Webinar 4: Mistakes in teaching

Ten Most Common Mistakes in Teaching English and How to Fix Them
Being overwhelmed and focused on the process of teaching, ESL teachers
sometimes tend to forget important details and thus make mistakes in teaching.
Moreover, these errors can often lead to the development of bad habits that can
negatively impact students' learning experiences. To avoid such issues, it's
important for ESL teachers to be aware of common mistakes they make and
learn how to fix them effectively. Thus, look through the ideas below and check
yourself.

MISTAKE 1 Unclear objectives

Mistake: Teachers frequently begin teaching without a clear understanding
of the objectives and learning outcomes that they hope to achieve. This can
lead to confusion and a lack of focus, resulting in bad learning experiences for
students. Additionally, without a clear plan and understanding of the end goals,
it can be difficult for teachers to effectively evaluate their students' progress and
adapt their teaching strategies accordingly.
Solution: Therefore, before planning and preparing lessons, it’s important for
teachers to set clear and achievable aims.

Mistake: Not considering learners’ needs and preferences and relying on

the course book only.
Solution: When teachers solely rely on the course book, they may overlook the
unique needs and preferences of their learners, which can result in a lack of
engagement and motivation. Each student has their own learning style, interests
and abilities. Thus, teachers need to create (or adapt available) activities and
materials that are relevant and engaging for all students. To find out more
about students’ learning styles, interests and abilities, teachers can conduct a
needs analysis, a questionnaire in which students mention their strengths,
weaknesses, and learning goals.

MISTAKE 2 Inadequate preparation

Mistake: Lacking knowledge.

Solution: Teachers shouldn’t rely on their knowledge, but also review the target
language before the lesson. This includes a thorough understanding of the
meaning, form, and pronunciation of the language. Conducting a language
analysis (find more of a language analysis in the references below) before the
lesson can help teachers better explain the language and check for
understanding. The worst thing that may happen as a result of a lack of teacher
knowledge is so-called bad teaching when the teacher teaches wrong things
(e.g. if an ESL teacher lacks knowledge of English grammar, vocabulary, or
pronunciation, they may teach incorrect or incomplete information, which can
lead to confusion and errors in student writing and speaking).

Mistake: No anticipation.
Solution: Anticipating what problems may arise in a lesson might help a lot.
Teachers can anticipate problems related to classroom management or
language comprehension among others. For example, if a teacher anticipates
that some students may struggle with a particular language concept (either
grammar or vocabulary), they can design activities to provide additional
practice. Another example would be if a teacher anticipates that some students
may not cope with a task individually, they can incorporate pair or small group
work to build confidence.

Mistake: Not being flexible.

Solution: Sometimes during a lesson, things might not go as planned, and the
students might need to change the direction of the lesson either because they
don't understand a concept or have questions that need to be addressed. In these
situations, it's important for ESL teachers to be flexible and adjust their
teaching to help their students succeed. Teachers can change the type of
interaction, skip or use different materials and activities, or find new ways to
explain things to better meet their students' needs.

MISTAKE 3 Improper language use

Mistake: Overuse of L1.It can lead to students’ dependency on it and thus slow
down their progress in using English independently and effectively in real-life
situations.
Solution: It's recommended that teachers communicate with their students
using English as much as they can, for giving instructions, explanations or any
other type of interaction (in and out of the classroom). This type of "teacher
talk" offers students many chances to improve their listening comprehension.
However, for lower levels, it may be necessary sometimes to use students'
native language. Using English as the main language in the classroom is
generally better than using it exclusively, but it's important to avoid either
extreme and find a balance that works best for the students.

Mistake: Too much teacher talking time.

Solution: It’s clear that teachers need to provide guidance, instructions, and
feedback to students. However, it's recommended that they minimise the
duration of their speech to give students a chance to express themselves. A
useful guideline is to aim for a ratio of 30% TTT (teacher talk time) to 70%
STT (student talking time). To do so, teachers should plan and consider
carefully what, when, and how to convey information in class.

