My CELTA Experience; Episode-5

First Assignment
As if the pressure of Teaching Practice was not enough to kill us, another tension came. It was first of the four assignments that we had to finish during our four weeks long CELTA course. First Assignment title was, "Know your learners". As for as myself is concerned, I always had a trouble of not remembering the names of my students. I always believed that it was enough to point to some student if you want to ask or tell something. After all teacher is the central figure in the class and everyone should fix eyes towards them.

Here we learned the golden point, "NOMINATE". Each individual has their own personality and they like to be called by their name and not with you or boy etc. In order to learn the name of the students, we learned the technique of pasting the names of the students on their desks in the beginning and after a few days of nominating them one can learn all the names.

While asking something call the students with their names. 

For the assignment, we interviewed the students. I still feel for those poor guys. During summer holidays when their other friends were enjoying their lives, these people were asked to come and take some lessons. Anyhow, we started interviews and found some interesting facts about our students.

I found that most of them were shy, having problems like pronunciation, fluency and spellings. This is mainly because of their L1 (in this case Turkish) influence. Halit, Sana, Yasemin and Beyza Nur were few of the students in our group. Later on as the course progressed, they opened up a little and by the end of 1st part of our CELTA, the time when the group was to be handed over others, these students were not ready to leave us at all. I believe that it was mainly because of our efforts to make lessons according to their interest and taste. How could we come to know about their liking was only due to the assignment, "Know your learners".  I advise every teacher to know their learners and design the plans according to strengths, grey areas, likings and dis likings of the students.

Receptive Skills:

On fourth day of CELTA we attended an input session on receptive skills. Caroline gave us a wonderful model of reading strategies. In order to check our students performance we check their written and spoken skills. For these productive skills, we need to focus on strong receptive skills. Reading and listening are the two receptive skills which need more systematic teaching. Most of us teach in the same way as we were taught. Unfortunately some bad teaching practices of few of our teachers stick to our minds and then it is very difficult to throw them away. We all must understand that reading is not a passive activity and in order to make it more fruitful, our lessons must be equipped with some basic techniques.

Pictures could be useful to activate background schema

• Activate students' background Schema. (Check students prior knowledge about the topic)
• Use pictures to arouse interest. (Make the students guess for the information they are going to get)
• Pre-teach important vocabulary (the words which may be necessary for the task)
• Always task before teach.
• First task should be a gist task. (A question or couple of them to make sure quick reading/skimming)
• Detailed task (To make sure that students can find some specific information; scanning)
• Peer checking (Students can check each other's work)
• Answer key: Instead of wasting time on discussing each question, you may paste your answer key on a wall where the students may go and check their answers)
• Feedback: (Some delayed error correction could be done, without pointing out the students.

It was nice to see that the text that seemed to be a bit complicated in the beginning, could be exploited to suit the needs and level of our students. The key is how to ask appropriate questions.
We teachers need to make our students realize that they are not required to read each and every word of a text. It is enough to focus on the answers of the questions and at the same time they may get gist and deeper comprehension of the passage.   

Lead-in stage of the lesson is the most important part of lesson, since it sets the tone. Laura Greenwood, in her article writes about this fact. She says:

"When doing receptive skills work (listening and readings) with your students, it is important to take time at the very beginning of the lesson to activate your students’ experiences with and knowledge of the topic of the listening/reading. In TEFL this is called activating background schema. Doing this immediately engages your Ss, gets them using English, and sets them up for more successful listening/reading comprehension. Read more about Schema Theory to understand why this approach is successful.

• This component of a receptive skills lesson is called a ‘Lead In.’

• Include visuals, realia, discussion, and personalization – a broad look at the topic/subject/content area of the listening or reading.

• Ask some general questions and have your Ss brainstorm ideas/knowledge of the listening/reading topic or ‘What I want to Know’ (about the topic).

• Read a background text, watch a video clip, listen to others discuss the topic of the listening/reading, etc. to stimulate discussion.

• Make an explicit link between the topic of the text and students’ own lives and experiences in order to prepare them for successful listening/reading.

If you don’t activate your Ss background schema when teaching English as a foreign language, your Ss might not be interested in listening/reading, have a purpose for listening/reading, or even be ready to successfully listen/read.

Beyond all of the above excellent reasons for activating background schema when teaching English as a foreign language, is the fact that you will learn a lot of interesting and remarkable facts about your Ss. 

The lesson of the day is "An English Language Teacher is a magician who could turn a simple piece of realia into a wonderful learning opportunity."

By the way today is my birthday and I am going to celebrate it with my family.  See you next time with another episode of my CELTA experience. 

