Well, after much thinking, or shall I say, not so much thinking after all. Work being hectic, running taking over, a lot of reading to catch up with the couple of years I had to neglect it, more creative writing to do, which gives me more satisfaction than feeling the bundle of a "productive" blog such as this...ultimately, I would rather stick to my job in real life, and have fun, and learn new things, there, without feeling the obligation to write them down, and then feeling guilty if I don't have the time and I prefer a book, or a quiet hour of creative writing instead.
So there. Walking teacher (by now running teacher, I should say, considering the weekly mileage I'm doing) stops here, and my writing me goes on with different projects.
I'll be here from now on:
http://notadaywithoutaword.blogspot.it/
So long.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The advanced conversation dilemma...
The workshop was interesting and useful, and I finally have a few minutes to jot down the ideas that we discussed:
- the importance of grammar in an advanced conversation class (a starting point? something to revise occasionally? bit and pieces to use to conclude the lesson?)
- the structure of a conversation lesson vs. a "normal" lesson (PPP, or whatever methodology, or the old "here's an article/a listening/some random or topic-based vocabulary: let's talk about it"?)
- interaction with the students and the role of the teacher, plus what to expect from the students (in real life people don't necessarily participate actively in a conversation, with the same percentage of talking time: so why trying that in class?)
- and useful ideas from some books, which I won't mention here mostly because I am writing from memory and apart from the old "Discussions that work", I can't really think of the other texts.
Ultimately, some interesting stuff. Still, I am glad that my class is nearly over, with May 2nd their last lesson: phew...
- the importance of grammar in an advanced conversation class (a starting point? something to revise occasionally? bit and pieces to use to conclude the lesson?)
- the structure of a conversation lesson vs. a "normal" lesson (PPP, or whatever methodology, or the old "here's an article/a listening/some random or topic-based vocabulary: let's talk about it"?)
- interaction with the students and the role of the teacher, plus what to expect from the students (in real life people don't necessarily participate actively in a conversation, with the same percentage of talking time: so why trying that in class?)
- and useful ideas from some books, which I won't mention here mostly because I am writing from memory and apart from the old "Discussions that work", I can't really think of the other texts.
Ultimately, some interesting stuff. Still, I am glad that my class is nearly over, with May 2nd their last lesson: phew...
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
One post a month is as much as I can manage...
Really, I am trying...
Anyway, back to work after an Easter break, the first in 4 years of TEFL work...wow. Much needed and certainly deserved after the marathons of March with exams, covers, children left right and centre (although the new class, a group of 10-year olds, is gorgeous and so sweet, I would just cuddle them all. They should never grow from that age).
Well I am back and trying, and failing as always, to prepare alternative, more useful stuff for my classes, stuff that they can actually use every day. Language of the street, so to speak, the way I have learnt most of my English too. Like today, my elementary class, revising furniture and stuff...we did a short activity on renting a flat, and at least there was some real language, but I always feel it's not enough. And with my wonderful Friday night class, they are so amazing, I wish I could do more, like showing clips and discussing features of language, but we only have 2 hours a week and a tight schedule based on the coursebook...plus I have mid-course tests too, which I'm not too happy about, except in the case of my Tuesday night class, which I positively hate...
Well other than that, I have 4 hours of workshop tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to add a post quite soon, subject: advanced conversation classes. Not that my contribution tomorrow will be that great, my adcon guys are sad puppets who want me to speak and have nothing to say, if we ignore the one guy who hates his job, hates Trento, hates his life, and despises the fact that he has to arrange his holidays around his son's (or sons?) school timetable...ehm...you should have thought about it before deciding to have a family, man! God, people who are lucky never realise it...
Enough, I'll try to post by next week: I can do this!
Anyway, back to work after an Easter break, the first in 4 years of TEFL work...wow. Much needed and certainly deserved after the marathons of March with exams, covers, children left right and centre (although the new class, a group of 10-year olds, is gorgeous and so sweet, I would just cuddle them all. They should never grow from that age).
Well I am back and trying, and failing as always, to prepare alternative, more useful stuff for my classes, stuff that they can actually use every day. Language of the street, so to speak, the way I have learnt most of my English too. Like today, my elementary class, revising furniture and stuff...we did a short activity on renting a flat, and at least there was some real language, but I always feel it's not enough. And with my wonderful Friday night class, they are so amazing, I wish I could do more, like showing clips and discussing features of language, but we only have 2 hours a week and a tight schedule based on the coursebook...plus I have mid-course tests too, which I'm not too happy about, except in the case of my Tuesday night class, which I positively hate...
