I was one of those "advanced" students who refused to speak up. Sometimes it's a personality issue that goes deeper than language learning. I was/am terrified of making mistakes and appearing stupid or low-class. This fear is not logical and can't be reasoned with. Coaxing those students out of their shell might be a job more suited for a psychotherapist than an English teacher.
I completely agree and that's exactly my point. I perfectly understand that there are valid reasons why someone may not want to speak, such as shyness, embarrassment, fear, social anxiety, and even learning disabilities. I am not saying that these things don't exist. What I am saying is that regardless of WHY students don't speak, the end result is that they don't speak, which is very demotivating, frustrating and demoralising for teachers in general, not just me. It also depends on what each individual teacher wants out of the profession and how they see their role. My mum works in Kindergarten with 30 3/4/5-year-olds every day (she obviously doesn't TEACH subjects per se) and she loves it: it's what drives her in life the most. She likes helping them gain spacial awareness, understand simple patterns like same shapes and same colours; she is happy when they manage to colour into a given shape rathen than out of it. It's wonderful and uplifting to see that there are people like her that make it their life mission to help children make their first steps into the world. Personally, I derive absolutely NO pleasure from seeing these TINY steps (TINY for me and for the kind of teaching that I like and do). Not all teachers derive pleasure from these little things or from HELPING STUDENTS COME OUT OF THEIR SHELL. Personally, I don't because what I want to give and GAIN from my teaching is imparting knowledge, discussing it and why not, being challenged on it by my students. Helping students become less shy is not what pleases my teacher brain and you are absolutely correct when you say that people that struggle with that should probably see a therapist and not a teacher. The same thing goes for people with special needs. It's extremely heart-warming to know that there are teachers who love and specialise in helping students with special needs, so they can make the small steps forward I mentioned earlier. But again, it's not what pleases ME personally. I'm not saying I'm right and everyone else is wrong: this is just what works for ME (and trust me, a lot of other teachers feel the same and there is absolutely no shame in that). So dealing with people that make it hard for me to focus on fluid and constructive teaching for any of the valid reasons mentioned above is what demoralises ME personally as a teacher. So all I am saying is that I am not the right teacher for people that struggle with any of those aspects because I don't have the tools to deal with that. I hope that clarifies what I say in the video and thanks for bringing this up 😉
I only found your channel a few weeks ago and I love it! Specifically I was researching pronunciation for a student and your videos were/are invaluable...I hope you have a ball as you go forward in your 'new' life !! Thanks for all the brilliant information!! And for all the geeking out!
Thank you so much for saying that, Gail! Analysing specific little topics and elements that are not usually covered is exactly what I've always wanted to do so thank you for confirming that I've succeeded! 🤩❤️
I received a notification about another comment from you but I can't find it anymore but I'll reply here. Your idea of becoming a teacher trainer is brilliant and I had it, too! I wanted to start a whole segment of my channel on teaching teachers the grammar, pronunciation and learning processes they need to be fully ready and confident; but given how badly Englogic performs, I didn't want to start investing even more time in it with a very high chance of failure. But your comment tells me that it wasn't a silly idea to begin with 😊
No, not at all it was a brilliant idea! But of course you should move on if it’s not working for you, also it’s so interesting to hear you being so open and honest about the difficultiea of getting a youtube channel going. (I deleted the comment you’re referring to because just after I wrote it I opened another of your videos where you clearly state that you are in fact aiming your channels at teachers, so I thought I wouldn't take up your time saying something you already know given that you always reply to comments..;)) It’s a really nice habit of yours ;))
Sam, you brought up so many important topics in the podcast. I don't even know where to start... Well, first and foremost, being a teacher is no mean feat indeed. Your students, their parents and employers have extremely high expectations you're supposed to live up to and some people think that you have to bend over backwards to do your job. Also, burnout. It happens because of working with people
Every would-be teacher must be fully aware of the fact that very few students will be motivated and committed. Others are highly likely to be like that at the beginning but not the whole time. It's crucial to realise that you do your part well. Also, I do agree with you that a teacher doesn't have to be a clown
