Job Discussion Forums

[danstarr]

I'm a 41 year-old male and did my CELTA nearly 3 years ago but as I found it so challenging, I didn't go into teaching immediately.
Nevertheless, I have now started volunteering at a school for asylum seekers in order to get some classroom experience and have taken a couple of paid lessons as cover for other teachers.

However, I get so nervous before and during a paid lesson that it has put me off doing cover lessons for now. The two lessons I've taken in the last couple of weeks have not been a disaster and both were probably to standard remembering what was required of us on the CELTA) but I found things much tougher than I anticipated.

Now I've never been an academic-type person and admttedly scraped through the CELTA but years ago I sat some psychometric tests which basically picked up a strong trait for teaching English so I know I'm not doing something I'm not naturally attributed to.

One area in which I feel very comfortable and effective is one-to-one tuition but for some reason I find being in front of a class a very stressful experience and it takes me ages to merely understand what I'm teaching. Even when I have it firmly in my mind that which I want to convey to my students, toggling between my lesson plan and keeping order in class becomes such an ordeal that I get full anxiety symptoms.

I don't want to give up the prospect of teaching a class as it is a dream of mine to teach abroad. I'm very keen to ensure that my students have the best possible learning experience but as things stand, it may all be a bridge too far.

I'm keen to hear from anyone who has experienced any of this and would welcome any encouragement, tips or ideas as to which direction I should go in.

Kind regards,
Dan (UK)

[Sashadroogie]

Everyone had nerves when they started out. That passes. You sound like you have a positive outlook and you care about your learners. I think you'll be fine. So keep plugging away. Just don't worry too much about your performance, or 'teaching to standard'. Concern yourself with what the classes of students are experiencing and learning (or not), and you'll find the nerves melting away, and your teaching will be effective.

Personally, I always found one-to-one classes much more daunting. No pair-work to deflect attention from me. But I worked on it. So can you with groups. It won't be half as hard as you imagine.

All the best for the future.

S

[Glenski]

Some ways to reduce such stress.

1. Sit, don't stand while you deliver information (except when you have to use the board). Not towering over seated students may make you feel more like a member of the group instead of an overlord.

2. Before any lesson actually starts, do something casual. Talk for 1 minute (you and students each) about something interesting/scary/funny that happened since the last class. Show and tell.

3. Have your lesson planned out well so that you know what you're going to cover. Winging it can sometimes be too frightening.

4. Have students plan to ask you 1 question each at the beginning of the lesson. Almost anything goes, and if you're comfortable talking about your personal life, that will help. You open up then and talk about something familiar to you.

5. Have a routine for each lesson. If you know what's going to happen next, it may help. Japanese students appreciate that a lot, too.

6. Play part of a song and ask if anyone knows it or the artist. Give them a 1-minute rundown on the meaning, a key phrase, something about the artist, etc.

7. Trivia about your home country.

[johntpartee]

Welcome to being human! MIT did a study a couple of decades ago about people's biggest fears. The top three:

1. Death
2. Death of a spouse
3. Speaking in front of groups

[natsume]

Some very good advice here so far. I believe our regular poster Denise recommends Toastmasters, which may be an option. I agree with Sasha, that it will probably pass with experience.

I am one of those introvert outside of the classroom/extrovert in the classroom types. I have always hated giving presentations, especially in college, and have bombed so bad on a number of them that I believe it negatively effected my grades in a few courses, but there is something about (being prepared and) inhabiting the teacher persona that comes relatively easy to me. Believe me, this was a welcome revelation when I did my very first (adult) classes during my practicum. Given my history, I feared I very well might be setting myself up to bomb yet again, but from that first hour, something clicked. (Again, a huge part of it is being prepared, of course.)

Another thing that really helped me in the hours of my practicum is that I had a great mentor teacher guiding me, and I still have the (highly critical but extremely helpful) notes she wrote for me after my first teaching hours. Although Japanese teachers of English are often (rightly) maligned, I have had the opportunity to work with a few excellent (and Western trained) teachers here, and have learned quite a bit from them and their advice. Is there a mentor that can help you on the way, observe your lessons and give you feedback?