Well other than that, I have 4 hours of workshop tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to add a post quite soon, subject: advanced conversation classes. Not that my contribution tomorrow will be that great, my adcon guys are sad puppets who want me to speak and have nothing to say, if we ignore the one guy who hates his job, hates Trento, hates his life, and despises the fact that he has to arrange his holidays around his son's (or sons?) school timetable...ehm...you should have thought about it before deciding to have a family, man! God, people who are lucky never realise it...
Enough, I'll try to post by next week: I can do this!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Trying to catch up...
Well, I am trying, indeed... Things have been hectic from the start, with only the first week a "normal" one...then it's been combining my timetable with a million covers, and more covers, and finally a teacher deciding to go on maternity leave some 5 months earlier than planned, although I totally sympathize with her choice, since now I have her classes and they're simply scattered around the week, making it hard for a "normal" person, I can only imagine the strain on a pregnant woman! Anyway, at least they're actually lovely classes which I am enjoying thoroughly, and even though I'm annoyed that the last one is on a freaking Friday night until 9 (hence no returning home every other week for band practice..), I certainly like them more than my kiddies (although only 3 weeks left of them, thank god) and than my elementary class, which I would enjoy, I would, I promise, but my boss is in it! And she scares me!! Anyway... at least it's only once a week for a couple of hours, so it's not that bad.
I am starting a new class of kiddies tomorrow, real kiddies these ones, not the 11 and 12 I am currently dealing with once a week, but 8 and 9 years old! Their teachers must be off their heads, because the programme they would have liked us to prepare includes stuff like "learning how to get around in London, and how to ask information"...ehm....to 9-year old children?? Would you really send them around London, of all places, on their own??? Seriously, this is amazing, and not in a good way. Claire from Bournemouth, the young learner expert, has already had a class in this school, and unsurprisingly she told me that they don't know a single thing, they can barely ask you "what's your name", and maybe a few other simple questions...I doubt that in 6 lessons (because thank god it's only 6 lesson with them, and only an hour each) we'll get much further than "what's your favourite food" or something... Anyway, I thought I would maybe start looking at things today, but as it is, I can't be bothered, and since tomorrow it's the only class I have, I can get to school at 12, prepare a few things there, and then leave by 13 (the lesson is at 14)...wish me luck though, I have no idea how it will go.
And this probably what drives me mad, that I have all this kiddies classes with no idea how to work with them! I think next academic year I'll ask for two things: one, no classes that end after 8pm...mostly because getting the bus back home later than 8.30 freaks me out, too many weirdos, drunks, and generally scary people around unleashed...and two, no kiddies please! Or a limited number, not 6 classes! I have decided that I DON'T want to be a young learner expert, no sir, I'd rather stick to exam expert, that suits me fine thank you very much.
And this is actually all for now...I would love to post on ideas on how to teach young learners and whatnot, but I simply have no idea how I managed these past month and a half with them, and not even sure I've done such a good job of it, in spite of the smiles and thank-you's of the teachers, and great appreciation of the material and activities I bring to the class...It's certainly been hard work, and I keep feeling that I am not prepared for it, and that while I would like to be more knowledgeable, on the other hand I simply don't care. Mostly because teaching kids has never been my aspiration, I've always preferred teens or young adults, or adults, even the annoying ones, even the fastidious ones.
Anyway, this is all for now, as I said. Due to lack of time and on Saturday examinations, I wonder if I'll ever be able to keep this blog regularly as I had hoped I would be able to do now that the DELTA is finally done, and with a clean pass, and that I have a bit more of a regular job...but we'll see, as always...
I am starting a new class of kiddies tomorrow, real kiddies these ones, not the 11 and 12 I am currently dealing with once a week, but 8 and 9 years old! Their teachers must be off their heads, because the programme they would have liked us to prepare includes stuff like "learning how to get around in London, and how to ask information"...ehm....to 9-year old children?? Would you really send them around London, of all places, on their own??? Seriously, this is amazing, and not in a good way. Claire from Bournemouth, the young learner expert, has already had a class in this school, and unsurprisingly she told me that they don't know a single thing, they can barely ask you "what's your name", and maybe a few other simple questions...I doubt that in 6 lessons (because thank god it's only 6 lesson with them, and only an hour each) we'll get much further than "what's your favourite food" or something... Anyway, I thought I would maybe start looking at things today, but as it is, I can't be bothered, and since tomorrow it's the only class I have, I can get to school at 12, prepare a few things there, and then leave by 13 (the lesson is at 14)...wish me luck though, I have no idea how it will go.
