My First Week Teaching English: Reflections from the Classroom

A few months ago, standing in front of a classroom and teaching English felt both exciting and intimidating.

This week, I finally did it.

After months of CELTA training, lesson planning, observations and teaching practice, I spent my first full week teaching two groups of Turkish teenagers in Cambridge.

It was challenging.

It was exhausting.

It was sometimes chaotic.

And it taught me far more than I expected.

Perhaps the biggest lesson was this:

Teaching is not about being perfect.

It is about helping people learn, communicate and grow.

Starting Without a Map

The week began with more uncertainty than I expected.

I knew I would be teaching two groups of Turkish students aged between fourteen and sixteen.

I knew their approximate English levels.

I knew the first hour on Monday would be an induction session.

Beyond that, things were surprisingly open.

Coming from hospitality and training backgrounds, I was used to structured programmes and clear objectives. Instead, I quickly discovered that this was a language holiday programme rather than an exam preparation course.

At first, that felt slightly uncomfortable.

Where was the curriculum?

Where were the lesson plans?

What exactly was I supposed to teach for the rest of the week?

Looking back, that uncertainty turned out to be one of the most valuable parts of the experience.

The Students Were Not What I Expected

Like many new teachers, I started the week with assumptions.

I assumed that students on a summer programme would mainly want relaxed activities and light conversation.

I assumed they would not want to be challenged too much.

I was wrong.

Very quickly, I realised these students genuinely wanted to learn.

They were curious, engaged and willing to participate.

The more opportunities I gave them to communicate, discuss ideas and express opinions, the more they responded.

One of the biggest lessons of the week was learning to trust the students.

Learners often tell us what they need if we are willing to listen.

Confidence Comes From Doing

Before Monday, I had never taught a full week of classes independently.

By Tuesday evening, I had already taught eight hours of real learners from another country.

Something changed.

I stopped worrying quite so much about whether I looked like a teacher and started focusing on what would help the students learn.

What activity would engage them?

How could I encourage quieter students to participate?

What could I do if something finished earlier than planned?

The irony is that confidence arrived when I stopped chasing confidence.

It arrived because I was busy teaching.

Learning to Adapt

Not everything went according to plan.

Technology failed.

Printers refused to cooperate.

Activities sometimes took five minutes instead of fifteen.

Students occasionally arrived tired after late evenings and busy social programmes.

Teaching quickly taught me that lesson plans are important, but adaptability is essential.

Several times during the week I had to think on my feet and change direction.

One unexpected tool was AI.

During CELTA, I often heard discussions about AI in education. Some teachers are understandably sceptical, while others are curious about its potential.

For me, AI became less of a teaching tool and more of a planning assistant.

While students were working in pairs or groups, I could quickly generate discussion ideas, extension activities or alternative tasks when plans changed unexpectedly.

It did not replace teaching.

It simply gave me more options.

For a new teacher, that support was invaluable.

Teaching Is About People

One piece of feedback I received during an observation stayed with me.

My observer commented positively on the attention I gave to the students as people.

If somebody looked tired, I checked whether they were okay.

If somebody seemed quiet, I tried to involve them.

If somebody needed encouragement, I gave it.

The more I teach, the more I believe language learning is not only about grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation.

It is also about confidence.

Speaking a foreign language in front of other people can feel vulnerable.

Students learn best when they feel comfortable enough to take risks and make mistakes.

Creating that environment may be one of the most important parts of teaching.

A Small Moment I Will Remember

One evening after class, I went to the cinema with my partner Dylan.

As we walked past a Turkish restaurant, I suddenly noticed my students having dinner there.

They spotted me immediately.

“Teacher!”

Lots of waving followed.

The next morning, that chance encounter became part of our classroom conversation.

We talked about what they had eaten, what I had watched at the cinema and what everyone had done the night before.

It was a simple conversation.

But it reminded me that language exists to connect people, not simply to complete exercises.

The Week Ended Differently

By Friday, something had changed.

The students knew each other better.

They knew how pair work would function.

They were more confident speaking English together.

The classroom felt more relaxed.

And so did I.

At the beginning of the week, hearing students call me “Teacher” felt slightly strange.

I remember thinking:

“My name is Marianne.”

By the end of the week, it felt completely natural.

Somewhere between Monday morning and Friday afternoon, without really noticing it, I had stopped feeling like a trainee and started feeling like a teacher.

What I Learned

This week also challenged some of my assumptions about teaching itself.

When I started CELTA, I imagined myself teaching adults.

Instead, my first paid teaching experience was with teenagers.

And I loved it.

Their energy, curiosity and sense of humour made every day different.

They challenged me to think quickly, adapt constantly and stay engaged.

Most importantly, they reminded me why people learn languages in the first place: to communicate with other people.

On the final day, we exchanged goodbyes, took photos and wished each other well.

The following morning, I opened my emails and found a message from two students containing a photo and a thank-you note.

For an experienced teacher, that may seem like a small thing.

For a first-time teacher, it felt like a very special way to end the week.

Not because it meant everything had gone perfectly.

But because it reminded me that teaching is ultimately about people.

Helping them learn.

Helping them communicate.

And sometimes, if you are lucky, becoming a small part of their journey too.

My first week teaching English was far from perfect.

And that is exactly why it was such a valuable learning experience.