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The Main Obstacles and Problems
That Face English Teachers and
How to Deal with Them
Prepared by :
Mohammad AL-Sidudi
Supervisor of English
Al-Shorouq Schools
Introduction :
During performing their mission, English teachers
face many obstacles and problems which prevent them
from achieving their goals successfully . These
obstacles and problems disturb the teacher and
confuse his plans . They make him lose his temper and
become a frustrated person. They also affect the
students and the teaching process as a whole .
A successful teacher should not give up easily . He
should do his best to overcome these problems and to
find out the best way of how to deal with them
properly . Here, I try to tackle four of these problems:
their reasons and remedy .
1) Lack of participation :
Some of your students do not participate in class
activities . How can you deal with such a problem ?
Reasons :
- Some students can not understand their teacher
because they do not come to the supposed and
required standard .
- Some students are not interested in learning
English . So they do not have the wish to participate
in English classes .
- Some students have social or psychological problems. These problems prevent them from paying attention and participating effectively with their teacher.
Remedy :
- Teachers should use simple words and easy English,
as far as possible, to help the majority of their
students understand and consequently participate.
- Using some distinguished students as models and asking the others to imitate and repeat .
- To make our students interested in learning English,
it is necessary to make them familiar with the
importance of English in our everyday life . In this
domain, the following points should be made clear.
a) English is the international language of today .
b) It is the language of study at university .
c) It is the language of medicine, commerce,
business and tourism .
d) It is necessary to know English in order to
defend our religion and explain its great
principles to non-Muslims .
e) Learning English is an essential need for our
future career .
f) Not knowing English puts us in very critical
situations .
g) Knowing English makes us familiar with the new
inventions and their uses in our everyday life .
- A teacher should cooperate with the headmaster, the
social specialist and the family to help the students
get rid of any social or psychological problems .
- Marks should be used, either as a reward or as a
punishment , to encourage our students and urge
them to participate in class activities .
2) Lack of interest :
Some students are not interested in learning English. They are either absent or tend to have snooze during English periods .
Reasons :
- The teacher`s method is not attractive .
- The teacher does not use any modern means as
teaching aids .
- The syllabus is vague and dull .
- The subjects of the book are not interesting .
- The student sometimes feels that English lessons are not beneficial because he does not achieve any
progress in English .
- The student sometimes feels that the materials he
learns at school are useless outside the school .
Remedy :
- Don’t make all your lessons a typical copy of one
another . Variety is required and recommended .The teacher should vary his methods during dealing with the syllabus . The method which is used in teaching reading is quite different from that used in teaching writing, grammar, speaking or listening .
- A teacher should not stick to teacher’s book
all the time . He should find out new methods which
are suitable to his students and to the subjects he
presents .
- English teachers should have a sense of humour .
tension should be broken from time to time in order to attract students` attention and keep them in touch with the teaching process .
- Using computers, teaching aids and modern means and methods in teaching English motivates the students, creates a kind of variety and reduces tension . Consequently, our students become more
interested in learning English .
- The syllabus and the books should be revised from
time to time in order to make them more interesting . During revising, the experiences of
the teachers in the field and students` points of view
should be taken into consideration .
- English books should contain materials which are
connected to our everyday life . The student needs
to feel that he can use these materials in his
communication with others, especially the native
speakers of English .
- A teacher can ask one or more of his distinguished
students to prepare a lesson or a part of a lesson
and demonstrate it in front of his colleagues . This
is a kind of variety which attracts the students and
make them more interested .
- Teacher`s character, appearance, knowledge,
confidence, treatment and gentility play a very
essential role in this domain .
3) Lack of practice :
It is necessary to practise English in order to achieve the required progress . Our students do not have a chance to practice the materials they learn either inside or outside the class .
Reasons :
- English labs are not available .
- Four periods a week are not enough .
- The classes are crowded .
- The chance of practising English outside the school is
not available .
Remedy :
- Making use of English labs which are available in the
neighbouring schools or universities .
- Increasing English periods if possible .
- English clubs or societies can give the students a
chance to practice English .
- Arranging school excursions to places where it is
possible for students to practise using English .
- A teacher can divide his class into groups . Each
group is to discuss a pre-prepared English work .
This work may be a passage of reading, a story,
a dialogue or a subject of composition . The teacher
is to share in this activity . He can encourage, correct,
advise or help if necessary . This kind of activity
gives the students a chance to practise the materials
they learn .
4) Some of your students do not do the homework .
What are the reasons ?
- They have no interest in English .
- The homework is difficult and boring .
- The teacher does not reward his students after doing
the homework .
- The teacher does not follow up the homework .
- The teacher does not write words of praise and
encouragement when he collects the homework .
Remedy :
- Make your students familiar with the importance of
English before teaching them English .
- Do the homework orally with your students before
asking them to do it at home .
- Reward the students who do the homework and
punish those who do not .
-The teacher must follow up the homework and make
his students know that he follows up .
- Writing words of praise and encouragement after
each homework makes the student proud of himself
and encourages him to do his best .
- Marks can play an essential role in this domain .
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The Main Obstacles and Problems
