For someone who changed his profession from Sales to Education, the teaching experience has been a revelation! I have experienced two classes of students - one, school students; and two, MBA aspirants. At school, I have handled classes right from grade 5 to grade 10. The class size is on an average 35.
At the MBA institute, I have taught classes comprising just 3 students as well as 20! This was completely different from teaching school students. The focus here was more on developing analytical and reasoning skills.
Here in India, I deal with students whose mother tongue is not English, but one of the many vernacular languages prevalent in the country. Grammar rules have to be drilled into such students. Literature needs to be explained in depth and the students trained to appreciate the subtleties of language. One needs to use flash cards, conduct quizzes and assign role plays to teach English.
At school, the major challenge lies in maintaining classroom discipline and decorum. Students tend to move away from the teaching, at times; and start getting restless. At such times, an alert teacher will stop the lesson and go off topic. Let the students relax for a while. Indulge in informal talk with them and slowly bring them back to the lesson. I have done this quite a few times in my teaching career.
I have learnt that the teacher of today needs to be firm with the students. The teacher is more of a facilitator than a teacher in the traditional sense. At times one needs to give them their space, but must never allow them to run all over you.
A good lesson must have a proper plan, worked out beforehand. It should be time-bound. It should use the target language throughout and ensure sufficient student participation. Depending on the class, a good lesson must include a warmer and a cooler.
Functional practice is important, especially when you are teaching English as a second language. This is irrespective of the class size and level. Students, especially kinesthetic learners, learn faster when they are actively involved in doing something rather than by merely observing or listening.
With the population of India assuming alarming proportions and the legal dice heavily loaded in favour of parents and students, the life of a teacher is short. Try to make the best of it while you can!