I am in Italy until January, 9th. Time to rest, work on my assignments, but above all, a lot of me-time, much much much needed!
Just for the record, my laptop is fading away, and will soon be replaced, my landlady will redecorate the house while we are away, I have a thousand cakes to make to catch up with the ones I haven't had the time to make, it's freezing cold (-3°C), and I am looking forward to Christmas markets, mulled wine, and carols. Oh, yes. This year, Christmas is going to be spectacularly quiet and cosy.
See you next year:-)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Sunday, December 06, 2009
And just like that...
I’m having a recovery weekend. To be honest, I’m going to work and finish my assignment now, but I am taking things easy, because I am exhausted.
So, to begin with, five minutes into my Thursday lesson, my Czech student decides to tell me that she’d rather be in a class with a native speaker, so that she can talk about England in the 80’s, as she’s got an exam coming up and she wants to know more about it. The thing shocks me so much that I spend the next 90 minutes thinking “I want to get out of here, get out of here” endlessly while Polish guy blabbers away about everything. Seriously, that guy is non-stop. At break time I tell the manager to move her to L2 from Monday, then realise I cannot stand having her in my class again, so I go back to the office, and I try to tell him to move her from Friday, only to burst into tears and beg to have her moved away as soon as possible. Manager is very supportive, and I feel so well about it, he goes “I’m moving her right now, I’m not having this!”, and gives permission to all the teachers who will have her in class..to make her cry.
The thing that annoys me is that even though I were a native speaker, what tells you that I’ll be able to tell you anything about England in the 80’s? Plus, I was a child in the 80’s! I was busy learning to write, playing with my schoolmates, going to swimming lessons!
Well, she’ll certainly be delighted to be in Denise’s class, who by the way spent the 80’s in Australia…
In other news, my body decided to reset the system. Only it forgot to inform me of such a procedure, so it took me by surprise when, while talking to Denise on Friday night, I heard a high-pitched sound in my ears, my vision blurred, and the next thing I know, I have collapsed on the floor and am “dreaming” away, I can’t remember what, but there are voices in my head and I am in another dimension for a while, until I hear Denise’s voice from a distance, and I slowly come round, as she’s trying to move me to a better position than heaped on plastic boxes by the sofa. I am sweating and hyperventilating, I can’t hear, I am confused, and I slowly, very slowly, come back.
So yes, my body decided that a reboot would have been a good idea. Clearly I am overdoing it a bit, and with another week to go, this was just a signal that maybe I should slow down? Eh, if only I could. So maybe the idea of preparing for a half marathon is not the greatest plan I can have, I suppose. Shame, because I am halfway there already! I guess that combining the stress of working full-time on a fixed term contract with such a low salary, plus going to college twice a week and to workshops, and studying like mad the rest of the time, and dedicating almost 2 hours a day four times a week to hardcore work out at the gym, plus not really eating that much (no time, really, and when I have time I’m not hungry anyway) is pushing it too far. That’s what Christmas is for, right? To rest (a bit… I am going to study as much as possible, and run as much as possible too, but I am also planning lots of relaxing cooking, walks, and lots of sleep…much needed). Anyway, I had never fainted before, so it’s been an interesting albeit scary experience. I know it’s a weird comment, but it’s just what I think.
So, now, about that assignment…
So, to begin with, five minutes into my Thursday lesson, my Czech student decides to tell me that she’d rather be in a class with a native speaker, so that she can talk about England in the 80’s, as she’s got an exam coming up and she wants to know more about it. The thing shocks me so much that I spend the next 90 minutes thinking “I want to get out of here, get out of here” endlessly while Polish guy blabbers away about everything. Seriously, that guy is non-stop. At break time I tell the manager to move her to L2 from Monday, then realise I cannot stand having her in my class again, so I go back to the office, and I try to tell him to move her from Friday, only to burst into tears and beg to have her moved away as soon as possible. Manager is very supportive, and I feel so well about it, he goes “I’m moving her right now, I’m not having this!”, and gives permission to all the teachers who will have her in class..to make her cry.
The thing that annoys me is that even though I were a native speaker, what tells you that I’ll be able to tell you anything about England in the 80’s? Plus, I was a child in the 80’s! I was busy learning to write, playing with my schoolmates, going to swimming lessons!
Well, she’ll certainly be delighted to be in Denise’s class, who by the way spent the 80’s in Australia…
In other news, my body decided to reset the system. Only it forgot to inform me of such a procedure, so it took me by surprise when, while talking to Denise on Friday night, I heard a high-pitched sound in my ears, my vision blurred, and the next thing I know, I have collapsed on the floor and am “dreaming” away, I can’t remember what, but there are voices in my head and I am in another dimension for a while, until I hear Denise’s voice from a distance, and I slowly come round, as she’s trying to move me to a better position than heaped on plastic boxes by the sofa. I am sweating and hyperventilating, I can’t hear, I am confused, and I slowly, very slowly, come back.
So yes, my body decided that a reboot would have been a good idea. Clearly I am overdoing it a bit, and with another week to go, this was just a signal that maybe I should slow down? Eh, if only I could. So maybe the idea of preparing for a half marathon is not the greatest plan I can have, I suppose. Shame, because I am halfway there already! I guess that combining the stress of working full-time on a fixed term contract with such a low salary, plus going to college twice a week and to workshops, and studying like mad the rest of the time, and dedicating almost 2 hours a day four times a week to hardcore work out at the gym, plus not really eating that much (no time, really, and when I have time I’m not hungry anyway) is pushing it too far. That’s what Christmas is for, right? To rest (a bit… I am going to study as much as possible, and run as much as possible too, but I am also planning lots of relaxing cooking, walks, and lots of sleep…much needed). Anyway, I had never fainted before, so it’s been an interesting albeit scary experience. I know it’s a weird comment, but it’s just what I think.
So, now, about that assignment…
Getting caught in the rain is not fun.
Well…the title says it all. But at least I got home a lot earlier than usual, thanks to free Wednesdays afternoons, and could do some studying and have a decent lunch before heading off to yet another inset (about Christmas activities, of course).
So, Monday was testing, at last, which means a really quiet morning, and having already prepared for my afternoon class, I really enjoyed some time just planning what to teach them for the rest of the week and all that: L4 is a really nice level, they are so chatty and noisy, it’s beautiful! And they are 5 or 6, which is also great, I am so tired of teaching mini-classes.
Speaking of which, and of my luck, there actually is an S2 class…damn! It’s super tiny, only 2 students, of which one if the most talkative person ever, he almost doesn’t stop to breathe! He’s only here for a week, and he clearly said that he’s going to make the most of it and practice his speaking, well, he is! I’m not complaining, mind: in the first lesson, I think I spoke a total of 2 minutes…such a change! I do prepare stuff to do, but mostly we go off tangents as soon as (both of them, really) spot an opportunity to chat away, and I’m fine with it: at this level, after all, it’s mostly consolidating grammar and expanding vocabulary, and I’m doing things, even if they don’t always notice. I’ll try to include some pronunciation too, if they ever let me! Next week, instead, I think it will be a one-to-one with the other student, also very nice. So, these last two weeks are going to be a lot more enjoyable than the past month, big smile.
In other news, it’s almost time to think about my LSA2, systems. That is, grammar, or phonology, or vocabulary. I think I’m going to play it safe, and prepare something about the second conditional: with a good build-up (revise past tenses, create a good context) it’s going to be smooth, albeit not original at all, but who cares. I’m not risking a fail just to try and show off. That’s also why my experimental practice was boring and banal, which will cost me, because one of the criteria is actually originality, but we’re talking of pass vs. fail here, no merit or whatever, and I am aiming at a pass, which I am 99% to get. Plus, with the kind of class I had, with the lack of technology, the lack of time to read some literature about it, and all that, sorry, that was all I can do. I’ll experiment TBL or CLL some other time, when I don’t have 900£ at stake…
So, Monday was testing, at last, which means a really quiet morning, and having already prepared for my afternoon class, I really enjoyed some time just planning what to teach them for the rest of the week and all that: L4 is a really nice level, they are so chatty and noisy, it’s beautiful! And they are 5 or 6, which is also great, I am so tired of teaching mini-classes.
Speaking of which, and of my luck, there actually is an S2 class…damn! It’s super tiny, only 2 students, of which one if the most talkative person ever, he almost doesn’t stop to breathe! He’s only here for a week, and he clearly said that he’s going to make the most of it and practice his speaking, well, he is! I’m not complaining, mind: in the first lesson, I think I spoke a total of 2 minutes…such a change! I do prepare stuff to do, but mostly we go off tangents as soon as (both of them, really) spot an opportunity to chat away, and I’m fine with it: at this level, after all, it’s mostly consolidating grammar and expanding vocabulary, and I’m doing things, even if they don’t always notice. I’ll try to include some pronunciation too, if they ever let me! Next week, instead, I think it will be a one-to-one with the other student, also very nice. So, these last two weeks are going to be a lot more enjoyable than the past month, big smile.
In other news, it’s almost time to think about my LSA2, systems. That is, grammar, or phonology, or vocabulary. I think I’m going to play it safe, and prepare something about the second conditional: with a good build-up (revise past tenses, create a good context) it’s going to be smooth, albeit not original at all, but who cares. I’m not risking a fail just to try and show off. That’s also why my experimental practice was boring and banal, which will cost me, because one of the criteria is actually originality, but we’re talking of pass vs. fail here, no merit or whatever, and I am aiming at a pass, which I am 99% to get. Plus, with the kind of class I had, with the lack of technology, the lack of time to read some literature about it, and all that, sorry, that was all I can do. I’ll experiment TBL or CLL some other time, when I don’t have 900£ at stake…
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Mal comune...
I’m going to be selfish and (fill the gap with any suitable word for the case), because I have found out that most of my colleagues have to resubmit their background assignment, just like yours truly. Phew! It does make me feel a lot better, especially when all sorts of insecurities and doubts over my abilities came to mind and obsessed me for a couple of days (that is, until the next session when I found out about it). So, no more depression, I am working on the assignment, trying to finish the one related to the experimental practice, and generally cursing my terrible choice of starting my LSA1 with a bottom-up exercise when I could have easily just followed the flow and gone for a traditional top-down activity, like I always do: what was I thinking???
Anyway, no sense in thinking over things past, better get going and work for a better future.
Speaking of which, my horrible students have left at last: HURRAY! On Thursday I experimented the authentic material lesson I had carefully planned, and was observed for part of it, so that I could get some sympathy over their “horribility”, but the observation went well, so I am happy; and on Friday, the last day with them, I even received flowers! Fancy that. Flowers to thank me, because I taught them lots of interesting and useful lessons, they think, and for my patience… Their words! Oh, well, this is why I do it, as we say. But I am certainly glad they are good and gone, and am now preparing for a couple of weeks of…who knows?
Well, I should be doing S2 now, but there are no students, as there was only one, as part of the Czech military, so I guess I am on hold in case a teacher calls in sick; also, I hope I can take some of this time to observe some of my more experiences colleagues… However, this doesn’t sound likely, as ex-academic manager, on roll list for a couple of weeks now, hasn’t shown up, so we’ve all been covering his classes, and something tells me that yours truly will, once again, be deep in covering for two long weeks; then again, if I am not mistaken, his class was the S3, also Czech militaries, so there shouldn’t be anyone there, now. Uhm… Well it will be interesting to go to school tomorrow…
An in the afternoon, after some 2 and a half months on short courses, I’ll be back on long, teaching L4, which includes, regrettably, my Czech housemate with the really bad voice (sorry, I am so bad and will go to hell, but she really has an irritating voice); however, it’s only for 8 lessons, because long courses have Wednesday afternoons free, and so will I! And the first two lessons are ready, as on Thursday they have their PET or KET test, so I will be preparing them, and have nothing to worry about.
Boy, Christmas is coming fast, and I can’t wait, to be honest, and not because I will be relaxing and stuffing my face, no, but because I’ll have more time to study and prepare…well, everything, really, not just my LSA2, but also stuff for module 1 (phonology and methodology, how exciting) and for the extended assignment of module 3. The Cambridge guys are sooo damn strict it scares me, which is why I cherish the whole month of unemployment that I am now facing, so that I will have more time to study, really.
I do wish I could have taken a few months off to do this course properly, or just affording to work part-time, but unfortunately, as most things in my life, suffering is what I have to do.
Only joking. The truth is, I believe that what doesn’t kill you, simply makes you (ta-dah!) stronger.
So, deep breath, and go!
Anyway, no sense in thinking over things past, better get going and work for a better future.
Speaking of which, my horrible students have left at last: HURRAY! On Thursday I experimented the authentic material lesson I had carefully planned, and was observed for part of it, so that I could get some sympathy over their “horribility”, but the observation went well, so I am happy; and on Friday, the last day with them, I even received flowers! Fancy that. Flowers to thank me, because I taught them lots of interesting and useful lessons, they think, and for my patience… Their words! Oh, well, this is why I do it, as we say. But I am certainly glad they are good and gone, and am now preparing for a couple of weeks of…who knows?
Well, I should be doing S2 now, but there are no students, as there was only one, as part of the Czech military, so I guess I am on hold in case a teacher calls in sick; also, I hope I can take some of this time to observe some of my more experiences colleagues… However, this doesn’t sound likely, as ex-academic manager, on roll list for a couple of weeks now, hasn’t shown up, so we’ve all been covering his classes, and something tells me that yours truly will, once again, be deep in covering for two long weeks; then again, if I am not mistaken, his class was the S3, also Czech militaries, so there shouldn’t be anyone there, now. Uhm… Well it will be interesting to go to school tomorrow…
An in the afternoon, after some 2 and a half months on short courses, I’ll be back on long, teaching L4, which includes, regrettably, my Czech housemate with the really bad voice (sorry, I am so bad and will go to hell, but she really has an irritating voice); however, it’s only for 8 lessons, because long courses have Wednesday afternoons free, and so will I! And the first two lessons are ready, as on Thursday they have their PET or KET test, so I will be preparing them, and have nothing to worry about.
Boy, Christmas is coming fast, and I can’t wait, to be honest, and not because I will be relaxing and stuffing my face, no, but because I’ll have more time to study and prepare…well, everything, really, not just my LSA2, but also stuff for module 1 (phonology and methodology, how exciting) and for the extended assignment of module 3. The Cambridge guys are sooo damn strict it scares me, which is why I cherish the whole month of unemployment that I am now facing, so that I will have more time to study, really.
I do wish I could have taken a few months off to do this course properly, or just affording to work part-time, but unfortunately, as most things in my life, suffering is what I have to do.
Only joking. The truth is, I believe that what doesn’t kill you, simply makes you (ta-dah!) stronger.
So, deep breath, and go!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Stressed out...
Yes, it looks like I could do with less worries in my life…
I am writing this in the hope to put my worries on "paper" and make them look less scary, distant, approachable and solvable.
So, where to begin?
One big problem seems to be the lack of time to do everything, or shall I say that all the things that we have to do seem an enormous amount, compared to the actual time we have. Of course, teaching full time is not really helpful, especially when I am a lot better and more experienced in lower levels, and have to teach upper-int and advanced, instead. To make things better, this week I am also on half cover, so instead of recycling stuff from my morning class with my advanced student, and mixing it with general chats and a round of Scrabble, both yesterday and today I had to cover for another upper-int class of catatonic Czech students, who make me want to scream.
If this wasn’t all, it seems that tomorrow I am actually covering for an advanced class? How come, haven’t I got my own to think of? So probably the boss got mixed up, and it would be interesting to go and find out, except that he doesn’t like to see me too often, so I am never comfortable going to the office looking for help…I’m sorry, but it’s not my fault if YOU are the boss therefore YOU are responsible for the timetable and the rest, therefore YOU have the answers! Anyway, seen as I have to bother him about my situation for the year to come, I’d rather risk it and have a surprise tomorrow morning, than bothering him again. So not good, though.
