What Constitutes Good Teaching Practice

Good teaching practice is a key influence on student learning. In order to give students high-level teaching performance, teachers should partly think as learners.

To begin with, the most important part of the good teaching practice is the structure of the lesson put into well-organized shape. In the beginning students should be provided the objectives of the lesson, given the skills and the knowledge to be taught. I always make my students understand the goals of the lesson through the exposition. I try to motivate them stimulating their interest and curiosity, energizing in some way, for example, by catchy quotation and / or a picture with a speech / thought bubble, which pose a question or a problem connected to the topic. As a result, the students might be able to formulate the topic of the lesson themselves.

At the end of the lesson it is strongly recommended to do a reflection in order to get feedback on the activities undertaken and determine whether the goals have been achieved. It is essential to thank all the students without exception and offer praise in a genuine way for those who have worked hard, have been active, successful, etc.

Having set the boundaries of the lesson, it is time to fill it with the content.

First if all, the teacher should always plunge his students into authentic atmosphere, for example, having cultural conversation, I sometimes create linguistic ambience by using British or American music, showing video slides and photos on topic. By the way, audio-visual aids should be chosen according to learners interests. It is also essential to make students feel familiar with English slang and idioms including them in speech while developing dialogues, practising role-playing and discussing seen extracts from films or sitcoms.

Once being a student myself, I know how it is important to feel concerned and involved in an educational process and having a chance to excel with a personal report (given beforehand) or simply by sharing ideas. So, I always give the opportunities to my students to express their opinions, do personal researches, eventually helping them to grow academically.

In addition to this, I reckon that providing relevant material, adding both teacher s and students real-world experiences and demonstrations make a connection between the content of the lesson and the students life. Once you experience being part of something you are interested in, once you put acquired knowledge into practice, it will stay with you for a long time.

Whenever I feel the necessity, I use additional handouts to motivate students and create an interactive learning environment. Grammar or vocabulary exercises, introduced in a different and unusual way, contribute to easier understanding. Moreover, group work unites the students and the teacher, who also participates in the lesson and makes himself more approachable.

Last but not least, during the lesson the teacher should always correct the students, provide them supporting feedback and give specific comments, so that students can improve their work. I sometimes practise involving students into explaining the topics demanding particular attention to the rest of the group. Switching the teacher-student role encourages everyone to be engaged in, contributes to better memorization and develops good public speakers.

All things considered, I have come to the following conclusion: as long as we are creative, emotionally rich and ready to share, we will be an inexhaustible source of spiritual wealth whether we are learners or teachers.