Navigating your first year as an ESL teacher

I've been teaching for around about five years and my experience spans both English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching and high school Science teaching. Both disciplines have been extremely rewarding and continue to challenge me intellectually and creatively. While there has been a lot of inspiration, there has also been a good degree of tears, sweat and elbow grease! At a few points, I thought the frown lines on my brow were getting a little stronger, so I was forced to take stock and think about teaching in the context of my every-day life, my dreams and the evolution of my career.

I have already read some fantastic hubs written by other teachers with incredible pearls of wisdom to impart regarding this crucial first year. The pearls I have cultivated from my struggles are in some cases very humble however I have decided to share them with you anyway as they were not easily garnered. My recommendations cover various components of this facilitative art including pedagogy, cultural inclusivity, conquering the grammar and many others. They are merely my opinions however, so please take each with a proverbial grain of salt and assess whether they will work for you in your particular situation.

Pedagogy and cultural inclusivity:

Teaching ESL, as you would know, is very much about being student-centered and relevant. It’s also about establishing rapport, being approachable and having a good sense of humor. Thinking on your feet is also imperative and a creative, imaginative mind is a must. If you've got these ingredients, you’ll probably do well, however sometimes the exhaustion of the job can get you down and hamper your ability to perform at your best.

To keep things simple, I usually have three to four activities, announce them at the beginning of the lesson and tick them off as we go. I have a section of the board (a column at the left hand side) dedicated to this and it gives the students a sense of achievement with each component they complete. It also helps them to see the relevance of what they are doing and may reduce pre-processing anxiety.

I always start with a warmer (even if its sole purpose is to generate a bit of laughter and break the ice) which may include asking them about their weekend, their pets or their dreams of the future. If you like, you can document common errors, write them on the board and have group error correction at the end. Some teachers always connect their warmer to the target language but as you gain more experience, you may become a little more flexible here. If you’re completing a course in teaching however, I would stick to the advice of your mentor and be as formulaic as possible. It’s in your first year that you can start to experiment with your style a little more and as long as what you’re doing is logical and educational, your students will thank you for your individuality.

At some of the colleges I worked at, we’d have a set program for most of the day and then we’d have a section of time where the content/delivery was our choice. I was always madly concocting new activities however I often used newspaper and or magazine articles for inspiration. Accidents, natural disasters, scientific discoveries and political unrest provided hours of educational discussion/activities for my students and simultaneously kept them up-to-date with what was going on in the world. Always reference your developed materials however and make sure they are professionally presented.

A typical lesson plan may have included key word analysis, discussion about ideas and scenarios associated with them, reading comprehension (including putting cut-up paragraphs in order), questions and creative writing or dialogue development (later acted out) at the end. Some of the plays students wrote were incredibly good and bits we didn’t understand due to grammatical or pronunciation issues were expertly conveyed via body language and tone of voice. In addition, don't forget to ask students about their perspectives and try not to make too many assumptions.

Once, when I was talking about The Great Wall of China, the Chinese students in the class politely explained to me that in their country, they call it the ‘Long Castle.’ This made so much more sense to me, considering its architectural design and original purpose. Things we take for granted in the West are often seen in a completely different light in other areas of the world which should remind us that we must always perceive our students as teachers, too. The collective pool of knowledge, wisdom and life experience in an adult ESL classroom is a very rich one if you take the time to dip into it.

Also, when you have the time (and the energy), you should brainstorm all the games and activities you can think of. You may also want to ask around the staff room for ideas to beef this out. Well known games include Find someone who, role-plays, Chinese Whispers, Information gaps and the list goes on. You may wish to develop these yourself to make them relevant to your particular group or you can obtain ideas from resource books (or another helpful teacher's folders).

Learning the grammar:

Don’t let the linguistic prowess of other more experienced teachers intimidate or overwhelm you in your first year. As long as you get the target language you have to teach the next day into your head, you will survive. Sometimes, there are embarrassing moments in class and often, you will spend your break times looking up reference books and asking questions (I kept all of these notes in a little book), but be aware that this is normal! Other teachers will be only too happy to help and luckily for you, they’ll be experts at conveying the information and checking your understanding!

