Welcome to the InFluency Podcast, episode number 7.
Hey, how are you doing? I hope you’re having a beautiful day, whenever you’re listening to this podcast. I’m Hadar, and today I want to talk about the 13 things that I have learned as a teacher, as a coach, and as a person of English, if I can say that.
This is a for you to listen to if you are, of course, an English teacher, and you want to learn from my experience. I’ve been doing this for 10 years, over 10 years, but who’s counting. And do you want to learn from my experience and my insights?
But also it’s for you if you are an English speaker or an English learner, and you want to learn from my students’ journey. Because everything that I’ve learned, I’ve learned from my students, and I understood their needs. And I’m sure there is something there for you as well, so you have a better understanding of what you need as a learner and as a speaker of English.
And, I want to start off by saying that teaching has been the most gratifying things I’ve ever experienced in my life. It’s not always easy. It hasn’t been always easy, especially when you used to teach like 8 hours a day, every single day. And sometimes I would teach the same lesson in one day. So I would repeat the same explanations 8 times a day, and I felt like a robot or a machine.
But at the end of the day, I mean, these were the tricky parts, but at the end of the day, I felt that no matter what I was teaching – every time I was teaching a student, I have learned something new myself. Whether it was by explaining it differently, or discovering new ways to say something, or learning about how what I’m teaching is clear or unclear, uh, simply by their responses and questions that they ask.
So I, I felt like I’m constantly learning. I say “I felt”, because these days I teach less one-on-one. Actually, I don’t teach one-on-one students at all, unless I coach someone to prepare for a TED talk or something like that. Or a big presentation.
But even that I, you know, I just said no to coaching and actor on set for a very important TV series. It’s just because I am more focused on creating content and teaching my community and you; things about teaching English or about learning English and speaking English with clarity and confidence. So this is why I decided to shift from the one-on-one coaching.
But even in my podcast episodes and videos, I teach you things that I’ve learned through teaching for over 10 years. And in this episode, I want to summarize those 10 years, cause I do remember that I started my business, I started teaching in 2009 but I think it was the end of 2009. And now it’s the end of 2019 when I’m recording this episode.
It was the end of 2009 when I had quit my job and decided to focus solely on my business and only teach for a living. Of course, it took me a year to be able to support myself fully, but that was when I have made the decision that this is my destiny for the at least coming decade. And I was right because I have been doing this with a lot of joy for over 10 years.
So, I have learned a lot, a lot from teaching. I have learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned a lot about English. I have improved my English simply by teaching it and speaking it every single day. And a lot about what people need, and how it’s different from what I thought that they need. Which is always interesting because I think a good teacher teaches what their students need to learn and hear, not what they think they should learn and know.
And this is why I always compare non-native speaking teachers to native speaking teachers. Because I feel that I’m generalizing, so please forgive me if you are a native speaker and you’re a teacher, and I’m sure you’re doing an amazing job.
But the way I’ve seen it in traditional English classes and methods and techniques, English is being taught in a way that this is how English should sound. This is what you should do. This is the ideal way of speaking English. Like, you need to bring yourself there rather than having someone knowing your journey and your obstacles and your challenges, and undressing them first.
This is the difference between what the teacher thinks you should know versus what the teachers knows you actually need. And what you need is to understand your struggles first, so you can overcome them rather than trying to reach a certain ideal in speaking English.
This is why I want to share with you what I have to share with you today, because everything that I’ve learned was gained in those 10 years of teaching. And it was definitely not a part of my awareness, of my teaching awareness, 10 years ago. I don’t think I was a bad teacher, but I was a very self-indulgent teacher, I think. And in a second, you’ll see why. Okay, so 13 things I’ve learned in 10 years of teaching.
The first thing is being flexible.
Well, there isn’t just one way to teach something. And, whenever I teach something, I always try explaining it in different ways. And the reason is that every student is different, and every student needs different things.
So I may have a student who is very, very analytical and they need to understand exactly what is going on inside the mouth when pronouncing a certain sound. And with them, I would have to go into the specifics of the physical aspects of the sound. And I may come across a student who is very intuitive.
