Managing in TEFL - "Our Circles Beyond"

Managing in TEFL is a companion for language school leaders written by Simon Pearlman 

The learning never stops, does it? We learn from our colleagues, from our students and their families, of course, as well as all the people we work around on a regular basis. With these immediate circles, we're always listening, watching, always learning . And what about our circles beyond the immediate? We can learn so much from further afield, from people in different places, different spaces both in and outside our own profession. Lets take a look at our “circles beyond”.

These circles beyond, often called our Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), can give us so much pause for thought and so much inspiration. How we create and work with our varied circles can help us grow and reflect, help us react and anticipate better, and can lead to all sorts of opportunities.

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Change is, of course, inevitable and many things around ELT are changing fast, it can be hard to keep up. Being in touch with people outside our immediate circles can help put our problems into perspective, it can enrich our awareness and broaden our horizons. 

So how do we do it? How can we connect and develop our circles beyond? For many “networking” feels like something grease-pole climbing, sleazy executives might do, and that's just not us, right? It doesn't need to feel like that, it can feel natural and connecting, it can feel human.

Personal connections

Let's think about the people we've worked with over the years who we've connected with and enjoyed being with. What are they doing now? Are they still in ELT? If so, where and doing what? Some will have shifted careers and that's always interesting too. Look them up, connect with them. It's always good to hear from people, we love being remembered, we love being connected with. You could start your out-of-the-blue message with “Hi…, Remember me? We worked together in… I thought of you because… and just wanted to say hi.” Don't forget that however you connect, the people might not see it, might not respond, don't worry about that, it's (almost certainly!) not about you.

There are times when people just pop up unexpectedly too. Maybe we're in a different city where a colleague from 20 years ago or an old friend lives. Drop them a line, ask for suggestions about the area and see if they'd like to meet. These conversations will nearly always be at least interesting and could even turn out to be amazing.

Widening our professional circles

We can gain and contribute so much from connecting within our professional circles. We can attend and present at in-person conferences where we can meet and listen to different people with different experiences and ideas. There are in-person conferences all over the world, find the ones near you. We might feel like everyone knows each other and we're on the outside looking in; don't worry, they usually don't and mostly people will welcome connection, many will be feeling the same as you. And anyway conferences have a programme and often exhibitions too and that gives us plenty to do. Gently move into conversations and you'll find ELT people are lovely, warm, open people.

Often conferences are organised by professional associations, they can be local, regional, national or international. What are the ELT associations near you? Why not become a member and see what it's all about? If there isn't a local association, why not start one? It can start with a meet up over a coffee or a small event to talking TEFL, it'll always be interesting and could lead to beautiful things happening.

Online conferences are great for learning but rarely for really connecting. We can find our communities online in so many different ways and this opens up connections around the world. We can build relationships online with people we may neveractually meet, each interaction can enrich us.

Unexpected opportunities might well crop up in our lives and how we react and engage with those can move us and change us and open up new ideas and new paths. Maybe it's an opportunity to work somewhere different during the summer months; a DOS job at a summer school in the UK, training groups of Dutch teachers in Galway or Cambridge, running a CertTESOL course in India, etc. We can earn some extra money, of course, but perhaps more importantly, we can move outside our comfort zones and broaden our circles beyond the closest. Go for it!.

Ever-expanding circles 

We're also wise to look beyond our profession to consider what's going on elsewhere and what can contribute to and learn from. Some of us are lucky enough to have some wise people around us who can give us different perspectives and probably helpful things to consider. Who are you already connected with who can do that? Lean into these relationships, they can be incredible. And this takes us back to our personal connections again.

In the same way as our ELT explorations, we can do similar things with other areas too. What other areas are you interested in? Maybe it's about education in general, or something specific like inclusivity in education. Maybe it's about learning about business or investment opportunities (yes, even on a TEFL income.) Or maybe it's something totally different like art or creative writing. Whatever we do, looking outside of the here and now, will help us grow.

Reflective circles

Take a moment to reflect on your circles and think about who and how you could connect with and grow.

How do you connect with and beyond your immediate circles? Is it through personal connections, associations or other groups? What unexpected opportunities have cropped up for you? Who are your people outside your inner circles? And what are your “circles beyond”?

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this edition of Managing in TEFL, you can respond in the comments below or email us at training@activelanguage.net 

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This is written by Simon Pearlman of Active Language Teacher Training provider of Trinity CertTESOL, Teaching Young Learners and other courses. See www.activelanguage.net for more info or email us at the address above.