Anki Web (Free)

AnkiWeb is the online version of Anki, a spaced repetition learning application for Windows, Mac OS, iPhone, and other platforms. Anki helps learners to acquire phrases and vocabulary by presenting them to the user at spaced intervals. In order to use AnkiWeb, a learner must first download and install the desktop version of Anki. They can then add English language ‘decks’ to the application and sync the decks to AnkiWeb, which they can use from any computer with a web browser and internet connection.

ELLLO (Free)

ELLLO (English Listening Lesson Library Online) is a free website providing lots of listening exercises for English learners. You can hear people from many different regions and countries, as well as non-native speakers. There are over 2,000 short conversations with people talking about a variety of different subjects and answering questions.

English Central (Freemium)

English Central is an innovative solution for language learners who want to practice listening and speaking. The website allows users to view videos relating to a variety of topics with English audio and English and Japanese subtitles. Voice recognition technology is used to analyse the pronunciation of the learner’s recorded utterances, and evaluate how closely they match the native speaker’s pronunciation.

ESL Lab (Free)

ESL-Lab contains: short listening activities for beginning and intermediate students; listening quizzes for academic purposes, e.g. TOEFL/TOEIC Tests ; 20 minute ESL vocabulary lessons for students to improve their vocabulary and pronunciation; language learning tips; and long conversations with video.Most quiz screens include a pre-listening exercise, a listening exercise, and a post-listening “TOEIC/TOEFL” style multiple choice test.

Inogolo (Free)

Inogolo features audio recordings of the English pronunciation of the names of people, places, and other words not found in most dictionaries. Users are able to search the database of names, and check both the phonetic and audio pronunciations. Users can browse names alphabetically or by tags. A variety of useful pronunciation guides are also provided.

Lang-8 (Freemium)

Lang-8 is a free online writing exchange, which allows users to write diary entries – much like a blog – in the language they are trying to learn. Once a diary entry has been written, the user can publish it, and then other Lang-8 members, specifically those who are native speakers of the language that the user is trying to learn, will correct the diary entry. As of March 2011, Lang-8 had over 250,000 users, studying many different languages.

PopJisyo (Free)

PopJisyo provides pop-up language translations for English websites or blocks of text. When you move your mouse pointer over an unknown English word, a Japanese translation and explanation of that word appears. Alternative translations are provided with words which have more than one meaning. A list of popular websites is also provided, such as Google News, from which the user can select in order to apply the pop-up interface. It is also possible to generate a word list from all the words in a web page or block of text.

Quizlet (Free)

Quizlet (availble both through the browser and via a free iOS app) provides a fun and free way to learn foreign language vocabulary and grammar. A variety of different games are provided (such as dragging and droppping vocabulary items to their definitions, spelling words after listening to them being pronounced, etc) and there is a large variety of course content (such as foreign language vocabulary lists) already available.

Rhinospike (Free)

Rhinospike allows learners of foreign languages to request audio recordings of texts written in the language they are studying being read aloud. Japanese learners of English can therefore request native English speakers to make audio recordings of the texts they are studying. In exchange, they are requested to make audio recordings of Japanese texts for learners of Japanese wishing to hear such texts read aloud.

Simple Wikipedia (Free)

Simple Wikipedia is a very similar to the main English Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that anyone can read and edit for free. However, it differs in the respect that it is written in “simple English” in order to be more accessible to non-native speakers of English. Simple Wikipedia’s guidelines suggest that articles should be written using the most common 2000 words of the English language, and grammar should be simplified wherever possible. There are currently over 60,000 articles in the Simple English Wikipedia.

Do you know any other good free websites for English learners? Please share your recommendations in the comments section below.

In this interview, Marc Helgesen talks about the changes the English teaching community in Japan has witnessed over the last 30 years, the importance of “positive psychology” in language pedagogy, and what it’s like to be a Buddhist monk for a month.

You started teaching English in Japan in 1982. Since then, what have been some major changes you have witnessed, both for better and for worse?

Hmmm. So many changes.  The biggest thing, for what we do, is that English is more real now. Everyone has the internet so they can – if they want to – connect with English speakers everyday.  Back then, trips abroad were expensive and rare. Now most young people assume they will go aboard, for vacation if nothing else, with some frequency.

In terms of the profession, I’d say at the university level there has been a real increase in professionalism. Early on, degrees in TESOL were rare. Now most universities won’t even consider people without at least an MA TESOL or related.

