Back in the Saddle Again: a triumphant return to f2f lessons

This piece is all about getting back to teaching face-to-face lessons after a period of 1.5 years due to the Covid crisis. Hopefully, this will empower some teachers who may be worried about making the transition from online classes.

The good old days

March 2020 was when things changed dramatically for many of us. By way of illustration, one-minute visits to the House of Representatives to teach Ms Li, an absolute beginner, was the norm, or giving Tom his much-needed social contact at the language centre’s office could be taken for granted. Marcus, the Head of Compliance at a bank refused to have online lessons, while a few more in-company sessions suited him just fine. Then there was Dominique, who worked at a beverage company finished off her lessons just as things were getting interesting with the crisis, Ilaria, at the same company grudgingly took the plunge from on-site to online, and it worked out, but once she made the shift, she didn’t enjoy it as much anymore. A lower intermediate group from a retail firm and an intermediate group course at an insurance company also made the necessary changes and that was that. Lastly, Lindsey, a pregnant Learning & Development Officer braved coming to class until the very last lesson; just before it was no longer possible to do so. Teachers and their students had been forced to adapt; the rest’s history.

It’s just like riding a horse

First off, if you’re worried about returning to the fold, then try and remember the following before you say yay or nay to doing a f2f lesson. You are a qualified teacher who can adapt to a great many situations as you did when you had to transition to the virtual classroom. Most of you will relish the social contact, the superior interaction, being able to be more involved in facilitating, monitoring and picking up the signals when help is needed. Teaching was meant to be done as it’s been over the ages even though it’s fair to say that online teaching has proven to be popular on some fronts, i.e. convenience, saving time on travel, splitting groups into break out rooms.

When you’ve been away for many a day it’s hardly surprising that you’ll be unfamiliar with things you used to do without thinking. For example, take writing notes on whiteboards or marking handouts – how and when, you wonder? Just as you did when you were a novice. On the way to the lesson, it’s likely you’ll play out all these scenarios and more. You’ll figure it all out, and when you do, you’ll see that it’s easy as pie. You’ll notice things that you’d forgotten like receptionists who find it hard to make out the spelling of the name of your client, or that you sweat profusely after making your way up three flights of stairs. Not forgetting tedious aspects such as making sure you get a wonderful WIFI code, that you somehow manage to clean up the mess you made with a mischievous marker pen and that you can scarper in time before the next lot finish giving you dirty looks through the window when making yourself scarce a minute too late.

How does it feel after all this time?

Well, quite honestly, it’s a relief to get back into the swing of things and you will realise that you needn’t have worried in the first place. It’s a great feeling and you can truly be yourself while you teach again. You and your pupils can’t hide anything in reality unlike when you’re behind a webcam (i.e. body language, clothes, surfing the net, writing emails) and need to give your full attention to who is in front of you in the here and now, and, naturally, the task at hand. You can build a stronger bond, getting to know your students better, and, why stop there, to a greater extent, you can even make greater strides at improving yourself by being aware of your own shortcomings. For some people, it gives them more exercise than when they’re couped up at home. One of the best ways to do this is to request that you climb up flights of stairs rather than go in the lift (if you’re up to the task of course). If it’s COVID that’s the issue, then it may well depend on the place you visit. In fact, it may put your mind at rest to know that in many cases the receptionists who welcome you will be behind glass, embow bumps will be the norm between parties and distancing in the classroom will come naturally to all. If you’re healthy and vaccinated, don’t despair and you’ll be grateful you made the effort.