Experiences of a teacher of English

  You know what? Like one month ago I finished to teach English to a nice class of adults, 0 beginners, or better said, false beginners, for they had some knowledge of English.  And over all the school year I have been struggling to actually teach them, and striving also for them to learn something, you know, like the basics. I don’t usually encounter such a group, beginners I mean. It was a nice fight to really make good use of time – tell me, what can you do when the students know close to nothing, and they’ve got few communicative competences?  As I said, it was a nice group, and the ones who persevered along the school year, well, you know, they did have a real interest to learn – so nice people they were.  I’ve been screwing my brain to learn what to do with such people; even I consulted the Internet to learn about such a group. Plus the group was not very much settled, and only a small group stayed with us until the end of the year – I mean us because we were ...

  We are starting a new school year, is that right? Or maybe not and we may be at mid-school-year in the earth southern hemisphere. Never mind. It doesn’t matter too much.  If you are a teacher and wish to be a really good one, and perhaps you’re searching for something useful on this very blog (if possible) or somewhere else, well, I’ll try and help you out. If possible.  Actually we teachers have to learn from each other.  Also because we may be wishing to develop as teachers and get a better job as teachers, or just we want to become better professionals.  So thus let’s learn from other teachers. Furthermore, I would tell you that a novice or an experienced teacher alike should have something in his hands to learn from. As well our students and their families would appreciate.  Any teacher should have a book which we can learn from. Always. A book to learn from. Or a website to learn from. Or another teacher’s blog to learn from.  And then each bit ...

  You as a teacher want for your students to learn and work a lot? So do I.  Now I can tell you something that works with us. I teach English as a foreign language. And in class we carry out diverse and varied activities, so the thing turns out as something interesting. All I can tell you about is something I owe to others.  As well I try to give some doses of pushing my students upward in their learning process, in class and outside.  For example I write something as a group or class email I address to all of them, and there I insist on some points, like set and assign some homework, I let them know what is working better lately in class, etcetera.  I address those emails to them as blind copies, so their email contacts keep protected.  As well some of those doses are directed to foster learning in them, to arouse their learning. For example I tell them about some learning strategies they can use to learn English, and which ones are taken from my own learn...

  Every job on earth seems to have a relational nature: we do things that may help and serve others. A teacher’s work is relational as well. Obviously.  And what can we say about working as a team, as a teacher team?  Some weeks ago I read somewhere that creative work is primarily something of a single spirit, so we are creative when working alone, yet here I’m going to say something about working as a team of teachers. Also when we work as a group we may be creative.  First premise is that that teacher who is going to work together with other teachers has to be open to the others: open-minded, open to respect others, open to love others with benevolence love, which is seeking what is good for those others.  All this is brought together with smiling at those others plus being nice and kind and cooperative. If I work in a team, I have to listen to them so I try to see from their viewpoints as well. And I will try to provide my best to that working team.  Eve...

  At least in the north hemisphere of our wonderful blue planet we are before a new school year. What will it be like? Face to face classes or remote teaching or both?  All in all the first lesson is paramount. Anyway, be relaxed on that first lesson, if you are the teacher. Well, with a bit of benign tension, otherwise that first lesson will be colorless.  At K-12 schools our dear students may have new textbooks or new iPad programs that replace old textbooks. I personally prefer printed textbooks.  Some days ago I worked on a video about single-sex or single-gender classrooms. It was so interesting.  You know, at 4 th grade in a school in North Branch, Minnesota, parents have something optional, which works. They can choose single-gender classrooms for those kids at 4 th grade within elementary school.  They have a young male teacher for the boys and a female teacher for the girls. And it works, as I said. You know, the girls’ class teaching is more emo...

  Let us see something else about assessing and evaluating our students’ progress, work and learning.  When I taught kids in another city, the school deputy principal or assistant headmaster at least once told me in a nice and collaborative way that I ought to deliver some extra work for those students who were capable of further aims and objectives.  I taught and still teach English. And the classes I taught were multi-levels: English may be the school subject where you can face more diverse levels: some students may have some upper-intermediate level or close to B2, while others may have some basic levels, namely A1 or A2.  And unless I did something else with those more advanced students, they might feel bored and disappointed. So I had to have extra material – exercises, texts, challenging resources – for those who could do more.  So I would recommend you to think of the following possibility, in case it may help you as a teacher.  You could have aims a...

  I have been teaching English since 1993 regularly. I like it, it’s a bit hard though. Well, what job is not a bit or very hard?  I like it.  And I can assure you that reading books is a booster of learning and acquiring a language. Not only reading is necessary though. Today I’ll say something about the four language skills.  As I just said, reading helps learning a lot. It’s my experience. And I guess I’ll be all the rest of my life learning and acquiring English. Sometimes I propose myself keeping learning German or French, but… I assume that rather I better keep learning English, together with my dear students. I might dedicate that precious time to English...  Reading is stupendous. Both fiction and non-fiction.  And for our learners reading is some aid to learn English.  I can recall that when teaching kids I sometimes used to bring a bundle of readers and books to the classroom. The students loved that. I used to deliver and distribute those re...