In the eikaiwa (PLS/ private language school), I think the biggest trend as been toward chains. Eikaiwa’s have always been businesses, but there used to be a lot of small schools with a dedicated teacher/owner who was trying to make a living while also making a difference (and a few other teachers, most of whom only stayed for a few years).  Now the chains are mainly businesses.  I know some have trainers who work really hard, but most schools seem less than concerned about qualifications.  This is in contrast to some other countries in Asia where PLS teachers at least have a CELTA/DELTA or other training certificate.   By the way, don’t get me wrong. I think a lot of the best teaching in Japan goes on in eikaiwa schools. But overall I don’t have a lot of confidence in the chains.

One other thing I have to mention is Extensive Reading (ER). It has become HUGE in Japan and many other parts of Asia.  This really has been a grassroots, teacher driven thing.  On the gaijin (foreigner) side , back in 1997, Rob Waring put together a special issue of the JALT Language Teacher on the topic.  The same year he, Julian Bamford, myself and a few others did the first ER colloquium. That has continued. On the Japanese side, similar things have gone on – the “read a million words” movement, etc.  Anyway, ER has been growing. Foreign publishers have traditionally counted on coursebooks to provide the bulk of their income. I know of one major publisher for which readers recently passed coursebooks in terms of revenue.  And coursebooks are still big for that company.  I’m approaching this not in terms of sales (I don’t write readers) but am delighted to see the growth.  And I’m happy to have recently been chosen chair of the Extensive Reading Foundation (www.erfoundation.org), an organization which tries to promote ER.

English Firsthand, the textbook series that you co-wrote, has been incredibly popular in Japanese schools and universities. Are you currently involved in any further publications?

I’ve been very lucky to be able to focus on Japan and Asia. I think a lot of popularity has been that focus.  And we are continuing to develop it. I’m lucky that my editor, Mike Rost, has always had the attitude with every new edition, “What are we going to do that hasn’t been done before?” So that let to us being maybe the first coursebook to put the CD in the book. We had one of the first websites, etc.  Right now we are looking at how to handle technology. An LMS (learner management system).  Also, the whole publishing industry is trying to figure out what will happen with ebooks. No one knows but it is exciting.

So we are still developing the English Firsthand series.

Something else that I’m spending a lot of time on trying to create a link between English Language Teaching and Positive Psychology (The Science of Happiness).  I should emphasize that Positive Psychology is real science (controlled experiments, replicable studies, etc.) and not the “power of positive thinking” which is more like a philosophy.  Anyway, I’ve written a lot of activities that combine positive psychology with (I hope) clear language goals.  I’ve got a website where folks can download them free.  It’s at www.ELTandHappiness.com.  At last count there were over 50 activities, articles, posters, etc.  Is there a book in there someday?  Maybe, but at this point I’m happy to get things into teachers’ hands for free.

In 2007, Paul Knight claimed that Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) was “the current dominant methodology” in teaching English as a foreign language. The English Firsthand series also seems to be written with the CLT approach in mind. Do you think CLT still dominates in 2013? Will it continue to do so for the foreseeable future?

I think CLT is dominant in Europe and the USA, but don’t think it ever has been in most of the EFL world – and keep in mind I strongly believe in CLT and think that is reflected in my books. But western-published ELT books probably account for 20-30% of ELT books in Japan. The vast majority are those thin books from the Japanese publishers.  Most are either not communicative or not very communicative.  Also, even among western-published books, many are used in different ways. I remember once talking to the editor of a best-selling text from a foreign publisher. She said, “I think it is popular because it is whatever you want it to be.  If you are communicative, it is a communicative book. If you are audio-lingual, it is  ALM.”  My response way, “Sort of sounds like a book that doesn’t believe in anything.”  I believe in CLT but don’t think it is the only game in town.

Tell us why you decided to become a Buddhist monk for a month. Is it an experience you would recommend?

It was a fantastic experience. I spent a month in a temple in northwest Thailand on a program called “monk for a month.” I ordained as a novice monk.  I had the same lifestyle as the Thai monks except that the dhamma (teachings of the Buddha) was in English.  It was highly disciplined: up at 4:00 for chanting, walking alms (collecting donations from laypeople) barefoot, rain or shine, meditation, study, no food after noon.  Interestingly, a lot of the things I thought would be tough weren’t (and vise-versa).  No food between noon and sunrise the next day – no problem.  No beer –and this was a hot summer in Thailand – not and issue at all.  Those beautiful, flowing saffron robes – a total pain to wear. There are very specific rules about how to wear them. Kind of like kimono in that sense.  The chanting in Pali (the language of the Buddha) and not understanding what I was saying — that was frustrating. I found it interesting that my brain would sometimes match sounds for Pali into Japanese, even though the translation had nothing to do with the meaning:  bhagavato, arahato (“hato” that’s pigeon!)  samma (“Samma” – a fish!)  san buddhasa (“san buta” – Three little pigs).

