Comprehension of another language itself is joyful. So we can stop thinking of ourselves as hilarious entertainers who always have to bring the “wow” factor and begin to think of ourselves as calm, measured providers of comprehensible messages.
Usually what teachers read as “boredom” is actually, in reality, “not understanding.” If we think that our students are bored, usually the cure is that we need to slow down. If we think our job is to entertain them, usually it is not.
And do not make the most critical error of all of expecting them to output anything. The term – and this applies most critically to the first two years of instruction – is comprehensible input.
Little to no output should be expected nor demanded of our students in the first few years. The keyword here is unforced. If we do not force the output early on, it will emerge naturally later. if we force it early, we are putting too much pressure on the system which in the beginning years is geared only to listen.
Thus, when we speak slowly, and when we don’t put pressure on our students to speak too early, we lay strong foundations for good classroom management.