7 Teaching Goals for the 2020 Fall Semester
2020 has been a year for all of us. But I am determined to finish out 2020 strong! Here are 7 ESL teaching goals I have to make this next semester amazing—no matter what 2020 throws at us.
Keep making PPTs and lesson plans I’m proud of
This semester, I have a few repeat classes. Throughout my eight years of teaching, that’s rarely happened. Having those repeat classes means that I have the chance to revise and polish lesson plans, instead of having to make them from scratch. And with that extra time, I plan to make the lessons I am drafting from scratch as good as they can be.
Be present in class.
First year at a new school is always a little chaotic. Last fall semester was filled with figuring out all the technical details and getting my bearings in a new administration. This semester, I want to be more present in class. Be with my students more. Take my time before and after class. Savor the lessons and conversations with them. Each semester is unique, and this one will be finished before I know it. I want to connect with my students and get to know them as much as I can.
Learn their names quickly
At my last school, my goal was to have all my students’ names memorized by the second class with them. Last fall, I struggled with getting their names down. I’ve identified what didn’t work last fall, and I’ve gone back to my original game plan to learn all their names as quickly as possible. (We’ll see how much wearing masks affects this!)
Be careful with assignments
I tend to be an overachiever, even as a teacher. I’ll get a great idea and feel super inspired and run with it. But half-way through the semester, I’ll sometimes discover one of two things: Either the idea is not as effective as I thought it was and it’s sucking way too much of my time or I’ll discover that the idea is effective, but it’s still sucking too much of my time. Last semester, I realized a simple re-working of one of my ideas would have saved me HOURS of work each week, while still being just as effective for the students. So this semester, before assigning something, I will stop and ask myself three questions:
How much work will this be for me?
How effective is this assignment for the students?
Can this assignment be re-worked to save me time?
Set hourly restrictions
Hello, my name is Megan, and I’m a workaholic. This summer, I was inspired by Pocketful of Primary on YouTube. All through 2020, she’s been doing different monthly challenges. One of her challenges was to only work her contract hours. In September, I want to do the same. Can I get all my work done more efficiently? Can I make decisions that will help me be less tired and more present in class? We’ll see!
Talk about culture more
One thing I absolutely love about teaching overseas is being able to share my own culture. Students have foreign teachers for a reason, and that’s not just to hear native modeling of the language! I want to make a conscious effort to slip in more information about American culture throughout my lessons.
Journal more
This one isn’t directly related to teaching, and my students will never know I’m doing this, but it’s something I’d like to do. I used to journal a lot, but haven’t done much of it in the last few years. Now, I look back and wish I had more of those little memories—the days when I had a really good lesson, or when I had a funny conversation with a student. From a professional standpoint, it might actually help as well, since I’ll be able to reflect on how lessons went.
This list probably shows my type-A-ness, but making a goals list helps me feel pumped for the new semester and keep focused on progress. What goals do you have each semester?