Thérèse Marshall, what’s your WHY?

Age: 51

Origins: Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK

Current Role: Self-employed Celta-qualified TEFL teacher and translator. Founder of the English Language-speaking Zoom Community “A Sip of English”.

Previous teaching experience: 20 years – mostly in private language schools and companies in the south of Italy teaching adults and teenagers but occasionally also Young Learners. I prepare them not only for Cambridge examinations but also to boost their language skills and confidence when they need to attend interviews or give presentations/attend meetings held in English.

WHY?

I feel the need to facilitate communication among others and help students break down any barriers they may encounter along the way.

I also like to disseminate the idea that learning a new language, in this case English, can also be enjoyable not just a chore!

HOW?

I ensure that the students feel at ease in a positive learning environment that I always try to create regardless of the size and level of the class.

I make sure they know I am there for them whenever they have any language-related problems or doubts and that it is perfectly ok to make mistakes as that is how we learn.

I strive to boost students’ confidence and try to implement mindfulness techniques into my teaching approach.

I never assume that students know something, I always check they do.

WHAT?

I constantly experiment with innovative teaching strategies and try to put the ones I find effective into practice in the classroom as soon as possible.

I make a point of praising students whenever they achieve a new skill/overcome a difficulty/do an exercise well. It helps boost their self-esteem and makes them aware that they are making progress.

I try to adopt an open-door policy (with limits of course! Not on a 24/7 basis!) in that I make students aware that they can contact me in case of need if they need to speak to me privately and that they can count on my support.

I also strive to keep calm and apply mindfulness techniques to my own teaching strategies while conducting my lessons, leaving any tension, frustration and worries outside the classroom and not allowing it to influence the performance of the lesson itself, focusing on the “here and now”.

I attempt to use a calm yet motivating tone of voice with body language that shows that I am relaxed yet interested and ready to listen to what the student has to say.

I make a point of adapting my language to the level of the students. Not everyone understands the technicalities of the English language. I always try to look at the lesson aim from a student’s point of view and anticipate any difficulties they may encounter.

I am devoted to keeping my CPD up-to-date by attending seminars, conferences and webinars as well as accepting constructive criticism from colleagues when I invite them to observe my lessons and I also give them feedback on theirs.

Other articles in the What’s your WHY? series (if you’d like to contribute, please get in touch!):

James Egerton (yours truly)