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.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
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.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Countdown..and the feedback questionnaire
Well, with only a few days between me and freedom, I can say I am feeling quite confident. Although I have no idea whatsoever about my module 3.
So, first we receive this email that says: goodbye, thanks for working together, for the time we spent on those long dark winter nights talking crap, ahem, about methodology, and so on.
Following this, an email that says: oh, guys, two of us are going to Lybia for a month on Friday, yes, it's a few days before the final exam and the deadline for module 3, so for any question bother our number 3, who has no clue about anything and will take a day to reply, if he replies at all, but hey, good luck, maybe we can meet up during the summer for a drink and a laugh, hey?
....
So I email number 3 with a question about module three. Then I email again to say that on Thursday I am going to go to the school to pick up my memory stick that I left there for them to download my files (which they should have already, but rather than finding them in the mailbox they had me leave my flashdrive there...).
On Thursday I go to the school, and guess what: no memory stick anywhere, and no sign of guy number 3. Oh yes, and no reply to my question either.
I find a partial answer on the handbook, then receive his email saying that he didn't really understand what I meant about the bibliography...
Now, this is the way I asked my question:
"In the bibliography for the assignments on module 2 we had to include at least 5 sources, and they had to be mentioned in the assignment itself, I was wondering if the same principles applies to module 3, i.e. is there a minimum number of sources to include and mention?"
....
Ok...sounds like proper English to me!
Well, in the end, Cambridge says that I should show extensive research, and only include in the bibliography the people I have mentioned in the assignment. This results in a total of 9 sources, although I have read some 20 books for the bloody paper. Of this 9 sources, 6 are directly relevant to the subject I am discussing, and 3 are general teaching resources such as Harmer and Scrivener. FINGERS CROSSED! I hope Cambridge will consider it enough...
Well, following all this the only thing left to do was let them have my feedback questionnaire... and question one, "is there any aspect of the course that wasn't satisfactory or caused problems" did give me material for writing...
So, I won't say all the things that I wrote in the questionnaire, because I also doubt that they will be taken into account, however I haven't been satisfied with the way the course has been presented and managed, and if I have missed so many lessons it's also because some evenings, looking at what we were going to do in the session, my only thought was "what a waste of time", which, looking at the photocopies, actually was.
I don't know.
But in 5 days it will all be over, and I will be packing, celebrating, going to the beach, and spending the last days in Bournemouth NOT studying...
So, first we receive this email that says: goodbye, thanks for working together, for the time we spent on those long dark winter nights talking crap, ahem, about methodology, and so on.
Following this, an email that says: oh, guys, two of us are going to Lybia for a month on Friday, yes, it's a few days before the final exam and the deadline for module 3, so for any question bother our number 3, who has no clue about anything and will take a day to reply, if he replies at all, but hey, good luck, maybe we can meet up during the summer for a drink and a laugh, hey?
....
So I email number 3 with a question about module three. Then I email again to say that on Thursday I am going to go to the school to pick up my memory stick that I left there for them to download my files (which they should have already, but rather than finding them in the mailbox they had me leave my flashdrive there...).
On Thursday I go to the school, and guess what: no memory stick anywhere, and no sign of guy number 3. Oh yes, and no reply to my question either.
I find a partial answer on the handbook, then receive his email saying that he didn't really understand what I meant about the bibliography...
Now, this is the way I asked my question:
"In the bibliography for the assignments on module 2 we had to include at least 5 sources, and they had to be mentioned in the assignment itself, I was wondering if the same principles applies to module 3, i.e. is there a minimum number of sources to include and mention?"
....
Ok...sounds like proper English to me!
Well, in the end, Cambridge says that I should show extensive research, and only include in the bibliography the people I have mentioned in the assignment. This results in a total of 9 sources, although I have read some 20 books for the bloody paper. Of this 9 sources, 6 are directly relevant to the subject I am discussing, and 3 are general teaching resources such as Harmer and Scrivener. FINGERS CROSSED! I hope Cambridge will consider it enough...