And like when I get into all the details of what the tongue is doing and all of that, they’ll get overwhelmed and kinda like freak out and resist what I’m teaching them. So I won’t even start with the placement or the sound. I would just have them try to imitate the sound and give them imageries and play with them, and just go back and forth a few times until they get it. Because for them, that is a lot more valuable.
And for some students, I would explain it in every possible way. I’ll first go into the physicality of the sound, or, if we’re talking about an intonation pattern, then how we actually do it. And then I would give them some imageries or things to think about when they pronounce the sound.
Or I would focus on the challenges and the substitutions that they’re making, and take it from the sound that they’re currently pronouncing and explain it from there. So, I’m very, very flexible and attentive to my students’ needs. Because if I have an agenda on how to teach something, it would work for only like 30% of my students and not to all of them.
So I first of all, try to see who it is. Who is that person standing in front of me, or if it’s in a class, then in the class. What is their background? What do they do? If they’re introverts or extroverts, these are also elements that I take into consideration. So I won’t do something that would make them feel extremely uncomfortable if they’re introverts, but if they’re extroverts, then I would get them to practice it right away in a conversation, and encourage them to speak as much as possible.
Their first language. That is also a huge component because I would say some things for a person who speaks Arabic, and other things for a person who speaks Japanese. So I always take that into consideration as well. And of course, I just test it and see what works and what doesn’t.
So let me give you an example. If I were to teach the relaxed ʊ as in book, right, and I have a student who is, uh, who’s very analytical, and he kind of like understands everything that is going on in the mouth – I would start with this basic explanation of “drop your jaw, pull the tongue back, make sure the tongue is high up in the back, halfway up your mouth. So it’s not really high up like the OO sound, but a little lower -ʊ. Drop the jaw. Relax your lips and round them just a bit.”
And then I would just like have them imitate, or try to imitate that, that sound. But if I have someone that like has no idea how to control their tongue, I would start by saying, by just going back and forth. Having them imitate what I’m doing and say something like, “Imagine like you want to say OO, but you have a hot potato in the back of your mouth and you don’t want it to touch, and you still need to say that OO sound. What would you do? How would the sound come out?”
And then show them and say something like, ʊ. Okay, it’s really hot. You don’t want it to touch. And usually, I get them to say the sound. And the minute I get them to say the sound one time, I can make it happen again. And they can make it happen again. And the most important thing is that they know that they’ve said it correctly once. So it makes them feel capable and uh, then it’s much easier to work with them, and to show them the right path and the right direction.
And then, if that doesn’t work, I would say, “Okay, try to yawn and try to see an ʊ as you yawn.” So they’ll automatically open the back of their mouth, right? Raise the soft palate, which is what we’d need for the sound. So I trick them into doing the things that I want them to do by giving, giving them another way to look at it or to get there.
And for others, I would give other tricks, like “make sure that you feel the root of the tongue with your fingers.” And so I would have them touch right behind the chin, touch with their fingers right behind the chin, and swallow and feel the root of the tongue. And then try to deliberately push it down as they’re pronouncing the sound.
So, these are just a few examples how flexible you can be when teaching someone. Always, always, always stay flexible and see who is standing in front of you and understand that there isn’t this just one way of teaching something. Cause what works for you or for your other students may not work for others.
And as a learner, if your teacher tells you something and you don’t understand, you can ask them to explain it in a different way. Or say, “This doesn’t work for me. I need another way to look at it.” Because if something is unclear, the problem is not with you. The problem is with the explanation. So always demand the explanation that fits you and the way you see things and the way you understand things.
Okay. The second thing is to be open.
While I have trained with a teacher, when I was studying acting in 2003 – so I had a teacher and I’ve learned a certain teaching method – it is 100% degrees different than what I’m doing right now. And the reason why that happened is because I have learned so much from my students.
I think that there isn’t a book out there that can teach you something that is better than what your students teach you. So, if they tell you something or they ask you for something – that shows their struggle. And if you miss out on this opportunity to learn from their struggle, and to teach the curriculum or whatever it says in the book, then you are concerned with just accomplishing something, rather than accommodating the needs of your students.
