Experiences of a teacher of English

  Some people think kids at schools should have tutors, not only teachers. Tutors with whom the kids could talk, aside the classroom, at individual tutorial sessions.  I used to have this situation when I taught kids, before I began to teach English to adults, some sixteen years ago – I’ve been teaching English since 1993. I think that that thing of having a tutor is something good. Tutors chosen by the kids’ parents, though those ones may propose their opinion about who could their tutor be.  And at these tutorial sessions the kids and their tutors may hold nice and friendly conversations. I’ve seen it, and it works, it does. Usually boys had male teachers as tutors, while also the other way round.  For those sessions there should be confidence and familiarity, and that confidence is only gained by the adult tutor over time. You as a tutor cannot demand that confidence – you conquer it through actual interest and benevolence love. And affection. And when you know ho...

  I teach adults. English to adults. And they may be great, so great, and demanding.  I’ve also taught kids, and I’ve written a lot on classroom management. With adults the thing seems to be different, evidently. And if you teach this public, I’d like to point out something that also may help you if you teach teens for example.  I guess deference is a term that suits here, both adults and kids. When you get into the classroom, alongside when you encounter adults at the school halls and corridors, you must refill up your tank with a big amount of patience.  Yes, but all is smoothened if you love your students, if you become able to actually listen to them, with honest affection and attention.  I would tell you too: Don’t argue with them at all, don’t quarrel with them: all may be suited and solved in a nice and patient way. Just listen to them, and try and understand them, and their viewpoints, being in their shoes: perhaps they may be right, and you’ve got to ch...

  For those of you who are in the northern hemisphere I wish you teachers all a nice back to school.  Today I’d like to say something about classroom management. I do know how some teachers have to struggle to keep a working pace at high school, at the classroom. I’m typing something that might perhaps help you out, if Granada now earthquakes let me write – I mean, we are okay, just we’ve have ten days of some small earthquakes, a few bigger ones. My mind goes to Venezuela, Colombia, Perú and Indonesia and their people, and I keep praying for you all.  Well, I guess in class the main point is the teacher achieve to keep his or her students working, studying, learning. And a lot of you teachers already are attaining this, and you could tell us and share with us about that point.  I’ve already written a lot on classroom managing in this blog, and clear is it that you cannot be those young people’s buddy. You cannot enter the classroom and, so as to gain your students, ...

  Just to halt at times. And have a quick mental look or perspective to your teaching. That is something I sometimes do.  For example I did something of this at Christmas break. We had stopped our English classes for a while. And at home I had a mental peek at how my students were doing, and how I was doing as a teacher myself. Just to detect failures in me and in them. Also to find out what was turning out fine.  And all that is just something simple, even intuitive. It’s like keeping track of how things are going. And all that does not necessarily mean you as a teacher must do something else, apart all your workload, which may be almost huge.  If you stop to think of it, it may be something we teachers may inadvertently do when lesson-planning – even more, it is something we actually do when lesson-planning!  But I mean here to carry it out in a bit more aware way, and like something special at some breaks – Christmas, the Holy Week at southern Spain, and fina...

  You know what? A couple of days ago I came across a new class of students I have to teach English to. They are adults, with a big wish to learn that language.  I had planned to convey the same messages both in English and in Spanish, their – our – mother tongue. I came to the classroom with enthusiasm, prone to serve those great people.  And you know what I encountered? They are beginners and false beginners! Great students though.  My assistant teacher was with me – he is learning how to teach English and is a native speaker himself, from San Diego, California. Ok, they knew nothing or close to.  I had brought photocopies for them, taken from a textbook of A2/B1 level, this is, low beginner to lower intermediate – more A2 than B1, because that copy was from the very first unit.  But my dear students needed I had to explain and present absolutely every detail from basic questions, you know, present simple with Do and Does, and similar basic stuff. Oh, man...

  A teacher? He or she influences on their students more with their lives than with what they teach to do. Whatsoever they do, well, that is so influential on those kids, or those adults too, if the case.  That is like an eternal truth, one of those that occur all the time. It was taken from college teacher Jutta Burggraf, who lived 1952 through 2010, and which teacher has influenced on so many people. She was like special in some way, you know.  Also something that may inspire your students is the way you teach, whether you really know about the school subject and the way that that ought to be taught.  Something essential too, and which professor Jaime Nubiola states: you must love your students. With benevolence love: by seeking what’s good for them. Also by hearing and listening to them.  If you are a terrific teacher and you do like in Oliver Twist, bad way you’re going. Yes, remember: Oliver Twist gently asked for more porridge, and then something tremendou...

