ELT Events and Conferences

Next week is IATEFL 2024 (I’m speaking! [Page 80] come and say hi!), so the wonderful world of ELT conferences is very much on my mind. They’re a great opportunity to learn more about English Language Teaching, meet up with friends and colleagues (and make new ones!), and explore new materials and resources.

It’s been a real privilege to have spent the last few years attending (and often speaking at) conferences in different countries, and I love having the opportunity to learn from teachers as well as experts in the field. In many ways, though, it doesn’t seem like that long ago since the first ELT conference I attended back in 2016, and I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned.

Firstly, go with a plan! The programme is normally available before the start of a conference, so take a look and choose some initial sessions you think look interesting. This doesn’t need to be set in stone (in fact it’s probably better if there’s some flexibility), but it makes it less overwhelming if you have an idea of where you want to go and what you want to see. If you’re attending with colleagues you could attend different sessions and then exchange notes afterwards.

To save any notes you make being filed and never looked at again, share what you’ve learned. We know that our students learn best when there is a genuine reason to use the language. As teachers, I think a lot of us learn and consolidate new things by teaching them to someone else! Can you give a training session at your school to share what you’ve learned with your colleagues? (This was one of the first teacher training sessions I ever did). Why not write a blog post about it? Or if you’d rather share less publicly, use your notes to start (or continue) writing a teaching journal.

It’s also important to take time to reflect on what you’ve learned. I’ve found that I get the most out of conferences if I set some intentions before I go, and structure my learning so that I think about how it relates to my own teaching practice and context. In the light of this I’ve put together a framework that I’ll be using for any conference sessions I attend next week.

Before I attend the session (and the conference overall), I’ll be thinking about what I hope to get out of it. What topics I’m particularly interested in learning about, and any other things I’d like to make sure I prioritise during my time there.

After each session I’ll be reflecting on:

1. What? What were 3 great ideas that were presented? What one of those ideas do I want to take away and try?
2. So what? Why is that idea important to me and the context that I work in?
3. Now what? How can I put that into practice? When will I follow up and reflect on anything I do put into practice?

I also particularly want to make sure I’ve made a note of any additional books, materials or other resources I think look particularly interesting!

If you want to join me and try out this structure too, I’ve added it to a PDF document you can download and print. I’d love to hear if you find it helpful!

Although great fun, conferences can also be a full-on experience. Below are my tips that are more focused on wellbeing and keeping you happy, healthy and sane while attending!

• Check the weather forecast – and dress and pack appropriately! If you’re somewhere where the weather is unpredictable (like the UK!) then layers are a good idea and give you more options.
• Look after your feet! It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you will be spending a lot of time sitting down. However, with moving around between sessions and visiting exhibition stands you can end up doing a lot of walking too. Wear comfortable shoes and put some plasters in your bag just in case!
• Bring a portable charger if you have one. There likely will be some charging points available – but also an awful lot of people trying to charge devices at the same time. A portable charger may well be the difference between being able to enjoy walking around and making the most of the conference and sitting in a corridor trying to charge your phone!
• Eat and drink. If you’re trying to move around between sessions, network, socialise, and make the most of everything else the conference has to offer, it’s easy to get to the end of the day and realise that you have a raging headache due to dehydration and haven’t eaten since breakfast. Ideally take some snacks and a water bottle with you to give you more flexibility and be less reliant on whatever is available at the conference. (Organised tea/coffee breaks often involve very large queues!)
• Don’t be overly ambitious in your schedule. A full day of talks does not mean you need to give yourself a full timetable of things to attend. Fewer talks, and more time to reflect on what you’ve heard and why it’s useful/interesting/relevant, is likely better.
• Lots of conferences, particularly the big ones, have a ‘Quiet Space’ or ‘Calm Space’, where you can take a few minutes to get away from it all and relax. If there isn’t something like this available there’s no shame in finding yourself a quiet corner or even stepping outside the conference venue for some fresh air.
• If you’re attending on your own, and that makes you nervous, look out for social events and meet ups. Remember, if you’re at an ELT conference then you automatically have something in common with every other person who is there: a love for English Language Teaching. Even something as simple as saying ‘hello’ to the person sitting next to you in a session could be the start of a new friendship!

First time conference-goers, is there anything you’d like to know about attending your first conference?

Seasoned conference-goers, are there any other tips or insights you want to share?

Learning Styles: a myth?!

One of my most memorable learning experiences in my own education was a study skills workshop that I attended whilst at secondary school. Led by a former circus performer, the day included a juggling lesson (and the workshop leader juggling our teachers’ mugs as a demonstration), but it also made a lasting impression as it was my first introduction to the idea of learning styles. In short, the idea that everyone has a particular preferred way of learning, and their learning will be more effective and efficient if instruction matches that learning style. Along with my classmates, I took a quiz to determine my VAK learning style (mostly visual, a bit auditory, definitely not kinaesthetic) and approached all my exam revision accordingly: armed with a pencil case of brightly coloured felt-tip pens, colour-coded timetables and mind maps.

When I became a teacher I naturally took my enthusiasm for learning styles into the classroom with me. I bore them in mind as I planned classes, adapted textbook activities to cater for the different learning styles I had within my class, and even gave some of my teenage and adult students quizzes so that they, too, could determine their own preferred learning style!

