Author: Stephanie Long

While trying to manage a classroom, most teachers’ first instinct will be to simply punish students for disruptive behaviors. There is definitely a space and a need for that – some behaviors are simply too disruptive or even dangerous to not address immediately and decisively. However, there are a lot of compelling reasons why rewarding and reinforcing good behavior is a far better long-term strategy than just using negative consequences.

It turned out, though, that the years I spent teaching were some of the most beneficial (and fun!) in my life, and ended up taking my life and career in directions I wouldn’t even have imagined before leaving home. Here are eight ways I found that teaching ESL will help you in life.

Not all disruptive behaviors in your students are created equal. A key to managing your class and keeping everyone behaving is identifying the reason why certain negative behaviors happen, and knowing the best way respond.

In some students’ minds, “substitute teacher” is synonymous with “blow-off class.” We all remember having those substitute teachers who would turn on a video and retreat to the back of the classroom. Don’t let that be the case if you find yourself subbing.

Ways You Might Be Sabotaging Your Classroom Management: You have a clear set of rules, you apply consequences consistently, you reward good behavior, and you don’t tolerate disruptive behavior. So, what are you doing wrong? Before you write your students off as just a bad class, consider these subtle ways that you might be sabotaging yourself, and see if any of them are playing a role in your classroom management struggles.

Teaching private lessons is a great way to make some supplemental income, and it’s a lot of fun – but if you’ve mostly taught in a classroom, you’ll find that there’s a big difference when it comes to keeping a one-on-one lesson interesting and engaging – not to mention managing your time and payment.

It’s one thing to talk about establishing clear rules right from the start of class, but it’s another thing to implement them effectively. It’s crucial for classroom management, to have a simple set of rules that you enforce consistently and fairly.

As an ESL teacher, there is a good chance that you’ll find yourself teaching a class of total beginners. This doesn’t just mean that they will struggle with basic sentence patterns or pronunciation – it means that when you step into the classroom and say “Hello, what’s your name?” you’ll be greeted by blank stares and the sound of crickets chirping.