         

My CELTA Experience; Episode-4

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross said, "There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." So no worries about first TP. Anyhow I learnt that I was not playing in my home ground in front of my home crowd. Third day started with a lesson given by Dorothy. MFP was discussed where special focus was on pronunciation. I realised that back in my country we are missing or at least not giving proper attention to this very important aspect of language. The input session was a perfect example of situational presentation. Some pictures were used for lead-in. The sequence of the lesson was:

• Warmer
• Set context
• illustrate meaning
• Elicit
• check meaning
• drill
• focus on form
• written consolidation

For pronunciation and specially for the stress patterns, Dorothy taught us that teacher should model it. It may be done through clap while drilling a sentence or even whistling could be used. We also learned that while using a situational presentation, that situation should be chosen which may generate other examples.

He's been to Turkey.

Now it can be varied as

He's been to Ireland. OR He's been to South Korea. 

LA sheet or Language Analysis Sheet ( an extension of lesson plan) was also introduced that day. On LA sheet we were required to write certain details of language to be taught.

 

While focussing on 'Meaning' in language we should remember three things:

i) Analyse: The language to be taught.

ii) Convey: Context and how to transfer meaning

iii) Check: CCQ's (Concept Checking Questions), which should be short and easy

On LA sheet we need to mention anticipated problems and their solutions too. In fact it is very important to remember that even the best plans can face failure because of not anticipating potential problems. In order to do that perfectly, the main thing is to know the learners. If we know them, hopefully we would overcome all the problems.

Lessons from the third day:

• Keep a plan B before entering the class.
• The more detailed a lesson plan is, the more successful the lesson would be.
• Language can't be taught in chunks. It should be taught with some context.
• With a 100 % ready lesson plan a teacher should be 200 % ready.   
• In classroom management, one of the most important aspect to remember is variety. Change groups, pairs, seating plans, teaching style, assessment and your jokes too.

In the afternoon session we had two lessons, one by Seyfullah and the other by Muhamad. SOme lessons learned from those two TPs were:

• Maintain your pace (Neither too slow nor too stormy)
• TTT should be minimized. ( I kept learning the lesson but couldn't control myself) 
• Correction work should be there, may that be at once or delayed one. 

With dreams of my next day lesson (though there was almost no sleep that night) I finished the day. See you next time with my next endeavours. Till then bye bye... ( Oh! thanks for your comments on my email. By the way you may send them on this page too)    

      

 

MY CELTA Experience; Episode-3

Second morning in CELTA was better because by then we had got answers to many of our questions. Our group of trainees, schedule and many other things. First session was about lesson planning. The main points to consider were:

Aims, aims and aims.

• While making a lesson plan, the first thing to focus is Aims.
• Keep anticipate problems in your mind and also mention them on your lesson plan.
• Skills and language frameworks are different and they should be kept in mind.

    The second input session of the day was about Needs analysis. The main points to consider was to keep in mind the VAK (Visual, auditory and Kinesthetic learning styles of our learners. While planning and designing our activities, we should keep in mind the needs of these three types. Running dictation is an example of these kinds of activities which fulfills needs of all three types of learners.

  

The First Encounter:

On first day of CELTA, we were told that unlike many other courses, CELTA is going to be more practical. Whatever we are learning and discussing in the morning input sessions, we were required to show its evidence in the afternoon output session. In fact that excited me a lot. I love to deal with the students but here I was going to face a completely new group of students, about whom my knowledge was limited to their nationality and financial background.     

On second day of the course I, along with my two other colleagues, was to teach those students. I was last of the three to enter the class and by then the students were completely drained away. These students were a bunch of youngsters that was brought forcefully to join these classes, while their class-fellows were enjoying their holidays during this unusually hot summer of Istanbul this year. The venue is very close to the airport and sound of big planes on busy Ataturk Airport compelled us to keep the windows closed. Without any air-conditioners, working in 38+ Celsius was indeed a nightmare. 

Every one looks happy; Yes, it's the final day.

Like a referee in boxing ring, Caroline called start and I came in the ring (my class that was like an oven then). Just like my normal classes I started with enthusiasm and energy but my opponents were not ready to fight. Yes, it was a speaking lesson and despite my all efforts the students were not ready to speak at all. They just wanted to run away. It was indeed one of my worst experiences in any classroom. I continued trying but forgot golden principle of CELTA,  

"These are students who need to speak, you already know English"  

My trainer, Caroline was as cool as ice. No expressions whatsoever. My group mates, Isak, Hasan, Muhamad and Seyf were trying to keep their calm but tiredness and fatigue was eminent on their faces too. Anyhow I finished the lesson somehow and the time came for feedback session. The trainer and my group-mates were present in the room and ready to discuss all the shortcomings of the lesson. 