But then, last year, I discovered something: although incredibly popular, learning styles are widely regarded as a myth.  And I’ve been dying to talk about it ever since.

At first, I went through something resembling the seven stages of grief. How could this not be true? It was reinforced and supported by my own experience – my colourful visual notes had certainly helped me, as did my brief foray into recording my study notes so I could listen to them back whilst going on walks (Yes, I was a cool teenager). When I run teacher training workshops now, I would say that someone references different learning styles in over 80% of the sessions. It’s hardly an obscure concept, or the educational equivalent of a conspiracy theory. Having got over my initial horror, though, I started to look into the research behind it.

To summarise:

• Learning styles are based on a hypothesis that each student has a preferred learning style, and will learn better if they receive instruction which caters to that style (eg. a student identifying as a visual learner will perform best when information is presented in a way that emphasises the visual).
• Both adults and children do express preferences about how they prefer information to be presented to them.
• There is evidence that people have different aptitudes for different kinds of thinking and for processing different types of information.
• However, there does not seem to be a direct link between people’s aptitudes and the need to receive a specific form of instruction in order to perform at their best.
• Very few studies into how learning styles are applied to education have used a method that would count as scientifically valid.
• Of those studies that did use an appropriate method, several found results that directly contradict the idea that students favouring a particular learning style perform best when presented with information in that style.
• Overall, scientific evidence that students perform best when information is presented in their preferred learning style simply does not exist.

So what can we learn from this? Should we put learning styles back in a box to gather cobwebs like other, outmoded educational concepts? Well, not exactly.

• We can recognise that all students benefit from different kinds of instruction – research shows, for instance, that students learn more deeply from a combination of words and pictures or video than from words alone.

• Presenting the same information in different ways means that we process it differently. Processing the same information in different ways means that we remember and retain that information better in the long-term. It also enhances how well we are able to generalise and make connections between what we already know and other things. Again, multimedia presentation encourages active cognitive processing, promoting more meaningful learning (Mayer 2003).

• While giving our students quizzes to work out their learning style might not be an effective use of their (or our!) time, students do benefit from thinking about how they learn. Strategies such as using exit tickets in our classrooms, using self-assessment, or asking our students to keep a learning journal all help students develop their metacognitive skills (or their ability to ‘think about thinking’), which in turn can lead to greater learner autonomy and more effective learning outcomes.

To conclude: while the science tells us that the theory behind learning styles is suspect, the implications for our classrooms are perhaps not as earth-shattering as I initially feared. If anything it makes a stronger case for making our instruction and activities as varied as possible – for the benefit of all our students, not just some of them.

It’s been a long time – and what a time it’s been. Since I last posted I’ve moved from teaching to the world of ELT publishing, moved to a different part of the country, studied for Module 1 of my Delta, travelled to many, many new countries to work with teachers there (something that was beyond my wildest dreams when I started this blog), and on a more personal note bought a house, got married and had a baby. Oh, and there’s been a pandemic.

Last week I had a fantastic time at IATEFL – and without wanting to be trite, it reminded me of how priviledged I am to work in this industry. How I firmly believe that EFL teachers are among some of the best people you’ll ever meet, and just how exciting it is to teach people a language and all the skills that accompany that.

So The Best Ticher is back, sharing some thoughts – with no promises about how regular they will be!

Interview with an EFL Teacher: Charlotte

When I first started teaching English abroad, I had no idea that it would turn into my career, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. Much as I know many ‘lifers’, I’ve also lived, worked and played alongside teachers who’ve decided that working in ELT  isn’t for them.  Many people take their CELTA or a Trinity with a view to living, teaching and travelling abroad for a year or so, but don’t see a career in the classroom as a long-term goal – and that’s perfectly ok!

If you’ve started teaching but aren’t sure if it’s for you, or can’t decide if TEFL is worth it if you’re only going to be doing it for a year, please read my interview with Charlotte, who shares how her TEFL experience led her to start her own business. 

 

Charlotte grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is an International Business graduate. She completed the CELTA after finishing university and accepted a teaching position in Prague. She enjoyed the experience but decided she wasn’t suited to the job long-term. She returned to the UK and has since started her own travel consultancy business, which you can find out more about here. 

 

Hi Charlotte, and thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for me! First thing’s first, why TEFL? 

I first became interested in TEFL after a friend of mine completed a TEFL course and moved to Argentina to teach. I love travel and had always fancied giving teaching a try. While I was reading about the industry online it became clear that a TEFL certificate could help me find work all over the world. I’d gathered that CELTA was a tough course rather than something to be taken lightly. About a year after graduating from university I was in need of a challenge so I decided to give it a bash!

What was your favourite thing about teaching English abroad?

I’m sure this is what everybody says, but honestly my favourite thing was simply the opportunity to live in a different county and get to know the people by teaching and working with them. I also loved working with little kids (for about the first 5 minutes of each class!)

Is there anything you’d do differently now?

I don’t think I’d do anything differently to be honest! It was a good experience just the way it was.

Why did you decide teaching wasn’t right for you long-term?

I decided it wasn’t for me long-term because although I found the job interesting, to be brutally honest the passion just wasn’t there! I’ve always dreamed of having a career that I would never, ever get bored of, and I knew that teaching wasn’t that.