So, always stay open and see what they have to say. The smallest look of uncertainty, the smallest meaningless question shed so much light on other things. And reveals something for you about how you are explaining things or, maybe, something that you’re not incorporating in your teaching that you need to start incorporating.
Like I said in the beginning, I have learned something from every single student of mine. And that is only because I stayed open, and I never showed up to a lesson with an agenda of what I want to teach, what I need to teach and stuck to it.
Like I always start with a plan, I always have a plan, but it usually changes because something comes up: I address it, I change it, I see that it’s boring, I add something new. I’m very, very flexible, very creative in the lesson and I’m very open to hearing what is working and what is not working.
And when I say open, it’s not because they’re going to share it with you, but I actually encourage them a lot to share with me what is working for them and what’s not.
But I also look for all the secrets that they share with me in a conversation. You know, I, I consider myself to be a pretty good teacher, and I’ve never learned how to teach pronunciation. I’ve never read a book about teaching pronunciation. I have trained as an actress, so I was a student once.
But again, like everything that I know and that I do right now in my teaching and the content that I create is all a result of just being open, learning from my students, and finding solutions for them. Solutions to things that came up for them in our lessons and in-between, or the issues that they shared with me when they just started training with me.
And, you know, one of the reasons why I created English Teachers Academy – my teachers membership program – is because I felt that there aren’t enough resources for teaching pronunciation and the American accent out there for teachers. And those that do exist out there, they just give you a curriculum, but they don’t give you the skills and the knowledge of working through your student’s needs.
And this is definitely something that we cover in the program. So it’s not only about learning how to give feedback and how to teach things in an intuitive way, but it’s really also about keeping that flexible and open mindset that you have to have in order for you to become a good teacher.
And I know that you’ll have to be very confident in what you do in order to stay open, because it’s a lot easier when you have those guidelines and anchors that you work with. And it’s hard to shift from them because that will require you to improvise. But when you improvise, you learn. And I think this is the most valuable lesson that I can share with you. That you need to stay vulnerable, and to be open to change when needed.
The third thing that I’ve learned as a teacher is that clear is better than accurate.
The purpose of my teaching and my coaching is not to get them to speak with a perfect accent, but to be clear. So, if something doesn’t work for someone, I find shortcuts to get them to sound clear with the least amount of effort. I’m not trying to make them sound like the perfect American speaker. I’m not trying to get them to lose their accent, and I communicated really openly.
Like, I don’t think you need to lose your accent. We need to set realistic expectations. I mean, yes, with my students who are actors, who are working in auditioning for American roles, then yes. I’ll be super picky and choosy, and work on all the nuances and the sounds, and intonation, rhythm, stress, all of that – perfectly, super accurately, no shortcuts.
But for most people it doesn’t need to be perfect. So, for example, let’s say that, I’ll give you a real example: I used to have a student, an Israeli student, that really struggled with the R – with the American R. And while I had massive success with getting people to pronounce the American R, for him, it was extremely difficult.
Like, I just couldn’t get him to pronounce the ‘ɜ’ sound. And I listened to him and I recognized that the ‘Rrr’ sound, which is the Israeli R, was preventing him from sounding clear in some positions. And in other positions it wasn’t really a big deal.
Now, let me give you a little background on the American R. There are two different R’s in American English – in English, not just American, in English – the strong R that appears before a vowel, and the soft R that appears after a vowel, usually before consonant or at the end of the word.
For example, a strong R would be ‘red’ or ‘around’. And the soft R would be ‘car’ and ‘girl’. So that student used to say ‘rrred’ and ‘arrround’, or ‘car‘ and ‘girl’ (pronounced with Israeli /r/). Now, notice what happened to the Israeli R when I pronounced it. When it was in a strong position, it was really dominant – ‘red’, ‘around’ versus ‘car‘ (pronounced with Israeli /r/).