One of the issued for me was hair. I had figured out how long it would take to grow my hair back.  I learned what an “attachment” (in the Buddhist sense of the word) it was. So now, 2 1/2 years later, my hair is still very short.

The program I went on no longer does temple stays in Thailand. But they do have a “monk for a month” program in India.  And they have a “Muslim for a month” program with Sufis in Turkey. Both sound fascinating (http://monkforamonth.com/).

If folks are interested, there’s a PechaKucha (short, 6:40 minute) presentation I did on my experience at http://tinyurl.com/marcmonk.

Marc Helgesen is professor in the Dept. of Intercultural Studies, Miyagi Gakuin, Sendai. He is the author of over 150 books, textbooks and professional articles on ELT and has done teacher training workshop on five continents. He is Chair of the Extensive Reading Foundation. Beginning Summer 2013, he will teach a course on Positive Psychology in ELT in the grad. school at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies.

Don’t forget to check out Part 2 of this interview!

1. Name cards

I have found name cards to be absolutely essential when teaching classes bigger than five or six students.

You can either create the name cards yourself, which helps you to familiarize yourself with your students’ names at the beginning of term, or get students to create their own, or, even better, create each others. The latter option can be made into a nice first-lesson information gap activity.

I also use name cards as one of my classroom management techniques. After the name cards have been created, in every subsequent class, I place the name cards randomly on the students’ tables before the lesson starts. The students are then required to sit at the table with their name card. This prevents friends from always sitting together, and keeps the group dynamic fresh from week to week.

2. Name card holders

I’ve tried many different kinds of name card holders. I’ve found these to work the best. They’re cheap, and come in a variety of fun colors! Name card holders are necessary if you want to see each student’s name from the front of the class, and pick out individual students to answer questions.

3. Color stickers

I have found that the students in my teaching contexts (Japanese universities) are very reluctant to speak out in front of their classmates, answer questions, or volunteer for activities when called upon by the teacher to do so.

Stickers work very well as incentives to students who volunteer to do any of the above things (answer questions, volunteer for activities, etc) without being asked individually by the teacher.

In my classes, every time a student volunteers for an activity, or answers a question, or generally participates actively in the class, they receive a sticker. The stickers are attached to the students’ name cards. At the end of the semester, the number of stickers each student has helps me to decide what their ‘participation’ grade should be, and whether, if they are a borderline “B/C” student, for example, they should go up to a “B” or down to a “C”.

The students know that the stickers will have an effect on their final grade in this respect, so they really do work as incentives for classroom participation.

4. A toy bomb

This is the toy bomb from Gibson Games’ “Pass the Bomb”. The way I use it is:

1. Students all stand up in a big circle
2. The teacher nominates a lexical set such as countries, animals, colors, etc
3. The teacher names the first item, e.g. “France”, “Dog”, “Red”, etc, and starts the timer on the bomb
4. The teacher passes the bomb to the first student, who names another item from the set
5. The student passes the bomb to the next student, who also names an item
6. This continues until the bomb explodes!

Students love this activity, and it’s a great way to get them thinking quickly, and to review key words or word groups relating to the topic of the lesson. I also use it to practice ordinals, months, days of the week, etc.

5. Conversation cards

I made a large set of conversation cards, each of which has a topic printed on the front (e.g. “School”, “Pets”, “Travel”, “Baseball”, etc) and ten questions on the back relating to the topic. The students use the cards to practice quick-fire question and answer in pairs. It’s a useful filler for the beginning or end of each lesson.

6. Spare whiteboard marker

You can guarantee that when you really need one, all the whiteboard markers will have disappeared or run dry!

7. Stock photos

Stock photos are useful for many different topics and activities, but especially describing appearance or personality characteristics. Having high-quality glossy color photos beats dingy black and white copies any day of the week! Google Images is a good place to find stock photos for free. There’s also iStockPhoto, if you don’t mind digital watermarks.

8. Classical music compilation CD

Music is a great teaching tool, but it can also be used indirectly as background music when students are focused on other tasks, particularly writing activities. Having a little music in the background helps to break the deafening silence you might experience in classes comprised of extremely shy students. It can also be used to help time activities, so instead of saying to students “You have five minutes”, you can say “You have one song!”.

