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TEFL Teacher Tips PDF
TEFL Teacher Tips PDF
The Idea 3
The Teachers 4
The Tips 5
The Thanks 12
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The Idea
Different teachers, different tips. That's it!
Whether you are new to teaching English, just interested in it or have a
couple of years under your belt, this book will be of interest.
It features a diverse group of teachers who all share tips based on their
years of experience. They are in alphabetical order.
-Phil
3
The Teachers
Phil Wade
An educator interested in different ways of teaching and learning who
specialises in Business English.
Laura Adele Soracco
Noreen Lam
Teacher constantly scouring for new ideas to try out. Interested in getting
into materials and article writing,
Michael Griffin
David Petrie
A teacher and teacher trainer for over 12 years, I spend a lot of time
thinking about language teaching!
Copyright©CROWDSOURCEDTEFLPUBLICATIONS2014
First Published using Papyrus, 2014
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The Tips
Avoid burnout
The job can be at times stressful and unrewarding. Take time away if
necessary. Take a hiatus from social networks and return refreshed. Talk
to your colleagues. Help prevent stress before it becomes overwhelming.
Change your environment. Burned out teaching young learners? Try
teaching adults or teaching online. - Barry
Be bold
Just because you are a new teacher or one with little experience doesn’t
mean you have nothing to offer! Get connected, ask around, and don’t be
afraid to write articles, start a blog, create materials and share your ideas
with the rest of the TEFL community! - Noreen
Be realistic
You won’t make millions in TEFL. Contract jobs are not always the norm
and the hourly rate isn’t great. My CELTA tutors all advised us to go
abroad to get proper jobs and experience as competition in the UK is
tough. Positions in Asia or UAE can be lucrative and you don’t always
need much apart from a degree or MA. Back home though, you might
need a lot more just to get a basic salary. If money and job security are
what you are after, really investigate the industry. - Phil
Be yourself
You are NOT only an English teacher. If you are an aspiring guitarist, an
amateur comedian or a cooking fiend, then incorporate that into your
classes and show your students your passions! They will be delighted to
hear about the “real” you and probably share some of the same hobbies.
You may get some great outside-the-box lessons this way!
- Noreen
Build instant rapport
You may not always have the luxury of working with the same students
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for an extended period. This means you have to make a connection
almost instantly. The easiest way is to be polite and prepared. If students
can see from the beginning of the lesson that you are obviously
professional, they will respect you. After you speak to them in a friendly
open manner, they will realise that you are on their side. If students
realise you are on their side, they will open up more easily and increase
the chance of a productive lesson. - Barry
Don’t be afraid to tweak and change that reliable old lesson. Update it. If
it worked quite well last week, can you change it to make it even better
next time? It’s a good feeling to go in knowing your lesson and tasks to
the letter, but that can soon become boring. If you are bored, your
students probably are as well. Keep your teaching fresh. - Barry
Don’t stick religiously to books
You don’t have to follow everything in the books. Yes, they develop and
skipping parts can become an issue but be a bit creative and try to mix
things up just a bit every week. Pushing yourself out of your safety zone
can really help you expand your abilities. You could begin by doing new
activities, using different materials or taking on a new course or client. Be
careful though! Don’t run before you can walk. - Phil
Embrace mixed ability classes
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Mixed ability classes are quite common in some countries. While
language schools can level and group students quite precisely, others
cannot and you could have A1-C2 sat together. So, start thinking about
differentiation and how you can make a lesson appeal to everyone.
- Phil
Find out the goals of the class
If you don’t know what your students really want to achieve, you can’t
help them achieve it. If they don’t know themselves, if they express a sort
of purposeless general sort of 'to improve my English' – refuse to accept
it! Force them to think about and to articulate exactly what they want to
learn and why they want to learn it. If they can’t articulate it in English, let
them do it in their L1 and translate it (or ask someone to help you). Do a
thorough needs analysis and a diagnostic test and use that information
to help you plan to meet those needs. - David
Get support
Join a local association and sign up for events to build a network of other
teachers who you can share with and build a supportive network. If there
isn’t one, Think about starting one online or with people you know.