So, that student used to practically drop the R at the end. Now he didn’t really drop it. It was just like this slight friction in the back of the throat – ‘car‘. Now, to me, when listening to him, the word was still clear. Because, for example, in British English, the R drops and you’ll hear something like ‘caa’ instead of ‘car’.
So, when he said ‘car‘ (with Israeli /r/) the word was still clear, but when he said ‘rrred’ the word was not clear anymore. So what I did is I encouraged him to switch the ‘rrr’ with a W sound. And then instead of ‘rrred’ I had him say ‘wed’.
Now, still, that’s a different word. It’s a W sound. But I was also able to get him to bring the tongue to a position where the R sounded a little dirty, like ‘red’, ‘red’. It wasn’t a perfect R, but it was better than the ‘rrr’ sound at the beginning ‘rrred’, and it was a fine compromise between the Israeli R and the American R.
The most important thing is that it made him sound clear. But at the same time, when I tried to have him pronounce that new R at the end, like ‘car’ – ‘caw’. It completely changed the word and it sounded funny. And I said to him, “Listen, just keep pronouncing the way you’ve been always pronouncing the R when it’s at the end of the word, like ‘car‘ and ‘girl’ and ‘for‘ (with Israeli /r/), okay? Don’t make that unique new sound that we created. But, when it’s at the beginning of a word, we do need to find a nice compromise between what you’re doing and what we want you to do with the target sound.”
So he started incorporating that funny W. We called it a funny W cause it wasn’t a W and it wasn’t an R when it’s at the beginning. And that has improved his pronunciation and clarity immensely, simply by doing that. So I wasn’t fighting to get it super accurate. I didn’t care as long as he was clear.
And let me tell you this, within a few weeks, his funny W turned into an R. And eventually, by the end of the training, he was able to apply this R at the end of words as well.
So, it was so much more important than, you know, fighting to get him to pronounce that R sound clearly and perfectly because cheating is better. Cheating is better because again, it makes them feel like, “Okay, I’m doing something that I know what I need to do. Even if it’s not perfect, it already sounds better.”
And usually when you start moving them in the direction of the right sound, they’ll get to the right sound eventually. There are a lot of things that make them resist and resent the pronunciation of the actual sound, or the muscles are not strong enough. So, when you get them halfway there, it’ll be a lot easier for them to get there fully, but it doesn’t need to happen right away.
Another thing that happened to me with one of my Spanish speaking students is the flap T. So, while she was able to pronounce the flap T clearly between words like ‘Betty’ or ‘better’, than when the flap T appeared after an R like ‘party’ or ‘thirty’. And the flap T is also a flap D. So, also, in the word ‘order’ it was just really, really hard for her.
So, I said, instead of making it 100% accurate and make her her super frustrated, I said, “Just put a very light D there and say something like ‘party’, ‘party’. So, true, it’s not ‘pardy’ ‘pardy’. It’s not that ‘R’ sound, but it’s close enough. And something about that combination makes it sound totally fine and unnoticeable. And it’s a way to cheat to get her to sound clear, to make her feel accomplished.
It’s a win-win situation, rather than fighting for making it 100% accurate because who cares about making it sound perfectly American? I mean, some people care. I know it, but when my students are so obsessed with it, I really try to dive deep and explore why it’s so important for them to sound all American. And usually, you know, the, the root for this belief or that need is another limiting belief that they feel that if they don’t sound American, people won’t listen to them, or people will think they’re stupid.
So, it’s much more important for me to tackle this limiting belief than to get them what they want, but still, you know, not really helping them transform. Because even if they solve this issue, that fear or need or belief is still there.
Let me give you a slightly different example. When I talk about the T then, I don’t know if you know this, but when the T peers after an N , it is often dropped. It really depends on the word and how fast the speaker speaks. But in American English, people tend to drop it, like ‘tweny’ instead of ‘twenty’, or ‘waned’ instead of ‘wanted’, ‘inerview’ instead of ‘interview’.
