Why We Love Teaching

Teaching is a lot of things, but for us, it's never boring. 

In this episode, we talk about why we genuinely love what we do -- from the relationships we build with students, to the constant learning, to the unexpected moments that make us laugh. 

We have, in our opinion, the best job. Let us tell you why. 

Join the conversation!

Find us on Instagram and Youtube. 

Email us at extraenglishpractice@gmail.com

Support us by leaving a rating and review!

Thanks and we'll talk to you soon.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

I mean, we're winning. It's the best. It's the best. Hello, Epers. Welcome to another episode of Extra English Podcast with Misha and Larissa.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

We're two Canadian English teachers talking about life in Canada, our lives, and anything else that might interest us. And hopefully it will interest you too.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

So join us for another conversation.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Hi, Epers. Welcome back to the Extra English Podcast. Today we're going to talk about some of the things we love about teaching.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

We'll see if we can rein it into a short podcast episode. Might have to become a series. Because we love so many things about teaching.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

It's the best job. We are really lucky to have a job that we love. Not everybody gets and we do, and we're so lucky.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

It's we're so fortunate for sure.

SPEAKER_01 0:52

So, Misha, what are what's one thing that you love about teaching?

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Where to start? Uh, I think the obvious place to start, maybe, is getting to know our students, right? I love meeting new people. I love that in all sorts of contexts. Yeah. Um, and particularly in the classroom, it's such a variety of different backgrounds, different cultures. It's so nice to just meet and get to know people from all sorts of um places.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

People you would never meet any other way. That's right. So I teach online, my students don't live in the same city as I do. And how could I ever bump into them? I would never, there is no chance that we could meet, and yet we get to see each other a few times a week and we're working on learning a language together. It's a fantastic opportunity. It's great.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Plus, because what we're teaching is communication, you do end up hearing a bit about people's lives, about their plans for the future, their hopes, all that kind of stuff. So you get to know each other a little bit because that's the purpose of language.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

It is, it is, and I am so happy at the end of a course, even months later or years later, if I get an email or a message saying, I got a job, or I've had a baby, or whatever, I feel so happy as if we're still, you know, meeting regularly.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

It's yeah, and and seeing their hard work has paid off for them, right? Is always the best. I was at a there's a uh city-funded child play center in our town, and I was there with my son, and one of my students came in as a part of his job. He was introducing new families to the region to resources like that, and it was so nice to just see he's he's done all the language learning, yeah, and now he's in this next phase where that's all being put to use and is helping him accomplish what he wants to. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 2:48

A few months ago, I was at a local thrift store and um I asked for the key to the washroom, and I thought I recognized the person. Turns out it was a former student, and we were able to catch up. So she got it was a job she had got at because she finished her English and then her program afterwards and landed this great job.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

So amazing. Yeah. Plus, as we're talking about that, I learned so much. Oh, yes. I know so much more about all sorts of things, politics in different places around the world, people's life experiences growing up in different environments, cultures. I've learned so much about cultures, a few languages, words in this language and that language, not a lot. Not a lot. A little hello, how are you? Thank you every now and then. I I love all that learning.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah. It it really helps build empathy and helps us stay open-minded by hearing the stories of people uh all the time. Yeah. I love not just myself learning the different cultures, but seeing different cultures, people from different cultures learn from each other. Absolutely. In the same classroom. You could have someone from Africa, someone from Asia, someone from Latin America, like, and they're just interacting and and negotiating um their way of being. That's right. Um, because they need to work together. They need to, and maybe they're used to doing something one way, but now we're doing it another. And we're in a another context. We're in a Canadian context, so there's all these different pieces. Um it's fascinating.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

It's fascinating. I love when they share food with me, of course. But also when they share food with each other, right? Bring things like that in. That's that's so interesting. Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

All the days when we had Dolna for lunch sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

We used to sometimes have potlucks in our program, which is where everyone brings a food to share. It doesn't happen so much anymore. Of course, for Larissa right now, it can't happen. She's online. I'm in person, but it's not really part of our routine these days. Yeah. But yeah, that was so great. Oh, yeah. So good. Once one of my students gave me a candy that he'd gotten from another student, he was really excited to share this candy with me. It was very sweet. Then I ate the candy and realized they were all staring at me because it was durian flavored. Oh. So they were they were waiting for my reaction. And the student who gave it to me had grown up somewhere where they didn't have that fruit, so it was new for him, also, and he thought it was so funny to watch me. Uh-huh. It's a bit of a strong, strong taste, not everybody likes. Yeah, they say durian is the stinkiest food. It's very like garlicky almost. It's not what you expect from a fruit or a candy, in my experience. But somebody must love it. I think lots of people do. Good for that. Good for them. Led to a funny moment for my student.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

