What makes a good teacher?
One of my last lessons of the year was with two boys who are about 12, and I asked them that same question. It was actually part of a reading task but I thought I should start with a bit of a chit chat about teachers and hear their views. So, I posed the million dollar question." What makes a good teacher?' They told me their opinion which is what I am going to share with you. Interestingly enough, I had asked a similar question to a group of Chinese students, my EAP group, during the summer and I will share their views as well. Do you think that my learners agree or not?

My Young learners:
A good teacher:

• makes you laugh
• answers your questions
• doesn't shout
• makes the lesson interesting
• helps us relax when we are tired (didn't see this one coming!)
• gives good grades (this one is kinda saddening cause it shows me that from such a young age, my learners focus and chase grades)
  

Now, according to my EAP (adult) learners:

Boring is a teacher:

• who is not funny and does not have a sense of humor.
• who only does things from the book/ reads everything from a book.
• who is strict (?!) not flexible.
• who does not show any facial expressions, stands still.
• who doesn't have a lot of knowledge.
• who doesn't tell us stories about her/his life.

So, looking at their answers, a few conclusions can be drawn. Humor is always important. So, find ways to make your learners laugh and have fun during your lessons. Lessons should be interesting, which is why it is important to connect with your learners and find out their likes and dislikes. It is important to be informed and well prepared. When you go into class, you need to know what you are talking about and be able to answer questions. Not being flexible, and shouting are no, nos.

So, as 2014 is towards its end, time to reflect and think about how you teach and how your learners would like to teach. I know I am.


See you in 2015!!

Delta

DIY*- Delta module 1
Continual professional development is very important for me as a teacher. That is why, after 15 years of teaching experience, a BA in English, a M.Ed in Tesol, I decided it was time to do the Delta and I did. But my way. As the Delta is quite pricey and after some of my friends suggested it, I thought, "why not try studying on my own for module 1?"  I did. I passed. This is my story.

What is module 1 of the Cambridge Delta?
Module 1 is Understanding Language, Methodology and Resources for Teaching. It is a written exam and there are two papers ( for more information go here and here).

Person specifications
Well, I had been teaching for fifteen years and I already had an MA. So, I did feel a bit comfy in my 'teacher' skin.

                                                   DIY-module 1

How did I prepare? 
Well,

1. I found a center that would be willing to take me on as an external candidate. In my case it was Celt Athens
2. I googled Delta module one suggested reading list and I found loads of websites with suggestions on what to read in order to pass module one.
3. I looked at my bookshelf and found books I already had from my BA or MA and made a Delta module 1 shelf.
4. I searched online to see if any of the suggested reading material were available and saved them in a folder on my desktop. The My Books folder (Scribd and Google books do have some of the books from the reading list).
5. I found all the examiner reports and past papers available. This took some time but Google was my best bud those days. I saved everything in a different folder. The exams folder.
6. I found blogs with tips on how to pass module one and put them on my favourites list.

and then I started studying........

The books I read from cover to cover:

About Language by S. Thornburry

How to teach English by J. Harmer

The Practice of English Language teaching by J. Harmer

Teaching English Pronunciation by J. Kenworthy

Testing for the language Teacher by A. Hughes
Second Language Acquisition by R. Ellis

and I made notes. Loads of notes. this is actually how I learn. I underline or highlight stuff and then I make notes in my notebooks. I like using different colours, and  I try to make things look pretty. Do not ask me why. It just makes studying and note taking much more fun for me. 

Exam papers

As I said earlier, I found all the exam papers available online and I printed them. I know this is not very eco-friendly, but I like to be able to circle and underline rubrics so that's why I printed everything. I then started doing the tests by myself and tried to mark myself based on the examiners reports. I looked very carefully at the examiners reports and made notes of the suggestions the examiners made. If I was unhappy with my performance, I would do the test again. Most improtantly, I timed myself!

When I found theories I had never neard of before or knew nothing about in the past papers, then I would do a new Google search and try to find information to add to my notes.

My weakness

Phonetics. I did not like phonetic transcriptions. I found it very difficult and I struggled a lot with this during my module one exam prep. I would phonetically transcribe words and then go to the Canbridge online dictionary to check the phonetic transcription. Connected speech was harder which is why I went back to my uni modules and found everything I had done on connected speech and tried to figure out how to write a whole script. This was the most challenging Delta topic for me!

                              /ˈwiːk.nəs/

Study hours

I work full time, so mornings and afternoons. I usually finish work at 9 pm. I did the same while I was preparing for module one. That meant that I squeezed in a few study hours during the week but most of the studying went on during the weekends. I started preparing in Septemebr and took exams in the first week of December.

Is this for you?

Do you need.......

✓ to study with others?

✓deadlines?

✓feedback?

✓pep talks?

