5.1 Being supportive

I want the learners in my class to realise that I value them and care about them – which I really do. It's just that I’m not sure how to show it, or how appropriate it is to show it.

Aim

To show support to your learners by affirming them and their worth.

Introduction

The teacher affects the learning process by being themselves with a group of people and by doing things or saying things that lead (directly or indirectly) to some change in how that learning happens. The things the teacher does or says are interventions.

Some interventions may be very small (for example, a teacher might say, ‘We’ll do that tomorrow’ or raise an eyebrow or press play to start a video stream on-screen). Some may be large (for example, an explanation on the Present Perfect). Individually and cumulatively, they are central to the creation of the learning environment.

Interventions, whether pre-planned or spontaneous, need to be purposeful and effective. They are more than a formula of words or a set of actions. They are intentions made visible. The more aware we are of why we are intervening and what we hope to achieve by doing so, the more fine-tuned our interventions can be.

This chapter gathers together fourteen key types of intervention (one per section) a teacher can make, starting with being supportive. By creating an overtly supportive environment, you help your learners to feel valued and in doing so, you help them to value themselves.

Being supportive is perhaps the crucial foundation stone to everything you do in class. If learners feel valued and respected, this will result in good rapport. A positive classroom atmosphere will inevitably affect learners’ attitude towards the work they do in class and their level of engagement with the language.