Which leads me to my feelings about my work place at the moment: apart from the general gossip going about, all these women whispering every minute of their day, and even outside work (my landlady, also core staff at the school, seems to enjoy sharing gossip or whatever, whenever she sees me, and doesn’t mind repeating herself, just in case I have forgotten), well apart from that, and from a shared feeling of “we don’t like the boss”, I sense a core vs. temporary staff contrast. They seem to want to make it clear that no, we temporary staff cannot expect to stay here for much longer, unless we are their friends, like nervous inexperienced teacher who finished last week (and all her fault too: when ex-boss said that he would find her stuff to do till the end of the year, she just said “good, thank you”, and walked back to her desk, whereas I cunningly asked for a contract, got one, and therefore am now on the teaching list until the end of the year, with or without students to teach). So, there is going to be a meeting on Thursday, and it does make me laugh that I witnessed the first draft of the notice being made, and it said: “CORE STAFF MEETING”. Said head title was then changed to a general “staff meeting” invitation, but I can’t help feeling that people like Chris, me, or if he was still here, Pawel, wouldn’t really have much to say, and even if we did, our words would probably be drowned or ignored. So, to be honest, I’m going to the gym right after class, on Thursday, and then back to college for another Delta session. I think these are the most important things.
And this leads me to the study problem, which is really stressing me out, and it is the main reason why I stick to this obsessive gym-routine, as I tend to internalise stress, and it’s so not good. As I said, I don’t have enough time for everything, and I am fighting to find it and keep it: I believe I need some me-time, right?
The problem is, I leave the house at 7.40 every single morning; I get to school by 8.20, prepare my lesson at my best (given the horrible course book I have to use, given the even more horrible students I have, and whatnot), and spend the whole day teaching and planning and preparing, and trying to find something to do with my classes, and all that. It is a shared feeling with my Delta colleagues, that we are focusing so much on the learning and preparing for the diploma, that it seems that the standard of our lessons is actually going down, and I seem to be walking out of my classes thinking “what a crap lesson that was!” a lot more often than I would like. Well, at least I’m not alone. I have my diploma classes twice a week, and there we are inundated with materials, ideas, assignments, “homework”, books to read, websites to consult, and stuff to think about, god knows when, since on such days I get home at 9.40 when I’m lucky, having spent exactly 14 hours away, and almost collapsing on my bed… I dedicate 3 to 4 times a week to the gym, mostly to keep fit, and sane, and work out all the stress that I am accumulating, and also because I am paying 34£ a month for it, and I’d like to make it worth it. Plus, I like that gym.
Of course, part of my worries are also money-related, as always.
Some worries are private, although a lot less complicated than they used to be, so honestly they are not that important right now, but still, I spend some time thinking about a couple of things that I’d like to fix, and which I thought were over and done with, but apparently they are… only for me. It seems that the other part involved in this, and who actually took all the decisions in the story, is not over with it yet, which I find almost amusing, if it wasn’t also quite irritating at times, all considered. But this is another story…
Finally, to make me feel better, here is a list of things to do for the next few days, to try and sort things out:
- print background assignment with comments, work on comments, resubmit. It seems that next week and the one following I’ll be on cover in the morning, so, with a little luck, working on it at the weekend and next week, I may be able to hand it in before the last week of the course. By the way, on Thursday I must get the books back and write down page numbers, which I had written on my handwritten notes, and then as soon as I copied them down, I just didn’t take them too. Why? God knows…
- plan experimental practice and teach it. This is planned to be on Thursday, so I can prepare the students on some grammar aspects, have a closer look at how I should teach the lesson, possible organise a peer observation for the day to get the necessary feedback, and then cunningly write the assignment retrospectively and complete it over the weekend, or again next week.
- Talk to boss on Thursday; he said he’d have some time for me at some point, later in the week, I believe Thursday should be a decent day? Just before the gym, so I can then go and forget my misfortunes with a really hard work-out…
- Go the gym on Thursday and Friday, in preparation for a really long studying weekend: it was supposed to be a fun weekend with a friend coming over to visit, but the way things are going, I’ll probably spend it researching, writing, editing, revising, studying…
…well, there would be a lot more to say, but I guess I’ll stop here. I expected to spend a long night studying, but by the way things have evolved I think I will go to sleep now…It’s such a shame, really, because a colleague from the Delta wanted to go for a drink tonight after class, to celebrate my birthday, and I was so looking forward to that, and instead…
Then again, as I said, social life is nothing I can have right now…
I am writing this in the hope to put my worries on "paper" and make them look less scary, distant, approachable and solvable.
So, where to begin?
One big problem seems to be the lack of time to do everything, or shall I say that all the things that we have to do seem an enormous amount, compared to the actual time we have. Of course, teaching full time is not really helpful, especially when I am a lot better and more experienced in lower levels, and have to teach upper-int and advanced, instead. To make things better, this week I am also on half cover, so instead of recycling stuff from my morning class with my advanced student, and mixing it with general chats and a round of Scrabble, both yesterday and today I had to cover for another upper-int class of catatonic Czech students, who make me want to scream.
If this wasn’t all, it seems that tomorrow I am actually covering for an advanced class? How come, haven’t I got my own to think of? So probably the boss got mixed up, and it would be interesting to go and find out, except that he doesn’t like to see me too often, so I am never comfortable going to the office looking for help…I’m sorry, but it’s not my fault if YOU are the boss therefore YOU are responsible for the timetable and the rest, therefore YOU have the answers! Anyway, seen as I have to bother him about my situation for the year to come, I’d rather risk it and have a surprise tomorrow morning, than bothering him again. So not good, though.
Which leads me to my feelings about my work place at the moment: apart from the general gossip going about, all these women whispering every minute of their day, and even outside work (my landlady, also core staff at the school, seems to enjoy sharing gossip or whatever, whenever she sees me, and doesn’t mind repeating herself, just in case I have forgotten), well apart from that, and from a shared feeling of “we don’t like the boss”, I sense a core vs. temporary staff contrast. They seem to want to make it clear that no, we temporary staff cannot expect to stay here for much longer, unless we are their friends, like nervous inexperienced teacher who finished last week (and all her fault too: when ex-boss said that he would find her stuff to do till the end of the year, she just said “good, thank you”, and walked back to her desk, whereas I cunningly asked for a contract, got one, and therefore am now on the teaching list until the end of the year, with or without students to teach). So, there is going to be a meeting on Thursday, and it does make me laugh that I witnessed the first draft of the notice being made, and it said: “CORE STAFF MEETING”. Said head title was then changed to a general “staff meeting” invitation, but I can’t help feeling that people like Chris, me, or if he was still here, Pawel, wouldn’t really have much to say, and even if we did, our words would probably be drowned or ignored. So, to be honest, I’m going to the gym right after class, on Thursday, and then back to college for another Delta session. I think these are the most important things.
And this leads me to the study problem, which is really stressing me out, and it is the main reason why I stick to this obsessive gym-routine, as I tend to internalise stress, and it’s so not good. As I said, I don’t have enough time for everything, and I am fighting to find it and keep it: I believe I need some me-time, right?
The problem is, I leave the house at 7.40 every single morning; I get to school by 8.20, prepare my lesson at my best (given the horrible course book I have to use, given the even more horrible students I have, and whatnot), and spend the whole day teaching and planning and preparing, and trying to find something to do with my classes, and all that. It is a shared feeling with my Delta colleagues, that we are focusing so much on the learning and preparing for the diploma, that it seems that the standard of our lessons is actually going down, and I seem to be walking out of my classes thinking “what a crap lesson that was!” a lot more often than I would like. Well, at least I’m not alone. I have my diploma classes twice a week, and there we are inundated with materials, ideas, assignments, “homework”, books to read, websites to consult, and stuff to think about, god knows when, since on such days I get home at 9.40 when I’m lucky, having spent exactly 14 hours away, and almost collapsing on my bed… I dedicate 3 to 4 times a week to the gym, mostly to keep fit, and sane, and work out all the stress that I am accumulating, and also because I am paying 34£ a month for it, and I’d like to make it worth it. Plus, I like that gym.
Of course, part of my worries are also money-related, as always.
Some worries are private, although a lot less complicated than they used to be, so honestly they are not that important right now, but still, I spend some time thinking about a couple of things that I’d like to fix, and which I thought were over and done with, but apparently they are… only for me. It seems that the other part involved in this, and who actually took all the decisions in the story, is not over with it yet, which I find almost amusing, if it wasn’t also quite irritating at times, all considered. But this is another story…
Finally, to make me feel better, here is a list of things to do for the next few days, to try and sort things out:
- print background assignment with comments, work on comments, resubmit. It seems that next week and the one following I’ll be on cover in the morning, so, with a little luck, working on it at the weekend and next week, I may be able to hand it in before the last week of the course. By the way, on Thursday I must get the books back and write down page numbers, which I had written on my handwritten notes, and then as soon as I copied them down, I just didn’t take them too. Why? God knows…
- plan experimental practice and teach it. This is planned to be on Thursday, so I can prepare the students on some grammar aspects, have a closer look at how I should teach the lesson, possible organise a peer observation for the day to get the necessary feedback, and then cunningly write the assignment retrospectively and complete it over the weekend, or again next week.
- Talk to boss on Thursday; he said he’d have some time for me at some point, later in the week, I believe Thursday should be a decent day? Just before the gym, so I can then go and forget my misfortunes with a really hard work-out…
- Go the gym on Thursday and Friday, in preparation for a really long studying weekend: it was supposed to be a fun weekend with a friend coming over to visit, but the way things are going, I’ll probably spend it researching, writing, editing, revising, studying…
…well, there would be a lot more to say, but I guess I’ll stop here. I expected to spend a long night studying, but by the way things have evolved I think I will go to sleep now…It’s such a shame, really, because a colleague from the Delta wanted to go for a drink tonight after class, to celebrate my birthday, and I was so looking forward to that, and instead…
Then again, as I said, social life is nothing I can have right now…
Monday, November 16, 2009
Two more weeks...
...before S 3.2 finally finishes.. Man, I hate those guys. They are a teacher's nightmare.
First, Czech guy number one is highly intrapersonal: never wants to work with other people, is slightly higher than the other two, or simply more confident, a bit cocky too, possibly a psycho inside, and very childish (remember the scene in Shrek 2 with Donkey making popping sounds with his mouth while going to Far Far Away? That was Czech guy number one this morning, every time I turned to write on the board..oh, how old are you again?).
Hungarian teacher is hopeless, and as long as she is talking, and asking things for herself, and commenting on things that interest her, it's fine. If one of the other two guys does it, then after less than a minute she goes "can we move on, please? Because I have paid for this course"...Oh, boy. Plus, she's highly jealous, as with her students she cannot really tell them to discuss something while she simply monitors, she must always be present, help them out, provide words and all that, so she cannot stand when I tell them to work together, and finds every possible excuse to make me speak too, and believe me, it's not because she likes me and genuinely wants me to join in, oh, no.
Czech guy number two is my favourite, because he's sweet, cooperative, has a nice smile, asks proper questions that are relevant to what we're doing... Unfortunately, he's not very confident, and I think he may be a bit shy too... Uff. Two more weeks to go, no new students, and a change of book from Horrible Book number one to Horrible Book number two..
In other news, and for something completely trivial, I have just bought a beautiful dress at M&S, and can I just say, I really feel for the poor people who work there...Saturday morning, 14th November, and there were CHRISTMAS SONGS in the air... With 6 weeks to Christmas, the poor employees must be going mental by the end of the month, really. One colleague at school was saying that there should be a law to prevent this kind of things, come on! I cannot think of Christmas yet, it's not even my birthday!
Speaking of which... The countdown is -5!
And now, back to that Experimental Practice assignment...
First, Czech guy number one is highly intrapersonal: never wants to work with other people, is slightly higher than the other two, or simply more confident, a bit cocky too, possibly a psycho inside, and very childish (remember the scene in Shrek 2 with Donkey making popping sounds with his mouth while going to Far Far Away? That was Czech guy number one this morning, every time I turned to write on the board..oh, how old are you again?).
Hungarian teacher is hopeless, and as long as she is talking, and asking things for herself, and commenting on things that interest her, it's fine. If one of the other two guys does it, then after less than a minute she goes "can we move on, please? Because I have paid for this course"...Oh, boy. Plus, she's highly jealous, as with her students she cannot really tell them to discuss something while she simply monitors, she must always be present, help them out, provide words and all that, so she cannot stand when I tell them to work together, and finds every possible excuse to make me speak too, and believe me, it's not because she likes me and genuinely wants me to join in, oh, no.
Czech guy number two is my favourite, because he's sweet, cooperative, has a nice smile, asks proper questions that are relevant to what we're doing... Unfortunately, he's not very confident, and I think he may be a bit shy too... Uff. Two more weeks to go, no new students, and a change of book from Horrible Book number one to Horrible Book number two..
In other news, and for something completely trivial, I have just bought a beautiful dress at M&S, and can I just say, I really feel for the poor people who work there...Saturday morning, 14th November, and there were CHRISTMAS SONGS in the air... With 6 weeks to Christmas, the poor employees must be going mental by the end of the month, really. One colleague at school was saying that there should be a law to prevent this kind of things, come on! I cannot think of Christmas yet, it's not even my birthday!
Speaking of which... The countdown is -5!
And now, back to that Experimental Practice assignment...
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
LSA1: how was it, then?
Well, I have some very nice colleagues who've supported me all along all morning, so, thank you all!
(except the poor sod, the sad bastard, the pathetic git, who had nothing better to do than tell me that to use my flashdrive on the computer in the staff room I had to scan it first... as if anyone in that office has ever done it or will ever do! But hey, I guess today it was my turn to be bullied).
Then, the lesson itself went well, with only a couple of minor slips:
one, I miscalculated the time, but mostly due to the presence of my borrowed students from L3, lovely guys that I wish I could have all the time, and who were very talkative, very responsive, very VERY! I wish my usual guys, after seeing how a lesson should go, started being real students from tomorrow... Unfortunately, hopes are low..
Problem number two, and I've been kicking myself since I found out, I had prepared a list of verbs and prepositions... and used the wrong preposition in one of the examples! I still can't believe I did that. Of course, when you've spent two weeks working on the background assignment, on the lesson plan, on the cover sheets, on the class profile, on the students' profile, on the materials, on the tasks... and at the same time you've tried to teach 8.30-15.30, well, I guess a slip can happen, I'm only human.
Still, it will bug me for eternity. I am one of those people with a horribly good memory, who remember every tiny detail of their life, and whereas the good memories haunt you because they've gone and you cannot have them again, the bad memories haunt you because you're still going crazy at how you could have done better, or said something different, or whatever.
The lesson of the day is: LSA1 is finished and gone, I am happy about it, I haven't made major mistakes that will cost me, and I am pretty proud that I survived, and that I was the bravest in the group, who chose (CHOSE!) to be observed first! A pat on the back and a high-five for me!
(except the poor sod, the sad bastard, the pathetic git, who had nothing better to do than tell me that to use my flashdrive on the computer in the staff room I had to scan it first... as if anyone in that office has ever done it or will ever do! But hey, I guess today it was my turn to be bullied).
Then, the lesson itself went well, with only a couple of minor slips:
one, I miscalculated the time, but mostly due to the presence of my borrowed students from L3, lovely guys that I wish I could have all the time, and who were very talkative, very responsive, very VERY! I wish my usual guys, after seeing how a lesson should go, started being real students from tomorrow... Unfortunately, hopes are low..