                  

Then, nope, this solution is not for you. If you decide to prepare by yourself for the Delta module 1, you need to be self-disciplined and quite organised. You are on your own. No one is around to help you. May I also mention that I only got a pass. I did not get a merit or a distinction and maybe the fact that I prepared by myself did affect my grade, meaning that maybe  I would have got something higher, had I done a course. I still learnt a lot though, about myself and teaching. So, what do you think? Is it worth a shot?

*DIY: Do It Yourself

Till next time......

As of tomorrow (27/2/2015) I will no longer be posting any blog posts on Blogger. I am only going to be publishing via wordpress. All my posts have been moved to the new website. Please follow me there : D



www.myeltrambles.wordpress.com


Thanks for all the support so far

See you soon.....
                           Joanna

Holiday season fun activities

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer

Picture from:http://www.123learncurriculum.com/

Holiday season everyone, and may I just point out the obvious.... I love all the Christmas-y stuff, so here is a blog post about Rudolph!! You will find Rudolph themed activities and ideas on how to use them in class. I hope you enjoy this post and happy holidays everyone : )

Project writing activity: Get your students to do some research on Rudolph and then write a project. They can either give a poster presentation or a PowerPoint presentation. I would suggest you do this with older students. Helpful links: The story behind Rudolph: Wikipedia or from Altogether Christmas

Colouring:   Online colouring Yeap, your students can color Rudolph online. I tried this page out and used the water brush. This website also gives the option of starting over and saving. It is a really fun website so check it out.
Colouring sheets: If you prefer more traditional coloring pages, then click here for an example.
You can practice colours with your learners or even animal body parts during this colouring activity. Once they have coloured their Rudolphs, they can make cards for their loved ones or little Rudolph streamers and decorate the class.

Picture from http://www.coloring-page.net/pages/rudolf.html

Games:

Pin the nose on Rudolph: How do you play? Your students have to pin Rudolph's red nose onto his face. If you want to make it more fun, you can blindfold your students and tell them to turn round in circles for a few seconds. Once they are twirling for 6 seconds they can then pin Rudolph's red nose. 

Online game: Where is Rudolph? If you press the link, you will see a picture of a snowy house and a Christmas atmosphere. Rudolph is missing. Your learners need to guess where he is (spoiler: click close to the chimney. That is where he is hiding!!). You can use this as a guessing game and learners can practice using prepositions whilst you are the one doing the clicking on the computer screen.


Rudolph the movie: You can watch the movie Rudolph the red nosed reindeer in class and get your students to summarise it or write a review of the movie (this would be great for an exams class)!!

Screen shot from the movie

Listening:

You can find the YouTube video here but be careful, the lyrics are on the video, so use the sound only as part of the listening task. You can then use the video to check the answers. If you do not want to use YouTube,  I am sure you will be able to find the Rudolph song somewhere on a Xmas carols CD.

Gap filling task A1/A2 level students

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
you know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
But do you recall?
The most ---------- reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Has a very --------- nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him .........
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then all the reindeer's -------- him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer
You'll go down in ----------!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very ---------- nose
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glows,
And all of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him --------,
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games,

Then one ------- Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Wont you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then how the reindeer's --------- him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in -----------!

B1 + level students: Get them to guess the lyrics of the song. delete a whole chunk of it and ask them to write down the missing lyrics. Then listen to the original song and see if anyone was close to it.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
you know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
But do you recall?
The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Has a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa .....................

You'll go down in history!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glows,
And all of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games,

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa ..................

Answers (from metrolyrics.com)

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
you know Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
But do you recall?
The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Has a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then all the reindeer's loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer
You'll go down in history!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it,
You would even say it glows,
And all of the other reindeer's
Used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games,

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Wont you guide my sleigh tonight?

Then how the reindeer's loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in history!


If these ideas are not enough, you may want to visit this site for more on Rudolph themed activities (suitable for young learners).

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know in the comments section below how the activities went!

Till next time........

Thoughts

D for Delta

When I first heard about the Delta, I was in the UK teaching Pre sessional English (EAP). A lot of my colleagues had a Celta or a Delta. Me? Nada. No, actually scratch that. I had a BA in English, 15 years of teaching experience in various contexts, and an MA in Tesol. Not bad, eh? Well, that's what I thought, but then everyone would ask me, " So, have you ever been observed? What about the practical side of teaching? How do you know you can teach?" " Huh? I dunno. I just know I can teach. I have been doing it for like fifteen years... duh!"

(Note to reader:brief context. In Greece you can study at university and  get a BA in English language and Philology.This is a four year course, during which you either major in literature and minor in linguistics or vice versa.  You then take state exams, or at least that is what used to happen before the recession, and when you pass the exams, at some point, you start teaching at a state school).

