Saturday, May 29, 2010

Countdown..and the feedback questionnaire

Well, with only a few days between me and freedom, I can say I am feeling quite confident. Although I have no idea whatsoever about my module 3.

So, first we receive this email that says: goodbye, thanks for working together, for the time we spent on those long dark winter nights talking crap, ahem, about methodology, and so on.
Following this, an email that says: oh, guys, two of us are going to Lybia for a month on Friday, yes, it's a few days before the final exam and the deadline for module 3, so for any question bother our number 3, who has no clue about anything and will take a day to reply, if he replies at all, but hey, good luck, maybe we can meet up during the summer for a drink and a laugh, hey?

....
So I email number 3 with a question about module three. Then I email again to say that on Thursday I am going to go to the school to pick up my memory stick that I left there for them to download my files (which they should have already, but rather than finding them in the mailbox they had me leave my flashdrive there...).
On Thursday I go to the school, and guess what: no memory stick anywhere, and no sign of guy number 3. Oh yes, and no reply to my question either.

I find a partial answer on the handbook, then receive his email saying that he didn't really understand what I meant about the bibliography...
Now, this is the way I asked my question:
"In the bibliography for the assignments on module 2 we had to include at least 5 sources, and they had to be mentioned in the assignment itself, I was wondering if the same principles applies to module 3, i.e. is there a minimum number of sources to include and mention?"

....

Ok...sounds like proper English to me!
Well, in the end, Cambridge says that I should show extensive research, and only include in the bibliography the people I have mentioned in the assignment. This results in a total of 9 sources, although I have read some 20 books for the bloody paper. Of this 9 sources, 6 are directly relevant to the subject I am discussing, and 3 are general teaching resources such as Harmer and Scrivener. FINGERS CROSSED! I hope Cambridge will consider it enough...

Well, following all this the only thing left to do was let them have my feedback questionnaire... and question one, "is there any aspect of the course that wasn't satisfactory or caused problems" did give me material for writing...
So, I won't say all the things that I wrote in the questionnaire, because I also doubt that they will be taken into account, however I haven't been satisfied with the way the course has been presented and managed, and if I have missed so many lessons it's also because some evenings, looking at what we were going to do in the session, my only thought was "what a waste of time", which, looking at the photocopies, actually was.

I don't know.
But in 5 days it will all be over, and I will be packing, celebrating, going to the beach, and spending the last days in Bournemouth NOT studying...

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

And the countdown is...

Oh my God, three weeks and I'll be over and done with the Dip! ..Well, provided I have passed the external, and that module 3 is a pass, and that module 1 is a pass..
I am not worried about module 1, really. With barely no preparation I have almost got a distinction, so I am ok with that. Module 3 is complete, only needs some editing as I am (again) over the word limit, so have to cut some 80 words...Plus, what is it with people who assume that I should have a fancy mobile phone?
Foreword: when submitting the assignment for module 3 you have to provide appendices, which, if necessary, have to be scanned. Although I know we have a scanner (and a cool photocopier which also scans and emails stuff) at school, I just thought I'd make sure that I need to scan my materials (which seems stupid, since I provide page numbers and all that, and I believe the Cambridge people will be familiar with materials that..well, that they publish!). So I asked, do I have to? And what if I don't have a scanner?
The answer, from a random person who signed "regards" and no name, is: "try to take some pics with your mobile phone, it sometimes works"..
Ehm...thanks for assuming, as I said, that I have a fancy phone, when I have everything but...

In other news, it's sunny, breezy, birds singing in the sunset, warm enough, and I have an interesting and not too difficult class, this week, L3.2. And I meet up with my favourite students after the lessons, and at lunch time, and they are nice, and smiling, and they make me smile too. I do love this job.