A letter to my inexperienced teacher self

Hey there,

It’s been a while since we’ve had a chat. Since that day early on in the scheme of things. The young student who thought it was ok to yawn loudly, 15 minutes into a reading lesson. This is so boring. They looked at you, you looked at them and shrugged it off. But we all know it was wrong, and it hurt. It was uncomfortable.

Things have changed a lot. So many different countries, so many different students, so many different exams and marks, so many different I’ll-just-come-for-one-drink-to-unwind-a-little on Friday nights.

There are so many things you need to know – so many things they never told you when you were training. Perhaps you didn’t have the headspace to process them, maybe none of it would have made sense without the experience you have now. Maybe they knew you needed to go through the process and come out the other side with a skin just that little tougher, and your head just that little bit higher.

Who knows.

But this is what I wish I could have said.


Learn to let go. There were days you felt you had no idea what you were doing. Plenty of those. The time the upper-intermediate students corrected your grammar presentation.  The time you tried to set the context of the lesson with a joke – it was a long morning that day. Ouch. The hard part was putting it behind you, and showing up again the next day, smile on your face and ready to go.

Teaching is about learning to learn from your mistakes. It’s about finding joy in making things better the second time round. Put your pride aside – you’re the only one who knows you’re feeling wounded, keep the smile on your face and never let them smell your fear.

Someone once told me that it takes 7 years to feel comfortable with yourself in the classroom.  I didn’t like that person, and I don’t think the advice was all that accurate – but he did have a point to make.  Teaching is experiential learning.  It’s often commented that it is one of the hardest things to learn to do effectively, and it takes time. A long time.  How many times can you get things wrong in the long time it takes to get really good at something? A lot. The thing is that you’ll be hung out in front of the people who want you to be competent.  In front of the people who want to look to you for help when they don’t understand. And that will happen a lot in your classes – especially at the beginning. Just. Keep. Smiling.

When the proverbial does hit the fan, remember you’re not saving lives. There are some people who work in fields where a bad day at the office means one less person goes home at the end of the day. This isn’t going to happen to you. Students will forgive you if you can forgive yourself.  They want a teacher with a perfectionist flair. But it’s not about you – it’s about helping them. If you’re constantly worried about what you’re doing wrong, then how will you make time help them with that they’re getting wrong? That said, I’m yet to meet a student who doesn’t make mistakes. We all do.  But learning to live with them is a skill that takes time.

The one thing I remember struggling with the most when I was in your shoes was managing my expectations of myself.  I quickly learned that this translated into very high expectations of my learners.  Something you ought to consider is lowering your expectations.  That’s not to say that you don’t want to be an excellent teacher.  It’s not to say you want your students to constantly turn up late and “forget” to do their homework.  I mean that expectations aren’t just about performance and results.  They’re also about the time you give to achieve those results.  They’re also about the consistency of those results and the leeway you give yourself to vary from that.

This will be even more important when you start working with children.  But for now, in the fledgling months of your teaching career, it will be on your mind constantly. Acknowledge what you wish you could achieve.  Keep it in the back of your mind, and keep working at it, one day at a time.

It’s only with practice that improvement will come.  But you well know, learning is not a linear process.  One day you think you’ve got it, the next day you can barely tie your shoes.  One day each and every student in your class in on the ball, the next day they can barely remember your name. It will get better.  With time, practice and energy, things will improve. 

The day will come when you don’t wake up at 3 am tossing and turning over those CCQs or which colour to write your marker sentences in.  There will come a day when the tap on your shoulder as your director asks you to cover an upper-intermediate class in 5 minutes’ time won’t send you into a tailspin.  There will come a time when your students will write solemn and heartfelt thankyou cards.  A time when you know you made a difference: because they told you so.

But the one thing that separates you from the teacher you don’t want to be is the fact that you care about your job.  You care enough to keep coming back day after day.  You care enough about your job ot be giving yourself a hard time when things don’t go the way you’d planned. And that is what makes you a teacher.  Welcome to the club.  Enjoy it, live it. Help others to do it where there is help needed. 

Remember there is no such thing an original idea in teaching – so the lack of ideas you may be experiencing is just because you haven’t had a chance to steal someone else’s yet.  But remember this: when you do get a good idea, pay it forward.  Share it with your students and your peers. Write about it. Engage with those around you in your professional environment.  You will be the one with the answers and ideas before long, and without you knowing it, there will be another new teacher waiting and hoping that someone might come along and share some ideas with them.

And trust me, it gets better.

Good luck, keep smiling.

J
 

About the Author

James Pengelley

James worked at EfA as a CertTESOL and DipTESOL trainer and digital content manager. He holds a Cambridge DELTA, Trinity TYLEC and a postgraduate diploma in teaching (secondary). He has made multiple contributions to English language teaching publications, including the English Australia Journal, The British Council and the International House Journal of Education and Development, which you can read here.

AI for Language Teaching

Master AI, save time and transform your TESOL teaching with our 30-hour course.