Each teacher has his or her own way of teaching, right? Also their own way of planning lessons. I would advise you to plan each lesson, always. Well, a few times one could improvise, and I think every one of us has done that.  Now I’d like to share my experience about lesson planning, in case it might help someone.  At present I teach remotely, by utilizing Google Meet. By the way, I live in Spain but one student joined today’s lesson from Germany, for he is there visiting his daughters. That’s one advantage of remote teaching, yet we would like to return to face-to-face classes not for a long time from now.  Before lesson planning I’d like to re-read a piece from some book on teaching I have in my room, and which ones I’ve read before. Thus I’d continuously learn and refresh from the experts. That means a few minutes and I confirm it makes me improve my lessons. I'd read and shortly meditate on that. It has to do with intuition. Then I think of a few goals, say, three fo...

I have some nice remembrances and memories about when I was a kid and carried out my high school period. I can recall the so many hours I used to spend at the study hall of the youth center I attended.  It had a nice library. And that center monitors aroused and waked up my thirst for knowledge. Also its teachers did.  Also I have some nice memories about my school teachers. Most of them, maybe all, were good teachers, both male teachers and female ones. They gave us knowledge and contents, and as well aroused our thirst for learning.  That’s the teachers’ mission: both give contents and wake up the students’ hunger for learning. Thank you my dear teachers. Most of them may be retired or they have departed.  And libraries are in no way obsolete.  Okay, we have Internet browsers, yet libraries are necessary still, and hopefully they will keep being so.  Think of the good that libraries can make to students, more if the books are in accordance to human dignit...

You – we – teachers in a Covid-19 situation, when working and teaching remotely, wish our students would work with serenity, right?  I do know some of you, many of you, are doing this way. You have my admiration. Many an example are to be found in the USA, from what I learn from the Internet, and alike at Attendis, this latter teaching company, a large one, in southern Spain. Etcetera. All throughout our planet. Many other teachers are doing the same way, perhaps you my reader.  Today I wanted to say that positive motivation is a very positive way of reduplicating our dear students’ efforts.  I mean, we have to correct our students’ behavior and mistakes, and that is necessary, but let us not forget to reckon and recognize what our students do well. Their efforts, I mean.  I often – not always – say to my adult learners at the end of the lessons, when these ones are over, something like “Okay, thank you for your cooperation”. And it works. And my stu...

It’s their parents who have to educate their kids, okay. And their teacher has also to set an example. Okay too. An example like taking care of our planet. We teachers are instructing those students, in math, the second language, history, biology, minerology, other sciences, literature… And when we are teaching, while that is happening, also we are educating those young people. In accordance to their parents.  We should call up those parents to come to the school to have a meeting about their children.  Okay, well, any teaching action in the classroom, whatever the subject is, should set an example. We teachers are public persons, and thus we have to set that good example. Any teaching action should be educative. Any action in the classroom should provide teaching, promote an aptitude, promote some upright human value.  And it’s so because of the relationship between the teacher and the students in the classroom… or at any other place within the school area. ...

Some teachers do not feel well in the classroom, because they feel somewhat anxious, they say. But, if you let me tell you, don’t you attend the class in order to seek what is good and convenient for your dear students? I would like for you to be somewhat relaxed in the classroom. I apply that principle to me myself. Better said, some sane and nice tension is desirable in order to attain your jobs as teachers of your class-groups. Teaching ensues some easy tension, let’s say: You cannot teach or work anywhere else without some tranquil tension, so as to say.  Those class-groups together with you make up working-teams, where everyone can contribute to the learning processes.  Education is precisely to extract from your students the best from themselves. Education also is leading our dear students toward becoming better persons and ones that can afford their own lives.  As well we have to educate our students in accordance with what their parents wish for t...

Committed and constant teachers hit the jackpot of teaching well. They may be very good teachers.  Those professionals also are continuously open to learn how to be better teachers. They wish to serve the school families and their children alike. They are open to learn new things, because they know they are not perfect.  Thus they turn to reading from books how to become better teachers. They’re open to read books and perhaps also from websites, blogs, and teachers forums. It’s so because they wish to hear from other professionals. They’re prone to trust in and rely on what other teachers say, also on those other teachers’ experiences.  They want to learn from their best colleagues throughout the world. They’re open to receive correction from other colleagues. And they react in a nice way to those corrections ultimately. Maybe at first they feel some harshness when corrected but ultimately they react well.  As well they’re prone to learn from the par...