One of the things I love about teaching, besides the people, is the creativity. I love developing lessons, I love making resources. I worked on a couple of open resources. Um, I mean, with our extra English practice, that's what we do. We we love to use our creativity to teach in this format. Um, yeah, it it brings me a lot of joy and pleasure to to do the creative work that goes into making a good lesson.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

And part of that is thinking about what's useful for the learner, what has worked, what hasn't. Yeah. All that's a fun part of that process. What makes it more interesting?

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah. Right? And reflecting, how'd that go? How could I do it better? What would happen if I did it this way? It's almost like a uh a science experiment. Absolutely. Let's change this variable next time and see how it goes. Social science experiment, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Bit of both. Bit of both. Uh, another thing I like about it is it's a challenging job, which I think for me is something I really need from work. And right now, especially, I'm teaching a course that I haven't taught in a while. So it's taking some relearning. I have to think a little harder. You know, I I like that. I like being challenged. And in particular, you may or may not know that I tend to teach grammar. I love grammar. If you don't love grammar, you just need to come to my classroom and maybe I'll convince you. That's not true. Half my students still don't love it. But I try, I try my hardest. Yes. But I love when someone brings me a grammar pattern or a sentence structure or an exception to a rule that I have to kind of puzzle out. You know, one of my students today, in fact, asked me a question and I thought, huh, that's interesting. Is it this or this? What's happening there? Why is it this and not this? There's always more to learn. Yeah. I think that's so fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

I also love continuing to learn. So I've been, I love teaching listening, speaking, and pronunciation. I've been teaching listening for like my whole career. Yeah. So we're going on 25, 26 years now. A little while. In the last couple of years, um, I've started really focusing on kind of a different aspect, and it's rejuvenated my uh excitement about teaching, and I think it's been very helpful for the students as well, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Another thing uh which may be true for both of us, uh you can tell me. Let's see, is that in some contexts I can be a little bit um what's an appropriate word? Quiet. Maybe people who know me would agree. But I'm not confident speaking in front of a crowd in most situations. For example, a few years ago I gave a speech at a friend's wedding and I was so nervous. Yeah, so nervous. But that's what I do every day. Talk in front of people, in front of a group of people. But somehow the classroom is its own little world. I feel very confident there. I know what I'm doing. And more than that, I think it's that I'm serving a purpose. Right? I have information that's useful for people, and I feel confident that I can express it in a way that is helpful. Most of the time, I try my best. And that gives me this confidence that makes it such a joy to stand in front of a group of people and talk about grammar or writing or whatever. Yeah. That I don't have in other contexts, which I I just really like that part of teaching.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

I think that might be common for a number of teachers that many of us are more introverted or more reserved, and we don't necessarily love to be the center of attention. I've heard this of actors too, actually, sometimes. Yeah, but being in the classroom is different. Our students would never guess that we have introverted tendencies because when we're on, we're on. We're you know, we're performing almost.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

It is a performance, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

And exhausting. It's exhausting.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Yeah, it's really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

But in a good way, it's a it's a plot, it's kind of like what I imagine it feels like to work out in the gym.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

No, it's something we know about only in theory.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

But I've heard people say, like, after a long run, you know, they're tired, but they feel energized at the same time. That's right. I feel the same way after teaching. I guess I am mentally tired, but also it's a good, it's a good feeling. For sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

I think that is one thing about being in the classes, you're bringing energy, but you're also receiving that energy from your students. Yes, right. So it's this kind of back and forth that is really energizing. I think that's a good way to describe it.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

So time of day actually does matter.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

You don't want to be teaching 10 p.m. classes.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Well, even like the end of a long day, if it's like the student's third class of the day, it's it's harder to learn at that point. That's right. So yeah, the energy, you can do your best, but there are other factors that are other factors that play into it.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

I also find online versus in-person is a very different exchange of energy, if you will. For sure. Yeah. Speaking of things that are a challenge, things we have to learn, this is a new context, a new format for us. That's really exciting.