So what did you do next? How has teaching and living abroad helped prepare you for what you’re doing now?

I realised after I left teaching that I really needed to go after a career related to a passion in my life – one of those passions is travel! I ended up starting my own travel consultancy business and although it may seem unlikely, my teaching experience has really helped me out! I have to speak publicly quite a bit in order to promote my business, and teaching has made me comfortable with this. I also find that people take me more seriously as a travel consultant when I talk about my stints living abroad, rather than just holidays I’ve been on. Most importantly, teaching and living abroad makes you adaptable – this is essential for me being self-employed!

If you could give a new teacher one piece of advice, what would it be?

Get to know your students and try to make lessons as relevant to them as individuals as possible. In my opinion, a CELTA style lesson that you are taught to run during your training isn’t always what they want or need.

Complete this sentence: “Teaching English abroad is…”

…not easy! People have this idea that if you can speak English you can teach it…no. Think about it…if a person joined your class and all they could say is “hello”, where would you start? It is really very difficult at times! I find it very sad that a lot of people think TEFL is “not a real job” and simply a fun gap year for everybody involved. Even though I haven’t stayed in the industry I have nothing but admiration for those who have made this their career. Teaching English abroad is a profession that deserves a lot more respect.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us Charlotte, and I wish you and your business all the best of luck!

 

 

The Art of Smile and Nod

I read Joanna Malefaki’s post on Disciplining Adult Learners, and was immediately inspired to write my own thoughts on the topic. You see, we spend a lot of time talking about how to manage challenging behaviour in our young learner classes… but much as we shy away from admitting it, challenging behaviour happens from time to time in adult classes too.

Similar to Joanna’s experience, I’ve had students:

• Openly text/play on their phones throughout the lesson
• Answer a phone call, then have a phone conversation in the middle of the lesson
• Ignore instructions (problematic when those instructions are to start or stop an activity)
• Argue with and openly criticise the teacher
• Laugh at, bully or otherwise be unpleasant towards other students
• Refuse to participate in activities (more often than not communicative tasks) because they are ‘pointless and stupid’
• Repeatedly arrive late (upwards of half an hour), with no apology or explanation

Normal behaviour for teenagers, you might think. But I’ve encountered all of this with adult students too.

The challenge here is ‘what do I do when my adult student is behaving badly?

I definitely don’t have all the answers to this one (if you have any more ideas I’d love to hear in the comments), but here are my thoughts.

Remember that in the classroom, you are the boss.

Personally, one of the reasons I find it difficult to ‘discipline’ adult students is simply because of how I perceive their position in relation to mine. Often my difficult adult students have been older than me, and in the case of in-company classes, may well occupy a very senior position. Meanwhile, I’m someone who is being paid to provide a service – and the first rule of customer service is that the customer is always right.

After several years of teaching, my opinion now is that where teaching is concerned, this way of thinking has to go. Yes, I may be younger than this student, earn less money and be regarded as being less senior, but in the classroom, I am the one in charge.

This means that if a student’s behaviour is disrupting their or other students’ learning, I have the right to say something about it – regardless of that student’s age, gender or position.  

(If you ever doubt that you’re in charge, I strongly recommend asking troublemaking older kids, teens or even extremely disruptive adults to stand up and come and take the lesson instead of you. I’ve never had any takers).

Stay calm.

Getting angry (especially in front of the student) is simply not worth it. It jeopardises your
professionalism, can turn a positive classroom atmosphere into something very negative, and is unlikely to have the result that you are looking for. I have a bit of a temper, so definitely don’t find it easy to practice what I preach here – but taking a moment to breathe, remaining calm and not allowing things to get heated (however strongly you feel) is more likely to improve the situation than not.

Decide how much it’s worth fighting over.

This is a tricky one… and a personal one, because I do think it depends largely on the situation.

In terms of things like texting in class, the students are only disrupting their own learning. Yes, it’s disrespectful and impolite, but at the end of the day they are the ones who will suffer. This is something I might address if it becomes a regular occurrence, but if it’s only once or twice I may well let it go.

If a student refuses to participate in an activity, again, that’s fundamentally their problem. I’ll explain to them my rationale for doing it and why participating would be beneficial for them, but at the end of the day I cannot force them to do something they don’t want to do. In this situation I’d simply devote my attention to the other students and ensure they get the most out of the activity as possible.

I will not tolerate students being rude, disrespectful or bullying towards other students in the class. In these situations I will almost certainly make my views clear to the class immediately, and may well speak to the individuals involved after the lesson as well.

In terms of topics such as racism, homophobia, sexism, and political views, it’s a tough call. I’m well aware that my students come from different cultural backgrounds to myself, and therefore their views, while intolerant and unacceptable in my culture, may well be the norm in theirs. Here I think all you can do is make it clear that their views are not universally accepted. If ideas are expressed that really bother you, simply steer the conversation away and make it clear that you are not willing to participate in that discussion.

Put the students in your shoes.