Problem number two, and I've been kicking myself since I found out, I had prepared a list of verbs and prepositions... and used the wrong preposition in one of the examples! I still can't believe I did that. Of course, when you've spent two weeks working on the background assignment, on the lesson plan, on the cover sheets, on the class profile, on the students' profile, on the materials, on the tasks... and at the same time you've tried to teach 8.30-15.30, well, I guess a slip can happen, I'm only human.
Still, it will bug me for eternity. I am one of those people with a horribly good memory, who remember every tiny detail of their life, and whereas the good memories haunt you because they've gone and you cannot have them again, the bad memories haunt you because you're still going crazy at how you could have done better, or said something different, or whatever.
The lesson of the day is: LSA1 is finished and gone, I am happy about it, I haven't made major mistakes that will cost me, and I am pretty proud that I survived, and that I was the bravest in the group, who chose (CHOSE!) to be observed first! A pat on the back and a high-five for me!
Monday, November 09, 2009
And the countdown is...
So, Wednesday is the big day of the first observation, or LSA1.
Checklist:
- background assignment: completed
- material for appendix: prepared
- cover sheet for lesson plan: ready
- lesson plan: done
- material for the lesson: photocopied, stapled, clipped, ready
- board plan: clear in my mind... Ok, I'll prepare it now, just as a back-up (we're doing prepositions, can't be too difficult, but better be prepared..)
Ultimately, I am ready, and feel ready, if only for a couple of details, such as the fact that I am not teaching anything special in language, so there is no word study in my cover sheet about it, only collocations...Got to ask about that...
And also, I have to borrow two students from L3, so that I'll have the right number for my lesson to be valid... I have a taught those guy before, and was thinking of going to their class tomorrow and asking two volunteers, rather than asking the teacher to blindly giving me two students who have no clue of what's going on... Still, it's scary because most of the guys in that class are Arabic, and this means that my assumptions on their knowledge would be rough, rather than spot-on. I can only cross my fingers...
More to come...
Checklist:
- background assignment: completed
- material for appendix: prepared
- cover sheet for lesson plan: ready
- lesson plan: done
- material for the lesson: photocopied, stapled, clipped, ready
- board plan: clear in my mind... Ok, I'll prepare it now, just as a back-up (we're doing prepositions, can't be too difficult, but better be prepared..)
Ultimately, I am ready, and feel ready, if only for a couple of details, such as the fact that I am not teaching anything special in language, so there is no word study in my cover sheet about it, only collocations...Got to ask about that...
And also, I have to borrow two students from L3, so that I'll have the right number for my lesson to be valid... I have a taught those guy before, and was thinking of going to their class tomorrow and asking two volunteers, rather than asking the teacher to blindly giving me two students who have no clue of what's going on... Still, it's scary because most of the guys in that class are Arabic, and this means that my assumptions on their knowledge would be rough, rather than spot-on. I can only cross my fingers...
More to come...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Talk to the hand, I'm busy
...working on three different assignments and trying to prepare the best listening lesson ever is not easy...plus I have a cold, plus I am thinking about personal things too (not that anything is going on, however, I happen to spend some time wondering...), plus I am into some serious work-out routine, if only for the sake of mental health, plus I would like to cook some of the lovely vegs I bought and which I cannot bring myself to cook because at the end of the day I am simply just too tired, so an apple and a cup of peppermint tea must do...
Highlighs of the week:
- covering L 3 on Monday morning, and meeting the students from said class both yesterday and today, and being asked "teacher, why don't we have you again?".
- meeting my favourite L5 student (now L4, good boy) in the cafeteria, and the first thing he says is "I miss you, teacher". A feeling shared by most of my students, it seems...
People, vote for me !
Highlighs of the week:
- covering L 3 on Monday morning, and meeting the students from said class both yesterday and today, and being asked "teacher, why don't we have you again?".
- meeting my favourite L5 student (now L4, good boy) in the cafeteria, and the first thing he says is "I miss you, teacher". A feeling shared by most of my students, it seems...
People, vote for me !
Saturday, October 31, 2009
PDA - Stage 2: Research and Action
Following the diagnostic observation on October 19th, these are my reflections and comments on “the story so far”. This is only a draft, although I am pretty happy about it so there won't be many changes, after all...
Strengths of my teaching
- ability to create a friendly and stress-free learning environment
- ability to involve every student
- ability to grade tasks according to unexpected difficulties
- ability to evaluate whether a task will be successful/too easy or difficult for the class I am teaching at the moment
- language awareness
- clarity of exposition of language on board – good check questions
-
All these positive points arise from the following:
- feedback during my Tesol course (Brighton 2007), where both the students and my peers would give me positive response with regards to my interpersonal skills: every time I am observed this is the first comment that I receive.
- Having been a language student myself, I think I understand what will work and what won’t, and I am very receptive to different problems connected with type of learners or different L1; thanks to this I can usually judge at once if an activity will successful or not, and I can find a way to grade tasks according to the level or to the students. At the same time, if my judgement fails me and the tasks proves to be too difficult or too easy, I am very flexible and very good at improvising (the best example of this is my last observation during the TESOL course when the listening task had proved to be too complicated, so I improvised the rest of the lesson helping the students step by step).
- Language awareness is the result of a deep and thorough study of the language for more than ten years, through middle and high school until the completion of my degree in English language and literature. It is another frequent comment in the feedbacks I have received since starting teaching ESOL; in the school I used to work to I got a reputation of being very methodical, thorough and clear when teaching the grammar, so much so that students started going to the DOS to ask to be put in my class even though the level would prove to be too low for them (I normally taught pre-intermediate then).
Weaknesses – reasons – research and action plan
1. Time and classroom management: I could be a more effective teacher if I could use time efficiently.
1.1. When? Feedback from diagnostic observation showed a tendency to rush the activities, not allowing enough time for pair-work, although having if I had had more than two students I believe I could have done better. I am aware that I struggle with the idea that silence is necessary during the lesson for the students to “digest” the information that they have received so far or to concentrate on the task before producing the target language with confidence (Krashen’s input stage). This issue also relates to classroom management, i.e. my lack of confidence on what to do in situations when a pair finishes the tasks earlier than the other students, and I cannot decide on the best course of action (giving the pair extra work? Let them relax? Stop the activity and start feedback?)
1.2. Research: peer observation with a specific questionnaire that will focus on the areas I need to analyse (see appendix), with reference to the other points mentioned later.
1.3. Action: observation of more experienced teachers in my school (to be arranged – probably during the week of November 23rd) – focused study and research of management techniques from articles and books (REFERENCE!)
2. Board work: I could be a more effective teacher if I could apply my awareness of the language to every aspect of it in my teaching.
2.1. When? Feedback from diagnostic observation praised my awareness of the language, which is one of my strengths, and at the same time focused on the way the language could have been presented in a more thorough way, by including form and pronunciation (in that case, features of connected speech as it was relevant to the listening and speaking activity that followed). I am also aware that I don’t always provide enough examples on the board which could help a faster understanding of the target language, getting stuck on the context of the lesson: this could lead (especially at lower levels) to the use of the language only in specific contexts (e.g., when I taught modals of obligations in my pre-intermediate class, we got stuck on “must” and “mustn’t”, and my students replaced the latter with “can’t” even when the best choice would have mustn’t).
2.1.1. Research: students’ questionnaires focusing on students’ acquisition of the language (see appendix) – peer observation to get data on my use of the board (see also point 2.2.1.1)
2.1.2. Actions: observation of more experienced teachers in my school as per point above. Find articles which can help me with the organisation of board work in my lesson plans – at the same time, start focusing on lesson planning which must include a board-plan for reference during the lesson.
2.2. Board work: I could be a more effective teacher if I were more responsive to random vocabulary that comes up during the lesson.
2.2.1. When? Feedback from diagnostic observation; I have also noticed that sometimes I don’t give much consideration to words that come up during a group discussion or while pairs are working on a task and I am going around the class: this is due, I believe, to a series of factors, including the insistence, during my TESOL course, that only relevant words (i.e., related to the topic of the lesson) should go on the board; another factor is confusion between the words that I sometime pre-teach in a lesson (and which arguably should be 3, or 4, or no more than 6 according to different theories), and random words which could be useful for future lessons, or simply interesting for the students.
2.2.1.1. Research: students’ questionnaires focusing on what they have learnt during the lesson, to get data on what they found interesting or relevant, and compare it to what my objectives were before the lesson (see appendix). Peer observation (including point 2.1.1 above).
2.2.1.2. Action: see point 2.1.2.
3. Instructions: I could be a more effective teacher if my instructions were clearer.
3.1. When? I often notice that I have to repeat instructions twice, or that, after the task has started, some student asks what they have to do; this can simply be lack of attention when the instructions were given, but I am aware that my delivery is not always clear. It is also a point that came up a few times during my TESOL course; I am aware that, sometimes due to lack of preparation time, the task is not even clear to me, or that I haven’t verbalised it, thus it is still more of a general idea of what the students will have to do.
3.1.1. Research: peer observation.
3.1.2. Action: peer observation; experimenting different activities that require use of instructions to get more practice; find articles or books that can help me with this area.
Deadline for research
The deadline I have set myself is December 11th, which will give me enough time to collect data and start working specifically to improve in all these areas.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Background assignment, experimental practice, and whatnot...
It’s reading week for Delta students, but this doesn’t mean much, really…only that we can try and use this time to catch up with all the things we have to prepare, a list of which was included in my previous post.
So, where to start…
It’s the last week with my lovely S 3.2, as both the Czechs and the two French girls who have joined for this week only are leaving on Friday, and for the occasion it will be movie-time again, and possibly scones… if not my own recipe, then supermarket ones, as I doubt I’ll have the time to bake…or learn how to use that oven in time (first experiment went fine, second went baaaad, so have lost my confidence now, and I’m annoyed, being the Queen of Cakes and Muffins).
On the other hand, my S 2 class is suddenly crowded! From 2 to 6, how cool is that? Pair work at last, and discussions, and all that. Of course, things cannot be perfect, so one of the students is a Spanish university teacher who lives in France and teaches any sort of English there, who has lived in the USA for something like 7 years, and who said that the level of the class is too easy for her… Ahem…You’ll excuse me if the other students are struggling enough to keep their head above the water while I pull them down with complicated vocabulary, phrasal verbs, long reading tasks, and challenging listening! So today I did what every teacher should do when confronted with such a student: I drowned my class in idioms, proved to know I know a loooot more than they do, which is obvious, but above all, proved that SHE doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does (and her pronunciation fails her every now and then, which makes me, I confess, highly happy, hehehe).
What I have taught this week.
Upper-intermediate class: having got this horrible book to use, I did try to find something remotely interesting and useful, barely managed to, as it is really bad. I mean, I see the point of it, being highly task-based, so theoretically it’s good, focusing on the grammar, giving a lot of colloquial expressions too, functional language all the time. Bad points, which unfortunately outnumber the good points: the grammar is spread with no logical order (past perfect in Unit 5, present perfect continuous in Unit 11, just to mention something); BORING TOPICS! I mean, BORING! I found a unit with a reading about carrier bags, which in itself is almost as boring as discussing the weather in the Caribbean, I guess, but worse than that was the discussion following the reading, which included questions such as: “Do you have a favourite carrier bag? How long have you had it for?”. I mean, seriously… Also, crap listening stuff! Almost as bad as the ones in the previous book, which is depressing when you consider how important listening is in teaching and learning a foreign language. There would be more, but I’ll stop here. The point is, I used the book twice last week, and twice this week, going back to my favourite text book on Wednesday, and again on Thursday.
Generally, things went well, and I am now starting to think of my diagnostic observation, the feedback I got, and what I should do about my weak points. But this is another chapter of the story, really…
Advanced class: we started off with an easy thing, coming from an upper-intermediate book, just because most of my students are virtually advanced but struggle all the same, especially with specific vocabulary; so this was the beginning of the week, followed by a long article on male beauty, oversaturated with vocabulary, which they tackled and beat clear. Wednesday I attacked them with body idioms, which was seriously complicated for both parts, as there are so many, and I had only chosen a few important ones, that my guys were likely both to hear and to use, but they came up with more, so it was challenging on my part too, in the end.
All in all, not a bad week, albeit my eternal juggling condition… but it’s nice to be teaching such advanced levels.
Next on the list:
Background assignment for the first observed lesson.
Assuming I will have a similar class to the one I’ve had so far, I am focusing on “helping advanced (or upper-intermediate, we’ll see) students with understanding details in listening tasks”. Precisely, I am considering what Anderson and Lynch call “transactional listening”, although I have to double-check the definition; we are talking about the kind of listening where you need to understand in details, activate a lot more than a listening for gist sort of skill, here you are processing the information you receive so that you can then summarize it. As an example, I am considering the kind of listening I did with my guys for the diagnostic observation, where we were talking about mysterious stories, so they had to understand what the story was about, but there was a lot more than that, like years, and specific words that would make the situation clearer, and so on. The idea is that in the case of “interactional listening”, interaction can be minimal, being limited to a simple nod of the head, or random “uh-hu”s, and so on, and comprehension isn’t necessarily deep (talking about a party or something, you may need to understand only words like “good”, “fun”, “music”, or such), whereas in transactional listening there must be a deeper effort to understand/interpret the information so that you are then able to process and repeat it – in your own words, which is evidence of comprehension, rather than repeating from memory.
So this is it, and the weekend will be dedicated to this assignment, and to the preparation of the lesson plan, only the skeleton, thank God, because at the same time I’ll be working on my next point:
Professional Development Assignment – part A.
This is when I consider my strength and my weaknesses, also in view of the feedback I have received after my diagnostic observation, and which underlined the usual things I receive as feedback:
GOOD POINTS:
Language awareness (which include good use of check questions, examples, and so on)
Good and unobtrusive error correction techniques
Clear board work
Good learning environment (friendly, professional, calm attitude, not dominating, good involvement of the students)
BAD POINTS:
Instructions (a really bad point, I don’t know why it’s so difficult!)
Form and pronunciation of the language not on board
Board work, although good, could be more methodical, and things like random language could go there too, which I do, actually, but I tend to put words related to the topic, rather than random words.
Time management (another really bad point)
So, ultimately, not bad, and nothing new under the sun: the weekend will see me reflect on these points and start thinking of an action plan, which will include those students’ questionnaires I’ve been handing out for a couple of weeks during the past 4 weeks.
And for the final thing to do during what I (clearly) expect to be a loooong weekend:
Experimental practice assignment (stage 2).
And this is where I go “uhm, my teaching life is absolutely complicated, rushed, hectic 5 days a week and sometimes more; what can I do to mess it up even more? Oh, I know: I can try and teach using a technique I’ve never used, or teach something I have never taught before, and when I do that, I can get another teacher to observe me, just to increase the level of stress brought on by being completely out of my comfort zone!”.
….I don’t think I need to explain further…
So, this for an anticipation of the next weekend/week…
I do wish I had more time, considering how I am also trying to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, and chilling doesn’t sound too bad an idea either, every now and then… I bought this book at the airport, London: the biography, which I can’t wait to read, and will never do, I know, not before the course ends, in June… Even when I decide to take some time off assignments, all I can think of is books, and teaching ideas, and research, and photocopying more materials, and and and…
Yes, we’re all thinking it: I’m a total workaholic, and proud to be.
So, where to start…
It’s the last week with my lovely S 3.2, as both the Czechs and the two French girls who have joined for this week only are leaving on Friday, and for the occasion it will be movie-time again, and possibly scones… if not my own recipe, then supermarket ones, as I doubt I’ll have the time to bake…or learn how to use that oven in time (first experiment went fine, second went baaaad, so have lost my confidence now, and I’m annoyed, being the Queen of Cakes and Muffins).
