When the game gets tough...(time for module 3).

So, finally I meet my tutor, just for a chat. I kind of expect some feedback on module 2 and 3, because after all, I have prepared a whole new observed lesson without knowing what went wrong with the one before, so I am left in the dark as to whether this was more like what they wanted to see...Anyway.
It appears that Cambridge can't be bothered to give feedback to candidates: so, when up to last year module 3 would come back with a bit of a list of things that could make it better, from this year it doesn't even come back, Cambridge just says "pass/fail", and that's about it. Clearly one essential criteria to pass a Delta is to be psychic and be able to read in their minds...
If this wasn't enough, the deadline to submit the new improved version of module 3 is...November 30th. Which leaves me with a week, really, to do my work, read the assignment again, try to understand how it could be improved, re-write it, and submit it. But there are so many questions that we don't know the answer to, such as:
- can I actually provide a new course plan? And doesn't this mean that in the meantime I have modified my previous one, taught it, and now I am talking about it?
- Do I actually have to teach the course, then, or is it fine if I am just discussing the possibility of teaching something like this?
- In that case, how am I supposed to assess criteria such as validity and reliability and the whole lot, if I haven't actually tested it on a class? (not that it would make much of a difference to me, really, since I didn't teach my other one either...well I did, only two months AFTER I submitted the assignment!)

...I guess I would have more questions if I wasted time thinking about it...but being an action girl, let's get down to work and see what I can do for now, considering that I have half forgotten most of it...oh, man.

Over and done with? LSA4 -reload

The assessor arrives at 10 o'clock...of course, my tutor had said 10.30, which sounded strange, but nevertheless..then again, my tutors have never been quite reliable..
I am beyond agitated, and have revised, practised, rehearsed the lesson a million times, checked the assignment and cover sheet, the worksheet, the teacher's copy, the lesson plan (improved), and everything is fine, and looks good. At breaktime I check the dvd, the cd player, everything works fine, and I am feeling well.
The lesson begins, and it goes so well, so well! Responsive, cooperative students, and they do notice so many things, and practice so eagerly, and enjoy everything, and there is laughter, seriousness, a bit of this and a bit of that, I feel pretty well, and eventually the assessor leaves, big smile on his face.
I am shaking, and the feedback from the students is so good: the Korean girl is happy because she has noticed stress which she had never noticed before; the Turkish and Arabic are very happy too, for the film, the listening, all the noticing activities. Everyone else is pretty satisfied too, and the box of "Celebrations" is perfect to conclude the lesson.

I have now spent 4 hours watching tv, having enjoyed a salmon bagel, mango, and a mini chocolate mousse, because I need a reward for having survived yet another challenge. Hopefully now I have done enough... I couldn't stop smiling when I left the school, and am elated at the idea that I am done with module 2, fingers crossed of course, and from next week I'll be working on the improved version of my module 3.
So, module one - check. Module two - check. Nearly there.

Meanwhile, on Monday I have the second interview for the management job, and after that I have an interview for a teaching position which could evolve into an ADOS position...more fingers crossed, I guess... But it means going back to Bournemouth, which is exactly what I want and need. Good.

Another countdown...

Worksheet ready, including a teacher's copy, more for the assessor's sake than for myself...you never know. The cover sheet is almost ready, having completed that waste of time by the name of language analysis, and tomorrow I am going to observe the class, so I get an idea of the students' profile...although as I write I realise that half of them will be from another class, so...uff, one more problem to deal with.
In the meantime, a probable interesting interview for an ADOS position, fingers crossed. I can't believe that by the end of the month I will be done with two out of three modules of the diploma, and two weeks away from the end of module three...all complete, at last. I noticed that most of the people who took the exam with me haven't passed all, which is quite encouraging, so it wasn't just me sweating blood over books and assignment for nine months and being so disappointed at the end.
Other than that, I feel pretty positive about the interview I had on Friday, particularly since they want to see me again, which is usually a good sign. It would be interesting to get this job, a bit of management experience is always good in a cv...

Ok, enough of this chit-chat. Back to business.

And now for the cover sheet...

...am currently stressing about the cover sheet, as the title might suggest... Tomorrow I am going to arrange and observe my class, and prepare the language analysis, and all that. Again, it's really writing by default, and the assignment is now complete, at 2442 words, 12 references to materials and 7 different sources in the bibliography... Then, I think of Linda and her great essays and lessons, and of how she only just passed...and I think of the interview on Friday, which went so well, and how the girl asked me why I decided to do the Delta after only two years...yes, interesting question. I think we all embarked on that suicidal trip to find some stability in this life of uncertainty, of going from place to place, of not knowing if this room will be the same in two months' time, if we will be in the same city next week.
For the past 6 months I have lived in 4 different places; I haven't been able to cook one meal for myself; I have panicked and stressed over my things, crammed in my friend's flat, because I have nowhere to store them. I have been thinking of going back "home", where I would have my room, my family and my friends, and I wouldn't be so lonely that I cry most days, unable to see the future. One more interview tomorrow, and a hostile city, that's what it's proved to be, that I want to run away from. I envy the ones who have their own life, and a house, and a family, because these are things that I have tried to have for the past 5 years, and I have worked so hard, and nothing has changed.
Still, here we go, working hard and hoping that eventually all these efforts will be rewarded. The interview went really well, and I feel quite optimistic about it. And next week it's my birthday, which I am going to celebrate alone, since I don't have any friends here - ok, I'm seeing theatre friend the day before for the makeover thing in central London. But there's only so much I can ask of one single person.
On the plus side, having been to Bournemouth, I have finally have my precious boxes with me, and this means my Parrot, my Underhill, Hewings, my dictionary, and my biography of London and of Turner; yes, this prompts the questions "where the hell am I going to put them when Christmas comes and I have to leave this place", and I'm afraid the answer is yet again "theatre friend's flat", but fingers crossed my books and I will have a job and a place to stay in a few weeks.

