I got the job offer (and before Friday, even!!!)! They haven't emailed me the contract yet but I should get it in the next couple of days. It's surreal to me that someone wants to hire me--for more than being a waitress, which has been my primary summer occupation.
I have value, even as a complete and utter rookie?! Is this the beginning of growing up? Basically I'm stunned. I think I will be over there mid-September--mere weeks away. There's so much to do between now and then.
CELTA is almost finished. I have my final lesson tomorrow and prepping it is such a bugger at this point. I just want to be done...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Employable?!?! POSSIBLY!!!
Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!!! I just had an interview (like, it ended 5 minutes ago) with Posh English École that went swimmingly well. Every year they hire 1 or 2 CELTA grads fresh off the block and I'm on the short list of 2, so I apparently stand a good chance of getting hired. Absolute euphoria!!! I'd be in co-housing 15 minutes from the school with some other new teachers; PEÉ arranges staff outings so that we all get along. I'll know by Friday when the Director of Studies speaks with the Owner of the school. I'm going to get an email from a new-ish teacher who's been at PEÉ for the past year and is coming back to the States for his doctorate--so I'll be able to get the lowdown from him.
Orientation would begin for new teachers on September 15th and they have ongoing professional development workshops over the next few months. September is apparently pretty quiet since university hasn't started yet, and they have a lot of university students. They're an established school with textbooks, materials and technological resources (the Internet even exists over there!!!). I'd be teaching between 20 and 30 hours a week as needed (+ prep time...). They have staff who takes care of the visa paperwork.
Ohmigosh I'm so excited I can barely stand it. Think good thoughts for me--hopefully no one else will contact them over the next couple days and I will be offered a job in Izmir, on the Aegean, on the coast of Turkey!!! If you hear a super-sonic squeal of glee wherever you are, it's me...
Orientation would begin for new teachers on September 15th and they have ongoing professional development workshops over the next few months. September is apparently pretty quiet since university hasn't started yet, and they have a lot of university students. They're an established school with textbooks, materials and technological resources (the Internet even exists over there!!!). I'd be teaching between 20 and 30 hours a week as needed (+ prep time...). They have staff who takes care of the visa paperwork.
Ohmigosh I'm so excited I can barely stand it. Think good thoughts for me--hopefully no one else will contact them over the next couple days and I will be offered a job in Izmir, on the Aegean, on the coast of Turkey!!! If you hear a super-sonic squeal of glee wherever you are, it's me...
Friday, July 25, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 15
The icing on the cake of this week was getting back Assignment 3 and discovering that I didn't pass. Most of us have to resubmit the assignment. In fact, of the 13 of us who remain, there's only one person that I'm aware of who jumped through all the hoops. Doesn't it seem like if 85-90% of a class has to resubmit an assignment, then there's an indication of a deeper ignorance (possibly due to knowledge gaps), and not just a general laziness?!?! I could get bogged down in complaining about it again, but I finished meeting the criteria to resubmit the assignment and I'm tired so I'll just leave it at that.
Monday the assessor from Cambridge shows up to check us all out. There was a little bit of stress today getting ready for it--all of our portfolios have to be in sparkling order for him (or her?) to check through. I don't know if he'll be watching our afternoon lessons, since I assume there is only one assessor. Even though he is supposed to just be checking to make sure our instructors are doing their jobs, and he won't be grading our lessons, imagining ANOTHER big wig in the room is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
There's really nothing interesting to report, except that I am alive and it is bizarre that in one week, CELTA Bootcamp will all be over.
I have an interview tomorrow morning on Skype (8am--yuck) with some mysterious people in Turkey who are starting a langauge school. Or at least, I'm supposed to have an interview. My internet has been kind of weird and it seems entirely possible that they didn't get my confirmation email, and so I would wake up early, get myself ready to talk business and then not have an interview. I'm skeptical about the whole thing, especially after receiving information from a legitimate English school and wondering how a start-up English school can get everything together. I've got a long list of questions to ask him--maybe more than he has for me. I wonder if he'll be surprised...
Monday the assessor from Cambridge shows up to check us all out. There was a little bit of stress today getting ready for it--all of our portfolios have to be in sparkling order for him (or her?) to check through. I don't know if he'll be watching our afternoon lessons, since I assume there is only one assessor. Even though he is supposed to just be checking to make sure our instructors are doing their jobs, and he won't be grading our lessons, imagining ANOTHER big wig in the room is like throwing gasoline on a fire.
There's really nothing interesting to report, except that I am alive and it is bizarre that in one week, CELTA Bootcamp will all be over.
I have an interview tomorrow morning on Skype (8am--yuck) with some mysterious people in Turkey who are starting a langauge school. Or at least, I'm supposed to have an interview. My internet has been kind of weird and it seems entirely possible that they didn't get my confirmation email, and so I would wake up early, get myself ready to talk business and then not have an interview. I'm skeptical about the whole thing, especially after receiving information from a legitimate English school and wondering how a start-up English school can get everything together. I've got a long list of questions to ask him--maybe more than he has for me. I wonder if he'll be surprised...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 14
Being a born-and-bred perfectionist is challenging when you are not perfect. My lessons with the new group of students this week have not gone as well as I had hoped. I finally bought some melatonin yesterday to help me sleep, and at about 10:30 last night, I caved and decided to go to bed instead of work on my lesson plan for this afternoon. Consequently, I wasn't as prepared today as I would have liked. Everyone assured me that I did fine, but I felt like I took a swan dive onto a concrete slab.
Last Man Standing
I'm still in the course though... unlike some people... You might have guessed it, though you may not believe it, but another CELTA trainee withdrew from the course. After all this time, the older woman in my group, Katrin, decided that she could not make it another 6 days and dropped out today before lunch. Despite the instructors' encouragement, she decided that she didn't want to complete the course. That puts us at 13--and now only four in my teaching group, since George left last week. The instructors swear that this dropout rate is unprecedented. Normally, they say, maybe one person would withdraw--maybe one. But five?!
My remaining three cohorts and I will be busy covering the gaps in teaching time left by the departure of Katrin and George. Essentially, we end up having extra teaching practice without the stress (or so the theory goes) since it must be unobserved by our instructor. During that time, we are free to experiment with the class--do more fun activities, work on becoming more comfortable with the group, etc.
Anyway, the week is almost over, thank goodness. It's bizarre that the whole course is almost over. I think the first thing I'll do when it's done is have a good long nap.
Last Man Standing
I'm still in the course though... unlike some people... You might have guessed it, though you may not believe it, but another CELTA trainee withdrew from the course. After all this time, the older woman in my group, Katrin, decided that she could not make it another 6 days and dropped out today before lunch. Despite the instructors' encouragement, she decided that she didn't want to complete the course. That puts us at 13--and now only four in my teaching group, since George left last week. The instructors swear that this dropout rate is unprecedented. Normally, they say, maybe one person would withdraw--maybe one. But five?!
My remaining three cohorts and I will be busy covering the gaps in teaching time left by the departure of Katrin and George. Essentially, we end up having extra teaching practice without the stress (or so the theory goes) since it must be unobserved by our instructor. During that time, we are free to experiment with the class--do more fun activities, work on becoming more comfortable with the group, etc.
Anyway, the week is almost over, thank goodness. It's bizarre that the whole course is almost over. I think the first thing I'll do when it's done is have a good long nap.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 12
The grind continues. We have become a pathetically ragged group. It's monotonous at some point to describe what I describe every day. Suffice it to say that the next 10 days (including 2 days of weekend) seem like a long dark tunnel. Is there a light at the end? Faint... Ever so faint. Tomorrow should be another long day (but hopefully not the at-CELTA-or-across-the-street-at-Starbucks-studying-from-8am-to-10:30pm-straight-eat-dinner-at-11pm thing again). I'm really not kidding. I know that I tend to exaggerate, but this is real.