And this probably what drives me mad, that I have all this kiddies classes with no idea how to work with them! I think next academic year I'll ask for two things: one, no classes that end after 8pm...mostly because getting the bus back home later than 8.30 freaks me out, too many weirdos, drunks, and generally scary people around unleashed...and two, no kiddies please! Or a limited number, not 6 classes! I have decided that I DON'T want to be a young learner expert, no sir, I'd rather stick to exam expert, that suits me fine thank you very much.
And this is actually all for now...I would love to post on ideas on how to teach young learners and whatnot, but I simply have no idea how I managed these past month and a half with them, and not even sure I've done such a good job of it, in spite of the smiles and thank-you's of the teachers, and great appreciation of the material and activities I bring to the class...It's certainly been hard work, and I keep feeling that I am not prepared for it, and that while I would like to be more knowledgeable, on the other hand I simply don't care. Mostly because teaching kids has never been my aspiration, I've always preferred teens or young adults, or adults, even the annoying ones, even the fastidious ones.
Anyway, this is all for now, as I said. Due to lack of time and on Saturday examinations, I wonder if I'll ever be able to keep this blog regularly as I had hoped I would be able to do now that the DELTA is finally done, and with a clean pass, and that I have a bit more of a regular job...but we'll see, as always...
Monday, February 13, 2012
I'm back: new year, new...everything!
Where had I left off? Oh, ages ago. With a job that was consuming my patience and driving me hysterical with the amount of stuff to do, and a terrible situation house-wise, forced to live in a shared place…but let’s not dwell on the past…
The situation needs to be updated to 2012, right now, February, with me typing away sitting on the sofa of a lovely, tiny, tidy flat just outside Trento, in northern Italy, where I have just moved as, finally, I have found a serious job in the Italian TEFL world. First of all, I left the terrible pretense of a job that I had in Bergamo up to a month ago, the one where I did the interview in September, they offered the position, then made me wait a month before calling to say that they were organizing the induction, then arranging the induction as starting on the day of my birthday, thank you very much, thus making me waste a whole day listening to endless chatter that a CELTA student would find boring, imagine someone with a bit of experience. There was then another whole-day meeting, which included a fake observation, thus arranged:
Here is what we would like you to do, pages 11 and 12 from this book you’ve never used before, to teach to a student you’ve never met before, who is the principal’s husband and other owner of the school, so, no pressure there, and you’re going to teach him for 15 minute tops. Oh, by the way, he’s a pre-intermediate, but not really, but you’ll find out tomorrow during the “lesson”, when he’ll be so slow that he won’t understand basic questions like “what time is it?”.
The comments they made afterwards regarded, mostly, the fact that I was sitting with my legs crossed, hence showing a non-aperture, or whatever… the notion that I was wearing a mini-skirt then, and was just trying to be a lady, rather than a truck driver, seemed to escape them…
Following this joke of observation, there was another induction day, where the principal had us listen to the story of her life and of the school, and then another 2 weeks before she actually gave me some work to do…and by some work I mean 6 hours, spread between 3 days, at a company 65 km away from my hometown, which required me to drive all the way there and back three times a week, to teach people who didn’t want to be taught, and who, from one week to the other, wouldn’t remember what we had done…oh joy. We did one week and then Christmas came, which was a nice time of gym, and chores, and friends, and all that, and when January started I was so frustrated at the thought of more wasted days driving all the way to that company… I managed to get an interview for this prestigious school in Trento, which I did entirely on the phone while driving to work, and the week after I anticipated my unhappiness at the current work situation to the people in Bergamo, who replied something like “what the hell do you want from us, you were fine when we spoke the first time 4 months ago, before petrol prices went sky-high, a thing that we haven’t actually noticed and even if we had, well your problem not ours. We might and might not have more hours for you, but hey, you’ll have to be patient, and like a brand new graduate with no experience, work these ridiculous 6 hours a week and depend on your parents till kingdom comes”. I might have paraphrased here.
I went to Trento at the end of that same week, spent almost 2 hours being seriously interviewed, and by the end of the day I had the job. Needless to say I immediately emailed the people in Bergamo to tell them to bugger off, and I started working out stuff in Trento. I started at the end of January, on a full time, lots of money, lots of perks basis, and I even had the accommodation paid for the first two weeks, while I was waiting for my lovely flat to be free. And here I am now.
