If I had known this when I started teaching...

(This was my submission for the British Council competition)

It took me ten years of teaching to realize how important it is to slow down with students. We often forget how many new things our students encounter in the classroom. They need time to grasp the meaning, to process new information and to store it in their memory. The teacher must recycle all the time, re-use new words once and again, introduce new vocabulary and structures one at a time. So, don't be in a hurry! Listen to the pace of your students! When you think it's enough - slow down!