Teacher pep talk

I was watching the Voice the other day and noticed that whenever a young contestant was ready to perform, their family would say, " Go for it. Aim big!" Now, it is worrying to think that getting on the Voice for some is aiming big, but then again, this is the reality of the fame frenzy era we live in and this post is not one of those posts. No. Here I am going to talk about teachers and goals.

When you were young, did your loved ones tell you, " You can do it. Aim high. Shoot for the stars"? I think most of us have heard these phrases. What does it have to do with work though? If we take personal happiness and love out of the life equation, what does "shoot for the starts" mean for a teacher? What is aim big? Is it aim for the big bucks? For a higher ranking position? For fame? How high is high?

So, let's do the math

Aim for the big bucks: Now that is funny. I don't know any filthy rich teachers. I don't really think that any of us are on the Forbes list, or will be any time sooner. So, for a teacher, aim big is not money related.

Aim for fame: Well, superstar stardom is probably out of the question, but being popular among your students, being loved and respected by students and colleagues should be one of your aims. Is it aiming high? That depends on your psyche. For me, both take time and are not the easiest of goals. They are very important though. 

Aim for a higher teaching /ranking position: If you are a new teacher and you want to try something new in class, try it! If you want to become a headmaster, go for it. If you want to go from a freelance teacher to a university teacher, do it. You want to write a book about teaching? Pursue your dream! Of course it will be hard, but no pain, no gain and anyway, us teachers are tough cookies. So, these can and should be considered aiming high!

Going for it means you set a goal and try to achieve it. How do you do this?You educate yourself, you get qualifications, you listen to your superiors, your students, your colleagues. You are patient. You try to better yourself as a person and as a professional. You prepare yourself for failure, and if you fail, you pick yourself up and give it another shot.

A more personal note

I, for example, started by being a freelance teacher. I worked in both the public and private sector. I ran a business, lost a business. I initially applied for summer schools in the UK, but then thought, "Hey! I will try EAP". I did, and I got a job in the UK. I love it, I go every summer now. I started teaching online and I will now be developing materials for my company (material development is a new goal). I love blogging and have been asked to write guest posts (two very exciting ones are just around the corner), I want to start writing more and who knows where that will lead. FYI: I applied for two jobs that I probably won't get, but you know what? Big woop if I don't. At least I am setting goals and trying to make something happen : ).

So, from an 'old' teacher, this is my advice. Set goals and try to achieve them. Little ones, big ones. Whatever makes you happy, cause bottom line is that for a teacher as well, the sky is the limit! Don't settle for second best!

Picture from: www.newforestobservatory.com link here

I would really like to hear from you. What is the 'sky' for you? Have you reached it? What are you doing to make it happen? Comments are welcome in the comments section below.

Till next time......

Blogging confessions

My blogging style

I have read a few blog posts from other bloggers about how they blog, their blogging habits/history and really enjoyed how other people go about blogging (Zhenya started the blogging habit posts, Hana,  Micaela , Sandy and Vedrana have written relevant/similar posts too). After reading, I thought to myself, "Hey! I am going to write a post about this as well". Let me begin by saying that I find it weird when someone calls me a blogger and this actually defines my blogging style. I am a blogger, maybe even an educational blogger, but I don't feel like a blogger (then again, what does that feel like?). Do I make sense? (Nah) So, anyway, let's get down to business! What are my blogging habits? How do I blog?

Blogging habit #1

So, I guess from what you can already see from the first lines of this post, I blog the way I talk. For me, blogging is like chatting with my friends over coffee and cakes. So, if you expect me to be more 'proper' cause I am a professional, a teacher, forget it! Actually, my blog posts are more like spontaneous speech moments (is that even a word/phrase?) and less like a written text. I have a blurt-y blog.

Coffee in Paris

Blogging habit #2

Checking: I spell-check and read my texts once, maybe twice. So, one of my weaknesses is that you may come across a little mistake, a typo or some odd dangling modifier in my blog posts (Luckily, when people spot a mistake, they let me know so I edit. You know who you are : ). Why do I do this? I do not know! I am a teacher for God's sake! I should be checking my writing already!! Maybe when you always correct other people's mistakes, you stop noticing yours, or your brain just gives up on you and doesn't respond to your mistakes or yada, yada, yada. I think it is mostly cause I don't consider blogging as part of my job. I don't think it is teaching. It is something fun for me and my ideas bubble up, so when I want them to come out, that's what they do. They pop out!! I blurt em out!!  I also do not really realise/comprehend how many or if anyone reads what I write, so I am like, "Eh, it's me writing to myself. You just need to check once, twice and then publish".

Blogging habit #3

I stay up late at night or do not take a siesta cause I want to write a blog post. You want something even worse? I wake up at night and take notes of the things I want to share. I actually have a pencil and a note pad on my bedside table (seriously... should I start worrying about habits #2 & #3?).

Notebooks

Blogging habit #4

To write or not to write?: I have unfinished posts. I have a lot of ideas about things I want to write about. I start writing one post and then start writing another one. The one that inspires me the most is the lucky duck post. The one that gets finished first.  The other one just sits around waiting for TLC. I often write the outline of a blog post on the post's page. That way I have the backbone ready when I come back to the post later. The posts that take longer to write are the ones that have the unfinished 'statuses'. I have a post on conditionals pending at the moment. Why does this happen? Well, some of my posts require more brainstorming, longer texts, more pictures or finding more links to connect to my texts, so because they need more work, they take more time to finish. Writing a post about an ELT thought takes much less time. I sit down, start writing and am done quite quickly (see habit #2 for more info).

Blogging habit #5

I write about the things I am interested in. My blogging is like a me, me ,me fest. I write about the things I enjoy, and hopefully someone else, in a land far, far away will like it as well.