SPEAKER_01 11:30

Yeah. It's been a lot to learn, right? About the equipment and the platform and all of these things.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

And it'll take us a while, I think, to get used to this setting. Having a microphone, sitting next to each other. It's a bit different than what we've done in the past.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

But just like with teaching, it's fun. It's fine. Um, there's a good energy. We've got a good vibe, Misha. We get along.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Yeah, it's fun. And it's it's the same idea that learning, we both like learning. That's our that's who we are as people, who we are as teachers. Yeah. We like learning new things. I think that's also important. As a teacher, you need to be willing to be a learner also, because it really informs teaching. Yeah. Right. I especially not always, but I think language learning really helps us have empathy for what our students are going through. And we've both been language learners as adults, because I can't really do the best for my students if I haven't been in their shoes. Yeah. So continual learning, I think, is is a requirement of teaching, but also something I love about teaching that that requirement.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

Yeah, I I agree.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Uh, you know, coming a little bit full circle and talking about that connecting with students and building relationships. Another thing I like is often, particularly with language, I think it takes time to build confidence. Yes. And I like helping a student, maybe a student who thinks I can't do this or I'm never gonna be good at English. I like helping them build that confidence because they can do it. Yeah, they're going to do it. Yeah. And I can help them see that they can do it. And that's a good feeling because I think you you need that sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

You do. This is why I love, love, love, love teaching in our program. We call it level one. I guess we could say high beginners, because there is so much room for improvement still, and there's so much room for competence building. I often see students coming in, and I mean, they they struggle with the technology, they struggle with understanding my accent, they struggle with, you know, talking to each other, and then a month in, two months in, by the end of the semester, like they're different people. That's right. So it's so amazing to watch and to be part of.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Such a privilege to be part of that. Yes. Yeah. Also, what's interesting about language teaching is that you cannot separate it from culture. Language and culture are intertwined, there's no separating out. So when you're teaching a language, you are out of necessity also teaching some culture. Yep. Cultural norms, you know, using polite language. That's not grammar. I mean, grammar's involved, but that's cultural practice. And I think that is really interesting. It also requires, you know, I have to think about sometimes, I don't want to teach them how to be me. Right. I need to teach them kind of what is the average, what is something most Canadians would do, even if there are some things I would do or a way that I might interact, that's not what most would do. So then I have to really think about filtering some of that out. Right? Teaching culture and trying to do it in as unbiased a way as possible, which is again a real challenge.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Yeah, it is. For me, this plays out in the listening pronunciation class as um giving different different options for pronouncing a word or different ways you can expect to hear it. So today we talked about the word comfortable.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Oh, good.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Comfortable has four syllables when you say it like that, but when you hear it in regular speech, it often is comfortable with three. And so another example of of just getting comfortable with the language is understanding that the same thing might sound different from two different people, the same norm might be true or might look different from two different people.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Definitely. Especially coming from, you know, we're in Canada. Canada is very multicultural, and that's one of our values, I think, as a cultural national identity is that we really value that um that variety of cultural expression. So I can't say the way I do it is the way Canadians do it. It's the way I do it, which I often will tell my students this is how I would do it. Yeah. But it's just interesting to think about all that, right? Yeah, it really is. Yeah, it really is.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

We have a great job. We have the best job.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

I'm sure it wouldn't be the best job for everyone, but it is the best job for both of us. It is, yeah, it really is.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Uh, one thing we haven't mentioned is our colleagues. The people who are drawn to this profession are usually really interesting people. Interesting people, empathetic people. Yes, they've had interesting and diverse life experiences, a lot of them. Many have come to this career from other places, um, but some just started out this way. But yeah, we have really great people to work with, and they tend to also be hardworking and caring and genuinely like want to do the best they can for their students.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

Helpful. Yeah, it's great. Yeah. Many of our colleagues were language learners themselves, English language learners themselves at one point, which also brings a great perspective.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

Yeah. So it's it's nice when you can enjoy the work you do and enjoy the people you do it with. And in this case, it's both students and colleagues.

SPEAKER_00 17:15

Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

I mean, we're winning. It's the best. It's the best. We are winning at life, and we are grateful for these opportunities for these jobs that we have. Absolutely. We found found the right place. We did. We're also thankful that you've come along for the ride. Uh thanks for watching our podcast or listening to it, depending on what you're using. And uh that's all.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

We'll talk to you again soon.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

Thanks for listening to another episode.

SPEAKER_00 17:47

Find us on Instagram or YouTube to join the conversation.