I’ve found classical music is the most unobtrusive kind, but sometimes also use other kinds of instrumental music. Classical music has the added benefit of allowing you to tell students that listening could be making them smarter and more productive!

9. Magnets

Magnets are great to have for pinning worksheets, photos, etc, to the whiteboard. They can also be used as counters for games.

10. Not pictured: patience and a sense of humor

I’ve also found that a lot patience and a good sense of humor are indispensable attributes for EFL teachers!

What’s in your TEFL box of tricks? Let me know in the comment section below!

English: The World Language. ©Paul Raine 2012

English is spoken as a second or foreign language by an estimated 950 million people worldwide (Saville-Troike, 2006). This is in addition to the 427 million native speakers of English. But how did the English language reach the stage where it is used and understood, to a greater or lesser extent, by more than 1 in 7 of the world’s population?

The first stage of the global spread of the English language was the result of the empire building of Britain, otherwise known as imperialism. The second stage was the result of the cultural, political and economic preeminence of the USA, otherwise known as neo-imperialism.

The British Empire

At its height in 1922, the British Empire was the largest in history, covering a quarter of the Earth’s land area, with a population of over 450 million people.

The British Empire, circa 1922 (image courtesy of WikiMedia)

The primary aim of education in the colonies became the acquisition of the English language, and the future academic and financial success of those living in colonized countries came to depend mainly on their English language ability (Phillipson, 1992).

After World War II, when the colonized countries started to gain independence, the English language maintained its influence by being selected as an official or national language by “leaders who were themselves the products of colonial education” (Phillipson, 1992, p.182).

These factors contributed to English becoming either the sole dominant language, or an official language, in over 75 territories with a combined population of over 2.2 billion people (Crystal, 1997).

The American Empire

On July 4th, 1776, thirteen British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard declared independence and founded the United States of America. The U.S. economy has since become the largest in the world, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world’s sole superpower.

The global reach of America’s cultural, political and economic influence has contributed significantly to bolstering the dominant position of the English language in the 20th and 21st centuries.

America has spawned a significant number of global musical influences, including Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Madonna, and Bob Dylan. On a global stage, the economic and cultural dominance of Hollywood is unrivaled.

In the information age of the 21st century, a reported 45% of web-pages are written in English, a situation not hindered by the fact that 8 of the top 10 most visited websites in the world (as of Sept. 2012) are based in America.

The future?

In the 21st century, China is positioning itself to challenge America for the position of the number one economic power in the world, but whether this will translate to linguistic dominance remains to be seen.

Neither political, economic, cultural, technological nor military might alone can give one language international prominence. It takes a sustained combination of all these powers to achieve that. As a case in point, Japanese did not become a dominant language internationally (although it did increase in popularity), despite Japan’s incredible economic success from the 1960s to 1990s.

Having said this, linguistic world orders do change. English was preceded by Latin as the world’s dominant language, which was put in place by the Roman Empire and perpetuated by education and religion. But the days of Latin were cut short by the rise of the British and American empires described above.

It is theoretically possible that English itself will, at some future time, be succeeded by another language, promulgated by the economic, political and cultural might of its native speakers.

English belongs to everyone

The English language is now argued to belong to everyone who speaks it. Native speakers are said to have forfeited their right to exclusive ownership of English in a global context. Indeed, native speakers of English are outnumbered more than 2-to-1 by non-native speakers of the language. The fact that English now belongs to “everyone or to no-one” (Wardhaugh, 1987) would seem to imply that English will maintain its position as the global dominant language throughout the 21st Century and beyond.

Bibliography

• Crystal, David (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP.
• Phillipson, Robert (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. Oxford, England: Oxford UP.
• Saville-Troike (2006), Muriel. Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP.
• Wardhaugh, Ronald (1987). Languages in Competition: Dominance, Diversity, and Decline. Oxford, UK: B. Blackwell.

I taught English in Belarus!

TEFL qualified Gemma Toovey found struggles and triumphs when she opted to teach English in Belarus, a  lesser frequented part of the former Soviet Union. I asked her more…

1)      What are your first impressions of teaching English in Belarus? What is the first thing you noticed? What’s the part you have found most challenging?

Like lots of cultures, Belarus takes a much more ‘relaxed’ approach to work, especially where there are foreigners and therefore visas concerned. My pay arrangements were slightly…improvised. I didn’t really have any idea what I was going to until I arrived and met up with the director of the school. Nothing dangerous but just a little unnerving for a Brit who quite likes to know what’s going on…

There wasn’t really much support or training offered as to how or what I taught;  no resources, colleagues or on the job training.

