In today’s blog post, I would like to share something that helps me to continuously build upon my teaching abilities. In case you didn’t know, I teach 5 languages in private and small-group classes. I also have instructors who work for me and teach 11 additional languages. You can see my team in the two pictures below. The pictures are from this year’s Instructor Appreciation event :)
If you have any questions or comments after reading this blog post, feel free to message me @ polyglotazren or email me.
A Love of Learning
I enjoy the process of becoming proficient in new skills. For example, in my adult life I have:
→ Acquired a C2 level in French and Spanish, and a B1+ in Gujarati and Mandarin.
→ Learned various pillars of business operations such as selling, recruiting, and people management.
→ Improved my nutrition and fitness levels. I am healthier today that I have ever been during most, if not all, of my adult life.
Even though my approach to learning new skills is not always the same, one thing remains constant: I always take private lessons. This is because the 1-1 attention from a professional keeps me accountable and accelerates my progress. However, I have stumbled across another benefit that I never expected which is that being a student makes me a better teacher.
Pool Gators and Pool Sharks
Let me tell you a story that demonstrates how I came upon this realization. I currently take private swim lessons two mornings a week. I am a weak swimmer because as a child, I thought sharks and alligators lived in pools and so I would refuse to go in the water. Lol. Even though I am now 30 years old, swimming is hard for me and, truth be told, I'd rather stay in bed than wake up early to do something difficult. It doesn't help that lately the temperature has been -20 (or colder) in Calgary. In fact, as I’m writing this blog post, there in an extreme cold warning in effect for my city since the temperature is expected to drop to -40 with the wind chill. Suffice it to say that nothing makes a bed more comfortable than an ice cold winter.
Despite these obstacles, I attend my lessons regularly because they are effective; I notice myself quickly becoming a stronger swimmer. Today I tread water for 48 seconds whereas I could only do it for 5 seconds last week. I also swam 15 metres with ease whereas last month I could barely swim 5 metres. Without these improvements, I would have a much harder time mustering up the energy to get out of bed in the morning, brave the sub-zero temperature, and drive to the pool.
Aside from finally having grasped a few basics of swimming, taking private lessons has allowed me to gain an important insight about a three-part positive feedback loop:
Progress is conducive to confidence. Since I felt incremental progress after each of my previous private swim lessons, I feel confident that the lessons are effective.
Confidence is conducive to consistency. Since I feel confident that my approach is effective, I continue to attend my lessons consistently.
Consistency is conducive to progress. Continuously working on a skill leads to improvement.
How this is Related to Being a Better Teacher
I happened upon the “Progress, Confidence, Consistency” feedback loop by accident. If I hadn’t been attempting to learn a new skill, I would have remained ignorant of this phenomenon. Now that I know about it, I can focus on implementing it as a language teacher to the benefit of my students.
I encourage any private language instructors reading this to enrol in private lessons for an unfamiliar skill that interests you. Pay attention to your learning journey. Some questions you may want to ask yourself are:
What parallels are there between you as a learner and the language learners you teach?
What similarities (or differences) do you see between your personal teaching style and your instructor’s teaching style? How does it feel to be on the receiving end of methods you use to teach your language students?
What do you appreciate about your instructor’s teaching style? How can you transfer that to the language classes you teach?
What mistakes does your instructor make? How can you avoid making similar mistakes when you teach languages?
When you feel frustrated or discouraged, what does the instructor do to support you and/or what could they do differently to support you better? Use that insight to motivate your students when they are in a slump.
If you take private lessons to learn something new and reflect upon your learning experience, you are highly likely to teach more effectively.