The China Teaching Web

It often happens after one year. For some ESL teachers in China, it may even occur after six months. No matter how excited you are about teaching, it is inevitable. Eventually, you are going to feel ‘burned out’ and tired of having to expend so much energy preparing for classes and delivering lessons. When you reach this point during the course of your ESL contract, it is time to ‘take a step back’ and reorganize your thoughts and approach to teaching English in China. Here are some tips to help you with this:

1. Remembering — Try to think back to the day when you first began teaching English in China. Think about the excitement that you felt about having the chance to teach in a foreign country to students who most likely know little about your culture. As an English teacher in China, you are doing what most people can only dream about; you are living in China, the largest country in the world, and you have a chance to make a positive impact on China’s future generation. What you are doing is remarkable and meaningful. Do not ever forget that!
2. Lesson Plans — For most ESL teachers in China, the first few months are relatively easy because there is always something to talk about. Walking into your ESL class unprepared and just coming up with something ‘on the fly’ might have worked early on, but now it is important to be more prepared. Coming to class with an ESL lesson will help you to be more confident and the time will surely pass by much more quickly. Making the lesson up as you go is simply exhausting; having something prepared will help you to relax and enjoy your class more.
3. Don’t always look at the clock – I have discovered that when I force myself to keep my eyes away from my watch or from the classroom clock, the time goes by much faster. Of course, taking a ‘glance’ at the clock occasionally may be a good time management technique but always looking will distract your students and just make the time drag by.
4. Don’t always talk — Just because you are the foreign teacher does not mean that you have to run your class differently than a Chinese teacher. In other words, there is nothing wrong with giving your voice a rest and giving students a written or group activity to complete. Be kind to yourself and do not overwork yourself especially if you are teaching 4 classes or more a day.
5. Ask the students to teach you — In classes where you are working with teenagers or adults, you should certainly expect more participation from your students. You can ask your students to come to class prepared to teach you something about Chinese culture. This will allow them to practice their speaking skills and allow you to have a rest. Do not forget that your students will learn from teaching you and they will most definitely enjoy switching roles with you.
6. Get out of town — If you have not ventured far out of your city or town in China, now is time to take a small trip. If you have two off days, you should be able to find a place nearby (but not too close) where you can go and relax and do some exploring. Travel and lodging in China are relatively inexpensive; ask your school to help you find a peaceful place for you to go and be refreshed. In China, there is always a lake or river nearby;  there are also plenty of beautiful mountains and forests where you can go and have some peace and quiet. You will be surprised how a short ‘vacation’ can reinvigorate you and restore your enthusiasm for teaching English in China.

Do you have any ideas to share with us about how to deal with feeling ‘burned out’ as an ESL teacher in China? Leave us a comment! We’d love to hear from you.