Blogging habit #6

My writing style is simple. I don't really use fancy words. I have noticed though that when I write posts about EAP, I tend to be a bit more formal. I think that is me, being a bit more 'academic'. I sometimes cross reference, I cite, I plan more, I draft and redraft. So, while in the rest of my posts I am chatty, wordy and the worst type of blogger eva, in my EAP posts, I am sometimes even a bit proud of my writing (nope, I am not getting big headed, I promise). On a more personal note here: I do feel that my writing has improved a bit since I first started blogging, so that is rewarding.

Blogging habit #7

I like chain or blog challenges. I sometimes take part in them. They are like taking a road trip with others.

Car in rural Crete

Blogging habit #8

Playful blog posts: I use emoticons or smiley faces (sometimes sad faces : (  as well). I use direct speech. I like using bullet points but I rarely use numbers in my lists. I like using color as well. I think it adds character to my blog posts and emphasizes some of the points I want to make. In terms of theme, almost all my posts are related to education BUT I have a tab on my blog which is called the gillie side of ELT, and there I write about fun, girlie ELT topics (yeah, I know.... ).

Blogging habit #9

I try to write regularly, at least one post a week. Sometimes I stick to my plan, others I don't!

Blogging habit #10

Once I have written a blog post, I start sharing. I share on Facebook, Twitter and sometimes LinkedIn. 

Blogging habit that tops all the other blogging habits

I ramble, but I guess you already know that cause of the name of my blog : ) (see top of this page).

Notes to my future blogger self (or action plan if you prefer!):

• I need to proof read and edit myself more, and then even more.
• I need to get out of my comfort zone and maybe even write about something I don't really know that well. Something like a research writing blog post.
• I want to take part in more chains/challenges. I like reading people's stories and taking part in them.
• I want to improve my writing skill. I need to look into courses on writing (maybe even creative writing).
• I need to stop using the word so so much.
• I want to start using Eltpics and learn how to make infographics.

A final note

A friend of mine once told me "Joanna, you really like laughing at your own jokes" I think that applies to my blog posts as well. I smile when I write cause I think I am funny and I draw joy from my posts. I think that and the fact that I love teaching is what keeps me going. Blogging gives me the chance to talk about a great love; teaching. When you write about what you love, you write good (stuff).

Almost done....
I am really thankful to all the people who read, comment and share my posts.  I feel really happy when I get asked to write guest posts or articles for blogs/ newsletters. It feels like I am doing something right in Blogsville.

Chania, Crete

Feel free to comment in the comments section (I love reading comments btw so go ahead and write  in the comments space, that's your space). If you have written a blogging habits post, add the link in the comments section and I will then add it to this post. Thanks for reading : ).

Till next time......

#dailyELTroutine

My daily ELT routine

So, what's your life like as a teacher? What do you do when school is in, and you are the busy bee teacher? If you ask a teacher about their daily routine, you will probably get what you are about to read in this post. So, here is my #dailyELTroutine (note to the blogger/teacher/reader:

it would be so cool if this turned out to be a chain if other teachers shared their daily routines. Teachers from around the world.Let me know if you do).Ah, yes, a bit of context: I live in Greece and have been teaching for 17 years.

So, this is my day. Let's call it Monday

8:17. This is when the dreadful alarm clock goes off. First thing I do is turn on the light. Second... check my phone. I look at my emails, my facebook notifications and check to see if I had any missed calls or text messages (my phone is on silent mode when I am sleeping).There is actually a term for this. It's called FOMO (fear of missing out). My day starts with a severe FOMO attack.

Between 8:20-8:45. I have breakfast, get dressed and slap on whatever creams I have laying around somewhere.

8:45-9. As I teach Business English online, I need to:

1. Send my learners an email with a link to the platform we are using.
2. Log into Adobe and upload all the material I will be using.
3. Check my learners' management system and download any teaching material, lesson notes necessary.
4. Call my learner.

9-2:30 Teach, teach, make lesson notes and pretty much repeat what I do from 8:45-9.

* I often have gaps between lessons and as I am an online teacher, I get to do other stuff at home.  Stuff means: check twitter and read blog posts or articles I find interesting, write a blog post, ride my bike (stationary workout bike of course!) and listen to music whilst also reading MC or Elle (yeah, I am a multi task bike rider). I may also make lunch, call a friend or just watch sth on TV. Doing some marking, planning or writing up lesson notes is also a given.

4:00 to 9:00 More teaching. I teach all ages and all groups. Some of my students come to my house, others don't,so I go to theirs. I only teach one to one or little group sessions (maybe I should say pair sessions but does that even exist? Pair as in two students and me.. dunno).

9- undetermined: Correcting+planning.  This varies cause every day I have different things to correct or upload (for my online learners). I would say though that roughly this takes about an hour.

Then dinner time followed by some serious YouTube video watching. This is when I stop thinking of teaching and I watch women talk about makeup, lifestyle etc.. etc. and then....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

And that folks is #dailyELTroutine.

Pretty much teach, teach and teach. 

Yeah, and I'm loving it cause, I may have a schedule, but as you know, no lesson is like the previous one : )

Till next time....

Online Presentations, CPD and the lots

Presenting at an Online Conference: 
                                                 food for thought

The other day I presented at "The cultures of EAP" online conference and my presentation got me thinking (yay, you get to read another one of my rambles), so,  I now really want to share with you some of my thoughts about online conferences, how I experienced the conference as a member of the audience and my views as a presenter as well.

Why attend an online conference?