Having said this, there is something great about being the only native English speaker these students had ever met. I clearly did things in a different way from what their education system had taught them to expect from such a course, and their appreciation of that was clear to see. A really nice rapport developed over the course of the semester and there wasn’t one student I wasn’t sad to leave when the time came.

2)      Was it hard to find and fix up a job?

The way things are done is very much still word of mouth and someone who knows someone…and most of my work emerged that way once I was in the country. The initial contract which enabled me to get a visa was arranged through an existing contact I had. International organisations like International House would probably be the best bet for securing a visa and getting into the country.

3) Can you give me an idea of a typical working day?

My week consisted of two lessons in a primary school teaching 7 year olds from scratch, two lessons at an IT company doing advanced conversation practice with businessmen and women, two evening classes each with two groups of young adults at intermediate and advanced level, and one free conversation class for any of the language school students who wanted to come. It was a bit of an odd working day, but left me lots of time to plan lessons and also meet up with friends. I definitely didn’t feel overworked, but could’ve taken on private students or probably other classes if I had needed the money.

4) How did you find your students? What is the biggest challenge in your teaching and where have you already seen success?

My students were great – they were the real plus of being there. One group especially really adopted me and in the classic Belarusian way, went out of their way to make me feel welcome in their country. They worked hard, but once we had built up a good rapport, I think they really enjoyed the lessons too, and made them enjoyable for me. The kids were the only challenge as far as teaching was concerned – it was my first experience with children and my first experience with low levels, and I still look back and slightly wonder why I ever said yes!

5) If there is one piece of advice you could give to someone coming to Belarus to teach, what would it be?

You have to be thick-skinned to cope with the initial frustrations and the fact that nothing seems straightforward. But it is so worth it; once you get to know them, the people are the most generous and open I have ever met.

Find out more about Belarus.

Why not share your experiences, struggles and joys about teaching English in a largely forgotten location below?

There is no doubt that the demand for native-speaker teachers of English in Japan, Asia, and the rest of the world is high. In many cases, the only requirement for getting an English teaching job is to be a native speaker. The native-speaker teacher, however, is not necessarily the best role-model for the second language learner.

Aiming for native-speaker competence can be counter-productive

Native speakers speak, by definition, a native variety of their first language. It can be counter-productive for learners of the language to attempt to precisely replicate the native speaker’s version of the language. This is true not only for pronunciation (a ‘good’ accent is often the last thing a learner of a second language masters), but also vocabulary and grammatical constructions. Instead, a learner of a second language should aim to be a competent speaker of that language as someone who has learned it as a second language rather than someone who has acquired it as a first language.

Competent non-native speaker models

As English teachers in Japan, then, I believe we should be exposing our students to competent non-native speaker models of English. Furthermore, I think that we should be encouraging them to aim to be competent non-native speakers of English as their ultimate goal. A ‘competent non-native speaker’ is by no means meant as a condescending or patronizing term. On the contrary, it is to be viewed as a considerable achievement, and one which I will be trying to obtain for many years to come in relation to my Japanese ability.

Examples of competent non-native speakers

By way of example of what I consider to be a speaker approaching this level, I offer this video. Here we have a young Japanese male who obviously possesses expertise in his specialist area as well as competence in English as a second language. This is what most learners of English in Japan are aiming for, and I think we should appreciate what a considerable achievement it is, and refer to model English speakers such as this in preference to the generic and ubiquitous American or British English speaker featured in so many English learning resources.

For my own part, there have been several non-native speakers of Japanese over the last five years of learning the language who have inspired me to study harder and improve further. One among them is Patrick Harlan, AKA “pakkun”, who came to Japan in 1993 and over the next 15 or so years acquired a very high level of competence in both spoken and written Japanese.

Becoming a competent non-native speaker is a lifetime challenge

Now, while I may be intimidated by his level of Japanese (and possibly also his intellect, having graduated, as he did, from Harvard University), I still consider his level of Japanese a realistic and obtainable target for my own. However, the same cannot be said of the Japanese of any of the 130 million native inhabitants of Japan. A native-speaker level of Japanese is not my target. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on becoming a competent speaker of Japanese – it means I want to become a competent non-native speaker of the language; something which I regard as a considerable and lifetime challenge.

