Last summer when I heard that I had been given a teaching ticket position in Atkinson to teach personality psychology, many first-time teaching related concerns bombarded my mind; such as which book to choose, how to structure the course, how to get my lectures and power point slides prepared on time. It was going to be my first teaching experience in a classroom filled with 120 students and I was definitely anxious, if not petrified. Part of my alarmed state of mind was rooted in my concerns around how I was going to perform as a teacher who obviously was not a Canadian. I speak English with an accent; I have a limited vocabulary compared to an average Canadian when it comes to topics outside of psychology; I am not very familiar with Canadian political and cultural history; in a nutshell I knew that I was going to be performing in front of a large group of people with whom I did not share a common background. In this piece I will share my experiences of teaching a course as a non-native English speaking non-Canadian person.

After sorting out the source of my anxiety before I started to teach the course, I decided to tell myself the following: I will feel comfortable in my skin; in who I am, where I come from, and the way I speak English. I told myself that the fact that I am not a perfect speaker of English, that I may not be able to give a course-related example referring to the most well-known rock star in North America, or that I may not find the most appropriate idiom to fit my sentence at a particular moment does not mean that I cannot be a good teacher. In my opinion, a good teacher communicates ideas clearly, creates an environment where students feel valued, contributes to the learning process and fosters understanding of diverse opinions and ways of learning. To reach these goals as a teacher in psychology, being an expert in English idiom use is not essential.

I emphasized something else in my conversations with myself before I started teaching: I wouldn't have been given this teaching position if others thought that I wouldn't be able to fulfill it competently. I also reminded myself that I was a human being like everybody else, and as such, cannot be expected to be perfect in everything I do. And believe me, although it may be a hard lesson, our students will recognize the fact that we are human. So while I was teaching this course, if I made a mistake or didn't understand a word used by a student, I asked them. In my opinion, the fact that they were being asked for input helped the students to own the space to a greater extent and encouraged them to contribute more frequently to class discussions.

My experience has taught me that creating a humane, comfortable, and understanding environment benefits both students and the teacher who may have concerns about language use or lack of familiarity with the culture. Encouraging students on the first day of class to feel free to seek clarification whenever needed was of great help for me and for my students. Similarly, asking for regular feedback about my teaching and the level of clarity of the concepts discussed in class provided valuable ideas for improvement in my teaching and enabled me to address students' concerns early. This feedback from students took the form of a one-minute paper or short feedback questions. I was impressed by the quality of constructive feedback they provided, it helped me to reconsider certain issues in my teaching style and continue with others that they found useful.

Some of my friends who are also international graduate students worry that they may experience some serious language problems once they start teaching, because their students may feel that they have an unfamiliar accent. I believe that if this is a real concern it should be addressed seriously. We all know how frustrating it can be if a teacher cannot communicate his or her ideas clearly to the students. This can be a more serious problem especially for students for whom English is a second language. As a person who strongly believes in the value of asking for feedback, I would definitely recommend talking to a couple of friends or faculty whom you believe would give you sincere feedback on your language use and accent to see if your concern is genuine and if it is one that needs to be addressed. Due to my own concerns in this area, I served as a guest lecturer in other classes and asked for feedback both from students and the course director prior to teaching my own class.

I also suggest that the effective use of visual aids such as slides, films, chalkboards and handouts can be helpful ways of complementing spoken information. Seeing certain words written as we speak can help students figure out how we pronounce them and help then accommodate to our accent. Last, but not least, having a good grasp of the subject matter and having been well prepared for lectures definitely helps you feel more comfortable in the classroom.

In my opinion, the fact that York is very multicultural compared to many other post-secondary institutions in Canada makes the lives of not-long-ago-arrived non-Canadian teachers easier. Students don't expect to see white North American teachers and are accepting of diversity. Students themselves are very diverse and those who are new immigrants to the country may even feel more comfortable in the presence of a teacher who shares a similar history with them. In my course, I tried to make diversity a valuable source for learning by referring to my own cultural background and professional experiences as a source of information and used examples that added interest to my teaching. Similarly, I asked students to contribute from their own diverse backgrounds so that being "different" became a resource for enhancing classroom discussions.

I believe that as a teacher being different from the student body can be enriching and inspiring in a classroom environment rather than a shortcoming. I myself enjoyed bringing new perspectives into my teaching and learning from my students who had so much to contribute to the learning space that we created together. I have a sense now after having this teaching experience that students appreciate teachers who are comfortable with who they are.