7. 13 Lessons I’ve Learned in Ten Years of Teaching English

I’ve been an accent teacher for over 10 years. It hasn’t always been easy but it was always gratifying. I’ve learned new things about English and about my teaching, and I want to share these things with you. Learn more about my English teaching training.  00:00 – My teaching journey in the past decade 06:30 – Being flexible – there is more than one way to explain something. Follow your student’s needs 12:46 – Be open – your students are your best teachers so look for what’s working and what’s not 17:27 – Clear is better than accurate – it doesn’t have to be perfect, as long as the result is clear and the student feels confident and accomplished in English 27:15 – Students don’t need to know everything. There’s a lot of important information out there, but not everything is relevant. Use what they need to know in order to transform. 30:02 – Be honest and vulnerable – Don’t expect yourself to know everything. If you’re uncertain about something, let them know and use it as an opportunity to learn 31:54 – Speak less – Being passionate is great but it’s not a lecture and they need the actual practice 33:33 – Be a coach, not a teacher – understand your role as a teacher, that it’s about getting them to take action. You need to communicate the lesson and the obstacles, to push them forward and to hold them accountable 36:00 – It’s never just about pronunciation or grammar, it’s about feeling comfortable in their own skin in English and accomplish what they want 37:18 – Even if you can’t make it, you can still teach it. You don’t need to have a native accent. As long as you know what they need to do, you can teach and coach them 40:28 – Be a translator of knowledge – simplify and translate complicated ideas into something the student will understand 41:40 – You are enough. Don’t let your accent and your knowledge and your background hold you back 44:00 – Know your worth. As you grow as a teacher, you should definitely get paid more for your services and your time 45:42 – Be organized and give clear practice instructions – review what you’ve done in the lesson and explain how to revisit it themselves If you want to hear more about some of the sounds I mentioned in this episode, check the following videos: American R, flap T, aspirated consonants If you want to improve your accent and understand spoken English better, download my free American Accent audio crash course. You can also download an interactive list of  50 of the most mispronounced words in English and master the pronunciation of those tricky words.  You want to improve but you need to practice? Join our community on Facebook – the best place to practice English online for free.