One thing I have found to work well when working with difficult adult students is to ask them to stand in your shoes for a minute – or equally in the shoes of other class members. While teenagers or kids don’t necessarily have the empathy required in order for this to be effective, adults generally do,  and most adults do agree with the idea of ‘treat others as you would be treated’. If they wouldn’t be happy with their teacher  chewing gum, or texting in the lesson, or arguing with other students, why is it ok for them to do so with you?

One thing that’s worth bearing in mind here: remember that your students are adults. While it’s fine to tell them that their behaviour is unacceptable, don’t make a big show of it or single out one difficult student in front of the class. If one or two students are acting out of line, the rest of the class will have doubtless noticed it too – but they are also likely to be watching to see what you do about it! Wherever possible take a difficult student aside or speak to them after class. Make it clear that you consider their behaviour to be disrespectful or inappropriate, but do this calmly and respectfully.

Ask others for advice.

Several years ago I taught a really difficult adult student. The kind who would argue and tell the teacher that they were wrong, who would roll their eyes and sigh loudly if they didn’t like an activity, who would threaten to complain at the end of every single lesson, and who would from time to time simply refuse to participate, instead sitting there, arms folded, glaring at everyone. After several lessons of this (she joined part way through a course), I was jittery, paranoid, and concerned that I was doing things horribly wrong and was a terrible teacher. Until I spoke to my colleagues.  It turns out that almost all of them had had a similar encounter with that student – she would routinely turn up, sulk and pout her way through six months of lessons, and then disappear until she decided that she needed to improve her English again. I never did figure out exactly what her rationale behind this was – but knowing that I wasn’t alone helped a lot.

Even if your colleagues haven’t taught the student you’re currently having difficulties with, they may well have been in a similar situation with a different student. Ask people for help – they may be able to make suggestions, offer advice, or simply make you feel better.

Get back-up.

If you’re teaching on a free-lance or private tuition basis, this one is harder, and I don’t honestly know what to suggest beyond try some of the above ideas and decide how much you’re willing to tolerate.

If you are working for a school, however, it’s worth speaking to your Senior Teacher or ADOS. Even if they won’t speak to the difficult student on your behalf (and sometimes they will!), it can be worth it just for reassurance. The prospect of students complaining gets a lot less scary when you know that the school management has already heard your side of the situation!

Have you ever had problems dealing with a difficult adult student?

What happened, and what did you do?

Interview with an EFL Teacher: Allison

One of my many plans for The Best Ticher this year is to showcase some other voices, not just my own. After all, I’m not the only EFL teacher out there! To kick off my new series of ‘Interview with an EFL Teacher’ posts, I’d like to introduce my friend (and former colleague) Allison. 

 

Allison is an EFL teacher from Long Island, New York. She did her CELTA in Wroclaw, Poland and currently works in Prague, Czech Republic. In her free time, Allison likes to read, draw, do arts and craft projects and play on her ukulele.

Hi Allison, thanks for agreeing to answer some questions for my site!

So, first thing’s first, the big question: why TEFL?

One of the big reasons I chose TEFL was because I knew someone who had done it; my sister! She taught in Prague and in Japan. She really loved the experience and culture in the countries she was in and inspired me to travel and teach! 

Did you have any teaching experience before taking your CELTA?

Yes, actually I did! Before I did CELTA, I received a Master’s in Science in Elementary Education (aka: Teaching Primary School Children). I looked for some jobs after I graduated, but I was a little nervous. I kept asking myself if teaching in one place was what I wanted to do. Before settling down, I wanted to travel. Teaching and travelling seemed like the best option for me. It made me excited to think about the possibilities of living and teaching in another country.

What was your next step after receiving your certificate?

After I got my CELTA, I stayed in Poland for at least a month in order to find a job as soon as possible. While I applied to jobs, it gave me the opportunity to travel around central Europe. 

What’s been your favorite teaching moment?

My favorite teaching moment was when I taught in pre-school in Prague. One day, I arrived to class and a little girl came up to me, grabbed me by the hand and showed me a picture she drew. She pointed out the colors that we learned the week before and said them in English. I gave her a high five and she grinned.

I also love singing songs to my pre-school and primary school children. It’s wonderful to hear them hum the songs that we learned and then they sing it for you. ^_^

What’s the most useful thing you’ve learned?

The most useful thing I learned was that experience is valuable. The more practice, support and resources I got, the more I grew in my teaching skills.

Is there anything you wish you’d changed or done differently?

No, not really. I don’t regret anything and I think everything I learned helped me to become a better teacher.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new teacher, what would it be?

Be patient. The art of teaching is not mastered overnight. 

Complete this sentence: “Teaching English abroad is…”

Teaching English abroad is life changing, yet rewarding. 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions Allison! 

What to do when you can’t stop criticising yourself

Do you remember the first time you thought ‘I can’t do this?’ about teaching? Maybe it was when you were faced with a particularly rambunctious group of kids, or moody teenagers who didn’t want to talk. Maybe it was when your class asked you questions you didn’t know the answer to. Maybe it was your first time teaching pre-schoolers, or an in-company class, and your ‘I can’t do this’ moment happened before you even set foot inside the classroom.

I certainly do. Part way through my first year of teaching, I took over another teacher’s adult upper-intermediate class. In the first week I taught them my lessons seemed to consist of never-ending grammar questions that I couldn’t quite answer convincingly, and I found myself constantly wondering if my class were all afflicted with Resting Bitch Face, or if they actually just hated me. In the second week I taught them I was called into my director’s office, where she gently explained that I would no longer be teaching that group. They had requested a different teacher – any teacher, it would seem, except me.