There are moments in the middle of the afternoon teaching sessions when I go completely blank. About an hour before it's my turn to stand up and captivate everyone with the beauty of "either...or" and "not only...but also" for 40 minutes, when I'm completely exhausted, I find that I cannot operate my brain. I sit during the periods that I'm supposed to be observing my peers teach but I just kind of disappear for a few moments. Then I blink back in and remember that I need to concentrate on quelling the butterflies of anxiety, on manipulating handouts and visual aids, holding my notecards with all my cues, remembering my cues in case I put down my notecards, and maintaining eye contact with 12 people. It's like a circus act--only I'm doing it in a wool skirt and heels.
This is not like college. It is its own thing--beyond comparison in the relentless intensity. Shelly--the woman whose friend died on Friday--has had five friends complete CELTA. A bunch of us were huddled at a 24-hour Starbucks earlier and she told us words of wisdom from her five friends: Just pass. Do what you can to make it through. Just keep showing up...
There are moments in the middle of the afternoon teaching sessions when I go completely blank. About an hour before it's my turn to stand up and captivate everyone with the beauty of "either...or" and "not only...but also" for 40 minutes, when I'm completely exhausted, I find that I cannot operate my brain. I sit during the periods that I'm supposed to be observing my peers teach but I just kind of disappear for a few moments. Then I blink back in and remember that I need to concentrate on quelling the butterflies of anxiety, on manipulating handouts and visual aids, holding my notecards with all my cues, remembering my cues in case I put down my notecards, and maintaining eye contact with 12 people. It's like a circus act--only I'm doing it in a wool skirt and heels.
This is not like college. It is its own thing--beyond comparison in the relentless intensity. Shelly--the woman whose friend died on Friday--has had five friends complete CELTA. A bunch of us were huddled at a 24-hour Starbucks earlier and she told us words of wisdom from her five friends: Just pass. Do what you can to make it through. Just keep showing up...
Monday, July 21, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 11
It keeps getting tougher! There is so much to do that the next two weeks seem like a long, dark tunnel. A faint, faint light shines at the end! I have it so easy compared to my friend who is still enrolled in the course and grieving for the death of her friend...
Teaching Update
I felt a lot better watching my new instructor Sarah teach the High Intermediate students today. She is not quite as... different... from Seamus McSporran as I thought she might be. Well, that's not necessarily true, but there is continuity between the instructors, and they talk to each other about all of us young grasshoppers so it's not like we're dropping in from outerspace.
I teach tomorrow. Another grammar lesson (paired conjunctions: "either...or" and "not only...but also")! At some point, planning lessons becomes formulaic. It still took me a long time to get my lesson prepped but I think it was shorter--maybe only 4 or 5 hours so far compared to the 7 I spent for Thursday's lesson. Yes, those are absurd numbers. I feel almost embarassed admitting that that's how long it takes me to prep 40 to 60 minutes worth of class time. Apparently it gets easier. Apparently.
Job Update
Out of fear of provoking the Universe's Law of Irony, I hesitate to even mention that I have an interview scheduled for Saturday morning (thank you Skype for free international calls!). This one would be with the folks in Turkey who are starting a language school. I'm also in the process of sending out feelers to other language schools in Turkey. Bridge Linguatec has a contact who works directly with one of the schools, and he sent me an email saying that I should hear from him or the school sooner or later. Hopefully sooner rather than later, but adding Job to the things I'm juggling is a little daunting. As long as I can squeeze it in on the weekend, all should be well. A lot of the posts start in September (between 6 and 8 weeks away, depending on start dates) and putting off job hunting is not really an option... But now that I've gone and talked about it, I'll never get a job.
Send me a postcard!
I'm asking folks who live all over the U.S. (and those of you north of the border, too) to mail me postcards from your home city and / or state. Amassing a huge collection of postcards of cities, rural places, weird attractions and whatnot will be a great portable teaching tool.
So if you're interested, please send me an email to get my home address if you don't already have it. (Tell your friends who live in Wyoming, Maine and other underrepresented states.) I promise an exotic postcard in return!
Teaching Update
I felt a lot better watching my new instructor Sarah teach the High Intermediate students today. She is not quite as... different... from Seamus McSporran as I thought she might be. Well, that's not necessarily true, but there is continuity between the instructors, and they talk to each other about all of us young grasshoppers so it's not like we're dropping in from outerspace.
I teach tomorrow. Another grammar lesson (paired conjunctions: "either...or" and "not only...but also")! At some point, planning lessons becomes formulaic. It still took me a long time to get my lesson prepped but I think it was shorter--maybe only 4 or 5 hours so far compared to the 7 I spent for Thursday's lesson. Yes, those are absurd numbers. I feel almost embarassed admitting that that's how long it takes me to prep 40 to 60 minutes worth of class time. Apparently it gets easier. Apparently.
Job Update
Out of fear of provoking the Universe's Law of Irony, I hesitate to even mention that I have an interview scheduled for Saturday morning (thank you Skype for free international calls!). This one would be with the folks in Turkey who are starting a language school. I'm also in the process of sending out feelers to other language schools in Turkey. Bridge Linguatec has a contact who works directly with one of the schools, and he sent me an email saying that I should hear from him or the school sooner or later. Hopefully sooner rather than later, but adding Job to the things I'm juggling is a little daunting. As long as I can squeeze it in on the weekend, all should be well. A lot of the posts start in September (between 6 and 8 weeks away, depending on start dates) and putting off job hunting is not really an option... But now that I've gone and talked about it, I'll never get a job.
Send me a postcard!
I'm asking folks who live all over the U.S. (and those of you north of the border, too) to mail me postcards from your home city and / or state. Amassing a huge collection of postcards of cities, rural places, weird attractions and whatnot will be a great portable teaching tool.
So if you're interested, please send me an email to get my home address if you don't already have it. (Tell your friends who live in Wyoming, Maine and other underrepresented states.) I promise an exotic postcard in return!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: The 2nd Weekend is Murder
I was wrong when I said that I was halfway finished. I still have the weekend to accomplish.
I have just finished the assignment that is due Monday morning. It was a great moment until I realized that there are another TWO assignments due on Wednesday, instead of the one like I thought. I still have an unreal amount of work to get done (including teaching my first lesson to the High Intermediate students on Tuesday--eek!).
Maybe it's not an unreal amount of work. I'm trying to equate it to my last semester of college, and it's comparable in terms of being constantly busy and anxious that I should already have started the next thing. It could be worse. So much worse.
As usual, complaining about my life ends up putting things in perspective. I'm just thankful that I don't have any drama in my life right now. One of the women in my cohort found out Friday that a close friend had died, and that a second close friend has aggressive cancer and only a few months to live. Try focusing on anything when grief is bubbling on the back-burner. :-(
I have just finished the assignment that is due Monday morning. It was a great moment until I realized that there are another TWO assignments due on Wednesday, instead of the one like I thought. I still have an unreal amount of work to get done (including teaching my first lesson to the High Intermediate students on Tuesday--eek!).
Maybe it's not an unreal amount of work. I'm trying to equate it to my last semester of college, and it's comparable in terms of being constantly busy and anxious that I should already have started the next thing. It could be worse. So much worse.
As usual, complaining about my life ends up putting things in perspective. I'm just thankful that I don't have any drama in my life right now. One of the women in my cohort found out Friday that a close friend had died, and that a second close friend has aggressive cancer and only a few months to live. Try focusing on anything when grief is bubbling on the back-burner. :-(
Friday, July 18, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 10
Oh today was horrible! The CELTA life is like a rollercoaster. Up, down, up down.
Can't Make the Cut
We found out today that the husband/wife duo quit the CELTA course today. They self-selected out and a bunch of people thought they really didn't need to leave because they weren't doing badly, just feeling pressured. That puts us at 14. There are only 2 people still in the course who are over 50 at this point--and one of them is concerned that she might fail (I think she's overreacting). The older guy who is sticking with it already has a job lined up in Moscow, and is really motivated because his wife is already over there. I can't imagine that any more of us will leave at this point, but I guess you can never know for sure...
Musical Chairs
This afternoon I left my regular teaching practice class to observe the High Intermediate students that I'm going to be with for the remainder of the course (starting Monday). At first blush I am less than thrilled. I was just starting to become comfortable with my Intermediate students, with the level that I was teaching, and with Seamus' style--now it's all going to change!
