A.
I think my main strength is that I like interacting with people. In my career thus far I have worked in multi-disciplinary teams, made daily presentations and managed teams so working with people is natural and comfortable for me. I’m friendly, inclusive and approachable. I think this is an asset that will carry me far as a teacher. I have experienced teachers who were intimidating and I found it detrimental to my learning. I want my students to feel comfortable to ask me anything, repeat anything, or explain anything. I think that as time progresses in the classroom I’ll be able to develop good relationships with the students where they feel safe and uninhibited.
I am naturally and therefore normally well organised and prepared which I think is a key skill in ELT. At my university induction lecture the speaker said ‘fail to plan, and plan to fail’ which I think was valuable advice and which has stuck with me. Planning my lessons appropriately helps me to better understand what I’m teaching, embeds it in my mind so I’m more confident in delivering it and helps me to predict possible problems and their solutions. I think that as my confidence and skills grow I will be able to compose highly detailed lesson plans that will deliver my objectives.
I am a creative person and like devising innovative approaches to problems. I like to challenge the standard to create new ways of doing things. The results have engaged and generated new perspectives. I hope this will translate well into the classroom where I can devise games and exercises that will appeal to the students and accelerate their learning. As my confidence, knowledge and skills develop I plan to combine my own methods into my teaching.
My main weakness is my inability to express grammar rules and understand grammatical terminology such as ‘present continuous’. Although my primary school was strict with grammar, punctuation and spelling, we were not