Job Discussion Forums

[ladonnaoscurata]

I'm heading for Istanbul in a week and am becoming more and more nervous/anxious by the day! I was wondering if any of you veterans have tips for a brand new teacher with no experience? I originally wanted to teach children but I've been warned against Turkish kids , so I'm a bit anxious about teaching adults, especially since I'm relatively young (I'm not too sure what the average age is at this school). How long did it take everyone to feel really comfortable speaking at the front of a class (something I dreaded during high school, but who wouldn't, right?!)

Anyway, I really don't want to feel (and look!) like this: on my first day, or any other day, so please, help!

[Rimbaud]

My first day as a teacher is one of my most memorable experiences.

I had just been hired on as a substitute teacher and it all started when I got the call for my first gig around 5:30 am. I was to be at the school by 7:30 and ready to teach by 8:00 am.
The job description was for a "special day" at middle school. I thought this would be the perfect first job. Being a naive noobie, I thought a special day must mean there is some type of change to the normal routine... perhaps an assembly or early dissmissal. Come to find out, I was wrong... very very wrong.
Special day means you are working with students who have special needs... special needs beyond your average pubescent 12 and 13 year-old student.
So, to make a long story short my day reached its chaotic climax around 1:50 pm. Using their water bottles 4 adhd students were having a water fight. 3 autistic boys were wildly waiving their arms and making loud noises. One girl with muscular dystrophy and some anger issues was continuously yelling out c?nt and m+therf*ckin b%tches while flippin everyone the bird. 2 other students had figured out a way to modify their plastic drinking bottles into deadly weapons and were actually cutting (yes there was blood) each other. While trying to separate the two boys who were cutting each other and simultaneously attempting to quiet the cursing girl, another autistic boy had crawled over toward me on the floor wrapped both his arms around my legs screamed out "daddy!" and pulled me to the ground. Meanwhile, the other eight students were either laughing, crying, or had panicked and fled the room. It all came to an abrupt halt when the speech therapist entered the room to remove a few students for more individualized instruction. The therapist was shocked to say the least. At the time, I was too relieved to be embarrassed.
School was out at 2:10 so the rest of time I spent listening to the speech therapist rail into these kids and then I helped them get ready to go home.

Despite what happened, I actually returned to that school quite often and became one of the favorite subs of both the staff and the students. I even made it back into the special day class and was able to actually manage the classroom (although, come to find out, I was supposed to have four aides who failed to show up on that fateful day!) and teach successful lessons.

So my advice is this...
No matter how bad the first day might be, stick with it.
Ask other teachers/administrators for assistance and/or advice.
Know what you want to accomplish for the day and have a plan on how you want to achieve it. For a first day, I'd recommend some sort of introduction game. So you can get to know the students and they can get to know you.
And, to steal from your sign. quote:
The secret to confidence is knowing how to hide your insecurities.
So do what you feel most comfortable with first, and then build on from there.

Good Luck!

[tedkarma]

The best way to deal with being nervous about "speaking at the front of a class" is to have the students speak as much as possible. It's good for them - and part of why they are there. Not so much "in front" of the class, perhaps, as in groups and pairs.

Get a little training, that might help you too, as you will know what to do!

A little secret here - I've been teaching since 1992 - and still get a little nervous in front of a new class. Don't tell anyone! But . . . you only need to meet with them a couple times and everything will settle down and you will feel fine.

[PAULH]

[stillnosheep]

Have as much as possible prepared the day before (games, activities, anything), get a good night's sleep (if possible), take a deep breath )or three), relax .... and smile.

And as tedkarma says, a little training always comes in handy.

A little anxiety can be a good thing if it reminds us to prepare properly and keeps us on our toes. Then again I was taught by my ninjutsu sensei that pain is just nature's way of reminding us that we are still alive.

Enjoy!

[Gordon]

[grwit]

I spent my first classes discussing my life and why I wanted to come to China. I had also bought some tourist books full of pictures of my home City, photos of my family, and some australian money. If you have time after that ask some students to explain to you about their home city and families.

By the end of the second class I had gathered enough confidence and evaluated my students english abilities for future lesson planning.

Or you could jump straight in and begin discussing English language. Its roots and development over time then add in some common idioms (sayings) that your students may hear foreigners use. E.g. I'm on top of the world = I feel great. etc.

[Gregor]

Two things might help you keep things in perspective:
One, those people in front of you aren't students; they're people. For the first meeting, the pressure is off. Just get to know them and connect to them. Keep it in English, but beyond that (and having some sort of lesson to use if things don't just flow naturally), you aren't generally expected to do too much. Get THEM to talk, of course. Be careful not to hold forth and give a lecture on your travels and fascinating life, but other than that, relax and forget, for the time being, the student/teacher thing. Just for the first lesson. After that, it gets a LOT easier.

Two, if you are fairly conscientious, you will be a better teacher than you think you are.

Good luck, and let us know how things go.

[tedkarma]

I agree with Gregor - "Get them to talk" - the class is about and for them - not about and for you.

[ladonnaoscurata]

Wow, thank you Rimbaud for your amazingly horrifying story! It actually makes me feel a lot more confident that my first day won't be as scary as I think And thanks to everyone else for the useful tips, I'm a very good planner so that'll work to my advantage it seems! And yes, I'll remember that the classes are about my students, not me!

[wildchild]

military football? like army versus navy?

[Ariadne]

I'm pretty sure he meant a guy who found a job as a football coach after he left the military. (He said ex-military.) On the other hand, there are certainly military sports teams which, no doubt, have coaches who at some point stop coaching. This is kinda fun but I'd better stop before I can't.

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[fadedgirl]

ok, sort of off topic, but fits under the same title.

I just finished my first year as a TEFL teacher, and I'm not returning to the school that I worked for. In fact, I'm not returning to the country. I've applied to about 22 schools...have only heard back from one...which was not really a job that I was after anyways. It's nearly June....should I be worried that I don't have a job prospect for August? Or (for all you MORE experienced teachers) is this normal?

eek!

[cam]

If you dont have something by July you should consider Korea where there is always a need for teachers. Anyone can get a job in Korea.

[Ariadne]

Hi Fadedgirl... I'm having a rough time finding the job of my dreams too!
Last time I looked for work I applied at 2 schools and got offers from both of them. This time my applications are being mostly ignored. Achhh!!! My age is probably a factor since I'm 56 now. Oh well. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you if you'll do the same for me!

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