As I come towards the end of my time teaching English out here in Strasbourg, I’ve been thinking more about the lessons I’ve learnt here rather than the ones I’ve given. Out of these moments of reflection, I have come up with a list of ten things I’ve come to understand as a result of working here.
1. It’s not about you…
We often forget that hiding behind another’s face there is an entire world, an unfathomably complex existence concealed inside another person, and you will never know everything that happens within the life of someone else. Despite being younger, high school students are exactly the same; they have their everyday worries, the concerns about friends and family, and their hopes and joys for the things that lie ahead, even if that just happens to be a sense of anticipation for what they’re having for dinner or what they’ve got planned for after the lesson finishes. Just as with dealing with people in the retail industry, when a pupil is particularly distracted, unhelpful or moody, 9 times out of 10, it’s going to be caused by something other than you. Yes, as the teacher, you’ll probably face some of the backlash, and it’s still your job to try and get them to focus on the task at hand, but their lack of interest may not be just a reflection on you and the lesson you’re trying to give.
2. But don’t think you’re never to blame.
Sometimes the students won’t be paying attention to what you’re doing because the lesson you’ve designed isn’t engaging enough for them, or it doesn’t cater well to their abilities and interests. Sometimes you can end up saying something a bit crass or poorly phrased that will upset a pupil in some way. The pupils sometimes take their frustrations out on you as an innocent bystander, but that relationship and exchange can work in both directions, and there can be days when you end up being rather too curt or snappy with the class because of something else that’s happened to you that day. The main thing I’ve learnt in this situation is to acknowledge what’s happening without needing to explain it, and apologising to the people you’ve negatively affected, pupils or otherwise.
3. It’s just you up there…
As a language assistant, I’m often sent groups of up to around 15 students at a time and told to give a lesson, usually on the topic of my choice, and so for the vast majority of my work, I am the sole authoritative figure in the room. There is no teacher I can call on for help, with class discipline, teaching practice, or anything else I may be struggling with, and there’s no one else to take over for a minute when I need a break. Thankfully none of my lessons are longer than 55 minutes, so I at least get a minute or two every hour or so to stop and catch my breath, but once the lesson starts, I’m in it for its entirety. I’ve learnt to become resourceful though, and I now appreciate the value of a well-timed partner discussion exercise, meaning that I can get a moment to myself, rather than being on the spot in front a group of teenagers for the full amount of time.
4. But you have similar people in similar situations who can help you out.
One of the joys of being a language assistant through the programme I’m doing is that you’re provided with a network of contacts with the other assistants, of various languages and countries of origin. So while you are the only one in your exact position, working with your teachers and classes, there are many other who are facing similar issues who might have found solutions that could also work for you. Likewise, there are times when you’ll find a way of navigating a particular problem that can help out your colleagues, and so the sense of community grows. For language assistants in particular, this can prove rather useful when it comes to lesson plans, as these can easily be shared and used in your own classes for those days when you’re lacking inspiration.
5. You can only prepare so much…
Lesson planning is something I find particularly useful, and almost all the assistants I know out here do it to some extent. Granted, some get given material to work on by the main teachers at their schools or aren’t required to give their own lessons separately, but everyone has some sort of plan or idea to work from when teaching. That being said, no two classes are exactly the same: they will vary in terms of working speed, concentration, willingness to speak, and so on. A lesson plan that works really well with one class may not go down so well with another, and so no matter how prepared for a lesson you may feel, know that things may change as you go along. Like planning an interview or a conversation, you can only ever know half of what’s going to be said, if that. Prepare, but know that things will very rarely go exactly according to plan.
6. But going in with no preparation is not recommended.
However, don’t make the mistake of not doing any preparation. As the old adage goes: “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. Standing in front of a class who are waiting for you to entertain them and keep them busy for the best part of an hour is so much easier when you have a clear idea of what you are going to do for that time. Sometimes you’ll have a great idea and the time to develop it into a fully-fledged lesson plan that will keep the class engaged and enthused for the most part, but when you don’t have the time or inspiration, even just going in with a vague semblance of an idea or a theme to discuss is better than nothing. Clutching at straws is never fun, and it’s certainly not something that’s improved by having an audience.
7. Laughing and having fun is all well and good…
Everyone has had those teachers that believe in absolute silence and having no fun during a lesson whatsoever, but no one is going to want to sit in a classroom for an hour going through something incredibly dry without the slightest relief. I’ve learnt to find those points in the lesson where I can create a more fun moment, even if only briefly, to give both the kids and myself a short break in an otherwise heavy-going class. Obviously there are times and subjects that require a greater degree of sensitivity when it comes to incorporating light relief, but sometimes it can be something as little as finding a more positive or progressive note to end the lesson on. After all, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
8. But there are times when you need to focus and knuckle down in lessons.
As much as having fun can help the learning process, there are times when there is no substitute or shortcut for settling down and putting in the hard work. There is only so much you can do to make a task easier before you just need to get on with it, and similarly, there comes a point in lessons when you need to take control of the situation and get down to work, without the distractions and frivolities.
9. You are not going to change the lives of these kids or make them fluent in English…
The position of an English language assistant in France lasts 7 months, and it’s even less in other countries. Even for an experienced linguist who’s particularly well-trained at learning languages quickly, 7 months is a relatively short time to achieve fluency. Therefore, despite what some English teachers out here may seem to think, we as assistants aren’t going to be able to transform classes of failing pupils into near-native English speakers in a matter of a few months. Beyond the purely linguistic, you’re also unlikely to make a huge difference in any other area of their lives, given that you’re not even with them for an academic year, and I rarely see any one of my students more frequently than once a fortnight in most cases. As I said in #1, the effect you have on these students is relatively minimal, and much less than some people might like to think.
10. But you just might do or say something that has an impact on one of them.
That being said, I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of students come up to me at various points and say truly wonderful things, like how much they feel their English has improved in the past few months or how they always look forward to my lessons. Admittedly, the reasons for this have been more to do with my relaxed attitude and willingness to let them relax a bit and take the lesson in whichever direction they choose, as long as we’re speaking in English. In general, my rule so far has been that unless it’s clearly inappropriate, either in terms of maturity or their level of English, I’m willing to discuss pretty much any subject that they bring up.
In Search of Lost (Reading) Time 