I didn’t think too much about this at the time. I was 23, had just started teaching, and was pretty willing to just go along with whatever the director of my school said. But several months later when I was given another upper-intermediate class, a snipy, critical voice popped up in my head. ‘You can’t teach upper-intermediate… remember what happened last time? They’re going to ask you questions that you can’t answer. They’ll complain about you if you hesitate too much or you get something wrong. Maybe you shouldn’t have thought you could teach. Maybe you shouldn’t have come here in the first place…’

Sound familiar in any way? Many teachers I know (myself included!) are their own worst critics. It’s easy to say that – flippant-sounding even, but criticising yourself can have a huge impact on your confidence, how willing you are to put yourself out there and say ‘yes’ to new things, and how happy you are on a day-to-day basis.

The good news is that there is something you can do about it. The bad news is that it might not be what you expect.

I was a shy child, and as a teenager, I lacked self-confidence in pretty much every way, shape and form imaginable. Looking back on myself then, I still find it a little surprising that I can now happily stand and talk in front of a class of students! Why do I tell you this? Because I didn’t stop being shy because people told me not to be. 

One common mistake that teachers, teacher trainers and managers make when they’re trying to encourage others to be more confident is to compliment, encourage and try to build up. I’m guilty of this too. A new teacher says they don’t think they can teach kids… Yes you can! You’ll be fine! I believe in you! Does it work? Well, maybe a little. But it’s not the most effective way of helping someone to overcome the inner critic.

Arguing with the inner critic, whether it’s you or someone else doing it, doesn’t help. Your nasty, inner backchat is NOT based on fact or reality (even if you think it is), and logic and facts can’t reason with what is fundamentally an instinctive fear. You can spend hours arguing with your inner critic:

‘You can’t teach this class. It’ll go wrong.’

‘Yes, I can. I’ve planned it carefully, it’ll be fine.’

‘You’ve probably forgotten something.’

‘No, I haven’t. It’ll be fine.’

‘But what about the kids? What if they’re badly behaved? What if you lose control of the class?’

This is an argument with yourself that you are never going to win.

What about looking to someone else for support? A teaching colleague, a mentor, or a manager? This is no bad thing – everyone needs support and having someone to bounce ideas off can really help. However, when it comes to the inner critic, many of its sarcastic, negative thoughts arise in the heat of the moment, and that’s when we make snap decisions without talking to anyone. Also, let’s face it, we don’t tell anyone what’s going on in our heads most of the time (especially the negative, lacking confidence stuff) – it’s human nature to try to act as though we have it together as much as possible.

So, ‘just deciding’ to be confident isn’t going to work. Arguing with ourselves isn’t going to work. And listening to our inner critic is just going to make us stressed out, unhappy, and not doing what we want to do. Don’t worry, we’re now getting to the bit where we talk about the alternative.

#1 Get your head around the idea of the ‘inner critic’.

Part of me always wants to dismiss this idea as being pop psychology ‘woo woo’. But let’s face it, we do all have a voice in our heads that anxiously criticises and undermines our thoughts and attempts to step outside of our comfort zone.

This chart shows some of the differences between realistic, rational thinking… and when it’s the inner critic showing up in our thoughts.

Image from Harvard Business Review

Step one towards beating the inner critic: recognise and notice when it’s the inner critic piping up. This can be as simple as saying to yourself ‘I’m hearing the inner critics worries about this again’ – or even just simply ‘inner critic’.

#2 Look for the motives in what the critic says.

Although it’s not necessarily easy for us to see, our fears and instincts are designed to protect us from harm. The inner critic is no different: it’s usually our mind’s way of trying to keep us safe. Why did my inner critic kick off so badly when I was asked to teach an upper-intermediate class again? Well, although it’s no sabre-toothed tiger, the fear of having the director of my school lose confidence in me is still a threat. My inner critic’s attempts to get me not to teach the class were ultimately attempts to keep me safe.

#3 Visualise getting rid of the critic.

*There are lots of different ways to visualise getting rid of the inner critic, but the one I’ve found most helpful for me is simply to get up and move into a different room or physical space, envisaging that I’ve left the critic behind. Obviously this isn’t possible all the time (it wouldn’t work in the middle of a class, for example), but it certainly does work if, for example, you’re at home planning lessons or preparing for an observation.

#4 Remember that this is a process.

Overcoming the inner critic isn’t about suddenly developing boundless reserves of confidence. Rather, it’s about developing the tools to recognise and then deal with its voice.

This is going to be a process – and one that won’t ever finish. It’s perfectly normal to stop criticising yourself for one thing… only to then hear the inner critic pipe up about something else.

You won’t ever silence the inner critic, but you will get better at dealing with it – and be able to stop taking direction from fear. 

 

*I’ve encountered and read about ‘the inner critic’ in many different places, but much of my understanding (and some of these ways of dealing with the inner critic) come from a fantastic book called ‘Playing Big’ by Tara Mohr. This book is about confidence, growth, and empowerment – and I’d recommend it to anyone. It’s written for women, but in all honesty I don’t see why men (especially those who are introverted or lacking confidence) wouldn’t benefit from it too. Read it if you want to find out more about the inner critic and how to learn to live better with his or her voice!

