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In China, as the awareness of the importance of English grow among parents, the market for English education has also been growing steadily in the past years. Many foreign English speakers, native or otherwise, who live in China sooner or later realize that there is huge demand for English teachers. A lot them do not have formal teaching degrees or experience. However, since there is a lack of supply of English teachers, these English speakers find themselves turn into teachers overnight. Although they speak fluent English, having no previous teaching background and experience certainly doesn’t make it easy for these new teachers. Teaching can be frustrating. Pedagogy is an art as much as it is science. Teachers need to be able to create lessons that are suitable and effective for their students. They need to know how to manage their class and maintain discipline. There is a whole host of theories about teaching a language. Furthermore, different age groups require will different skillsets in teaching. Not having this knowledge and the experience can make new teachers feel powerless, doubt their ability, and further make them less effective in the classroom. One of the things that make a good teacher is the love of teaching. Many people would agree that teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs ever, probably even more so with teaching a new language. Being able to pass on one’s knowledge and get students excited about learning English, seeing them discover a new world through it, being involved in shaping their future, all of these are precious. As such, it is easy to fall in love with teaching. Is the love of teaching enough to make someone a good teacher? Probably not, but it certainly serves a baseline. Once the passion is there, it is easy for early career teachers to develop their skills further. The next step that an aspiring ESL teacher should do is to get a good quality TEFL or TESOL training, which does not have to be expensive or extensive. This training will equip teachers with essential teaching skills such as teaching methodology, lesson planning, class management, phonology, and so on. The training can be done in-class or online. The in-class training will provide a stronger basis as the teachers can get direct feedback from the trainers. However even an online training can provide a lot of value. How could one determine whether a training is of good quality or not? Nowadays there are so many training providers and it is difficult to tell whether they are good or not. The best thing is therefore to ask for recommendations from friends or colleagues. Another important decision that an aspiring ESL teacher can make is to choose the right training center or school. An inexperienced ESL teacher would do themselves a great favor by joining a school with established curriculums and pre-made lesson plans. It is important that the school has good quality lesson plans for new teachers to execute. A good lesson plan will serve as a solid support for the inexperienced teacher in delivering the lesson, and still provide enough room for creativity. Once the new teacher gain more experience in the classroom and knowledge about lesson planning, he/she can take on more challenge by creating his/her own plans. Teaching English in China is a rewarding experience for many. For aspiring teachers, there are many job and growth opportunities that will allow them to develop further into better and more effective teachers. The above mentioned three steps can help jumpstart the journey.