 Lessons from TP1 (Teaching Practice No.1): 

• Reduce TTT and try to increase STT.
• More S-S interaction than T-S interaction.
• Stay back and never enter into students' comfort zone.
• Getting feedback from every single student is not necessary.
• Answers could be given as handout or could be shown through power point slide.
• Key is in planning.

This TP gave me many lessons and I decided to show my real talent in the next lesson. I realized that unlike my country where English is second language, here students feel hesitation while speaking. Even the best students in written expression will feel it difficult to speak and that too in front of a foreigner. It gave the best lesson so far,

"KNOW YOUR LEARNERS"

See you next time with another episode. Till then BYE. (Your comments are welcome)

MY CELTA Experience; Episode-2

I was thinking that there would be lot of participants of the course but there were only 14 of them. We were told that we were the lucky (later on we thought otherwise) people who could make their way out of 130 candidates. A few minutes later, four ladies appeared, who were going to be our trainers for the next four weeks. I felt that they were a bit nervous at that time. Coming from all the way from Northern Ireland and starting a course for the first time in Turkey was something that might have raised many question marks in their minds. These were, Caroline Grainger, Dorothy Glenn and Elna Coetzer. Among them I only knew Elna Coetzer before, who came to our country to arrange workshops. After formal welcome words Kristina Smith gave a brief  introduction of CELTA course, the trainers, dos and don'ts and  course timings. 

The First Session: 

                                Dorothy Glenn entered the room and started talking to us in a strange language. At first we thought that we were in a wrong class or course but later realized that it was foreign language lesson. She was teaching us a dialogue in Italian language that was intended to make us realize the problems of our learners and at the same time it taught us that even without using a single word from mother tongue you may convey the meaning. Gilato alla fragolla   was the first word I learned in Italian language. Can you guess what it could mean? It is Strawberry Ice-cream. Then 'limonata' and 'Panino con prosiutto' were a couple of other words which I can remember with their perfect pronunciation.

All the trainees started feeling a bit more confident and everyone started to respond in Italian. After that Ms. Dorothy presented many more Lexis items without using a single word in English language. Pronunciation drills were also given and we started using better pronunciation.

After finishing that phase, we were given practice of a dialogue in Italian language. We worked in pairs, groups and at the end, I even sounded Italian to myself. 

For the next few days we were all speaking Italian, atleast a few Italian words, with that exaggerated accent. It proves the point that the language teachers first need to be certain of what their students to achieve and how they could do it in the best way. 

The way is clearly not the easy one because it requires a lot of preparation and perseverance. Learners can always ask for clarification in their language, and they may even insist on that; however, good teachers should never give up, and they should maintain the belief that they can teach anyone anything.

See you soon with next episode.  

MY CELTA Experience; Episode-1

If I say that I had a dream to have CELTA certificate, it would certainly be a lie. The chance just came out of nowhere and I found myself packing up for Istanbul, since CELTA is not offered in Pakistan.

The most hateful task for me is always carrying the luggage and I had to do that in order to reach from Sabiha Gokcin Airport to Yeni Bosna in Istanbul. It took almost the same time that I spent from Islamabad to Istanbul. After having a wonderful dinner at Aksaray I managed to reach the house where I was destined to stay for the next one month. 

For the next two days I was free to dream, sleep, eat and relax without knowing the intensity of next one month's workload. I recommend every prospective candidate of CELTA to go through other participants experiences (though it may become the reason of your running away even before the start).

The venue of my training was Fatih Koleci Coban Cesme Bahcelievler. I decided to rely on my GPRS and was happy to know that it was about 1.8 KM from my residence. On first day I decided to walk to the place and managed to reach there after a walk of 15 minutes or so. On asking about the program there, the guards on the gate seemed ignorant about any such event there. Then one of them called some responsible person who gave me  the news that gave me a big shock. My CELTA course was not being arranged there but in another branch of the same college and that was bit far away. No buses or mini bus/train go to that locality. Only way is to find a taxi and try to explain the address in Turkish language. Here again the same angel (the guard) came to help me. He called a taxi driver, who could reach there after 15 minutes and during that time I was just thinking that on very first day of my course I'm late. No one should rely on technology and human factor is always more important then machines. 

