Assignment 4 (TOTB 180 Hour): Dealing with classroom problems

by Nyasha Gwatidzo on 13/07/23.

As a prospective ESL Teacher, I decided to start preparing for my journey as a TEFL Teacher and one
of the things I did was join different Facebook groups consisting of TEFL teachers from all around the
world. One thing I did notice on the posts were a various number of teachers asking for solutions to
the classroom problems they were dealing with daily and most especially on their first week. In this
assignment I will be outlining 3 different problems and solutions. These problems include the Use of
the native language, unmotivated students and the lack of preparation for both the student and the
teacher.

The use of native language in the ESL classrooms has quickly become one of the most difficult
problems. In an ESL classroom it's important to encourage students to use English and only English.
For some students to understand properly they would speak their native language or use their native
language to explain what other students do not understand. The problem however Is when students
want to continue speaking their native language which will limit the learning of the English language.
The solution to this problem to move closer and ask them direct questions like "do you have a
question?" Another idea is to establish a set of class rules and develop a penalty system for when
they use their first language. For example: if someone is caught using their first-language three
times, have them recite a poem in front of the class (in English). To avoid this problem in the first
place teachers have to make sure their explanation are clear .One other solution is to make sure the
activities used are at an appropriate level and that the students have the necessary language to
cope for example repetitive phrases into their language habits is to offer them simple, silly songs
such as “Can I borrow a pencil please, pencil please, pencil please?”.

Unmotivated students are one of the problems that TEFL teachers face. This might be because they
are shy or intimidated to speak or it could be they don’t understand the class at all and are finding it
hard to grasp the concept. It is the teacher’s duty to find out what the underlying problem might be
and find solutions tailor made for the student or include other students that would make the
student more comfortable and motivated to speak. The unmotivated student will eventually become
reluctant, and the class becomes boring to them. Many times, it is the teacher's fault that class is
boring. This might be because the teacher lacked proper planning and warmers which is a problem, I
will get into detail later. Role play is one of the solutions to this problem. Most students discover and
learn that they become more comfortable to communicate when they are acting as somebody else
than when they are being themselves or when the scenario is almost like their everyday life.

Proper planning by the teacher can be a great solution to the unmotivated students this includes the
warmers these are known as short, fun, communicative activities designed to get students
motivated and using English. It would include games like hangman and memory games. Pair and
conquer is one of the ways to motivate the bored and intimidated student, giving the student a
chance to work in smaller groups will mostly teach and boost confidence for them before speaking in
front of the whole class.
Lack of preparation has also posed to be a difficulty in the ESL Classroom. Some of the teachers
make the costly mistake of thinking just because they can speak English then they don’t need to
prepare for a class and have an ideology that as they waltz in the class, and everything will just go
smoothly. When situations arise, they panic and do not know how to handle the problem because
they never planned for it or anticipated it. The last thing I would want as an ESL teacher is for
learners to drop out simply because they felt lost and or unprepared. Just like the saying I was
taught “Failure to plan is planning to fail. “The solution to tackle this difficulty of lack of planning is
by sufficient and over planning. This process starts by finding the needs of the students and finding
ways to meet them at their point of need. This requires the TEFL Teacher to ask themselves
questions like “What will I need in my teacher’s toolbox?”,” What student/parent/administration
expectations will I need to fulfil? “and “What will I need to research or learn before beginning the
class routine?”. This is where warmers come in to motivate the students, also as a teacher you will
be able to limit your Talking time, you are also able to plan for students who finish task earlier.

Students also need to be prepared and this is ensured by making sure students are all on the same
page before moving onto a new topic by concept checking multiple times and encouraging individual
participation.

In conclusion ESL Classrooms have quite a few difficulties and as TEFL teachers, we must learn to
constantly adapt to our students' needs. ESL teachers must be able to recognize these common
problems and work to find solutions.