Image above by Shuttershock.

Welcome back to our “Teacher Feature Series,” where we chat with educators who work online across borders. Today, our guest is teacher Lynette, who teaches English online to groups of students at HAWO American Academy.

Lynette, please tell us a little bit about your background.

I was born and raised in New York and now live in Florida. I have been an online teacher for HAWO American Academy for two years, and now I solely teach trial group classes.

I have been teaching group class from the moment they began, and I was one of the first teachers to teach these classes. I also helped launch the group classes.

How many students have you taught at once?

I teach four students at one time.

How do you prepare to teach a wide range of students?

I prepare by reviewing the lessons before class time and make props and rewards ahead of time. I can see what students will be in my class and I can better prepare by learning their names and personalizing props and rewards.

What do you like most about teaching a group of students?

It is very rewarding and fun, and the kids enjoy laughing and learning together. I think they feel better when they are not the only one in the class. It helps them with their confidence in learning a new language and they know that if they mess up, they are not alone.

Can you share three resources or tools that you’ve found helpful when teaching a group class?

The first thing I always have on hand are my physical gold stars as rewards. It is essential to try to reward each student evenly, even when they don’t get things right or mispronounce words. It is a form of encouragement and it motivates them to keep trying and learning. Also, the kids tend to get upset if another student has more stars than them.

Another thing that I have found to be extremely important for me to have is ManyCam, which is an application for the computer that allows you to put graphics on your screen for students to see. It is such a fun tool, and the kids are always surprised and happy with all the virtual props and rewards. The graphics definitely help to create a fun learning environment.

Also, I have tons of physical props that are within the theme of the lessons, so I make sure to have those on hand as well.

Do you have any unique stories to share about group teaching?

I just had a class about food with four boys, and it was such a fun time!

They were laughing a lot while learning at the same time. They love all the props I use.

And, they never make fun of each other. I love that my students are kind to each other. As a teacher, it is precisely the kind of atmosphere and behavior that a teacher wants to see in every class.

I love what I do!