Reflect. Refresh. Restart.

Student frustration is a very integral part of learning in a language classroom. When a student is not understanding a particular language form, especially at the more advanced level, they can feel as if they have hit a plateau. As a teacher, it is my goal to work with this frustration, rather than against it. When I first started working with kids, I made the mistake of taking a student's work away when I noticed that they were distracted or not participating in the way I had intended. However, the head teacher then explained to me that when students are working on a task or activity, and someone comes along and disrupts them or takes their activity away (as a result causing a tantrum), even though it may not seem a big deal to an adult or like an over-reaction, it is the same as when someone interrupts something you have been working on for a long time with little consideration. It may not seem like much, but the activity they may be working on could mean the world to them, and being patient and empathetic to my students' frustrations, made all the difference in my teaching career. Whereas I used to go down a rabbit hole trying to explain a specific concept or language form and take up a whole class hour, I have gotten better at telling my students we are going to take a step back and move on to something else, before coming back to this; it is impossible to iron out every detail or aspect of my teaching. I find that when we come back to something after taking a break or redirecting to something else, both my students and I can gain a fresh perspective on the lesson and start with a clean slate.