I Joined the world of ESl teaching in 2018. After a long career in health and social care I felt I needed a new challenge. As part of my previous managerial role I had delivered training to staff on how to best support clients, and it was a part of my job I really enjoyed. This combined with my love of the English language and my hankering to do more travelling now that my children have grown, seemed to lead me towards retraining to become an ESL teacher. The transition has not been without its challenges, especially in the current climate, but I can honestly say I have never looked back.

After completing my cert TESOL I flew to Malta and taught in a language school there for 6 months. To say I was thrown in at the deep end would be an understatement. I worked long hours with large classes and short breaks in between lessons. However, I learnt fast, and even though I was pretty exhausted at the end of each day reflecting on my lessons helped me to keep moving forward. The bus journey home was the perfect time just to think back over my lessons that day and analyse what worked, what hadn’t and what I could have done differently. 

Since january 2019 I have been fortunate enough to work at a language school in Brighton. Whilst students are predominantly Swedish during the winter months there are a number of groups and individual students who come to learn English from all over the world. It is since I have been working here that I decided to embark on my diploma. Something I hadn’t originally intended to do, but that now seems the next logical step to learn more about my profession in order to grow and become a better teacher. Being part of a school that actively encourages reflective practise has enabled me to feel more confident to critically analyse my teaching. Whether this is done individually, talking over a lesson with a peer or as part of a group CPD session. 

I am hoping that during the course I am given the space and opportunity to explore my teaching practice. I am looking forward to discussing ideas with course peers and tutors to help my reflective process with the aim of trying and implementing different approaches in the classroom. 

As someone who has never blogged before, I am interested so see if this helps my process of reflection. It seems a place where I can discuss difficulties I might be having in certain areas of teaching, analysing when, where and why something went wrong or didn’t quite go to plan. It also seems a place where I can celebrate and reflect back on any successes I have.