Trending Tips For Newbie TEFLers

25th February 2022

If you are someone who has is about to or just started a career as an ESL teacher, then this is the right blog for you. ESL field of progressive and more so evolving with a blink of an eye, this somehow can feel daunting. Building a career as an international educator needs you to be well-prepared, creative, and resourceful.

For First time TEFL teachers, evidently, their lack of experience is something that makes them nervous. It is paramount to understand TEFL teaching is all about how you connect with the learners' needs so you can provide a relevant learning experience to them. This is why taking time to prepare is the first step you can take. For starters, this can mean getting practical exposure during your TEFL course.

Top 5 trending tips for First time TEFL teachers –

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

ESL classrooms ask for a teacher to keep an open mind. The primary reason is that an ESL learning environment is diverse in cultural background. No matter what is your teaching style, how you decide to teach the classroom takes its own shape students and content all start to run together. In other words, be flexible because your classroom whether it's an online or in-class learning environment will need you to operate with an open mind.

FOCUS ON CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

The truth is, there is no formula to classroom management techniques. Although there are several strategies that are often used as useful resources, classroom management skills can be developed over time. However, for TEFLers who are new to this premise, it is important for them to emphasize improving their skill in this area while learning how to prep and deliver lessons.

And to add to this, all learners are not the same, there are always some challenges that teachers need to handle. Classroom management techniques will not only help to keep the classroom discipline but will also help you to keep your learners engaged in the classroom.
 

GET CREATIVE WITH RESOURCES

ESL classroom also demands a teacher to be spontaneous while using the tools and resources. The more creative teacher's approach is the more there is room for students' engagement and exploration. Language teaching goes beyond using the language as a tool of communication.

More than using English words and sentences to express, language teachers' effort in helping learning use the language to play with words in expressing both concrete and abstract thoughts. Simply put, the depth of language allows us to play with words that go beyond using language formally. When teachers bring that creativity into the classroom, learners can expand their ideas in a much broader sense.

EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY

This means tapping into your unique style of teaching and bridging that in your classroom teaching. Starting from how you are planning your lesson to which resources and hands-on activity you want to use, all of these needs to be in sync with your classroom needs and you as the teacher. Bringing that authenticity in the classroom will help you to stay connected with what you are teaching and it will also give you a sense of joy in doing what you do. Thus, it will allow learners to feel motivated as they see you confident in your own shoe.

REVIEW YOUR WORK

Assessing your work will not only help you to run through the errors it will also allow you to use more strategies and tool that works best for you. Take notes whenever necessary, review the planned lessons, when you self-evaluate you will definitely get a lot of ‘aha’ moments. Over time, you can improve your effectivity as well as efficiency. As ESL educators you need to remember that the more research you do, the more knowledgeable and resourceful you become.

YOUR TAKEAWAY

Getting comfortable in the classroom is all about how confident you feel. This comes from good preparation and knowing how ESL learning works. First time TEFL teachers with their TEFL certificate can spend time doing the needful research. This can help you feel prepared mentally. While a feeling of being anxiousgetting overwhelmed at first is pretty obvious, nevertheless well-prepared mind can handle new and uncertain situations more successfully.