And you thought that it is very easy to teach swimming? Well it is not actually. Rather how you teach swimming is very important. Students can develop water phobia if you fail to teach swimming correctly. So, teachers you have to understand the importance of not rushing your students, as they should not develop fear.
Here are some tips, which you can try while teaching swimming to the students. They are:
a) You must have a cheerful attitude and have lots of understanding when you are familiarizing students with water. Every student has different types of fears and needs, and you must know about these early on in the lessons.
Always be there to offer plenty of reassurance and encouragement and guidance when the students are apprehensive about a particular activity. If a student is afraid of learning something new, you must immediately recognize this and stop teaching that immediately. You might teach the activity later with a different approach.
b) You must try to develop self-confidence in your students. Shower praises upon them. Remember they will learn faster if they enjoy what they are being taught. Therefore do not make swimming a chore for the pupil. You need to have plenty of patience, as swimming should be taught at a self-paced level.
c) You should never have high expectations on the pupils on the first day of swimming. Just leave them to enjoy them in the first day and allow them to get their feet wet. It is always better that you take the student with you and walk around the entire pool in the first time. This will allow the student to see how deep the water is, and his fears may fade.
For this, you have to let the student build trust in you. Without trust, there is fear and so little enjoyment; without enjoyment, there will be little practice and without practice, a beginner will not develop the skills or a positive attitude required to learn how to swim.
d) Why don’t you try this tip for attracting children? Get some water toys, whether it is a small boat that the student can float on the water, or pair of goggles that will make the student feel more at home with the more experienced swimmers. And what more, the toys will make you immediately popular among your kid students.
e) When you want to teach children how to place their face in the water, you must encourage them to blow bubbles and the occasional splash of water on their face. Some students will not place their face in the water without a pair of goggles. If goggles give the student confidence, then goggles should be worn.
f) If you find a student will not let go of the edge of the pool, then use the floatation aids. Games and lots of fun activities will also help to encourage the child to take a step away from the edge. If the student refuses to let go of the edge of the pool, then let him stay there for a few lessons until he becomes more familiar with the water.
g) Remember, it is very important that you let your students learn swimming at their own pace. If you force them to enter the water before they are ready for it they will not develop confidence and will never trust you.
Always keep these tips in mind when you teach swimming. These will help you become a good swimming teacher.
