Unit 1: Professional Career as a Teacher

English for Teachers C

Part 1 - Vocabulary related to education

1. Educational stages

List the following stages and events in the order they happen in a person’s life.

 bachelor’s (degree) studies

 university entrance exam
 secondary/business/medical/agricultural/technical … school
 lower primary school
 master’s (degree) studies
 upper primary school
 nursery school/kindergarten
 doctoral studies
 Maturita exam/school leaving exam
 university graduation

2. Prepositions

Complete each sentence with the correct preposition. If no preposition is needed, write a dash (—) in
the space.

1. Monika graduated ……….. molecular biology …….... Charles University three years ago.
2. Mark isn’t at home now. He’s ……... school.
3. Crime has become a major problem ……….. many primary and secondary schools.
4. Jill studies history of drama ……….... university in Madrid.
5. I study ……….…. Masaryk University.
6. Recently, there have been many changes ……….. the Faculty of Education.
7. There are two new teachers ………... the Department of Mathematics.
8. Young people sometimes decide to quit ……..… their studies because they lose motivation.
9. All Masaryk University students have to pass an exam ………... a foreign language.
10. Sam decided to write her thesis ……….... early 19th century English poets.
11. In the USA students are expelled ……….… university when convicted of cheating.
12. I enrolled ………. a modern art course.

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Part 2 - Professional career as a teacher

3. Listening

You will hear two young people (a boy and a girl) talking about what job they would like to do in the
future. Listen and fill in the missing words.

Speaker 4

1 The boy wants to be a ______________ ______________.

2 He needs good ______________ in his A-levels.

3 He’s always wanted to be involved in a ______________ profession.

4 He was inspired by a ______________ ______________ a few years ago.

5 Last year he did some ______________ work.

Speaker 5

1 The girl will probably become a ______________.

2 She has been given a lot of ______________.

3 Her choice is not based on her ______________ ______________.

4 She’d like to be ______________ and ______________.

4. Do you want to become a teacher?

You are going to qualify as a teacher soon. Interview each other in pairs and try to find out/give as
many details as possible.

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A TEACHER?

If YES, answer the following questions…

 Are you ready to become a teacher?

 Why do you want to become a teacher?
 What subjects do you study and why?
 What is your experience as a trainee teacher at the
Faculty of Education like?
 Do you have any experience of teaching other than the compulsory teaching practice required
by the faculty?
 What do you expect from your teaching practice?
 Where would you like to work? Why?
 When you think about your career, what are you most excited about and what are you most
concerned about?
 What skills will you need for this profession and which of them do you still need to work on?

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If NO, answer the following…

 Why don’t you want to become a teacher?

 What other jobs do you think would suit you and why?
 Do you have any experience of any of them?
 What particular job or type of work are you most interested in?
 When you think about your career, what are you most excited about and what are you most
worried about?
 What skills will you need for the profession you’d like to do and which of them do you still need
to work on?

For EVERYONE…

 If you could turn the clock back and decide again, would you study at the same faculty?
Why/not?

5. Tips for people thinking of becoming teachers

Read the following sentences and say in which paragraph you might find the information they present.

1. Establishing an engaging environment in the classroom is one of the components of teaching

that leads to success. ___
2. If the teacher doesn’t feel very confident in himself/herself, he/she will find the demands of
classroom management too difficult to cope with. ___
3. Not only qualifications but also certain personal qualities are needed in teaching profession.
___
4. Being an excellent student doesn’t imply having good teaching skills. ___
5. Teaching graduates need to enter the classroom with practical skills for handling a classroom,
not just knowledge of the subject they are teaching. ___
6. Being a friend with students can undermine the learning environment in the classroom. ___

A Some young people who are good at a subject at school and who have one or two teachers they look
up to might be considering becoming teachers themselves. What these young people need to
remember, however, is that being good at a subject does not necessarily mean being a good teacher.
There is a lot more to teaching than having a lot of knowledge. For the right type of person, teaching is
a career that can be immensely satisfying.

B To be a good teacher it is necessary to be good at finding ways to get young people interested in the
subject - to arouse their curiosity. This requires a profound appreciation of the way young people think
and feel - something which many people lose as they pursue a narrow interest in their chosen subject.
People may graduate from university with an excellent qualification but then find it almost impossible to
capture the imaginations of students who come into the classroom wishing they were still out with their
friends. Sometimes people who are too interested in their own subject quickly become disillusioned with
the difficulties of working with teenagers who are not patiently waiting to hear about poetry or
photosynthesis.

