What not to do during an observed lesson...

Ahem...where do I start?

Clearly, the first requirement would be to have the class that you were actually meant to have up to a week before said observation, and for which you have structured a whole 2500-word essay, devised a complete 60-minute lesson plan,including a cover sheet with problems, assumptions, class profile, language analysis, and you have also created the materials from scratch...yes, that would be ideal.
If, however, three days before going back to work you find out that what you are going to have is two classes of German teenagers, on a forced study holiday, on a forced business English syllabus, well, then...maybe this is a good time for that talk with God that you have always put off for lack of time or will.
However, said God is kind of angry for being put aside while you were too busy working, preparing, running, and generally trying to survive on no salary whatsoever and another 800 quid to pay for your diploma, therefore He is going to have a lie-in on the morning of your observation. You expected that, so once more it's a rolling up of sleeves and breathe deeply before starting the lesson with an unknown class.
Once you realise that your material is too optimistic for this class, and that they require a bit more help, forget your assessor and just go with the flow: play the clip one more time, stopping at the important bits so they understand properly; write down a couple of useful words in no particular order, do a bit of CCQ, then move on to the grammar noticing part. Now, this is where you may need to actually help them out at the beginning, but they are quite good, and it seems that slowly, very slowly, they are coming out of their teacher-is-god mindset, and are cooperating to finish the task. Breathe in, breathe out, keep going.
Now, it's time for the guided practice: it should have started a minimum of 7 to 10 minutes ago, but as you will dutifully point out in your evaluation form, you have been responding to your students' needs, not messing around wasting time, so, breather in, breathe out, let's begin the practice, and go around the classroom checking, monitoring, chatting with the students. It seems to be working, very slowly, and at this point the assessor leaves the room, and you can finally collapse in a heap on the floor, before resuming your smiling self and moving on with the practice, and a casual chat with your class...

Feedback to come on Monday, and forecast says it's not going to be positive, unfortunately. No matter the fact that I was teaching an unknown class, that I was so stressed I could barely breathe, that I positively responded to the students' needs and ultimately they used the language appropriately, the assessor will see my messy boardwork (which I had to restructure while the students were working in pairs), my casual instructions (although clearer than usual, I must say), and my running overtime, so that all she could see was the beginning of the guided practice - although I did point out that the students were able to use the target language appropriately by the end of the real lesson, i.e. 90 minutes, because come on, in real life a lesson is not bloody 60 minutes, it's a whole hour and a half, so why messing us around?
Anyway. As I said, I don't expect a positive feedback, in fact I expect to have failed this one. How annoying, especially because it was not (entirely) my fault: if I had had my class as expected, things would have gone fine, because I know those guys and I know that they wouldn't have had problems with that lesson. But clearly, the Delta people are not going to consider that...

So, for now, let's go back to EAP and how to begin the assignment: considering how every book on EAP about writing skills puts writer's block for an introduction as one of the most common problems, perhaps this is not a good idea?

All work and no play...no, the other way around...

Well, after a very relaxing time filled with snow, food, friends, lazy walks and shopping...back to work, back to reality.

And back to the fantastic world of EFL, specifically EAP, the subject of my extended assignment! Well, I've got lots to read about it, and no idea of how to structure the essay, so...good!
At the same time, I should really start with my LSA2, and so far, having been back for a few days, all I've done is..the skeleton. At least I'm not working at school, so I can actually say that I can write the whole thing in a week because I've got nothing else to do!

In other news, there is a lot on my mind. So much that I can barely express it here. In the end, the solution is a class of body balance (tomorrow: dance jam!), a walk to town, a couple of emails, and lots of music. It usually works.

Happy new year, then. May it be a successful one.

Chiuso per ferie

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:-)

I have no energy left.

Once again, the title says it all.

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…

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…

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!