feel as if I’ve dug up a treasure!
I hope that this article will contribute to the improvement of your teaching skills and you too will be one of these wonderful teachers.
I also wrote an article recommending online English lessons to Japanese people. You can translate it into English by right-clicking, so please read this if you are interested in finding out more.
And if you are a teacher and have not yet read my previous article, which offers 20 tips to be a successful online English tutor, please check it out!