Career Development

About a month ago, I was scrolling through the job listings on Craig's List. I do that about once a week to see "what's out there," not really because I'm looking, exactly, but because I'm curious. I have an internet business and three part-time online jobs to keep me busy, but I've been thinking it would be fun (and supportive of the changes I've made in my life lately) to get out into the world again and have some face time with people.

I browsed through the usual ads for sales reps, telemarketers and graveyard shift custodians and spotted a small ad looking for people to teach English as a second language (ESL). The kicker? No teaching experience required. Something inside me clicked.

I'm what you might call a born teacher. I love to explain things to people, love the puzzle of finding the words to get across a concept. I'm a communication nut. I especially love the moment when somebody "gets" what I'm talking about - the look of recognition in the eyes. When somebody says, "I understand," it just feels great.

I had never seriously considered teaching ESL because I don't speak any other languages fluently, which I figured was a prerequisite, but according to the well-known language instruction company looking for instructors, fluency in other languages wasn't required because instruction is conducted completely in the target language. I was immediately intrigued: unless you're Marcel Marceau, how do you teach a language without resorting to translation?

I went to the orientation meeting and liked what I heard. The company's world-famous total immersion technique is a lively combination of charades, Scrabble, Password, Pictionary, Sesame Street, Jeopardy, and every fun activity you remember from grade school. Thinking, "I can do this," I committed to the idea and got myself hired.

Just like that.

Training began immediately. It was intense but a total blast and the instructors and other students were all amazing people, full of the spark of curiosity and creativity I love. The days were very long and there were many moments of self-doubt, but I started to get the hang of it and by the end of the training I realized teaching ESL was just right for me.

Before I could catch my breath, I was given my first class to teach: a private student from Costa Rica who's here for 18 months while her husband works on a big project for a huge international corporation. I was feeling apprehensive, but with a whole lot of "You can do it, Steve," self-talk and fortified with a Venti iced Americano, I mustered the courage to knock on my student's front door.

Our class together was this morning. I couldn't have had a nicer, more charming first student. Yessenia is a darling person, so eager to learn English and have good pronunciation, and she's just thrilled to be here in the US with her husband and two small kids. We chatted (simply and slowly) for a little while, then I dove in, trying to remember all the techniques I learned during training.

The lesson was all about making appointments on the phone, so it was a fortuitous moment when Yessenia received a call from a friend to schedule a lasagna-making date. From then on, I could use that call as the example for all the things I was teaching - will make/will not make, will be making/will not be making, can/can't/cannot, etc., along with a long list of vocabulary words like appointment, available, reservation, prior commitment, and so on. We giggled as we role-played making calls to each other, and we went off-book to talk about Yessenia's real-world experiences making appointments and keeping a calendar. The two-hour session was over in a flash. Not only had we both learned a lot, but we had become friends.

I've been scheduled to teach eight classes a week, private and group lessons, at all levels of ability, from beginners to upper-intermediate students. It's daunting to think of the responsibility I have to my students, but it's exhilarating, too.

So begins a new chapter. Bring it on!

[PS: I am delighted to say that, through the weeks of stressful training and the launching of my new career, I didn't rely on food to relieve anxiety, quell fear, comfort or reward. In fact, I lost 12 pounds in the last three weeks! Amazing, amazing . . . . ]