Mistake: Echoing (in other words, repeating students’ answers).

Solution: A teacher may want to repeat what a student has just said to clarify,
confirm or share the information with the rest of the class. However, this
approach can have a negative impact on the original speaker and prevent natural
peer-to-peer communication. To avoid this, the teacher should ask the student
to repeat his/her statement, encourage him/her to speak up, continue the
conversation normally or prompt other students to ask follow-up questions.
This way helps maintain direct interaction among students and prevents
dependence on the teacher for communication.

Mistake: Completing a student’s sentence.

Solution: Students have to face some challenges in order to learn better. This
means that they need to think in order to complete their tasks and this thinking
is what consolidates learning. If a teacher completes a student’s sentences,
he/she removes the need for the student to think about how to overcome their
communication issue and thus learn whatever they are having difficulty with.
Therefore, it’s recommended that teachers provide students with some
thinking time to gather their thoughts but avoid assisting them in finishing
their sentences.
Mistake: Not grading language. (Grading language is when a teacher
simplifies what he/she is saying either by speaking more slowly or using
simpler grammar and vocabulary).
Solution: This issue is particularly relevant when talking about lower-level
learners. If the language used by the teacher is too difficult for them, they may
struggle to comprehend it and thus may not be able to effectively learn the
material being presented. To address this, teachers should use simpler
grammar and vocabulary or speak at a slower pace. Additionally, teachers
can also use gestures and mimics to enhance their explanations or instructions
and help students better understand the material.

MISTAKE 4 Poor classroom management

Mistake: Lack of rules and routines or not being consistent enough in

applying them.
Solution: To create a comfortable and safe learning environment, teachers
should carefully choose rules and routines that fit their students' needs, class
size, and classroom layout. Waiting until problems arise before setting rules and
routines is a common mistake made by teachers. Teachers should implement
them from the very beginning. Moreover, consistency is key when applying
routines and rules as it helps students know what to expect.

Mistake: Talking to the board or no eye contact with students.

Solution: To ensure effective communication with students, teachers should
avoid speaking to the board and instead address students directly. If a
teacher needs to write something on the board, he/she should do it beforehand
and face students while speaking. Eye contact is also important as it promotes
mutual understanding with students, as well as overall management in the
classroom.

Mistake: Poor board organisation.

Solution: When planning for your class, it's important for a teacher to consider
the layout of their board and the legibility of their handwriting. A confusing
board can be demotivating for students, so a teacher should try to create a clear
and organised board with appropriate use of colours and spaces.

See the difference in the examples below. Which do you like more? Why?
 board 1 board 2

Building a good rapport* with students may help teachers maintain good
discipline in class.
Rapport refers to a comfortable and harmonious relationship between the
teacher and the students.

MISTAKE 5 Worrying too much about being liked

Mistake: Teachers (especially when they start working with a new group of
students) often try hard to be liked by their students, which may lead to
issues with maintaining discipline or adhering to the curriculum.
Solution: On the one hand, teachers should build good relationships with
students based on mutual respect and trust. They can take the time to get to
know their students, show interest in their lives and backgrounds, and provide
opportunities for them to share their thoughts and opinions. On the other hand,
teachers should set clear rules and routines to be able to maintain discipline in
class and move forward in achieving the objectives.

MISTAKE 6 Not checking for understanding

Mistake: “Do you understand?”

Solution: Teachers cannot know for sure whether students have learned
something or not unless test it. Moreover, to check whether students have
understood concepts or instructions, a teacher should never ask ‘Do you
understand?’ because the answer is unreliable (students usually say “Yes” to
avoid looking stupid or keep silent). Instead, teachers should use CCQs
(Concept checking questions) and ICQs (Instruction checking questions) to
verify students' understanding of concepts or instructions.

