Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I'm wondering what kind of mistakes :doh: the people here made when they were newbie teachers. In my case it was probably everything in the book.

Anyone wanna share?

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Fun question! :)

Since moving to Korea my spelling has become (checks dictionary) atrocious. Once I misspelled (checks dictionary) badminton only to have my 12 year old student point out the mistake. Very (checks dictionary) embarrassing!

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Most of my mistakes were/are trying to explain something in Japanese. Everyone went/goes away none the wiser.

Just 2 weeks ago I was showing a picture of an eel (and it isn't really the best cartoon eel) and I repeated told them it was a cricket. They didn't seem to want to believe me and I thought it was because the picture was a little misleading.

Last year I told my nursing school students "asthma" was a "brassband performance."

a brassband performance that causes shortness of breath, wheezing and can be life-threatening.
:pop2:

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

That's when I say, "Good job! John is paying attention! A special point for him" :)

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I made the mistake of not being strict in my first few classes. I was totally unprepared especially in the whole area of discipline. They walked all over me.

Everytime a newbie asks me for teaching tips I always stress that you have to be a total hard *** for the first couple of weeks until the kids realise that you are the boss. After the (battle) lines have been drawn then you can relax and be yourself. Do it the other way around and you are up against it.

-livinginkorea

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

yeah, now i intentionally misspell words and give a bonus point to the student who identifies the error. it makes them pay closer attention to my writing and is a safety net for my creative spelling. :loco:

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

i made this mistake too. After going from teaching at a language school to teaching at a government school once a week (in Turkey), I got the shock of my life. The kids were so badly behaved. The local teachers used to smack them about, and even that didn't always work.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

My biggest mistake is that I used to think I couldn't take the local language (for me, here, Korean) out of the classroom. I taught kids and I expected so little from them, I wanted them to speak only English, but I didn't know how to enforce that rule. I thought it would be impossible to create an English-only environment. It took me over a year to figure out that a simple reward system works wonders.

ANYWAY, in the meantime, I resorted to using some Korean in class myself. This was an idiotic idea. Once, while playing cards with a group of 6 year olds, I wanted to say "good job/ well done" (jal-hae-sseo) to the kid who had won. Instead I said "you show off" (jal-lla-sseo). Thank God they laughed.

I think I'll sift through my 13,000 other mistakes and try to find a good one now.

Karen

Finding that it's hard to be a hard a$$
 

I have heard that quite a bit but I have a hard time being a hard a$$ - not that I can't be a b!tch at times :p but I find myself being more frustrated than anything. But I have only taught one week so far. Wanjan (Monday- hey, I am trying) I am going beyond introduction 'warmers' and using a "lesson plan" ACK *good nauture grin*

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I initially made the mistake of assuming that I must always be right. I've since realized that it's perfectly alright to say "I don't know" or "Let me check and get back to you." Before I finally realized this seemingly simple point, I couldn't count how many times I had launched into an explanation only to then realize that I didn't understand the language point well enough to give a clear, concise answer.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

In addition to the good mistakes mentioned above, I was also far too slow to recognize the power of electronic dictionaries, YouTube, and videotaping student presentations. Many students have grown up digital, and pandering to their obsession with electronic consumer goods makes class feel more modern and relevant. Likewise, emailing each student feedback on both papers and oral presentations seems more effective than just passing back evaluations in class.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Apart from the usual classroom management, discipline and grammatical mistakes, I suppose the hardest thing was getting the level right when speaking to the class e.g. talking to beginners too fast and using language they'd have no chance of understanding (phrasal verbs, present perfect) and making things too easy for the higher levels by talking more slowly than I should have.

As for gaffes made when using their language, I have loads :doh: Like the time I went to the bank and said I wanted to make a cheque really angry :lol:, or worse, after lunch with my then new girlfriend's (now wife's) parents saying that after such a great lunch I was ready to make love! :eek: (I meant to say I was ready to burst!)

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Oh, and the time I wanted to ask an elderly lady where I could find a shoe repairers and instead asked where the nearest 'gigolo' was. Great stuff.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

i liked all of your writings about mistakes but we err to learn.

We learn by stumbling
 

As the old proverb goes, "we learn by stumbling."

Stumblers like myself like this saying - and sometimes we even learn too!