  I think most teachers are hard-working and committed, as I’ve seen. However, we teachers could fall on the following pit: to think, well, I have such and such lessons to teach, let’s see if I can just teach them and then I will do what I really like to do. Thus we could get alienated with our professional work.  What I mean is that someone could have the mind of just fulfilling my contract and not to move a single finger to do something which is out of my contract.  I know that most teachers exceed their strict contract and do quite many other things, starting with working also at home on planning lessons, making homegrown material, grading tests, etcetera. Also giving yourself to your dear students.  What I mean today is that a teacher is there to serve and help out other people … as most teachers actually do.  I want to see you even enjoying teaching lessons. Let’s go to our post with that mentality every day. And we'll be happier. And when lesson planning y...

  Are you a committed teacher? If so, you may understand what I’m saying today.  Look, I think a good teacher must plan his or her lessons, so that these ones may be of good use to their students.  What about thinking of a few goals when sitting to plan next lesson? Just a few of them, with our dear students in mind. Aims or goals are pretty important, if we wish to be right at lesson planning. And you may think of those few objectives, ones that do not block that lesson planning. All the contrary, they will help you find what your students do need now.  What I mean is: I would tell you to think just what they need or what you think is most important now, these days. At other times you will think of other goals with more ample lenses.  I also mean, if your students do see that you have planned your lessons, and you try to follow those plans – well, you may change something on the spot, let’s be realistic if something goes wrong – well, then, more likely the stud...

  Let’s see. I’d like to say some things which could help teachers develop their careers, and more focused I’d like to state something about classroom behavior management.  For example Claire English says that one of the main things we teachers can do to maintain order in class is to stay calm. You know, if the teacher is calm, well, more likely he or she will transmit that calm to their dear students.  If the teacher is but jumpy and agitated, more likely he or she will need more effort and struggle to keep order in class, and discipline.  I totally agree. And our dear students need but a peaceful atmosphere in class to work and learn and get to know our world. I have seen it, and I’m thinking of my colleague Pepe Asensio: when I was giving my first steps at this wonderful teaching career in his classroom to young kids, he did accomplish a so peaceful ambiance in class with a class of nearly thirty lions, I mean, kids.  And I said something about Claire English...

  Believe me, it’s something great to teach English to both kids and adults, and to help them learn and acquire it. It’s great, tiresome though. Well, which job is not something tiring?  We cannot, however, as teachers confine our work to just teach English, or any other language. We need to be aware that we are facilitating some people would talk to some others. There is the core point of the issue. We are connecting people with one another.  We have to bear in mind that our job is that great: one person communicates with another one. We teach English for practical purposes, communication in a word. And communication is something so human! And in class there must be that communication, between the teacher and the students, and among them all.  We do not confine to teaching language facts, although we have to also teach them. We are making up bridges among people. And that’s simply great. Isn’t it?  Thus let’s have in mind that we are treating human people, huma...

  One issue every teacher thinks of from time to time, or perhaps often because that teacher may have that kind of problem, above all if he or she is beginning their career as a teacher, is how to manage classroom behavior.  Today I’m trying to say something, apart from what I’ve written so far on quite many posts. You may find more under the tag or label management of the class .  The main point I think is important is to have the clear idea that both the teacher and his or her students are in the classroom to work, as said in plain English. They come to the schoolroom to work. The students to learn, to learn by working, and their dear teacher to teach them and help them become full and honorable persons.  So the main concern of their teacher ought not to be classroom management, but how to have those dear people to work and learn.  Nevertheless if some problem comes up in class, some behavior problem I mean, that teacher might say or show something, depending ...

  Our students, kids or adults, need to be taught and educated in liberty. No free students, no growing up and developing in a right way.  Obviously you teacher may have set a few class rules at the school year beginning, and they are necessary, but you may have set not many of them, the necessary ones for working, learning, self-improving.  If you teacher are like a class cop or sergeant, and have your students caught in a stiff fist, when those students – for example kids – feel they are not under your eyes, well, they then could behave mischievously and do bad.  When I taught kids quite many years ago I was told by the school assistant principal that, ultimately, my students were free to do what they thought more appropriate. I had to have my students wish to learn and work, but ultimately they keep being free!  It’s like raising our children: we also have to educate them in freedom.  Otherwise if we do not have them face life and everyday happenings lit...

  I think that in nearly all classes of students we can find like three groups: high-achievers, average students, and low-achievers. And I believe we teachers have to help all those three groups.  When teaching kids quite many years ago I was said by the assistant principal or headmaster deputy I ought to give material and opportunities to high-achievers, so they would not feel bored.  I taught and teach English. Also low-achievers have to be aided. I as a teacher cannot confine to hand out their graded tests or exams to the kids in class, and then also give out a low-achiever’s sheet with a super low grade, and there you are! Something else must be carried out with those kids.  The superintendent or gamekeeper of the place where I live was a bad student, and his dad told me to please help him. Eventually he stopped and gave up studying, and, well, he is a great professional now as a gamekeeper.  Ok, let’s turn back to the topic. Those kids may present several d...