On the other hand, my S 2 class is suddenly crowded! From 2 to 6, how cool is that? Pair work at last, and discussions, and all that. Of course, things cannot be perfect, so one of the students is a Spanish university teacher who lives in France and teaches any sort of English there, who has lived in the USA for something like 7 years, and who said that the level of the class is too easy for her… Ahem…You’ll excuse me if the other students are struggling enough to keep their head above the water while I pull them down with complicated vocabulary, phrasal verbs, long reading tasks, and challenging listening! So today I did what every teacher should do when confronted with such a student: I drowned my class in idioms, proved to know I know a loooot more than they do, which is obvious, but above all, proved that SHE doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does (and her pronunciation fails her every now and then, which makes me, I confess, highly happy, hehehe).
What I have taught this week.
Upper-intermediate class: having got this horrible book to use, I did try to find something remotely interesting and useful, barely managed to, as it is really bad. I mean, I see the point of it, being highly task-based, so theoretically it’s good, focusing on the grammar, giving a lot of colloquial expressions too, functional language all the time. Bad points, which unfortunately outnumber the good points: the grammar is spread with no logical order (past perfect in Unit 5, present perfect continuous in Unit 11, just to mention something); BORING TOPICS! I mean, BORING! I found a unit with a reading about carrier bags, which in itself is almost as boring as discussing the weather in the Caribbean, I guess, but worse than that was the discussion following the reading, which included questions such as: “Do you have a favourite carrier bag? How long have you had it for?”. I mean, seriously… Also, crap listening stuff! Almost as bad as the ones in the previous book, which is depressing when you consider how important listening is in teaching and learning a foreign language. There would be more, but I’ll stop here. The point is, I used the book twice last week, and twice this week, going back to my favourite text book on Wednesday, and again on Thursday.
Generally, things went well, and I am now starting to think of my diagnostic observation, the feedback I got, and what I should do about my weak points. But this is another chapter of the story, really…
Advanced class: we started off with an easy thing, coming from an upper-intermediate book, just because most of my students are virtually advanced but struggle all the same, especially with specific vocabulary; so this was the beginning of the week, followed by a long article on male beauty, oversaturated with vocabulary, which they tackled and beat clear. Wednesday I attacked them with body idioms, which was seriously complicated for both parts, as there are so many, and I had only chosen a few important ones, that my guys were likely both to hear and to use, but they came up with more, so it was challenging on my part too, in the end.
All in all, not a bad week, albeit my eternal juggling condition… but it’s nice to be teaching such advanced levels.
Next on the list:
Background assignment for the first observed lesson.
Assuming I will have a similar class to the one I’ve had so far, I am focusing on “helping advanced (or upper-intermediate, we’ll see) students with understanding details in listening tasks”. Precisely, I am considering what Anderson and Lynch call “transactional listening”, although I have to double-check the definition; we are talking about the kind of listening where you need to understand in details, activate a lot more than a listening for gist sort of skill, here you are processing the information you receive so that you can then summarize it. As an example, I am considering the kind of listening I did with my guys for the diagnostic observation, where we were talking about mysterious stories, so they had to understand what the story was about, but there was a lot more than that, like years, and specific words that would make the situation clearer, and so on. The idea is that in the case of “interactional listening”, interaction can be minimal, being limited to a simple nod of the head, or random “uh-hu”s, and so on, and comprehension isn’t necessarily deep (talking about a party or something, you may need to understand only words like “good”, “fun”, “music”, or such), whereas in transactional listening there must be a deeper effort to understand/interpret the information so that you are then able to process and repeat it – in your own words, which is evidence of comprehension, rather than repeating from memory.
So this is it, and the weekend will be dedicated to this assignment, and to the preparation of the lesson plan, only the skeleton, thank God, because at the same time I’ll be working on my next point:
Professional Development Assignment – part A.
This is when I consider my strength and my weaknesses, also in view of the feedback I have received after my diagnostic observation, and which underlined the usual things I receive as feedback:
GOOD POINTS:
Language awareness (which include good use of check questions, examples, and so on)
Good and unobtrusive error correction techniques
Clear board work
Good learning environment (friendly, professional, calm attitude, not dominating, good involvement of the students)
BAD POINTS:
Instructions (a really bad point, I don’t know why it’s so difficult!)
Form and pronunciation of the language not on board
Board work, although good, could be more methodical, and things like random language could go there too, which I do, actually, but I tend to put words related to the topic, rather than random words.
Time management (another really bad point)
So, ultimately, not bad, and nothing new under the sun: the weekend will see me reflect on these points and start thinking of an action plan, which will include those students’ questionnaires I’ve been handing out for a couple of weeks during the past 4 weeks.
And for the final thing to do during what I (clearly) expect to be a loooong weekend:
Experimental practice assignment (stage 2).
And this is where I go “uhm, my teaching life is absolutely complicated, rushed, hectic 5 days a week and sometimes more; what can I do to mess it up even more? Oh, I know: I can try and teach using a technique I’ve never used, or teach something I have never taught before, and when I do that, I can get another teacher to observe me, just to increase the level of stress brought on by being completely out of my comfort zone!”.
….I don’t think I need to explain further…
So, this for an anticipation of the next weekend/week…
I do wish I had more time, considering how I am also trying to go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week, and chilling doesn’t sound too bad an idea either, every now and then… I bought this book at the airport, London: the biography, which I can’t wait to read, and will never do, I know, not before the course ends, in June… Even when I decide to take some time off assignments, all I can think of is books, and teaching ideas, and research, and photocopying more materials, and and and…
Yes, we’re all thinking it: I’m a total workaholic, and proud to be.
Monday, October 26, 2009
I'm busy...as always...
In the next three hours, I have to:
- prepare an essay outline for my first assessed lesson, which will be on the second or third week of November; considering how I have no idea what kind of class I'll have then, it feels quite complicated to decide what exactly I will focus on... More to come when my brain activates..
- start working on my PDA; again, I have no idea what to write exactly, although we've been reminded of the things to include in what seems to be a really important essay, no matter how often they tell us that we don't even need to "pass" for this one...
I am just back from a fantastic Italian weekend, and having lost Saturday for a nice walk, a trip to the market with a proper cappuccino breakfast, a fab dinner with my friends, I am now trying to catch up, although my body is screaming for some sleep and quiet time... which won't come before Saturday, I'm afraid...
And now, for that essay outline...
- prepare an essay outline for my first assessed lesson, which will be on the second or third week of November; considering how I have no idea what kind of class I'll have then, it feels quite complicated to decide what exactly I will focus on... More to come when my brain activates..
- start working on my PDA; again, I have no idea what to write exactly, although we've been reminded of the things to include in what seems to be a really important essay, no matter how often they tell us that we don't even need to "pass" for this one...
I am just back from a fantastic Italian weekend, and having lost Saturday for a nice walk, a trip to the market with a proper cappuccino breakfast, a fab dinner with my friends, I am now trying to catch up, although my body is screaming for some sleep and quiet time... which won't come before Saturday, I'm afraid...
And now, for that essay outline...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Can I have a bigger class, please?
Seriously! It's a bit exhausting, at the end of the day, especially when one of the two students is off (being on a long course they get Wednesday afternoon off, shame that the class is a short course one, so I ended up with not-very-lively- Czech guy). And next week it will be exactly the same...
Actually, if I can be picky and I actually get more students, could I have 2, or 4, or 6, etc? It is my dream to have an even number of students (more than two, though), so that the dream of every EFL teacher can come true for me: PAIR WORK! Yes, I can do it now, but it's a bit mechanical, and besides, they do turn to me every minute to check answers or whatever it is, with me!
I managed to teach using my own version of the Silent Way, today...only to balance the amount of TTT I was using. It worked, it was improvised, it was fun for the students too: cool. Ok, I agree with whoever it was (Harmer?), it's not about TTT but about TTQ (can be wrong there): as in, the quality of your talking time is what matters, not the amount, and I always make sure that I am using my time in a useful way. Still though, how I miss the good times when you set a speaking task to a big bunch of students, and then start moving silently from pair to pair, enjoying the sound of talk around you...
Actually, if I can be picky and I actually get more students, could I have 2, or 4, or 6, etc? It is my dream to have an even number of students (more than two, though), so that the dream of every EFL teacher can come true for me: PAIR WORK! Yes, I can do it now, but it's a bit mechanical, and besides, they do turn to me every minute to check answers or whatever it is, with me!
I managed to teach using my own version of the Silent Way, today...only to balance the amount of TTT I was using. It worked, it was improvised, it was fun for the students too: cool. Ok, I agree with whoever it was (Harmer?), it's not about TTT but about TTQ (can be wrong there): as in, the quality of your talking time is what matters, not the amount, and I always make sure that I am using my time in a useful way. Still though, how I miss the good times when you set a speaking task to a big bunch of students, and then start moving silently from pair to pair, enjoying the sound of talk around you...
Monday, October 19, 2009
Diagnostic observation and a blinding headache
...This should be enough to say how it went...
Allegedly due to a chocolate overdose, I woke up with a really bad headache; sum it to the stress of being observed; with the stress of having no clue of what I was going to teach in my PM lesson; with the drop in temperatures (but god willing no rain yet..keep your fingers crossed); with the mounting anger at the thought that annoying old teacher has taken my seat, and annoying old teacher number 2 is back from his holiday so has (justly) claimed his seat back, therefore yours truly is currently seat-less, well, put all this together and you have the explanation of my headache.
All considered, though, it didn't go that bad: I had backup stuff, because once again I had miscalculated the times (how could I? It was all going well, and all of a sudden I still had 30 minutes to go instead of the 15 I had planned!), but this shows the ability of thinking ahead to possible emergencies and having a plan B ready at hand; my grammar explanation didn't take as long as I expected, because the guys had a clear idea of what was going on, and no problems whatsoever, although in the end they didn't really use the target language as my objective clearly stated in the lesson plan... Oh, well.
Ultimately, things that I would change in this lesson plan: I'd have a better board-work. But honestly, there was a good one in my mind, and my mind wasn't functioning because of the flicking headache! So, action plan: prepare a written board-work for this kind of stuff, just in case migraine strikes again.
Allegedly due to a chocolate overdose, I woke up with a really bad headache; sum it to the stress of being observed; with the stress of having no clue of what I was going to teach in my PM lesson; with the drop in temperatures (but god willing no rain yet..keep your fingers crossed); with the mounting anger at the thought that annoying old teacher has taken my seat, and annoying old teacher number 2 is back from his holiday so has (justly) claimed his seat back, therefore yours truly is currently seat-less, well, put all this together and you have the explanation of my headache.
All considered, though, it didn't go that bad: I had backup stuff, because once again I had miscalculated the times (how could I? It was all going well, and all of a sudden I still had 30 minutes to go instead of the 15 I had planned!), but this shows the ability of thinking ahead to possible emergencies and having a plan B ready at hand; my grammar explanation didn't take as long as I expected, because the guys had a clear idea of what was going on, and no problems whatsoever, although in the end they didn't really use the target language as my objective clearly stated in the lesson plan... Oh, well.
Ultimately, things that I would change in this lesson plan: I'd have a better board-work. But honestly, there was a good one in my mind, and my mind wasn't functioning because of the flicking headache! So, action plan: prepare a written board-work for this kind of stuff, just in case migraine strikes again.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Finally, some (teaching) action
Following a very strange day, here I am trying to work on tomorrow's lesson, which includes the first observation, diagnostic, unassessed, but still scary in some ways.
I will only have two students, my Czech guys, which means a good environment, but lots of work on my part as I cannot really set up speaking tasks and let them go for hours without joining in. Oh, well, it's just my luck I suppose, and besides, it will only show my "skills" in keeping a tiny class live and awake despite the "boredom" of having a really limited number of students.
So tomorrow we are discussing modals of deduction in the past, listening to mysterious events, playing "The maze of terror", one of my favourite activities, and it took me an hour to prepare the whole thing, materials included.
The lesson before, for the moment, is a revision of narrative tenses focusing on short stories to read, complete, invent...easy stuff possibly! I am quite confident about it all, I have been observed so many times, everything is planned properly (as in: in more details than usual, which simply means that I had to think of a specific reason for the activites rather than a generic thought of "listening and fill the gaps with words that I taught earlier"). Feedback due on Thursday, which will give me time to write my self-evalution form, update my journal, start writing the Action Research Thingy where I consider where I am as a teacher, what my beliefs are, strengths, weaknesses, ideas for improvement, all that stuff.
Plans for the rest of the day, then:
first of all, I should take a quick look at the first part of tomorrow's lesson, although I have already spent about 2 hours doing so, in the past 3 days. Trouble is, the more I look at it, the less I remember, the more I get confused because I start thinking of ways to link this lesson to the other lessons in the week, and things that we need to revise, and problems that arose on Friday during the revision game, and all that... I do love this job because it keeps my mind active and jumpy.
Later on, a walk seems the best idea: the sun is out, the leaves are a beautiful colour, Stour Valley will be lovely, my camera is ready, and my body is calling for some more movement than the tapping of fingers on the keyboard or standing up to go get more books from my desk...
And finally, just a few days before I have my very hectic Italian weekend, starting Friday, which will leave me exhausted and at the beginning of the reading week, so I'll have time to catch up with books that I haven't read, and start planning my first observed lesson, and finish that ART (Action Research Thingy).
And now, before going back to books and lesson plans, I think a bit of yoga sounds appropriate...
I will only have two students, my Czech guys, which means a good environment, but lots of work on my part as I cannot really set up speaking tasks and let them go for hours without joining in. Oh, well, it's just my luck I suppose, and besides, it will only show my "skills" in keeping a tiny class live and awake despite the "boredom" of having a really limited number of students.
So tomorrow we are discussing modals of deduction in the past, listening to mysterious events, playing "The maze of terror", one of my favourite activities, and it took me an hour to prepare the whole thing, materials included.
The lesson before, for the moment, is a revision of narrative tenses focusing on short stories to read, complete, invent...easy stuff possibly! I am quite confident about it all, I have been observed so many times, everything is planned properly (as in: in more details than usual, which simply means that I had to think of a specific reason for the activites rather than a generic thought of "listening and fill the gaps with words that I taught earlier"). Feedback due on Thursday, which will give me time to write my self-evalution form, update my journal, start writing the Action Research Thingy where I consider where I am as a teacher, what my beliefs are, strengths, weaknesses, ideas for improvement, all that stuff.
Plans for the rest of the day, then:
first of all, I should take a quick look at the first part of tomorrow's lesson, although I have already spent about 2 hours doing so, in the past 3 days. Trouble is, the more I look at it, the less I remember, the more I get confused because I start thinking of ways to link this lesson to the other lessons in the week, and things that we need to revise, and problems that arose on Friday during the revision game, and all that... I do love this job because it keeps my mind active and jumpy.
Later on, a walk seems the best idea: the sun is out, the leaves are a beautiful colour, Stour Valley will be lovely, my camera is ready, and my body is calling for some more movement than the tapping of fingers on the keyboard or standing up to go get more books from my desk...
And finally, just a few days before I have my very hectic Italian weekend, starting Friday, which will leave me exhausted and at the beginning of the reading week, so I'll have time to catch up with books that I haven't read, and start planning my first observed lesson, and finish that ART (Action Research Thingy).
And now, before going back to books and lesson plans, I think a bit of yoga sounds appropriate...
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Mid-week and I am exhausted...
Tuesday, AM lesson
Considerably better than Monday's, thanks to more details and a deeper look into the book (which sucks). Back-up material proved to be useful to fill in some gaps, although we actually ended five minutes earlier, but being a short course, the students being tired as they go out every single night, and because they couldn't be bothered, it was ok.
Action plan: more preparation needed, again. Timing needs more consideration, as they tend to finish earlier than I plan.
