In the words of my PosterPals coffee mug: “French Teachers eat pain for breakfast.”
Our job can seem quixotic at times. That’s because we’re all about trial and error in second language pedagogy. Only through many trials and many errors do we ever strike pedagogical gold. Our CEFR Barrie meetings last year and the hard-working professionals there reminded me of this.
So, aside from recommending you keep your nose to the grindstone, here are 3 more New Year’s resolutions for second language teachers.
1. Learn a new language
You’re a teacher and you speak the target language (e.g. French, Spanish...etc). Good. This alone makes you qualified; but, it doesn’t necessarily make you proficient. By rediscovering the joy of language learning you’ll boost your effectiveness and make essential connections to share with your students at the same time.
Spend an hour every day in 2018 learning your target language and discover through new eyes how to guide your fellow learners through the confidence-shaking enterprise of learning a new language.
Spoiler alert: You’ll meet fellow language learners who speak the target language better than you can, but who report having spent only half the time you put in. Don’t let yourself forget how that feels as you get back to work.
In your journey, seek out thought-leaders like Benny Lewis or Steve Kaufmann on YouTube to inspire you. You’ll quickly learn how every language learner and their dog uses the CEFR as a common sense reference point.2. Have (or adopt) kids
I would bet that every professional with kids at home has, at some point, seen a colleague take on a major discretionary project and thought, “they probably don’t have kids”. This is not a slight, it merely reflects the commonly held idea that professionals with kids are often more preoccupied with raising a family than with taking on extra duties at work.
I would say that is an oversimplification. It’s beyond question that having young children will take up time that would otherwise be spent running school programs like sports teams or clubs. But I contend that where some losses occur, other areas benefit; especially for second language teachers.
If you raise bilingual children, you’ll come to a realization regarding the far too common belief that learning another language “just isn’t” for some kids; It’s fake news.
No matter who your kids turn out to be, they will be it in two languages and inspire you every day.
Personal note: My Élianne has ASD and she is also bilingual. Now I know more than ever how our mindsets (in French Immersion, for example) need to change.
Beyond inspiration and deflating old myths, I think if you ask any parent they’ll tell you children also give you the gift ofperspective.
3. Leveridge your grit
As a second language teacher, you’re an intrepid and determined professional; that means you’re willing to take risks and learn according to the principal of trial and error (as outlined in the introduction to this blog post). Use that in 2018!
As you take your integration of CEFR philosophy and practice even further; keep in mind that, if your colleagues are anything like you, they will not judge harshly your failed attempts to inspire your students. Your courage will be respected. Your reputation will grow and your students will see the very best character modelled in a very real circumstance.
Simply by virtue of the excruciating experiential learning process in L2 pedagogy you will succeed beyond expectation in 2018 and still have time for coffee.
I started this over the break, and then I had a snow day. My name is Philippe Croteau and I teach in Simcoe County. If you ever want to chat CEFR and L2 pedagogy, you can catch me on Twitter @pcroteauirt or on this very blog! Consider sharing your own thoughts here, or telling me what you think of mine. The CEFR Barrie blog is a place for talking about big ideas and sharing our successes.
