Speaking from personal experience, entering into your first international teaching post makes for a heady cocktail of excitement and trepidation.

There is the joy of discovering the language, culture and country in which you are to teach, as well as being prepared and organised for the practicalities of everyday living far from home.

And, of course, there is the teaching itself and the question of how to make your pedagogy relevant and engaging for your new students who come from all over the world.

Here are five ideas I learned from my first weeks to help you feel as confident as possible for your first day at the chalkface

1. No place like home

I found it so useful to learn as much as possible about my destination in advance. Students thrive off real-world examples and analogies to help them relate to more challenging aspects of the curriculum. Obviously, they have come from all over the globe, but the one place that connects them is the location of the school itself.

I remember successfully engaging my students with a research project on similar triangles, where a group of students used the shadows of the Moscow City skyscrapers to calculate the height of these iconic towers.

It’s worth making sure you think about how you do this. For example, while some students found my incorporation of cricket into kinematics lessons engaging in my first year abroad, they struggled more with the lesson content because the analogies were unfamiliar. 

It is also very important to ensure your teaching accommodates the laws and cultures of host countries.

International Women’s Day is a massive deal in Moscow for example and I found it to be a fantastic opportunity to incorporate links to gender equality into lessons.

2. Question, question more...question everything

A great way to get to know your new colleagues is to ask questions.

The first induction week can seem like information overload for many new starters: from finding a flat to setting up a bank account and learning how to pay bills, right through to registering with the local authorities. Thoughts about how you’re going to layout your new classroom quickly recede into the background.

Fortunately, your ex-pat colleagues have all been in your position. They know what it’s like and the chances are they’ll be more than happy to help.

This also applies to being in the classroom. You may have questions about a specific student, unfamiliar resources, or even just the layout of the school itself. Whatever the query, get to know your colleagues and you’ll find your feet and some friends for life in no time.

3. Everyone loves a team player

Many colleagues will not have had experience of working in a British state school in several years. Be prepared to tactfully share the knowledge you gained from working in these schools.

Work out what you can offer: curriculum knowledge, CPD training, maybe experience with class sizes that your colleagues may have not have managed in a while?

I was really grateful earlier this year when one of our school’s new maths teachers showed me some fantastic resources that I hadn’t seen before for the new international A-level curriculum, because the English one had changed a few years earlier.

Sharing good practice not only makes you friends, but it also benefits the students and boosts your own image and reputation within the school.

4. Word up

In many British international schools, English is the exclusive language for teaching staff and students alike. Nevertheless, students can understandably slip into other languages, most commonly the local language.

It helps if you at least have an idea of what they are talking about. Some languages are quicker to pick up than others, but investing in this is more than worthwhile.

It’s also useful to get to know members of the administrative and maintenance staff, who may not be required to know or speak English. You never know when you might need to ask for a new teacher’s chair after a hard day’s swivelling!

5. Remember your EAL students

One of the major things I had to adapt to when moving to my first post was the increase in EAL students.

Fortunately for me, my school had excellent resources in place to support teachers in catering for these students and they progress at a very impressive rate.

Nevertheless, it can’t hurt to brush up on a few teaching strategies before you start. Here is an outstanding toolkit that I often refer to.

I also kit EAL students out with red and green cards. They can discretely place the red card on the table if they need extra differentiation and the green card if they feel confident.

So, there you have it. I hope you all feel empowered to make a great first impression and approach that first day with the excitement it deserves.

Brendan McLoughlin is a mathematics teacher and head of year at the International School of Moscow. He has worked internationally for five years.