Tuesday, PM lesson
A grammar lesson, mostly because I wanted to use the same material used in the AM class. It was good revision for one of the students, some new stuff for the other two, and due to a small board, it was also a bit confusing as I couldn't write everything that I wanted.
Funnily enough, on the questionnaire that I gave them at the end of the lesson, one of the students wrote the following (bear in mind that the class is made of three students): "The exercise was a bit difficult because we were three - pairwork would have been better"...DUH!
Action: I should start considering a plan for my boardwork, as it is usually clear in my head, but there are such things as TINY boards where my amount of clear spidergrams and stuff doesn't really fit...
Wednesday, AM lesson
Carefully planned, including the vocabulary that I intended to teach which was taken from another book, and I had a close look at the grammar, just in case something strange would come up. We started off with a game to revise the articles, really, which they really appreciated, and then off we went with vocabulary and discussion, a quick listening, more discussion to practise the vocabulary, a look at the grammar and a quick practice of that again. Finally, a bit of discussion using an activity from another book, so they could use the vocabulary learnt in the first part of the lesson, and have some fun discussing the people in the picture I had given them.
Generally a positive lesson, getting better and better. I wish I had more students, though, as having only 3 (and next week they will come down to 2) means being 100% involved in their work, rather than supervising it, and a lot more back-up because the feedback is always shorter.
Action plan: keep on organising in more details, back-up stuff still very useful.
Wednesday, PM lesson
Only two out of 3, of which one is the hyper girl with short attention span...We ended up chatting, with her leading the conversation, the other guy occasionally contributing, but he had a good time too as we laughed a lot and we practiced pronunciation in a discreet way... His comment was positive, at the end of the lesson, as he complained that "my jaw is aching for all the laughing". I take it as a good thing.
Action plan: none, really, as I had a complete lesson plan ready to use and we just got carried away by other things, as it happens sometimes, but it was good practice.
Considerably better than Monday's, thanks to more details and a deeper look into the book (which sucks). Back-up material proved to be useful to fill in some gaps, although we actually ended five minutes earlier, but being a short course, the students being tired as they go out every single night, and because they couldn't be bothered, it was ok.
Action plan: more preparation needed, again. Timing needs more consideration, as they tend to finish earlier than I plan.
Tuesday, PM lesson
A grammar lesson, mostly because I wanted to use the same material used in the AM class. It was good revision for one of the students, some new stuff for the other two, and due to a small board, it was also a bit confusing as I couldn't write everything that I wanted.
Funnily enough, on the questionnaire that I gave them at the end of the lesson, one of the students wrote the following (bear in mind that the class is made of three students): "The exercise was a bit difficult because we were three - pairwork would have been better"...DUH!
Action: I should start considering a plan for my boardwork, as it is usually clear in my head, but there are such things as TINY boards where my amount of clear spidergrams and stuff doesn't really fit...
Wednesday, AM lesson
Carefully planned, including the vocabulary that I intended to teach which was taken from another book, and I had a close look at the grammar, just in case something strange would come up. We started off with a game to revise the articles, really, which they really appreciated, and then off we went with vocabulary and discussion, a quick listening, more discussion to practise the vocabulary, a look at the grammar and a quick practice of that again. Finally, a bit of discussion using an activity from another book, so they could use the vocabulary learnt in the first part of the lesson, and have some fun discussing the people in the picture I had given them.
Generally a positive lesson, getting better and better. I wish I had more students, though, as having only 3 (and next week they will come down to 2) means being 100% involved in their work, rather than supervising it, and a lot more back-up because the feedback is always shorter.
Action plan: keep on organising in more details, back-up stuff still very useful.
Wednesday, PM lesson
Only two out of 3, of which one is the hyper girl with short attention span...We ended up chatting, with her leading the conversation, the other guy occasionally contributing, but he had a good time too as we laughed a lot and we practiced pronunciation in a discreet way... His comment was positive, at the end of the lesson, as he complained that "my jaw is aching for all the laughing". I take it as a good thing.
Action plan: none, really, as I had a complete lesson plan ready to use and we just got carried away by other things, as it happens sometimes, but it was good practice.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Trying to keep a PD journal - part one
...where PD, of course, stands for Professional Development, a part of the course which is not assessed and we don't necessarily need to pass, but the pressure to produce a good piece of work is there all the time...
So, here is a small summary of today's lessons, and considering how it was Monday, first day with a new class, new students coming to my afternoon class, and a long and tiring weekend on my shoulders (longer and almost more tiring than the whole week, but let's not talk about it), considering all this, I think I did quite well.
So, this is the first of many reflections which will be duly labelled as "Teaching Journal" - this is only an experiment, I plan to be more detailed and specific with a bit of time...
Monday 12th, AM LESSON – Level: S 3.2
The class is upper-intermediate and has been here for a week, with another teacher. The book used is Elevator, and the previous teacher hasn’t used it much (she didn’t like it). I had a quick look at it, but not very thorough. About 45 minutes before the beginning of the class, I decided what I wanted to teach, studied the unit in details, checked the first listening and decided that it wasn’t good, and made some alterations to the unit itself; I also prepared some back-up material in case the class was stronger than expected and I had time to fill in.
Being the first day I aimed at a general view and understanding of the level, including an evaluation of the type of students, in order to be able to create more specific lessons for the next three weeks (two of the three students will be here for a month).
The lesson went generally well, although the reading was probably a bit too scattered and unfocused, and so were the two language points following it, which I didn’t explore in depth (the first, compound nouns, had no explanation whatsoever and I had prepared extra material to cover the area properly, the grammar point about articles was not necessary as I noticed that that students could master articles pretty well – maybe we could do some quick revision later in the week, but spending more than 20 minutes on it would be unnecessary). The language point I presented wasn’t very clear, mostly because I hadn’t prepared it properly, and didn’t have it very clear in my mind – and the extra material for explanation wasn’t very helpful either. The speaking activity went very well and I was able to push the students for more language.
In the second part we did a quick listening, which followed and was followed by a speaking activity – the listening was half improvised but went well, although it was too easy for the class; I tend to blame the book in this case, as it seems to include very long listening with no specific language point and not very interesting either. The speaking activity that followed was from another book, and it was an activity that I had already practised with a previous class, so I was more prepared and could lead the discussion well.
Generally the lesson went well: the atmosphere was good, the students satisfied and cooperative, my performance, albeit based on improvisation, was good.
Negative aspects: improvising shouldn’t be the rule – I allow it only because it was the first day with the class, and because I was new with the book.
Action plan: study the book in depth, and prepare more thoroughly for the next lesson.
Monday, 12th, PM LESSON – Level: S 2
It’s a class I’ve had for three weeks, this is the fourth, and there was a new student. In total they were only 3, which made pair work impossible – I had to be part of the activity myself, although that was calculated beforehand.
The lesson was based on listening and speaking, the topic was food and lifestyle: the choice of the topic was based on being the first day with a new student, being the first day of the week, and it was well timed as the morning teacher had done body parts, which could be linked to my topic.
The listening was half improvised, as I realised that the two activities on the plan wouldn’t need a second listening (it was a very easy one again, as it came from an upper-intermediate book): therefore I stopped the tape to allow the students to compare the first part of the questions, before resuming the listening for the second part of the activity, before playing the recording one more time after they had compared, to revise vocabulary and warm up to the speaking.
The speaking went well although it was a bit repetitive, but on second thought it was useful as I could see that my student (who was doing the exercise with me) needed some help with the same questions that I had asked her before, so it was good revision of question forms, and conversation at the right level for all the class.
Generally the lesson went well, again because of a good atmosphere, and because I was more relaxed, being a class I’ve been with for a while.
Negative aspects: I should have listened to the whole recording beforehand (not just to a part of it); maybe I could have organised the listening activity in a different way to make it more challenging.
Action plan: prepare more thoroughly for the next lesson.
So, here is a small summary of today's lessons, and considering how it was Monday, first day with a new class, new students coming to my afternoon class, and a long and tiring weekend on my shoulders (longer and almost more tiring than the whole week, but let's not talk about it), considering all this, I think I did quite well.
So, this is the first of many reflections which will be duly labelled as "Teaching Journal" - this is only an experiment, I plan to be more detailed and specific with a bit of time...
Monday 12th, AM LESSON – Level: S 3.2
The class is upper-intermediate and has been here for a week, with another teacher. The book used is Elevator, and the previous teacher hasn’t used it much (she didn’t like it). I had a quick look at it, but not very thorough. About 45 minutes before the beginning of the class, I decided what I wanted to teach, studied the unit in details, checked the first listening and decided that it wasn’t good, and made some alterations to the unit itself; I also prepared some back-up material in case the class was stronger than expected and I had time to fill in.
Being the first day I aimed at a general view and understanding of the level, including an evaluation of the type of students, in order to be able to create more specific lessons for the next three weeks (two of the three students will be here for a month).
The lesson went generally well, although the reading was probably a bit too scattered and unfocused, and so were the two language points following it, which I didn’t explore in depth (the first, compound nouns, had no explanation whatsoever and I had prepared extra material to cover the area properly, the grammar point about articles was not necessary as I noticed that that students could master articles pretty well – maybe we could do some quick revision later in the week, but spending more than 20 minutes on it would be unnecessary). The language point I presented wasn’t very clear, mostly because I hadn’t prepared it properly, and didn’t have it very clear in my mind – and the extra material for explanation wasn’t very helpful either. The speaking activity went very well and I was able to push the students for more language.
In the second part we did a quick listening, which followed and was followed by a speaking activity – the listening was half improvised but went well, although it was too easy for the class; I tend to blame the book in this case, as it seems to include very long listening with no specific language point and not very interesting either. The speaking activity that followed was from another book, and it was an activity that I had already practised with a previous class, so I was more prepared and could lead the discussion well.
Generally the lesson went well: the atmosphere was good, the students satisfied and cooperative, my performance, albeit based on improvisation, was good.
Negative aspects: improvising shouldn’t be the rule – I allow it only because it was the first day with the class, and because I was new with the book.
Action plan: study the book in depth, and prepare more thoroughly for the next lesson.
Monday, 12th, PM LESSON – Level: S 2
It’s a class I’ve had for three weeks, this is the fourth, and there was a new student. In total they were only 3, which made pair work impossible – I had to be part of the activity myself, although that was calculated beforehand.
The lesson was based on listening and speaking, the topic was food and lifestyle: the choice of the topic was based on being the first day with a new student, being the first day of the week, and it was well timed as the morning teacher had done body parts, which could be linked to my topic.
The listening was half improvised, as I realised that the two activities on the plan wouldn’t need a second listening (it was a very easy one again, as it came from an upper-intermediate book): therefore I stopped the tape to allow the students to compare the first part of the questions, before resuming the listening for the second part of the activity, before playing the recording one more time after they had compared, to revise vocabulary and warm up to the speaking.
The speaking went well although it was a bit repetitive, but on second thought it was useful as I could see that my student (who was doing the exercise with me) needed some help with the same questions that I had asked her before, so it was good revision of question forms, and conversation at the right level for all the class.
Generally the lesson went well, again because of a good atmosphere, and because I was more relaxed, being a class I’ve been with for a while.
Negative aspects: I should have listened to the whole recording beforehand (not just to a part of it); maybe I could have organised the listening activity in a different way to make it more challenging.
Action plan: prepare more thoroughly for the next lesson.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Yes, updating would be good...like having a 30-hour day, really
...which for the moment is not possible...
So, for what is going on at the moment:
- started the DELTA. This means a looooot of work, tons of books to read, and stress levels as high as possible as I think of the observations, and of the little time I have to do everything... It does feel extremely good, though, when I see my desk crowded with books, and I spend weekends making notes, detailed tables, I jot down ideas, prepare students' questionnaires and learn of new ways to teach... I am a nerd, ultimately...
- contract extended until December, then we keep our fingers crossed, don't we? I do love it there: have just finished teaching the run with the hopeless L5 students, who are becoming more and more neurotic, suffering from acute blocking syndrome, which means that now they won't speak until they can see a positive reaction from me that confirms that yes, the grammar is right, yes, the structure is right, yes, that is the right word to use... So not good for them. At the same time, having such a large number of Arabic students, I see to be picking words and things from their language...funny.
- Have also started teaching advanced: how exciting! This would have never happened in Brighton! I was condemned to elementary and pre-intermediate, with the good excuse that nobody else was as good as me at those levels. Here they need someone for the advanced, and I am a teacher like anybody else, so here we go: it's so cool. Stressful as I have never taught it before, which means more preparation, but useful and interesting as it is good experience, and after three weeks I am confident enough to "try stuff", and the DELTA classes are very useful too, so have already recycled an idea, and probably will do again this week.
- Oh, am teaching my housemate this week. She's "blond", you know... Seriously stupid, I'm sorry to say. Called for hours on the Sunday she was supposed to arrive, until I finally picked up the phone, and then she told me that she was in London and would arrive at 3. Ehm...so what? Then on the first day she got lost and arrived at school late. Surprisingly she ended up being an upper-intermediate, in spite of her really bad comprehension and speaking skills, which include a really funny use of "hello" when she should actually say "goodbye".... Had to tell her off twice already for her extensive use of the bathroom when other people (read: me) need to use it too, and am looking forward to torment her in class, to be honest... The evil side of teaching...
In other news, am just back from an interesting albeit slightly disappointing day in London: but the exhibition at Tate was worth it indeed. And so was the lemon cake and coffee afterwards, and the stroll along the Thames with my friend, and the long talk we had about...everything, which for the moment means her acting, my teaching and studying, and John.
But this is a complicated side of the story, and too personal to mention here. I should be strictly a teacher online...So I'll go update my portfolio, then. And then, lesson planning, studying, note-taking, and Action Research Planning... This is a DELTA teacher's life.
So, for what is going on at the moment:
- started the DELTA. This means a looooot of work, tons of books to read, and stress levels as high as possible as I think of the observations, and of the little time I have to do everything... It does feel extremely good, though, when I see my desk crowded with books, and I spend weekends making notes, detailed tables, I jot down ideas, prepare students' questionnaires and learn of new ways to teach... I am a nerd, ultimately...
- contract extended until December, then we keep our fingers crossed, don't we? I do love it there: have just finished teaching the run with the hopeless L5 students, who are becoming more and more neurotic, suffering from acute blocking syndrome, which means that now they won't speak until they can see a positive reaction from me that confirms that yes, the grammar is right, yes, the structure is right, yes, that is the right word to use... So not good for them. At the same time, having such a large number of Arabic students, I see to be picking words and things from their language...funny.
- Have also started teaching advanced: how exciting! This would have never happened in Brighton! I was condemned to elementary and pre-intermediate, with the good excuse that nobody else was as good as me at those levels. Here they need someone for the advanced, and I am a teacher like anybody else, so here we go: it's so cool. Stressful as I have never taught it before, which means more preparation, but useful and interesting as it is good experience, and after three weeks I am confident enough to "try stuff", and the DELTA classes are very useful too, so have already recycled an idea, and probably will do again this week.
- Oh, am teaching my housemate this week. She's "blond", you know... Seriously stupid, I'm sorry to say. Called for hours on the Sunday she was supposed to arrive, until I finally picked up the phone, and then she told me that she was in London and would arrive at 3. Ehm...so what? Then on the first day she got lost and arrived at school late. Surprisingly she ended up being an upper-intermediate, in spite of her really bad comprehension and speaking skills, which include a really funny use of "hello" when she should actually say "goodbye".... Had to tell her off twice already for her extensive use of the bathroom when other people (read: me) need to use it too, and am looking forward to torment her in class, to be honest... The evil side of teaching...
In other news, am just back from an interesting albeit slightly disappointing day in London: but the exhibition at Tate was worth it indeed. And so was the lemon cake and coffee afterwards, and the stroll along the Thames with my friend, and the long talk we had about...everything, which for the moment means her acting, my teaching and studying, and John.