My timetable is over-satisfactory, if such a word exists, and I have a wide range of classes, abilities, ages, and levels. I teach children twice a week, a challenge I am glad to face, and they are sweet and lovely, I have my teens for FCE and CAE (the CAE guys are a wonder, so great! The FCE are new so I can’t say much yet), I am going to have more adults for evening classes, including one with the manager of the school, who scares me to bits but is a really nice lady, and last week I’ve had more challenges as I’ve had to cover for a colleague, who is sick this week as well, so I’m assuming that I’ll cover all her classes again. This means using a couple of books I’ve never used before, as they are 14 year-old kids, and teaching KET as well, where I don’t have a lot of experience but am glad I can finally get some.
The school provides lots of training and workshops, and soon I’ll be working as a supervisor for Cambridge exams, and that’s one of the reasons they’re keen to have me, since I have a useful driving licence that can take me places… plus in November they’re planning to make me do the examiner course, which I am really really eager to take, so even though, regrettably, the contract is until th end of June, to be renewed in either July or September, depending if I want to stick around for summer camps or not, so even though the contract is a bit funny, not only does it include perks of regular contracts such as “tredicesima” and TFR, a thing unheard of in the TEFL world, like sickness and maternity leave, but both the academic manager and DOS, and the “real” manager are very keen to keep me on, so yay!
It means the opportunity to grow, professionally, and be independent doing what I like best, and being in my home country, independent enough to have this little flat that, for the first time in my life, I don’t have to share with anyone. And this alone is worth everything.
Well, this was a bit of summary of the way things have evolved recently. I am waiting to receive my DELTA results, which should arrive this week I imagine, being mid-february already, and have a few things to do in town, such as joining a gym, setting up an internet connection, and so on. Step by step. It’s all so cool. So cool.
And now, time for tea.
The situation needs to be updated to 2012, right now, February, with me typing away sitting on the sofa of a lovely, tiny, tidy flat just outside Trento, in northern Italy, where I have just moved as, finally, I have found a serious job in the Italian TEFL world. First of all, I left the terrible pretense of a job that I had in Bergamo up to a month ago, the one where I did the interview in September, they offered the position, then made me wait a month before calling to say that they were organizing the induction, then arranging the induction as starting on the day of my birthday, thank you very much, thus making me waste a whole day listening to endless chatter that a CELTA student would find boring, imagine someone with a bit of experience. There was then another whole-day meeting, which included a fake observation, thus arranged:
Here is what we would like you to do, pages 11 and 12 from this book you’ve never used before, to teach to a student you’ve never met before, who is the principal’s husband and other owner of the school, so, no pressure there, and you’re going to teach him for 15 minute tops. Oh, by the way, he’s a pre-intermediate, but not really, but you’ll find out tomorrow during the “lesson”, when he’ll be so slow that he won’t understand basic questions like “what time is it?”.
The comments they made afterwards regarded, mostly, the fact that I was sitting with my legs crossed, hence showing a non-aperture, or whatever… the notion that I was wearing a mini-skirt then, and was just trying to be a lady, rather than a truck driver, seemed to escape them…
Following this joke of observation, there was another induction day, where the principal had us listen to the story of her life and of the school, and then another 2 weeks before she actually gave me some work to do…and by some work I mean 6 hours, spread between 3 days, at a company 65 km away from my hometown, which required me to drive all the way there and back three times a week, to teach people who didn’t want to be taught, and who, from one week to the other, wouldn’t remember what we had done…oh joy. We did one week and then Christmas came, which was a nice time of gym, and chores, and friends, and all that, and when January started I was so frustrated at the thought of more wasted days driving all the way to that company… I managed to get an interview for this prestigious school in Trento, which I did entirely on the phone while driving to work, and the week after I anticipated my unhappiness at the current work situation to the people in Bergamo, who replied something like “what the hell do you want from us, you were fine when we spoke the first time 4 months ago, before petrol prices went sky-high, a thing that we haven’t actually noticed and even if we had, well your problem not ours. We might and might not have more hours for you, but hey, you’ll have to be patient, and like a brand new graduate with no experience, work these ridiculous 6 hours a week and depend on your parents till kingdom comes”. I might have paraphrased here.
I went to Trento at the end of that same week, spent almost 2 hours being seriously interviewed, and by the end of the day I had the job. Needless to say I immediately emailed the people in Bergamo to tell them to bugger off, and I started working out stuff in Trento. I started at the end of January, on a full time, lots of money, lots of perks basis, and I even had the accommodation paid for the first two weeks, while I was waiting for my lovely flat to be free. And here I am now.
