Back to School Self-Care for World Language Teachers

The first few weeks of school are exciting but also one of the most challenging and stressful periods of the entire school year. We are dusting off our language skills, setting up our classrooms, lesson planning like crazy, getting to know our students, building relationships, establishing procedures, reviewing old content, beginning to teach new content, so on and so forth.  It’s easy to forget that self-care is important, especially during this initial period of the year when we feel like we might not need to pay much attention to  our self-care practices because we’ve just come back from a relaxing summer break. In my eyes, it’s the perfect time to think about and establish really strong and effective self-care practices that you can take with you throughout the year.

Let’s not lose steam during the first few weeks of school. Teaching is not a sprint; it is a marathon!

Limit Target Language use

This is for sure going to be contrary to conventional wisdom and perhaps to your innate intuition as a World Language educator.  Real talk: using the target language in the classroom can be exhausting for us teachers, even if you have a high level of proficiency in the language or are a native speaker.  I personally can speak in French with friends and family for hours without fatiguing, but talking to a group of French 1 students where I am slowing down my language speed, modifying my language to be comprehensible, constantly repeating myself, using gestures, writing key words on the board…all so that I can make myself understandable to their novice ears?  Utterly exhausting.

So, limit the amount of input you are providing students with during the first few weeks of class. There are several good reasons to do this. First, you want to conserve as much energy as you can during the Back to School season because it is typically the busiest part of the entire school year. Second, bombarding students with massive amounts of input (especially in the lower levels) can be intimidating and off-putting. I say this often, but language that is not comprehensible to your students is just noise. So be intentional about the instructional activities you are planning that require you to use the target language for extended periods of time. Opt for community-building activities or cultural activities rather than those that require a ton of input from your end.

Let students do the heavy lifting

I worked with this fabulous veteran math teacher for about five years before she retired, and during the course of our time spent working together, she taught me many invaluable lessons about the craft of teaching.  One of her most treasured pieces of advice for me as a novice teacher was that teachers should never be working harder than their students.  That idea really struck me, because I feel like a lot of us believe that we need to be putting on a performance day in and day out for our students in order to keep them engaged and learning.  We have this idea that if we are not up in front of the room “teaching,” we are simply not effective teachers.  And this couldn’t be further from the truth!

When students do the heavy lifting in your class, you are communicating to them a very important message: You, their teacher, already know the content. You’ve already put in the hard work to learn the material. Now, it’s their turn! You have high expectations for them, which includes them taking ownership of and accountability for their own learning.

(Sidebar: anyone else feel like today’s generation of learners are truly content sitting back and passively absorbing content? It’s almost like they prefer to let their teachers talk at them while they sit there—we need to break this paradigm and reiterate to them that they are at the center of the class’ language learning experiences and as such, they must play an active role.)

This does not mean that you throw them into the deep end and expect them to swim without having put the proper scaffolds in place beforehand. It simply means that you are more of a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage. You provide them with opportunities to explore and practice language independently or collaboratively, which they can do on their own without much assistance from you. It’s like you’ve given them the puzzle pieces they need, and they have to put the puzzle together themselves.

Or, another analogy would be: you’ve provided them with the recipe and necessary ingredients, and they have to bake the cake.  You’re there to help remind them to re-read the recipe carefully, or to let them know when they’ve skipped a critical step, or perhaps provide some constructive feedback on the quality of their batter, but ultimately they are the ones baking the cake!

I have a question that I would like you to consider:

What is one task or activity that I do frequently in my class that requires A LOT of mental and/or physical energy, that I could somehow modify or adjust so that my students take a more active role in the learning process?

Stay hydrated & take breaks often

It’s very easy to forget how much energy teaching requires.  As you are teaching, especially during the first few weeks of school where perhaps you are talking more than you typically do (i.e. explaining procedures and course content, answering questions, facilitating icebreaker activities), be sure you are staying hydrated! Keep a water bottle on your desk and take frequent sips. I always get a sore throat and feel vocal fatigue at the end of the first week of school, because I don’t typically need to project my voice and talk for extended periods of time during the summer.  Take care of yourself physically during this back to school period!

• Mini Tip: Snacks are also important! This year, I will be teaching two 80-minute blocks back to back. You can bet that I will have a stash of granola bars, dried fruits, and other healthy snacks in my drawer to help me keep my energy up during the school day.

Additionally, make sure you are taking frequent breaks, both during class and afterwards. If you teach 80-minute blocks like I do, find pockets of time during those 80 minutes where students are working independently or collaboratively and where you have some time and space to catch your breath (and hydrate!).

Once your students leave or you are on your prep, what are some things that you can do to quickly de-stress and recuperate some energy? Maybe you get out of your classroom for a bit and go for a quick walk around the school to get some fresh air, maybe you find a friendly colleague to chat with, maybe you watch a Youtube video or check social media for a bit to unwind.  Whatever it is, make sure you are giving yourself some time to decompress throughout the day so that you don’t wear yourself out. 

Set realistic goals for yourself and your students

The first month of school is really an adjustment period both for teachers and students. Some students (and their teachers!) have not had to wake up before 10 AM in two months! Be cognizant of this transition as you proceed during the first few weeks of school, and give yourself and your students the time and space to adjust to being back in the building. Set goals for yourself that are attainable and essential to moving the needle forward in your classroom.  Reuse materials from last year, find what other teachers in your content area are doing online or in teacher Facebook groups, spend a couple bucks on that high-quality resource you’ve had hanging out forever in your cart or wishlist on TPT so that you don’t have to spend your weekend creating resources! 

Back to School season can be challenging, but I know you’ve got this. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to make your return to the classroom easier. Send me an email anytime, or leave a comment below and let me know what you are personally doing to take care of yourself during this back to school season!

- Michael