Lessons from the Classroom
Introduction
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
Aristotle summed up well what the reflections that follow are about. The Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course introduces many important lessons. However, the most significant ones are learnt by putting the theory into practice in the classroom:
1. My teaching strengths
To build a good rapport with the students I am learning to establish a fine relationship with them by listening well, keeping eye contact and by being inclusive and transparent. At the start of our first encounter I talked about my background, my family and my hobby. This worked well according to the feedback comment …show more content…
When given the task to explain the phrase, “he was crazy about”, I asked them: “Is he bored? (No)”, “Does he hate it? (No)”, “Does he want it often? (Yes)” Other trainees agreed with my assessment during feedback time of that lesson.
2. Areas for improvement
My Teacher Talking Time (TTT) needs to be reduced. I agree with my trainer 's written comments that I should include more interaction patterns by extending a quiz from three to, “at least five questions”, and by getting students, “to check in pairs first”, before sharing the results of an in depth listening exercise. To address this issue after the course, I like to study the article, “Teacher Talking Time”.
Another area of concern is language grading. On one occasion, other trainees pointed out to me the use of the phrase “figure out” and the word “allegiance”. My trainer agreed with their appropriate critique. After the course I need to ask myself once a day, “how do I say ... in a simpler way?”
I need to more eliciting from the students. My trainer pointed this out when commenting on the way I asked them for the answers of a gist reading exercise. Where appropriate they do not just need to know the answer, but also why it is right. I plan to read a relevant article on this …show more content…
Observations of other trainees and experienced teachers
Helen Ford, one of our tutors, gave us a lesson in the Greek language. Using hardly any English words, she set the context by playing a waitress in a restaurant and by using a lot of relevant realia. The names of those real life objects were creatively taught to us first through mime, then through modelling pronunciation. Afterwards she did choral and individual drilling. I would like to include the art of creative miming when establishing context and teaching vocabulary in my lessons.
During the observation of Ida Leil, another experienced teacher, I noticed how she worked skilfully with one student who was in need of a verbal error correction. Her exact words were, “not ‘he shopping’, but ‘he was shopping.’” Then she proceeded with some choral and individual drilling, making sure they pronounced ‘was’ as weak. I aim to incorporate weak forms, assimilation, elision, linking sound and contractions more in my teaching of connected speech.
Having observed the first lesson of Isabella Spengler, one of my peers, I was very impressed by the fact that she had learnt the names of all of her students by heart. This is where being learner-centred starts and I would like to follow her
Introduction
“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”
Aristotle summed up well what the reflections that follow are about. The Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course introduces many important lessons. However, the most significant ones are learnt by putting the theory into practice in the classroom:
1. My teaching strengths
To build a good rapport with the students I am learning to establish a fine relationship with them by listening well, keeping eye contact and by being inclusive and transparent. At the start of our first encounter I talked about my background, my family and my hobby. This worked well according to the feedback comment …show more content…
When given the task to explain the phrase, “he was crazy about”, I asked them: “Is he bored? (No)”, “Does he hate it? (No)”, “Does he want it often? (Yes)” Other trainees agreed with my assessment during feedback time of that lesson.
2. Areas for improvement
My Teacher Talking Time (TTT) needs to be reduced. I agree with my trainer 's written comments that I should include more interaction patterns by extending a quiz from three to, “at least five questions”, and by getting students, “to check in pairs first”, before sharing the results of an in depth listening exercise. To address this issue after the course, I like to study the article, “Teacher Talking Time”.
Another area of concern is language grading. On one occasion, other trainees pointed out to me the use of the phrase “figure out” and the word “allegiance”. My trainer agreed with their appropriate critique. After the course I need to ask myself once a day, “how do I say ... in a simpler way?”
I need to more eliciting from the students. My trainer pointed this out when commenting on the way I asked them for the answers of a gist reading exercise. Where appropriate they do not just need to know the answer, but also why it is right. I plan to read a relevant article on this …show more content…
Observations of other trainees and experienced teachers
Helen Ford, one of our tutors, gave us a lesson in the Greek language. Using hardly any English words, she set the context by playing a waitress in a restaurant and by using a lot of relevant realia. The names of those real life objects were creatively taught to us first through mime, then through modelling pronunciation. Afterwards she did choral and individual drilling. I would like to include the art of creative miming when establishing context and teaching vocabulary in my lessons.
During the observation of Ida Leil, another experienced teacher, I noticed how she worked skilfully with one student who was in need of a verbal error correction. Her exact words were, “not ‘he shopping’, but ‘he was shopping.’” Then she proceeded with some choral and individual drilling, making sure they pronounced ‘was’ as weak. I aim to incorporate weak forms, assimilation, elision, linking sound and contractions more in my teaching of connected speech.
Having observed the first lesson of Isabella Spengler, one of my peers, I was very impressed by the fact that she had learnt the names of all of her students by heart. This is where being learner-centred starts and I would like to follow her