Emotional First-Aid Kit for ESL/EFL Teachers in Dealing with S.C.A.T (Stressful, Challenging, Awful,
The epidemic of teacher stress – is it real? No doubt a teacher’s job is not like a doctor who has to revive an elderly patient having a heart attack. Teachers also do not have to conduct a critical surgery that involves the life of a patient. Therefore, is teaching a stressful job? If yes, how many percent of teachers are highly stressful? Well, the figures are there but frankly speaking it is a fact I know and you also know, teachers do have highly stressful moments from time to time.
What about English Language teachers? Are they stressful? Definitely, the answer is 'Yes'. For SOME teachers of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL), teaching the subject is stressful due to its challenging, awful or toxic environment. These feelings can be felt for a number of reasons:
most of the pupils are so weak that they do not understand even a simple text given to them. Asking them to write an essay is such a demanding task to be completed. Some end up writing nothing.
the pupils are not only weak but problematic too. The pupils are defiant; they like to challenge almost every instruction given by the teacher. Some teachers describe this class like a zoo or psychiatric ward.
all the pupils are so smart and in fact many of them have better proficiency than the teacher. Some of the pupils refuse to listen to their teacher.
the pupils in class, some of them are no doubt, potential Straight A’s candidates but they look down on their English teacher
the pupils are only intermediate learners but the administrators expect the teacher to produce excellent results and they refuse to listen to any excuses
the English Panel is there. The Head of Panel and other members are very experienced teachers but not much help and assistance is offered to the stressful teacher to address the learning and teaching issues faced
the other English Panel members are against everything you are doing despite your sincere efforts and ongoing struggle to achieve the best results in all your English classes
the pupils are average learners who have no problem to understand English. However, errors are frequent and serious errors are evident when they write. No matter what strategies you apply to improve their grammar, they still repeat those careless errors.
the pupils still have not shown the expected progress or improvement despite your constant efforts to help them through various strategies. You feel like you have been wasting your time with them.
this list can go on and on, depending on the exclusivity of one’s teaching and learning backgrounds and environments
No doubt, the details mentioned above are some of the realities of certain ESL/EFL teachers so if you have never experienced any of those, you are very lucky. No matter what our situation is, life goes on. ESL/EFL teachers must never allow these negative seeds (S.C.A.T) to grow as surely it is TOXIC! Remember, you cannot be in any toxic environment for too long as it may bring adverse effects.
My heart sinks to know there are some ESL/EFL teachers who have been in the stressful, challenging, awful or toxic environment for a long time, without any help. They suffer and feel exhausted, defeated, hopeless and the worst is, depressed. If these teachers are not given treatment professionally, they will suffocate and drown. Therefore, it is very crucial, first and foremost, these teachers know how to help themselves. These are some of the tips; the emotional first-aid kit or self-help remedies for ESL/EFL teachers who are suffering because of the challenges they have to face in their teaching career:
Learn to accept the fact that for the time being, you are destined to be where you are. Accepting it with the highest level of sincerity will be helpful. Your acceptance can be followed with the next step or question, “How can I face it professionally?”
Believe that your suffering is not eternal. Most of the time, you do not get the same batch of pupils every single year. Moreover, you may not teach the same class every year. Changes happen and the chances for you to be out of the S.C.A.T environments are always there. If necessary, your suffering may end when you move to a new school.
Do not quit when you feel exhausted but do stop for a break. In fact, you deserve more breaks, take them! The point is, you must not easily give up doing what you can to achieve your target even though your environment is challenging.
Make it a point to highlight your worth. When you know your worth, no one can make you feel worthless. Let’s say you are teaching a weak class, if you are able to make 20-30%, I repeat, only 20-30% of the pupils in the class learn 3-5 new words per day, then your presence in the class as their English teacher is truly worthy.
Never label yourself as useless. You are not a useless teacher if you can give some or your best attention to your learners. Most of your learners, especially the problematic ones, actually need your attention. Apply practical ways to give attention to them. Once they know you are attentive, learning will slowly but surely take place. They will change to be better.
Be practical in implementing activities or strategies with your challenging pupils. Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible and proceed with something for enrichment, if possible. Take one step at a time. It works well in such an environment.
Be realistic with your goal. No doubt, your KPI is sometimes fixed by your superior. That is common elsewhere. If you believe it is like impossible to achieve the KPI, then, let it be. Do not worry about it. But it does not mean you have to go against your superior. On the other hand, you must set a realistic KPI and work hard and smart to achieve your revised KPI. With perseverance, your consistent efforts will be fruitful. That really matters.
Nothing is impossible. The word itself says “I’m possible!” Having more As or reducing the number of failure is always possible. All you need to do is give it a try and always render the best service that you can.
Be grateful! This is not about forcing yourself to appreciate your sufferings or the negative happenings in your teaching career. However, it is about appreciating the fact that you still have a career. It is also about acknowledging the fact that there are always others who have to experience something worse than you.
Appreciate the challenges as they are the best teachers that will shape you to be a better teacher. Be thankful that you are the chosen one who has the privilege to experience S.C.A.T environments. Trust me, these experiences are the ones that will ensure your survival elsewhere.
Ask for help. You are not alone in this world. Get help if necessary and getting help does not mean you are weak but it simply indicates you are smart for not bottling up your sufferings. If help is not available in your own English panel, surely there will be a few kind and generous souls in the school to lend you a helping hand. The point is, talk to someone and get help.
Focus on aspects under your control or the decisions that you can make such as the activities during your lessons. You are the best decision maker in your own classroom. Do what you can and want to do! Be proud of your own decision.
Redefine success. When your pupils learn three new words per day, that can be considered a success. Success is not only about achieving 80% mark and above in examination. Even when they are able to respond orally with confidence, it is also a success.
Celebrate each progress and success. Make it simple. It could be your verbal compliment to your pupils. You may also have a Reward Card in which stickers are given for each progress or success. Surely, there are various ways to celebrate and highlight your pupils’ progress and success. The choice is always yours.
Keep a joy journal. It is where you document every positive experience and feeling as a struggling teacher. It could simply be the success of your weakest pupil to spell “examination” accurately or the bravery of your shy pupil to write and present a three-line poem.
Beyond doubt, tips like praying to God, meditation, having enough sleep, drinking sufficient water, exercise and sweat and even smiling are indeed very relevant. Those tips should be added to what are offered above. Personally, I truly hope that what have been shared above are significant to you, if not all, some. The point is, the challenges given by your learners, administrators and maybe some toxic people around you should not be taken for granted. The stress which you will always experience as an ESL/EFL teacher should be under control and managed well. This cliche, "Prevention is better than cure" is undeniably effective. Do not allow your stressful, challenging, awful and toxic environments cause your flame to teach to wither and die. Give your stress and all the negative emotions wings and let them fly away!
