The first week of CELTA = done and dusted (as the Irish say)
It is hard to believe that I am already here and a quarter of the way done already. Things seem to be moving fast and a bit slow all at the same time. It has been a great week: I've learned tons and did two session of supervised teaching practice. There isn't really any break with CELTA. It is full throttle from beginning to end (with the exception of tomorrow being a day off because of an Irish holiday....)
So, this is how things went down this past week:
Monday was introductions, getting into the swing of things, meeting the tutors and fellow CELTA trainees, meeting the first batch of students that we will be teaching for two weeks, and planning our first lesson and assignment. International House (IH) usually only takes 18 trainees in July with 3 tutors; however, there was so much interest in this course that there are 2 groups of twelve with 2 tutors each running simultaneously. My group of 12 is made up of 5 men and 7 women. 8 are from Ireland, 2 Americans (that's me!!), 1 Brazilian, and 1 Spaniard. It is a great group, all with diverse backgrounds. I'm one of the youngest in the group, which is a bit funny. There is even a doctor! The 2 tutors working with our group are both Irish, Helen and Sophie. Both of them are CELTA and DELTA qualified and quite fantastic ladies. They are fun and make learning exciting, but also keep things focused and organized. Because there is so much to get done in the course, there is no time to lolligag at all.
Each morning from 9-12 is Input. It is our time to be taught. There are two session per morning, switching between Helen and Sophie. Each session is focused on a different aspect of teaching. For example, this week included teaching frameworks, conveying meaning, phonemes, and how to give instruction. Each session is set up so that we can use the styles in our own English teaching, if that makes sense. Basically, the tutors teach us in such a way that we can use that for the students. Yes, I think that is a bit better. We work in pairs, groups, and as a whole class. We do different activities, all of which can be modified for the TEFL classroom.
From 12-1 is GLP (Guided Lesson Planning). Here we are broken down into our TP (Teaching Practice) groups, which is a group of 6. We work with one of the tutors (it was Helen for week 1 for my group, Sophie for weeks 2-3, Helen for week 4) to prepare and go over our lessons that we will teach our students in the afternoon.
A word about the students. IH is a language school and most of the classes that are run there are for people learning English. There are intensive courses that cost a bit more and are taught by tutors only. In the afternoons are the cheaper courses (1 GPB/day) for students that are taught by the CELTA trainees. All of the students come from various backgrounds.
Any-who, that is how that whole thing works. From 1-2 is lunch. Not loads to say about that other than I have had an apple everyday.
From 2-4(ish) is the class we teach. The first day we observed as Helen taught and from then on, 3 of us teach each day. I am in the first group, so I taught on Tuesday and Thursday. Though it was totally nerve racking, it was nice to be on the second day of the course just so I could get into the swing of things and move on.
And from 4-5 is Feedback. The TP group sits with the tutor and goes over the day's lesson. We talk about what went well and what can be improved, ideas for good activities, and liaise with the trainees.
And from 5-betime is study time (with some dinner mixed in there somewhere).
So, that is my day. There is a lot that goes on and things to accomplish. There is pressure to get things done, but to be honest, it isn't too bad right now. And that's probably because I have stayed on top of things (hopefully that will carry on into next week).
I'm a little fried right now and there is a house alarm going off outside that has been going for 7 hours straight. There will be pictures to come and better explanations, including a funny (well, funny to me at least) story about the word "false".
Stay tuned, amigos.
PS - I live in a block of flats that is owned by IH, just FYI. Pretty nice digs, not posh by any means, but nice. I have an en-suite shower! That makes me feel special. My flatmate (Ione) is from Spain and is here for 3 weeks learning English on the intensive course in the mornings.
PPS - One word about house alarms: THEY ARE USELESS! No one even cares....
It is hard to believe that I am already here and a quarter of the way done already. Things seem to be moving fast and a bit slow all at the same time. It has been a great week: I've learned tons and did two session of supervised teaching practice. There isn't really any break with CELTA. It is full throttle from beginning to end (with the exception of tomorrow being a day off because of an Irish holiday....)
So, this is how things went down this past week:
Monday was introductions, getting into the swing of things, meeting the tutors and fellow CELTA trainees, meeting the first batch of students that we will be teaching for two weeks, and planning our first lesson and assignment. International House (IH) usually only takes 18 trainees in July with 3 tutors; however, there was so much interest in this course that there are 2 groups of twelve with 2 tutors each running simultaneously. My group of 12 is made up of 5 men and 7 women. 8 are from Ireland, 2 Americans (that's me!!), 1 Brazilian, and 1 Spaniard. It is a great group, all with diverse backgrounds. I'm one of the youngest in the group, which is a bit funny. There is even a doctor! The 2 tutors working with our group are both Irish, Helen and Sophie. Both of them are CELTA and DELTA qualified and quite fantastic ladies. They are fun and make learning exciting, but also keep things focused and organized. Because there is so much to get done in the course, there is no time to lolligag at all.
Each morning from 9-12 is Input. It is our time to be taught. There are two session per morning, switching between Helen and Sophie. Each session is focused on a different aspect of teaching. For example, this week included teaching frameworks, conveying meaning, phonemes, and how to give instruction. Each session is set up so that we can use the styles in our own English teaching, if that makes sense. Basically, the tutors teach us in such a way that we can use that for the students. Yes, I think that is a bit better. We work in pairs, groups, and as a whole class. We do different activities, all of which can be modified for the TEFL classroom.
From 12-1 is GLP (Guided Lesson Planning). Here we are broken down into our TP (Teaching Practice) groups, which is a group of 6. We work with one of the tutors (it was Helen for week 1 for my group, Sophie for weeks 2-3, Helen for week 4) to prepare and go over our lessons that we will teach our students in the afternoon.
A word about the students. IH is a language school and most of the classes that are run there are for people learning English. There are intensive courses that cost a bit more and are taught by tutors only. In the afternoons are the cheaper courses (1 GPB/day) for students that are taught by the CELTA trainees. All of the students come from various backgrounds.
Any-who, that is how that whole thing works. From 1-2 is lunch. Not loads to say about that other than I have had an apple everyday.
From 2-4(ish) is the class we teach. The first day we observed as Helen taught and from then on, 3 of us teach each day. I am in the first group, so I taught on Tuesday and Thursday. Though it was totally nerve racking, it was nice to be on the second day of the course just so I could get into the swing of things and move on.
And from 4-5 is Feedback. The TP group sits with the tutor and goes over the day's lesson. We talk about what went well and what can be improved, ideas for good activities, and liaise with the trainees.
And from 5-betime is study time (with some dinner mixed in there somewhere).
So, that is my day. There is a lot that goes on and things to accomplish. There is pressure to get things done, but to be honest, it isn't too bad right now. And that's probably because I have stayed on top of things (hopefully that will carry on into next week).
I'm a little fried right now and there is a house alarm going off outside that has been going for 7 hours straight. There will be pictures to come and better explanations, including a funny (well, funny to me at least) story about the word "false".
Stay tuned, amigos.
PS - I live in a block of flats that is owned by IH, just FYI. Pretty nice digs, not posh by any means, but nice. I have an en-suite shower! That makes me feel special. My flatmate (Ione) is from Spain and is here for 3 weeks learning English on the intensive course in the mornings.
PPS - One word about house alarms: THEY ARE USELESS! No one even cares....
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