• For continual professional development.... obviously!
• They offer the option of recordings, so everything is saved. If you miss a session, you can watch it later. 
• They are convenient. You are at home, in your jammies and learning in the most comfortable of ways.
• Participants can be from all over the world, so you may hear a talk from someone who would not be able to present at a face to face conference (for presenters who are not key note or invited speakers, face to face conferences can be a bit expensive in terms of travel expenses).
• The platforms that host online conferences have chat boxes so you also get to interact with the other attendees. There are no ''shhhhh" moments in this case (while they are an an excellent opportunity for some serious chatting, they can be a bit distracting though).

Why present at an online conference?

Well, why not? OK, if you need a bit more persuading, here goes.

• You, the presenter, don't have to go anywhere. You are at home, so actually there are no expenses! It is also probably the most comfortable way to present (you are in your slippers, in your own chair etc, etc)!!
• Because presentations get recorded, you can reflect on what went well in your presentation and what needs to be improved. You can also keep your presentation in some sort of e-portfolio ( I add mine to my blog page). 
• You may be nervous, but not as nervous as when presenting face to face. So, if you want to start presenting your views, an online conference is less nerve wracking.
• Your audience is from all around the world!
• It is good for the CV fellow teacher.
• Like any conference presentation, you get to dig deeper into issues you are interested in, share your views and even learn something from the audience's comments. It is a win-win situation.

The PPP of an online presentation: advice to the presenter

Plan

Practice

Promote

If you do submit a proposal for a talk at an online conference, this is what I suggest. Plan your talk, make you slides and then practice what you are going to say. Time yourself because while at a face to face conference someone will probably warn you when you only have 5 minutes left, at an online one that does not really happen so it is easier to lose track of time. Finally, start promoting your talk. If you want people to attend your talk, inform them by tweeting about it (systematically), share the info on Facebook and LinkedIn groups. If you have a google+ button, press it. 

On a more personal note... my talk..... my reflections....

I talked about the impact of presentation skills assessment criteria on syllabus design. This was my first EAP related talk, so I was really enthused about it. I am not going to toot my own horn about the things I think I did well. I am going to tall you what I did do though. I had a lot of things to say and that was mistake numero uno. My planning. I timed myself at home, but lost track of time due to nervousness and stumbling over my own words. I also made a major omission.I talked about presentation skills assessment criteria, learner problems and syllabus design, and how criteria can inform syllabus design. However, I did not mention any implications to such an approach. Ironically, I always tell my learners, you gotta mention implications when you talk about your research. Yeah, practice what you preach, Joanna!!Sadly enough, a friend who attended my talk, spelt this one out for me : (. 

Notes to my future online (and offline) presenter self:

Even though you think you have planned your presentation well, you haven't, so, plan more.

If you know anyone who knows anything about what you are talking about OR has experience presenting, ask for advice regarding your presentation. You may hear something helpful.

Final thoughts

I am really thankful to everyone at Sheffield university's English Language Center and Oxford University Press for organising/hosting the "Cultures of EAP" conference and giving me the opportunity to attend and present at the conference. The conference was about the Cultures of English for Academic Purposes (for more information go here). 

If you have presented online and want to share your own thoughts, feel free to comment in the comment section below. 

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

Blog Challenge

What's Your Story?

I read about this blog challenge on Vicky Loras' blog and thought, "I want to take part in this challenge". So, here is my story.

I grew up in Sydney, Australia and at the age of 12, my parents decided that it was about time to move back to the mother land, Greece. So, we did. We moved from Sydney to Crete. At the beginning, my Greek was very very bad. So bad that my Greek teacher wanted me to repeat the class. I would not hear of that cause, well, I was a nerdy student. So, I studied a lot, had private lessons and manged to pass the class. I did always struggle with my Greek though. Anyhow, years went by, I got into university. I got a BA in English from the University of Athens and after finishing my studies I was ready to become a public school teacher. And I did. And I hated it. I was miserable. I actually resigned from a teaching job one year! So, I thought, " What will I do now?" I stopped teaching in the public sector and spent more time teaching as a freelance teacher and at different private language schools in my hometown. I also decided that it was about time to do an MA and I did. I got a M.Ed in Tesol. In my mind, at that time, I was a qualified teacher, a super duper one, and I wanted more.

In 2007, I decided to open a language school and I did with my sister. I was going to be a language school 'owner' and a DOS. Thirty years old, with an MA and a language school. I was doing something right (or was I?).

In 2011, my friend Anna suggested we apply for a summer school job in the UK. As she had experience teaching at a University she suggested we try applying for pre sessional EAP jobs. And we did. And I got an interview. My interview was successful and my first uni job was at Newcastle University. I loved it! I went back the next year and met Deirdre. We became very good friends and kept in touch. During the winter of 2013, she suggested I apply for a job as an online Business English tutor and I did. I got the job. I loved it!

I actually needed a second job because recession hit very close to home and my langauge school was not going well. During the winter of 2013, I was teaching business English online in the mornings and general English at my language school in the afternoons. EAP courses in the summer. Oh! That is when I also decided it was time to do the Delta (and I did). I also started blogging (yes, that is when this monster was born : p) and presenting at conferences. All was going as I had planned.

And then everything changed.

Septemeber 2014, my language school stopped existing. My sister and I decided that we could no longer run the business and that it was better to close. We did. I was very sad. I had spent 7 years of my life putting effort into something that did not succeed.

I still think about what else I could have done, but I am not going to dwell on the past any more. Everything happens for a reason. I do know one thing. I am not cut out to be a business woman. 

The present: I am still teaching Business English online, I have my one to one lessons and will probably be going back to Sheffield university this summer, so workwise I am alright. I blog and present at conferences. I am also writing my first article (yay). I have much more free time now as well. I am content with how things are.

Final thoughts.....

Today, what I really want to share with you in this blog post are my conclusions. Having been a teacher for 17 years, I think that it is important to learn and get qualifications. They make us better teachers and open doors. With these learning and teaching experiences, come people, and these people become our friends, they make our lives richer and help us when we need help. Finally, if there is one thing I have learnt this year, it is that you gotta take risks and if you fail, eh , who cares? You will get over it and move on. That is what I am doing.