To make long things short, the taxi arrived and dropped me at huge building of Fatih Koleci where Ms. Zeynep received me and directed me to a small conference hall where I was advised to sit and wait. I had decided that I will not give my full introduction to anyone and would pose that I was only a new teacher working in Turkish School in Pakistan. Then entered four to five gentlemen among whom I knew only one who hugged me and welcomed me. After that he introduced me in such words that made me think that he had been talking about someone else. 

Others included my course and group mates, Hasan, Issak, Muhammed and Seyf with whom I could survive few of my most difficult but fruitful days of my life. 

See you soon with next episode of my blog.   

Pehli Uran by Hasnanin Nazish

It was launching ceremony of Mr. Hasnanin's book, "Pehli Uran". Mr. Mansha Yaad (late) and other prominent literary figures are sitting on the stage.
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I like it Vs I love it

What could be the difference between liking and loving someone or something ? This came to my mind when a friend asked, " Do you know what is love?" It was third time when he asked the question. It took me back to 1997, when during a class discussion the same question arose.

What was the result of discussion. "LOVE IS ONENESS"

When we say I like something, it doesn't mean I own each and every thing of the other side. When we say I love it, it means whatever is in other person's mind and heart, I have the same.

Same was my answer and he looked satisfied with the answer.

New Dimensions

Should you keep dealing the people the way you have been dealing with them throughout your life? I don't think that this kind of an attitude may help you pass a peaceful life. Enough is enough. Let me show my attitude. I am what I am.

Once again I am at the same place where I came about 4 times last year. It's Karachi, one of my favourite cities (only in winters). Weather is good, as expected. Visit is short, as usual. Program will be nice, InshaAllah. Let see what dreams come today.

Breaking Bad Habits

Bad habits can be like an addictive drug—poisonous and tough to beat. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to make a goal to rid yourself of your destructive behaviors—whether your goal be to eliminate all of them or whether it be to take baby steps in that direction. Start by becoming aware of the habits in your life you could do away with and recognize your life is better off without them. Make realistic goals and reward yourself for achieving them. Isn’t it about time you grew your nails out, stopped blaming others for a bad situation, and actually took your makeup off before going to bed?

Bad Habit #1:
Nail Biting

Nail biting is called an anxiety stress reducer—it’s something you do to make your stress go away. People are just looking for something to do to reduce their stress. If it works, they might do it again next time. But when the stressor is gone, the habit is still exists because of reinforcement, and your poor fingernails are chewed down to non-existence.

How to fix it: The solution is to divert from something you find undesirable (like nail biting)... to something else. Pick something that’s a substitute that doesn’t have a negative outcome. Do that more positive substitute regularly as well. You might also try painting your fingernails or getting a manicure; that way, every time you’re tempted to gnaw on your nails, you’ll think twice about wasting the time and money you put into them. You might also use a special polish with a foul taste, which will certainly remind you to keep your fingers away from your mouth
Bad Habit #2:
Perfectionism
As a culture, we are encouraged to always do our best. Even at a young age, we get the message to be perfect from our parents. We think mistakenly that we are accepted only after doing something right, like earning straight A’s. Perfectionism is a lifestyle issue that often has to do with how you view yourself. Perfectionistic people often find themselves unacceptable if they don’t do everything right.

How to fix it: Redefine your self-image so it is more self-tolerant, reasonable, and flexible. Tell yourself, “I’m okay ‘in process’; it is okay to make mistakes.” Mistakes can be part of learning. They can be stepping stones toward growth. Try to remember life is a growing process, and don’t expect to be fixed the first time you try. Give yourself time limits for projects so you don’t spend unreasonable amounts of time doing something until it’s just right. Try letting some unimportant things in your life go. Let the dishes pile up in the sink. You’ll see that the world doesn’t come to an end, and that some things just aren’t that important. It’s okay not be perfect in all aspects of your life; in fact, it’s normal.

Bad Habit #3:
Late-Night Snacking
Eating late at night is the result of one of two motivations; one is physiological, like not getting enough to eat in the day. If you don’t eat a balanced breakfast your body is at a deficit at the end of the day. This causes you to crave foods at night in order to make up for the loss. For example, if you don’t eat healthy fat (some nuts or oils), you could crave ice cream or other forms of undesirable fat. When snacking at night, we often fill our bodies with calories but not necessarily nutrient-dense food. Our bodies can’t utilize this energy efficiently while we are sleeping so we store the calories as fat.

You might also be ignoring what your true needs are. We all need primary food which consists of good relationships, religion/spirituality, hobbies, and other things that make us whole. If you don’t nourish yourself with primary foods, you can end up craving comfort foods to compensate.