But this is a complicated side of the story, and too personal to mention here. I should be strictly a teacher online...So I'll go update my portfolio, then. And then, lesson planning, studying, note-taking, and Action Research Planning... This is a DELTA teacher's life.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
The long, long, long update continues...
Week five
Saving money doesn’t make me feel better..
Good good girl… waking up incredibly early on Saturday morning, after moving to a new place for what I hope will be a bit more than 3 weeks, I lied in bed thinking of my immediate future: London or not London? And considering how I had just been accepted on the DELTA, which is going to cost a loooot, and how my contract has been extended but not till November, to October!, and with one week of “holiday” which I’ll be forced to take during September, well I had no choices, did I?
Dutifully I decided to stay in Bournemouth and invest my energies in the following activities:
- find my way from the new place to the school, as I am now further (up? Down? Who knows). Map in one hand and smiling in the sun of a beautiful morning, I did find my way and estimated the time of arrival within 45 minutes: we are back on track with some serious morning walk before work, yay!
- Find the library and possibly join too…which was not possible as my current address is still in Brighton and that will do no good. So, mission postponed to Thursday, when I should have managed to have some bank statement that proves that I am (for now) a Bournemouthian (??? Making words up as usual…). But apart from that, the library is really nice, Brighton-like although not as big, with armchairs, an exciting noise of life all around the place, and tons of interesting books. I have recently taken up an interest in history, since fiction has bored me, and I am still afraid that it will be hurtful, so I can’t wait to get my card and start reading.
- And finally, invest the money saved by not going to London in…books for the Delta course. Only 3 books should be sort of compulsory, and I did buy one, almost bought a second, then flipped through and found it scarily similar to one I already have: I mean, there is only so much you can write about phonology… I’ll give it another thought before proceeding.
Later in the day, a call from John which lifts my spirit up, especially as it comes minutes after I have returned home with my shopping, without getting lost in the process, and looking forward to scrambled eggs on toast that I’ve been dreaming of for the past month (sad soul that I am…). So I am in the quiet of my room, and enjoy a short talk with him, and am left with a big smile…and my lunch waiting to be prepared in the kitchen!
Seriously though, it’s nice to be back to use a kitchen after two months of forced inactivity.. The place with Deaf Landlady was just too small, the stove electric, and the pans.. well, just not good, as DL tended to burn them almost on a weekly basis… Although, what with the need to save money, I am not sure I will eat that much in the future: the rent, the gym, the course…ow.
Updating regularly would do this blog a favour
Instead, it’s Monday morning and I am just wondering what to teach in my pm class, frantically flipping through books that could present any slightly interesting conversation-sparking material…
Well, I download more stuff from iPlayer, which as usual will be used for the Friday lesson, and then I jam the photocopier due to my responsible decision to make double-sided copies for the sake of the forests, but clearly the photocopier disagrees…
I get back home in a fantastic 40 minute-walk, and experience the pleasure of cooking again after more than two months on a forced diet of (first) canteen food, and (then) raw carrots, fruit, yogurt, sandwiches, and microwaveable soup. So, to start a new section of this blog, let’s begin...
Food for all seasons
Mushroom soup – September 2009
Really, soups are the easiest thing: all you need is some olive oil or butter to melt in the pan, then some chopped onion, maybe some garlic too (it goes great with mushrooms), when they start to turn golden add the mushrooms, and pour boiled water on it all, and a stock cube. Let it go, let it go, let it go, for about twenty minutes; to make it thicker, add a diced potato halfway. Check seasoning, and serve with toasted brown bread and olive oil..or with a nice chunk of cheese on the side. Yummi, warm, autumnal... beautiful
Ramadan is not good
Ok, I’m going to be in trouble for writing this. But seriously, guys, this is not good for you. You cannot come to my class half starved, and make a mess of my lesson plan just because you’re dying for a cup of coffee at breaktime or a sandwich or pizza or whatever. My Thai guy and I are getting tired of it. You’re all nice guys, but please stop it. Seriously. Go to Burger King and stuff yourself with chips drowned in ketchup, and then a gallon of Coke, that cannot but be good for you. And when your immune system tells you that you should really eat, and you come to class all weak and with fever and a sorethroat, do you know what you have to do? Go home, have a nice cup of tea, or milk with lots of honey, and a good-for-you tablet of Paracetamol. That’s a good boy.
Saving money doesn’t make me feel better..
Good good girl… waking up incredibly early on Saturday morning, after moving to a new place for what I hope will be a bit more than 3 weeks, I lied in bed thinking of my immediate future: London or not London? And considering how I had just been accepted on the DELTA, which is going to cost a loooot, and how my contract has been extended but not till November, to October!, and with one week of “holiday” which I’ll be forced to take during September, well I had no choices, did I?
Dutifully I decided to stay in Bournemouth and invest my energies in the following activities:
- find my way from the new place to the school, as I am now further (up? Down? Who knows). Map in one hand and smiling in the sun of a beautiful morning, I did find my way and estimated the time of arrival within 45 minutes: we are back on track with some serious morning walk before work, yay!
- Find the library and possibly join too…which was not possible as my current address is still in Brighton and that will do no good. So, mission postponed to Thursday, when I should have managed to have some bank statement that proves that I am (for now) a Bournemouthian (??? Making words up as usual…). But apart from that, the library is really nice, Brighton-like although not as big, with armchairs, an exciting noise of life all around the place, and tons of interesting books. I have recently taken up an interest in history, since fiction has bored me, and I am still afraid that it will be hurtful, so I can’t wait to get my card and start reading.
- And finally, invest the money saved by not going to London in…books for the Delta course. Only 3 books should be sort of compulsory, and I did buy one, almost bought a second, then flipped through and found it scarily similar to one I already have: I mean, there is only so much you can write about phonology… I’ll give it another thought before proceeding.
Later in the day, a call from John which lifts my spirit up, especially as it comes minutes after I have returned home with my shopping, without getting lost in the process, and looking forward to scrambled eggs on toast that I’ve been dreaming of for the past month (sad soul that I am…). So I am in the quiet of my room, and enjoy a short talk with him, and am left with a big smile…and my lunch waiting to be prepared in the kitchen!
Seriously though, it’s nice to be back to use a kitchen after two months of forced inactivity.. The place with Deaf Landlady was just too small, the stove electric, and the pans.. well, just not good, as DL tended to burn them almost on a weekly basis… Although, what with the need to save money, I am not sure I will eat that much in the future: the rent, the gym, the course…ow.
Updating regularly would do this blog a favour
Instead, it’s Monday morning and I am just wondering what to teach in my pm class, frantically flipping through books that could present any slightly interesting conversation-sparking material…
Well, I download more stuff from iPlayer, which as usual will be used for the Friday lesson, and then I jam the photocopier due to my responsible decision to make double-sided copies for the sake of the forests, but clearly the photocopier disagrees…
I get back home in a fantastic 40 minute-walk, and experience the pleasure of cooking again after more than two months on a forced diet of (first) canteen food, and (then) raw carrots, fruit, yogurt, sandwiches, and microwaveable soup. So, to start a new section of this blog, let’s begin...
Food for all seasons
Mushroom soup – September 2009
Really, soups are the easiest thing: all you need is some olive oil or butter to melt in the pan, then some chopped onion, maybe some garlic too (it goes great with mushrooms), when they start to turn golden add the mushrooms, and pour boiled water on it all, and a stock cube. Let it go, let it go, let it go, for about twenty minutes; to make it thicker, add a diced potato halfway. Check seasoning, and serve with toasted brown bread and olive oil..or with a nice chunk of cheese on the side. Yummi, warm, autumnal... beautiful
Ramadan is not good
Ok, I’m going to be in trouble for writing this. But seriously, guys, this is not good for you. You cannot come to my class half starved, and make a mess of my lesson plan just because you’re dying for a cup of coffee at breaktime or a sandwich or pizza or whatever. My Thai guy and I are getting tired of it. You’re all nice guys, but please stop it. Seriously. Go to Burger King and stuff yourself with chips drowned in ketchup, and then a gallon of Coke, that cannot but be good for you. And when your immune system tells you that you should really eat, and you come to class all weak and with fever and a sorethroat, do you know what you have to do? Go home, have a nice cup of tea, or milk with lots of honey, and a good-for-you tablet of Paracetamol. That’s a good boy.
A long, long, long update... (part one, week four)
Week three
Thursday, am
What is with my am class? The Saudi guys just want to move up, as if being thrown to an intermediate class will make them instantly pass the IELTS, or speak perfect English. They want that, but they don’t think that following my instructions to practice the target language will be useful, so whenever I say “please work together”, they just start writing on their notebooks, or, more annoying, one of them actually refuses to work with his partner and wants to talk to me, so I can correct his mistakes… Erm, man? This is not the way things work around here! So just do what I say and stop bothering me, yes? It’s a long way to get to IELTS level, believe me…
Thursday, pm
“Teacher, you…” My Chinese girl stops to consult with her classmates for a minute, then here comes the perfectly structured sentence:
“Are you going to teach us next week too?”
I say that yes, my timetable says that I will be their teacher again next week…why do you ask?
“Because we want you. Are you going to be our teacher forever?”
…As I said before, I don’t need much to be happy.
Week four
I am a busy bee – and a happy bunny
I feel like walking, and walking, and walking. I feel like running, running miles, running until my legs become jelly and I can’t think anymore. I feel like moving, simply, and the little walks I am taking these days are just not enough.
Considering the weather, I have booked an induction at the gym, and am so looking forward to going, on Tuesday, and work out for a bit, then do some yoga on Wednesday, then work out more on Thursday again, and who knows, a swim on Friday? I don’t care about the money I will spend, I need to move.
I was thinking of my relationship ( or whatever it is we’re doing…) with John, and how we match quite well, as he is this calm, meditative person, and I am a stressed, nervous, hyper girl who runs around, jumps, cannot keep calm one minute in class.. or outside. Which is the reason why I’m taking up yoga next week: to see if this helps my concentration, and maybe gives me some physical peace. But for the moment, all I’m thinking of is moving, walking, running! I’m writing this on a quiet Saturday night, and looking forward to tomorrow morning, when I will go for a short run before John comes to visit, and then, weather permitting, there will be a long walk along the beach, feet caressed by the water… can’t wait.
I am in Bournemouth, and hopefully I will be here for a while. I haven’t had a chance to talk to the boss yet, and all he could say on Wednesday was that yes, I am staying, but for how long, that’s not sure. So Friday, right after my successful pm class (more to come), my empty suitcase and I headed to the station, and caught a quiet train to Southampton, changed train, and about a million stops later I got to Brighton, and was back to the house of horror, or Grime House. Man, what a bad feeling. So bad that I caught the first train I could, on Saturday morning, so not to spend any minute that was not absolutely necessary in that filthy place. 8.30 on a quiet train, a million stops, then in Southampton a lift that wouldn’t work, so my beast of a case and my two heavy bags ran up the stairs, down the stairs to the other platform, and half an hour later I was in Bournemouth, where I spent an hour unpacking, tidying up, and all that.
And then, the city centre, the sun coming and going, my tiredness (two sleepless nights and a heavy journey on my shoulders…), and going back and enjoying the quietness of my room. I feel good here. I hope this thing between me and Bournemouth will be a long-term relationship…
It’s quiz time!
So, take a class of upper-intermediate students who like games, moving around, chatting. Take a Friday afternoon, and the probability that your Saudi student will be in class (i.e., no music – but then, Saudi student was at the Mosque, so I could have played music too. Next time, hey?). Take the quizzes from http://www.eflgames.com/ , particularly Mastermind, and choose at least 25 questions from each level.
Preparation: divide the class in teams, possibly with a name. There should be captains, but since there will be some running required, I suggest that captains alternate, so everyone gets a chance to run and answer (although they are given a minute to discuss the question in their team, most of them tend to answer straight away, while the rest of the team…just watches. So, alternate captains). Give a starting 100 points to each team.
Round one: ask the question; captains must run to the board to get priority to answer. Give them 30 seconds to consult their team mates too – don’t accept answers that come before the consultation. Ask the other team if they agree with the answer. Each question is worth 30 points: if the answer is correct, they are added to the initial 100, otherwise they are taken away.
Round two: same as before, but captains must run to the board, and the winner must collect a slip of paper with a sentence on it, which is either incomplete or contains a mistake. The other team receives the same sentence so both team work on it, then the team with priority gives the correct sentence, and if it’s correct (again, ask the other team if they agree first) they get to answer the question.
This time each question is worth 50 points, but in case of wrong answer, the 50 points go to the other team. Option two, if the answer is correct, the 50 points are taken from the other team.
Round three: this time there isn’t a sentence to correct, but a tongue twister to say. The team has 30-45 seconds to practice, then they give it a go, either together or one by one. If they are clever and really good, they could try and do it by one word a person, which could also be fun. The other team, having received the same tongue twister, can decide if the performance was good enough…
The questions are now worth 100 points.
Round four: no running involved this time. The first thing to do is announcing the category of the question; the team then decide how much they want to bet, depending on how strong they think they are on the subject (minimum 100, maximum 500 points, or things can get tricky). Clearly, if the answer is wrong, they will lose the points they have bet; and this time there is no running as both team get a chance to answer, so they could both win or lose a lot of points at the same time.
Round five is an extra, and it involves a minute for each team to play either a miming game or taboo or hot seat with some vocabulary, which could be revision of the week or such. Each word guessed is another 100 points. This is where my students get loud and try to interfere with the ones who are explaining the words (in hot seat), but it’s really fun!
And…that’s it. All in all it takes about 45 minutes, and it’s really cool for a Friday afternoon.
Now, for next Friday instead…
And it’s the end of another week…
Worst moment of the week, and possibly of my entire career.
I am teaching this random class of German teenager on the Bank Holiday Monday. They are a nice bunch, it takes them a while to warm up, and one of them, who is the oldest of the group, being 19, is the smartest, or at least the one who speaks the most and has a richer vocabulary. I quite like him.
We start the “create your own country/island” project, which thrills them, and I just wander around checking for spelling mistakes, helping with vocabulary and the rest. I get to this guy’s project, which he wanted to do alone, and I decided not to object seen as his mate didn’t look too keen on cooperating with him. So I start reading his description of his new island, where as soon as you land, you metamorphose into a god and can speak all the languages of the world, and lots of other fancy stuff: the guy is clearly into sci-fi. Then it gets to the bit where he says that “you will begin your day drinking champagne and thinking back to last night’s raping fun while you walk along the beach,” wowowowow, what’s that? Raping fun? Surely he’s confusing with rave, like Fatboy Slim on Brighton beach? But no, hey, the idea is that on this island you can rape a woman whenever you like, and hear hear, IF SHE LIKES IT, you can marry her in old Venice, the most romantic place in the world for newlyweds. I am so taken aback that I have no words to reply, when a simple sentence would have been enough, something on the line of “the whole concept of rape is that she will NOT like it!”!
I leave the class ten minutes later trembling with rage, and the morning after, when I meet the guy by chance in the corridor with his friends, I want to do two things: first, kick him really hard where it really hurts; second, wish him to be raped, then see if he likes it! Holy, I thought I had seen it all…
Best moment of the week
My Czech student from L3 is leaving! HURRAY!!!
(Ahem..apologies to her, because I understand that when you are 17 and it’s August and everyone at home is having fun while you are spending 5 hours a day in a school, for an entire month, and as soon as you get home you must go back to school, well yes, I understand how that can piss you off, but blaming the teachers, the school, the other students, England itself for your misfortune and making ME feel guilty for not bringing enough fun into your life…well that’s simply not fair).
The Friday lesson
Or: how to use BBC iPlayer productively, rather than just download “Desperate Romantics” and stuff.
