EF TEACHER STORIES

I teach in hopes to spark interest because teaching allows me to be creative with my students everyday. I love teaching them new things and helping them learn English in different ways. Being able to witness their minds at work and seeing the excitement on their faces whenever they’re able to produce and showcase their language skills is quite frankly the most rewarding part of my job. I teach to provide a supportive environment for my students to blossom and I especially enjoy being a part of building their confidence in their English studies.

Last October I started a university course to become a certified teacher in America and the UK. It included a lot of modules on differentiation in the classroom and looking at what obstacles are stopping students from succeeding. One quote that really stuck with me was “Kids do well if they can, we presume they do well because they want to”. I started looking at what barriers were there to stop children from doing well. These things included looking at home life or what type of learner they are. This new outlook has helped me tackle different situations in a classroom and has made me a better teacher and manager. This has been one of the highlights from last year.

The reason I teach is that education is a two-way process whereby while I’m teaching, I’m also learning from my students. It inspires me to see the dedication from my learners, the commitment to grasp the English language and the application when they deliver their projects, debate or when they are just having general conversations with their peers. I feel fulfilled when my students reach a point of trying to challenge me which then leads to an informative unplanned interaction. As a teacher, it tells me that not only are they listening but they are also thinking critically about what I’m saying.

Being a teacher at EF has opened my eyes to a whole new world of togetherness which has taught me to be patient and considerate. To all teachers out there, let us use the powers that we have to uplift and enlighten our future leaders. 

"What I've learned in China" is such a wide topic as we never stop learning new things, but mastering how to use chopsticks doesn't seem like something that belongs on this list.

#1. I'm very grateful for our staff at EF, teaching me some Chinese words here and there on a weekly basis. It's hard to learn a new language and especially one as daunting and difficult as Chinese, but the patience of our friends at EF makes it a little easier and I'm grateful for that.

#2. Working in China has taught me so much, but without open-mindedness and some cultural awareness, these lessons may just pass you by. Be adaptable, be courageous, and be open to change, for you might just learn something new.

I have been working at EF for almost 5 years. Being a teacher and working with kids is amazing. I have come to understand that everyone has their own differences and develops at their own rate. I also know that every day I will be making an impact on someone's life. Watching students have that “light bulb" moment makes everything worthwhile. And I also can be a life-long learner, teachers are required to take professional development courses to renew their certificates periodically. Being an educator allows me to keep learning and growing in knowledge.

I arrived in October of 2019, with a brand-new undergraduate degree and no idea what to do with it. But as the months went by and I entered 2021, I began to reflect on what the past 2 years have taught me.

The first is my ability to get through, literally, anything. There may have been lots of tears, breakdowns and tubs of ice cream eaten along the way, but I can and will get through. Flexibility is my superpower. The second thing this experience has taught me is that you are constantly learning. Online teaching was not something I ever saw myself doing. I didn’t have the confidence in my own abilities to teach my students successfully. But COVID saw the switch to online classes overnight, and soon I was teaching Small Stars and Highflyers online like I’d been doing it forever. My confidence in myself and my teaching abilities has grown so much because of this time. Something I will always be grateful for.

Even through pandemics and uncertainty about what the future holds, I wouldn’t change a thing. I am excited, if not slightly nervous to see what the rest of the year brings. My time in China will be a great story for the grandkids.