And when I teach this, sometimes I get a lot of resistance from my students. They’d be like, “Ugh, sounds funny.” They’ll say, “Inerview, ugh” – or “inernational, ugh.” Don’t make that face. So, for some, you know, I feel that the more they say, they’re like, “Oh yeah, that’s how you say it. So cool.” And then they’ll want to practice more words. But for others, they’ll feel extremely awkward dropping that T.
And now, since it’s something that happens sometimes, and by some speakers, and it really depends on how fast they speak, then I don’t insist on that. I tell them, “If that feels weird to you, then you don’t have to apply it. It’s not a must. It’s more important for me that you feel confident and comfortable. Because it’s still clear if you’re saying ‘interview’ or ‘inerview’, ‘documentary’ or ‘documenary’. I mean, the result is still the same. So, if you are good with saying the word clearly, I am good with you keeping the T.”
So, I don’t insist on something just because that’s how it is in the American accent. If it works well for the students, and if I can listen to him or her and say, “sounds good”, then, again, it’s a win-win situation. And at the end of the day, that’s what I want. I want to find the perfect balance between making them feel confident and proud and accomplished, and being able to say, “Hey, this sounds clear to me. You’re going to be able to get your message across perfectly.” Let’s move on to number 4.
Number 4 is they don’t need to know everything.
When I first started out, I was so excited about this material. And I also had gone to the university, and learned linguistics and phonetics and phonology. And I had all this information and theory behind everything that I was teaching, and I wanted to share everything.
So, I would go on and on and on about the theory behind the sounds and allophones and phonemes, and use all these fancy words. And the lesson would go by and I’d be like, “Oh, they haven’t been practicing much”. Or ask them, “So what do you remember from this lesson?”
And they’d be like, “Um, flap T…” Like, 5% of everything that I was talking about because it wasn’t relevant for them. They don’t need to know everything, so I don’t need to bombard them with all the scripts and, and all the nuances and all the theory behind it. I learned that I need to give them only what they need and what they ask for.
So, sometimes I would think that a certain student doesn’t need to learn this or that, but then they’d be like, “Well, what about that aspirated P? I really want to learn more about that.” Then I’d be like, “okay, they’re aware of it. I’ll teach them that”. But for me it would be much more important and interesting to teach them the O sound if they don’t use it in conversation. Or to help him feel more fluent or to apply everything that they’ve learned with me in a conversation. Cause it’s all at easier to consume knowledge and to learn more and more and more.
So, I decided that I don’t need to teach them everything that I know. And when I explain something, I don’t explain everything about it. I just explain what they need to know and the words that I choose are words that will push them to take action and to do something differently, to transform the way they do something right now, whether it’s pronunciation or how often they speak English in their day to day life.
If I want them to take action more, I don’t give them the whole spiel about ‘you need to do this, this, and that and blah blah blah. What I would just tell them, ‘This is what you need to do this week. This will get your results. Come back next week and report back to me what you’ve done.”
I really focus on telling them what they need to know. People zone out anyway about half of the time, so I really want to be precise and concise and efficient. I want the lessons to be efficient.
Number 5 is be honest and vulnerable.
You know how many times it has happened to me where a student would ask me something and I’d have no answer? A million times, especially at the beginning. And at the beginning I was still uncomfortable with the fact that I’m a non-native speaker. And I suffered from the imposter syndrome, which I’m going to talk about soon in this podcast.
But I would not admit that I don’t know the answer. And instead of saying “let me check”, I would either give them the wrong answer, which is the worst thing you can do. Or just change the conversation and not give them an answer, and maybe answer it the following week. Being like, “Oh, I’ve never answered your question.”
But I have realized that when I say something like, “Hey, you know what? I have no idea. Let’s check it together.” It takes the weight off my shoulders, and they feel a lot better. Because it’s like we’re both in this together and they trust me more. They know that I’ll always be honest with them. I’ll never make something up and I’ll be upfront about who I am and what I have to share. And they usually feel more comfortable around me because of that.
And I think that if you say something that you are uncertain of and they find out that it’s not true, you lost them. You lost their trust. And that’s the worst thing that could happen between a teacher and a student. So always be honest, and it’s totally okay to say that you don’t know something. And to use it as an opportunity to learn.