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I've noticed that I acquired a slight lisp sometimes when I'm speaking English. I think this has something to do with speaking Japanese and/or katakana English in everyday society.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Interesting. I've rolled my 'r' since living in Italy.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Excellent...I now know everything that I am about to do. :lol:
The only evidence I've now read this, a different of expression of my face...:becky:

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Biggest mistakes: not to follow through (either with rewards or discipline) and not being prepared. Always always have a lesson plan and prepare for eventualities (such as time left). I also made the mistake of addressing the children with their English names which they find cool BUT when push comes to shove you want to address them with their real names to make sure they listen...

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

hey everyone!
well, i'v been teaching since october 2008, so only a month so far :p and till now my biggest mistakes have been using Arabic in class... i'm teaching 1st n 2nd years at university, -in Tunisia, my home country -, they'r english majors, and they'r kind of not happy with this thing... but i'm using Arabic only when i feel they didn't get the explanation i gave them in english...
another mistake's rather done out of forgetfulness, i sometimes forget 2 ask the questions i'm supposed 2 ask my students within a lesson, though i prepare my course notes beforehand... but anyway, i'm always trying 2 learn from my mistakes and not 2 do the same thing twice, though 2 err's human :becky:

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I paid too much attention to my dressing. I thought I had to change every day. The students soon started to throw funny names at me.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

hey! I roll mine too and I teach in France... amazing:becky:

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

:lol::lol::lol:I´ve made that mistake one or two times too. I go into explaining, and then I can´t finish.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I'm a new teacher myself, so I'm noticing and trying to correct mistakes as I go. I think the biggest one so far is me talking too much or not giving the students enough time to answer my questions. Which I must say is unusual given that I'm a quiet person by nature. When I let them do the talking it makes my job so much easier. Live and learn!

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Hmm, I've noticed that people don't change everyday... still haven't started doing it myself, though. I just recently started teaching in Dalian. Just curious, what kinds of funny names should I look out for?

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Pink Lady,

If I to pick one piece of advice for a new teacher, plan your lesson from what you are exactly going to write on the board, handout, and even say, and plan at least 2-3 exercises...always...every class. I've had some lessons that I spent hours on, and my students ran through them in mere minute. Then you're left with nothing. If you over plan, you will always use it in the future. It will not be a waste! AND HAVE FUN!! I don't understand all this 'you have be to so strict and stern'. My students are learning quickly and we are having a blast. By far, we are the loudest class in the building! ;)

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I think my biggest mistake was feeling like I couldn't rely on my boss to help me. I was fresh out of college and suddenly in the position of head teacher at my school, and for the first three months, I felt like I was on probation and constant surveillance (as my boss goes in and talks to my adult students after every class). It was really nerve-wracking.

I really should have asked more questions then, since I was being charged with creating an entire curriculum from scratch, new flashcards, and was taking over 70% of the school's classes- there were no notes from the previous head teacher, and my boss could have helped me so much in understanding what the children, adults and babies were used to so that I didn't alienate them entirely.

Regardless, now I know to mention things often with him, whether they are small or big, good or bad, and with that repertoire, I'm able to balance the needs of being a good and fun teacher while understanding what my boss needs from me as a manager.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I think being a "hard a$$" is a bit strong wording, but the idea of maintaining control, I've found is really important.

I just started teaching a month ago (no experience, no training) and the biggest mistake I made was with my one class of 5 year olds during my first week. We were doing nursery rhymes, and I was saving some colouring sheets for the last 10 minutes of class. With around 20 minutes left, they wanted to colour and started chanting "colour, colour". I basically gave up and let them colour. I realized my mistake after I'd handed out the sheets. They were good for the rest of the class, but since then, every single day, they have continually yelled for colours. Now, about 3 weeks later (I have made a point not to let them colour since then) it is barely starting to subside.

To clarify, it is important to be the one in control, not to be mean. I still did fun stuff with my students since then, and I am still very popular with the students in all my classes, but because of that one incident, it is still one of the most difficult classes for me to control.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

My biggest mistake so far, since I haven't been teaching long, would be speaking too fast! Especially being American, we tend to speak too fast!

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Yup, speaking in the students L1 is a big sin. But sometimes this can't be helped, especially at lower age groups. One of the mistakes that a new teacher can make is talking too much. Language classes are distinct from regular classes.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

Talking too much, yeah. That reminds me of those years in training. I had a teacher who used to stress on that fact, requiring us to do not more than 40% of the talking in a spoken English lesson. It wasn't easy.

Re: Mistakes that new teachers make
 

I guess it is not so difficult if you keep in mind that your primary job is to make the students talk. You ask the same/similar questions to lots of students, and that consumes plenty of time.