Visiting countries as a teacher expands your personality as well as your grasp of the subject. It offers you an opportunity to meet new people from different cultures, religions and backgrounds. I know a lot of English teachers who keep hopping from one country to the other and quitting jobs for ridiculous reasons. They don’t even stay in a country for one year. A teacher quit last month stating that the company refused to permit his girl friend under the family visa. These people don’t enjoy the pleasures of being in a new country and enriching their knowledge.

Teaching English in Oman has been an amazing and treasured experience for me. Oman is a beautiful and peaceful country. Omanis are, by nature, friendly and accommodating. The government, headed by Sultan Qaboos, is keen on improving the education system and the infrastructure of the country and under the King’s able leadership the country enjoys rapid growth in all sectors.

English education is part of the college curriculum. The students learn English in the first two years of their college study. The Ministry of Education recruits more English teachers every year. British Council and other private institutions run English programmes which attract people of all ages.

Classrooms are comparatively noisy if the teacher loses control. As you walk into the classrooms, you can really see curious faces looking at you. If you enter classrooms of young learners, you do need extra patience as they tend to make more noise. The first and foremost quality a teacher has to possess is the ability to build a rapport. Without building rapport, you can’t teach anything.

The students expect you to be a friend first. Then you can teach without many hassles. You will always have a couple of overenthusiastic students who will be disturbing your class sessions by talking loudly in Arabic. You will not be sure whether they make comments about you or talking something different. You can’t afford to lose your temper. Losing temper will make you a laughing stock in front of them as they start laughing at you.

The best mechanism in such situations is to ignore it or call the concerned students privately and talk about it. Some teachers who fail to build a bond with the students start feeling that the students always make comments about them and retort. They do face a ‘hell time’ in the class.

Some students could be actually quite rude at times. The teacher has to call them privately and talk to them about their behaviour and it yields good results.

Cell phones are constant threats to the teaching sessions as they start ringing all of a sudden during class hours. And much worse, some students start responding to the calls in front of you. Sometimes, you have to wait till they finish. Some students walk out without your permission and then return without your permission. Classroom control is in your hands and nobody can help you in this regard.

In spite of these problems we face, we do enjoy being in Oman because students are good and they love us because we are the teachers. Using some Arabic phrases and words will help improve your relationship with students.

Thanks – Shukran
I miss you – Mushtak luk
Why are you sad? – Limada Anta hasin?
I am tired – Ana Taban

I have taken classes for almost all age groups. Some classes are fantastic with their attitude and approach. They do come out with ingenious ideas and suggestions.

Omani students are quite frank about their opinions about you. If they love you, they will tell it to you. They will tell you how others feel about you. In the beginning, I was a bit taken aback by their frank feedback.

In a nutshell, Oman is a paradise for teachers. All you need is, mature approach and patience.

My honest opinion is that English education system at the school level needs some alterations. As English plays a vital role in college study and at the professional level, English teaching practice has to undergo some drastic changes at school level. This change will prepare all students to face their future with more confidence.

Clement (English teacher)
clemi@rediffmail.com