MISTAKE 7 Wrong grouping

Mistake: Pairing a weaker and a stronger student for a freer practice
activity.
Solution: Good teachers use different student groupings depending on the
task and lesson stage. There are some common rules of grouping (check them
below). However, teachers should consider their students' abilities and needs
when deciding on the best interaction pattern, whether it be pair work, group
work, individual work, or mingling. For example, for controlled practice
activities, individual work is advised to allow students to test their own
understanding and identify their own mistakes. For checking tasks, pairing a
stronger and weaker student together can benefit the weaker student by allowing
the stronger student to help and teach (peer teaching*), thus boosting their
confidence before the teacher intervenes. Finally, stronger students should be
grouped together for productive activities to encourage more speaking
opportunities.

“Peer teaching involves one or more students teaching other students in a

particular subject area and builds on the belief that “to teach is to learn twice
(Whitman, 1998).”

MISTAKE 8 Under- or over-correction

Mistake: Correcting every single mistake students make.

Solution: Correcting every mistake students make may lead to a decrease in
their motivation and confidence. Therefore, it’s recommended to focus on
repeated errors or errors related to the target language. Teachers should
also carefully consider when and how to correct students’ errors. In
fluency-based activities, they should monitor and take notes on major or
repeating mistakes without interrupting students' speech, saving error correction
for the end of the task (DEC). In accuracy-based activities, immediate
correction can be made for mistakes related to the target language, not every slip
or mistake students make.

Mistake: Ignoring mistakes.

Solution: On the other hand, teachers should not ignore repeated mistakes as
they may become fossilized. It’s not always easy to correct fossilized errors, so
it’s better to prevent them.
Mistake: Giving feedback on accuracy before getting feedback on content
after speaking activities.
Solution: It should be a rule for ESL teachers to focus on content feedback
before accuracy feedback after speaking activities. This allows students to
communicate their ideas more freely, without worrying about their mistakes.
Once the content is shared, teachers can then provide feedback on accuracy
(usually in a way of DEC, delayed error correction) to help students work on
their language use.

MISTAKE 9 Not mixing up the tempo of a lesson

Mistake: Not mixing settling and stirring activities (especially for young
learners)
Solution: Young learners have a lot of energy and very often can’t stay focused
for more than 5-6 minutes, so teachers need to adopt a balanced teaching
approach which includes a variety of stirrers or settlers and most
important the balance between them. "Stirrers" are dynamic activities that
require students to stand up, hop, walk, and run (e.g., “Simon says…”, ball
games, running dictations, songs and dancing). On the other hand, "settlers" are
activities that require students to sit down and remain calm (e.g., reading and
writing tasks). Knowing how to channel learners’ energy (in other words, when
to ‘stir' and when to ‘settle' them) helps teachers achieve balanced lessons
without students becoming overexcited or bored.

MISTAKE 10 Neglecting important details

Mistake: Skipping lead-ins and bridges.

Solution: Teachers should provide lead-ins and bridges in their lessons in order
to maintain student engagement and provide meaningful transitions between
different lesson stages. It’s common for teachers to overlook these elements due
to lack of time, though lead-ins and bridges can be quickly implemented with
something as simple as a thought-provoking question (it takes up to 1 minute
but plays such an important role!). By creating a checklist and reflecting on
previous lessons, teachers can ensure that all necessary elements are included
and continuously improve their teaching practice.

Mistake: No context.
Solution: Setting a relevant and engaging context can help students form
connections with the language, see the relevance and practical application of
what they are learning, and increase their attention and motivation. Thus,
teachers should establish a meaningful context at the beginning of their
lessons and/or while presenting new concepts by using authentic materials
or real-life situations that students are likely to encounter.

SUMMARY
In summary, teachers can effectively address mistakes in their teaching by
incorporating personal aims into their lesson planning. A personal aim is a
specific aspect of teaching that a teacher would like to improve, such as
reducing the time spent on the whiteboard, reducing talking time, or being more
thoughtful when grouping students. By setting these aims, teachers can work
towards becoming more effective.

Check the example of personal aims. Do you do the same? Would you like to?