11 Things That Would’ve Made Me A Better English Teacher Abroad
Training for teach abroad programs tends to follow a formulaic approach. The volunteer teachers have a few introductory sessions about the country. Their orientation might include some basic teaching and language classes. The volunteer teachers go sightseeing and there might be some icebreaker activities to help the new teachers to get to each other.
These activities can’t hurt your teach abroad experience. Yet there’s a deeper layer of preparation needed to truly be an effective English teacher abroad. You’ll want to look beyond the subject matter and delve deeper into the teaching and student culture of the country. This will increase your chances of being an effective English teacher overseas.
When I ended my teaching English job in Namibia, I had to face some uncomfortable truths. There was so much I wish I had done differently. These lessons still haunt me as I wonder what impact I truly had on the Namibian high school students that I taught.
As the teach abroad industry continues to explode, more honest discussion is needed on the effectiveness of foreign teachers. These tips will help increase your classroom performance so that you and your students get the most out of your teaching.
Eleven things that would’ve made me a better English teacher abroad
1. An education degree.
As the old adage goes, teaching is hard because it matters. It’s a profession that can be challenging no matter where in the world you do it. A teacher with a degree in education will be best equipped to tackle classroom challenges faced abroad.
I came to Namibia as a native English speaker with a bachelor’s in journalism. My spoken English helped me with things like correcting grammar and noticing obvious speech and reading deficiencies. However, I wasn’t prepared for lesson planning or how to work with students of various literacy levels. And when a few of my students acted out or seemed bored, it was tough to pinpoint new classroom management strategies.
When you add teaching in another country to working with students whose native language is not your own, things get even more complicated. That’s why I’ve gained a healthy respect for the craft of teaching. This doesn’t mean that a teacher without a degree in education cannot be effective. After all, when it comes to teaching abroad, impact can be measured in several different ways. Still, there are skills like classroom management or literacy education that can’t be mastered in a few weeks or months and are extremely critical to your students’ pass rates.
2. Shadowing local teachers.
I am a believer that there is no orientation or TEFL session that can substitute shadowing local teachers. If it’s not built into your first few weeks of orientation or work schedule, initiate this yourself by asking the principal once you arrive at your site.
By watching local teachers in action, you can get a feel for what your students are already used. That way, you don’t deviate too far that it throws off their learning curve. You can also observe what is not working and get insight into what you can do differently.
This could be something as simple as noticing local students snap their fingers to get a teacher’s attention instead of silently raising their hands. There are many cultural nuances that you’ll pick up in your classroom. The earlier you’re aware of them, the easier you can navigate them.
As a teacher in Namibia, shadowing was not a part of my own teacher training. Yet it would’ve been an empowering and insightful route into my teaching position. Instead, I felt like I had to start from scratch with getting to know my students and the classroom environment they were accustomed to.
3. Local language skills.
While you can slide by without speaking the local language, it’s definitely not advisable. Your colleagues will open up to you more when you show effort in immersing yourself into their culture. You’ll feel less like a foreigner and more part of the team when you can participate in the staff room banter. You’ll also be able to follow your students’ side chatter during your own lessons as they inevitably default to their mother tongue.
The reality is that you might not be in-country long enough to become fluent. However, take some free time every evening to learn new phrases. Make an effort to use them during the school day and you’ll start to pick the language up.
4. Visiting student homes or communities.
Looking back, too many months passed without me knowing my student’s home lives. I’d watch some of them walk down a dirt road back behind my house to their villages and wondered what their evening would be like. Or, I’d stroll past the school dormitory but never step foot inside.
As a result, I was missing out on understanding a huge part of their lifestyles. This would’ve given me insight into how to approach my classroom each day. For example, I would’ve discovered that my students often walked long distances to and from school in the Namibian triple-digit heat. When they got home, they often had to take care of their siblings or help with chores like cooking or cultivating.
A tour of the school dorm would’ve enlightened me to the difficult environment that my students were living in at school. For the longest time, I had no idea that they bunked five or six to one room on four small mattresses. Their rooms also had broken windows that made them freezing in the Namibian winter. This simple insight would’ve helped me understand why my students would often appear to be exhausted during class or not complete assignments.