 

Goal-setting with Students (including FREE worksheet!)

I had a really positive response to my blog post about goal-setting for 2017, and it’s prompted a few other teacher bloggers to start sharing their own goals for the year too. I have to say that I’m in awe of the amount some of you have got planned! One thing I have realised, though, is that goal-setting isn’t only important for us as teachers – it’s important for our students as well… and it can be worth taking a lesson (or part of a lesson) to teach our students how to set (and work towards achieving) appropriate goals for themselves.

I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve asked students to set English language-learning goals for themselves, and they’ve come up with some or all of the following:

1. I will watch films or TV shows in English.
2. I will learn more words.
3. I will speak English more.

None of these are necessarily bad goals in themselves… but there are some definite problems with them.

Today we’re going to discuss how to get your students to set goals for themselves that they want to keep… and that they’re able to achieve too!

#1 What do they really want to achieve?

One of the first problems I often notice with student-goal setting is that students choose something that ‘sounds like’ a good goal: something that they’ve been advised to do by a teacher or that they’ve heard other students talk about, rather than actually thinking about whether or not it’s relevant or important for them. Choosing a goal that you don’t really care about keeping is an obvious way of setting yourself up for failure! So, how can students be coaxed out of this ‘my teacher told me to’ type goal setting? Well, by thinking about what’s important for them, as learners and users of English.

Try to encourage students to think of ‘real-life’ applications for what they want to do, and avoid ‘language-based’ targets such as ‘I will learn more adjectives to describe people’ or ‘I will learn the second conditional’. In my experience language-based targets are less motivating for students (they’re seen as something they have to do rather than something they want to do), and maintain the mindset that English is something they do in their English lessons, rather than something that can have a practical communicative purpose outside of the classroom.

For lower-level students to consider:

• Where do I want to speak English?

(at work, on holiday, at the doctors, at home…)

• Who do I want to talk to in English?

(people I work with, a doctor, shop assistants…)

• What do I want to talk about/do in English?

(ask for directions, talk about a health problem, order food…)

Lower-level students’ goals in learning English are more likely to be concerned with communicating in specific situations.

For higher-level students (B1+) to consider:

• What would I like to do in English that I can’t do at the moment? 

As a general rule, higher level students’ aims are more likely to be broader and will include a wider range of activities than simply speaking/listening to/writing English. As their goals are ‘bigger’, they’re more likely to need more individual steps/elements to achieve each goal.**

#2 Break it down.

Once your students have established exactly what they want to do in English, it’s time to think about how they can achieve that. It’s unlikely that their ‘what I want to do in English’ is an achievable goal in and of itself.

Students’ goals are likely to be made up of a combination of the following:

• Expanding and learning vocabulary
• Learning about register/increasing their knowledge of formal/informal language
• Learning how to format different styles of writing
• Understanding interaction (eg. turn taking, body language, active listening skills)
• Finding out what is required in order to do something (eg. attending university, doing a particular job…)
• Exposing themselves to particular types/sources of written or spoken language
• Trying something they haven’t done before
• Repeating something that they’ve already tried to do, but unsuccessfully (or that they found difficult)

#3 How are your students going to achieve their goals?

Now that your students have decided what they’d like to be able to do in English, and broken down what things they might need to do in order to do it, it’s time to think about helping them to achieve it!

It’s worth introducing your students to (or reminding them of) SMART goals. If you need a refresher yourself check out my post on goal-setting for teachers. For your students to achieve their goals they’re likely to need to do some (or all) of the following:

• Refine and practice their study skills (for example ways of learning vocabulary)
• Set aside a particular amount of time each week for extra study
• Work on their organisational skills (eg. note-taking, highlighting/underlining key words, keeping their work organised in a folder)
• Review vocabulary/topics covered in class
• Ask their teacher questions
• Ask other students/English-speaking friends or colleagues for help
• Research things online
• Complete practice versions of what they hope to eventually do (eg. emails, conversations, application essays…)

#4 Follow up!

It’s all very well encouraging your students to set goals for themselves, but if they’re going to set them and then forget all about them/lose the paper they’re written on never to be seen again, you might as well not bother.

Show your students that you’re as committed to helping them achieve their goals as they are, by following up on it. If your goal-setting lesson is at the beginning of January, why not have a ‘goal-review’ lesson (or part of a lesson) at the end of term, or at Easter? If your students know that they will be being held accountable, they’re more likely to follow through and put in the actual work. If you’d like some ideas on how to work with your students to review their progress, check out Maria Theologidou’s great post on Self-reflection.

As an aside, it’s a good idea to make a copy of your students’ goal sheets (whatever format they may take) before they take them home – no matter how reliable or mature you think your students are, there will always be one who loses it within the first week!

So, there you have it: how to set goals with your students that they will be able to (and want to!) achieve!

For teachers with intermediate (B1) or higher students, I’ve put together a goal-setting lesson plan. This outlines ‘SMART’, asks students to evaluate a selection of potential goals, and then encourages them to plan and set their own English learning goals for 2017.