I perfectly understand every word you said (I'm a teacher) but don't worry... I know the effort and passion in every video you upload. And thanks for all your videos and I hope you keeping uploading more and more 🤘
Thanks for sharing your teaching ethos.😃 I was thinking a video suggestion, like using monologues to help us express artistically in English, but maybe not after hearing you don't enjoy filming yourself.😅
Haha you have given me a great idea! I won't perform a monologue 🙊 but I'll use this to talk about the difference between the English foreigners learn and the English we actually speak. Thanks! 🤩
As for the advanced students who just wouldn't talk, some people are not wordsmiths and they are bad interlocuters, no matter what language they speak in. Some people lack general knowledge to maintain a conversation. It's just a fact. We have to embrace and accept such people too without having high expectations
Yes, I know there are thousands of valid reasons why people may not want to speak, but that doesn't change the fact that it's demoralising for teachers, at least for me, so I'm glad I stepped away from it because it wasn't good for me anymore. Thank you so much for sharing all of this! 🤩
Thank you for the video. This time the volume is high and the sound quality is very good. If there is such a tool as a compressor in your recorder then you can try using it and make your sound a little more than perfect. 👌
Thanks again for the suggestion because it did pay off! I don't have a compressor (or anything fancy for my audio at all for that matter 🙊😜), but I've definitely made a note of it 🤩
I was one of those "advanced" students who refused to speak up. Sometimes it's a personality issue that goes deeper than language learning. I was/am terrified of making mistakes and appearing stupid or low-class. This fear is not logical and can't be reasoned with. Coaxing those students out of their shell might be a job more suited for a psychotherapist than an English teacher.
I completely agree and that's exactly my point. I perfectly understand that there are valid reasons why someone may not want to speak, such as shyness, embarrassment, fear, social anxiety, and even learning disabilities. I am not saying that these things don't exist. What I am saying is that regardless of WHY students don't speak, the end result is that they don't speak, which is very demotivating, frustrating and demoralising for teachers in general, not just me. It also depends on what each individual teacher wants out of the profession and how they see their role. My mum works in Kindergarten with 30 3/4/5-year-olds every day (she obviously doesn't TEACH subjects per se) and she loves it: it's what drives her in life the most. She likes helping them gain spacial awareness, understand simple patterns like same shapes and same colours; she is happy when they manage to colour into a given shape rathen than out of it. It's wonderful and uplifting to see that there are people like her that make it their life mission to help children make their first steps into the world. Personally, I derive absolutely NO pleasure from seeing these TINY steps (TINY for me and for the kind of teaching that I like and do). Not all teachers derive pleasure from these little things or from HELPING STUDENTS COME OUT OF THEIR SHELL. Personally, I don't because what I want to give and GAIN from my teaching is imparting knowledge, discussing it and why not, being challenged on it by my students. Helping students become less shy is not what pleases my teacher brain and you are absolutely correct when you say that people that struggle with that should probably see a therapist and not a teacher. The same thing goes for people with special needs. It's extremely heart-warming to know that there are teachers who love and specialise in helping students with special needs, so they can make the small steps forward I mentioned earlier. But again, it's not what pleases ME personally. I'm not saying I'm right and everyone else is wrong: this is just what works for ME (and trust me, a lot of other teachers feel the same and there is absolutely no shame in that). So dealing with people that make it hard for me to focus on fluid and constructive teaching for any of the valid reasons mentioned above is what demoralises ME personally as a teacher. So all I am saying is that I am not the right teacher for people that struggle with any of those aspects because I don't have the tools to deal with that. I hope that clarifies what I say in the video and thanks for bringing this up 😉
I appreciate that you don't try to be funny, entertaining or witty on purpose like some other teachers on RUclips
🤩😉
I only found your channel a few weeks ago and I love it! Specifically I was researching pronunciation for a student and your videos were/are invaluable...I hope you have a ball as you go forward in your 'new' life !! Thanks for all the brilliant information!! And for all the geeking out!