5. Asking about the students’ biggest challenges.
Foreign teachers should have conversations with a local person who understands the challenges most students face. This could be a social worker, the school principal, a youth leader, or anyone who truly understands their personal struggles.
I remember when I learned that the girls at the high school I taught went through menstruation without painkillers. It was also shocking to learn that some students in the country didn’t have access to enough sanitary products because their families didn’t have enough money. These kinds of facts will help you be more aware of what you’re up against in the classroom. You’ll develop the empathy and flexibility you will need for your students. And you can then adjust your classroom environment to fit their needs.
6. Studying the local curriculum.
When I was a volunteer teacher in Namibia, I was given syllabi for the subjects I was assigned to teach. However, they didn’t make much sense. That may have been a result of them not being explained thoroughly enough. You’ll want to make sure you ask several people to explain the syllabus to you clearly. Ask them to break down what the required number of assignments and exams there are per term if any. You should also find out which specific topics you’re required to cover. If you don’t you could find yourself at the end of a school semester behind on required assignments your students need, as I did. This is again, where shadowing a local teacher for a few weeks is extremely useful. Don’t forget to take a look through other teachers’ lesson plans and at students’ past assignments too.
7. Not being too smiley with students.
As a teacher from the U.S., I was leaving a more smiley teaching culture for a country where teachers were generally sterner. Being overly friendly quickly caused some of my students to lose respect for me. My chummy approach impacted my ability to establish authority. I realized that a firmer tone would’ve been best since I could always relax it later on. However, it was almost impossible to reclaim my authority once I had been too soft.
Shadowing local teachers would’ve helped in this arena too. You don’t have to model everything that they do, but if you know what the students are used to you can decide how much you want to veer away from their method while still commanding your student’s respect.
8. Researching ways to teach with limited resources.
Before I moved to Namibia to be a volunteer English teacher, I was informed that my school would have limited resources. And yet, it never dawned on me to research ways to teach with few resources before I arrived at the school. And when it was time to teach, I was met with two and three students sharing one small textbook. Some days my students would arrive in class with nothing to write with or on. In hindsight, these were challenges that a more seasoned teacher could have advised me on beforehand. This is why it’s crucial to research workarounds to situations that might arise at your placement before you leave for your site.
9. Localizing lessons.
As an American, I often tailored my English lessons to include American music. This was always fun, but after some introspection, I realized there was value in placing emphasis on local culture too. I needed to be mindful of subconsciously idolizing my own culture over my students’. Students might also digest what’s more familiar to them better and be able to participate more than when you introduce a totally foreign element. There are also plenty of topics in the local culture your students may not have learned or been exposed to yet. This could be anything from highlighting historical figures, socio-economic facts, current events, and more.
10. Speaking slower.
When I arrived in Namibia, I was speaking at the same pace and intonation that I would with Americans. However, some Namibian English speakers had trouble understanding me. This was my first look at the different variations of English accents. I learned to slow down and enunciate better. Over time, my students and colleagues caught up. So keep your accent and speed in mind if you’re interacting with people who haven’t interacted with many people from your country.
11. Staying longer.
Most teach abroad organizations offer a variety of program lengths that you can choose from. My own was for a minimum of a year in Namibia with the option of extending. I ended up leaving after eight months because I was hired within my organization.
Teach abroad assignments can vary from a few weeks to a year or more. Depending on how quickly you adjust to your teach abroad job, it could take you half a year or more before you start to get a grip on your job, the school, and the local culture. Its why many volunteer teachers echo the same feelings about how things finally came together at the end of their teaching placement. Therefore, you might want to give yourself at least two complete school years to really put your best foot forward. And by picking a placement that is a minimum of an entire school year, your departure won’t disrupt or leave a teacher gap in a class by your leaving in the middle of a school term.
Teaching abroad is not an easy job!
Teaching in another country is an exciting opportunity. You’ll get to meet new people and probably have some pretty life changing experiences along the way. Yet with all these gems, don’t underestimate the responsibility that comes with the task you’ve been given. As a foreign educator, you hold a lot of power over someone’s future. That shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Are you currently teaching overseas? Or have you taught in another country before? What lessons did you learn along the way? Share your thoughts in the comments below!