This piece focuses on a subjective top five mistakes that EFL teachers to adults make. This proves, after all, that we are human beings and it’s quite natural to slip up every now and then.

1. Flying off the Handle

Being calm and collected aka reaching nirvana is a wonderful state of being and it comes highly recommended. However in reality, anger management is an issue that affects many teachers. There is a whole plethora of possibilities as to why this occurs: sometimes, it is merely impatience, too much coffee (maybe even energy drinks), a smoker who ‘needs’ his/her fix, one who got up on the wrong side of bed, someone who is allergic to the stupidity of others, that time of the month, or quite simply, a person with a short-temper. Blowing a fuse is not recommended as it creates tension and shatters the safe classroom environment that once existed. As the teacher, you should always be approachable, empathetic and humble. If you act out of turn, then apologise. Of course, there is a big difference between merely being ticked off by someone fidgeting, for example, and the teacher swearing, yelling or even using threatening language. Suffice to say, it should never get to that point, but, it may or may not surprise you that it does happen. Other than attempting to make amends through apology, try and learn your lesson so it doesn’t happen again.

2. Leaving them Hanging

It could be that you have exhausted all the various ways of explaining a verb tense that come to mind and one learner just doesn’t get it. (Of course, this could apply to the whole class, especially at the beginning of your career). Now, what you shouldn’t do is leave the matter unresolved; otherwise this can demotivate the student and even make the teacher seem clueless. There can be many reasons for why this confusion has come about, i.e. it doesn’t exist in the learner’s L1 in the first place, grammar is not his/ her/ thing, or the explanation was not clear enough. Where do you go from here? You should try not to lose your cool and ask the student what it is they don’t understand. It may also be necessary to find out what they do understand to get to the bottom of things. The trick is to investigate the matter without making him/ her feel stupid or uncomfortable. Using humour may help and you may wish to use CCQ’s (concept checking questions) as well as a couple of extra examples in context, which you can always personalise. As you go along, you should become used to FAQ’s that may be asked, so, on the upside, it will become easier, until, eventually, nothing should phase you.

3. Being Technologically Unsavvy

Einstein, who used to teach physics, once said: ‘The human spirit must prevail over technology’. Indeed, to some teachers, there has always been suspicion as well as trepidation as to how the latest gadgets, i.e. robots, will one day take over (jobs) from human beings. Perhaps you struggle to adjust to the increasing use of various technologies in the classroom; one of which is blended learning. It could be that it is outside your comfort zone, maybe you didn’t watch a demo when you should have, or perhaps you need to be trained more. Technical issues go over your head, but when you accidentally delete homework (results of online exercises) your whole class had completed, then you feel ever so silly; even worse as a perfectionist. You apologise profusely; once electronically and once more for good measure in person, in case anybody didn’t read it. When you are copied into a group email to the class without giving permission to reveal your email address, you feel violated; You spend hours ensuring the online platform appears as streamlined and slick as possible. Though, you still need to call on the services of an in-house computer expert when a new template is unveiled. Looking back in hindsight, you remember how it had all begun with a simple demonstration where you brought your laptop to the first lesson with the best intentions. Every time you tried to show them something on the beamer, they were not paying attention as they were staring at their own screens; eventually you asked them all to fold them up to avoid being distracted, which is when you were informed about the letter that had been sent by your language centre, requesting them to bring their own laptops to the lesson. Consequently, you said sorry and mentioned it was the first you had heard of such a request. All things considered, you dislike the way humanity is going; where instant gratification takes over from patience being a virtue, social networking largely replaces face-to-face communication, and most people don’t even read books or write (letters, proper notes in class etc) anymore.

4. Making Double Bookings

Freelancers need to be excellent organisers, but, as you may know, we still make mistakes now and again. It gets complicated when company X is not sure whether the dates you sent them are OK. You have two agendas or schedules; 1 is an excel spreadsheet and the other is a gmail calendar. Company Y wants to change a date and you are awaiting confirmation. You mark all possible appointments as TBC. Though, you only do this on the calendar and not excel, as you only add finalised lessons on here, which takes longer. Then, one day, you receive a request to do another course at company Z and, with the best intentions, you reply and give your availability. Had you realised that one of those dates is taken (but you forgot to check the gmail schedule, and only looked at the excel one), then you wouldn’t have offered up that slot. Acting swiftly to rectify the situation should alleviate any feelings of worthlessness. Further, it should soften the blow for all concerned if there is a decent amount of time before the course, which you double-booked, starts.

5. Touching a Nerve

Through no fault of your own, you make a faux-pas of sorts, because you accidentally said something, which upset your student (1-on-1). This seldom happens but is worthy of mention. Controversial topics for debate should be chosen carefully. Abortion was one such issue that caused a young lady to begin crying as she herself had had one and it was still a painful memory for her; immediately, the conversation shifted to something else and an apology was given. Euthanasia in the Netherlands, for example, is not really regarded as a taboo topic as it is in other lands, as performing them is legal here, so it is usually an acceptable choice, though, in general, if you sense an awkward response, try and be sensitive to the learner’s feelings and offer to change the subject. During a different discussion on emotions, mood swings in loved ones evoked a strong reaction as a student’s daughter had suffered from previously undiagnosed mental health problems brought about by drug abuse. After asking if she was alright and saying sorry, a whole new topic was suggested, but the lesson ended a few minutes early. Always be a human being first and be willing to listen.