Thank you so much for saying that, Gail! Analysing specific little topics and elements that are not usually covered is exactly what I've always wanted to do so thank you for confirming that I've succeeded! 🤩❤️
I received a notification about another comment from you but I can't find it anymore but I'll reply here. Your idea of becoming a teacher trainer is brilliant and I had it, too! I wanted to start a whole segment of my channel on teaching teachers the grammar, pronunciation and learning processes they need to be fully ready and confident; but given how badly Englogic performs, I didn't want to start investing even more time in it with a very high chance of failure. But your comment tells me that it wasn't a silly idea to begin with 😊
No, not at all it was a brilliant idea! But of course you should move on if it’s not working for you, also it’s so interesting to hear you being so open and honest about the difficultiea of getting a youtube channel going. (I deleted the comment you’re referring to because just after I wrote it I opened another of your videos where you clearly state that you are in fact aiming your channels at teachers, so I thought I wouldn't take up your time saying something you already know given that you always reply to comments..;)) It’s a really nice habit of yours ;))
@@gailcouzens2367 I see! I definitely need a break now and we'll see if/what happens in the future 💪
Sam, you brought up so many important topics in the podcast. I don't even know where to start...
Well, first and foremost, being a teacher is no mean feat indeed. Your students, their parents and employers have extremely high expectations you're supposed to live up to and some people think that you have to bend over backwards to do your job.
Also, burnout. It happens because of working with people
That's very true and I'll make a video about that very soon 😉
Every would-be teacher must be fully aware of the fact that very few students will be motivated and committed. Others are highly likely to be like that at the beginning but not the whole time.
It's crucial to realise that you do your part well.
Also, I do agree with you that a teacher doesn't have to be a clown
Absolutely! And I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating it must be for a full-time teacher who does it as a life-long career to accept that
I perfectly understand every word you said (I'm a teacher) but don't worry... I know the effort and passion in every video you upload. And thanks for all your videos and I hope you keeping uploading more and more 🤘
Thank you, Daniel! 🤩🤩 What subject and age do you teach?
Thanks for sharing your teaching ethos.😃 I was thinking a video suggestion, like using monologues to help us express artistically in English, but maybe not after hearing you don't enjoy filming yourself.😅
Haha you have given me a great idea! I won't perform a monologue 🙊 but I'll use this to talk about the difference between the English foreigners learn and the English we actually speak. Thanks! 🤩
As for the advanced students who just wouldn't talk, some people are not wordsmiths and they are bad interlocuters, no matter what language they speak in. Some people lack general knowledge to maintain a conversation. It's just a fact. We have to embrace and accept such people too without having high expectations
Yes, I know there are thousands of valid reasons why people may not want to speak, but that doesn't change the fact that it's demoralising for teachers, at least for me, so I'm glad I stepped away from it because it wasn't good for me anymore. Thank you so much for sharing all of this! 🤩
Great video Sam, it's very interesting to know your experiences as a teacher and d as a person.
Thanks! I really wanted to make this video and I'm glad I've finally got round to it! 😉
Thank you for the video. This time the volume is high and the sound quality is very good. If there is such a tool as a compressor in your recorder then you can try using it and make your sound a little more than perfect. 👌
Thanks again for the suggestion because it did pay off! I don't have a compressor (or anything fancy for my audio at all for that matter 🙊😜), but I've definitely made a note of it 🤩
I think it’s because both parents are absent working leaving the teachers to do the parenting which leaves little room for actual learning
Yes, that sounds like a very plausible contributing factor
Thanks
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Thanks! I love all the emojis! 🤩😍🥳🎉