We know that parents always hope their kids can learn happily during their classes. However, beyond this basic expectation, what else do parents really want to see from their teachers? And what, specifically, can teachers do to meet those expectations?
In order to learn more about parental expectations, we interviewed several parents to find out their opinions. Below are the points they feel are essential for teachers to do.
Be prepared for the class - Parents prefer teachers that have a well-organized background containing some educational elements. Moreover, it is also important for teachers to have bright lighting and a professional look. This kind of teacher is more attractive for both parents and their kids.
Be involved - The teacher's involvement in the class is crucial for the students' success. Parents want teachers who always smile and encourage their kids. It is preferable for teachers to make class content interesting and to teach with rich body language to help the kids better understand the English concepts. Additionally, there are some behaviors that parents are not happy to see in the class. They will lose their trust in a teacher that is frequently late or ends class early. Also, teachers should not eat, sleep, or play on their phones during class. The inability to finish all the slides by the end of the class is considered unprofessional by most parents.
Use teaching props during the class - Sometimes the class content can be hard for kids to follow or understand. When this happens, teaching props are especially important. Parents love to see teachers use interesting and varied teaching props! Parents think props make the class more fun and interactive. Props not only help their kids learn, but will also keep them focused during class. Popular characters, toy cars, talking puppets, toy animals, and food are the props that kids love the most.
Correct the kids but not too often - Parents think teaching correct pronunciation is really important because their kids are still young and it is easy for them to pick up incorrect
pronunciation. Therefore, they do expect teachers to correct their kids' pronunciation in class, however, it shouldn't be too often. Parents love to see their kids improve, but they are also afraid that their kids may lose confidence if they are over-corrected.
Reward the kids - Kids love to receive rewards from their teachers! Being rewarded makes them feel happy and confident, so teachers should always include a secondary reward system in addition to the built-in class rewards.
Extend beyond the class content - Parents appreciate teachers who teach beyond the slides, especially when the slide content is not very challenging or the student shows little interest in the provided content.
In addition to the above expectations, the parents we spoke to also mentioned time outside of class. They often do not have time to practice English with their children, and when they do have time they are not always sure how to best help. Most of the time they just watch cartoons or read picture books with their kids. Some parents think it would be wonderful if teachers gave specific suggestions on how they can best help their children practice English after class.
Most parents value a sense of positivity, support, and enjoyment within the learning environment. They also hope their kids can really take away increased speaking confidence from the classes. Parents are eager to see their kids freely speak with teachers, pointing out items using English words, and using the words and sentences they learn during class in their daily lives.
We understand that it is not always easy to completely meet the parents' full expectations, but we are happy to help our GGK teachers who want to improve. Therefore, we have arranged for some excellent teachers to hold workshops on various topics. We have a series of workshops called "What Parents Care About". All of the workshops have several time slots for you to choose from, allowing you to join during the time that is most convenient for you.
There is a full Workshop Schedule on our Blog which includes all of our workshops. You can also earn Unee coins by attending those workshops. Please do not hesitate to come to our workshops and participate in the discussion with other teachers who have the same questions.
Comments