At some point in their career, a lot of teachers start helping each other to prepare for an exam or to improve knowledge and skills. When I was a novice teacher, I used to teach low levels only. It took me some time to feel confident about my own level and to start working with anyone higher than B1. It mainly happened due to the help of my colleague, a much more experienced teacher. Now I am a tutor for several teachers myself. What can be more exciting than teaching English to our wonderful students, young and adult? Only teaching it to colleagues! 

Teaching teachers is interesting and truly rewarding for a number of reasons. 

They know how to set goals

Generally, teachers do not attend classes for fun. They usually have a goal and are ready to work hard to achieve it. They always know what they want. So, if you are a tutor for teachers, you will probably not need to motivate them or explain why they need some particular skill or exam. They are already diligent enough. And have you ever seen a devoted teacher’s notes? Everything is structured, highlighted, categorized! 

They are autonomous

A usual student generally relies on their teacher a lot. They can’t always assess authentic materials critically or pick something appropriate for their level and needs. When it comes to teacher students, it’s quite the reverse. If you are working with a certain coursebook unit, be sure that all the relevant activities will be found and done. If a speaking topic is, say, consumerism, a couple of articles will be read and a TED talk will be watched. Next time you’ll have a lot to discuss. They can make the most even of some really boring material.

They can share experience and expertise

Lessons with fellow teachers can be really exciting as all of you have stories to share. During the lessons, you can exchange some useful teaching tips and tricks, ask for advice and, most importantly, get support from someone who knows what it takes to be a teacher. It’s important not to lose the track of time though because such talks can take up a whole lesson.

‘OK, I’m off to find some teacher students!’ — you might be thinking right now. Don’t rush, it’s not all roses. Teaching teachers poses some challenges, too. 

They are overloaded with work

Preparing for and running lessons, marking tests and writing tasks, creating materials, devoting time to CPD — this list is not exhaustive. Such workload can result in lesson cancellation or the homework which is not quite done. Unfortunately, when teachers are too tired, they tend to cancel their own classes, not their students’. So, if you are a tutor for teachers, be ready to sacrifice homework at times and replan the lesson, if necessary.

Making mistakes hits them hard

I might be writing about my own trait of character, but I tend to strive for perfection sometimes. It looks as if I can’t afford a mistake, I’m a teacher. Because of that, I used to get defensive when it came to mistakes in speaking or writing. I guess it was tons of hard work for my teacher to find the right words and approach.

They can be picky

My colleague, a teacher with 20+ years of experience, once said: ‘We, teachers, are the worst students. We want to control everything’. Well, she wasn’t wrong. As we understand how teaching works, we sometimes are reluctant to give control to someone else. We want to choose the topics and materials, practise reading only at home, never record speaking tasks and use just Quizlet for vocab retention. We might be a bit stuck in our own ways and think that we know what works best for us. However, taking the role of a student and trying something new can be quite a refreshing experience.

Do I sometimes feel sorry for those who teach me, with all my lame excuses, last-minute homeworks and sulking about less favourite topics? Oh yes. But do I love teaching teachers? Absolutely. They — we — are fabulous, eager learners!

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