My timetable is over-satisfactory, if such a word exists, and I have a wide range of classes, abilities, ages, and levels. I teach children twice a week, a challenge I am glad to face, and they are sweet and lovely, I have my teens for FCE and CAE (the CAE guys are a wonder, so great! The FCE are new so I can’t say much yet), I am going to have more adults for evening classes, including one with the manager of the school, who scares me to bits but is a really nice lady, and last week I’ve had more challenges as I’ve had to cover for a colleague, who is sick this week as well, so I’m assuming that I’ll cover all her classes again. This means using a couple of books I’ve never used before, as they are 14 year-old kids, and teaching KET as well, where I don’t have a lot of experience but am glad I can finally get some.
The school provides lots of training and workshops, and soon I’ll be working as a supervisor for Cambridge exams, and that’s one of the reasons they’re keen to have me, since I have a useful driving licence that can take me places… plus in November they’re planning to make me do the examiner course, which I am really really eager to take, so even though, regrettably, the contract is until th end of June, to be renewed in either July or September, depending if I want to stick around for summer camps or not, so even though the contract is a bit funny, not only does it include perks of regular contracts such as “tredicesima” and TFR, a thing unheard of in the TEFL world, like sickness and maternity leave, but both the academic manager and DOS, and the “real” manager are very keen to keep me on, so yay!
It means the opportunity to grow, professionally, and be independent doing what I like best, and being in my home country, independent enough to have this little flat that, for the first time in my life, I don’t have to share with anyone. And this alone is worth everything.
Well, this was a bit of summary of the way things have evolved recently. I am waiting to receive my DELTA results, which should arrive this week I imagine, being mid-february already, and have a few things to do in town, such as joining a gym, setting up an internet connection, and so on. Step by step. It’s all so cool. So cool.
And now, time for tea.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Module three - completed?
I would have loved to copy and paste the whole assignment here, as evidence that I am finally done...or so I hope, since the final draft has been submitted, and I'm only waiting for some final comments from my tutor. It's been long and almost boring at times, showing that Cambridge only wants you to mention as many people as possible in a limited space, so rather than a useful way to assess that you now know how to design/develop a course, it looks and feels like an exercise in summarising concepts and naming people. Anyway. This time, with the new school, things have been a lot better, tons of input, a looooot of feedback, and my bibliography includes about 30 texts, so everything looks quite nice. The deadline for the final submission is in a couple of weeks, so I am pretty confident that things will work out this time, and I will have completed this thing once and for all.
As I said, I would have loved to copy and paste the assignment, but the website won't let me do it, so...nevermind.
This is now the time to think of other things, such as...getting my life back, somehow!
As I said, I would have loved to copy and paste the assignment, but the website won't let me do it, so...nevermind.
This is now the time to think of other things, such as...getting my life back, somehow!
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Module three is back
Module three has begun. And what a difference! For a start, I have downloaded pages and pages of information, guidelines, explanation of how everything works, and what I am supposed to do, and how, and what I can or have to read, and so on. That is already a big difference with the zero-information I received when I did the diploma at the other school.
Second, the deadlines. By tomorrow I have to submit the proposal grid of my assignment, which makes me focus clearly on what I will write about, and what I’ll have to consider. So my mind is already working, thinking, preparing. It does feel good, it makes me feel more prepared than I was.
My specialism this time is going to be teaching one-to-one (1to1). I have had enough of EAP, which, although useful, can be a bit boring after a while, and I certainly don’t feel like wandering into that field again; also, it makes me feel like there’s a lot of theory, case studies, and whatnot to consider, enough to go for a proper MA in that area, rather than a humble 4500-word assignment.
So, 1to1 it is. It also makes more sense, since I am moving to a place where most of my lessons will be in this format, and lots of students, I expect, will also be quite low level; a standard learner profile, then: professional, 30+, needs English for work, has been out of education for a while and whatever he knew of the language has long gone. Learner needs, wants, lacks, to be determined, although for my “subject” I already know…
I have managed to scan a few pages from some books that will be useful for the research and the course design itself, and am currently waiting to receive yet another Amazon order with the one book I think will help me understand and work on the assignment properly. I have tons of photocopies and books at home too, I can’t believe the money I have invested in my professional development so far…all the books that I’ve bought, and how many have I managed to read properly?
One.
But things are going to change soon.
