Teaching is the most rewarding profession in the world. But like other social jobs, it is challenging, responsible and energy-consuming. In addition to that, not everyone is happy with their working conditions or learners they work with.

Teachers are prone to professional burnout and that’s why they need to insure their well-being. If practising meditation isn’t for you, here are some ideas on how to feel good in your lessons.

1. Find something interesting in every student and learn from them

A lesson is not just about grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. It’s about human interaction, exchanging experience and learning from each other. See how much useful things you can get from the lesson: some ideas for the next book to read or film to watch, where to go sightseeing, which programmes to install and even what to cook for dinner. So you are not only shaping your teaching skills but you learn more about life.

2. Think about something which makes you happy

Teaching is not a bed of roses and sometimes the lesson goes just the other way round. Admit it, some individual learners or groups might drive you up the wall. When I started teaching, I had a very problematic group in terms of a discipline: unruly 9-year-olds. I was playing games and dancing all the time to catch their attention and after 5-7 lessons, I wanted to strangle every single learner there. What was the way out? I imagined how I would spend money from those lessons: on new earrings and a beach holiday. And I felt better. So think about some pleasant things in your life to remain calm and stable in some stressful situations.

3. Receive recognition

When you are good at something what you do, you feel important and needed. The desire to have the approval lies in most of the human deeds. Prepare very well for your lessons and set some creative and practical tasks. When I see that my students are content, my self-esteem as a teacher boosts.

4. Talk to your fellow colleagues and you will realize that you aren’t the only person who is frustrated and have doubts. Although I truly believe that teaching is the best thing for me, sometimes I’m reluctant to conduct lessons, I often forget some necessary words and give complicated instructions. Nobody is perfect and all teachers face difficulties even very experienced ones. If you work online, share what troubles you in teaching forums and other teachers will support you.

5. Have a diary of success.  We forget our victories very quickly but always remember our failures. Remind yourself about your achievements by keeping them in one place: your certificates, the examples of high scores of your students in the international exams, the examples when you were effective as a teacher.

For example,

19.03 A lesson with Olga.

 I presented the Present Perfect in an engaging way. Then I organized three speaking activities on the topic of Travelling. My student was happy as she is crazy about visiting new places. She told me that that lesson had been one of the most interesting. I’m a super teacher!

  1. Start doing something new. Break the same old routine in your lessons. Add something new: an activity, a technique, a method. Read more articles and books on teaching and apply information to your lessons. Not all experiments will work but they are worth trying. The novelty will motivate you and your learners.

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