The students have a higher facility for English, so that shouldn't be too difficult. However, switching to Sarah for instruction, feedback and lesson planning is going to be different. I observed her give feedback to her CELTA trainees this afternoon and it's a frustrating and foreign approach compared to Seamus' straight shooting. I had the feeling that she was being way too nice to her trainees. The two ladies who taught the High Intermediate students didn't do a bad job, but they don't seem to be applying the things that we've been learning recently in our input sessions, and Sarah didn't explicitly mention any of them during feedback.
I asked the second girl (as politely as I could) what format of lesson she'd followed for her listening activity since it looked like she'd put three approaches in a blender and pressed the button a few times, and she said, "I don't really know..." Maybe Sarah is just more private than Seamus and doesn't like hurting feelings with new trainees. That's not a bad thing. However, we spent 50 minutes discussing the first trainee's 60 minute lesson. Fifty minutes. It did NOT need to be that long. You can be nice while still being concise. Listening to the wishy-washy back and forth of everyone made me want to rip my left arm off to distract myself from the tedium--it really was that bad.
I'm trying to be positive but I could already feel the withdrawal setting in this afternoon. All I have to alleviate depression is half of a stale cheese struesel from Starbucks. *sigh*
Can't Make the Cut
We found out today that the husband/wife duo quit the CELTA course today. They self-selected out and a bunch of people thought they really didn't need to leave because they weren't doing badly, just feeling pressured. That puts us at 14. There are only 2 people still in the course who are over 50 at this point--and one of them is concerned that she might fail (I think she's overreacting). The older guy who is sticking with it already has a job lined up in Moscow, and is really motivated because his wife is already over there. I can't imagine that any more of us will leave at this point, but I guess you can never know for sure...
Musical Chairs
This afternoon I left my regular teaching practice class to observe the High Intermediate students that I'm going to be with for the remainder of the course (starting Monday). At first blush I am less than thrilled. I was just starting to become comfortable with my Intermediate students, with the level that I was teaching, and with Seamus' style--now it's all going to change!
The students have a higher facility for English, so that shouldn't be too difficult. However, switching to Sarah for instruction, feedback and lesson planning is going to be different. I observed her give feedback to her CELTA trainees this afternoon and it's a frustrating and foreign approach compared to Seamus' straight shooting. I had the feeling that she was being way too nice to her trainees. The two ladies who taught the High Intermediate students didn't do a bad job, but they don't seem to be applying the things that we've been learning recently in our input sessions, and Sarah didn't explicitly mention any of them during feedback.
I asked the second girl (as politely as I could) what format of lesson she'd followed for her listening activity since it looked like she'd put three approaches in a blender and pressed the button a few times, and she said, "I don't really know..." Maybe Sarah is just more private than Seamus and doesn't like hurting feelings with new trainees. That's not a bad thing. However, we spent 50 minutes discussing the first trainee's 60 minute lesson. Fifty minutes. It did NOT need to be that long. You can be nice while still being concise. Listening to the wishy-washy back and forth of everyone made me want to rip my left arm off to distract myself from the tedium--it really was that bad.
I'm trying to be positive but I could already feel the withdrawal setting in this afternoon. All I have to alleviate depression is half of a stale cheese struesel from Starbucks. *sigh*
Thursday, July 17, 2008
/seltə buːt kæmp: deɪ naɪn/
I'm becoming rather fond of this bizarre code--the International Phonemic Alphabet (Seen above: CELTA Boot Camp: Day 9).
I had another good lesson today, but I swear I felt like I skidded across home plate just barely alive. I woke up with a headache and a partially-completed lesson plan for my grammar lesson. I did not feel particularly confident since I've been finished the night before with my previous lessons. I was the first one on site this morning (second morning in a row...) and was able to pull it all together before my 2:30pm lesson started. I've been horribly cranky, though--staving off anxiety and refusing to be consumed by stress and helplessness.
After I'd gotten through this insane grammar explanation, a couple latecomers wandered into the class. I was totally thrown about what to do with them since they had MISSED all of the crucial information about how to use the grammatical system and conjugate the past tense... I thought for sure that I would get marked down for faltering but it turned out to not be an issue.
My existence was completely validated when, after my lesson I left the room for a moment to grab a self-evaluation form and one of the regular students came out to get a drink of water. He looked a little overwhelmed, shaking his head and all, grinning a bit. I asked if it had been too much information, if the class went alright. He said yes, it was good, and that I was a good teacher. I nearly melted with joy to get such volunteered feedback from a student!
Though I'm really happy with my performance in the course (a product of my ability to focus on work for hours and not give up on the task before its done), it's hard to see my cohorts struggling. The woman who taught after me had zero energy. It was like I had pumped up this huge balloon with the class and she punctured a hole in it. She told me before we started that she didn't want to go after me since it would be "a tough act to follow."
I don't know why she can't do better since I don't think that I'm doing anything special. I read the course book, I go to the input sessions, I incorporate the theories into my lesson plans, I apply the almost mathematical formulas they provide for teaching different types of lessons (be they grammar, vocab, listening or reading), and I focus on doing better each time. I use note cards to keep me on track during my lesson--everything that I say is outlined and scripted beforehand. It's what CELTA is telling us to do. I don't come up with anything magical on the spot and I'm not reinventing the wheel.
Anyway, we'll see what happens, but morale has been pretty low all week for the entire CELTA group. But tomorrow is the end of week 2 already. It's weird not being in college anymore. I have this default expectation that there will be another semester, more classes--I don't know how to handle something that is so short. Halfway finished already.
I guess it's time to start applying for jobs...
I had another good lesson today, but I swear I felt like I skidded across home plate just barely alive. I woke up with a headache and a partially-completed lesson plan for my grammar lesson. I did not feel particularly confident since I've been finished the night before with my previous lessons. I was the first one on site this morning (second morning in a row...) and was able to pull it all together before my 2:30pm lesson started. I've been horribly cranky, though--staving off anxiety and refusing to be consumed by stress and helplessness.
After I'd gotten through this insane grammar explanation, a couple latecomers wandered into the class. I was totally thrown about what to do with them since they had MISSED all of the crucial information about how to use the grammatical system and conjugate the past tense... I thought for sure that I would get marked down for faltering but it turned out to not be an issue.
My existence was completely validated when, after my lesson I left the room for a moment to grab a self-evaluation form and one of the regular students came out to get a drink of water. He looked a little overwhelmed, shaking his head and all, grinning a bit. I asked if it had been too much information, if the class went alright. He said yes, it was good, and that I was a good teacher. I nearly melted with joy to get such volunteered feedback from a student!
Though I'm really happy with my performance in the course (a product of my ability to focus on work for hours and not give up on the task before its done), it's hard to see my cohorts struggling. The woman who taught after me had zero energy. It was like I had pumped up this huge balloon with the class and she punctured a hole in it. She told me before we started that she didn't want to go after me since it would be "a tough act to follow."
I don't know why she can't do better since I don't think that I'm doing anything special. I read the course book, I go to the input sessions, I incorporate the theories into my lesson plans, I apply the almost mathematical formulas they provide for teaching different types of lessons (be they grammar, vocab, listening or reading), and I focus on doing better each time. I use note cards to keep me on track during my lesson--everything that I say is outlined and scripted beforehand. It's what CELTA is telling us to do. I don't come up with anything magical on the spot and I'm not reinventing the wheel.
Anyway, we'll see what happens, but morale has been pretty low all week for the entire CELTA group. But tomorrow is the end of week 2 already. It's weird not being in college anymore. I have this default expectation that there will be another semester, more classes--I don't know how to handle something that is so short. Halfway finished already.
I guess it's time to start applying for jobs...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 8
I'm taking a break from a killer lesson plan. I'm trying to figure out how to teach the grammatical construction: "wish + past simple" (i.e. I wish I had a bigger house; Jake wishes he were young and handsome; etc.). It's so easy to just type it there but it's another to figure out how the heck to explain it to a bunch of foreign folks who look at me like, "What ARE you talking about?!?! He wish he go to store? They wishes we been shopping?" The room for error is endless and terrifying.
It's a harrowing experience getting up in front of the classroom. Depending on the number of students (up to 16 today!), there can be upwards of 36 eyes watching you, scrutinizing every action, noting wardobe malfunctions, listening to your tone of voice, the clarity of your directions, the efficacy of your planning.
