Is there a line to be crossed in our first class?
This text is a sort of reflection about one of my English teaching experience when I become the teacher of the extension group at UFPB. Generally, itās believed that youād just understand, or know what is to become a teacher when you have got studentsā group(s) of your own. Iām not a hundred per cent sure if things go like.
During my under graduation course I used to imagine how it would be when finally get an English group to teach, spending a quite long time modelling behaviour, based on some teacher and professors who inspired me, fantasying about situations, and foreseeing what it would look like. Besides, I got involved with projects and had experienced the internships very successfully, until one day it finally happened, I discovered I was going to teach a group of students.
Everything was so hurried up, and there were mingle thoughts running up my mind like āOh my God, Iām so happy,ā and āWhat the wreck Iām gonna do now?ā, also āI am a ārealā teacher now,ā because at the moment everything would be different, as if Iād always studied for that specific moment. Besides, lots of āifā questions popped in my head āif they (students) donāt like me?ā, or āif they donāt understand me,ā were some examples of them.
I spent that whole weekend planning my first class/moments in class, because I had some important aspects to consider so far: there was large group of students, around 26, they had no book, the classroom was a bit small (at that point I already knew where classroom was).
Monday finally arrived, and I was very nervous. I got very early in the room to organise every little detail Iād thought and written in my lesson plan. It officially started at 5:35 pm, right after the tutor introduced the project and programme.
When I started teaching the most remarkable things I can remember were my legs and voice shaking so much. After a few minutes everything got so much better, because I didnāt feel like I was in a strange place, in fact, it was quite familiar. So, I tried things like pairing them differently, asking to stand up and sit down (several times, by the way), explaining about elements of introduction. I could notice that students were involved and supportive.
When I got home I was so happy with the result of the first class, and I started reflecting about my place as teacher: did I finally cross that (imaginary) line of being a teacher? After some time thinking about it I concluded I had already crossed that ālineā way before my first class.
I realised that I had other important experiences that immensely helped me in my first day like the projects I was in and my internships. In my opinion, thereās no a real line to be trespassed when it comes to be a teacher or not, because it is all a matter of feeling like one or not. Now I question what kind of experiences have you had to feel like a teacher?