Tired ESL teachers – keep your spirits up!

Working as an ESL teacher is a difficult career for a number of reasons, and at times it can almost be a nightmare.  Teachers are often required to work a morning and evening shift with a “break” in between, which is basically equivalent to working 12 or 13 hours a day.  It’s nearly impossible to relax when you know you have to go back to work, and this is especially true if going home during the break isn’t an option.  Worse still, most ESL teachers work for small education centres that operate for a profit, which means that lessons are often booked back to back with no time in between to catch a breather.  If you work for a school that actually gives you time to plan lessons, you are the luckiest ESL teacher in the world.

SEE ALSO: Approaches to Teaching Pronunciation

One could write several volumes on the negatives of ESL teaching, but despite this, there are plenty of downtrodden teachers out there who have figured out ways to adapt, even when overworked, underpaid, and alone in a distant land.  Sometimes all it takes is an attitude adjustment and a few supplementary materials.

Anglo-Saxon Attitudes

The first requirement for overcoming teacher fatigue is a better attitude, at least towards the students.  There are certainly many reasons for an ESL teacher to be angry, especially if overworked, but this should never be taken out on the students.  In a sense, students are often the victims too because they end up with unhappy teachers.  Connecting with students and having fun in class is usually what saves teachers from total despair.

A Few Thoughts on Classroom Materials

Most ESL schools around the world provide textbooks for their teachers and require that they use them, quality control being the main reason for doing so.  Course books also save time for teachers (the lessons are already planned, often word for word), allowing the school to book lessons back to back.  A cynical teacher might therefore conclude that the book is yet another way to exploit teachers, but they really do save time.

While it is true that course books can be extremely dry and boring, the students might actually find them interesting.  After all, the book is full of unknown language, words, and phrases, so it keeps their minds occupied.  Teachers often assume that the book is just as boring to the students as it is for them, which isn’t true.  Now, what you teachers can do to break up monotony is supplement the material in the course book with extracurricular activities.  These can be anything from games to clips and articles online.

Try using articles and topics that are interesting to you, the teacher.  While this might seem selfish, it can significantly lift your spirits and make the job more fun.

Most people perk up when discussing their favourite topics, and if you are livelier in the classroom, the lessons will be more enjoyable for the students.  Also, there are books full of instant activities for busy ESL teachers, such as ‘’Lessons from Nothing: Activities for Language Teaching with Limited Time and Resources (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers)’’.

Most of these books are organized according to various topics that are common in ESL course books, making them easy to incorporate into lessons.

All teachers in the world get tired from time to time.  Take a look at this video to remind yourself of the importance of your job.