If you’d like the worksheet, you can download the PDF here: goalsettingforstudents.

Do you set goals with your students? What have you (or they!) learned from the process? 

 

 

 

**As an aside, if you’re doing this activity with teens, and the answer to these questions is *shrug* ‘I don’t know… my parents want me to learn English…’ encourage them to think about things that have nothing to do with traditional learning/being in the classroom. Things like computer games, or football, or film, or music. I have to admit that every time I hear an interview with a football manager/player who’s a non-native speaker, I’m always hit by how motivating and inspiring that could potentially be for a football-mad English learner!

Native Speakers Aren’t Better – So Don’t Believe It.

When I started this blog, I foolishly assumed that I was writing for an audience like my younger self: British (or perhaps American), relatively young (maybe one or two years out of university) who’d taken a TEFL course at least in part because it seemed like a good idea… and then who headed abroad to teach reluctant and terrified. I’ve realised however as my readership has grown that this is only a small part of my audience; there are lots of you out there who are non-native English speakers, working in your home country or trying to navigate the tricky world of visa applications  and not having ‘the right’ passport.

A couple of weeks ago, a teacher emailed me asking for advice (you can do that by the way – my email is on the ‘About’ page). As I highly doubt she’s the only one in this position, my answer evolved into this blog post. So how can a non-native speaker teacher feel more confident speaking English in the classroom?

Students want native-speaker teachers, don’t they?

The honest answer here is ‘not necessarily’. It’s become almost standard practice for language schools to advertise their native speaker teachers as a selling point, and this has a knock-on effect. Schools tell their students that they should want to learn from native-speakers, that native-speakers are better, online teachers sell themselves first and foremost as being native speakers… and so it’s hardly surprising that students have taken this on board. ‘Native English speaker’ has become just another marketing buzzword (as highlighted by the online advert I saw earlier this week: a ‘native English speaker’ advertising their services as an English teacher, written in what was, at best, intermediate level English). To some extent, yes, students want native-speaker teachers… but this is because they’ve been told to, rather than down to any kind of factual research.

Let’s not forget that in many countries, the profile of the ideal ‘English teacher’ extends to cover far more than native language. A friend of mine (white, native English speaker, South African) was asked to lie to students about her nationality and tell them that she was British. Fantastic teachers I’ve worked with who happen to not fit the ‘fair-skinned’ ideal have had their expertise as teachers questioned and been rejected by students on account of the colour of their skin. The world of TEFL (and TEFL recruitment) is unfortunately unethical and discriminatory… and it’s only slowly that this is starting to change.

All of this paints a pretty damning picture – but as mentioned, the situation is changing. In 2011, International House stated that their schools would no longer specifically recruit native-speaker teachers, and more and more jobs boards (and recruiters) are starting to reject the principle that native speaker equals more desirable teacher.

If you’re interested in some more in-depth reading (and what to see for yourself exactly what students thing, Ahmar Mahoob’s paper offers some real food for thought, including lots of direct quotes from students. You’ll see that in some cases students regard non-native speaker teachers as better than native speakers!

In my experience, students’ first priority is to learn. As long as you’re a good teacher, who cares what your native language is?

For a more detailed analysis of the ‘native speaker preference’ check out Andrew Woodbury’s excellent article.

Don’t native speakers make better teachers?

Think of a renowned scientist or academic. Are they necessarily equipped to go into a school and teach their subject? The same holds true for English teaching. Teaching encompasses a whole range of skills aside from just ‘knowing the language’ – if you’re ever in any doubt of that please watch this comedy sketch by Ricky Gervais and Karl Pilkington. Would any lesson you teach be more appropriately graded, better structured, and have better explanations than what these guys come up with? Then you already have proof that you’re a better English teacher than someone whose sole qualification is to be a native speaker.

I’ve spoken English my whole life – but had to work hard throughout my first couple of years of teaching to understand grammar in such a way that I could present it and explain it to my students. It’s all very well to be able to say ‘this is correct, and this isn’t’, but in order to teach a language you need to understand the nuts and bolts of it. Here, being a non-native speaker can actually be a huge advantage, as you’ve likely had to learn the language in a similar way to your students! As a non-native speaker of English, you’re automatically going to have a greater insight into what students are going to find challenging, what they’ll be confused by and what’s actually pretty straightforward. A native speaker will have to research all of those things – or find them out through trial and error.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with some excellent non-native speaker teachers throughout my career, and one thing that’s always struck me is how inspiring they can be for their students. At my first school, our Director of Studies was a non-native speaker – who had started her English studies as a child at the very school we worked at. How encouraging is that?! As a non-native speaker, you have the ability to show your students just what they can achieve – because you practise what you preach every day.

As a final note, if you still needed some more evidence that being a native speaker makes you a better teacher, check out what my students said. From time-to-time I always like to ask my students what they think makes a good teacher (I repeated a version of this activity recently with my adult elementary class) – and whilst they have said ‘you must speak English’, no student has ever specified that a good teacher must be British, or American, or even a native-English speaker.

How can I feel more confident?

Hopefully realising that your students don’t necessarily want native-speaker teachers, and that being a native-speaker doesn’t automatically qualify you to be a better teacher is already making you feel more confident. But what can you do to give yourself an extra boost?