In 10 days we will be starting an English summer camp for boys. Near Costa del Sol in southern Spain. A wonderful place and hopefully a wonderful camp.  Now I’m thinking of the first announcements and advice I’ll tell the thirty students that are to attend it. Who will be responsible of conduct and behavior? The kids themselves. I’ll be saying some things that could penetrate in their heads though they may be not very conscious the first day.  We teachers and monitors are sowing and planting seeds that will penetrate in them over time, maybe over years.  They have to have a pen plus a notebook or A4 sheets – also a dictionary is sensible to have. They must be punctual, which amounts to be respectful to other people, other human persons.  They will practice the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. They’ll have a wonderful chance to practice their English with a pair of native teachers: last year and other past years we had a...

One teacher used to be so involved and committed within the lesson that he transmitted and passed on his interest to his dear students.  I wrote that sentence some days ago, still in April. And it could be something real in the lives of many teachers. Maybe in yours too, for some of my readers are good teachers.  We may have behavior problems in the classroom, but bear in mind that if you get so committed in the lessons you will likely win the “game” ultimately and your students will better as students and thoroughly as persons and citizens. Also because you may be seeking to get to know your students more and more.  Our students may be kids or adults, but if we teach and work from our very interior being, we will likely transmit and pass on our interest in our school subject to our dear students.  Remember what I told you on the previous post: We attend each class as a work session about that subject together with our students. We therefore try to i...

The teacher is a person who faces up to different issues. And he or she does with great love. They may have – likely – problems with some students or some parents, and all that may make them suffer, but ultimately they positively – as I said – face up to those troubles with some positive spirit and morale.  As well they can notice that perhaps something weird may be happening in the classroom lately and their students may be suffering from some other trouble, and those teachers I’m talking about face up to that situation, with no procrastination.  And they, those teachers I mean, do not let time elapse any longer and try hard to solve the problems, better if they can count on their colleagues or the school department head.  Serenity is necessary for those teachers: they may be suffering from some trouble but they’ve learned how to deal with problems and they have fortitude and courage.  Their students seek support upon them as their fortitude when dire...

I’ve been posting for ten years now. And you readers have made this possible, otherwise I’d have stopped posting long ago. Thank you very much for paying me a visit to my blog.  Also I owe my students the experiences they’ve given me: I’ve learned a lot from you too. I come to class to teach… and to learn as well.  There should be loyalty between the teacher and his or her students. The teacher comes to school to give him or herself to their students: each one is a unique diamond in need of making it better. Because learning hopefully makes us better persons.  If the teacher tries to do his or her best, he or she is being loyal to their students. Thus I will hard try to say the truth always: I have to be loyal and faithful to my students.  I have to try hard to work my best possible, and I must try to be the best person ever: I owe to my students.  And what to do with our flaws as teachers? Well, we have to rectify our behavior and do ou...

It seems sound we teachers should have affection to our students. Some prudent affection. Also because we teachers seek educating them as thorough persons, capable to change the world into something better.  We also seek truth. And we teach our students to seek truth. We teach truth, and we must do so. And when our students are studying, they are seeking truth.  It is true that Mercury is the closest planet to our dear sun. And we teach so. Or that 2+2 make 4. Also we seek deeper and more profound truths upon our human nature: for example all men and women are equal. We are human beings. We are children of God.  We help families educate their children.  As well we love our students with benevolence love, as said on other posts. In that way we may teach, we may also here seek what is good for them as human persons.  And we teachers may like to treat our students live in the classroom. And not only there, also at every place in the school:...

On last post I told you about helping high-achiever students. Okay then, now I’m saying something about helping low-achievers. I’ve found them. For example kids that had somehow serious problems at studying, learning, paying attention… plus their self-esteem might be low, so low.  Well, all the teacher team tried to help those few students. Also through tutoring sessions plus interviewing their parents. With frequency, more or less.  Well, something I used to do was to set for them goals that tentatively they could reach. These kids needed attention and affection.  As well their future could be manual jobs, not intellectual ones. Not for that reason are those professions negative or low level ones. Those jobs also are necessary in our society: aluminum carpenters or joiners for example.  The ideal thing would have been they could do the same activities as their classmates, but, you know, in no way could they reach those goals, like the ones their...

I’ve told you that we have to love our students with love of benevolence. Which means that we seek what’s good for those people we love. Also we love their parents and families. Plus our fellow teachers and all the school staff.  Because of that we strive to teach with high standards of professionalism.  Most of you do so. You do your best. You do even what’s farther than what you are asked to do. Most of you do so and I admire you.  You seek what’s better for the people you treat every day. And therefore you teach and carry out other tasks with creativity.  Most of you do have creativity. You set yourselves to solve problems and improve your daily work.  Creativity, what’s creativity? Well, you as human beings, who can reason, set to offer your best, and don’t confine to a mere teaching but seek for your students to be happy: you offer your best, you plan your lessons, you look for and search for suitable material, you try hard for your...