Well, following all this the only thing left to do was let them have my feedback questionnaire... and question one, "is there any aspect of the course that wasn't satisfactory or caused problems" did give me material for writing...
So, I won't say all the things that I wrote in the questionnaire, because I also doubt that they will be taken into account, however I haven't been satisfied with the way the course has been presented and managed, and if I have missed so many lessons it's also because some evenings, looking at what we were going to do in the session, my only thought was "what a waste of time", which, looking at the photocopies, actually was.
I don't know.
But in 5 days it will all be over, and I will be packing, celebrating, going to the beach, and spending the last days in Bournemouth NOT studying...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
And the countdown is...
Oh my God, three weeks and I'll be over and done with the Dip! ..Well, provided I have passed the external, and that module 3 is a pass, and that module 1 is a pass..
I am not worried about module 1, really. With barely no preparation I have almost got a distinction, so I am ok with that. Module 3 is complete, only needs some editing as I am (again) over the word limit, so have to cut some 80 words...Plus, what is it with people who assume that I should have a fancy mobile phone?
Foreword: when submitting the assignment for module 3 you have to provide appendices, which, if necessary, have to be scanned. Although I know we have a scanner (and a cool photocopier which also scans and emails stuff) at school, I just thought I'd make sure that I need to scan my materials (which seems stupid, since I provide page numbers and all that, and I believe the Cambridge people will be familiar with materials that..well, that they publish!). So I asked, do I have to? And what if I don't have a scanner?
The answer, from a random person who signed "regards" and no name, is: "try to take some pics with your mobile phone, it sometimes works"..
Ehm...thanks for assuming, as I said, that I have a fancy phone, when I have everything but...
In other news, it's sunny, breezy, birds singing in the sunset, warm enough, and I have an interesting and not too difficult class, this week, L3.2. And I meet up with my favourite students after the lessons, and at lunch time, and they are nice, and smiling, and they make me smile too. I do love this job.
I am not worried about module 1, really. With barely no preparation I have almost got a distinction, so I am ok with that. Module 3 is complete, only needs some editing as I am (again) over the word limit, so have to cut some 80 words...Plus, what is it with people who assume that I should have a fancy mobile phone?
Foreword: when submitting the assignment for module 3 you have to provide appendices, which, if necessary, have to be scanned. Although I know we have a scanner (and a cool photocopier which also scans and emails stuff) at school, I just thought I'd make sure that I need to scan my materials (which seems stupid, since I provide page numbers and all that, and I believe the Cambridge people will be familiar with materials that..well, that they publish!). So I asked, do I have to? And what if I don't have a scanner?
The answer, from a random person who signed "regards" and no name, is: "try to take some pics with your mobile phone, it sometimes works"..
Ehm...thanks for assuming, as I said, that I have a fancy phone, when I have everything but...
In other news, it's sunny, breezy, birds singing in the sunset, warm enough, and I have an interesting and not too difficult class, this week, L3.2. And I meet up with my favourite students after the lessons, and at lunch time, and they are nice, and smiling, and they make me smile too. I do love this job.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
When you have a word limit....
..there's little that you can do.
So, even though I have been told to include one more author in my assignment, by mentioning him in my paragraph about memorising vocabulary...ahem...well it's not possible, ok? Not when you have already written 2376 words, and you have to add some parts to the linguistic analysis, because (for no reason whatsoever) you need to say that Spanish speakers would say /kukear/ instead of /kuke/ (pretend there are schwas in the right place). Why should I talk about Spanish pro? I have no Spanish in my class, never have!
Anyway, all this adding useless info for the sake of it has made me go way beyond the word limit, so I spent almost 2 hours trimming and working away, trying to say what needed to be said within 2500 words.
I have 2479 words. And the shortest conclusion ever seen. Fact is, I cannot squeeze in different frameworks now, and it will have to be a general, sum-it-all-up kind of conclusion. I don't care. The analysis, the issues and solutions, the appendices, the bibliography, it's all fine, the word count spot on. Do we really care about 5 lines???
