The most satisfying thing about language teaching
- carolinejestaz
- Apr 21
- 1 min read
Yesterday, I was helping my student practise questions in French, when she asked me what is the most satisfying thing about teaching languages.
You might expect me to have said 'when my students make no mistakes when they speak' or 'when they speak perfectly', and you'd be wrong!
For one thing, language learning is about communication, not perfection, so the pressure is off! Isn't it good news?
And what truly is satisfying to me, is when my students start talking in the language they're learning and stop to correct themselves, before I have the chance to do so.
Why? Because it means that they know what they're doing and are on their way to becoming confident, independent speakers.
So when it happens, I congratulate them because, believe it or not, most of the time, they don't even realise how far they've come and how much they know!
Being a teacher is not just about explaining/repeating/consolidating, it's also about showing students how to pause, take stock, and not only appreciate their progress, but feel proud of it.