It's my first grammar lesson and it's 60 minutes. I am so freaking exhausted and all I want to do is go to bed but that's not looking hopeful for awhile yet. If I can just make it until tomorrow at 3:30pm, I will have effectively survived the week. It's been rough because, since George dropped out and we rotate in for his lesson slots, I will have taught for three days straight. The lesson planning is the murderous part, and since I am so obsessive, it's even harder for me to be efficient with my time. The moon is also full, mind you, so the lunacy is setting in.
I'm still trying to figure out how to make legitimate worksheets that will test knowledge. And heaven knows that I might not fill up all of my time. Doing well on my first graded lesson has placed a lot of pressure on me to continue with my other lessons. Whatever happens, I won't fail, but my pride could be damaged and we know how horrible that would be.
We're Not in Kansas Anymore...
One challenging aspect of teaching is the sheer lack of technology. Even in Denver, CO, I am beginning to be confronted by the reality of limited resources. Popping out of L&C with its luxuriously-equipped classrooms (VHS, DVD, projection screens, sound, color, the Internet--wireless no less, computers, Power Point, special lights that dim, tiered seating in EVERY ROOM), I have been rudely confronted by my sole technological friend in the classroom: the overhead projector. Boxy and awkward, the overhead projector is the last bastion of hope at Bridge Linguatec.
Seamus McSporran reminds us daily that "back when he started teaching English," (eons ago) he didn't even have a dear old overhead projector. Nope. He had to write everything on carbon copy sheets--and walk uphill in the snow both ways. Ok, I get it. Carbon copy sheets evoke a horror only rivaled by mention of the Eight Track, but it's still hard to come to grips with being dumped out of the lap of luxury. And then where will I end up teaching?
I guess I could always set up a AA battery flashlight and try to make the transparencies work shadow-puppet style... Or hell, just do the whole lesson with shadow-puppets.
J wish she have new technology.
It's a harrowing experience getting up in front of the classroom. Depending on the number of students (up to 16 today!), there can be upwards of 36 eyes watching you, scrutinizing every action, noting wardobe malfunctions, listening to your tone of voice, the clarity of your directions, the efficacy of your planning.
It's my first grammar lesson and it's 60 minutes. I am so freaking exhausted and all I want to do is go to bed but that's not looking hopeful for awhile yet. If I can just make it until tomorrow at 3:30pm, I will have effectively survived the week. It's been rough because, since George dropped out and we rotate in for his lesson slots, I will have taught for three days straight. The lesson planning is the murderous part, and since I am so obsessive, it's even harder for me to be efficient with my time. The moon is also full, mind you, so the lunacy is setting in.
I'm still trying to figure out how to make legitimate worksheets that will test knowledge. And heaven knows that I might not fill up all of my time. Doing well on my first graded lesson has placed a lot of pressure on me to continue with my other lessons. Whatever happens, I won't fail, but my pride could be damaged and we know how horrible that would be.
We're Not in Kansas Anymore...
One challenging aspect of teaching is the sheer lack of technology. Even in Denver, CO, I am beginning to be confronted by the reality of limited resources. Popping out of L&C with its luxuriously-equipped classrooms (VHS, DVD, projection screens, sound, color, the Internet--wireless no less, computers, Power Point, special lights that dim, tiered seating in EVERY ROOM), I have been rudely confronted by my sole technological friend in the classroom: the overhead projector. Boxy and awkward, the overhead projector is the last bastion of hope at Bridge Linguatec.
Seamus McSporran reminds us daily that "back when he started teaching English," (eons ago) he didn't even have a dear old overhead projector. Nope. He had to write everything on carbon copy sheets--and walk uphill in the snow both ways. Ok, I get it. Carbon copy sheets evoke a horror only rivaled by mention of the Eight Track, but it's still hard to come to grips with being dumped out of the lap of luxury. And then where will I end up teaching?
I guess I could always set up a AA battery flashlight and try to make the transparencies work shadow-puppet style... Or hell, just do the whole lesson with shadow-puppets.
J wish she have new technology.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 7 -- Expressing Potential
On my first graded lesson I got an "Above Standard" (there are only 3 grades: standard, above and below)! My lesson went swimmingly (truth: I am glossing over some minor points for improvement, but largely it was fab). I was SO nervous by the time 80 minutes had passed and it was my turn to get to the students. I haven't been so nervous and full of butterflies in AGES but once I got up and started talking, everything went fine.
Flash cards proved to be an absolute lifesaver--I just ticked through my lesson plan and kept track of the time well. I used pretty successful drilling techniques to teach them new words ("souvenir," "tourist" and "to recommend") and then let them loose with an interview sheet that they buzzed around the classroom asking each other questions with. I still need to be more assertive in front of the group.
I got chided for trying to focus attention back on myself after group activities by saying, "People... Excuse me..." Oh whatever. I feel light as a bird! I haven't been so relaxed in ages in weeks. Hopefully I can hang onto this good energy and coast on it for awhile. I have my first 60 minute lesson on Thursday--it's grammar. Fun! Not really--well, no, I have to figure out how to make an entertaining lesson out of "wish" + "past simple" (e.g. I wish I ate more; I wish I cut my hair; I wish I brushed my teeth, etc.).
Dropping Like Flies
Today George told my afternoon teaching group (just the five of us) that he is withdrawing from the course. I don't know if there was some well-placed needling from Up Above, but George seemed to get the idea that this isn't the right course for him. He must have failed his lesson yesterday (when he stuck his gum to the whiteboard) because he mentioned that he would have had to do amazingly from now on--an unlikely possibility given previous behavior--since we are only allowed to fail two lessons. I guess the pressure was too much...
I feel bad for the guy, but I am also relieved. He apparently still gets his tuition back (about $2100) except for a $400 deposit.
Because George is gone, we now have a time slot open in our afternoon teaching practice. It's actually an added benefit because we will rotate filling up 20 or 30 minute blocks of time with lessons that are *ungraded and can be about anything*. Yay! No pressure! I have another one tomorrow but I think it should go smoothly since it utilizes the material I didn't get to in my lesson this afternoon.
On the Job Front
This morning I had my first meeting with Bridge Linguatec's job placement adviser. I need to rearrange my resume and scratch some info, but the woman has already started looking for job posts for me. She thinks that I will be able to find a job in Turkey around the beginning of September, even though it's less than 8 weeks away (holy crap! I can't imagine being over there so soon! SO exciting!). Also, my good friend Issac has been traveling around Europe this summer with his family. He has somehow met two folks who are starting a language school in Turkey and are currently recruiting staff... So I'll contact them and we'll see what happens.
Life feels awfully fabulous tonight.
*cheers*
Flash cards proved to be an absolute lifesaver--I just ticked through my lesson plan and kept track of the time well. I used pretty successful drilling techniques to teach them new words ("souvenir," "tourist" and "to recommend") and then let them loose with an interview sheet that they buzzed around the classroom asking each other questions with. I still need to be more assertive in front of the group.
I got chided for trying to focus attention back on myself after group activities by saying, "People... Excuse me..." Oh whatever. I feel light as a bird! I haven't been so relaxed in ages in weeks. Hopefully I can hang onto this good energy and coast on it for awhile. I have my first 60 minute lesson on Thursday--it's grammar. Fun! Not really--well, no, I have to figure out how to make an entertaining lesson out of "wish" + "past simple" (e.g. I wish I ate more; I wish I cut my hair; I wish I brushed my teeth, etc.).
Dropping Like Flies
Today George told my afternoon teaching group (just the five of us) that he is withdrawing from the course. I don't know if there was some well-placed needling from Up Above, but George seemed to get the idea that this isn't the right course for him. He must have failed his lesson yesterday (when he stuck his gum to the whiteboard) because he mentioned that he would have had to do amazingly from now on--an unlikely possibility given previous behavior--since we are only allowed to fail two lessons. I guess the pressure was too much...
I feel bad for the guy, but I am also relieved. He apparently still gets his tuition back (about $2100) except for a $400 deposit.