The Total Wipeout has been my favourite programme of the summer, and I am so sad that it’s finished. I really enjoyed it, good fun to relax. So, the Friday lesson is going to be about it!
L5, pre-int students: first we will learn or revise some vocab on sport, see some more prepositions, practice practice practice; L3, my upper-int, we will only check a few more complicated prepositions, speak a bit, and then for both group there will be the same worksheet which I have carefully planned while watching the Wipeout for the third time, and which include listening for gist and details, paying attention to numbers, revising vocabulary for personality, present perfect, watching carefully before choosing the right option (does nervous Anthony jump on the obstacles, swim in the water or jump in the water?), and so on. Plus, it’s good fun and relaxing at the end of a week.
For me too, really: I’ve just joined the gym, after taking the induction on the grounds that I would go on a pay-as-you-go, and then realising that the gym is a drug therefore it would be more convenient to just join it and go mad about it, so I’ve been working out and loving every single moment so much! And then this Friday I am moving (again!) to Tall Kind Teacher’s house, for what I hope will be a longer period of time than it’s been so far, and have a looooot to unpack, tidy, and all that, and before that I have the interview for the DELTA (more to come on the subject), plus the usual stuff coming up at the weekend: London, possibly, or whatever will be..
Wow, am I a busy bee. And happy, happy, happy!
Thursday, am
What is with my am class? The Saudi guys just want to move up, as if being thrown to an intermediate class will make them instantly pass the IELTS, or speak perfect English. They want that, but they don’t think that following my instructions to practice the target language will be useful, so whenever I say “please work together”, they just start writing on their notebooks, or, more annoying, one of them actually refuses to work with his partner and wants to talk to me, so I can correct his mistakes… Erm, man? This is not the way things work around here! So just do what I say and stop bothering me, yes? It’s a long way to get to IELTS level, believe me…
Thursday, pm
“Teacher, you…” My Chinese girl stops to consult with her classmates for a minute, then here comes the perfectly structured sentence:
“Are you going to teach us next week too?”
I say that yes, my timetable says that I will be their teacher again next week…why do you ask?
“Because we want you. Are you going to be our teacher forever?”
…As I said before, I don’t need much to be happy.
Week four
I am a busy bee – and a happy bunny
I feel like walking, and walking, and walking. I feel like running, running miles, running until my legs become jelly and I can’t think anymore. I feel like moving, simply, and the little walks I am taking these days are just not enough.
Considering the weather, I have booked an induction at the gym, and am so looking forward to going, on Tuesday, and work out for a bit, then do some yoga on Wednesday, then work out more on Thursday again, and who knows, a swim on Friday? I don’t care about the money I will spend, I need to move.
I was thinking of my relationship ( or whatever it is we’re doing…) with John, and how we match quite well, as he is this calm, meditative person, and I am a stressed, nervous, hyper girl who runs around, jumps, cannot keep calm one minute in class.. or outside. Which is the reason why I’m taking up yoga next week: to see if this helps my concentration, and maybe gives me some physical peace. But for the moment, all I’m thinking of is moving, walking, running! I’m writing this on a quiet Saturday night, and looking forward to tomorrow morning, when I will go for a short run before John comes to visit, and then, weather permitting, there will be a long walk along the beach, feet caressed by the water… can’t wait.
I am in Bournemouth, and hopefully I will be here for a while. I haven’t had a chance to talk to the boss yet, and all he could say on Wednesday was that yes, I am staying, but for how long, that’s not sure. So Friday, right after my successful pm class (more to come), my empty suitcase and I headed to the station, and caught a quiet train to Southampton, changed train, and about a million stops later I got to Brighton, and was back to the house of horror, or Grime House. Man, what a bad feeling. So bad that I caught the first train I could, on Saturday morning, so not to spend any minute that was not absolutely necessary in that filthy place. 8.30 on a quiet train, a million stops, then in Southampton a lift that wouldn’t work, so my beast of a case and my two heavy bags ran up the stairs, down the stairs to the other platform, and half an hour later I was in Bournemouth, where I spent an hour unpacking, tidying up, and all that.
And then, the city centre, the sun coming and going, my tiredness (two sleepless nights and a heavy journey on my shoulders…), and going back and enjoying the quietness of my room. I feel good here. I hope this thing between me and Bournemouth will be a long-term relationship…
It’s quiz time!
So, take a class of upper-intermediate students who like games, moving around, chatting. Take a Friday afternoon, and the probability that your Saudi student will be in class (i.e., no music – but then, Saudi student was at the Mosque, so I could have played music too. Next time, hey?). Take the quizzes from http://www.eflgames.com/ , particularly Mastermind, and choose at least 25 questions from each level.
Preparation: divide the class in teams, possibly with a name. There should be captains, but since there will be some running required, I suggest that captains alternate, so everyone gets a chance to run and answer (although they are given a minute to discuss the question in their team, most of them tend to answer straight away, while the rest of the team…just watches. So, alternate captains). Give a starting 100 points to each team.
Round one: ask the question; captains must run to the board to get priority to answer. Give them 30 seconds to consult their team mates too – don’t accept answers that come before the consultation. Ask the other team if they agree with the answer. Each question is worth 30 points: if the answer is correct, they are added to the initial 100, otherwise they are taken away.
Round two: same as before, but captains must run to the board, and the winner must collect a slip of paper with a sentence on it, which is either incomplete or contains a mistake. The other team receives the same sentence so both team work on it, then the team with priority gives the correct sentence, and if it’s correct (again, ask the other team if they agree first) they get to answer the question.
This time each question is worth 50 points, but in case of wrong answer, the 50 points go to the other team. Option two, if the answer is correct, the 50 points are taken from the other team.
Round three: this time there isn’t a sentence to correct, but a tongue twister to say. The team has 30-45 seconds to practice, then they give it a go, either together or one by one. If they are clever and really good, they could try and do it by one word a person, which could also be fun. The other team, having received the same tongue twister, can decide if the performance was good enough…
The questions are now worth 100 points.
Round four: no running involved this time. The first thing to do is announcing the category of the question; the team then decide how much they want to bet, depending on how strong they think they are on the subject (minimum 100, maximum 500 points, or things can get tricky). Clearly, if the answer is wrong, they will lose the points they have bet; and this time there is no running as both team get a chance to answer, so they could both win or lose a lot of points at the same time.
Round five is an extra, and it involves a minute for each team to play either a miming game or taboo or hot seat with some vocabulary, which could be revision of the week or such. Each word guessed is another 100 points. This is where my students get loud and try to interfere with the ones who are explaining the words (in hot seat), but it’s really fun!
And…that’s it. All in all it takes about 45 minutes, and it’s really cool for a Friday afternoon.
Now, for next Friday instead…
And it’s the end of another week…
Worst moment of the week, and possibly of my entire career.
I am teaching this random class of German teenager on the Bank Holiday Monday. They are a nice bunch, it takes them a while to warm up, and one of them, who is the oldest of the group, being 19, is the smartest, or at least the one who speaks the most and has a richer vocabulary. I quite like him.
We start the “create your own country/island” project, which thrills them, and I just wander around checking for spelling mistakes, helping with vocabulary and the rest. I get to this guy’s project, which he wanted to do alone, and I decided not to object seen as his mate didn’t look too keen on cooperating with him. So I start reading his description of his new island, where as soon as you land, you metamorphose into a god and can speak all the languages of the world, and lots of other fancy stuff: the guy is clearly into sci-fi. Then it gets to the bit where he says that “you will begin your day drinking champagne and thinking back to last night’s raping fun while you walk along the beach,” wowowowow, what’s that? Raping fun? Surely he’s confusing with rave, like Fatboy Slim on Brighton beach? But no, hey, the idea is that on this island you can rape a woman whenever you like, and hear hear, IF SHE LIKES IT, you can marry her in old Venice, the most romantic place in the world for newlyweds. I am so taken aback that I have no words to reply, when a simple sentence would have been enough, something on the line of “the whole concept of rape is that she will NOT like it!”!
I leave the class ten minutes later trembling with rage, and the morning after, when I meet the guy by chance in the corridor with his friends, I want to do two things: first, kick him really hard where it really hurts; second, wish him to be raped, then see if he likes it! Holy, I thought I had seen it all…
Best moment of the week
My Czech student from L3 is leaving! HURRAY!!!
(Ahem..apologies to her, because I understand that when you are 17 and it’s August and everyone at home is having fun while you are spending 5 hours a day in a school, for an entire month, and as soon as you get home you must go back to school, well yes, I understand how that can piss you off, but blaming the teachers, the school, the other students, England itself for your misfortune and making ME feel guilty for not bringing enough fun into your life…well that’s simply not fair).
The Friday lesson
Or: how to use BBC iPlayer productively, rather than just download “Desperate Romantics” and stuff.
The Total Wipeout has been my favourite programme of the summer, and I am so sad that it’s finished. I really enjoyed it, good fun to relax. So, the Friday lesson is going to be about it!
L5, pre-int students: first we will learn or revise some vocab on sport, see some more prepositions, practice practice practice; L3, my upper-int, we will only check a few more complicated prepositions, speak a bit, and then for both group there will be the same worksheet which I have carefully planned while watching the Wipeout for the third time, and which include listening for gist and details, paying attention to numbers, revising vocabulary for personality, present perfect, watching carefully before choosing the right option (does nervous Anthony jump on the obstacles, swim in the water or jump in the water?), and so on. Plus, it’s good fun and relaxing at the end of a week.
For me too, really: I’ve just joined the gym, after taking the induction on the grounds that I would go on a pay-as-you-go, and then realising that the gym is a drug therefore it would be more convenient to just join it and go mad about it, so I’ve been working out and loving every single moment so much! And then this Friday I am moving (again!) to Tall Kind Teacher’s house, for what I hope will be a longer period of time than it’s been so far, and have a looooot to unpack, tidy, and all that, and before that I have the interview for the DELTA (more to come on the subject), plus the usual stuff coming up at the weekend: London, possibly, or whatever will be..
Wow, am I a busy bee. And happy, happy, happy!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Bournemouth, week three - part one
Monday, am
Lover boy from L6 (moved up to my class) walks in after break time escorted by secretary (or whatever his role in the office is), and shows off his knowledge of other languages by telling me “I love you” in Italian, Spanish, Turkish, and possibly Chinese?...
We are quickly revising adjectives for descriptions, and the phrase “she/he’s not my type” comes up, so I ask around what their type of woman is… So, blonde, tall, slim women with large boobs, be informed that there is a whole class of over-20 students waiting for you – room 7, every day, between 9.15 and 15.30.
Monday, pm
Ok, I knew that for Ramadan you can’t eat during the day, guys. This morning I found out that you’re also not allowed to smoke. But I would have never expected that you cannot listen to music?? So, about 10 minutes after the start of my pm lesson, ENTIRELY based on two songs (which took me an evening to prepare), nice Saudi guy asks to have a word with me…outside. Scary. And I find out about the music problem…
Right, so…half my lessons for this week have to be re-planned, as most of them include at least one tiny song at the end, just to lighten things up… Crumbs.
And in 66b…
Which is where I live…
How is it that whenever I walk out of my room for a glass of water or something, landlady needs to go to the kitchen too, and tries to get a conversation started? I am almost afraid she will come up with some chat-up line, one of these days… Then again, as she’s going to chuck me out in a few weeks, it doesn’t really make sense, doesn’t it? Also, I suppose she’s just an old(ish) woman who is alone all day and would like to chat, but who is DEFINITELY not used to having people around… But please people, if you ever find me listening to radio4 first thing in the morning while having breakfast, at the loudest possible volume, please, please, shoot me there and then, ok? Ta.
In other news…
There isn’t one muscle in my legs that is not currently aching… But brave as I am, not only am I going running tomorrow after school, I have also booked a yoga lesson for Wednesday evening… How exciting, I know.
Lover boy from L6 (moved up to my class) walks in after break time escorted by secretary (or whatever his role in the office is), and shows off his knowledge of other languages by telling me “I love you” in Italian, Spanish, Turkish, and possibly Chinese?...
We are quickly revising adjectives for descriptions, and the phrase “she/he’s not my type” comes up, so I ask around what their type of woman is… So, blonde, tall, slim women with large boobs, be informed that there is a whole class of over-20 students waiting for you – room 7, every day, between 9.15 and 15.30.
Monday, pm
Ok, I knew that for Ramadan you can’t eat during the day, guys. This morning I found out that you’re also not allowed to smoke. But I would have never expected that you cannot listen to music?? So, about 10 minutes after the start of my pm lesson, ENTIRELY based on two songs (which took me an evening to prepare), nice Saudi guy asks to have a word with me…outside. Scary. And I find out about the music problem…
Right, so…half my lessons for this week have to be re-planned, as most of them include at least one tiny song at the end, just to lighten things up… Crumbs.
And in 66b…
Which is where I live…
How is it that whenever I walk out of my room for a glass of water or something, landlady needs to go to the kitchen too, and tries to get a conversation started? I am almost afraid she will come up with some chat-up line, one of these days… Then again, as she’s going to chuck me out in a few weeks, it doesn’t really make sense, doesn’t it? Also, I suppose she’s just an old(ish) woman who is alone all day and would like to chat, but who is DEFINITELY not used to having people around… But please people, if you ever find me listening to radio4 first thing in the morning while having breakfast, at the loudest possible volume, please, please, shoot me there and then, ok? Ta.
In other news…
There isn’t one muscle in my legs that is not currently aching… But brave as I am, not only am I going running tomorrow after school, I have also booked a yoga lesson for Wednesday evening… How exciting, I know.
Bournemouth, week two - highlights
Excuse of the week
From: male Saudi student.
I’m late for class because I had to shave.
Best lesson of the week
Almost twenty minutes spent on swear words and possible “light” alternatives, in reply to my Swiss student who is a big fan of the “f” word… Said student is now moving up to L4, intermediate, clearly on account of his ability with colloquial language…
Worst lesson of the week
Trying to teach some intonation in a pre-int class… and to convince a cheeky (in the bad way) Saudi student that going to the pub and saying “give me a beer” robot-like will not elicit a smile…nor a pint on the house. Meanwhile, my other new Saudi is maniacally attached to his dictionary, and driving me mad. I see him smile and actually laugh only while we are watching “The Ice Age 2”; regrettably, it’s one of the (silent) scenes with Scrat…
And in the staff room…
More crosswords (which I cannot do) and Sudoku (which I am a champion of); olive oil for my salad, which makes a big change! And more teachers who are showing interest in me, in where I come from, in my past experience, and who would like to go out with me (regrettably again, the latter is a girl, but at least I’m socialising).
A new class
I’m also teaching L3 in the afternoon, which would be upper-intermediate. Communication problems again, I believed I had to do some serious academic stuff, preparing essays, reading heavy articles and discuss, so I prepared my professor me and went to the class.. and the first thing that I am asked is to play games… So, what exactly shall I teach?
Meanwhile, in Bournemouth…
The airshow has begun.. with a fireworks fiasco. I was too tired to drag my poor me to the beach (again), having been earlier in the afternoon for my walk. Apparently the 110.000 fireworks in one minute just didn’t work and possibly almost set the boat on fire too… The previous fireworks display was also quite disappointing, for the beginning of an important festival like this. Oh, well. Better luck next time.
From: male Saudi student.
I’m late for class because I had to shave.
