Patience isn't a virtue I have a lot of, but I find I have more than I thought I did when I teach ESL. Frustration can come easy and overtake you if you are not careful. One of the things I am learning is that if you work at explaining something hard enough, you can get through to your students. It can be a long and quite frustrating process, but once they understand what you are trying to do, they try their best to accomplish the task at hand. It's an interesting dynamic, yet it seems the only way we all learn is through this process of frustration, patience, and hard work. I feel exhausted after coming back from an ESL session, but I have a hard time saying much else gives me more satisfaction as a good night of teaching. I enjoy my job (even though I'm bored out of my mind right now, but that's besides the point.) ESL is a challenge to me. It's a challenge to help adults whose English skills are somewhere between nil to almost fluent and make them better English speakers. It is a challenge I relish, however.