What is it like to teach in the Czech Republic?

Nicola Quiggin taught in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after Prague. She has also taught at a summer school in the UK and moved to Hanoi, Vietnam, in September 2016 to continue her teaching career. Here, she reveals six lessons she’s learned so far…

1. Students need thinking time

Silence in the classroom shouldn’t be considered a bad thing. When you’re bombarding students with lots of information, sometimes they just need a few moments to let the cogs in their brains whirr.

2. Being a teacher is a BIG responsibility

Students have an implicit trust of you because you are ‘the teacher’, and you must respect this and your position – which brings us on to my next point…

3. Students will do what you do

Students will often mirror your mood in the classroom. All eyes are on you as a teacher so you must be mindful of the way in which you present yourself. If you want your students to be enthusiastic and motivated, you must also be enthusiastic and motivated. Unfortunately, this can mean that you end up radiating all your energy in a lesson and are left feeling quite drained when it ends.

I think I came across as particularly energetic and enthusiastic to my Czech students. Without wanting to generalise, Czechs can be quite reserved so I think my students were a bit taken aback at first. But, as I gained their trust, they opened up more and I found that I could pass on my energy and enthusiasm when teaching. In one class – the last lesson with my students before one of their exams – I tried out an activity I had made up and called “I’m awesome at learning… because…” The students first had to work in pairs to think of reasons why they’re awesome at learning and we then shared our ideas. I was slightly apprehensive at first because it’s really not in their nature to boast, but the ideas they came up with were amazing.

4. Save the stuff that works

If you create a cool activity, game or way of teaching, make sure you file it. I have a couple of files filled with stuff I spent hours making in my first year. As a result, my planning time now is significantly reduced – I can just grab a folder and go.

5. If you stop enjoying it, it’s time to quit

This is one thing I hope I’ll stay true to: if you stop enjoying teaching, you should find a different job. Teaching is a special and beautiful thing, and it’s sad and unfortunate that not all teachers love their jobs. Students deserve to be taught by someone who loves and is interested in what they’re doing.

This article has been adapted from an original article published here.