Because George is gone, we now have a time slot open in our afternoon teaching practice. It's actually an added benefit because we will rotate filling up 20 or 30 minute blocks of time with lessons that are *ungraded and can be about anything*. Yay! No pressure! I have another one tomorrow but I think it should go smoothly since it utilizes the material I didn't get to in my lesson this afternoon.
On the Job Front
This morning I had my first meeting with Bridge Linguatec's job placement adviser. I need to rearrange my resume and scratch some info, but the woman has already started looking for job posts for me. She thinks that I will be able to find a job in Turkey around the beginning of September, even though it's less than 8 weeks away (holy crap! I can't imagine being over there so soon! SO exciting!). Also, my good friend Issac has been traveling around Europe this summer with his family. He has somehow met two folks who are starting a language school in Turkey and are currently recruiting staff... So I'll contact them and we'll see what happens.
Life feels awfully fabulous tonight.
*cheers*
Monday, July 14, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 6
Curious George Does it Again -- Real Facts from Today's Classroom
(NB George is not his real name... And you can't feel anything but pity for him at this point)
1.
Seamus: /Right before George begins teaching./ Um... Is the teacher chewing gum?
George: No. /Turns around surreptitiously, takes his gum from his mouth and sticks it in a wad to the underside of the whiteboard ledge./
Seamus: Uhh... Not ok...
George: /Unsticks his gum from the ledge and chucks in the waste bin while students and peers alike look on, utterly horrified./
2.
While copying vocabulary onto the board, George spelled "trunck" and "esseNtial."
Keeping Up With the Pack
I had my personal feedback session with Seamus this morning. Everything he said I needed to work on I am already aware of and concur. I am on track with the course expectations and even "show potential". Of course, compared to my cohort this is hardly a compliment.
Tomorrow's Challenge
I am planning my first speaking lesson for tomorrow. I am nervous about it since we have not yet had an input session that describes the preferred progression of activities, but basically it's just to keep students talking. Teacher Talk Time (TTT) must be kept at a minimum and Student Talk Time (STT -- there are acronyms for EVERYTHING!) must be maximized. I've been instructed to get students discussing their native cities, and then to discuss Denver.
Creating the lesson plan (LP) is the most time consuming part of CELTA. Once it's planned and scripted, it's just up to us to execute it. Main goals must be stated (i.e. the student will have been exposed to "should have" and will have practiced its use in restricted and free activities); assumptions must be clarified; materials used must be documented; personal goals must be articulated (i.e. I will give directions assertively and clarify with ICQs); Target Language (TL) must be identified, defined, and written in the International Phonemic Alphabet (IPA -- see it here); any new grammatical systems must be succintly described; and finally, the stages of each lesson and their aims must be clearly outlined with accompanying time allotments and procedures clearly scripted. Phew!
So for example, the beginning of my lesson on speaking I would begin by setting a context for the entire activity. I will interview a student in front of the entire class, asking her some basic questions about her home country. After steering students towards thinking about the vocabulary they will be using, I will give them a handout of an information table so they can circulate the room, ask each other questions about where they come from, and record some notes on the table. After about 15 or 20 minutes of roaming and discussing I will switch gears to have them discuss the "best of (restaurants, sites, etc)" in Dever, CO in smaller groups--first in pairs and then in groups of 4. During all of this I will "monitor" them by roving the room, listening to them in turn, answering questions about word usage as they arise, and gently correcting mistakes (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc). This group discussion may continue for 10 or 15 minutes, at which point I will focus their attention to me and facilitate an information exchange of the ideas they generated. I'm considering creating a third activity in case I need an "ace up my sleeve"--some sort of discussion game where students draw cards and have to speak about a topic for 30 seconds straight in order to win points.
At some point near the beginning of the lesson I will teach them bits of vocabulary that they might find useful for their discussions (i.e. "tourist" and "souvenir"). Other than that, the entire goal is to keep them yammering for 40 minutes. It's harder than it sounds since a lot of them are quiet and shy, and often lapse into Arabic if they're near someone who can understand them. Also, the larger the group, the easier it is to keep the ball rolling--but with fewer people, it's easy to exhaust ideas. Tuesday and Thursday drew smaller classes last week, so I'm anticipating that, sadly, there won't be more than 8 people in class tomorrow. So I better have plenty for them to talk about...
*Gulp*
(NB George is not his real name... And you can't feel anything but pity for him at this point)
1.
Seamus: /Right before George begins teaching./ Um... Is the teacher chewing gum?
George: No. /Turns around surreptitiously, takes his gum from his mouth and sticks it in a wad to the underside of the whiteboard ledge./
Seamus: Uhh... Not ok...
George: /Unsticks his gum from the ledge and chucks in the waste bin while students and peers alike look on, utterly horrified./
2.
While copying vocabulary onto the board, George spelled "trunck" and "esseNtial."
Keeping Up With the Pack
I had my personal feedback session with Seamus this morning. Everything he said I needed to work on I am already aware of and concur. I am on track with the course expectations and even "show potential". Of course, compared to my cohort this is hardly a compliment.
Tomorrow's Challenge
I am planning my first speaking lesson for tomorrow. I am nervous about it since we have not yet had an input session that describes the preferred progression of activities, but basically it's just to keep students talking. Teacher Talk Time (TTT) must be kept at a minimum and Student Talk Time (STT -- there are acronyms for EVERYTHING!) must be maximized. I've been instructed to get students discussing their native cities, and then to discuss Denver.
Creating the lesson plan (LP) is the most time consuming part of CELTA. Once it's planned and scripted, it's just up to us to execute it. Main goals must be stated (i.e. the student will have been exposed to "should have" and will have practiced its use in restricted and free activities); assumptions must be clarified; materials used must be documented; personal goals must be articulated (i.e. I will give directions assertively and clarify with ICQs); Target Language (TL) must be identified, defined, and written in the International Phonemic Alphabet (IPA -- see it here); any new grammatical systems must be succintly described; and finally, the stages of each lesson and their aims must be clearly outlined with accompanying time allotments and procedures clearly scripted. Phew!
So for example, the beginning of my lesson on speaking I would begin by setting a context for the entire activity. I will interview a student in front of the entire class, asking her some basic questions about her home country. After steering students towards thinking about the vocabulary they will be using, I will give them a handout of an information table so they can circulate the room, ask each other questions about where they come from, and record some notes on the table. After about 15 or 20 minutes of roaming and discussing I will switch gears to have them discuss the "best of (restaurants, sites, etc)" in Dever, CO in smaller groups--first in pairs and then in groups of 4. During all of this I will "monitor" them by roving the room, listening to them in turn, answering questions about word usage as they arise, and gently correcting mistakes (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc). This group discussion may continue for 10 or 15 minutes, at which point I will focus their attention to me and facilitate an information exchange of the ideas they generated. I'm considering creating a third activity in case I need an "ace up my sleeve"--some sort of discussion game where students draw cards and have to speak about a topic for 30 seconds straight in order to win points.
At some point near the beginning of the lesson I will teach them bits of vocabulary that they might find useful for their discussions (i.e. "tourist" and "souvenir"). Other than that, the entire goal is to keep them yammering for 40 minutes. It's harder than it sounds since a lot of them are quiet and shy, and often lapse into Arabic if they're near someone who can understand them. Also, the larger the group, the easier it is to keep the ball rolling--but with fewer people, it's easy to exhaust ideas. Tuesday and Thursday drew smaller classes last week, so I'm anticipating that, sadly, there won't be more than 8 people in class tomorrow. So I better have plenty for them to talk about...
*Gulp*
Saturday, July 12, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 5
Friday morning we all dragged ourselves into the training room for the first input session. We had decided to all go out to a pub for a drink after the day was done, so we were looking forward to some R&R. At about 9:45 a.m. a few people were muttering about how they already needed a beer.
