Job Discussion Forums

[johncanada24]

I am not sure if I'm alone on this one but if anyone can suggest anything please feel free. This is sort of difficult to explain but I hope you understand.

I hope to teach in Japan around March and have an interview with NOVA Dec 5th of 2006.

I have always dreamed of teaching in Japan but a side of me has aslo been scared to death to even try

My previous years of life may have lacked communication between people. I was always the type of person to avoid talking to people unless I absolutely had to. Right now I am having difficulty even speaking to my tutors because I get not nervous BUT scared to the point where sometimes I have to leave the room.


My intentions are to face my fears and try to over come this problem. A doctor has not diagnosed me with this disorder but I know damn well my symptoms fall under that category. I get sick to my stomachs I get teary eyed and I can not properly tutor students and my thinking is spurratic. I am currently tutoring 2nd language students at an intermediate level.

I beleive that if I'm able to be a teacher I can over come this and I'm trying very hard fix this. This not only effects my possible teaching career but it is also effecting my social life. I did consider seeing a doctor but I'm not sure if this sort of thing will help.

My cure is to face it head on and get some practise here before going to Japan. I truly beleive I have at least a mild case of Social phobia/Anxiety as I have researched this on the internet and it explains exactly how I feel so I want to know if anybody has gone through this before being a teacher.


Thanks in advance for any suggestions of stories you can share.

[furiousmilksheikali]

[johncanada24]

I mispelled it, Sporadic is the correct spelling I beleive.

[rusmeister]

I would strongly recommend spell-checking the word 'believe' as well...

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I'm not exactly a people-person myself, though I do develop friendships (not acquaintances).

I would suggest you don't try to work at the Multimedia Center because you will have to interact with many more people than you would in a branch. On the other hand, you'd be teaching over the internet, so it's a trade-off: you'd be more comfortable doing work but less comfortable at your place of work.

Just my two cents'.

[gaijinalways]

You should preferably take a job where you don't have to test yourself in such a manner. In other words, get a second opinion from amother doctor.

Teachers at one of my jobs have had the reverse situation, students who were advised by their doctors or bosses to 'change' their personalities by studying a language. Unfortunately, this has often led to some real 'nutcases' coming for a cheaper form of counseling. So in other words, you may not be doing yourself or your students a favor by taking this type of job in the hopes of curing yourself.

That being said, it does take all types to teach, but generally speaking, teachers like people and enjoy interacting with them. It is generally part and parcel of the job, so to speak. I would think there are other forms of treatment that are less drastic than your doctor's recommended course of treatment.

[denise]

I'd get this issue resolved before applying for a life-changing experience. Can you wait another year or so, and in the meantime work on your confidence and communication skills? There will still be plenty of jobs in Japan later, when you are more able to handle them. Your method seems a bit trial-by-fire-esque.

I'd recommend looking into Toastmasters International. They have a 10-step public speaking module that will greatly increase your confidence. I did it before I started teaching, and I don't know if I'd be a teacher today without them.

Good luck,
d

[Topo Gigo]

I used to be extremely shy and quiet. I struggled to speak to people i didn't know and the idea of talking in public terrified me. I became quite depressed about it, so decided to do something about it- for me tackling it head on was in smaller steps, I just made an effort to put myself in situations where i was forced to speak to people and tried as often as possible to step outside my confort zone. Then i got a job where i had to give presentations every month or two and at first they were awful, but i found preperation was the key, and if i practiced it enough, so i knew what i was going to say word for word, i was fine. At one point I had to give a talk to around 500 people, all Drs and Professors-leaders in their field. I was terrified, but it went ok, and i figured if i can do that, presenting to 10-20 people i know is nothing.
Once I became more confortable in front of people i was able to reduce the amount of preparation i needed. Now, talking to people (socially/one-on-one, or presenting) doesn't really bother me but I'm not that great at it, which is one of the reasons i came out here- if I'm forced to practice it everyday, I'm going to get better.

It was a very slow process for me, and I'd get quite upset if I felt that I'd been making a big effort with someone, and then they'd turn around and say 'oh you're so quiet!'. To me that was a huge slap in the face, and as people always talk about being quiet as a very negative thing, to me it was the equivelant of someone turning round to someone who is obese and desperate to loose weight and saying 'wow, you're so fat!', but then i realized that that's who i am, I'm always going to be a quiet personality type and that's ok, and if other people don't like it, that's their problem. People tell me I'm quiet now and i think well yes i suppose i am, and actually I've found that accepting the fact has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders as i no-longer feel that pressure to 'perform' and i feel a lot more confortable in social situations.

