Burn out after five years

[kevin]

I've been teaching for five years and am beginning to get tired of doing the same thing every day.

Do others feel the same as me? What do you do to keep the excitement going?

Kevin

[Dean]

Sounds as though you might have something in common with the article below.

Click it to read!

Battling Burn-Out
Your life force is running out
by Samuel Owens

[trantrung]

I also have a problem like you. Now I feel bored to teach English anymore. As you know now I have to teach English to some minority ethnics in my country who can't speak and read my mother language,Vietnamese fluently.
It's really like a Hell in the Earth !

[Svenja]

My advise to you is to bring some variation into your lessons. It's up to you to make it more fun.
Think of fun activities and use different visual aids. Let your students work in pairs, groups, teams whatever if it's different from what they're used to, it will make it more interesting for them as well as for you.

[malcolm]

Kevin,

A way to get motivated is to go to a conference or trade fair. You'll get loads of new ideas and come away motivated.

yOu could also try doing a new qualificaiton. YOur school might help pay this. Have you got the Dip? YOu could also try teaching something new like kids, business English, whatever.

Malcolm

[MattMaleham]

If you have been teaching for ages and still are not bored of teaching, what is your secret? I am still at uni studying to be a secondary teacher and I only went on my first prac last semester and I loved it, but I still have so much to learn about teaching, it kind of felt like the students were a pack of feeding sharks and when they smelled a bit of blood and weekness on me that they started a feeding frenzy. I still loved the prac experience though am am super keen to learn as much as possible about this carreer, cause it is a full time thing and even at home during prac I was just thinking about lessons and what to do better. Does this get any better after a few years of teaching?

[shanghaimm]

Among other things, I teach mandarin to foreigners in Shanghai.

See if we can cooperate.

See my page here.

[ForumAngel]

I don't know any teachers who don't go through this same thing once and a while. I agree that conferences and workshops are a great way to boost yourself out of your boredom. You'd be surprised at the great ideas out there to help liven up your classroom.

Of course, you probably want something to help you now while you wait for the conferences and workshops. Why not try to change things up in your classroom? If you plan something new and are excited about it, the excitement will rub off on your students and you'll feed off of one another. One great way to do this is to try to incorporate games into your daily lessons. Students love them and they are great for the teachers too because they add some spontaneity to the classroom and allow you to relax and get to know your students and them you. If you want some ideas to help you get started, check out the website below.

Kind regards
Shelley
Fun English Games
http://www.teachingenglishgames.com

[Sanzo]

I guess if you have been doing something for quite some time it really gets boring, but if you try and figure out new ways of doing conventional stuff, you may find that there's always more than meets the eye.

Also, if you don't have the passion for what you are doing I guess we can consider it as another factor, in which case I'd tell you to simply pursue something new.

[jasminade]

I agree with many of the previous posters that variation is the key.

Try (whilst being sensible about how you may affect your students' cultures) to look into news events. Look into magazines for articles or just raise an issue for a class debate.

Variation is the key.

Good luck (you have a great job there!)

[Mephy]

I've been teaching for five years and am beginning to get tired of doing the same thing every day.

Do others feel the same as me? What do you do to keep the excitement going?

Kevin

I have been teaching EFL for over ten years and I am just getting sick and tired of those adults who expect me to learn the language for them. They do nothing. They do not even try to speak in class. And at the end of the course it is these students who complain about the institute, the textbook or the lack of textbook and the teacher lol. It just makes you wonder why they attend such a course lol.

Apart from the teaching aspect I am also sick and tired of the inference of government agencies on teaching and learning. It is as if teachers cannot be trusted and the government needs to step in and take control. Of course, it is all very much one-sided. Teachers seem to be the ones at the end of the boot lol.

Guess, like Kevin I am just getting burnt out lol.

Thank you for reading my message. I just has to get this off my chest.

[Comenius]

Burn out is a very natural phenomenon, and not just in the field of ESL. I read an article a week or so ago that said one of the causes is when your expectations exceed your results.

Seems like there isn't anything in particular that would "fix" the issue. All you can try to do is try to vary what you're doing, and also (to the extent you can) try to manage your expectations of what you can accomplish in a given period of time.