Job Abroad Info
We had an exciting meeting this morning about job placement abroad. Apparently, Bridge Linguatec has contacts in some countries. Depending on the situation, they can act like agents peddling our resumes. Turkey is one such country and it sounds like I will be able to get something good over there. I have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday to speak with the Bridge job placement advisor. Interesting facts I learned:
We discovered that one of our cohorts has withdrawn from the course. It was not George, who I've mentioned before, but an older man who has not been in my smaller group for teaching observations. Apparently this guy taught two lessons and did not feel like he could integrate the feedback for improvement into his teaching. So he spoke with the CELTA trainers and they made a "mutual decision" that it would be best for him to leave. I suppose that he gets a partial refund, but I'm really not sure how it all works.
Teaching Practice
I felt very confident about teaching my second lesson on Friday afternoon, but it was less than fabulous in its execution. My lesson planning is good, according to my trainer. The rubric for feedback did not request me to improve anything on my planning. However, my activities were waaay too easy for the students to complete, and so they ripped through it and left me with about 8 minutes at the end of the lesson with nothing planned. I was able to stall them for a few minutes but finally the train ran out of track and I just had to call it quits.
It was a turn around from Wednesday when I had too many activities for them to complete. I've been converted to believing that it's better to have too much material than to underestimate them and be left looking flustered in front of the classroom.
Room for Improvement
I still need to improve on my classroom demeanor. CELTA wants us to ask Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs) and Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) in a very certain way. If I explain something, I cannot just ask, "Do you understand?" because most of them won't admit it, or they'll think they understand but they don't. Rather, we have to replace the "Do you understand?"/"Is everything ok?" habit with questions like, "How long do you have to work on this?", "Can you work with a partner?", "What specific information are you reading/listening for?", etc.
This is by far the biggest obstacle I've encountered so far. The lesson planning I can do, but retraining myself to speak differently is going to take some work. But "Do you understand?" is slowly being beaten out of us with the big stick of Failure Fear.
Next week we will be graded for our lesson plans and teaching efforts. I have one more 40 minute lesson with my Intermediate group, and then on Thursday my first 60 minute lesson. I'm nervous... Good thing I have the weekend to get myself together.
Job Abroad Info
We had an exciting meeting this morning about job placement abroad. Apparently, Bridge Linguatec has contacts in some countries. Depending on the situation, they can act like agents peddling our resumes. Turkey is one such country and it sounds like I will be able to get something good over there. I have a meeting scheduled for Tuesday to speak with the Bridge job placement advisor. Interesting facts I learned:
- Moscow is the most expensive city to live in worldwide.
- South Korea is hurting for English teachers and is willing to pay some of them for airfare there.
- Most of Southeast Asia is apparently ageist (and racist) so older folks thinking of teaching English as a foreign language are more accepted in Central and South America.
We discovered that one of our cohorts has withdrawn from the course. It was not George, who I've mentioned before, but an older man who has not been in my smaller group for teaching observations. Apparently this guy taught two lessons and did not feel like he could integrate the feedback for improvement into his teaching. So he spoke with the CELTA trainers and they made a "mutual decision" that it would be best for him to leave. I suppose that he gets a partial refund, but I'm really not sure how it all works.
Teaching Practice
I felt very confident about teaching my second lesson on Friday afternoon, but it was less than fabulous in its execution. My lesson planning is good, according to my trainer. The rubric for feedback did not request me to improve anything on my planning. However, my activities were waaay too easy for the students to complete, and so they ripped through it and left me with about 8 minutes at the end of the lesson with nothing planned. I was able to stall them for a few minutes but finally the train ran out of track and I just had to call it quits.
It was a turn around from Wednesday when I had too many activities for them to complete. I've been converted to believing that it's better to have too much material than to underestimate them and be left looking flustered in front of the classroom.
Room for Improvement
I still need to improve on my classroom demeanor. CELTA wants us to ask Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs) and Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) in a very certain way. If I explain something, I cannot just ask, "Do you understand?" because most of them won't admit it, or they'll think they understand but they don't. Rather, we have to replace the "Do you understand?"/"Is everything ok?" habit with questions like, "How long do you have to work on this?", "Can you work with a partner?", "What specific information are you reading/listening for?", etc.
This is by far the biggest obstacle I've encountered so far. The lesson planning I can do, but retraining myself to speak differently is going to take some work. But "Do you understand?" is slowly being beaten out of us with the big stick of Failure Fear.
Next week we will be graded for our lesson plans and teaching efforts. I have one more 40 minute lesson with my Intermediate group, and then on Thursday my first 60 minute lesson. I'm nervous... Good thing I have the weekend to get myself together.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 4
Today, the criticism my peers received after they taught their lessons was unforgiving. Tuesday (the first lesson ever) was pretty nice and soft, but today things got more realistic. It makes me nervous for tomorrow. I realized that it's not that CELTA is challenging only because it's so much work (it's a decently manageable workload), but more because teaching lessons and having them belly dive onto the floor is discouraging--and because we are oftentimes our toughest critic.
It was particularly painful today... For this fellow, George, at least. He did the total opposite, almost, of what he did on Tuesday (which had been to overwhelm students with high-falutin language and motorboat speed words). Today he gave them a reading lesson and was super hands-off. I nearly fell asleep...
Anyway, during the feedback session I was honest and asked him why he had hand-written the reading segment that had been photocopied on the first handout with the picture that he used to get their imagination going... "Well it was blurry"... So he hand wrote it so it would all be legible (rather than RE-PHOTOCOPY it to be NOT blurry!?!??!?!). He also hand wrote a list of reading comprehension questions. The handwriting itself is not the problem. He is actually a very neat writer. However, he decided to capitalize certain words in these questions that should not be capitalized--such as "blah blah blah Jane's Parents blah blah blah," "blah blah blah Jane is Famous," etcetra.
During feedback I mentioned this capitalization (basically that you can't do that...), to which he replied that he wanted to emphasize them since they had been new vocab words. I suggested that he find another way to emphasize them (bold, italics, capitalize the entire word and TELL the students that's what he's doing...). The instructor chimed in at the end with his piece and said that George was darn lucky that the first week is ungraded because a) the lesson plan he turned in was so vague and ineffective it would have failed and b) I was right about the capitalization thing and that in the lesson plan he wrote "english" and that you just can't do that if you're an English teacher. So we'll see what happens to him over the next week or so. A woman in my group asked me later if I thought George would have to drop out... Who knows. I have an odd mixture of pity and irritation whenever I'm around him (which happens frequently since we're together all day, every day).
You are only allowed so many slip-ups in CELTA. There's a booklet where you document everything from how many expert lessons you observe to the grades on your own lessons to how often you have to pee--just kidding about that last part. But seriously, the form for tardies (which have to be signed and verified by Big Whigs) has only three lines on it...
Other curious things George does: refer to "my country" (a.k.a. South Carolina); blow off feedback; complain about how he could use a couple days of adjustment to all of this... *sigh* What does he think this is?! A cakewalk?!
Sidebar:
Listening to my British trainer ALL DAY is starting to wear off on me. Yesterday I came home from CELTA and the internal monologue in my head was spoken with a British accent. Though charming at first, it became horrible and unrelenting after awhile.
It was particularly painful today... For this fellow, George, at least. He did the total opposite, almost, of what he did on Tuesday (which had been to overwhelm students with high-falutin language and motorboat speed words). Today he gave them a reading lesson and was super hands-off. I nearly fell asleep...
Anyway, during the feedback session I was honest and asked him why he had hand-written the reading segment that had been photocopied on the first handout with the picture that he used to get their imagination going... "Well it was blurry"... So he hand wrote it so it would all be legible (rather than RE-PHOTOCOPY it to be NOT blurry!?!??!?!). He also hand wrote a list of reading comprehension questions. The handwriting itself is not the problem. He is actually a very neat writer. However, he decided to capitalize certain words in these questions that should not be capitalized--such as "blah blah blah Jane's Parents blah blah blah," "blah blah blah Jane is Famous," etcetra.
During feedback I mentioned this capitalization (basically that you can't do that...), to which he replied that he wanted to emphasize them since they had been new vocab words. I suggested that he find another way to emphasize them (bold, italics, capitalize the entire word and TELL the students that's what he's doing...). The instructor chimed in at the end with his piece and said that George was darn lucky that the first week is ungraded because a) the lesson plan he turned in was so vague and ineffective it would have failed and b) I was right about the capitalization thing and that in the lesson plan he wrote "english" and that you just can't do that if you're an English teacher. So we'll see what happens to him over the next week or so. A woman in my group asked me later if I thought George would have to drop out... Who knows. I have an odd mixture of pity and irritation whenever I'm around him (which happens frequently since we're together all day, every day).
