It isn’t difficult to become more likeable to your students. Anyone can make a few changes in how they relate to their students and see results quickly.
Commit yourself to following the list below for just one week, and
behavior in your classroom will improve—both because your students will
be happier to be part of your class, and because you’ll have more
influence over their behavior choices.
1. Relax
Stress will permeate your classroom like a thick fog, creating excitability
in your students and negative feelings about you. So before greeting
students every day, take a deep breath and shake the tension out of your
arms, legs, and shoulders. Just let it go…
You’ll be more likeable, feel more confident, and carry the calm,
relaxed demeanor of a teacher who knows what he or she is doing.
2. Smile
Deadlines, test scores, meetings, paperwork. When you’re under the
gun, stressed, or not at your best, your smile is the first thing to go.
And with it goes your likeability. You can’t be influential with a
furrowed brow and a frown.
A smile is the first step to creating a mutual admiration society
with your students; the more you smile at them, the more they’ll smile
back. And the more you’ll like each other—a little known key to
exceptional classroom management.
3. Be Yourself
Too many teachers hide their true personality from students for fear
of inciting misbehavior. But enjoying your students and having a good
laugh doesn’t cause misbehavior. It does the opposite. It makes you more
likeable and gives you more power to command the behavior you want.
Keeping your personality under lock and key stifles your charisma,
making you appear dry, dull, and humorless—which is the death knell of
effective teaching. It inhibits that part of you that is the most
inspiring and passionate; the part that students take notice of and put
their faith in.
4. Tell stories
Nothing is more effective in creating leverage and admiration than
being a good storyteller. Its transformational powers can put your
students into the palm of your hand.
Start with simple 3-5 minute anecdotes. Share your travel
experiences, embarrassing situations, or funny moments. As you get more
comfortable, branch out to include fictional stories and stories to
introduce lessons and units of study. (For more info on how to become a
great storyteller, see Dream Class.)
5. Have fun
Having fun as a class
is a potent leverage builder, but if you join your class in the fun, if
you take an active part in it, your likeability will skyrocket. The
key, however, is not to attach a secondary motive. Have fun just for the
sake of having fun.
Not only will your students look at you differently after a game of Giants, Wizards, and Elves, but it will provide a wonderful shot in the arm for a sleepy, restless, or unmotivated class.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
tips to improve speaking
Many have said that the English language is one of the hardest to learn, especially in speaking.
However, with the right training, learning English as a second language
can be a fun and positive experience. Here are some tips to improve your skill in speaking :
- Don’t worry about making mistakes because you will.
-
Be patient. This isn’t a one day process.
-
Learn certain phrases that can be used in multiple situations.
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Learn how to greet someone properly.
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Talk slowly and carefully. Don’t rush through your sentences.
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Restrict yourself to simple sentences until you gain confidence.
-
Watch out for your pronunciation. Many
online tools will tell you how to pronounce a word correctly. Check one
of them out when you’re in doubt.
-
Carefully observe how proficient speakers of the language pronounce words and frame their sentences.
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Ask your friends, relatives and anyone you can to point out your mistakes and correct them.
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Speak to them in English only. Practice is a must.
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Record yourself reading one article aloud every day. Focus on pronunciation, speed, clarity and emphasis.
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Many online sites offer you the opportunity to voice chat with another user. This is an effective way to practice.
-
Learn at least one new word every day
and use it as a part of your conversation with people. By the end of the
week, you should know seven words really well.
-
Learn new words everyday
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Read at least one article of your choice aloud every day.
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Watch English movies with subtitles.
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Watch English shows.
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Read books and magazines.
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Keep a pocket dictionary handy for any word you may need to know the meaning of.
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When you hear a new word, try to find its usage and its antonyms.
tips to overcome boredom
Are you bored with your work, your relationship, or your life in
general? Boredom is a complex process. There are lots of reasons that
one might be bored. The most common one is that you have no idea what to
do. Other reasons might be that you feel lazy, tired or just don't want
to do the things that are available for you to do. Maybe you have ideas
of things but you feel you can't do the things you want to do. Boredom
becomes a great concern when it results in procrastination, indecision
and feeling listless and jaded. Here are some ideas on how to overcome
boredom.
Try to figure out why you are bored:
Are you bored because you can't think of anything to do? Do something physically or socially active. Doing some exercise can get you into a better frame of mind, as well as the added bonus of keeping you in shape. Social activity (e.g. talking to someone) fulfils one of our basic human needs. Face-to-face contact is, if possible, much better than talking over the phone or Facebook. If it's that bad, google a random activity generator, then promise yourself to do the first activity you see that is possible for you to do.
Try to do something totally new and learn from it. New situations and actions will activate your brain, allowing it to exercise its learning powers.
Try to be active with an interesting group of people. These can be your regular friends, or perhaps you could join a new group of people interested in similar things to you. There are many clubs in local communties, or online. Join one, and participate in it regularly.
Break out of your routine. While it is important to have structure in your life, occasionally doing something radically different, or at an unusual time, can be invigorating. You need to pay attention to your thoughts and daily activities and find ways not to submit yourself to drudgery and taking things for granted. Be spontaneous
Change your thoughts. Your thoughts affect your behaviour and mood. By changing your mind about the meaning of your emotion and experiences, you will generate a different attitude. Get inspired with powerful long-range goals. Powerful goals keep you inspired. You can't feel bored at the same time when you are motivated to build a life. Think about one thing you love every day, and when your down have a self pep talk prepared, about why YOU are amazing.
