I'm Not a Teacher but an Instructor

Excuse me! Please, do not call me a teacher! I am an instructor! I think this is an interesting topic to write on this blog. Teacher and instructor are different words. They also have different meaning. Let's take a look the explanation below according to pediaa.com. Teacher:

A teacher is a person who educates children in school. The term teacher is usually associated with primary and secondary education. That is to say, teachers educate children in primary and secondary schools or colleges. So, they mostly have children – those under the age of 18 – as students.

Teaching usually involves imparting theoretical knowledge. For example, a Chemistry teacher teaches theories, formulas, and information about Chemistry. He may also teach the students how to apply this knowledge practically. But teaching basically deals with imparting knowledge.  A teacher’s job also involves facilitating learning, monitoring and evaluating the students, and guiding them on the right path. We also generally associate teachers with responsibilities such as teaching students good manners, the difference between right and wrong, etc. Therefore, a teacher has many duties and responsibilities apart from teaching.

A teacher is typically a permanent position in a school.  To become a teacher, one needs education certification from a teacher’s college or a bachelor’s degree.

Instructor:

An instructor is a person who instructs you how to do something. An instructor teaches specific practical skills. He teaches practical things, not theory. For example, a driving instructor teaches you how to drive a vehicle; a diving instructor teaches how to dive; a language instructor teaches how to speak a language. Therefore, the term instructor is very much similar to a coach.

The term instructor implies a temporary position. An instructor is employed for a limited a time period until the students learn the skills he teaches. Therefore, it is not a permanent position like a teacher.

The main duty of an instructor is to make sure that the students/student have reached a standard level of competence in the relevant skill. 

As a language instructor for USAF, I have to meet standardization: 1.  Native speaker; 2.  Born and grown up in the country where I am a native speaker; 3.  Must earn at least a bachelor's degree and I have Bachelor of Agriculture Degree in the Agronomy. Bachelor's degree in linguistic is preferred; 4.  Must have experiences in teaching to adults at least two years, and I have experiences in teaching ten years. 5.  Must be up to date with the news in the target country and I am active in the online media based on the citizen reporter and social media. I also like reading the news from everywhere and keep in touch with my family/relatives  and friends in Indonesia; 6.  Having knowledge in literature including fiction and non fiction, and I am a fiction (flash story, short story, and novel) and non fiction writer (from poems, review, profile/biography, interview, opinion, essay, feature, and reportage). I also read many literature books; 7.  Know well how to operate MS. Office especially MS. Word and Power Point, including Excel; 8.  Have ability to create presentation with Power Point based on the given syllabus; 9.  Have ability to teach in different levels; 10. Have ability to prepare and conduct the course material (speaking, listening, writing, and reading), written quiz/test, oral proficiency evaluation, and progress reports using ILR (Inter-agency Language Roundtable); 11. Other standardization as needed, but the most important is you must be a certified instructor. To be a certified instructor, you must PASS the training! In the final training, I had to demonstrate my ability how to prepare study materials, operate, and conduct the online class to a trainer who acted as a student. This is the interesting part because by the end of this training, the trainer asked me how long I had taught already. My answer was at that time: almost eight years. She nodded confidently as she had already seen me how I taught her well and confidently. That made me as an outstanding candidate. 
I'm sure you will then ask: how to become a successful instructor?

The answer is:
First: Starts with the quality content because it always attracts the audience. Second: Select a well-known topic. It will give the confidence and help to do it in comfortable manner Third: Budget the time accordingly. Plan the time efficiently. (This is the hardest part for me as I have several jobs and work seven days a week) Fouth: Content should be simple and understandable. Those will increase accessibility. Fifth: Use effective/outstanding images and videos to catch attention of learner's eyes. Sixth: Know students interest. Their reviews will help to change accordingly. (From my experience, I used to know their interests in the middle of the class period. When I delivered an Excel form with many numbers involved, they like because they like numbers! Or I changed the way how I present the study materials, they like it. For an example: They like if I teach them the Indonesian composition more than reading materials) 
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My translation project reaches 50% tonight. Several weeks late from what I've planned. That's fine. I'm a busy mom and wife.😊😊 
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