Not what I trained for

My TESOL course was very good, I enjoyed it (when I wasn't stressed with the amount of work) and, although I can't explain English grammar very well I passed.  I got a job, travelled to Ho Chi Minh City and started teaching.  English Literature.  Not English grammar which was what I trained for.  However it was not a problem as they use very similar teaching practises and I prefer the literature.

Now, I'm teaching Maths.  Yes, you did read that correctly, I am teaching Maths.  The company I work for - EMG - provide the Cambridge curriculum for English, Maths and Science as extra lessons for students.  For the first part of the year, students only study English, in order to get their language to a point where they can study the Maths and Science.  A month ago it was decided my school was going to switch for 2 English, to 1 English and 1 Maths a week.  In order to keep my students I volunteered to teach them Maths (as I actually studied it longer than English at school).  The managers agreed, and so I had a week to think about Maths for the first time in a long time.

After the first lesson I was wondering what I had let myself in for; it was a new class (as I had to pick up an extra Maths and drop one of my English) and I didn't know the students.  The students had all been asking for ages 'when are we going to start Maths?' and it didn't take them long to work out that Maths isn't all that interesting, especially as they have covered it all in their Vietnamese lessons and can do far more complicated stuff than what the syllabus says to cover.  It is their English that causes the most trouble and the word problems. 

I think after a month of teaching Maths 3 days a week, the lessons are improving, with more games (I love it when teachers put resources on the internet!) and more challenging word puzzles, which means the students are enjoying the lessons more and I am enjoying them more.  There is no better feeling than having students understand the lesson, and see them improving while having fun (and that goes for English lessons too).

Teaching Maths is certainly not what I trained for and not what I was expecting to do when I arrived here, but for the time being I'm enjoying it.  It's also great to keep the same students and really get to know them, as well as them being more comfortable with me.  One of my students, who at the beginning of the year was shy with me, not at all confident and had a very low level English, has improved in confidence a lot, so much that he asked for help the other day!  He never would have done that 5 months ago, and seeing his face when he gets a cartoon book to read is amazing; such a big grin.

I definitely want to become a teacher in England.  History though, not Maths or English!