After my first summer in the UK, I started thinking about the Delta. I read about it on the Cambridge website and then decided I was gonna do it.  I was going to do the Delta at my own pace though, slow and steady (emphasis on slow). Oh! By the way, if you are looking for tips on materials and what books to read, stop reading. This is my personal take on the Delta, how I did it, and how it has affected me.

My Delta Course

I did one module at a time. In the order mentioned below.

Module 1- DIY 

I started with module 1. I studied for module one by myself. I asked Marisa Constantinides from CELT Athens if she would accept me as an external candidate, she said , " Yes".  So, I was able to sit for the exams! I passed.

Module 2

I did a blended course at Celt Athens. I had online lessons on the weekends and face to face observations at CELT in Athens over the months I was doing the course. This was the best option for me cause the lessons were on the weekends, so I did not have to cut back on my teaching hours, and they were online, so I did not have to move somewhere to do the course. Of course, I had to go to Athens for the observations, but that was a chance to go to the capital as well, so win -win. I passed.

Module 3

Module 3 came after a big break (I think about ten months). I did a distance course at Bell. My specialisation is on EAP and the results are pending (fingers crossed people!).

So, that's my story. Now, let's move on to the story, behind the story. How the Delta changed me.

Little things

The girlie stuff:

• I was fifteen kilos lighter when I started the Delta. Thing is, when you are thinking about starting the Delta, you ask about the workload and the modules, where people did the course and so on. No one really tells you the 'other' stuff. My daily habits changed. I stopped reading fashion magazines and started reading methodology books. Instead of riding my bike, I would think to myself, "I can't ride my bike now. I have to study" and I ate a lot of food for the brain- carbs and chocs. Forget about healthy smoothies and fruit. Gimme coffee and a cupcake!! So, Delta + sitting in a chair + fatty foods = 15 kilos. This of course takes a toll on your wardrobe as well : (

• Personal life? Huh? No, actually, let me put things into perspective. If you take time off and do just the Delta, I think you are fine. If you work full time, then something has to go. The thing that goes is mingling time. I have spent many Saturday nights working on my Delta instead of drinking a mojito or a pink.... cider!

Other side effects

• I was whining a lot. I was also talking about the Delta 24/7 and when I wasn't, I was thinking about it.

The bigger picture

So now you may ask me, " Why do the course?"

• You learn a lot about your teaching style and yourself. Planning sessions on your own, teaching them, being observed and then getting feedback, makes you look at your teaching very closely. You put more thought into your lesson plans, you try to find links between your tasks, everything has to happen for a reason! " Why am I doing this? How will this help my learners? Will this work? What about that?" Also,the fact that other people watch you teaching and give you ideas on how you can improve or give you thumbs up on things you are doing well is SO important.
• You try out new things. I, for example,  had heard and read a lot about TBL, but had never made a lesson based on it, I did during the Delta though.  I had been teaching the conditionals for ages, but only when I wrote an assignment about the 2nd conditional, did I realise that there was so much more about this grammar form!
• It is practical, what you learn, you can use.
• You reflect and then reflect some more.
• So the workload is heavy, but the reading you do is so interesting, especially if you are a 'nerdy' teacher. You will really enjoy reading the books!! 

• You meet people. I have made so many new friends cause of the Delta, friends who share the same interests as me and who were my study buddies. Now they are my buddies.
• Marisa, my Delta tutor, got me into blogging and twitter. I actually wrote my first blog post for the Celt Delta blog. Now, I love blogging (I guess you figured that, eh?) and I really enjoy taking part in twitter chats as well. Also, because of the Delta, my professional learning network has grown and I have 'met' people from around the world and am sharing ideas with them. Because my PLN grew, I heard about conferences, started presenting at them and now I will be writing my first newsletter article as well (yay!).
• The Delta opens doors and is a great teaching qualification (truth be told, it looks good on the CV). I teach EAP in the UK, and the Delta is one of the qualifications the unis ask for. You can also use the Delta to teach all around the world!
• Your writing skill improves greatly and because of word count, you learn to tame the wordy teacher inside you! I really struggled with word count, but now I know tricks to reduce the words used in my writing (current post excluded!).

In hindsight my biggest regret is doing the Delta while working full time at the same time (I had a morning job and an afternoon one!). My advice to people thinking of doing the course would be make sure you have time. If you want to get good grades, then this is a MUST. The Delta course is such an interesting course and it is a shame if you do not have the time to enjoy it. Should you do the course? Definitely!!! Just keep in mind, no pain, no gain or as the ancient Greeks said,  

              τα αγαθά κόποις κτώνται

If you want to share your own experiences, please do so in the comments section below.

Till next time.......

I AM NO LONGER BLOGGING HERE. IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT THE DELTA AND SEE MY OTHER POSTS, VISIT WWW.MYELTRAMBLES.WORDPRESS.COM