Sunday, August 31, 2025
Summertime and the livin’ is easy or so sang Ella Fitzgerald – whether she was thinking about teachers at the time who knows but for many of us, once the academic year has come to a close that can only mean one thing – summer holidays! The view from the start sees the months stretch ahead and one may wonder how to fill in All. That. Time. Needless to say, we are now halfway through these days of freedom but there is still plenty of time left to put your feet up or achieve anything you set your mind to. So, read on to discover 8 ways for teachers to make the most of their remaining summer break!
This may come across as stating the obvious but it’s surprising how often a teacher’s mind strays back to work or something triggers a flood of work-related thoughts. It could be that you have to make a conscious effort not to think about it so whatever is going to help you enjoy these well-deserved days of R and R, do it! Be it a spa day, a rural house weekend away or even backpacking around Europe, make sure you recharge those batteries so you are refreshed for the course ahead.
As far as we know we are restricted to one life so as cliché as it sounds it’s important to make the most of it. And as teachers, enjoying the things that are meaningful to us outside of work is crucial to staying sane inside of it, therefore what we do with our free time over the longer summer months can really make a difference to how the year pans out. Summer is the perfect moment to really kickstart a long-awaited project such as making a vegetable garden or finally organising the inherited stamp collection but it could also mean taking up something brand new like learning to surf. The point is to start and then keep it up during the academic year and embrace the joy that your new hobby brings.
With the current state of the world there is an increased need for empathy and understanding towards others and one way to help this situation is by volunteering. This can happen in numerous ways from a simple donation to a foodbank or collecting essential items to using our skills as teachers and providing language classes to refugees either locally or with a recognised program abroad. Giving back to the community and/or those in need doesn’t necessarily mean taking on a fulltime unpaid job, even a few hours a week can make a world of difference to someone else’s life. As always, do your research first so you know exactly what you’ll be in for and that nothing comes as an unexpected shock.
Admittedly this point might seem at odds with the first one, however, it is helpful to keep your teacher radar on to a limited extent just in case any relevant news crops up about the ELT industry or you come across something that could be useful in class. This could range from a word game you stumbled across to clever headlines to the most popular song of summer with lyrics worth looking at and anything in between. Just because you’re currently not teaching doesn’t mean anything that could potentially help your teaching upon your return should be totally forbidden over these months.
With all that time to fill why not become a student yourself? Step into your students’ shoes and experience perhaps once again what it’s like to learn a language. What better way to keep the neurons working over summer than learning (or improving) the lingo of the country you’re teaching in, somewhere you’re travelling to or simply out of interest. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to observe someone else teaching so you can really see what works and what doesn’t from a student’s perspective.
Similar to the above in the sense of harnessing your grey matter but in this case, learning something specific to teaching English. Not quite sure about teaching Young Learners? Do a course (we have one here if you’re interested: https://london-school-online.com/en/itinerary/the-yls-course ). Need a refresher on teaching receptive skills? Cambridge has numerous webinars on a myriad of topics to watch. And of course, conferences abound in the ELT industry so do a quick google search and find one that piques your interest – it could even be the perfect excuse to travel somewhere!
For a lot of teachers in the ELT industry, contracts are just for the academic year, which works out to approximately 9 months, and while this may be exactly what some people want the downside often is that funds need to be topped up somehow. One of the easiest ways to do this is to work at a summer school as short-term contracts typically go from a couple of weeks to a few months depending on your needs. Furthermore, it’s a great chance to experience a different side to teaching English as opposed to following a syllabus over the school year and over summer there is usually quite the international mix of students. A word of warning though, depending on your personal circumstances it may now be more complicated to work in the U.K. post-Brexit so in that case Ireland or Malta are more viable options if you are a European passport-holder only.
To help prepare for the upcoming year both mentally, logistically and physically, it’s a good idea to start prepping for what’s to come the week before returning to work. That way, your first day back won’t be such a shock to the system and the time spent doing so will allow you to ease back into the job as opposed to panicking about timetables or what to teach. For instance, get familiar with (or remind yourself of) the public transport routes, buy essentials likes a wall planner, folder and notebook, sharpen those pencils and decorate your walls if allowed. Another useful idea is to declutter from the previous year if you haven’t done so already. Get rid of those unused handouts, leftover craft items and start anew. We would also recommend taking a moment to declutter your laptop of anything that is no longer needed from the previous course (or more!).
Summer really is a paradox in that it’s the time to slow down and unwind from the busy school year but it also gives you the chance to let loose and do the things you wouldn’t ordinarily have time for. That’s why aiming for a balance offers the best of both worlds and we sincerely hope you are able to achieve that. Enjoy making the most of summer!