The next thing is related to number 4, which is ‘You don’t need to know everything’, is speak less.
I remember when I first started out when I had all this knowledge to share, I used to speak for the entire lesson. So maybe they have learned something, but they’ve come out of it as if they have come out of a lecture rather than a lesson or a training session.
So, while I’m very passionate, it comes from a place of passion, like I’m really passionate about this, and I want to explain it in all different ways and to talk about what needs to be done, and give them ideas. If they just sit there and listen, they don’t get it. They need to do it and say it and use it and repeat it and answer me and ask me questions.
They need to speak more. If I speak more than them in a lesson, the lesson is a failure. That’s what I think. Because the whole purpose of coaching someone and helping them to reach fluency is to get them to speak as much as possible. To put to practice everything that you teach them.
And even if you teach them something new – you don’t have to go on and on about it the entire lesson. And I’m actually right now speaking to myself 10 years ago, because that was me. And if it’s something that you happen to be doing yourself, then take my advice and just speak a little less. Let them speak a lot more. Explanations are great, but there is nothing like actual practice.
Number 7. The 7th thing that I learned is being a coach, not a teacher.
So it really has everything to do with getting them to speak as much as possible, and not get all self-indulgent about teaching. But it’s really about understanding your role here as a teacher. So, it’s not about giving them the information as it is getting them to take action. Because they can learn this information from a YouTube video or from a course. But they are learning with you because they want you to communicate the lesson or the content to them, and that you will hold them accountable.
So, you will get them to do the work that they need to do. Usually, they don’t, because students usually don’t do the work that they need to do. And that’s totally fine because I think that we need to also change the way we think about homework and about exercises.
But, either way, like they want you had to hold them accountable. And be like, “Have you done this? Do you understand?” And to check in with them and to see that they’re on the right track. So, you have a job as a coach, like to push them forward. To dismantle barriers and tackle objections, and to see if they’re not doing something, why aren’t they doing it? Why is it so difficult for them? Is it really because they don’t have time, or is it because they don’t think it’s possible for them?
And to not be afraid to talk about the mental aspect, and the psychological aspect, and the barriers that people have when speaking English as second language. Because it’s a huge part of it. So, as a coach, you need to understand that, to reflect that to them, and to motivate them to take the next step.
And also, as a coach, you want to give them simple steps to get to where they want to be. So you show them the way you don’t just like teach them and tell them what they need to do. You get them to do it themselves. And by setting small goals and showing them their progress, and to measure their progress is something that you need to do as a coach.
And that leads me to number 8, which is no matter what they actually come for, like when they come to learn with you, it’s never just about pronunciation. Or it’s never just about grammar. Or it’s never just about, “I don’t want to be stuck.” It’s really about being the person that they are in a second language.
It’s about how they define themselves. It’s about their self-worth. And you need to see that. Like, you need to understand that this is their internal motivation. So, when there is some kind of resistance or objection, it usually comes out of a deep fear that is rooted in them, that is preventing them from being the person that they want to be or achieving the goals that they want to achieve.
And that goal is not necessarily speak English fluently, but it’s really accomplishing and fulfilling their dreams, living the life that they want to be, feeling worthy. And I think that understanding that can help you support them fully and not just like, you know, give them what they think they want. You actually give them what they really, really need.
And number 9, the 9th thing that I’ve learned is that even if I can’t make it, I can still teach it, and coach them to make it.
I’m going to give you an example that is a bit more advanced, but then I’m gonna show you how you can use it. So I have worked with a lot of actors in the past. And when I show them how you need to break down, how they need to break down a certain sentence, sometimes if I read it the first time, it is challenging for me.
Like, I may get stuck, or say something, or like expect them to do something that for me, without enough practice, would be impossible. Like, I would need to say it quite a few times again and again and again to have that flow. Again, this is not my native tongue. So, things that are super challenging I would need to practice.
