09 January 2015 / by Elena Riches

The Art of Teaching English

Just like writing and art, teaching English comes naturally to some whereas others have to be taught.

Before I did the OxbridgeTEFL course and became a teacher I can safely say that I had no idea whether I would want to take up teaching as a profession, neither did I know if I would like it. At the time, I did it as a means to getting a job if I failed to procure a position in doing something I already knew how to do. However, in the process of gaining my certificate (which involved taking on real students in real classes) I knew there and then that teaching English is what I wanted to do.

So, what makes a good teacher?

I think the first and foremost item at the top of the list is that you have to actually ENJOY it because, if you don't enjoy it then that's going to come across to your students and they, in turn, won't feel comfortable with you teaching them.

The second item is about listening, questioning and being responsive to your students' needs. Without these things you will not know what they need to learn and that will make your task fruitless.

Third item is to be flexible. If you are too rigid in what and how you will teach, you may not grab the attention of your students causing them to become bored and unyielding.

Thereafter, comes teaching style, care, humour and support in no particular order. Having said all this, I have only been teaching English for a year so I don't claim to be an expert by a long shot as these things come with time and practice. What I do know is that I enjoy what I do and hope that my students enjoy it too. And, if teaching is something you have thought about doing but you're not sure if you'd be good at it, why not take the plunge and go for it. After all, what do you have to lose?

As I stated at the beginning, I hadn't planned on taking up teaching full time, neither had I planned on liking it as much as I do but, I'm so very glad I went down this route because for once in my life, I am doing a job that I enjoy, that gives me satisfaction and enables me to travel the world should I get bored of Barcelona and wish to relocate to another country.

As Shakespeare once said, "The world is your oyster" and, it certainly is when you know how to teach English!

05

October 2011
New Apple iPhone fails to wow fans.
by Radmila Gurkova
Tim Cook, Apple's new CEO, who took over from his iconic predecessor Steve Jobs, announced its long-awaited fifth iPhone release. However fans were less than impressed! httpv://youtu.be/5uQLLpVNG5c ...

05

October 2011
New Proposal - Learn Languages at the age of 5...
by Radmila Gurkova
After reading this article, I'm surprised at the Tories new policy proposal, what with their anti-European stance . I completely agree with the idea of learning a language at an ear...

04

October 2011
Oxbridge TEFL - World Teachers' Day 5th October 2011
by Radmila Gurkova
World Teachers' Day was introduced by UNESCO on the 5th of October 1994 and has been celebra...

30

September 2011
Friday Meeting 30/09/2011
by Radmila Gurkova
Topics covered this week: - S1 (Beginners) Course. - Add more vocabulary? (not in the Target Language) - Oxbridge Students. - A new project called 'learning capsules'. ...

29

September 2011
Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library). You are going to kill it!
by Radmila Gurkova
If there is something you hate doing, please stop doing it now! Make your hobby a business. Ingredients: Patience and Passion.httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4VIDEO Written break down ...

26

September 2011
Oxbridge TEFL - Teaching Methodologies - some examples...
by Radmila Gurkova
Have a look at some of these videos about teaching methodologies... Let us know what you think of them. The Direct Method (also the Berlitz Method) httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiQvG-fvzLM &n...

26

September 2011
Current News - Conjoined twins separated by Great Ormond Street doctors.
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dJTUAFr9T0...

26

September 2011
The 9/11 Decade
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIhTBEUr_80The Clash of Civilizations is a theory, proposed by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington i...

23

September 2011
Friday Meeting 23/09/2011
by Radmila Gurkova
Developing the S1 Beginners Course Teaching Beginners in any language can be a daunti...

21

September 2011
Oxbridge TEFL - How to remember tenses and tense formation in English
by Radmila Gurkova
Have you missed this important session about tenses in English? Do you find it difficult to remember all these names with Latin roots? Do they not make any sense to ...