TP6 to TP7: Not an easy transition!

(image from: http://ukedchat.com/2013/12/19/session-182/)

Now that all the assignments have been submitted and there is only TP8 left, I realised that the CELTA course is structured in a way that imitates biological development. Firstly, we begin preparing TPs receiving help and guidance by experienced tutors. As we proceed from TP to TP, though, assistance decreases. Isn't that similar to growing up? As a child, one is protected by his/her parents and as s/he grows older, protection decreases.

In my TP6, I did a good job. Some things have been internalised (presentation, MFP, elicitation, ICQs, etc.) while others need more work (LA sheet, anticipated difficulties, etc). The thing that I did not understand, though, is that TP6 was the last stage of 'innocence'. It is as if after this TP, the trainee becomes an adult who has the choice to either put in practice all the things that s/he learned as a child, or forget them once and for all. The latter could work in real life; not in the CELTA, though. The trainee at this stage should spend time going through his/her feedback and designing a lesson that will allow him/her show progress on areas that call for improvement. 

Tip of the day: Same performance on TP6 and TP7 does not mean same results; quite the opposite. In TP7 - I guess this is true for TP8, as well - the trainee must show awareness of all the steps s/he needs to take in order to deliver a successful lesson. At this stage, one must combine the three ingredients of a 'good' teacher: knowledge, skill/technique, and attitude.

It is Wednesday of Week 4. There is only one day and one TP left. Have I ever gone through such an intensive month? No! Will I miss every second of it? Yes!

Hopefully, next post will be full of good news! :)

CELTA Week Two: From Rise to Fall

Second week at CELT Athens is over - and, yes, I am still alive!

Before writing about my TP3 and TP4, I would like to make clear that the purpose of this blog is neither to teach nor to preach others on how to go through the CELTA course. This is just me sharing my experiences as a CELTA trainee in case someone finds it an interesting read. For potential candidates, it is always better to read information written from someone that is going through this process than an administrator.

TP3 was a success, a great one. My aims where achieved, both the learning and the personal ones, and I managed to improve almost every weakness that I had up to that moment. Thinking back on it, a successful TP requires three important things: a devoted tutor, supportive fellow trainees, and ones own willingness to follow suggestions, recommendations, and advice. It is for that reason that I want to thank my fellow trainees whose help has been invaluable and the universe for sending in my way my wonderful tutor, Bita Rezaei; she is a good reason for anyone to travel to another country to get trained by her.

As for the third ingredient of the success recipe, there is no guide that can teach anyone how to absorb, internalise, and put in practice the things that s/he has learned. All one needs is to fully devote him/herself on the entire process, which, in turn, means that s/he must love it. 

When I started planning my TP3, I knew that it was going to be a very good one because I had fun even at the planning stage. I completed the plan, did some studying, and a couple of hours later I revised it. Same thing with the material, same thing with the activities, etc. It is very important for anyone to be able to detach oneself from the thing s/he works on and then go back and review it, afresh. It is after close attention to the detail that sets the ground for a successful TP.

And right after this great experience, TP4 was a complete failure. I will not commend on that because every minute of this lesson was an example to avoid. The reason? No reason. I know the procedure, I know the steps, I know how to plan, and I definitely know how to stand before students. I just had a bad day, which... happens I think to us all. The only word of advice, though: It is ok to fail every once in a while, it is ok to have a bad day, and it is ok to show weakness. After all, we are teachers: what we teach is that making mistakes is the best way towards knowledge, improvement, and development. 

Less is more was a success! What about less talking and more adapting, though?

(taken from: http://languageteachingtips.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/whats-your-attitude-towards-teaching-practices-a-k-a-tps/)

Preparation for TP2 started the minute that TP1 was over. I think that this was very helpful because I could apply most of the things that my Tutor, fellow-trainees, and myself had pointed out.

The things I focused on were:

• Less things to teach,
• Activities that serve the aims of the lesson, and
• Constant repetition of new language learnt.

Planning Stage

When preparing the lesson plan, I did the following:

1. Took a note of the basic components of my lesson.

2. Added activities under each component and checked their appropriateness.

3. Checked appropriateness by asking: If someone does this activity, will s/he achieve a part of the lesson's aim? When my answer turned to a 'yes' one for every activity included in the plan, I started imagining the entire lesson in my mind so that I could be as accurate as possible.

While preparing for my first Teaching Practice, I thought that planning would be a pain in the ...neck (!) but having received feedback, planning my second TP was rather enjoyable. Why was that? because I was very clear as to what I wanted the students (and me) to achieve.

Teaching Stage

And... Yes! Good planning leads to teaching the lesson without being stressed. However, it is this confidence that might lead the teacher to talk more than needed. Personally, I wanted to make sure that I was paying attention to the students' needs all time, which made me echo their comments a lot and ask many unnecessary questions. 

Final 10' of the lesson were not like planned, exactly: students struggled with a vocabulary exercise and I did not have time to proceed to the production stage. So, for a moment, I thought that the lesson was turning into a disaster, only it didn't because I decided to forget that I am being observed and I pushed myself to deliberately decide which of the two was more needed: the vocabulary exercise or the production activity. Students had used much of the new language taught so I opted for the vocabulary exercise and it worked! Obviously, this shows that my planning needs some work but, still, the lesson was successful.

Post-Teaching Stage

I think that this is the most difficult part. The feedback is very constructive but this makes the next TP seem even more intimidating. I need to remember - and use - all the things that helped me for my TP2 and the feedback received after TP2, as well.

Well, we'll see! Time for a drink. :)

Oh, and let me not forget: Week 1 is OVER!

Pre-CELTA thoughts

(Image Source: http://oecdeducationtoday.blogspot.gr/2012/03/teachers-summit-highlights-need-for.html)

Hello world!

My name is Angelos Bollas and I am about to start a CELTA course at CELT International Teacher Development Centre.

Even though I have been working for 8 years as an on and offline English Language Teacher in Greece and the UK, I realised that I was in need of formal teacher training. Not only have I faced difficulties in my job all these years, but also I have just come up with a very serious issue: when I decided to start a blog about language education, I had nothing to write about. or so I thought.

For the last two weeks, I have been preparing for my CELTA course. Other than grammar revisions and clarifications, I have started studying books and journals on methodology, classroom management, teacher development, and so many other issues the names of which I did not know even though I was "using" some of them.

At first, I thought really weird about it; yet, now, I believe that it is only natural that this would happen. Being too involved with something, does not allow room for reflection, not to mention evaluation. It is the same thing that native speakers face when they are asked to explain a language issue. Most of my native-speaker friends (who are not teachers) cannot define the term "Present Simple." The same happened with me when I asked my self to describe my way of teaching. "My way of teaching is my way of teaching and in order for anyone to find out more about it, s/he should attend one of my classes," this is what I believed.

However, reading through various ELT methodology books, I realised that my inability to describe/define my teaching practice was because it was nothing well thought or consistent for that matter. It is quite important for me to pause for a while and let other observe and comment on my job. After all, this is the only way to ensure that one improves in the field that s/he is passionate about. 

Needless to say that I am very pleased with my choice to go through teacher training after having spent some years in actual classroom teaching. I think that my professional experience will give me plenty food for thought and reflection. 

6 days are left.. I wish me good luck!