Whether you are teaching young learners or business English for adults, creating an interactive classroom is an important tool for teaching TEFL. Like teaching in a real classroom, online teaching requires props and teaching apparatus to guide the student’s learning journey to becoming a better English speaker. Unlike teaching in a classroom, a student may feel a bit nervous to learn online, or the student may become easily distracted from the stimuli in their learning space. An interactive classroom is a simple solution to this! Here are 3 reasons for setting up an interactive classroom.
1. Props encourage engagement.
Using props that relate to the content you teach adds an aspect of fun to the learning process. Young learners enjoy learning with colours, games, and toys. Use these props to engage with your learners by keeping them interested and focused. This will make your learners feel comfortable during your lessons, and excited to learn! Plus, visual representations of the lesson content helps create a visual association with the English word for the learner.
2. Posters & a whiteboard can assist with modelling new words.
When teaching new vocabulary, posters with words and visuals will assist you in creating visual connections with the new words for your learners. Using these tools encourage learners’ output during the process of modelling new words with your students. Plus, using a whiteboard is an easy and quick tool to write and erase the content during your lessons without having hundreds of props.
3. A space for your classroom assists your teaching.
Working from home can sometimes include distractions like the people we live with, animals or children running around, and even the neighbours next door. Creating a dedicated space for your online classroom can help you remain focused and relaxed before and during your lesson. Having your classroom set up in a quiet space that has good lighting also ensures minimal preparation for each lesson.
Setting up a dedicated classroom for your online TEFL job makes your teaching preparation quick and efficient. It also helps your learners engage throughout the lesson and encourages their learning process. The best part of having a classroom? You get to design it any way you like! There are tons of videos online of recommended props, designs, and layouts that will inspire you to design the ultimate classroom that makes your teaching better as well as your students’ learning more fun and engaging!
Written by Aidan Tyler-Scott