Otherwise, join online groups on LinkedIn. This helps your development
and gives you support after bad lessons or events. - Phil
- Laura
- David
Insist on contracts
No matter what job, hours, students, work etc you are offered, it doesn’t
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mean anything without a contract. Ask for one, check it, sign it and copy
it. People change their minds, pull out and cancel all the time. If you are
promised X weekly hours, no contract means you could end up with
none. - Phil
Join a SIG
If you are a member of TESOL, you can join their Interest Sections (IS),
e.g., CALLIS, ESPIS, etc. IATEFL calls them SIGs, e.g., BESIG. Many of them
have newsletters, workshops, and blogs with teaching ideas that could be
relevant to your teaching situation or interest. Better yet, by joining the
email list (adjust settings for frequency) you can have access to a
network of teachers that can help you answer questions or offer
suggestions on issues for which you cannot get answers easily anywhere
else online. - Laura
- David
In the EFL world there are many acronyms, and coming to grips with a
few will help you navigate your way around better. Are you a NQT just
finished a CELTA? Do you know about resources such as ELTchat, TESOL
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and IATEFL? Do you understand the difference between TEFL, ESL EAL and
TESOL? Heard of TTT and STT? How about the BULATS, BEC, IELTS, TOEIC,
TOEFL, FCE and CPE? All these are essential to ‘talk the talk’ in the
staffroom so start swatting up ASAP! - Noreen
Listen to your students
After you have asked a question, it is only polite to actually listen. Make
eye contact, smile, ask follow up questions. For example, if someone
says they have had a stressful day, it’s probably better not to respond
with "Oh. Okay, everyone turn to page 15". - Barry
Plan out where you want to be in 5/10 years and how you will get there.
Many of us get stuck in one job. This is fine if you like it but you could do
so much more. Look into professional development opportunities,
further courses, promotions and which posts you could apply to in your
school. If you're not at a school, think wider. Maybe you could become
an examiner, a writer or a course manager. - Phil
Set up a blog
It’s easy to set up and provides a really great opportunity for you to
engage in some reflective practice and to share your ideas. Plus, writing
for an audience really makes you think about how you are going to
communicate your ideas effectively, which also really helps you clarify
your thinking. - David
Show proof
Try to help students see that they are improving. That is why they are
taking your class, right? Don’t be afraid to repeat tasks or assessments
and help students see that they are improving and can do things they
couldn’t at the start of class. Recordings can also be a nice option for
collecting and sharing this sort of proof. - Mike
Start connecting
Connect with fellow teachers. Join Twitter, follow blogs, take part in
online discussion on facebook. I’ve learned more from Facebook and
Twitter contacts than I have from books. Teaching is dynamic and ever
changing. - Barry
Stop killing trees
More photocopies of worksheets and verb charts doesn’t necessarily
mean you are better prepared for class, or are going to have a better
lesson. Relax, allow conversation to develop and go in with a strong idea
that you can work from and improvise a bit. Students will naturally come
up with questions and if you leave time to address these then they will
feel like you are really dealing with their concerns, rather than rush
through the pages you had planned to do! - Noreen
10
Tinker
Sometimes teachers are faced with teaching 'the same' lesson to
different groups. Ensure that the lessons are not the same. Seize this
opportunity and make some changes. Maybe, start with the final activity
and end with the warmer. Use different ways of introducing language.
See what happens. Find out what you feel comfortable with and what
works with your students. - Mike
Try honest teaching
You may be tired, you may be bored. Even if you don’t feel like teaching,
you have made a commitment to the students. This does not mean every
class will be a success. Sometimes lessons just don’t go well. Don’t beat
yourself up about it. Students generally appreciate teachers who are
honest in their efforts and give 100%. - Barry
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The Thanks
I would like to thank everyone who participated in this project for
pitching in and sharing valuable tips for with other teachers.
This book is proof that we all have the same problems and issues and
that sharing and swapping ideas is very helpful.
If you have some tips to share, why not set up your own blog and share
them.
-Phil
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