And when I see a text and I try to explain to them what they need to do with it, I give them the direction. And I break it into small pieces that are possible for me, and I say, “This is what you need to do.” What do you want to, let’s say, if it’s a part of a longer sentence and that part is not super smooth, I’m not going to say the long sentence. Because it would be challenging for me, but I still know what I want them to do.
So I break it down. I give, I say the small sentence or the small part of the sentence, and have them repeat it with me a few times, and then we say it together. So, I never say to myself, “Hey, I can’t say it. I’m not going to ask them to do it.” Or I’m not going to demand them to do it if I, because I can’t say it. I just do whatever I can and tell them what I’m expecting them to do.
And I always compare it to a basketball coach, right? Like a basketball coach doesn’t need to be the perfect basketball player. They need to know what their player or their athlete needs to do. Or how to get them to maximize their potential.
So, I see my actor in front of me, let’s say in that specific situation, or the student in front of me. And I know what they can do and I push them in that direction even if I can’t make it. And the reason why I’m telling you this is because you may be a non-native speaker, and you’re also an English teacher, and you may have an accent. Whether it’s a thick accent or a slight accent, you may have an accent and you may feel self conscious about it.
And like you can’t teach pronunciation because you, yourself, have an accent. Well, it’s crap because you still know where you want your student to be. And remember, clear and simple is better than accurate. So you can push them in that direction, even if you can’t do it without sufficient practice, okay? So, remember, even if you can’t make it, you can still teach them and coach them.
The 10th thing that I’ve learned, it’s more of a philosophical thought, is that I’m the translator of knowledge.
So, I need to speak in the language that they understand. My job is to simplify English for them, to simplify pronunciation, to simplify grammar, to simplify their struggles. And I’m, I can take a really complicated idea and my job is to translate it for them. So I’m not talking about translating it into their native tongue. Of course, I only speak in English in my lessons, but I need to translate the idea into something feasible, tangible, comprehensible for them.
So, of course it’s related to, you know, like the first thing, flexibility. Like, what, what is the best way to teach that particular student? But also I need to understand that I can’t just take the knowledge that I know and say it, just like that. I need to find a way to simplify it and to translate into words that my student will understand. So I’m the translator of knowledge. I like that. I like that.
Number 11 is I am enough.
Being a non-native speaker, I have suffered a lot from the feeling that I’m not enough, and the feeling of a fraud, of being a fraud. Because they’ll find out that I don’t know everything, or that I still have an accent in some situations. And I used to dread it. And that would totally hold me back when teaching in the beginning, especially when I started creating YouTube videos and teaching it online.
I’d be like, “Who am I to teach this, being in the native speaker? Who am I to talk about this, this and that as I’m not super fluent or expressive?” And sometimes, even in Hebrew, I feel that, like, I get stuck a lot trying to explain something. I don’t have that flow that so many other people and speakers have.
So, I used to deal with that quite a lot. I think I’m, I already talked about it, about the imposter syndrome, and I have an episode coming up about the imposter syndrome in about a week or two. Which I definitely think you should listen to because it’s something that we, that most of us experience. And especially as non native speakers. Especially, especially as teachers of English who are also non-native speakers.
So, I have come to learn that I am enough. The reason why people learn with me is not because I’m, you know, the best English speaker out there in the world. It’s because there is something about me that makes it easier for them to learn. I know how to deliver the message for them, and this is why they stay with me.
I make it possible for them. I communicate the message well for them. And they like me. And they feel good about themselves when they’re around me, even if I’m not perfect.
So I am enough. I don’t need to be a native speaker. I don’t have to have a degree in linguistics or English literature. I don’t need to have a degree in English teaching. I am enough, and you are too.
Number 12 is I need to know my worth as a teacher.
Because teaching is your job and you have to put a price tag on it. When I first started out, I was charging very little for my services. And back then it was totally fine cause I was just starting out and I was building up my confidence as a teacher.
But as they started to get more and more students, and there was more demand, I realized that it was really hard for me to raise my prices. I started saying, well, my students, they don’t have a lot of money. They can’t afford it. But to be honest, it was just hard for me to say that I’m worth more than what people were paying me for.
