Darran Cairns is EC Manchester‘s Assistant Director of Studies. Read on to find out about what he has learnt while teaching and what makes EC so special!
“Teaching is the most difficult job I have ever done, there are so many things going on in a teacher’s head at any time. But that’s what makes it so special. You spend every day trying to help people and that feels wonderful.
I have learnt so much about different cultures around the world from our amazing students and I have learnt so much about teaching from my colleagues here at EC. I have never worked in a place with so many talented teachers in one place. I learn something new every time I watch one of them teach.
Teaching at EC is so special because of the atmosphere, everyone is always willing to do more than they are asked and if you need help, everyone offers. It makes you feel so supported. It really feels like a family.
One thing I’ve learnt from a student is that it doesn’t matter how young or how old you are – you can achieve your goals if you have the right attitude. I have learnt this from hundreds of different students who inspired me to keep learning too!
My best teaching memory is from when I had just started teaching. I was teaching young learners and one of the students was so shy he wouldn’t speak to anyone, not even the other kids. All the teachers worked with him over the course of the school year, gradually building up his confidence bit by bit. At the end of the year he stood up on stage in front of the whole school and parents and sang a song. In English! I will never forget the look on his parents faces and his smile when he did it.
I don’t think there is any one thing that makes a good teacher but the reason we all became teachers is because we want to help people. We have a million different ways, methods and styles but at the centre is always that desire to help, to improve and to inspire. The best teachers I have met share one thing – they care about their students, their student’s goals become important for them and they work incredibly hard to help the students achieve them.”
Are you interested in learning English at EC Manchester? Contact one of our counsellors today for more information!