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

The Dominant one strikes again!

               Classroom Déjà vu
I have been wondering the past few days about my online teaching style. I am actually starting to think that I am a softie online teacher, or am I just going with the flow?! For the past few weeks, I have been teaching a student who is the type of learner I fret...., the dominant one!

Blast from the past
About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about my Dominant Eap student. This is what I wrote:
We all have or have had one of them in our class. The student with all the answers, the one who happily shouts out the answer to the question sometimes before you even ask it! Now, in an EAP class, a class full of adults, who in my case are usually post grads students, dealing with the dominant student can be a tough cookie.
EFL tricks that may work in a classroom setting.
So, how do you deal with the dominant student?

• Nomination: The easiest way is to actually nominate students when asking questions. Avoid addressing the whole class with classroom questions, and just use names.
• Paperclips: The idea is you give each student some paper clips and tell them that they have to use the paper clips during an activity. Each time the student speaks, he hands in a paper clip. That way your dominating student will only speak a few times and the rest of the ss will also have to contribute to the conversation/task.If you do not like paper clips, then you can use pieces of paper, postit notes, or whatever you wish.
• Paper boards: This is quite fun! In order to know everyone is on task, give your students a sheet of paper (a paperboard). ask a question and tell them to write the answer on their paperboard. When everyone has finished, ask them all to show you their board. That way everyone answers your question. The limitation here is that you cannot use this paper board when you are practicing a long turn and it is not very practical during speaking tasks.
• Group/work/pair work: Group or pair work minimises the problem because your students are in pairs or groups so there are less chances of the dominant student to dominate the whole class.
• Role reverse: Actually, you could always ask your dominant student to be the teacher for a few minutes and ask questions instead of answer them!

A 'thorny' issue

Back to the present

All these ideas worked. My dominant student was less dominant and my classes ran smoothly.
BUT..........
What happens when you are having a one to one session with a very dynamic/dominant student and this is online? To make matters worse, what happens when the dynamic teacher is paired with a dynamic learner? Well, then ,fellow teacher, welcome to my world!
When teaching online, not everything you do in your nomral class works, so scracth everything I said in the previous section. I cannot give paper clips, I cannot give paperboards, this is a one to one session so, well, there are no groups or pairs. My student is an adult. He is always interrupting me and speaking over me! This learner does not like instructions, and enjoys to jump into things and do the tasks... his way. What can I do? I can't exaclty mute this learner (although to be totally honest, this has crossed my mind : P).
In this online classroom this is my solution
The talk: Of course, I have had a discussion about how different online learning is and how turn-taking is very important etc, etc.
Other solutions:
Problem: Learner speaking over me-----> I let the learner say his piece, and then I repeat what I said. I sometimes even write some of the things I said in the chat box, just to make sure my learner is aware of what I am talking about. I also laugh it off, because talking over each other is frustrating, so  being a bit light hearted, good willed can help.
Problem: Jumping into tasks ----> Instead of letting the learner read the instructions of the tasks (like I normally do with all my other online learners). I do the reading and then I ask the instruction checking questions.
AND some more ideas
Lesson notes When I teach online, I make lesson notes of corrections, grammar points, vocabulary and important lesson-related topics. I always make sure that everything I want to correct or give suggestions on is in these lesson notes. I highlight the points I may not have been able to highlight during the lesson.
Politeness and hedging: I am assertive, polite and use a lot of hedging with this learner. I very often say, "You may like to..., I am just suggesting....... You could also...."

Out of all the challenges I have faced whilst teaching online, I think this has been the biggest one. In the online classroom your posture, your non-verbal communication cannot be effective and  the Elt tricks do not work. You need to be even more creative and very patient. One to one sessions are also more delicate cause if you lose the student, the class is lost as well. If you have any suggestions, please DO share in the comments section below.


Till next time......

L1 vs L2

When your learner says, " That's Greek to me!" Is it OK to use... Greek?
There is a lot of talk going around about whether or not a teacher should use the learners' L1 when teaching them English. I  speak two languages well. English and Greek. I also speak a bit of German. So, when I teach learners whose language I know, I do tend to use the students' L1. Is that such a bad thing? I don't think so. For me, from time to time (not always!), it is OK to use the L1 in class. OK, but when?

• To highlight the difference between the L1 and L2:
• For example, in Greek we say, " Πάω για ψώνια  (pao gia psonia)" which if when translated, is "I go for shopping". This is of course what my Greek learners very often say.  So, I resort to Greek and explain the differences between the Greek language and use of preposition and the equivalent English structure go + verb+ ing (go shopping). I also use the L1 to explain collocations. I highlight the different verbs and how the collocate with nouns. In fact, when teaching Grammar and vocabulary I often use the L1 to clarify terms, to show differences and avoid L1 transfer errors. I know learners are not supposed to translate from the L1 to the L2 and that I, the teacher, am supposed to instill in them the English way of thinking/saying but reality is not that simple.
• To focus on/teach an English word:
• When I am teaching young learners, I often sing to them and very frequently I sing a well known Greek song but add English words! The English words are translations of the Greek lyrics. My learners always remember the English words that accompany a Greek  tune!
• I use the L1 out of my own insecurity just to check (clarification/ comprehension or concept checking) that we are on the same page:
• What can I say here? I know this is wrong, but I still do it. I ask my concept checking questions, I do an example in class but there is always a part of me, a little devil that pushes me to say something in Greek. Just a little check to make sure that everyone is on board! I want to be 100% sure, especially with my younger learners.