Instead of poring over the sophisticated texts I had bought for my Post Grad Certificate, I used the language summaries at the back of the students’ text books to help the penny drop. The workbooks were also fantastic and took me through the concepts I’d be teaching step-by-step. If other new teachers seem to be quicker or cleverer than you, never fear. They’re probably struggling with some other aspect of their teaching (like classroom management) and are too proud to tell you. Even if they’re not, your skills will improve with time and you’ll have a lot more empathy for another fledgling when the time comes. All the coping strategies you developed and the pep talks you gave yourself will be imparted to somebody else and they will be very grateful for your help in their hour of need.

Marking:

Always adhere to the marking criteria and don't try to be a hero if you are unsure. Obtain help and advice from a more experienced teacher to make sure your standards are similar to theirs. With written responses, use the marking codes provided by your school and follow their protocols. This will save you time and the students will benefit from an across-the-board approach. Make sure you record common errors as this will help you to provide relevant feedback to all your students.

Anticipated problems:

The more you teach, the better your understanding of anticipated problems will be. Take the time to brain-storm before class and ask other teachers for advice if needed. Technical difficulties (e.g. the projector won't work and you have a student presentation booked), misconceptions with grammar that are difficult to explain and running out of hand-outs are some examples. Sometimes, one of your students will have a solution or other times, you can work around it. This is just part of teaching however so try to take it in your stride and learn for next time.

The photocopier:

Get to know all the hidden trapdoors of your resident photocopier or photocopiers. These machines will invariably jam, and always at inopportune moments! Even if there’s one door you haven’t checked, most likely, the elusive papyrus will be in there. If you find yourself getting into a bit of a tizz, take a few breaths, make a joke and have a laugh. It will diffuse the tension and put you (and the teachers behind you) in a better mood for facilitating a class with no worksheets or hand-outs.

Due to the unpredictability of these contraptions, always do your photocopying the day before however if you’re relief teaching and you have no choice, try to get there as early as possibe so that if there is a problem A, you can find another copier B, you can un-jam it in time or C, you can change your plans and present the material another way. As you gain more experience, episodes such as these will not cause the distress they once did, so just laugh about it and always try to have time on your side. Other options may include using the whiteboard, Interactive Whiteboard or Overhead Projector (the latter piece of equipment is still pretty popular). Booking the computer labs is another option, too.

Classroom management:

Classroom management is quite straight forward with adults however sometimes challenging situations will arise. I have a few basic rules which include students being silent when I give instructions or when another student is presenting or asking a question. I also ask the group to push in their chairs at the end of the lesson and take their rubbish/handouts with them. You’ll learn to do this after you've spent half an hour re-arranging the classroom and picking up odds and ends after a couple of classes! Never leave a classroom untidy even if your students don’t help and always clean the board.

I try to address issues when they pop up, I ask students how they are going as I monitor quietly throughout the day and I aim to be as approachable and kind as I can. If students feel safe, supported and important, they’ll come to you when they have a problem and you can help them with it. The last thing you want is student complaints however this does tend to happen when you have a bit less experience. If this occurs, take deep breaths, be humble in your response and try to take the feedback on board. Sometimes this can be quite difficult however if you communicate with your manager regularly and are transparent about issues you are having, you can usually prevent problems from becoming worse.

Classroom management is really a healthy mix of good boundaries, assertiveness, kindness, approachability, consistency and the ability to take each case as it comes. This may appear to be a bit of a contradiction (consistency versus holism) however you will realize with time that common sense and a bit of empathy will help you to solve the quandries you are presented with. Bottom line, if students know you're a genuine person who cares about their progress, they will work that much harder and be that much happier. To top this off, you'll find yourself energized, inspired and more at peace with your work.

Even if you’re a little timid or tired to begin with, you'll find that your confidence grows and for the more sensitive students, they will appreciate your gentle approach and nature. Don't let overconfident people make you feel insecure about who you are or your personality traits. Where they are loud and boisterous, you will be tactful, interesting and mature. Both introverted and extroverted people have value, however the former are often invalidated (especially in teaching) which in my opinion is a crying shame.

Don’t give up!

My final word is not to give up! As I said before, I didn’t have the easiest of journeys and I worked long hours at the beginning however I learnt a huge amount, met some fantastic people from all around the world and became much better acquainted with the English language. As time goes by, things become second-nature and you’ll find yourself working smarter rather than harder! Good luck and I hope you enjoy your first year. It’s not for the faint-hearted but it’ll make you so much stronger.