<p>HOW DO I KNOW MY STUDENTS?</p><p>我如何了解我的学生？</p><p>As an educator, people often ask me how I know what is going on in the minds of my students. Many students are quite shy and don’t speak all that much. At the same time, in a classroom of more than forty students, it is hard to have many one-on-one conversations with each person. So, how can I really know what makes each student tick?</p><p>作为一名教师，人们经常问我，我怎么知道自己的学生在想什么。许多学生相当害羞，所以他们的话并不那么多。同时，在一个有40多名学生的教室里，很难与每个人进行多次一对一的谈话。那么，我是如何搞清楚每个学生为何会这样的呢？</p><p>My answer? I look at their body language.</p><p>我的答案？我看他们的肢体语言。</p><p>It is easy to recognise when students are interested in a lesson. Most tend to look up and make eye contact. When I make a joke, they smile. When I talk about something difficult, they look confused. I know when students are really interested, however, because they lean forward and look at me. People have a tendency to lean towards whatever they are interested in. So if a student has his head lowered to look at his watch, it implies he is bored and just counting the minutes for the class to end. If two friends are leaning their heads together, they are probably writing notes to each other. Of course, not everyone who looks up is paying attention in class. Some students look up，but there is an absence of eye contact. Their eyes barely move, and they always have the same distant expression on their faces. It is as though they are asleep with their eyes open.</p><p>当学生对一堂课感兴趣时，很容易辨认出来。大多数人倾向于抬头和进行眼神交流。当我开玩笑时，他们会笑。当我谈论到难点时，他们看起来很困惑。不过，我知道学生们什么时候真正感兴趣，因为他们身体前倾看着我。人们往往倾向于自己感兴趣的东西。因此，如果一个学生低下头看表，这意味着他很无聊，只是在数着分钟等下课。如果两个朋友把头靠在一起，他们可能在互相写纸条。当然，不是每个抬头的人都专注于课堂。有些学生抬头看，但没有眼神交流。他们的眼睛几乎不动，脸上表情疏远呆滞，好像睁着眼睛在睡觉。</p><p>Some students are amused by something else. They spend all their time looking anywhere but at me. Then again, some students’ favourite activity is daydreaming. With their chins on their hands, they occupy themselves by staring out of the or up at the ceiling. They are certainly interested in something, but who knows what. The main thing is reminding distracted students that they need to pay attention in class.</p><p>有些学生被别的东西逗乐了。他们把所有的时间都花在看我以外的地方。同样，一些学生最喜欢的是做白日梦。他们两手托着下巴，忙着盯窗外或天花板。他们当然对某事感兴趣，但谁知道是什么呢？主要的事情是提醒分心的学生在课堂上要注意听讲。</p><p>While it is easy to perceive when students are interested, bored, or distracted, it is sometimes much harder to distinguish when students are troubled. Students who are angry, afraid, or experiencing anxiety may have their arms crossed in front of their chests and their legs closed or crossed, like they are guarding their bodies. Students who are sad or worried will nearly always wear a frown. They may also hide their faces in their hands like they are embarrassed or ashamed. Some students act this way merely because they are afraid of being called on by the teacher. However，if a student does not bother to brush her hair and her eyes are red from weeping，then I can infer that there are deeper issues at work. It could be that she is having serious conflicts with other students or at home. Whatever it is, I know I need to inquire and assess what is going on.</p><p>尽管学生们何时(对讲课)感兴趣、何时感到无聊或精力不集中是容易察觉的，但要发现学生何时有困扰有时会难得多。生气、害怕或者焦虑的学生会双臂交叉抱在胸前，他们的腿并拢或交叉，就像他们在保护自己的身体。难过或担心的学生几乎总是愁眉不展。他们也会用手捂住脸好像很尴尬或羞愧。有些学生这样做仅仅是因为他们害怕被老师叫到。但是，要是学生都懒得梳头，并且两眼因哭泣而发红，那么我能够推断她遇到了更严重的问题。可能是她正和其他学生或家里人有很严重的矛盾。不管是什么，我知道我需要调查和评估所发生的事情。</p><p>Ultimately, my duty is helping every student to learn. Their body language lets me know when to adjust class activities, when to intervene, and when to talk to students individually, so they can all get the most out of school. Reacting to body language is an important component of being a teacher.</p><p>最后，我的职责是帮助每个学生学习。他们的肢体语言告诉我什么时候调整课堂活动，何时介入，何时与学生单独交谈，这样他们就能在学校里得到最大的回报。对肢体语言做出回应是做一个老师必不可少的环节。</p>