  

  Being on the fence about L1/L2 usage

• I use it when I am giving feedback on writing (especially with weaker students):
• Sometimes some of the things my learners write in their essays do not make sense and then I ask them in Greek, " Do you mean ..........?" They tell me what they want to say. they give me their English version and then I guide them towards the correct version of what they wanted to say.
• To avoid frustration:
• there are times when my students are just simply tired of trying over and over to say something in English, so they just blurt out the Greek word. I then offer the English equivalent and they just repeat what I said. I try to discourage this, but at times, I do let my students get away with it. In Greece very often students come to class after a full day of school. Therefore, my learners are often extremely tired and frustrated and when it is 10 o'clock at night, they may resort to their L1.
• I use my (bad) German with my German students to show my students that I too have difficulty learning a foreign language:
• I often use German with my German learners because I want them to understand that I know where they are coming from. I understand. I know that learning another language is hard. When using my lower level German I show them that it is OK to make mistakes and that they should be willing to take risks. Another bonus? My students feel like teachers cause there is a reverse in roles. They teach me some language as well. They become my teacher and they love it : D

Learning a language is not something black and white. I am here to help my students learn and sometimes using the L1 simply does that. It helps them. Should the L1 dominate the class? Of course not, but it can facilitate learning, don't you think?

Till next time.......

Teaching ...

Teaching is like ........ acting

have you ever thought of how many professions overlap? When teaching, do you ever feel like you are an actor/actress? Of course my title is not a sweep statement nor do I believe that teaching is exactly or simply like acting, but in this blog post you will find a few reasons why I believe being a teacher is like being an actor/actress minus the Oscar nomination. So, here goes....

• No matter what is going on in your personal life, you got to put on a smile:
• You can't dwell on any hardships you are facing on a personal level, you have to teach, and teach well cause otherwise your students will not learn, enjoy themselves, be happy with your teaching.
• Your classroom is your stage:
• When you need to be the center of attention, you need to grab your learners' attention. Your classroom is your stage. If your teaching, like acting, is boring, you have lost your audience; your learners (I am not saying that teachers should be the ones talking all the time and learners should just listen. Just saying that when teachers talk, they got to be interesting).
• You need to sing and maybe even dance:
• Isn't singing and dancing part of your teaching especially when teaching young learners? Don't you teach your students songs that will help them learn the alphabet, the vowel sounds, the colors? Aren't you the one who shows them the moves to heads, shoulders knees and toes? That is some serious dancing and singing (you tap into the Fred Astaire you never knew you had in you, fellow teacher).
• You use props:
• You use everyday items and they are part of your setting (also see the stage bullet). These items help you get your message accross, make your lesson more lively. They are like special effects in movies. The only difference is that they make a 'special impact' on the learning process.
• You add drama, laughter, surprise to your sessions:
• In order to make your lesson more exciting you may resort to making jokes, being dramatic or adding a surprise element to your sessions. Aren't all good actors/ actresses versatile? As teachers, we are not one trick ponies. We add a variety of elements to keep our learners engaged.
• You cannot 'perform' well if you do not plan:
• You need to know what you are going to teach before you go into class. You may even rehearse some of the things you will do to make sure everything goes according to plan. If you are a new teacher or teaching something new, you may even resort to learning things by heart!
• You role play or... help them rehearse for plays:
• In order for your learners to learn very often you get them to do role playing activities. This makes the target language often easier to learn. Then there is the end of the year event which very often is a play! You, of course, are responsible for costumes, rehearsal of plays etc.
• You make your learners think, you broaden their horizons (self explanatory).
• You get letters. messages, flowers, gifts....:
•  You get lovely little cards from your students. You may even get a small gift or flowers as a way of showing that they enjoy your teaching.
• Paralinguistic features matter:
• You use your facial expressions, your body, your gestures to convey meaning, to get the message accross just like an actor or actress does.

Of course, you will not get an Oscar nor will you make big bucks, but then again who cares? You affect people's lives and you equip your students with something exceptional: you help them communicate their thoughts!

Picture taken from here

Till next time....

EAP writing

          Going from being a teacher, to being a learner

Isn't interesting how, sometimes you teach something, and then when you actually do what you are teaching, you see how hard it is? Well, that is what happened to me. I went from a teacher to a learner. I tried to go from what I teach, to actual practice, and this, my friend, was a tough cookie. But what am I talking about? OK, let's take things from the beginning.

Academic Writing. I teach it. I teach how to do research, how to use the research, paraphrase, summarise, make your voice stand out.I talk about having arguments and supporting them, but today while I was working on my Delta module 3 assignment*, I realised that this is really hard! So, let's see some typical learner problems, what I tell my learners and what I actually think.

Academic Writing: Learner (and my) problems

• Finding/ Choosing the right sources

I often tell my learners that they will/ should find a lot of sources to support what they want to say and that it is important to make their views stronger and valid by supporting them with research. I then go on to say, "When you do not have enough sources. Go to the library. Search more. Search, search, search. Be critical. Read what your sources say carefully. Make notes. If there is not enough research, synthesise information from various sources". 

What I really think: 

1. There is so much research out there and understanding what and how to use something is extremely hard. Searching online or in a library is time consuming. Not being able to access freely what you want is frustrating. This may lead your critical thinking down the drain and you may end up using what you found even though you now it is not always the best. It is like using a source just to use a source.
2.  There may not be enough research on what you want to argue because researchers focus on other things or because what you are writing about is fairly new or so on. In this case, you cannot support your views with a source, making your argument weaker than you want.

True story: Today, I wanted to write about some of the challenges NNS EAP students have when giving oral presentations and could not find sources mentioning anything about body language or intonation patterns. In fact, I could not support half of the things, I know as a teacher, are challenging for international students who have to give a presentation.

I often tell my learners that if there is not research out there that must mean something. But what does it mean in my case? Are these not implications or is it that someone has not written about them?