More on LSA4 - reload, and a rant on the Cambridge people

The assignment is nearly done: I am at the stage where you have analysed the topic and you have presented the potential issues regarding teaching it, the learners, and so on.
I can't stop thinking of the appaling essay that I have recently read, which was beyond fail, it was simply unbelievable: things thrown in with no logical order, random paragraphs, only two references, spelling mistakes, NO reference whatsoever to any materials, the bibliography a simple list of titles and authors where the "An A-Z of ELT" had become simply "ELZ", and I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT PASSED, AND MINE DIDN'T!

Anyway, the worksheet is nearly complete too, and tomorrow I am going to see who my students will be; I am just going to find out names and nationalities, and maybe arrange to observe a lesson on Tuesday, so I can get an idea for the class profile. Little by little, again, things are shaping up, except it feels that it will be right, and then there's this horrible feeling that somehow Cambridge wants the moon from me, and I don't have it. And I would love to show them my feedback forms from all my previous jobs, and my promotion to senior teacher on day two of my job last summer, and the beautiful feedback from all my students, which counts so much more than their stupid boxes to tick. But of course, if I want the diploma, I have to speak their own metalanguage, and try and think in their own little world, where nothing real happens. Sad people. I am pretty sure that none of them remembers what it's like to teach, and none of them would be able to teach a class properly. Of course, in theory they are geniuses, and they know their Thornbury and Parrot backwards. But put them in a class of lazy Arabs, or of traditional Germans, or forgetful Italian and Spanish,then we'll see.

Man, when is this going to end.

On pronunciation

Focus of my LSA4 - reload...

I experimented the lesson with my last class, on Friday, my last day at work. The results are:
- counting the number of syllables: dangerous (two syllables?). I will need to make sure that no funny questions are asked, although, not being God, I hope the assessor will be lenient...
- deciding where the stress goes: better. As in, that's where I can see students struggle, so my theory holds, and we can have a chat and a revision and they all practice, so it's good. I think.
- deciding where the stress goes in a sentence: not so easy as it looks, and that's also good. Some students are quicker than others, and with a bit of support we all made it there.
- the practice with Spiderman: awesome. It was really good, andI had the right balance of boys and girls to play the part, it was fun, it was good, it ended well.

The whole lesson, with improvised material, took just over an hour, and considering that we were faffing about, it's ok. I could imagine the assessor walking out just as we were repeating the lines while watching the movie, and it would make a good impression, I believe...It's practice, it's doing what they were supposed to do, and so on...

Currently working on the assignment, which is being written by default, having written so many by now... The only thing is: will it be good enough? Who knows what these Cambridge people want. I can only do my best, again, and pray for the best.

Meanwhile, it's still raining, so my plans of morning gym and afternoon study have gone in the gutter, which means a whole day of study and preparation, followed by a day of nothing at all, by which I mean gym and a trip to London for tea and shopping...sounds nice, and it should help my gloomy mood too.

No resources in the teacher's room...

Observation at school tomorrow morning…uff. The day before my contract terminates, and there is no work for me after that there, so why bother, I wonder? It just means wasting time on a silly lesson plan, which by the way is the same that the teachers had to prepare on the days of the BC inspection – and it’s funny, in a ridiculous way, because there is such a box as the timetable fit, Delta-style…except it’s silly to fill that in, and in total rebel-style, this is what I have written:
“The lesson opens the new unit in the book, having just finished unit 6. (…). In future lessons the focus will be on unit 8 (…)”.
…what else could I have written? It’s a short-term class, the two students who have been here the most have been here for 2 weeks and are leaving this week, so what’s the point?
This conveyor belt teaching style, with lack of extra resources, is very disappointing, and above all depressing: going by the book is boring and dry, especially when it’s a book that seems to focus on teenagers in lots of activities, and crams in grammar and random vocabulary, with silly exercises that are the opposite of memorable. And I can’t really integrate these lessons with anything, which is really sad, because I have no other resources in the teacher’s room, and clearly my own materials are somewhere else. And in any case it seems that the focus here is on a traditional teaching style, with lots of TTT, grammar, exercises, and the like of it. I’m not totally against it, but it feels dry, forced, useless: what’s the point of me explaining a million rules per lesson, and talking for most of the 3 hours we spend together, when I already know the grammar and can use it properly, and don’t need any speaking or listening practice, this being (sort of) my own language? Speak, dammit!

In other news, assignment for LSA4 – reload, is going ok, and with a lot of effort (and headache, backache, and sleepless nights) I will have the necessary materials to test the lesson on Friday. Shame that, as I said, these guys are not really great for speaking and practicing pronunciation… Well, at least I can get an idea of the time, then, and prepare lots of back-up, or simply change it to a 45 minute lesson.
So, back to study now, and two more days before leaving the school…