The only way out possibly is through. I suggest diving in the deep end, get support, and become fully involved in what you are doing. Turn your debilitating anxiety into facilitating anxiety, and run with it. I still don't particularly enjoy giving presentations to my peers, but after a couple years of classroom experience, I find it easier than ever, which is saying something. There is hope.

[danstarr]

Thanks for all the informative responses. Just wanted to give an update really.. I've decided to continue volunteering as an ESOL classroom assistant for the time being; it is helping inasmuch as I'm building good rapport with the students and have the opportunity to swap places with the teacher and teach sections of lessons which is helping to build confidence. It is either that or give up completely but I dream of teaching abroad and am determined to not be beaten. I do someone at the school is a mentor with whom I meet regularly.

Sometimes I just wish I wasn't so sensitive and that I could just go in, teach and go home again but am hopeful that one day I'll be able to do just that

Dan

[klis]

You know it is ok to feel uncomfortable speaking in front of people. I know I had some difficult times. But don't worry everyone does have these fears.
I say you can do it ! Good Luck !

[aot531]

Have you considered anti-anxiety medication? I know psychiatric meds sometimes get a bad rap, and doctors can be afraid to prescribe some types of anti-anxiety meds for fear of addiction. However, I would think in a case like yours, with acute anxiety symptoms in a particular situation, having a benzodiazepine to take before going into a class could be very helpful for a short time, allowing you to get through some initial lessons and thus develop more comfort with the situation.

Just a suggestion...

[nickpellatt]

There was a suggestion above about a strong lesson plan...Id second that. If your plan is good, you will hopefully be doing a lot of instruction giving, and then just monitoring students whilst they speak rather than you having to.

Its also a good idea to choose your job carefully. I currently teach small class (typically 6 students) of motivated adults. These are generally conversation classes. I feel you would be a lot less nervous in this type of class, compared to a room of 15 teenage students who needed confirmation of grammar points in order to pass an exam.

Choose you battles sir.....and good luck

[scot47]

well I first taught more than 40 years ago and I still get nervous before going into a new class !

[Isla Guapa]

[johntpartee]

Same here. Thirty four years for me. The first day of a new class I stop outside the door, take a deep breath and brazen my way through the first session; after the first one it gets a LITTLE easier, but it's never easy. It's a very unnatural feeling to stand up in front of a group and have all eyes on you.

[gaijinalways]

There's always some adjustment with new classes. Having a lesson plan helps to a degree, but you also have to be flexible and bring things in as needed. It's a balance of the two that makes the best teachers.

As to speaking in front of people, definitely sitting helps sometimes (and conserves your energy) as you'll find it easier to moderate and facilitate.

As Sasha mentioned, having a positive outlook and caring about your students are two strong characteristics that all good teachers have. We all show it in different ways (I belong to the tough love camp; very strict at times, and other times if I have a good rapport with that class or students, fairly loose, bordering on chaotic), but it's essential that you make a bond with your students (doesn't have to be an overly personal one, but certainly you need to recognize your students as people who want to learn, and all the things that comes with), makes the class more interesting in all respects.

Good luck and hang in there. I have a new business class starting next week, and I'm a little nervous about that. I've been teaching since '92, and yes I still get anxious about some aspects from time to time.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Wow! I'm surprised at all of the nervousness confessed by the older hands. I've never been nervous, except thru my practicum and occasionally on observations, as as soon as I realized that my students learned thru me I wuz able to walk into any class...beginning or cover knowing that I controlled the show.

That said, I nearly cried in front of one of my classes as I said goodbye to them a coupla days ago. They had been so dear and we had created such a synergy!

Sometimes, it's hard to let go...

All I can say to the OP is if you can teach...teach.

NCTBA

[hot_rock]

get a grip. just walk in, say hello, ask a couple of chatty questions, do the god damn lesson.