• Your first draft should not be your first draft

Or should I say, "always redraft before you give me your first draft." Often when I teach EAP, I ask to see a student's first draft. I always tell my students, "Please make sure that you have read, re-read everything before you give me your first draft. The better your first draft is, the better feedback I will give you".

What I really think: Spot on! My first draft was rubbish. I redrafted so many times before handing in my so called first draft. 

• Plan

I always tell my students, ''it is important to plan, make notes of what you will include in each section. This helps the flow of your ideas. It makes your writing more coherent and concise". Yes, it is time consuming and requires a lot of thought and coining of ideas BUT the end product is much better than just sitting on your chair and writing.

What I really think: Planning does require time and when you have been reading, reading, reading, the time constraints are really tight, it is much easier to start writing cause in your mind, you think you have your essay all mapped out. Unfortunately, the time you saved planning, is spent on redrafting, so I am adamant about the planning stage. It should be as meticulous as possible actually.

• Word count

I tell my learners, ''there is always a word count and you need to stick to it. It is important to be able to say what you want to say with fewer words and that is why you need to write and rewrite. Paraphrase and summarise.''

What I really think: Being able to summarise, paraphrase and be in the word limit requires a lot of training. It is not easy. Word count is something I always struggle with, I like to ramble and I am a chatter box (my blog is called myeltrambles for a reason). If I struggle, what do I think my students do? I need to see how I stick to the word count, and try to transfer the strategies I employ to my learners.

• Citing/Referencing correctly from the beginning

As the reference system I teach is the Harvard referencing system, one of the first things I show my learners is how to cite and compile a reference list. I do this during the first lessons. I do not just teach them how to paraphrase but I also focus on citations. I tell my learners, "if you leave the referencing and citations for the end, then it will be very time consuming (and boring). To make matters worse, you may even plagiarise and forget to cite a source (the word plagiarism always alerts them).Knowing when to use italics or '  should be something you do correctly from your first draft."

What I really think: Get it over and done with. As a writer of an academic text, you need to find out what the referencing system is and use it from the first line. Also start making the reference list when you first use the source in your paper. it saves you the turmoil of compiling a reference list at the end ( I do not like that. It takes so much time!).

• Tutorials/ Ask questions about your writing

First drafts are often followed up by tutorials. Students get a chance to ask questions about their first draft based on the worries / questions they have or their tutor's comments. I always tell my students to write these questions down, have a plan and ask, ask, ask. Some do. Others don't.

What I really think: Asking questions is necessary. Yes, I think I do know what I am writing about but I still need help. There are things I am already on the fence about, which is why I already have 5 questions about some of the things I wrote in my Delta assignment. I have already asked them. I actually sent a first draft with some questions.

Quoting my friend Vedrana, " being in your learners' shoes is a great way to see if you are focusing on the right things as a teacher!"

Word count: unknown : )

*Today is world Teachers' day and this is the day I wrote about what it feels like to do what you teach.Going from a teacher to a learner. If you ask me, a good teacher needs to know what it feels like to be a learner.......

Till next time.....

One to one lessons

My one to one lesson procedure
I have been teaching one to one sessions for a very long time now and I thought it would be a good idea to share with you the steps of my one to one lessons.
Step 1
Greet the learner and start the chit chat.
I like asking my learner questions about his/her daily life, what he/she did yesterday, what he/she ate and so on. I like asking content questions. I have been a witness to lessons where the learner says " Oh, I lost my bag yesterday" and the tutor's response is " Oh! OK..... so let's talk about the 2nd conditional..." That's a no no for me. Don't just ask him/her how his/her day was for the sake of asking. When you ask a question, ask it... I mean ask, ask. Follow up with another question. I always have mini conversations.

Picture credits: Iconarchive

Icing on the cake: These mini conversations are a great way to check their grammar needs, what kind of vocabulary they are lacking, what they are interested in and they get to speak. They also get a chance to ask me a question or two, so my learners get to know me better. It is a win-win.
Want more? This summer I asked my EAP students what they think makes a teacher interesting (post here) and they told me that the teacher must tell them stories. They like hearing about their teacher's life.




Step 2
The aims of the lesson
I tell my learner what we will be doing today (lesson aims). I talk about the grammar/vocabulary we will be using in today's session. I also tell them what they will be able to do by the end of the lesson (outcome).
Step 3
The lesson
Step 4
I make lesson notes during the lesson. I write down the mistakes my learner made and talk about them. Don't get me wrong, of course, I give immediate feedback but I like taking notes of some of the lexis or grammar my student struggled with. I then give my student the paper and we go over everyhing together. So immediate feedback + a feedback sheet with little mistakes/comments.
Step 5
I get feedback. I ask my student what he/she liked about the lesson and what he/she didn't like. I ask for any suggestions or if my student wants to go over something in the next lesson. Getting feedback from the learner is really important especially when you are having one to one lessons cause:
1. You have to keep the learner happy with the quality of your teaching.
2. Your learner chose you as a teacher but if he/she is not happy then adios... the learner will go elsewhere.
3. This is how you, the teacher improves. So, ok, you may think you are a super duper teacher (and maybe you are) but it is essential that you hear it from your learner as well. Teaching is about being flexible. If your learner is not responding well to the way you are teaching something, his/ her feedback will help you develop.
Step 6 
I end my lesson with a bit of information about the next lesson, just to whet my student's appetite for learning (or at least that is my intention). Then it is time to say bye bye and then go home.

 Feel free to comment in the comments section. Thanks for reading : )

Till next time......

Good times, bad times.....