Second, the deadlines. By tomorrow I have to submit the proposal grid of my assignment, which makes me focus clearly on what I will write about, and what I’ll have to consider. So my mind is already working, thinking, preparing. It does feel good, it makes me feel more prepared than I was.
My specialism this time is going to be teaching one-to-one (1to1). I have had enough of EAP, which, although useful, can be a bit boring after a while, and I certainly don’t feel like wandering into that field again; also, it makes me feel like there’s a lot of theory, case studies, and whatnot to consider, enough to go for a proper MA in that area, rather than a humble 4500-word assignment.
So, 1to1 it is. It also makes more sense, since I am moving to a place where most of my lessons will be in this format, and lots of students, I expect, will also be quite low level; a standard learner profile, then: professional, 30+, needs English for work, has been out of education for a while and whatever he knew of the language has long gone. Learner needs, wants, lacks, to be determined, although for my “subject” I already know…
I have managed to scan a few pages from some books that will be useful for the research and the course design itself, and am currently waiting to receive yet another Amazon order with the one book I think will help me understand and work on the assignment properly. I have tons of photocopies and books at home too, I can’t believe the money I have invested in my professional development so far…all the books that I’ve bought, and how many have I managed to read properly?
One.
But things are going to change soon.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
3 days to go
Really, I can't wait.
It's been the longest summer, and one that I have actually enjoyed, despite the high amount of stress, the unbelievable number of people around, the massive workload we have all been subjected to for the past 3 months. Unfairfly, the AY teachers are now back to full time teaching, which IS unfair, as they are basically just squeezing the life out of us just because the contract allows them to.
So, Wednesday is my last day. I have decided that in order to finish the Delta I need to take time off, as I couldn't manage this pace at work AND combine it with the tight deadlines of the distance Delta...but I do need a full time job to pay the rent and all, although the pay is ridiculous. Anyway, considering that I have also fallen into the trap of a nervous breakdown, understandably I might say, I DO need time off to recover, study, and not be so lonely and stressed during the long dark winter months.
On the upside, apart from going back home and having time to study and complete the dip properly, there is also the fact that for once I'll be able to actually revise and get back in touch with all my TEFL books and photocopies that I have quickly skimmed while I was studying for the dip, but which I've never had a chance to really digest. This also means that finally I'll be able to keep a proper teaching blog, the way I haven't managed for this whole year, regrettably.
So, I'll be back soon, with all things TEFL.
It's been the longest summer, and one that I have actually enjoyed, despite the high amount of stress, the unbelievable number of people around, the massive workload we have all been subjected to for the past 3 months. Unfairfly, the AY teachers are now back to full time teaching, which IS unfair, as they are basically just squeezing the life out of us just because the contract allows them to.
So, Wednesday is my last day. I have decided that in order to finish the Delta I need to take time off, as I couldn't manage this pace at work AND combine it with the tight deadlines of the distance Delta...but I do need a full time job to pay the rent and all, although the pay is ridiculous. Anyway, considering that I have also fallen into the trap of a nervous breakdown, understandably I might say, I DO need time off to recover, study, and not be so lonely and stressed during the long dark winter months.
On the upside, apart from going back home and having time to study and complete the dip properly, there is also the fact that for once I'll be able to actually revise and get back in touch with all my TEFL books and photocopies that I have quickly skimmed while I was studying for the dip, but which I've never had a chance to really digest. This also means that finally I'll be able to keep a proper teaching blog, the way I haven't managed for this whole year, regrettably.
So, I'll be back soon, with all things TEFL.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Several months later...
I am an AY teacher, and work my ass off about 45 hours a week between planning, teaching, doing lots of admin, observing other teachers, and performing random tasks as they spring in my ADOS's evil mind - no, before any misunderstanding occurs, this is the way it works:
5.05 on Friday - I have nothing left to do, have worked so much I can barely remember my name, I consider leaving 10 minutes early, which would be the first time in a week. I know on the DOS/ADOS's office door, go in, and say: Do you think I can go now?
Guess what the answer is (and here I paraphrase): "fuck no, I'd rather chew my arms off than let you leave one minute earlier than what you should, in fact I'll find some random useless thing for you to do to keep you here as long as possible".
And so there I was, an hour later, finally taking off my badge and leaving...
Other than that, it's a great job, I enjoy every minute of it, despite my constant complaining, but it's only letting the steam off, I love what I do, I love my class, the admin work which gives me more responsability and makes me very proud of what I am, and it's a good improvement in my career.
