Aunque no lo parezca, hemos estado muy a gusto contigo.

Although we may not show it, we’ve been really happy with you.

No, the second ‘ELT Teacher’ in the title isn’t a mistake. I’ve worked as an ELT professional since 1989. I’ve been a teacher, senior teacher, young learners coordinator, Director of Studies, Director of Education and Director of Education & Operations and in my other life I also write coursebooks. So, when one of the publishers approached me with a project that would take up a lot more of my time, I thought it would be a great opportunity to step aside from my role as manager and go back to the classroom as a teacher again.

I had taught numerous classes on standby but of course teaching the same groups over a year is very different. For starters, I couldn’t use my ‘I’m the Director, so you’d better behave’ card and by the third lesson, I’d used up all my party tricks. When teenager X was not in a good mood nor were the rest of the group and the ‘cool’ lesson I’d spent hours preparing, bombed. When eight-year-old Y decided to try out some ‘naughty’ English words, it took the rest of the lesson to get the whole group back. On the plus side, the teenagers taught me how to text with my thumbs and they made sure I was keeping up with the latest series. The young learners introduced me to Katy Perry and they taught me how to floss dance. Then when I said goodbye to all of them at the end of May, teenager X said; ‘Estoy muy enfadada contigo’ (‘I’m really cross with you’) and another said, ‘Aunque no lo parezca, hemos estado muy a gusto contigo’. (‘Although we may not show it, we’ve been really happy with you’) I guess that’s what makes our job so worthwhile!