Here for the good and the BAD times
This blog post seems more like a diary entry cause it has to do with how I feel at the moment. I should be studying for my EAP specialism but I can't. What's wrong? Well, fellow teacher, it is great when you share a moment of success with your students, isn't it? Your beginner students learn how to read their first sentence on their own, the weak student does well in a test and smiles, your students pass their language proficiency exams and they cannot stop grinning, but what happens when your learner feels he/she has failed? Very often learners feel that passing a test equals success and not passing a language test means failure.

I do not know about you guys but I find it extremely difficult to:
1. Deliver bad test results to students.
2. Offer soothing words or advice that will alleviate/ minimise any bad feelings my learners have. Don't get me wrong, I do tell them that it is not the end of the world and other nice words but.......

Two students with the same look on their face
Students study. That is what they do for a living, so when the end product is not what they expect, they often feel a sense of failure.
Last week one of my Chinese students on an EAP course I was teaching, did not meet the language requirements set by her department. She was crying. She came to improve her English and try to get into a UK university, but, although she tried, she didn't get in. She looked at me and asked me,
" Why? What am I going to do now?"
I said to her, "Your English has improved. Don't you feel that?"
" Yes, but it wasn't enough. I tried and it wasn't enough" she said.
" You will try again! You have improved....."
"Yes, but what if I fail again?"
Yes, what if she fails to meet the requirements again? I, the teacher, cannot guarantee that she will acquire, learn and use everything I teach her and do well in her test. Then there are things that are totally out of my control. She may just even have a bad day on the day of the test. What can I say to my student that will make her feel better? What words can I say?
This week one of my teenage students found out she did not pass her B2 exam for the 2nd time. She was so sad. I tried to make her feel better by telling her that she did much better than last time. I told her that she was really close to passing this time. I told her about all the things she accomplished this year and how much both her speaking and writing had improved but it wasn't enough. She stayed silent. When I said, " You should sit for the exam again" she said,  "What if I fail again? I can't fail again".
What can I say to this student? What will make her feel better?
I can only hope that both my students see how well they have been doing and find the strength to try again. Tests are hard. Some people do not pass them, so it is necessary to try again.
 I do not really think that anything I say will make these students feel better. The only thing I can actually do is be there when they need me. Pick 'em up, guide them and help them with what they think is success. Passing the test.

Final thoughts
In some cultures/educational backgrounds/situations language acquistion is associated with passing a test. Unfortunately.

Till next time.......

Principles

 Principles underlying my teaching

I am currently applying for a Delta module 3 course, and one of the requirements is to write about principles underlying your teaching. There is a 750 word limit and you have to mention examples from your own teaching experience. So, I started thinking about that and it is not very easy to write a short summary of the things you think make for good teaching. So, here is what I consider the most important principles (and part of the essay :).

A teacher should always be willing to learn:

I have a BA in English, a M.Ed in Tesol and have passed modules one and two of the Delta. I have attended webinars, I like attending conferences and have presented at a few. I do this because I like to learn. I believe that teaching evolves, there is always a new idea or technique out there, and a teacher should always be willing to learn and try out the new things she has learnt.  I am a firm believer of CPD, because when I do the same things over and over again, I get bored. I also think that learning helps me approach my teaching differently and when I notice that something is not working I can read up on it and try something else.  So, learning something new may give me a new idea; make my lesson more interesting and enjoyable for my learners and me.

A teacher should have a good rapport with her learners:

I think that students learn better when they have a good relationship with their teacher. What I mean by good relationship is that they feel free to ask questions, they are not afraid of making mistakes and taking initiatives. They come to class happily. I recently asked my EAP students what they think makes a teacher boring, and they said they like their teacher to be funny, friendly and tell stories about her/his life. I totally agree with this. I do like telling my students stories about what I did on the weekend, for example, and I like to make them laugh when I can. I want my learners to feel free to take risks with the new language and not be afraid they will embarrass themselves.

A teacher should know her learners’ needs and adapt her teaching:

I really think that there is not just one way to teach something, and that a teacher should be willing to adapt and be versatile. I approach teaching vocabulary or grammar to children differently than when teaching adults. With children I often try to make it fun, with adults I try to connect it with their needs and explain how and when they will need to use something. I also think that when a lesson not working, I need to change it. . When I see that my students have not understood something, I try to find different ways to help them. If one task is not working or an explanation is not good enough, I need to find another way. I often have to stray off my lesson plan with my BE students who do not feel like having a grammar lesson after a very long meeting. They sometimes just want to have a conversational lesson. So, I do that. I change my lesson to suit their needs. My learners’ needs always go first.

Pair work-group work:

I think learners learn better when they do things in groups or pairs. I like mixing up groups and pairs as well. I do this so that all my students have the chance to learn and work with another student. I also think this is a good way for shyer students to make friends and for strong students to help weaker ones. Jigsaw reading tasks and lots of pair speaking tasks, for example, are often parts of my lesson plans whilst when I teach EAP, I often set up study groups or group presentations.

                                    

The most important principle is this one though: a teacher needs to love teaching. I love it. I have been doing it for as long as I can remember. If you do not love teaching, you can’t teach.

So, what do you think? What principles underlie your teaching? What makes for a good teacher in your view? Feel free to comment in the comments section : )

Till next time........

Choosing your teacher

Getting rid of the boring teacher
Catchy title don't you think? Well, this was the title of a reading text I was using with my students today, so I thought it would be a good idea to talk a bit about this title, activate my learners' schematic knowledge. So I did, and my, oh my, was I surprised!
Let me begin by giving you a bit of context though.
Context
At the moment, I am teaching English for academic purposes in the UK. The majority of my learners are post graduate students who will be moving on to a master's degree. Their English is not at the necessary level so they are attending this EAP course. Most of these students are Chinese and this is for most of them, their first time in the UK. Today, my focus was on reading and the aim was to get the learners to make predictions about a text by reading the title. So I did.
Getting rid of the boring teacher-the title.
I asked my students, ''Look at this title. What do you think this text will be about?''
They replied, ''this text is about firing boring teachers''.
So I then asked, ''What makes a teacher boring?'' and this is what I got. Some of the answers I expected, others, not so much.
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 (: O Didn't see that one coming!).

