Congratulations! You are the new ESL teacher! You are the new ITINERANT ESL teacher. Your administrators are happy you are here to take on the task of teaching English to the students who don’t speak it and your non- ESL colleagues smile at you and ask you questions that make you realize that they have no idea what your job is.
It is exciting and daunting at the same time, even though you have the knowledge, the theory, and passion behind you.
I’ve been there, too. Armed with the degree and ideals and very little practical advice that could actually be implemented in real life.
Thankfully, I had an amazing mentor, from whom I learned the ropes and who has become my dear friend. But at the same time, I think it is wonderful to have a list of what to do or not to do when even the most basic questions arise (and believe me, they will and no question you want to ask is stupid)
In this blog post, I am going to simply break down the elements that are important for you as a new teacher to know and keep in mind. Hope you find this helpful and can supplement it with your own discoveries.
Planning and preparation
Needless to say, teaching is a peculiar job in a sense that in order to teach, a teacher should know what they are talking about and how to proceed in order for the information to be absorbed by the students. And naturally, you will need time to prepare for that. If you are a regular education teacher, or a classroom ESL teacher at one school you likely have a planning block built into your schedule.
However, if you are a “floater”, i.e. an itinerant ESL teacher who travels between schools or, in some cases, between districts, that could be a tricky part.
What should you know about prep?
Think about it in terms of a few questions:
- How much time do you spend traveling between schools?
- Are you in charge of making your own schedule?
- When is the best time for you to focus?
There are two sides to this: when you are an itinerant teacher, you will have more flexibility and likely create your own schedule. Therefore, you can add a prep block wherever you feel it will be most beneficial. On the flip side, when you are a traveling teacher, a lot of your day is “eaten up” by namely that – traveling – and finding the time to plan during the school day is really difficult. Like, do-I-skip-lunch-or-do-I-have-a-lunch-prep-or-do-I-prep-at-all-during-school-hours kind of difficult.
I’ve done it first thing in the morning, right before classes. I’ve also done it right after a class/session when my mind is still fresh from the lesson. And I’ve done it at the end of the day, when the classes are over. And you know what? If somebody asked me, when do I have prep, my answer would be – all of the above times every day because it can get quite hectic to be running around between schools.
The fact of the matter, though, is that you have to find the time to prep. Period. Even if it is 10-15 minutes, and even if it is on your own time.
Do make use of common prep time with regular education teachers, who have your students, if at all possible.
Don’t try to plan for longer than a few days. Things change often, especially in the ESL world.
Traveling teacher lesson planning
You may be teaching one student, you may be teaching a few at a time. If you are an itinerant ESL teacher, there is rarely a curriculum that you can follow.
So what can you expect?
- You will need to create a lot of your own materials or look for a lot of materials online.
- You may need to adjust classroom materials in order for your students to understand.
- Many times you will have to clarify to the student what has been taught in regular class, and therefore staying in close communication with the classroom teacher is a must.
- There will be times when it will be harder to teach not because of your lack of knowledge and expertise but because of differences in personality, learning and teaching styles, lack of sleep (either yours or the student’s), or just plain full moon. And that’s ok. Shake it off and move on – tomorrow is another day. And you are a good teacher.
Do have a plan B for your lessons.
Don’t assume anything – always always warm up with questions for your students to see what they already know.
Students
Ah, your students. What can you expect? Anything, really.
Before you jump into the actual teaching, remember that just like you, they are human.
Do:
- find out as much as you can about them before the beginning of the school year (and when a new student comes in mid-year)
- establish a contact with the parents. They will be a great source of support and information for you.
- get in touch with their classroom teachers and discuss a possible plan of services
- find out whether you need to screen your new students or whether they have already come to you as part of an ESL program.
Don’t:
- try to make a rigid plan of how and what you will teach them, especially in the first weeks
- try to implement all of the above points in one day. Establishing a rapport with the students’ parents and classroom teachers takes time.
Being organized as a traveling teacher
What’s that? I’m kidding, of course. But being an organized AND itinerant ESL teacher can prove to be a challenging task.
Here are a few tips that I’ve adopted over the years:
- Laptop is a must.
- Use Google docs to organize your files:
- by school
- by groups of students that you work with
- by individual students
- by test scores (if applicable)
- by any other piece of paperwork and communication that you may need (permission to service letters, communication with parents, etc.)
That way you can access all your documents anytime, anywhere. Plus, it’s good for the environment:)
– Use a rolling laptop tote. So much easier than lugging everything in a large tote on your shoulders.
– Have a folder of “emergency” worksheets or activities.
– Carry your own scissors, glue, ruler, pens, pencils, dry-erase markers, regular markers and highlighters, and erasers. Plus, some extra. Because there is always a need for a sharpened pencil and an eraser and there are never working dry-erase markers when you need them.
Do expect to end up with way more papers than you know what to do with.
Do know that yes, it is hard to keep and stay organized when you are a traveling teacher. But that it is possible.
Do expect that right about mid-year, you will start forgetting things and it will get a bit more difficult to keep track of schedules at different schools. That is normal. And it is also absolutely normal to put EVERYTHING in the Reminders section on your phone.
Don’t rely on the fact that you will have the same room every time.
P.S. One of my favorite places to shop for school supplies is, of course, online on Amazon. For whatever reason I get overwhelmed and distracted when I go to a store, so Amazon.com is the perfect place for the “oh-look-squirrel” person like me. Check out the links below and you will find everything you need and more:)
Colleagues
If you are an itinerant ESL teacher, chances are you are the only one in the district. Depending on the size of your district and the makeup of the ESL program, you may have another colleague or two who are also ESL teachers. But the vast majority of teachers in your district are non-ESL. You will meet a lot of people with tons of different attitudes towards English learners and ESL program in general.
- Many will be excited and willing to understand and learn from you.
- Many will actually be relieved that you are there, especially if there is a newcomer student in their classroom, and will turn to you for help.
- Some will think they know better and you will have to be a bit more diligent and diplomatic about reaching them.
- A few will be reluctant to work together. And you will have to work that much harder to finally get through to them because in the end – it’s not about you or them but about the students.
Do offer to share your knowledge and expertise with other teachers. Even if it’s a daily one sentence email tip to them. Or a passing comment in the hallway. But if you have a chance to do a presentation on what is ESL and how do work with it – absolutely go for it! You’d be surprised how many teachers still do not know and really appreciate the information.
Don’t take anything personally. And don’t forget that you may be the only person who gets what it takes to learn social studies or science in a language that is not your own.
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