And to say, “Hey, this is my new price. This is what I’m asking for my time. And my services was really, really hard for me.” And this is relevant not just for one-on-one teachers, coaching students, but also to teachers who teach in an institution, language institution, or a school. And you feel that you need to get paid more.
So, you have to know your worth as a teacher and what you’re giving. Of course, you need to put in a lot of work into it, and to invest in your students. But if you do and you feel that you deserve more compensation, you need to ask for it and to demand it.
And if someone is not willing to pay you the price that you’re asking for, that’s okay. Not everyone needs to be your student, but there is a point in time where you need to know your worth and to do what you’re doing with love and joy and passion, but also get paid well for it.
Number 13 and the last thing that I’ve learned, actually, I probably have like, a billion more, but we’ll end with 13. Number 13 is you have to be organized and give clear action items at the end of each session.
So, it doesn’t matter how well the lesson goes and how accomplished they feel at the end. People forget the moment they walk out the door, okay. So, they’ll have a good feeling about themselves. Then they’ll feel good, but they won’t remember much, and less they revisit the information after.
But here’s the thing, they won’t do it unless they have clear instructions on what they need to do. Now, this is coming from sheer experience because at the beginning I would just give them all the content of the lesson and exercises, and I’d be like, “okay, so just practice what we’ve done.” And they’d forget it, and then they won’t practice.
And I realized that the more specific I am, the more likely they are to actually do the work. So, you need to, first of all, review what you’ve done in the lesson at the end. So, always leave like five minutes at the end to review what you’ve done, just to remind them and to show them to kinda like, tell them the story of what just happened here.
So they, this is what they’ll come out with. And then tell them, “here is what you need to do in order to review it.” Tell them exactly where they can find it – in the Drive, in your email, in your notebook, and what steps they need to take exactly. And what I always add is how much time they need to spend each day or throughout that week.
The more specific and clear you are, the more likely they are to say, “Okay, I can actually do it.” Let’s go ahead and do it right now. Because it, when it feels vague and overwhelming, they won’t do it. Remember, overwhelm leads to quitting, and you don’t want them to quit. Even if the lesson went great, okay.
They’ll really feel the change if they practice. So you want them to practice as much as possible. So be very organized, have the files in place. You know, share the folder with them in the Drive, upload the content right after the lesson. Don’t procrastinate cause then you’ll forget, and then they won’t get it.
And then give them clear action items, you can even send them a quick email or a text message what they need to do. And if you’re super duper serious about this, you can even send them a message or an email halfway into the week. If it’s a group class you can send everyone an email being like, “So, I’m just checking in to see how your practice is going, if you have any questions.”
And that’ll remind them to practice, or to actually ask you the questions that came up. And then they’ll feel like you are totally in charge of their progress, and they’ll be forever grateful because they’ll see results. Because they’ll be practicing. So, be very organized and always be clear about what you want them to do.
Okay, my friend. We have come to the end. ’13 in 10′. 13 things I’ve learned in 10 years of teaching English and the American accent. This is a good time to tell you that I have a program for teachers, where I share with you everything that I’ve learned.
All the gazillion things that I’ve learned in those 10 years. Uh, how to teach pronunciation. I create for you lesson plans. And done for you slides that you can just show to your students. And activities. How I approach fluency, boosting your students’ fluency.
And also, if you want to build your own business, how to build a business online and in your community. And the most important thing is that it’s a beautiful community of teachers, where we support each other. I coach you. There are peer groups. It’s really a dream come true for teachers. I know I’m not objective, but I think it’s really good.
So, if you want to find out when I open registration next, then click on the link in the show notes, and you’ll find out more about the program. And you’ll be notified when doors open. I hope to see you there.
In the meantime, let me know what you think about this episode. Send me a DM on Instagram @hadar.accentsway, or send me an email. And I’d love to hear what you think and I’d love to hear more from you, whether you’re an English teacher, or an English speaker and learner.
Have a beautiful rest of the day. And I will catch you next time in one of the next episodes of the InFluency Podcast.
Bye.
