God, it was a bitch of a tough month. 5 assignments, 6 hours teaching (plus endless nights of preparation), 9 hour days, endless new jargon to assimilate and reproduce in a semi intelligent way (e.g. "you do not have freer language practice in a skills related lesson, only when doing language focus; for the former one needs to think in terms of fluency practice"... this was an actual comment on one of my lesson plans). So yeah it was tough, exhausting and quite rigidly fascist, in that the CELTA method is the CELTA method and anything else you knew or thought you knew you lust forget about. Still it was interesting, as were the people and, behind the blurb, some of the techniques we have been taught. that said, I think some of us are going to be using concept questions spontaneously for a few weeks, and drilling is now a part of everyday life.
( Apologies to all friends who are going to have put up with me).
Here are some of the main points I learnt on this course (english language technique-wise I mean, not that falafel and cognac don't mix) plagiarised from my shamelessly ball-sucking "lessons from the classroom" assignement.
Useful techniques and procedures observed in the classroom
a) Techniques for motivating learners
An important thing I have learnt from observing my peers is the importance of putting the learners in a context/situation which they feel involved in. Playing a piece of music, greeting the students, bringing in realia or other props that allow the students to be introduced to the context clearly awakens their interest and makes them more curious about the topic.
This is in fact essential for eliciting information from them. During one observation lesson, the teacher shrewdly brought up the subject of “Money”, which prompted a lively discussion amongst students and led them smoothly into the actual lesson. They were able to provide a lot of vocabulary and the initial interest in the topic meant that they could then enthusiastically consolidate this vocabulary in a freer practice context. As a result the teacher’s talking time (TTT) was kept to a minimum, which would clearly not have been the case if the students had not been keen and motivated initially.
b) Procedures for error correction
Early on in the course we were taught about error correction; before that I had mainly been interrupting students and correcting them myself when they were wrong. When I saw a teacher doing error correction by eliciting the right answers from the learners it became clear that this was a far less ostracising and critical way of doing things. It also increases student talking time. Equally using gestures/finger techniques (several of my peers are very good at this), mimes, prompting with the first letter of a word or by giving the nature of the mistake are all techniques I have observed and tried to adopt.
Also, keeping some corrections “anonymous” (by grouping all mistakes at the end and reviewing them during general feedback) when in a skills lesson is a technique observed in the second week. It clearly makes the students more comfortable. During another session, a teacher used the mistakes to extrapolate and review certain grammar points, pronunciation issues and meanings. This taught me that every mistake can be useful, in that it provides an opportunity to consolidate previous points.
Finally, on this point I have observed many times that when the students are reading/ writing/ speaking in pairs/ working it is important not to intrude and make them feel as if they are being spied upon. One teacher in particular was described by one student as “moving subtly amongst the groups” which I think is a good way to describe supervising without being too obvious.
c) Knowing how many points to cover
Two different lessons (that my colleagues were teaching) highlighted some “Dos and Don’ts” when it comes to teaching grammar. First of all, grammar seems more confusing and far less natural to students than a skill based lesson (this is something I have observed every time: TTT time is far greater in grammar lessons). In one case the students spent an entire session on a relatively simple grammar point. The other tried to teach three or four in the same time. The lesson was that it is far better to go away having taught one small point well than three. It is therefore important not to underestimate the importance of teaching grammar slowly, with plenty of practise.
d) Techniques for being understood and listened to.
Early on in the course I had trouble grading my language and drilling the students. I found in both cases that it was slightly insulting to the students to do this. When we got a language lesson in a completely unknown language however it became clear that there is nothing insulting about speaking in a clear, calm, understandable way, and even less wrong with repeating something that is unknown (like rehearsing a piece of music). I have observed that those who grade and who speak calmly are usually more listened to than those who are “chatty.” That said, being “snappy” is important to keep the students stimulated. I think the lady from the DVD achieves a good balance between being alert and energetic but still grading and being clear and concise.
e) Technique for eliciting – inductive presentation
Though there are many ways of eliciting from students (such as those mentioned in (b) ) one I think is particularly helpful when it comes to helping students understand the link between meaning and form is ‘inductive presentation’. I have seen three classes where this was used, and I find it a very useful and practical way of eliciting (here) grammar points. It is also quite gripping compared to a lot of grammar classes as there is almost a playful quality to it. I tried this technique for my ‘focus on the learner’ teaching and the student thought it was great fun. (It was also very effective.)
No, he didn't actually, but hey, a bit of poetic licence...
Anyway, also from the July 2008 CELTA course I will keep good memories of my colleagues. First a moment's silence for Keith who gave up on day 3 after brutal criticism and failing his lesson.
*Moment's silence*
And a great roar of "Yay!!" and "all the best!!!" to Erin, Ronnie, Christen, Jenny, Ben, Sonia, Dan, Clare, Tracy and Lucette. Nice to meet y'all :)Pictures courtesy of Ronnie and Erin
