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Even though I am currently teaching, I found lessons from my TEFL courses to help build onto my already growing teaching career. Being a first-time teacher can be stressful, especially if you have no prior knowledge or experience before. Even though I have been teaching for only 3 months, my courses gave me a lot of insight and suggestions on how to better myself in order to create a positive learning environment. One of the first things that my TEFL course taught me was my attitude and approach toward my students. When school first started my students could see based on my appearance and attitude that I was nervous and overwhelmed. When I interacted in a chaotic manner my students would respond in a similar way. I knew once I built structure, then my students would understand how to function in my classroom. In order to gain classroom management, I created lesson plans for the first time. At first it was overwhelming because I believed there had to be a certain way my plans needed to be written. However, what my courses have taught me is there is no exact method to lesson plans. It is whatever to make you feel organized, which could be a detailed document or a scrap of paper with scribbles. As long as you clearly mark your goals for both yourself and your students you are able to create a structured atmosphere. When I attempted to write my lesson plans based on what I learned, my students were able to get into a calm and fun schedule. They could see that I was relaxed because I had everything organized and prepared, which created a soothing atmosphere. It also gave me the confidence to stand in front of the room and teach a lesson that my students were capable of learning. To add on, my courses helped me open up to the idea of different methods of teaching. I always thought songs and videos could distract my kids from learning the basics in a fundamental way. However, after studying about creating games and attention-grabbing lessons, I decided to try to have some fun and creative exercises. This is exactly what my students needed. For example, when teaching my students about snow, I was able to learn a song that taught them where their eyes, nose, and mouth were on their face by comparing it to a snowman. They were also able to learn that you wear a hat and scarf when it is cold just like a snowman does. This created science and nature elements to my lesson and the kids were able to learn about the weather and body parts. Also, I was able to keep my student’s attention throughout the lesson which at times can be a key motivation for them to learn. Through music they were able to lean a new subject in a fun way. My experience within my TEFL course helped me open my mind to new ways of approaching my career. Each day in the classroom will not always look the same, and what I have learned is that its okay. Leave room for flexibility within the structure. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake and learn from it for the future. Each class will give good and bad feedback that will help me grow as a teacher. The most rewarding part of my teaching career will be the success of my students. At the end of the day all that matters to me is my student’s education and experience. If they are able to have fun and become well rounded children, then I feel I have built onto my teaching career successfully.