You are only allowed so many slip-ups in CELTA. There's a booklet where you document everything from how many expert lessons you observe to the grades on your own lessons to how often you have to pee--just kidding about that last part. But seriously, the form for tardies (which have to be signed and verified by Big Whigs) has only three lines on it...
Other curious things George does: refer to "my country" (a.k.a. South Carolina); blow off feedback; complain about how he could use a couple days of adjustment to all of this... *sigh* What does he think this is?! A cakewalk?!
Sidebar:
Listening to my British trainer ALL DAY is starting to wear off on me. Yesterday I came home from CELTA and the internal monologue in my head was spoken with a British accent. Though charming at first, it became horrible and unrelenting after awhile.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 3--First Day Teaching
I survived my first day of teaching English vocabulary to foreign students. I will teach again on Friday and I'll start working on the material tonight so that I'm not totally slammed again tomorrow.
I had a lot more students than I expected. Because Bridge Linguatec has these free English classes, and because some students have work on certain days or come sporadically, the class size can fluctuate. Yesterday there were seven students but today there were eleven, which is a substantial increase in the number of eyes looking at me!
Of the three of us who taught this afternoon, I went first. The "introduction" is pretty important in terms of establishing energy in the class. I did a lot of prep work for it last night, and it really paid off today, but I still have a long way to go! It will just take time and practice to feel more natural leading the class, to need less explicit prompts, and to know how to make sure that students are herded along at a decent pace. At least I didn’t make any awkward, culturally insensitive references like George who went yesterday: Repeatedly mentioning Christmas is not a good choice in a class where five of seven students come from Muslim countries... Watching each others' lessons is interesting. We're all there to witness as we falter and try to recover.
Forty minutes flew by surprisingly fast once I got up there with my material. I ended up running out of time and consequently overwhelming the students because I had an extra worksheet (crossword puzzle for the vocab) that I sort of threw at them without sufficient explanation.
When I finished my lesson and sat down to watch my peers teach two lessons, I was exhausted. I didn't feel particularly nervous throughout my lesson, but I realized that I had been burning a ton of energy when I finally relaxed. Also, sitting in the classroom watching everyone keep learning I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude and love for these students, most of whom come every day to learn English from us, no matter how horrible we are (it IS free, but to know they are so desperate to communicate makes me love them even more...).
A lot of the students are very eager and approachable, and are happy for any extra opportunity to practice speaking before or after class time. The students vary widely in age. The youngest one there now is a twelve-year-old from Taiwan, and the oldest is maybe in his forties or fifties. There are a couple folks from Mexico and Colombia, but mostly they are Libyan or Moroccan. They have come with their husbands or wives, some of whom are studying in the States on scholarship.
I cannot believe that only Wednesday is over. It feels like it's been ages since this class began. Two more days to the weekend!!! Now that I’m doing this, I cannot IMAGINE having gone abroad to take a CELTA course. Jet lag + language barriers + all this work and stress would be unbearable.
I had a lot more students than I expected. Because Bridge Linguatec has these free English classes, and because some students have work on certain days or come sporadically, the class size can fluctuate. Yesterday there were seven students but today there were eleven, which is a substantial increase in the number of eyes looking at me!
Of the three of us who taught this afternoon, I went first. The "introduction" is pretty important in terms of establishing energy in the class. I did a lot of prep work for it last night, and it really paid off today, but I still have a long way to go! It will just take time and practice to feel more natural leading the class, to need less explicit prompts, and to know how to make sure that students are herded along at a decent pace. At least I didn’t make any awkward, culturally insensitive references like George who went yesterday: Repeatedly mentioning Christmas is not a good choice in a class where five of seven students come from Muslim countries... Watching each others' lessons is interesting. We're all there to witness as we falter and try to recover.
Forty minutes flew by surprisingly fast once I got up there with my material. I ended up running out of time and consequently overwhelming the students because I had an extra worksheet (crossword puzzle for the vocab) that I sort of threw at them without sufficient explanation.
When I finished my lesson and sat down to watch my peers teach two lessons, I was exhausted. I didn't feel particularly nervous throughout my lesson, but I realized that I had been burning a ton of energy when I finally relaxed. Also, sitting in the classroom watching everyone keep learning I had this overwhelming sense of gratitude and love for these students, most of whom come every day to learn English from us, no matter how horrible we are (it IS free, but to know they are so desperate to communicate makes me love them even more...).
A lot of the students are very eager and approachable, and are happy for any extra opportunity to practice speaking before or after class time. The students vary widely in age. The youngest one there now is a twelve-year-old from Taiwan, and the oldest is maybe in his forties or fifties. There are a couple folks from Mexico and Colombia, but mostly they are Libyan or Moroccan. They have come with their husbands or wives, some of whom are studying in the States on scholarship.
I cannot believe that only Wednesday is over. It feels like it's been ages since this class began. Two more days to the weekend!!! Now that I’m doing this, I cannot IMAGINE having gone abroad to take a CELTA course. Jet lag + language barriers + all this work and stress would be unbearable.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 2
The ass-kicking has commenced. Ok, you know how I said that this couldn't be THAT hard since it's only one month, and school semesters are typically four months... Well, what I didn't think about is that with CELTA, there's no time to adjust. It's like you get herded onto a bus with 17 other people, driven at breakneck speed to the site of a tornado and then dumped at the side of the road while the wind whips around you and you wonder if you're going to lose your mind.
Ok, maybe it's not THAT bad yet, but I can see where it's going. I teach tomorrow and I have most of my lesson on vocabulary hammered out. From observing the first batch of peers get shoved out of the nest like helpless little birds, I know that it takes tons of preparation not to plummet, say "um, er, ok...", go on tangents or forget what I'm supposed to be doing. We'll see how it goes.
Being concise and prepared is especially important to me after this morning's input session. Seamus refused to speak in English to anyone this morning, giving instruction and chit-chat only in Japanese. Figuring how to get the lounge coffee pot going in Japanese was tough, but when he proceeded to give us a 40 minute crashcourse in Japanese, we were floored.
*sigh*
I'm exhausted and it's time for bed but I need to review the reading for tomorrow's input session. There really is no time left in the day... Up at 7:30, get out of the house by 8:15, arrive by 8:30 if traffic isn't too horrendous, prep till 9:30, have your brain crushed till 6, drive home, eat, soon it's 8 and then... I dunno. Whining won't help!
Ok, maybe it's not THAT bad yet, but I can see where it's going. I teach tomorrow and I have most of my lesson on vocabulary hammered out. From observing the first batch of peers get shoved out of the nest like helpless little birds, I know that it takes tons of preparation not to plummet, say "um, er, ok...", go on tangents or forget what I'm supposed to be doing. We'll see how it goes.
Being concise and prepared is especially important to me after this morning's input session. Seamus refused to speak in English to anyone this morning, giving instruction and chit-chat only in Japanese. Figuring how to get the lounge coffee pot going in Japanese was tough, but when he proceeded to give us a 40 minute crashcourse in Japanese, we were floored.
*sigh*
I'm exhausted and it's time for bed but I need to review the reading for tomorrow's input session. There really is no time left in the day... Up at 7:30, get out of the house by 8:15, arrive by 8:30 if traffic isn't too horrendous, prep till 9:30, have your brain crushed till 6, drive home, eat, soon it's 8 and then... I dunno. Whining won't help!
Monday, July 7, 2008
CELTA Bootcamp: Day 1
Today was decently exhausting, but first days tend to be hectic. My alarm was supposed to go off at 7:30 a.m. but due to a fudge, it didn’t. Thankfully I woke up at 8:03 (I think I was dreaming about CELTA so my subconscious knew something was amiss when I didn’t wake up) and was able to get it together in time to arrive with some moments to spare (by 9:10 for a 9:30 start, even!), and without towing anxiety and stress behind me. I am still getting lost driving around Denver, so getting home was frustrating, but better at the end of the day than at the start!
