Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Chencun Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yuncheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
This question hits closer to home than I care to admit. In fact, I am still trying to figure this question out. What I do know is that to have a successful teaching career, one must have an innate ability to communicate with others. In addition to this, one must choose the right school in which to teach. In order to be a successful teacher, one must also be adaptable. These three qualities are the surest ways to have a successful teaching career. First, let’s address the concept of communication. Oxford dictionary defines communication as ‘the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium’. These mediums are utilized constantly when teaching. If one can’t communicate, no amount of training or degrees will matter. Some people, no matter how hard they try, will never be able to get up in front of people they have never seen before and not only teach a subject in a different language than that of the students, but be able to do it effectively while at the same time making money. The ability to communicate is of paramount importance because with the ability to communicate, comes confidence. Without confidence, a teacher can’t teach effectively. Confidence is akin to fear in that while animals can smell fear, students can smell confidence. Not being able to communicate effectively will lead to insecurity, and no-one who suffers from that can be a successful teacher. If one cannot be a successful teacher, then using good old-fashioned Aristotelian logic, one cannot have a successful teaching career. Choosing the right school is of great importance for furthering one’s career. The wrong school can make or break an ESL teacher’s attitude and ability to do his/her job. If you work for a low resource school that does not care about its students or teachers, then it will be impossible to have a successful teaching career. Let me explain further: A teacher’s attitude is one of the most important aspects of teaching. If a teacher feels neglected and marginalized, their performance will suffer, which will cause the students to not learn the material presented in the class. In addition to having low student motivation and participation (which will impact the teacher’s job security), the teacher’s attitude towards teaching in general will suffer. These experiences will cause maladaptive thought patterns which will further manifest into behavior. This is classic cognitive dissonance and can be detrimental to having a successful teaching career. However, if one chooses the right school, then the teacher’s attitude will remain positive, which will attract more students and result in recommendations and higher pay. Recommendations will lead to higher paying jobs which are a hallmark of a successful career no matter the field. It goes without saying that teaching at a reputable school will require the teacher to have a reputable degree and TEFL/TESOL certificate. Next, being adaptable is the key to survival. It doesn’t matter if you believe in evolution or not. It doesn’t matter if you believe that humans developed the ability to run because of deforestation on the plains of Africa. If we can imagine this situation as being real, what is the defining reason for our survival? The ability to adapt from an arboreal environment to a savannah based environment. Adaptability is what defines being a human being. A teacher must be adaptable at all times in order to have a successful teaching career. Your class is bored—adapt and synthesize a new lesson plan. Your school has few resources—adapt your approach to encompass realia and other things that cost next to nothing. Adaptability is a prerequisite for any successful career, but especially for teaching. I have been teaching for many years, and I can tell you from personal experience that being able to adapt to any given situation is a sure-fire way to have a successful career. Adaptability, communicative abilities, and choosing the right school is key to maintaining a decent living and having a successful career. I hope that my hodgepodge of folksy aphorisms and scientific ramblings do not detract from my message; being a teacher is a privilege but in order to be a good teacher, one must have the qualities listed above.