• Fake it til you make it. There’s a lot to be said for acting confident, even if you don’t always feel it. Using positive body language, rehearsing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it, and even simply going into the classroom with a positive outlook can make a real difference in how confident you appear – and ultimately how confident you feel.
• Build your confidence in the language. It should hopefully go without saying that as teachers, we should never stop learning. Consider studying for an exam (maybe IELTS or CAE/CPE), and above all, practise, practise, practise. As you grow more confident in using the language in general, it follows that you’ll grow more confident in using it in the classroom too.
• Experiment, be yourself, and have some fun. Being able to laugh at your own mistakes helps! I asked non-native speaker friends and colleagues for advice while writing this post, and this was some of the best advice I was given. Remember that being a teacher is so much more than simply your knowledge of the language, and your students will appreciate your being yourself.

You can find some more tips on how to be a more confident teacher here.

But what if I make mistakes?

I’ll let you into a secret: I make mistakes too! From my early attempts at grading language where I realised I was missing out articles and actually saying things that were grammatically incorrect, to the sleepy coffee-free Monday morning not so long ago where I spectacularly stuffed up a grammar explanation… we all make mistakes from time to time.

If you do make a mistake, be honest about it – much of this advice also holds true here. Then take a deep breath and move on; the absolute worst thing you can do is to beat yourself up over it.

What can I do to improve my English?

First of all, think about what you’d recommend for your students! Teaching gives you a real advantage here, as it means you have a much clearer idea of what works and what doesn’t. If you’re still looking for some advice, here’s what I’d recommend:

• Practise! It probably goes without saying, but to confidently use English in the classroom, the key is practise, practise, practise. Although reading and writing in English will doubtless be helpful, I’d recommend focusing slightly more on speaking and listening, as these skills are what you’re going to be using in class on a daily basis.
• Watch films/TV/listen to the radio or podcasts. Depending on your work context, it might be difficult to get lots of exposure to fluent spoken English. The internet is your friend! I recommend to almost all of my students that they find films or a TV series they like, and regularly watch them in English. If TV isn’t your thing, how about listening to the radio or English-language podcasts – you can even do it while you’re at the gym, on public transport, or doing the housework.
• Use English as much as possible. Put all your electronic devices into English, write shopping lists/to-do lists in English, even switch your ‘internal monologue’ into English and talk to yourself (either in your head or out loud) – exposing yourself to the language as much as possible will make you feel far more confident in using it.
• Teach ‘mock’ lessons. This might be a bit of a weird one, but hear me out. In teaching, some of the language we use can be quite different to what we encounter in every day life, and the only real way to practice it is by teaching. This can help you to rehearse parts of explanations or giving instructions for a task. If you don’t have a willing friend or family member that you can teach a small section of something to, I find both pets and teddy bears to be helpful substitutes (with the added advantage that they don’t answer back!).
• Take a course. If you’ve got time and money available to you (let’s face it, no one went into EFL teaching in order to get rich), you might want to take a course. If you want to take something that’s specifically aimed at English language teachers, here are some offered by TEFL Equity Advocates, as well as this one by Future Learn. There’s also a recording of a great webinar on language development for teachers here.

How do I get a job with the ‘wrong’ passport?

As a Brit I’m all too aware that I’m not in the best position to offer advice – but I can point you in the direction of people who can.

TEFL Equity Advocates – this is an absolutely fantastic website, full of advice, articles, and resources. This site has been the source of several of the articles I’ve linked to in this post, and I wish I’d been able to link to even more of them! For your sanity I won’t, but please, if you do one thing, check out this site.

If you’re a regular user of Facebook, you might want to check out their official facebook group, or this group for non-native speaker teachers.

Although it might seem like you’re fighting a losing battle, please don’t give up – keep fighting. Hopefully one day in the not too distant future the TEFL world will become one of equal opportunity for everyone. 

 

If you enjoyed what you read here, please consider signing up for my newsletter mailing-list: I’ll send you a monthly round-up of resources and ideas I’ve loved each month, and the occasional extra freebie too! If you’re a new (or newish, or new-at-heart) teacher who’d like a bit of extra support, check out my ELT support group on Facebook – TEFLing Together. 

 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Today’s post is a final round-up of festive activities – I’ve tried to choose fun ones that don’t take too much prep time. If you’re teaching today it’ll be a unique experience, but try to make the most of it.

Christmas Videos

Larry Ferlazzo has a great list of Christmas videos  to use with your students – some of these are extracts from longer films, others stand-alone in their own right. Once you’ve chosen a video, Claudia Pesce has some good ideas of how to use them at busyteacher.org.

Christmas Games

There are lots of different ideas for Christmas games and activities at tesolzone.com. If you’re teaching young learners on Christmas Day it’s a nice idea to make it into a Christmas party lesson using a mix of EFL games and traditional childrens’ party games.

Good EFL games:

Bingo, Pictionary, Hangman, 20 Questions/Back to the Board (use Christmas vocab throughout!)

Childrens’ party games:

Musical statues, Musical Chairs, Pin the Nose on Rudolph, Pass the Parcel

 

I’ll be taking a few days off from the blog between now and New Year, so have a happy and peaceful Christmas, and I’ll see you in 2017!

Elly x