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ESL teachers = Bad reputation.

ESL (English as a second language) or EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers are often looked down on by the rest of the teaching world, and sometimes the world in general. In my experience, this is generally for one of several reasons.

Firstly, because it is seen as a temporary job. As something people do for a year or two before going to University, or as a break between careers. I mean, how many times have I told people that I'm an ESL teacher only to be asked what I want to do after that? But to be honest, I can't think what I want to do after that. I've been teaching English for five years now and I'm still loving every minute of it. Gone are the days of wondering how I could accidentally break a leg on my way to work so that I didn't have to endure another day in the office, or watching as the minutes dragged past one by one. No, these days I get to play games with kids, have civilized conversations with intelligent adults, chat to teenagers about movies and books, and lecture people on one of my favorite subjects - English grammar. What's not to love?

Then there are those who believe that ESL teachers are untrained, unqualified and generally pretty useless. While it is true that most ESL teachers will not have undergone the same year of training that is required to work in schools in western countries, many teachers have done CELTA or TESOL certificates that while not being very comprehensive, offer a good introduction into teaching methods and practices.

On the other hand, there are so many teachers needed in Asian and European countries that many jobs are simply offered to 'native speakers of English', which is hardly what you would call a qualification. Saying that, with enough training and support it is a great way for people to get out there, see the world and find out if teaching is something they want to do in the future.

And then there are those who say you can't teach English as a second language without being fluent in your students' language. I've found that this view is often held by those who have never actually tried to teach English as a second language. In my opinion, by using a combination (depending on the students' ages and levels) of pictures, flashcards, games, songs, dancing, actions, textbooks, drilling, role-play, and conversation, you can teach English to any student of any level.

For example, take a class of three-year-olds that have no English at all, show them flashcards of the weather, make rain, sun and wind actions, play a bouncy weather song and dance, make up a weather game, and repeat it over a couple of weeks, and three weeks later you'll ask them what the weather is like and they'll shout out the answer. Introduce new topics every few weeks, and lo and behold you've managed to teach them some English without using their language.

So, when asked on forms and documents to fill in my profession I always write ESL Teacher, even though if I simply wrote Teacher I would probably be more highly regarded. The reason is that I am proud of being an ESL Teacher. I personally consider that I am a professional. After all, I have a degree in Media and English, a Trinity TESOL certificate, and five years teaching experience. I've taught all ages and all levels of students, and am very confident in any classroom setting. Yes, maybe there are many ESL teachers out there with little experience and few qualifications, but there are also many of us who have both. In fact, in that way it's really not that different from any other profession. There are the experienced and the less experienced, and it is really the responsibility of the one to help the other.

Learn more about this author, Marama Carmichael.
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