The Lowdown:
Practice Teaching (merits its own heading):
You’ve heard of how beauty schools give discounted manicures and haircuts to anyone willing to be a guinea pig for an aspiring beautician? Well, Bridge Linguatec offers the same deal to local Denver folks who want to learn English. Every afternoon for 2 hours students can receive free beginning, intermediate or advanced English classes.
All 18 of us have been split into three groups, each headed by an instructor. Each teaching practice group is assigned to a level of English. In two weeks, the three groups rotate and go to a different instructor who is coaching a different level of English. The way it pans out, I will be with the intermediate learners for the first half and then with the advanced learners for the second half. I get Seamus. Cool.
Today each group observed Seamus teach our students. Tomorrow three students from each group will begin teaching, and on Wednesday, the other three students will teach. I am SO glad that I was randomly assigned to begin teaching on Wednesday—otherwise, I would be scrambling right now to get a lesson together… And let me tell you, when we left at 5:45 tonight, the folks in my group teaching tomorrow looked less than calm.
In Closing:
The younger folks seem to be more comfortable with the ensuing work load than the older folks. I think this is only because some of them are out of practice with the rhythm of school. This morning I ended up sitting next to a fellow college grad and we were like, “We can handle this. It’s only a month. How bad can it be?”
Ok, well we might actually have our asses handed to us. I’ll keep you posted.
The Lowdown:
- Bridge Linguatec is a real school! I was so relieved to get the tour this morning and see all the classrooms, all the staff employed, all the resources and computer rooms. It seems so easy to get ripped off with this TEFL stuff and it was reassuring to know that this is a legitimate learning site.
- 3 CELTA instructors: two women, one man (who is British and makes a convincing blonde version of Hugh Grant and who shall hereafter be referred to as Seamus McSporran).
- 18 CELTA trainees: seven men, eleven women. One older couple, three to five recent college graduates, a couple 20-somethings, some 30- and 40-somethings and a few who are a bit older. Everyone’s American save (2 Texans) for someone with dual citizenship, an Irish-American and an Eastern European who has been a refugee/immigrant in the States since age 15.
- Business Casual: I was warned it would be casual but it was more than I expected. I was only one of three women wearing a proper button-down shirt. Quite a few people wore blue jeans. One lady had on cargo pants and a sleeveless tee and flipflops. Didn’t they get the memo?!?! The dress code is apparently stricter on days when you actually must teach (more on that to follow).
- Format: In the mornings we have “input sessions” which are glorified activity/lecture blocks. That’s when we’ll collectively cover topics like classroom management, effective ways to teach vocabulary, grammar, discuss job placement prospects, etc. In the afternoons, we all get the opportunity to teach various English topics on a rotating basis.
Practice Teaching (merits its own heading):
You’ve heard of how beauty schools give discounted manicures and haircuts to anyone willing to be a guinea pig for an aspiring beautician? Well, Bridge Linguatec offers the same deal to local Denver folks who want to learn English. Every afternoon for 2 hours students can receive free beginning, intermediate or advanced English classes.
All 18 of us have been split into three groups, each headed by an instructor. Each teaching practice group is assigned to a level of English. In two weeks, the three groups rotate and go to a different instructor who is coaching a different level of English. The way it pans out, I will be with the intermediate learners for the first half and then with the advanced learners for the second half. I get Seamus. Cool.
Today each group observed Seamus teach our students. Tomorrow three students from each group will begin teaching, and on Wednesday, the other three students will teach. I am SO glad that I was randomly assigned to begin teaching on Wednesday—otherwise, I would be scrambling right now to get a lesson together… And let me tell you, when we left at 5:45 tonight, the folks in my group teaching tomorrow looked less than calm.
In Closing:
The younger folks seem to be more comfortable with the ensuing work load than the older folks. I think this is only because some of them are out of practice with the rhythm of school. This morning I ended up sitting next to a fellow college grad and we were like, “We can handle this. It’s only a month. How bad can it be?”
Ok, well we might actually have our asses handed to us. I’ll keep you posted.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Twas the night before CELTA...
Twas the night before CELTA when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The ironed "business casual" hung on the doorknob with care,
In hopes that during the morning commute, wrinkles wouldn't dare.
J was tucked away in her third-story turret,
While visions of Monday and first impressions danced in her head...
TEFL looms but I should do justice to the highlights of the horrid trek. Thank goodness I had my madre as my driving companion or I would have fallen asleep and been splattered across a semi's windshield, pages out of my grammar books flying away in the desert wind.
8 naps were taken and 1,444 miles were driven in 17 hours. My 1998 Honda Civic averaged an astonishing 40 miles to the gallon. It's just proof that even ten years ago, Honda was already kicking ass.
Trip Highlights Included:
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The ironed "business casual" hung on the doorknob with care,
In hopes that during the morning commute, wrinkles wouldn't dare.
J was tucked away in her third-story turret,
While visions of Monday and first impressions danced in her head...
TEFL looms but I should do justice to the highlights of the horrid trek. Thank goodness I had my madre as my driving companion or I would have fallen asleep and been splattered across a semi's windshield, pages out of my grammar books flying away in the desert wind.
8 naps were taken and 1,444 miles were driven in 17 hours. My 1998 Honda Civic averaged an astonishing 40 miles to the gallon. It's just proof that even ten years ago, Honda was already kicking ass.
Trip Highlights Included:
- Eating a satisfying birthday dinner of tacos and enchiladas for two people for $8 (including tax).
- Discovering a useful travel tip: When in a super-touristy town where all you can spot are casino's spaghetti buffets and convenience stores, pull into a grocery store parking lot and ask locals where they eat. Anyone buying six bags of groceries is probably not going back to the Red Garter Casino to play slots...
- Witnessing a Buddhist monk pump gas in his saffron robe.
- Buying gas was for less money at every gas stop after leaving California (from $4.65 to $3.99).
- Duly noting and appreciating Wyoming's wind farms that generate electricity.
- Hearing on the radio that a 74-year old California woman driving her Cadillac got a little confused about where the parking lot ended and Joe's Convenience Store began, thereby "parking" in the window. When she exited her car she decided she was thirsty and tried to buy a 6-pack of Budweiser Beer. Her patronage was refused and police were called. Oh California, I am already homesick for you.
- Pros On Arrival: Denver is a pretty fabulous city. After only two and a half days, I can tell. Denver put on a great Fourth of July fireworks display. What more could they possibly need?! I visited an art festival yesterday and saw Valet Bike Parking. Tell me you're not falling in love.
- Con: Hanging out in the Mile High City makes you sleepy and exhausted when your body's not accustomed to breathing air with less oxygen.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Eastward Ho! -- and Wardrobe Phobia
I'm still not really used to this whole blogging thing. It feels so vain and self-indulgent. Why did I think this would be a good idea? If you're even reading this, it's clearly the work of a higher power channeling the strength to endure my mindless maundering. *wink*
Tomorrow morningMom and I leave for Denver. We're splitting the 16+ hour drive into two days. I'm not thrilled to be spending my birthday hurtling east at 65 MPH, baking like a cupcake under the sun as we cross the Great Salt Flats of Nevada and Utah, but one can't have everything. And there's still a lot to look forward to--like "business casual."
I've got a month's worth of a "business casual" wardrobe packed. (Thank you Salvation Army for your inexpensive, modest, yet-not-dowdy skirts and shirts.) I don't know yet how I'll feel about wearing adult clothes every day for 4 weeks but I guess I'll have to get used to it. It's now or never. At this point, getting dressed is one of the biggest phobias I have about the CELTA course. However, dressing like an adult should help considerably with acting like an adult, since I'm only 23 and that doesn't seem very old...
Tomorrow morning
I've got a month's worth of a "business casual" wardrobe packed. (Thank you Salvation Army for your inexpensive, modest, yet-not-dowdy skirts and shirts.) I don't know yet how I'll feel about wearing adult clothes every day for 4 weeks but I guess I'll have to get used to it. It's now or never. At this point, getting dressed is one of the biggest phobias I have about the CELTA course. However, dressing like an adult should help considerably with acting like an adult, since I'm only 23 and that doesn't seem very old...
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