Fire up your imagination. Create mental images to stimulate your thoughts. Visualize where you want to be and what you want to become. Use your imagination to experience a situation that you want to happen in your life. The wonderful thing about imagination is that you can create anything you wish to experience. Looking out of a window, taking a walk in a park, or going to a museum are all easy ways to get inspired.
Talk to other people. If the person next to you is looking as bored as you are, strike up a conversation! Or call a friend and ask if they want to come over for a natter or a game of something. If you have an interesting, thought-provoking person to talk to, the time can pass by pretty quick. You might also learn something. Clubs and communites have many people to talk to, so join one and TALK! Or even walk up to a random person on the street, and start chatting to them!
Be active! Go for a walk or do something physically outrageous. Write down 10 things you can do and 10 you can't yet. Work through them whenever you're bored. You could also try that sport you've always wanted to do, but never have.
Create curiosity. Create your curiosity on what's happening around and inside you. You find life boring because of the repetition or a pattern of some habits or activities. Try to look at and do them differently and get yourself fascinated with other options and possibilities. Watch the news more often, read more books too. It's truly eye opening!
Find, read, hear, watch or do something exciting, stimulating and entertaining. You will probably be more fulfilled if you learn something: mindless media can be absorbing but ultimately not at all stimulating.
Find a new hobby, such as hiking, knitting, drawing, playing an instrument, Board games, Cards, Cycling, cooking or photography. If you are particularly good at one skill, you could teach others to do it, and be helping others as well as avoiding boredom.
Avoid boring people and situations. Get away from people and situations that bore you. You can't just walk out of a relationship but you can give yourself some space to do things that interest and motivate you.
Start a life list and accomplish a new thing every day, or week.
Try some of these ideas:
Try to figure out why you are bored:
Are you bored because you can't think of anything to do? Do something physically or socially active. Doing some exercise can get you into a better frame of mind, as well as the added bonus of keeping you in shape. Social activity (e.g. talking to someone) fulfils one of our basic human needs. Face-to-face contact is, if possible, much better than talking over the phone or Facebook. If it's that bad, google a random activity generator, then promise yourself to do the first activity you see that is possible for you to do.
Try to do something totally new and learn from it. New situations and actions will activate your brain, allowing it to exercise its learning powers.
Try to be active with an interesting group of people. These can be your regular friends, or perhaps you could join a new group of people interested in similar things to you. There are many clubs in local communties, or online. Join one, and participate in it regularly.
Break out of your routine. While it is important to have structure in your life, occasionally doing something radically different, or at an unusual time, can be invigorating. You need to pay attention to your thoughts and daily activities and find ways not to submit yourself to drudgery and taking things for granted. Be spontaneous
Change your thoughts. Your thoughts affect your behaviour and mood. By changing your mind about the meaning of your emotion and experiences, you will generate a different attitude. Get inspired with powerful long-range goals. Powerful goals keep you inspired. You can't feel bored at the same time when you are motivated to build a life. Think about one thing you love every day, and when your down have a self pep talk prepared, about why YOU are amazing.
Fire up your imagination. Create mental images to stimulate your thoughts. Visualize where you want to be and what you want to become. Use your imagination to experience a situation that you want to happen in your life. The wonderful thing about imagination is that you can create anything you wish to experience. Looking out of a window, taking a walk in a park, or going to a museum are all easy ways to get inspired.
Talk to other people. If the person next to you is looking as bored as you are, strike up a conversation! Or call a friend and ask if they want to come over for a natter or a game of something. If you have an interesting, thought-provoking person to talk to, the time can pass by pretty quick. You might also learn something. Clubs and communites have many people to talk to, so join one and TALK! Or even walk up to a random person on the street, and start chatting to them!
Be active! Go for a walk or do something physically outrageous. Write down 10 things you can do and 10 you can't yet. Work through them whenever you're bored. You could also try that sport you've always wanted to do, but never have.
Create curiosity. Create your curiosity on what's happening around and inside you. You find life boring because of the repetition or a pattern of some habits or activities. Try to look at and do them differently and get yourself fascinated with other options and possibilities. Watch the news more often, read more books too. It's truly eye opening!
Find, read, hear, watch or do something exciting, stimulating and entertaining. You will probably be more fulfilled if you learn something: mindless media can be absorbing but ultimately not at all stimulating.
Find a new hobby, such as hiking, knitting, drawing, playing an instrument, Board games, Cards, Cycling, cooking or photography. If you are particularly good at one skill, you could teach others to do it, and be helping others as well as avoiding boredom.
Avoid boring people and situations. Get away from people and situations that bore you. You can't just walk out of a relationship but you can give yourself some space to do things that interest and motivate you.
Start a life list and accomplish a new thing every day, or week.
Try some of these ideas:
- Work for money. Ask for jobs to do around the house for money or even start a business like mowing people's lawns or pet sitting. Pretty soon all that money will add up and you can buy something new that will keep you entertained.
- Walk to the mall and pay attention to the people there; what could they be thinking about? Who could they be talking to? What kind of people are they
- Bake something. Then you get to eat it afterwards!
- Catch up on any homework or that you might still have to do. While this can seem like the last thing you want to do, it could be just the thing to get your brain whirring.
- Practice sports by yourself or with friends. You won't be bored anymore and you'll be able to show off your skills next game and feel proud of what you accomplished.
- Take out your bike/skateboard/roller skates/scooter and get some exercise. Call up a friend and see if they want to come with you.
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