Having said that, I wish the weekend was longer...
5.05 on Friday - I have nothing left to do, have worked so much I can barely remember my name, I consider leaving 10 minutes early, which would be the first time in a week. I know on the DOS/ADOS's office door, go in, and say: Do you think I can go now?
Guess what the answer is (and here I paraphrase): "fuck no, I'd rather chew my arms off than let you leave one minute earlier than what you should, in fact I'll find some random useless thing for you to do to keep you here as long as possible".
And so there I was, an hour later, finally taking off my badge and leaving...
Other than that, it's a great job, I enjoy every minute of it, despite my constant complaining, but it's only letting the steam off, I love what I do, I love my class, the admin work which gives me more responsability and makes me very proud of what I am, and it's a good improvement in my career.
Having said that, I wish the weekend was longer...
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
End of module three - reload; and how cold it is!
So, having spent a week working on module three for a whole week, I submitted the new version two days ago, having got no idea if what I did was what I was meant to do... I have changed the course outline, and have included objectives, which may show that I know what I'm doing...I have therefore changed the materials, and this means that most of chapter 3, 4, 5, have changed too... Word limit checked, and since the maximum is 4500, I have stopped at 4476, which is good enough to me.
Results in February, so fingers crossed till then.
Plans for the last days in London now include:
- a lot of tv watching...too cold to get out, I did today to go to Kingston and it was worth it, but I thought my nose would fall off! And my fingers...and my toes... Lovely, though, because once home you get in the hot shower, and it's simply glorious! So more walks to come...followed by, as I said, non-stop crime series.
- a lot of reading: having finished the book I've received for my birthday, I am now reading another one, which I started this afternoon, but being halfway already, I think I'll be done either late tonight, or early tomorrow afternoon..I need more books.
- some teacher development: I can't believe I have actually the time to read all my books on methodologies and stuff, in peace, at my own pace, and not because I need to quote someone in an assignment that has to be submitted in a week or so...It's great to read things that you want to read, just because you want to.
And finally, on Monday I have the very important interview/meeting/setting things straight with my future employers, fingers crossed...
And the following Thursday mum is coming, so it'll be walking around, visiting, being a tourist all day, albeit one who knows a lot more about the area than you would think... And in less than two weeks, it's Italy and family holidays, and I just can't wait :-) So can't wait!
Results in February, so fingers crossed till then.
Plans for the last days in London now include:
- a lot of tv watching...too cold to get out, I did today to go to Kingston and it was worth it, but I thought my nose would fall off! And my fingers...and my toes... Lovely, though, because once home you get in the hot shower, and it's simply glorious! So more walks to come...followed by, as I said, non-stop crime series.
- a lot of reading: having finished the book I've received for my birthday, I am now reading another one, which I started this afternoon, but being halfway already, I think I'll be done either late tonight, or early tomorrow afternoon..I need more books.
- some teacher development: I can't believe I have actually the time to read all my books on methodologies and stuff, in peace, at my own pace, and not because I need to quote someone in an assignment that has to be submitted in a week or so...It's great to read things that you want to read, just because you want to.
And finally, on Monday I have the very important interview/meeting/setting things straight with my future employers, fingers crossed...
And the following Thursday mum is coming, so it'll be walking around, visiting, being a tourist all day, albeit one who knows a lot more about the area than you would think... And in less than two weeks, it's Italy and family holidays, and I just can't wait :-) So can't wait!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, November 15, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, November 08, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
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…
“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…
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Pronounciation and another observation
Long time no see, mostly because I've been busy teaching in London, teaching in Hull, finding another job in London, finding a place to live in London, trying to find more work...
LSA4 - reload, is coming soon. Having said that, I have no idea of when it will be, as far as I'm aware it may well be tomorrow, since my tutor only appears when he needs money or admin info from me, and seems to be in another country/world/planet any other time...
Anyway, I am working on an assignment on pronunciation and stress in connected speech, having been convinced that discourse is a suicidal decision (it did feel like that, but pronunciation is so scary). I have spent most of yesterday and today working on notes, preparing a provisional lesson plan, thinkink of resources. My weekly plan involves an equal amount of time spent on the assignment, on preparing the materials, the class profile (of a class I don't even have, this being my last week at the school and probably my last too, by the looks of it), and all that jazz.