C Teachers also need to be good at what is called classroom management. They need to decide how
the pupils should enter the room, where they should sit, how the desks should be arranged and they
need to come up with a good lesson plan with an interesting variety of activities to keep the students
motivated. Discipline is also a huge issue. Teachers cannot just talk enthusiastically about their subject.
They also have to be good at policing the classroom. However well a lesson is planned there may still
be disruptive students who must be dealt with firmly. Even the good students will quickly lose respect
for a teacher who obviously cannot effectively control unruly elements.

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D The demands of maintaining order in the classroom are one reason why it is vital for teachers to have
a high level of self-esteem. It is not uncommon for individuals who devote themselves to their subjects
and do very well at them to have a low level of self-esteem. Unresolved teenage problems of mixing
with their peers can mean that even as adults these people still have a general sense of social
insecurity. This can lead to catastrophe when these people try to start teaching.

E People who have this insecurity either keep too much of a distance from the students and fail to
establish any meaningful communication or they do the opposite and nervously try to be a friend to
everybody. The latter in particular is a recipe for disaster. Teachers need to be able to relate to their
students and need to be approachable so that students feel able to ask for help if they get into
difficulties, but the classroom will slide into chaos if the teacher tries to create the impression that we
are all friends.

F It is a challenging job, but all the challenges can be met. There is no situation so serious that it cannot
be dealt with effectively by a well-trained teacher, but to become a well-trained teacher it is necessary
to have the right type of character.

Source: http://fullspate.digitalcounterrevolution.co.uk/archive/teachertips.html

6. Joining the teaching profession

What are the advantages and disadvantages of becoming a teacher? Write your ideas in the chart
below.

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

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7. Job interview

Underline the phrases with prepositions and then do the exercise below.

 I have a variety/range of experience of –ing…

 My first degree was a BA in Philosophy….
 I obtained a BA in Philosophy in 2003.
 I graduated in molecular biology from the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.
 I specialise/specialize in………..
 I have participated in….
 I have undertaken voluntary work.
 My knowledge of ……………is on a good level X I have an advanced/a very good knowledge
of sth.
 in the Czech Republic, in the USA/US, in the UK X in France, in Portugal, in Germany….
 in Brno
 at Masaryk University, at Charles University, at Palacký University
 at the Faculty of Science, at the Faculty of Education, at the Faculty of Arts
 at/in the Department of Music
 study/teach history X study/teach at the Faculty of Arts

Complete each sentence with the correct preposition.

1. I graduated ________ musicology ________ the Faculty of Arts of Palacký University Olomouc.
2. I obtained a PhD ________ microbiology in 2008.
3. I have a rich experience ________ statistical modelling.
4. I specialise ________ early twentieth century literature.
5. Dr Hutchinson is a well-recognised expert ________ radiology.
6. I have also participated ________ recent research into the negative effects of antibiotics in
pregnancy.
7. I have an advanced knowledge ________ modern communication technologies, including
videoconference technology.
8. There are only two institutions of this type ________ the Czech Republic.
9. All collaborating special schools are located ________ Brno.
10. There are ten faculties ________ Masaryk University.
11. The conference was held ________ the Faculty of Economics and Administration.
12. Dr Johnson is currently working ________ the Department of Public Economics.

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8. Role play

Work in pairs. Read the roles below and act them out.

STUDENT A – You are the head teacher at a secondary school. You are looking for a new teacher.
Student B is a candidate for the position. Conduct a job interview with them. Then, inform them about
your decision and provide feedback.

Prepare questions about the following topics:

 education/qualifications/teaching experience
 motivation to become a teacher
 skills teachers need/why the candidate would make a good teacher
 preference to work individually or in a team
 the reason why the teacher’s subjects are important
 …

STUDENT B – You have just graduated from the Faculty of Education. There is a vacant teaching
position at a secondary school where you would like to work. You have been invited to an interview.

Prepare what you would say about the following topics:

 your education/qualifications/teaching experience

 your motivation to become a teacher
 why you would make a good teacher
 working in a team
 the subjects that you would like to teach
 …

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