Finally, I just want to note that I am not intending to suggest that the native-speaker teacher has nothing to offer the language learner. In fact, native-speaker teachers have a lot to offer the language learner. I simply mean to suggest that perhaps they are not always the best role-models for language production, and needn’t be regarded as such.

The same staffrooms are also awash with lively, perky (often young) teachers, fresh from their first stint overseas and energised by the lively summer school atmosphere. Many only entered TEFL as a means to see the world but fell in love with teaching and stayed.

Having been in many a TEFL staffroom, the young ‘n’ fresh example is really a joy to see. However, without at least one eye on the future, it’s surprising how quickly the perky can turn into the jaundiced.

I think this is largely because TEFL is a very odd profession. Fragmented, largely unregulated and with worldwide opportunities, it presents limitless and exciting options on the upside. The downside is there is little structured career progression. This means if you don’t make it work for you, then 10 years after starting your first TEFL job, you could find yourself teaching exactly the same lesson for exactly the same money.

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this but my guess is that for most of you 18-25 year olds, this is not your idea of a career.

So if there is even an inkling that your gap year could turn into a career, I cannot stress how important it is for your bank balance, job satisfaction and sanity to keep learning and keep progressing. Consider every opportunity that comes your way both personally and professionally.

On the professional front there are many examples of people who have made TEFL work for them and turned it into a career. One lady, for example who was teaching English to pilots in Khazakstan went on to write an English for Pilots book for Oxford University Press. Others become teacher trainers, language school owners, materials developers or work for publishers. Some become specialists; teaching English for academic purposes, for example, taking the chance to leave their comfort zone and try something new.

TEFL is a ‘people’ profession and opportunities can arise simply through your everyday contacts. I know of one relatively new teacher who was offered a partnership with his boss to open a new school. This happened simply because the boss liked and trusted him – factors that clearly trumped paper qualifications and experience. TEFL can be like that.

So, if you want to get on in TEFL,  ensure you look for ways to keep on keeping on; you can teach that lesson better, you should brush up on that sticky grammar point and do consider the DELTA after a couple of years to help you get into management. Upskill and keep abreast of the new technology that is set to revolutionise the way we learn languages in the future.

It is a very wide TEFL world but if you’re not sure what you want out of TEFL yet, then here is some general rule of thumb guidance; if you start to lose interest in teaching and learning, then it’s time to get out and get yourself a ‘real’ job.  And do it before it’s too late!

What are your plans in TEFL?

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Interested?
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During this two years, I have taught businessmen, children, university students and everyone in between. I think I can safely say that I started out as a pretty bad teacher; high on enthusiasm, aspirations and friendliness, low on nouse, materials, and contacts. I wouldn’t say I’ve corrected everything in my teaching repertoire, but I’ve certainly become, or have been made aware of my strengths and weaknesses.

So, a few tips for those starting out.

1. Take advice

Resenting your employer for providing training, criticism or advice is only going to detract from you as an employee and as a teacher. Everyone has areas that they could improve in the classroom; take advice on board with an open mind and learn from your own mistakes.

2. Prepare for some bad lessons

A new teacher said to me the other day that he is petrified of the idea of one of his lessons going wrong. I reassured him by saying that one of his lessons – probably more – will definitely go wrong. Lesson plans just don’t work out as thought; students turn up with no desire to learn; you may even have an off day and lose your power to teach. It’s not so much about having a bad lesson but how you react to it. Don’t be afraid to scrap a lesson plan if it’s not working. Equally, don’t let one bad lesson knock your confidence too badly. Pick yourself up and try again.

3. Go by the book

Thinking you can re-invent the rule book is naïve. As a newcomer, you may have strong ‘opinions’ on grammar, American vs. British English, Fluency vs. Accuracy or any number of things. Until you’ve got some real experience, it’s probably best just to go along with the pre-defined methods until your own style and ideas are properly formulated.

4. Be prepared

Whoever you are teaching, finding the right materials, sticking with them and developing them is essential. This could be about choosing the right textbook, or finding the approach that suits you. Being prepared is about having clear ideas. What are you teaching, why, and how? If you can answer these questions you will (hopefully) never be caught out.

5. Get along

With who? Students, fellow teachers, other staff at work. You are the foreigner. Be willing and ready to adapt to local culture rather than trying to change it, or complaining about it. If you do, you will find the experience much more rewarding and successful.

As I may have mentioned before, I am taking on a new challenge as an English teacher at a junior high school here in Japan starting in May. In some ways it feels like I am going back to basics, so reviewing what I’ve learnt until this point has been useful for me. I hope it has for you too!