Advice for new teachers

First things first, I am far from being an expert. However over the years since I first did my CELTA course, I’ve received a lot of great advice from more experienced teachers and also made some helpful discoveries for myself. So in case these are helpful for you too, here are my top pieces of advice for new teachers. You may feel that some of the advice is really obvious, but I’m including it here just because it’s been key to my teaching and I’m aware that when teachers feel overwhelmed or stressed, it’s easy to forget even the ‘basic’ stuff.

• If you can, find out about your students’ aims, needs and interests before the first lesson. However, if that’s not possible, ask in the first lesson. This will give you invaluable information for making lessons relevant to your students.
• Remember, your new students are probably just as nervous as you are. Your first few lessons are all about getting to know each other and feeling comfortable. Just be yourself and take an interest in all of your students.
• When you start a new class, always ask students if they know each other already. Last year, I planned a whole first lesson around the students getting to know each other. They all looked a bit resigned/bored when I told them this and there was a horrible, tense, atmosphere throughout. I really couldn’t work out what was wrong. It wasn’t until the end of the class that one of the students explained that they’d all been together in that class for years and so already knew each other well. Thankfully, classes went better after that!
• Always make time in the lesson for students to ask questions. Make it clear right from the first lesson that there is no such thing as a stupid question.
• Don’t over-plan. We’re all taught to make complicated lesson plans on our TEFL courses, and these can be very helpful. But don’t be afraid to change, adapt and even simplify things as you go along. The most important thing is that the lesson is level- and age-appropriate, relevant to the students, and they leave the lesson feeling motivated and having learnt something new.
• Keep a file of all your lesson plans and resources, even if you're not so sure you'll use them again, so that you can always go back to them to re-use or re-work them as needed.
• Keep your lesson plans in one ongoing Word document per class, rather than each lesson being in a separate file. That way, you can easily search what you’ve taught in the past and, crucially, avoid using the same resource again for the same class.
• Be prepared for lessons to not go according to your plan. For example, the students may start chatting about something that interests them, and then you don’t have time to do what you’d planned. Unless you have a tight schedule for a specific exam date, don’t worry. As long as the students are speaking (and listening to) English, that’s great. And if you listen carefully, you can give them some helpful feedback next time.
• Encourage the students to listen to one another. This is more important than it sounds. Certain students like to chat among themselves or look at their phones when others are speaking, but that’s not a good idea for several reasons. Firstly, it’s just common courtesy to listen when others are speaking. Secondly, it’s more difficult to hear/understand properly if others are talking at the same time, and thirdly they may learn something new from another student, even if it’s just (inwardly) noticing a mistake or being reminded of vocabulary or a particular grammar point.
• Even after you become really experienced, always make sure you have more lesson activities/tasks than you need. This can be something as simple as another task related to today’s topic, a game or a discussion. This way, students will always have something to do, and you’ll never spend the lesson obsessing over timing.
• Encourage students as much as possible – notice what they get right and really focus on what they’re telling you. They may want tell you about their cousin’s wedding, what they did over the weekend or admit they’re finding a particular grammar point difficult…etc. So notice, listen, and make sure your students know that you’re interested in them as individuals and in teaching them what they need to know.
• Don’t correct every single mistake or try to explain everything in detail. Focus on what matters at that level and try to make your explanations level appropriate. And it’s also OK to admit if you’re not sure about something. Just promise to find out, and then always let the students know in the following lesson.
• One or two ‘bad’ classes doesn’t make you a ‘bad’ teacher. Sometimes, students are tired, or frustrated because they don’t understand, and the more you try to explain the more flustered you get. Or one particular student rolls their eyes or makes a comment in a language you don’t understand. In the case of the latter, it usually works if you smile at the student and ask if they can please say that again in English.
• Keep a list of lessons/topics that went well. Think about why it went well. Focus on when things go right and do more of that.
• About half-way through the course, or after a few months if there’s no specific end date, give students a feedback sheet, asking three or four questions about what they like about the class, and if there’s anything they’d like to do differently or learn more about. This helps you to keep lessons relevant, makes students feel heard and may even give you a bit of a boost too!
• After a year or so, think about what you like teaching best and if you can, focus more on that. For example, is there a certain level you feel more comfortable with – beginner, elementary, advanced? Children or adults? Business, general or another type of English (e.g. academic, aviation…) ? Do you prefer classes or private teaching? Teaching at a language school, in a private school or finding your own clients? In this way, you can find your ‘niche’ specialism and build on your experience.
• Finally, you can find website and book recommendations on my ‘Useful Links’ page.

Do you have any comments, or advice to add? I’d love to hear your take on things! Please do write in the comments section below.