Just because you’re an ESL teacher doesn’t mean your life is going nowhere. In fact, this could just be a small stepping stone to greatness.
There are many famous people that used to be teachers, and many of them ESL teachers. Here’s a list for you to look at when you’re feeling a little bummed out before that first class of the weekend.
There are many famous people that used to be teachers, and many of them ESL teachers. Here’s a list for you to look at when you’re feeling a little bummed out before that first class of the weekend.
J.K. Rowling
Yep, she used to be an ESL teacher, in Portugal in fact. She worked on the first Harry Potter book while she was teaching ESL, and I can’t help but think some of her students, and perhaps their behavior, shone through in her work.
Nick Hornby
Brits will all know this great English author and former ESL teacher. He used to teach ESL in London, and I know from the amount of book sales I get there that they have a vibrant ESL industry. For those who don’t know, he went on to write such great titles as About a Boy, High Fidelity, and many other stories of misfits everywhere.
Sir Bob Geldof
Yeah, I was a little shocked by this one too! For those of you a little too young, Bob Geldof was nominated for the Nobel Peace Price in 1985 for putting on LiveAid, the first multi-continent rock concert for famine relief in Ethiopia. Before that he made great music (I Don’t Like Mondays) with the Boomtown Rats. Pink Floyd fans will also recognize him as the lead actor in the film The Wall.
Anyways, I’m pretty sure he taught ESL in Spain, although I don’t know this for a fact. If anyone know or would like to corroborate or prove wrong, go right ahead. I sure wish I would have known this, however, when I was listening to his music running up Nanshan in Shenzhen, China.
Anyways, I’m pretty sure he taught ESL in Spain, although I don’t know this for a fact. If anyone know or would like to corroborate or prove wrong, go right ahead. I sure wish I would have known this, however, when I was listening to his music running up Nanshan in Shenzhen, China.
Stephen King
Kind of a theme here, if you haven’t noticed – many ESL teachers go on to become writers. Well, Stephen King was an English teacher, but not really ESL. After all, he was teaching in the States to mainly white kids at a prep school. I’ve included him here to give all those struggling ESL teacher/writers a hope. I was once there as well and now I’ve got books selling.
Sting
Yeah, the rocker and blond-haired front man of the Police got his start teaching English to ungrateful students in Cramlington, in Northumberland, pretty much just like you! He worked this job for 2 years starting in 1974, and it probably had a big effect on his songs. After all, where do you think “Don’t Stand So Close to Me?” comes from?
Sir William Golding
I always thought of Golding sitting there staring at his young boys running about, raising mayhem, and generally causing hell while he was a teacher at Bishop Wordsworth’s School, in Salisbury. He’d be sitting back watching it all go by, storing it away, smiling and knowing that one day it’d make him rich.
And then he wrote Lord of the Flies and published it in 1954. Don’t think that those headaches won’t allow you to create something substantial, lasting, and meaningful to millions. And those little shits running around just might be the inspiration, and possibly motivation, that you need.
And then he wrote Lord of the Flies and published it in 1954. Don’t think that those headaches won’t allow you to create something substantial, lasting, and meaningful to millions. And those little shits running around just might be the inspiration, and possibly motivation, that you need.
George Orwell
Eric Blair, as he was known to those around him, taught at Hawthorns High School starting in 1933, a boy’s prep school in West London. He later moved to Fray’s College to teach after he got his first book out, and later joined the Spanish Civil War.
Of course he’d go on to write Animal Farm in 1945 and 1984 in 1948. Those days of teaching were long gone by then, but perhaps they had an effect on him later in life. He’s just another example of what you can do when you stop teaching.
Of course he’d go on to write Animal Farm in 1945 and 1984 in 1948. Those days of teaching were long gone by then, but perhaps they had an effect on him later in life. He’s just another example of what you can do when you stop teaching.
David Mitchell
This UK author is unknown to me, but he got shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which is pretty influential. He taught English, technical English mind you, to students in Japan for 8 long years. That’s really putting in some time as an ESL teacher, let me tell you!
It paid off – ha managed to put out some great books starting with 1999s Ghostwritten and then number9dream and later Cloud Atlas. I think that last one was made into a movie, and many of my fellow ESL teachers in China may have bought the knock-off DVD on the street.
It paid off – ha managed to put out some great books starting with 1999s Ghostwritten and then number9dream and later Cloud Atlas. I think that last one was made into a movie, and many of my fellow ESL teachers in China may have bought the knock-off DVD on the street.
Gene Simmons
You wouldn’t think that the long-tongued bass player from Kiss would be much for teaching material. But the rocker and businessman actually taught 6th grade in Harlem, New York, for a few months in the 1960s. He wasn’t much good at it from a parent’s perspective, but I bet his students love him. I mean, who wouldn’t love a teacher that gave them Spiderman comics instead of Richard III?
Bingo
Yeah, I had a tough time coming up with 10 teachers for this list, and I figured if I also had a picture of a dog I might get some more love from readers. But the truth is that this little pup named Bingo has done a lot to teach children around the world English, or at least five letters: B-I-N-G-O. And that was his name-o!