In other news, I have been moved to L4.3, because you can only do so much when dealing with traditionalist Arabs who think they are the leaders in class, and assign homework to the other students! My patience, proverbially endless, has actually come to an end after 2 months of bearing with this guy. And I certainly am not up for more frustration and lessons that go wrong because the idiot thinks he knows more than everyone else, and he even wants to tell me how to behave with students or what to teach in class.
And finally, in two weeks I'll be on holiday, having survived the external observation and being four weeks away from the end of it all. My, I really can't wait.
So, even though I have been told to include one more author in my assignment, by mentioning him in my paragraph about memorising vocabulary...ahem...well it's not possible, ok? Not when you have already written 2376 words, and you have to add some parts to the linguistic analysis, because (for no reason whatsoever) you need to say that Spanish speakers would say /kukear/ instead of /kuke/ (pretend there are schwas in the right place). Why should I talk about Spanish pro? I have no Spanish in my class, never have!
Anyway, all this adding useless info for the sake of it has made me go way beyond the word limit, so I spent almost 2 hours trimming and working away, trying to say what needed to be said within 2500 words.
I have 2479 words. And the shortest conclusion ever seen. Fact is, I cannot squeeze in different frameworks now, and it will have to be a general, sum-it-all-up kind of conclusion. I don't care. The analysis, the issues and solutions, the appendices, the bibliography, it's all fine, the word count spot on. Do we really care about 5 lines???
In other news, I have been moved to L4.3, because you can only do so much when dealing with traditionalist Arabs who think they are the leaders in class, and assign homework to the other students! My patience, proverbially endless, has actually come to an end after 2 months of bearing with this guy. And I certainly am not up for more frustration and lessons that go wrong because the idiot thinks he knows more than everyone else, and he even wants to tell me how to behave with students or what to teach in class.
And finally, in two weeks I'll be on holiday, having survived the external observation and being four weeks away from the end of it all. My, I really can't wait.
Monday, April 12, 2010
What a waste of paper
Naming no names, the initials will be enough: NH intermediate. What a lot of rubbish. Having previously complained about its boring listening, its useless reading, its unbelievable list of vocabulary (unit 5, if I'm not mistaken, introduces none other than 25 adjectives!), today I will complain about its random presentation of grammar.
Unit 8, revision of conditionals (first and second): revision of first, all fine, intro to time clauses like "when I have time I'll take a second degree" or stuff like that. Even the grammar box and the explanation at the back of the book reiterates that nothing but present simple and perfect go after "when", so I stick to the instructions, just in case...and before I know it, the practice exercise that follows gives a sentence such as "when will you know if you've got the job", which fair enough, cannot be expressed otherwise, but haven't you just told your lot that the future cannot go after "when"???
Man, I do hate this book... Luckily I can use other resources, or god knows how I would have survived these 6 (7?) weeks...
In other news, having prepared paragraph 3 of module 3, improved the introduction, completed the background assignment for LSA4, prepared the lesson plan, I can definetely say that I am exhausted...and it's only Monday.
Unit 8, revision of conditionals (first and second): revision of first, all fine, intro to time clauses like "when I have time I'll take a second degree" or stuff like that. Even the grammar box and the explanation at the back of the book reiterates that nothing but present simple and perfect go after "when", so I stick to the instructions, just in case...and before I know it, the practice exercise that follows gives a sentence such as "when will you know if you've got the job", which fair enough, cannot be expressed otherwise, but haven't you just told your lot that the future cannot go after "when"???
Man, I do hate this book... Luckily I can use other resources, or god knows how I would have survived these 6 (7?) weeks...
In other news, having prepared paragraph 3 of module 3, improved the introduction, completed the background assignment for LSA4, prepared the lesson plan, I can definetely say that I am exhausted...and it's only Monday.
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