So, my classroom experience starts this weekend and I’m really looking forward to it. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m hoping it will start by addressing my major concerns.
I’ve already got a fair bit of teaching experience under my belt. I know how to put a lesson together, measure a bit of progress and so forth, but what I just don’t know is how to get around the language barrier. When I teach things, I teach them using analogies and similes, or I find some common ground with the pupil and explain it via a common teaching material. Teaching another subject in English is a piece of pie, but teaching the actual English itself? That’s where I’m going to struggle.
I mean, if a pupil isn’t getting an idea in a science classroom, I could relate it to a movie, or a game, or explain it in some other way that circumnavigates the mental block the kid is having to help them reach that eureka moment of clarity. But that approach requires me to have a basic level of understanding with the kid themselves. We need to have common ground and, if I’m to get around a difficult area, we need to have a common understanding and that is rooted in a common language. If it is that common language that I am trying to teach; that is, if I’m trying to teach the common ground from which all other common grounds grow, and the kid doesn’t get it, how do I get around that?
I remember back to my own school days, and particularly my own foreign language teaching, and I remember how plucky, idealistic foreign language teachers always started trying to teach the whole lesson in nothing but the foreign language. But their optimistic exuberance was quickly demolished by a sea of blank faces who just did not know what the heck was going on other than a sea of unintelligible words that sounded vaguely seductive or kind of threatening depending on whether we were in French or German class. They very quickly reverted to using English to plug the gaps; an option I won’t have, as even with my best efforts my Japanese is still rudimentary at best and hilarious at worst.
Seriously, trying to learn Japanese is hard enough, but I’m not helping myself with my choice of learning aids. It’s not a particularly difficult language; the rules are fairly straightforward to get the hang of. It’s just that when I come to try and apply the language, I realise that my only Japanese materials are Japanese horror films and Japanese computer games. There’s definitely something wrong with your learning priorities if you can’t say ‘The little girl plays in the field’ but you can say ‘The little girls demented evil spirit still haunts the well’. I can’t ask what the next train station is but I can tell you my Charmander will have evolved before we get there.
But I digress, and that’s what I’m hoping for from this weekend’s course; just something I can put in my back pocket to combat a total breakdown of communication between me and the pupil that isn’t ‘breaking down in tears’.
Wish me luck!
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Of course it all depends on what level your students are already, and it's normal even for intermediate and upwards that it will take a few lessons for you to figure out how fast you can speak and what language you can use to be understood. Make sure they know that if they don't understand you they shouldn't feel bad asking you to slow down.
For very low level groups you'll have to start with vocabulary and repetition to give yourself a context in order to start on grammar or constructions. Most kids will get 'my name is ....... what's your name?' after a small amount of repetition and body language. For kids repetition and games are key, and as long as they're having fun they'll learn without realising.
I've just had a long chat with my director about the little kids as it's been a year since I taught them. She wants us to start with the absolute basics - colours then animals and bodys building up to simple sentences like point to blue, the cat is red, etc and lots of play and repetition -after all, they can't read so you have to be simple. She told me to avoid numbers at first because they get confused if they're under 6.
Most importantly - befriend the students! If they like you they'll try really hard to listen and please you :-)
Hello! Just stopping by to give you a link to this group:
http://www.onlinetefl.com/tefl-chalkboard/groups/357-Classroom-Course-Where-Are-You-Taking-Yours-
There are lots of different blogs in there from people who have taken their weekend course and given their accounts of their experiences that might help!
Alternatively if you'd rather it was a mystery and want to to wait until you get there then do not click on that link above :) But it would be great to have your account of the weekend in that group next week!
Katie
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