 The fun side of group teaching. Can you imagine being in a foreign country and you don't speak the language? You are a new student, who is shy, nervous. You haven't made any friends yet and you don't have confidence in your speaking skills. A classroom could be a terrifying place to be which is why the role of the teacher is so important. Since most non-English speaking students are typically shy in English class, teaching English through various types of methods such as groups can be beneficial to the students. Learning based on real life communicatin. When listening to students in groups, a teacher will notice the everyday language skills being used. These are the natural conversations amongst the students and not their classroom skills. This type of communication in another language helps promote confidence in non-English speaking students as well as getting students to talk to each other. They are putting their English skills to good use. Group teaching is a way to build camaraderie amongst the students making everlasting friendships. These friendships are an important part of classroom management where a teacher can get a feel for who the leaders of the classroom are. These leaders can then be used as mentors to the other students in the classroom. Grouping techniques. There are various grouping combinations that foster difference outcomes. One way to group students is by varying skill level. This type of group encourages more skilled English speakers to lead discussions, mentor less English skilled students and share their knowledge with others. Grouping by the same skill level will help the entire group as a whole, understand the topic and will promote more talking because they can all understand each other. They can be grouped by the same first language. This type of grouping helps students learn more difficult tasks or lessons that can be translated into their same language. Once they understand the project in their own language, they can translate it and work out the answer. Another way to group students is in different languages. This can be a challenge but maybe a simple activity is introduced. Choice of activities. Once a group is established, there are many types of English lessons or games that can promote the opportunity for students to practice their English skills. Having a group project is a way to accomplish a difficult task which requires communication. Solving a problem and sharing information stimulates conversations on how to find solutions which they may use in their everyday life. While playing can be used with any topic that can be recreated, which the English conversations can be used in practical and realistic ways. Some non-English speaking students learn best when they're interacting with other people. They can do this by learning in a variety of group activities. Practicing their English skills in groups encourages their school relationships to develop into friendships. Students who are excited about teaching non-English speaking students in a variety of ways helps nervous and shy students to enjoy learning English. The creative and fun activities that are introduced in the classroom, help students to relax, make new friends and then use their English outside the classroom. This is both beneficial and fun for non-English speaking students. Do you want to teach English all over the world? Speak with an ITTT advisor today to put together your personal plan for teaching English abroad. Send us an email or call us tollfree at 1-800-490-0531 to speak with an ITTT advisor today.