I’ve
been meaning to blog about my CELTA experience as often as I can, but I realized
that I probably won’t have enough time to do it every week with all the
assignments that are going to be due soon.
I
just finished reading a CELTA student’s blog. She’s a mother and was not
working full time, but opted to take the 8 weeks course instead of the 4 weeks
course. Apparently, that was a better call, and I am happy that I am able to
take the 8 weeks course. However she mentioned that her peers who worked full
time struggled more; they started to neglect their work.
All
I can say is that, I am glad my job is not too heavy and stressful at the
moment. I will have 2 weeks out of the next 8 weeks where I have deadlines due
at work, but I will do my best to not let my CELTA interfere with the deadlines
and vice versa. But I would have to admit that I have been using some work time
to organize my CELTA stuff, but that’s because I don’t have all that much to do
sometimes, and it’s such a waste of time to sit around and twiddle my thumbs.
Anyway,
let’s describe my lessons so far. I will try to update these ‘journal’ entries
when I have more time to insert in the key takeaways and summarise my learning
journey better.
Lesson
1: Wednesday, 7pm.
I
rushed from office to school at Sim Lim Square; managed to get there by 6:45pm
and scoffed down my dinner. I was the first one to arrive. Everyone else
arrived near to 7pm, and one arrived after 7pm. I was either right on time, or
late for the consecutive lessons, and I feel bad because I didn’t want the trainers
to think that I was always tardy, but I guess I’ve proven on the first day that
I was capable of being on time. I shouldn’t be so hard on myself when I couldn’t
make it on time :P
The
first trainer we met was Bernard. I was a bit worried that I’d gotten off on
the wrong foot with him the first day: I was trying to copy the schedule he
wrote down on the board using my phone, and he thought I was texting (>_<)
But I guess we’re all good now, especially after our 2nd class
together on Sunday.
The
first session was mainly about the structure of the course, the grading and the
general expectations. Bernard tried to help us set expectations when he talked
about the grading standard for the course. Upon completing CELTA, we would be
graded (in descending order) Pass A, Pass B, Pass and Fail. The worldwide statistics
by far are as follows (approximately):
Pass
A – 5%
Pass
B – 10%
Pass
– 80%
Fail
– 5%
He
pretty much told us to not worry too much about failing, but at the same time,
not to put too much expectation on ourselves by aiming for Pass A. It is
perfectly normal to get a Pass, as seen from the statistics. I guess he is all
too familiar with the way our Asian minds work. Haha! “I must be the best!” In
a way, I agree with what he is doing, because I know fully well that if I set
too high an expectation on myself, I may end up doing the exact opposite. But
if I were to take it calmly and just try to do my best at each juncture, I
suppose I may do better than I expect myself to. However, after reading that
student’s blog and seeing that she got a Pass B, I am thinking… I bloody-hell
want a Pass A! LOL!
Then
we will have Teaching Practices (TPs), where we will have the opportunity to
teach real students (Elementary and Intermediate levels). Yes… real people
shall become our guinea pigs. Basically, these students get to sign on for free
lessons. They pay a deposit of $200, which is refundable if they meet the
minimum attendance criteria. We will be observed and assessed, according to the
criteria that will be communicated to us on a weekly basis, and for each TP, we
will be graded: Above Standard, To Standard or Below Standard.
My
goal would be to always be above standard. But what would mean that I had to
prep myself well for each lesson, which includes a near flawless lesson plan,
and awesome classroom management. According to Bernard, that could include even
scripting the instructions that I would give the students.
In
the first lesson, we went through the topics on learning styles, what affects
and motivates learners. We talked more about the course structure and
expectations.
Lesson
2: Saturday, 10am
We
met Jill, the 2nd trainer, and we started to go more into the
technical stuff like planning a lesson, and grammar. Yes… this is the part that
scares me the most. While most of us, whose first language (L1) is English,
have no problem using proper English on a day to day basis, we aren’t really
sure about the different grammar rules that exist. So you can be assured that it
was a painful process for me, and will probably continue to be for the next few
weeks.
I’ve
found a site that lists out the tenses. I think that in the coming 8 weeks, I
have a lot of brushing up to do, on top of getting my lesson plans and
assignments done.
On
Saturday, we learned a lot about the Receptive Skills, reading and listening,
the different levels of reading and listening, and how we were going to be
training our students to be proficient in them. It became clear to me that
teaching wasn’t all about guiding the students through reading a passage, or
helping them do the exercises. It’s more about knowing how to prepare them for
the tasks so that they can better attempt them, and even have more confidence
to attempt them on their own. Eventually, we had to also work on a Productive
Skill such as writing and speaking, to put into action what was learned during
the reading and listening. Don’t forget the endless drilling we will also need
to do to help them remember vocabulary and grammar rules.
Lesson
3: Sunday, 10am
Finally
on Sunday, we explored, in detail with Bernard, how to plan a lesson, and all the dos and
don’ts when conducting a lesson. We had the opportunity to watch a lesson on
DVD and to dissect that same lesson to learn the tips and tricks of a good
lesson, and methods of a good teacher.
We
went into the technicalities of classroom management, how important it is to
monitor students constantly to see if they are following, giving short, clear
instructions but maintaining a friendly and respectful tone, and knowing how to
manage time so that the lessons don’t overrun or end too early.
Knowing
and setting aims are also important so that we ensure the lesson fulfills the
learning purpose required. This is something I will really need to think about
when preparing my lesson plan. I feel that there is so much consideration
required just to prepare a lesson. Teaching is definitely not just about
pointing, miming, lecturing and telling students to hand in homework.
This
coming Saturday, we will have an unobserved TP, which means the trainer would
not be watching and assessing us. It’s an opportunity for us to get to know our
students and also conduct a dry run with a short lesson we have been asked to
prepare. There are some teaching methods that I have been considering; I
suppose this would be a good time to try them out?
On
Sunday, we will have our first assessed TP. I’m done creating my material for the
students. Just some minor tweaking to go and it’s good enough for submission. The
concern now is the lesson plan. I have an idea of what I will be doing.
Completing the material has helped form in my mind how I would go about
conducting the class. Now I will have to sit myself down and complete that
lesson plan.
As
you can see… almost everything about this course is very practical and hands
on. This makes me believe that I will be truly qualified to teach when I
complete this course. On top of that, we’re assessed all the time and receive
feedback on strengths, weaknesses and what we need improve on after every
assessment. This means I will always know my level of progress and what I need
to do to fix my mistakes.
I’m
a bit worried that I will procrastinate. That’s what I did over the weekend,
knowing I had no time to chill the evening away. But I am also fully aware that
if I push myself too hard, I might break and go into my ‘escapism’ mode again.
In any case, I just need to bite the bullet and be disciplined about this. From
today onwards, I need to spend my evenings trying to complete my work ahead of
schedule, rather than trying to complete on time. While it’s tempting to get
cracking on things while I’m at work, I should reserve doing my coursework in
the office only for those items where I need the resources in the office.
So
2 things on my list now to complete ASAP:
1.
Lesson Plan for TP1
2.
Assignment 1
Wish
me luck…