What i would say about your going overseas is make sure you're ready. Had i come over here 4-5 years ago i think I would have really struggled in the class-room and it would have been tough. Although I am enjoying living over here, I am still the kind of person that likes to make a few good friends, and it takes me a while to get to know them enough to be very comfortable, which means the first month or two can, be quite lonely, and if on top of that I was really struggling at work and because of that doing a bad job, i think i would find it unbearable. Don't want to put you off, but you might want to think about how big a step you want to take in one go. -it's nice to have some kind of security around you at times, but if you think you can cope, then go for it
anyway, good luck with your interview!

[Calories]

I think you should try a few weeks of cognative behavioural therapy with a good psychologist before leaving. I wouldn't bother with the SSRI medication though but, if you're desperate leave it as a last resort. Hopefully with a psychologist you'll learn some coping techniques that way so, that you're not just jumping into it without a plan. I think you can do it. I have my own anxiety problems. It's not social anxiety but, anxiety is anxiety. Once you recognise it and learn how to tell it to shut off, you'll start to feel better. Exposure to what you're afraid of does help but, do it slowly otherwise you'll get discouraged and risk giving up on yourself leading to depression and a whole lot of wonderful evils that I think you'd rather not experience. Living in a foreign country has it's own set of anxieties as well so, come prepared.

[coffeedrinker]

I agree with several other post-ers that becoming a teacher is a big step to take.

In favor of it though, I might point out that teaching, while it does involve speaking with potentially large groups of people, is not exactly a social situation, if that makes sense.

I've always been relatively quiet (and tend to stick out among teachers who are often quite talkative) - even at university I didn't always feel comfortable speaking in front of/with the class, which seems strange to me now that I've been a teacher for almost four years.

But as a teacher you are expected to speak, so for me, this made it easier for some reason. In general you don't have to be as proactive about it as you would in a university class - you are at the front of the class and when you say something, the students tend to listen. And part of a communicative teacher's job is to get the students to speak, which may actually come more naturally to a quieter person than a talkative one.

One thing that can be hard, I think, is that you may spend A LOT of time reflecting on what students want/need/enjoy/feel comfortable with or not, to the extent that you feel it nearly impossible to do anything right in class. All I can say is that while some element of this is absolutely essential, try not to dwell on this. I do think though that the same qualities that make many people hesitant to speak in groups (like concern about what others are thinking) can translate into responsiveness in the classroom.

A lot of people who knew me in university would be very surprised to know that I am now teaching abroad (and doing it well, if I don't say so myself). I don't know if I'd have considered myself to have social anxiety/phobia, but even a few years ago I wouldn't even have made a post like this.

The others are right to urge caution. If you get all the way to Japan and feel it is a nightmare, it is quite a problem. And there is no doubt that you will have to talk with people - students and other teachers - for a TEFL job. But get as much practice as you can at home and maybe this will help you decide.

[johncanada24]

Everyone had excellent suggestions. Thanks for your responses.

According to my previous post it may seem like I'm jumping the gun for a "fight or flight" response but I am taking this in small baby steps.

Right now I am trying to get used of tutoring 2nd langauge students 1on1 and I think I'm actually starting to improve. The only thing i'm worried about is talking to a group or a class.

As someone mentioned Toastmasters was a good suggestion.
I went to an orientation at my City but I didn't feel like it was going to help me. why? I went to 1 example session and i guess it could help me but I wanted to go a different route.

Going to Media Center in NOVA ! Wow that's Genius ! I know I would be very good at that but then again it wouldn't help me in the long run.

I was thinking of visiting a doctor but my current job doesn't cover enough. I've already used all my mental insurance and I'm not dishing out any more of my money cause I have debts to pay. Everybody isn't rich and as teachers I think we can all agree on this!

So right now I am taking baby steps and at times it can be over whelming but I think as somene mentioned before if I continue to put myself in situations where im forced to communicate and speak then i might be more comfortable with it.

I have to admit (and this is sort of strange) I love the idea of teaching and I dream of being able to talk with students at ease. I would like to get out of that comfort zone and go for it so I'm pretty determined and I still have till march to get my act together. I'm getting as much practice as I can here during tutoring. Some people doubt I could ever be a teacher ( even some of my family) but I would like to prove to myself that i can do this on my own. I've always found some way of muddling through somehow.

[dmb]

I can't explain it or know the reason why.
I've been involved with a fair bit of initial teacher training over the years and every so often I've met candidates and thoughtwhat an oddball, what a social misfit guess what? they walk in the classroom and somehow just change personalties. They end up being great teachers.

[Van Norden]

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I'm an introvert outside of the classroom, but teaching demands extroverted behavior.

Granted, I don't jump through hoops and bounce off walls like some other (annoying) teachers!

[dmb]