The Challenge of Teaching ESL in Australia.

    Essentially, teaching English as a Second Language in Australia presents both challenges and rewards. It is a challenge to any ESL teacher or tutor to prepare lessons which are relevant and motivational. Students may be adult refugees or migrants, learning English to participate in society, or to attain qualifications in Australian colleges or universities. Additionally, students may be refugees or migrant children, who are learning to speak, read and write English. Alternatively, students may be international business people who wish to communicate better in English. Any ESL lesson must consider such individual diversity.

          Each student is at a different level, so the ESL teacher must slow down their speech, and can utilise non-verbal gestures as additional input, to get their message across to their students. Appropriate materials need to be prepared, which can involve a lot of paper work. Follow up is vital, to ensure clear comprehension for students. Questions must be designed thoughtfully to elicit suitable responses. With adult learners, an ESL teacher can seek feedback, to enhance further enabling of each student's mastery of English.

         Teaching or tutoring ESL in Australia is a rapidly expanding field. Career prospects are good, and can provide satisfying learning experiences for both teachers and students. Teachers can enjoy face-to-face contact, or employ Skype lessons. Initiating creative solutions in any learning environment is a two-way process. Teachers can learn from every student, by handling each lesson to the best of their professional ability.

          Finally, overcoming challenges is part of  the education process, and to see students achieve success is a very rewarding experience. As teachers, we gain some part of our identify in our profession. We are 'born to teach'. This is part of the challenge and rewards of teaching ESL in Australia.

Article source: http://eslarticle.com/pub/english-as-a-second-language-esl/139654-The-Challenge-of-Teaching-ESL-in-Australia.html