  We have agreed that you may be a foreign or second language teacher, and you may think that you have to foster communication in class, and not only grammar rules, though these latter ones are of importance anyway.  Well, the good teacher asks his or her students in class so there may arise a lot of communication. Ok, that seems the right way.  And that good teacher asks in some special way, let me explain.  He or she addresses those questions tactfully, bearing in mind he is addressing persons, with a lot of dignity, the one any person deserves. Any student is unique too.  He asks questions or anyway he prompts to create that communication, which is among persons.  In other words, that teacher does not confine himself to implement the textbook activities, yet he gives, with those questions, affection and benevolence love, seeking what is good for the students. Affection, yet with nothing posh or silly or ridiculous, but with prudence at the same time....

  I’m back with you again, my fellow readers.  I wanted to tell you something that may be of any interest to you, both if you are prospective or novice teachers, or otherwise experienced ones.  I’ve been thinking lately that, for a teacher, practice and experience are so paramount important. And as well another key point to bear in mind when teaching in the classroom or remotely teaching is that we should have our students in mind when lesson planning.  Something you can do before the actual lesson planning is just to think on your specific and real students.  On a parallel way you may know that when our students have to write an essay, well, you know, they should have a reader in mind.  Equally when the teacher is about to plan a lesson – and every lesson ought to be planned – he or she may think, Well, let’s see how my students are in class and how last lesson worked actually.  And I invite you to write a few points before the actual planning, consid...

  We may be teachers, okay? We may also be educators. But do we know what to educate is? Well, maybe we already know it, or know something about it.  Where I want to aim? Educating is getting the best from my students, yet also it is getting the best to them.  Some people say kind of, Well, we have to get the best from those learners. Yep, but also we have to take knowledge and other things to them.  Otherwise we will not obtain the best from them.  This seems clear in children’s case: we can try and get the best from them, but alike we have to provide knowledge and others to them, because they were born with no knowledge at all.  Spanish philosopher and pedagogue Gregorio Luri puts it in that way: the teacher has to provide knowledge to their students.  It doesn’t seem sound to get some children into a classroom and naively try and get the best from them, like they already were wise people.  Let’s give them knowledge and other things. For that w...

  The teacher in a face-to-face or online classroom? He or she must be elegant. I mean they have to be tactful, respectful, loving toward their students. What I mean by loving is one with benevolence love, i.e. they will seek the best for their students.  For example, that teacher has to know how his or her students are at each moment, and whether they feel good with the activity he or she is carrying out before those students.  And this value is obtained through those affection and benevolence love, plus through experience at the classroom.  As well that teacher will try and be discreet, cautious and tactful. And he or she will say things that will not hurt their students.  Furthermore that teacher will seek what builds up their students’ personality, in accordance with what their parents want for them.  I said he or she won’t say anything harming in the classroom. For those people have some or a lot of sensitivity.  Over time that teacher knows how ...

  Planning our lessons is a paramount point about the teaching job, right?  Now I’m telling you about something else I carry out when I sit to plan a lesson, in case it may help you.  On my teaching pad or notebook I write down today’s date plus Stuff to do plus the class of students I’m going to plan for.  Then I think about a few points those students are in need of, like for example They tend to explain points in our discussions but they lack standard grammar to utilize , or something briefer, or for instance I guess we may be following the course-book in too slow a pace , or something else those people may need.  Thus I plan the lesson with my students in mind.  Or another point may be To foster the importance of homework for them .  In a few words, what I mean is that just before planning a lesson we have to think of our students’ needs and wants. And then let’s plan with the students in mind.  This pre-planning task takes few minutes, but it...

  We have already started the new school year and some lessons may have been taught.  One of the most important points for a group-class and their teacher is there should be nice rapport amongst them. The teacher seriously has to be an authority reference in the classroom, and at the same time he or she will get their dear students in his or her pocket.  That teacher will seriously try and get them immersed into the lesson.  In order to achieve that, he has to address each student by his or her name, all with affection and interest, real interest in each one of them.  Out of the classroom he will talk with his students yet he will not be their buddy.  You accomplish all that by treating each student with respect, interest, affection, deference, seriousness. Affection with prudence plus without being a simple buddy to them.  And in a foreign language class he will try to get their learners plunged and immersed into English or whatsoever the target langu...

  Today I've learned the actual meaning of 'scolding'. And it means to correct and blame somebody angrily and noisily. And I have used that word to mean 'correct' on previous posts. We teachers can correct our students for their good, but I think that in no way should we scold them, for they have a great dignity as human beings. I have already written about this latter idea on previous posts. Have a nice day.