So this is what, for my learners, makes a teacher boring.  we discussed them in a bit more detail and then ..... Then I decided to become the devil's advocate and said, ''Yes, but what you may think is boring, I may find interesting''.  That is when they said something which I really, did NOT expect.

''That is why we should have different teachers teaching the same subject. We should be allowed to choose the teacher we want''. '' Huh? Say what?''In fact, one of my students told me that at her college in China, the students could choose the teacher they wanted and that there were teachers with 60 students and others with 3!A learner can do this if it is a one to one lesson but at school? At uni?
Choosing your teacher?

So, when we think of learning styles, do we also consider teacher styles? Isn't a learner's learning style affected by his/her personality? Does it actually all come down to rapport? Learning something, for me, has to do with giving and taking. The teacher gives, the learner takes. The learner gives, the teacher takes. So, why not match different teachers with different learners based on what type of teacher the student wants?
I am a happy, chatty teacher, who moves around and makes jokes occasionally, but is that suitable for all my learners? Maybe not. I also run a business in my home town. I have never, till now, thought of giving the students the option of taking a class but choosing the teacher. I know of students choosing subjects cause of teachers or their friends, but choosing among teachers, teaching the same subject? I like the idea! I think it is very learner centered actually. I do not know if it is practical or realistic but it would be a good idea, don't you think?

Final thoughts
I am really interested in your views fellow teachers so feel free to comment. Does this happen somewhere you know? Do tell : )

Till next time........

The Newbie Online Presenter

                        Presenting at my 1st Online Conference

Picture: my own : )

Like most teachers, I too have attended many conferences. After having attended many of them, and since I have many years of teaching experience, I thought to myself, "Maybe I should present at a conference". I did. Face to face conferences (not sure that that is a word but I am talking about the conferences where you have to be physically present) are great for teachers/presenters  because basically:

• You read up on what you will be presenting so you become even more informed.
• You meet and share your views with people who are interested in the same things as you.
• It is great for your CV.

So, I loved my 'presentation' experience and decided to try something new. An online conference. I am already an online teacher so why not become an online presenter? I sent a proposal, it got accepted and I will be presenting at my first web conference (Belta and TESL Online Conference on Reading and Writing on the 8th and 9th of August). So today, I made myself a big cup of coffee, I found all my notes and the articles/ books I was reading in order to prepare for the conference and started working on my PowerPoint presentation. Whilst sipping my coffee though, I started thinking about the differences of a 'face to face conference' and an online one. So, here is what I think as a newbie online teacher/presenter. Let's start with some similarities between presenting at a conference and presenting at a web conference.

                         Similarities

• Reading, reading and some more reading.

My talk is about academic writing and helping students avoid plagiarism, so like all my other conference presentations, I have read  a lot about my topic. I want to be well informed and be able to give the audience a sense of 50 minutes well spent. As this is a topic that has to do plagiarism, I am also extra careful of how I will reference, cite everything and I am very cautious of not plagiarising!! Now wouldn't that be a big flop? A presenter talking about how to avoid plagiarism, plagiarising : S

• Rehearsing

Like all the other times, I have rehearsed what I will be saying. I am timing myself and checking to see if I have enough slides for a 50 minute presentation. I think time management is quite difficult so I need to practise as much as I can.

• Spreading the news

I have also informed my teacher friends about this conference. I have shared posts about the conference on my Facebook page and Twitter.

                          Differences

• Spreading the news

Yeap, the similarity is also a difference. I think that because this is an online conference, I need to make my social media presence even stronger, so I guess I have to start bombarding people with posts (hmmm ?!?!?!?!) about the when, where and how of this web conference.

• Technology

At my previous conferences I worried about the technology. I wanted everything to work (lap top, sound, WiFi) because my presentation heavily depended on technology. Now I worry even more! This presentation will solely be delivered online, via the Internet. This means that if the technology in the accommodation I am currently staying at is acting up and being temperamental, my presentation will go down the drain*!! I just hope the WiFi Gods will help me next Saturday. I do have my roommates to rely on if my lap top decides to break down, so no worries in the lap top department. 

* extra worry: I need to think of my time management as well because if the technology goes on and off my time will be affected as well.

• Interacting with the audience

As an online teacher, I know that interacting online is quite difficult. this makes me wonder how I will connect with the people at home. I do not like going on lecture mode. I find it boring and I will try to avoid it. How? I will ask questions and see what the other teachers have to say in the web conference room's chat box pod. icing on the cake? The web cam. I need to use it to my advantage (don't know how but still thinking.....).

• My Visuals

This is an online conference which means that my visuals need to be very effective. They are the main thing the audience will be looking at. They need to be to the point, clear, no contrasting colours, the right size and in general viewer friendly. Unfortunately, I am not an expert at PPT presentations so my slides will probably be basic! But then again simple is sometimes better than fancy schmancy.

• Recording the presentation

As this is an online conference, I think it will be easier to find software that will enable me to record the presentation. I will be able to keep it, share it if someone wants to view it and watch it a dozen times and be reflective about what I should've, could've, would've done if I gave the presentation again : ).

Final thoughts

I hope everything goes well. I am presenting on the 9th of August at 5.30 pm CET. I will be talking about academic writing and plagiarism. I will be looking at the steps the teacher needs to take in order to help students avoid plagiarising and I will also give ideas on tasks that can be used in class. For more information about the conference go here. Feel free to leave a comment in the comments section : ).

 Till next time.........