The school I am working for is not exactly the best I have worked for...Week three of four, they take a picture of me to put on the teachers' wall, which makes me feel they are serious about keeping me on. They plan to observe me on Thursday, that is, the day before my last day of contract, which is either promising or really bad planning. They haven't given me a contract because the DOS is the only one who prepares them, and she's back on week four, which means I may as well have a contract on my last day of the contract, which somehow is hilarious. They say it will be no problem to find me a class for the observation, but they can't tell me if there will be work after November 5th (presumably because of some Guy Fawkes-like attack on the school that they have foreseen but which may not happen...). They have been giving me lots of work, which on the one hand is pretty cool as I am paid by the hour, and on the other hand it makes me feel that it's so that by the end of week four they will have their complete 12-week course for EAP and they can send me away, no longer needing my services. Clearly not good.
But enough complaining: I've been working 7 hours already and I feel that some distraction is well deserved... Miss Marple here I come.
LSA4 - reload, is coming soon. Having said that, I have no idea of when it will be, as far as I'm aware it may well be tomorrow, since my tutor only appears when he needs money or admin info from me, and seems to be in another country/world/planet any other time...
Anyway, I am working on an assignment on pronunciation and stress in connected speech, having been convinced that discourse is a suicidal decision (it did feel like that, but pronunciation is so scary). I have spent most of yesterday and today working on notes, preparing a provisional lesson plan, thinkink of resources. My weekly plan involves an equal amount of time spent on the assignment, on preparing the materials, the class profile (of a class I don't even have, this being my last week at the school and probably my last too, by the looks of it), and all that jazz.
The school I am working for is not exactly the best I have worked for...Week three of four, they take a picture of me to put on the teachers' wall, which makes me feel they are serious about keeping me on. They plan to observe me on Thursday, that is, the day before my last day of contract, which is either promising or really bad planning. They haven't given me a contract because the DOS is the only one who prepares them, and she's back on week four, which means I may as well have a contract on my last day of the contract, which somehow is hilarious. They say it will be no problem to find me a class for the observation, but they can't tell me if there will be work after November 5th (presumably because of some Guy Fawkes-like attack on the school that they have foreseen but which may not happen...). They have been giving me lots of work, which on the one hand is pretty cool as I am paid by the hour, and on the other hand it makes me feel that it's so that by the end of week four they will have their complete 12-week course for EAP and they can send me away, no longer needing my services. Clearly not good.
But enough complaining: I've been working 7 hours already and I feel that some distraction is well deserved... Miss Marple here I come.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Time flies
Well, it's week 4 already, and so far so good..which is strange. It's the first time in 3 years that a summer camp goes perfectly fine, and all my classes are awesome, and I don't have to stay up all night planning lessons, and all that.
Having said that, we may have a British Council inspection on Thursday..since they seem to be after me, I bet that of all the centres they could choose, they're going to end up here. Oh, well. I am prepared, and have been under 3 inspections already, and all I think is, if I have survived the Delta, really, there isn't much more that I can't do.
In other news, and on a more personal side, I am starting to think that I am not ready yet. As much as I miss human contact, and sometimes I really feel it, I am slowly realising that I may not be ready for it yet. Not just with anyone. Although I have pangs of jealousy whenever I see certain things happen which I would like to be part of, and then I remember that it's not going to happen, me being what I am, so I am almost fine with it.
It's not time yet.
Having said that, we may have a British Council inspection on Thursday..since they seem to be after me, I bet that of all the centres they could choose, they're going to end up here. Oh, well. I am prepared, and have been under 3 inspections already, and all I think is, if I have survived the Delta, really, there isn't much more that I can't do.
In other news, and on a more personal side, I am starting to think that I am not ready yet. As much as I miss human contact, and sometimes I really feel it, I am slowly realising that I may not be ready for it yet. Not just with anyone. Although I have pangs of jealousy whenever I see certain things happen which I would like to be part of, and then I remember that it's not going to happen, me being what I am, so I am almost fine with it.
It's not time yet.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Update...
On day 2 of my new job in London, I have become a senior teacher...
By day 5, I am nearly in love with a cute guy who, unfortunately, looks a LOOOOOT like my ex...
Almost week 3, and I am seriously wondering what to do with myself...and would rather concentrate on teaching and not be bothered by heart matters...but as they say, le coeur a des raisons que la raison ne connait pas.
Dammit.
By day 5, I am nearly in love with a cute guy who, unfortunately, looks a LOOOOOT like my ex...
Almost week 3, and I am seriously wondering what to do with myself...and would rather concentrate on teaching and not be bothered by heart matters...but as they say, le coeur a des raisons que la raison ne connait pas.
Dammit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)