Best lesson of the week
Almost twenty minutes spent on swear words and possible “light” alternatives, in reply to my Swiss student who is a big fan of the “f” word… Said student is now moving up to L4, intermediate, clearly on account of his ability with colloquial language…
Worst lesson of the week
Trying to teach some intonation in a pre-int class… and to convince a cheeky (in the bad way) Saudi student that going to the pub and saying “give me a beer” robot-like will not elicit a smile…nor a pint on the house. Meanwhile, my other new Saudi is maniacally attached to his dictionary, and driving me mad. I see him smile and actually laugh only while we are watching “The Ice Age 2”; regrettably, it’s one of the (silent) scenes with Scrat…
And in the staff room…
More crosswords (which I cannot do) and Sudoku (which I am a champion of); olive oil for my salad, which makes a big change! And more teachers who are showing interest in me, in where I come from, in my past experience, and who would like to go out with me (regrettably again, the latter is a girl, but at least I’m socialising).
A new class
I’m also teaching L3 in the afternoon, which would be upper-intermediate. Communication problems again, I believed I had to do some serious academic stuff, preparing essays, reading heavy articles and discuss, so I prepared my professor me and went to the class.. and the first thing that I am asked is to play games… So, what exactly shall I teach?
Meanwhile, in Bournemouth…
The airshow has begun.. with a fireworks fiasco. I was too tired to drag my poor me to the beach (again), having been earlier in the afternoon for my walk. Apparently the 110.000 fireworks in one minute just didn’t work and possibly almost set the boat on fire too… The previous fireworks display was also quite disappointing, for the beginning of an important festival like this. Oh, well. Better luck next time.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Bournemouth, week one
Tuesday, August 11th
So, here I am in Bournemouth (note to self –and to whoever reads this: when this is published I will actually be in Brighton for a “dirty” weekend…in most senses, unfortunately..).
Second day on the job, although technically today was day one, after a very confusing start…
So, it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m enjoying Brighton with Long Time No See Friend from Holland, and it’s a lovely day indeed: organic food, carrot cupcake, sunshine, the pier, the shops, a lot of catching up... It’s been eight years, after all.
Half way through the afternoon I decide to pretend not to notice text message number one from Guy from Language School, which is only interesting on a formal point of view, as in: very strange way of composing a text…
“Hi.left.tx.book.in.jenny.s.back.garden.”
Excuse me?
The following text is a lot more alarming, as it clearly tells me that I am supposed to teach the morning after! Welcome to the world of language teaching, everybody!
So I go back to Grime House and start packing for the week, music playing from John’s radio, and I am trying to think of what to teach… A month of teenagers and children is not helping my brain, as all I can think of is activities that require a loooot of drawing and little else… Also, as I cannot catch a late train, my alarm clock is set for…3.30 (yes, 3.30am..). Boy, what I’m not prepared to do to work.
Hours later, I haven’t packed yet, lesson’s not planned yet either (blame it on BBC iPlayer)… To waste some more time before really getting down to work, I decide to check my mailbox, and: Guy from Language School has decided that I don’t have to teach the morning after: phew…no morning call at 3.30!
The morning after, a very yawning me jumps on the train at 9am, and tries to get some sleep for the next 2.30 hours…then Guy from Language School calls, and it comes out that I don’t have to teach in the afternoon either, whereas his email was of another opinion (“lessons are from 9.15 to 12.35 and from 14.00 to 15.30” – what does that sound to you, or is it just me?)…
Well, the school is nice, the staff room is huge and there are a lot of resources (Captain Photocopy is on a mission here!), the classes are comfy, there’s a cafeteria!, and my students are C-O-O-L. Really. No other way to describe them. I love them to bits already.
In other news, day number two in Bournemouth saw me walking down to the city centre and the pier and finally to the beach.. a sandy beach…with lovely, warm, golden sand…
I walked and walked and walked, on the shore, taking pictures, and feeling the beauty of the water on my legs, the soft sand under my feet, the sound of the waves (God bless Virginia Woolf, she knew it all), the sun on my skin…
I am in love with Bournemouth already, just for this beautiful beach. The city centre and shopping area looked interesting too, and there’s a lovely garden between it and the beach…
Boy, it’s a beautiful place.
So I think of Brighton and of the lanes, unique and interesting, I think of the seafront that stretches from the Marina to Hove, I think of familiar places, of my beloved library; and then I see the colours of Bournemouth, I feel the sea water on my legs and the sand under my feet, and I don’t know what to feel anymore.
I knew that something had happened, a few weeks ago, when I finally got over Ex Love of My Life (if I ever mention him again, he will be ELLf – cute, hey?). I knew that my choice to go back to Brighton was a matter of starting from where I had left, but I also felt that I was ready to really move on, in every sense. That’s why I considered Bournemouth for some applications for jobs, and other cities too.
I am really ready to live again, and explore as my nature tells me to do.
It must be this lovely sun, the sound of the waves, the colours of the gardens and the quiet of the park that I crossed to get to the centre. It must be the (almost total) lack of hills, the nice line of houses in Winton, the abundance of trees and of green. It must be this room, so white and cosy.
Once again, I am torn in two. It must be my destiny.
Wednesday, August 12th – am
My morning class is lovely! Although sometimes too motivated…
Now, one of the guys arrived at school 8 months ago as a total beginner, and is now a pre-intermediate: well done,man! But in these 3 days, before he completes the course and has to go back to his country, he wants to:
- finish the book (we are at the end of unit 8, with 7 units to go…);
- go from pre-intermediate to advanced, or at least upper-int.;
- be ready for the IELTS and pass the IELTS
Ahem… Maybe a bit too ambitious?
And in the staff room…
“What do you need that for?”
“Well, it’s a re-writable cd, I thought I would pop it in the microwave and see how long it takes to melt.”
………….
No, I didn’t say that, really…
Thursday, August 13th – pride and.. pride.
And yet another observation has gone. How many times have I been observed? I almost don’t care anymore: first sign that I am definitely an experienced teacher, hey? Feedback is good: I am a fantastic eliciting-machine, apparently!
Also, I have to cover an afternoon class – I am a satellite teacher, after all.
The students are wonderful, fun, chatty, lovely; I end the lesson saying that I would really love to teach them again, and they all say that they want it too: “you’re good, we like you!”.
I don’t really need much to be happy, do I?
So, here I am in Bournemouth (note to self –and to whoever reads this: when this is published I will actually be in Brighton for a “dirty” weekend…in most senses, unfortunately..).
Second day on the job, although technically today was day one, after a very confusing start…
So, it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m enjoying Brighton with Long Time No See Friend from Holland, and it’s a lovely day indeed: organic food, carrot cupcake, sunshine, the pier, the shops, a lot of catching up... It’s been eight years, after all.
Half way through the afternoon I decide to pretend not to notice text message number one from Guy from Language School, which is only interesting on a formal point of view, as in: very strange way of composing a text…
“Hi.left.tx.book.in.jenny.s.back.garden.”
Excuse me?
The following text is a lot more alarming, as it clearly tells me that I am supposed to teach the morning after! Welcome to the world of language teaching, everybody!
So I go back to Grime House and start packing for the week, music playing from John’s radio, and I am trying to think of what to teach… A month of teenagers and children is not helping my brain, as all I can think of is activities that require a loooot of drawing and little else… Also, as I cannot catch a late train, my alarm clock is set for…3.30 (yes, 3.30am..). Boy, what I’m not prepared to do to work.
Hours later, I haven’t packed yet, lesson’s not planned yet either (blame it on BBC iPlayer)… To waste some more time before really getting down to work, I decide to check my mailbox, and: Guy from Language School has decided that I don’t have to teach the morning after: phew…no morning call at 3.30!
The morning after, a very yawning me jumps on the train at 9am, and tries to get some sleep for the next 2.30 hours…then Guy from Language School calls, and it comes out that I don’t have to teach in the afternoon either, whereas his email was of another opinion (“lessons are from 9.15 to 12.35 and from 14.00 to 15.30” – what does that sound to you, or is it just me?)…
Well, the school is nice, the staff room is huge and there are a lot of resources (Captain Photocopy is on a mission here!), the classes are comfy, there’s a cafeteria!, and my students are C-O-O-L. Really. No other way to describe them. I love them to bits already.
In other news, day number two in Bournemouth saw me walking down to the city centre and the pier and finally to the beach.. a sandy beach…with lovely, warm, golden sand…
I walked and walked and walked, on the shore, taking pictures, and feeling the beauty of the water on my legs, the soft sand under my feet, the sound of the waves (God bless Virginia Woolf, she knew it all), the sun on my skin…
I am in love with Bournemouth already, just for this beautiful beach. The city centre and shopping area looked interesting too, and there’s a lovely garden between it and the beach…
Boy, it’s a beautiful place.
So I think of Brighton and of the lanes, unique and interesting, I think of the seafront that stretches from the Marina to Hove, I think of familiar places, of my beloved library; and then I see the colours of Bournemouth, I feel the sea water on my legs and the sand under my feet, and I don’t know what to feel anymore.
I knew that something had happened, a few weeks ago, when I finally got over Ex Love of My Life (if I ever mention him again, he will be ELLf – cute, hey?). I knew that my choice to go back to Brighton was a matter of starting from where I had left, but I also felt that I was ready to really move on, in every sense. That’s why I considered Bournemouth for some applications for jobs, and other cities too.
I am really ready to live again, and explore as my nature tells me to do.
It must be this lovely sun, the sound of the waves, the colours of the gardens and the quiet of the park that I crossed to get to the centre. It must be the (almost total) lack of hills, the nice line of houses in Winton, the abundance of trees and of green. It must be this room, so white and cosy.
Once again, I am torn in two. It must be my destiny.
Wednesday, August 12th – am
My morning class is lovely! Although sometimes too motivated…
Now, one of the guys arrived at school 8 months ago as a total beginner, and is now a pre-intermediate: well done,man! But in these 3 days, before he completes the course and has to go back to his country, he wants to:
- finish the book (we are at the end of unit 8, with 7 units to go…);
- go from pre-intermediate to advanced, or at least upper-int.;
- be ready for the IELTS and pass the IELTS
Ahem… Maybe a bit too ambitious?
And in the staff room…
“What do you need that for?”
“Well, it’s a re-writable cd, I thought I would pop it in the microwave and see how long it takes to melt.”
………….
No, I didn’t say that, really…
Thursday, August 13th – pride and.. pride.
And yet another observation has gone. How many times have I been observed? I almost don’t care anymore: first sign that I am definitely an experienced teacher, hey? Feedback is good: I am a fantastic eliciting-machine, apparently!
Also, I have to cover an afternoon class – I am a satellite teacher, after all.
The students are wonderful, fun, chatty, lovely; I end the lesson saying that I would really love to teach them again, and they all say that they want it too: “you’re good, we like you!”.
I don’t really need much to be happy, do I?
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Every new experience begins with a huge mess
...at least that's what I've learnt.
After a phone call and two messages, and a loooong useless call to a retired EFL teacher, it seems that:
1. I am supposed to start working on Monday morning
2. Level unknown, student group unknown, hours unknown, programme unknown, coursebooks unknown, salary unknown... Ok, I think you understand.
3. I will be working 15 hours a week (Guy from Language School started saying 21, then moved on to a confused explanation of how in reality they will be 15...maybe he did explain it properly, but have I said how I hate phone calls because I don't understand people clearly enough???)
Ok, ok...No ranting this time: it's been a positive day, I've found a room for next month in a good location, and all that, I've enjoyed the lovely sunshine, the music, the LIFE, and I'm sure that things will work out eventually, as they always do.
I really need to get back into serious writing: haven't done it in a looooong time. I do feel rusty and wobbly as I type these words. It's like...trying to speak a language you haven't spoken for some time, and you know it's there, but cannot reach it yet; so, practice, practice!
And apologies for the first confusing, not so good posts: they will get better - promise:-)
After a phone call and two messages, and a loooong useless call to a retired EFL teacher, it seems that:
1. I am supposed to start working on Monday morning
2. Level unknown, student group unknown, hours unknown, programme unknown, coursebooks unknown, salary unknown... Ok, I think you understand.
3. I will be working 15 hours a week (Guy from Language School started saying 21, then moved on to a confused explanation of how in reality they will be 15...maybe he did explain it properly, but have I said how I hate phone calls because I don't understand people clearly enough???)
Ok, ok...No ranting this time: it's been a positive day, I've found a room for next month in a good location, and all that, I've enjoyed the lovely sunshine, the music, the LIFE, and I'm sure that things will work out eventually, as they always do.
I really need to get back into serious writing: haven't done it in a looooong time. I do feel rusty and wobbly as I type these words. It's like...trying to speak a language you haven't spoken for some time, and you know it's there, but cannot reach it yet; so, practice, practice!
And apologies for the first confusing, not so good posts: they will get better - promise:-)
What am I doing next week?
On the bus to town, the phone rings: oh, no. All day in my room half wasting time on Internet and half actually "working", and waiting for that call, and when I was sure that no call would come, I finally left, ready for a night out with ex-colleagues I haven't seen in ages.
Halfway to the centre, and the phone rings, and my inability to hold telephone conversations is once more made clear... Bus noise, traffice noise, Guy from Language School speaking too fast, half muttering and making jokes at the same time and laughing...hate telephone calls!
Something about an ex-colleague who (may have? has for sure? can offer?) a place in town for the three weeks I am going to be in Bournemouth, why don't I ring her and talk to her and see and then he will call me back to see if things have worked out?
Ehm........ Ok, whatever! What's the number? Just tell me, I'll pretend to write it down and end the call as soon as possible so I can type it on my mobile and hope I remember it right!
Just as I'm doing that and wondering what exactly to ask the unknown woman in Bournemouth, I am stopped by ex-Italian housemate, and, Italian-style, we spend the next 20 minutes just catching up with the past months, while people pass us by. It's really nice, honest! It's like being home again, and it feels: good; strange; interesting; exciting.
Following: night out with ex-colleagues, catching up, telling stories, laughing, taking a few pictures, having a really damn good time!
So, I don't know what I am doing next week: got an email from Guy from Language School and he will call me again today (oh, no!!!), and I've emailed him asking those tiny details that would actually be useful, such as: when am I supposed to start exactly? What level, what kind of students, how many hours??? Why haven't you told me before??? Lots of question marks necessary here...
It's a sunny day here, and I am going out for a long relaxing day in town, in and out of shops, library, a coffee, maybe the beach... And tomorrow, Long Time No See Friend from Holland is coming to visit, after 8 years.
Things are actually going fine, for the first time in months.
It's so good to be back.
Halfway to the centre, and the phone rings, and my inability to hold telephone conversations is once more made clear... Bus noise, traffice noise, Guy from Language School speaking too fast, half muttering and making jokes at the same time and laughing...hate telephone calls!
Something about an ex-colleague who (may have? has for sure? can offer?) a place in town for the three weeks I am going to be in Bournemouth, why don't I ring her and talk to her and see and then he will call me back to see if things have worked out?
Ehm........ Ok, whatever! What's the number? Just tell me, I'll pretend to write it down and end the call as soon as possible so I can type it on my mobile and hope I remember it right!
Just as I'm doing that and wondering what exactly to ask the unknown woman in Bournemouth, I am stopped by ex-Italian housemate, and, Italian-style, we spend the next 20 minutes just catching up with the past months, while people pass us by. It's really nice, honest! It's like being home again, and it feels: good; strange; interesting; exciting.
Following: night out with ex-colleagues, catching up, telling stories, laughing, taking a few pictures, having a really damn good time!
So, I don't know what I am doing next week: got an email from Guy from Language School and he will call me again today (oh, no!!!), and I've emailed him asking those tiny details that would actually be useful, such as: when am I supposed to start exactly? What level, what kind of students, how many hours??? Why haven't you told me before??? Lots of question marks necessary here...
It's a sunny day here, and I am going out for a long relaxing day in town, in and out of shops, library, a coffee, maybe the beach... And tomorrow, Long Time No See Friend from Holland is coming to visit, after 8 years.
Things are actually going fine, for the first time in months.
It's so good to be back.
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