Teach English in ShAhai Zhen - Bayannao'er Shi — Bayan Nur

When it comes to choosing the profession of a teacher, many people think that advanced knowledge of English is enough. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Even having the deepest knowledge of the language is not the guarantee that a person will be successful in teaching others. In this essay, I am going to share my ideas and personal experience regarding obstacles and challenges that the early career teacher can face and provide some ideas on how to deal with them without losing desire to help people develop their English. Firstly, I had never been warned about the potential issues of being the teacher of English before I became the teacher myself. Having graduated from the university with the diploma of an interpreter, I had no ideas what to do next. However, I was sure of my excellent knowledge of English and decided to choose my future profession that was directly connected with this skill. Moreover, this job seemed to be interesting and amusing, so there were no doubts about my choice. The company where I started my work provided us with a special tutorial on their own methodology. We were given strict limitations and were supposed to follow them. Only now do I realize how pointless they were. Since I had neither teaching experience, nor a person who could explain me how to do it correctly, I failed. I felt something was wrong. Two years later, I changed my workplace where I have been working since that time. Here I met professional teachers who set me on the right path, that is why I have completed this course and I am writing this essay right now. I wish it had happened earlier, though it is never too late. Before I commenced the TEFL course, I had been trying different methods of teaching. Despite my efforts, it took me four years because I did not know the basic principles. I used to reject the idea of having my classes completely 'English', without speaking my mother tongue. I used to dislike different role-play activities, work in pairs and groups. I would correct all the mistakes immediately during speaking without thinking that my students might have felt demoralized. Finally, I used to feel ashamed of not knowing some answers in my classes. Fortunately, I am not that person any more, thanks to this course and my wonderful colleagues. Had I encountered this knowledge earlier, it would not have required four years to become a better teacher. Having acquired the methodology of teaching English, early career teachers can save both their time and energy, thus killing two birds with one stone. For instance, I had been searching ways to make my classes more productive. If I knew they already existed, I could have spent this time on developing or modernizing them, instead of reinventing the wheel. Secondly, a person should be emotionally ready. I fully agree that teaching can be rewarding. However, it can be underestimated at the same time. Students can be over-demanding, impolite, self-confident or unmotivated, which directly influences the teacher's mental health. Luckily, the quantity of such students is small, but teachers still have to deal with emotionally challenging situations. Moreover, the teacher is the source of energy and inspiration. If they are indifferent, passive or disinterested in the process, students reflect these emotions as well. It works the same way with the positive ones. Thus, the more you give, the more you receive. To conclude, there are two things, which newly minted teachers should memorize. They are being ready to motivate, inspire, help and correct as much as needed and also being acquainted with the methodology. However, it does not mean that teachers have to be robots; on the contrary, they have to be natural, open and sincere to let their students feel secure. This is the first milestone for gaining common success.