How to fix it: If you late-night snack because of physiological reasons, make sure you’re getting enough to eat during the day. Discover the best breakfast for yourself. Experiment with different foods for breakfast and document how you respond to it. Are you still hungry? Are you satisfied? Also, you might not be getting enough for lunch, so fill up earlier in the day when your body can still burn calories. If you’re snacking not out of hunger, but out of more emotional reasons, replace your snacks with primary foods. Discover the things you enjoy doing and feed yourself on that level.
Bad Habit #4:
Letting Yourself Go As Life Gets Hectic

Everyone has their own reasons for justifying it—a family that increasingly demands more time, a profession that saps time and energy—but a good majority of people let themselves go as time goes by. You may have stopped working out, started eating more unhealthy foods, or started disregarding care of your outward appearance.

How to fix it: Be healthy for your spouse and children. Obesity and an inactive lifestyle lead to health-related problems that can leave your family distressed and responsible for your lack of self-care. Consider the possible results of your disregard for your body and appearance; providing a good example for your children is, on the most fundamental level, a strong reason to take care of yourself. Finding primary foods is a top priority for couples. If you and your spouse don’t participate in activities together, you might be eating out of boredom. Discover active hobbies you can enjoy together that foster intimacy and health. Go for a family walk at the end of each day. It makes a difference.

Bad Habit #5:
Pointing the Finger

Anything that goes wrong in your life is someone else’s fault, naturally. Problems, hardships, even your own character flaws are much easier to blame on other people than actually admitting you did something wrong. People who project blame very often feel shame for having negative qualities and do whatever they can to distract themselves from noticing their own flaws, but they’re only in denial.

How to fix it: Adopt the mantra of The Buck Stops Here. You are in charge of your own life, and while outside events can have an impact on you, only you have the choice of how to deal with them. Admit your mistakes. Apologize when you’re in the wrong. Recognize your shortcomings, and take responsibility for them.

Bad Habit #6:
Gossiping

Once you hear something juicy, you’re just bursting to tell someone else, regardless of whether it’s harmful or even true. Gossiping is how a lot of people connect with each other. This is just how we fit in. But by gossiping, you give place for negativity within yourself and project it on another person, and you are probably destroying trust and relationships.

How to fix it: Be conscious of it. Some people make it a goal to leave the conversation when gossiping occurs. Others make a commitment to say only good things and make their decision known to others. Be aware of your conversation topics, and if they turn into gossip, change the subject.

Bad Habit #7:
Laziness

Laziness is a standard enough habit; it’s hard to be motivated about mundane and boring things. But you may want to take a second look at your laziness, because it can be an indicator for something larger. A lot of people think they lack motivation, but they really lack passion or inspiration. When we’re working on something that matters, laziness doesn’t even come into play.

How to fix it: Laziness could be a sign that something is not important to you. If you’re lazy about doing your job, you could be in the wrong business. Find the things in your life that you’re lazy about and decide whether they really should be in your life or not. But there are always things that are necessary, like chores, that most people are more than willing to be lazy about doing. For those things, find a way to see it as a way to contribute to your life’s purpose; it can make those things much easier to do.

Bad Habit #8:
Slouching

Slouching could be a habit formed through lack of self-esteem, sitting in poorly supported chairs, or out of laziness. And, it can cause serious problems. It stretches some muscles and tightens others. It puts extra stress on joints and muscles. Numbers says slouching can ultimately lead to headaches, a deformed spine, and disc problems and injuries.

How to fix it: Staying fit and getting a daily aerobic exercise of twenty to thirty minute can significantly improve posture. Take a brisk walk, or do yoga and Pilates to strengthen your core and back muscles. But first, like all bad habits, you have to be actively aware of your bad posture and sit up straight every time you notice yourself slouching.

Bad Habit #9:
Sleeping with Makeup On

You’ve had a long day—make that a long past five years—and you’re so tired that washing your face takes too much effort, so you just go to bed with your makeup on. This is bad news for your skin. Most foundations have a lot of oils, fragrant fillers, and dyes, which are very harmful to the skin. It contributes to acne breakouts, and to oily skin, causing enlarged pores. Pollution and smog also collect on your face during the day and can contribute to premature aging.

How to fix it: Your face needs to be cleansed morning and night. Whatever routine you do morning and night, just take two seconds to cleanse your face. It’s not really time consuming. The whole skin care regimen, like cleansing, toning, and applying other products sold to you as must-haves, isn’t necessary for most. Just a quick cleanse will do wonders for your skin.

Bad Habit #10:
Technology Addiction

You may feel the need to be connected to your social network 24/7, and thanks to cell phones, text messaging, and e-mail, it’s possible. But the problem is, you don’t know when to stop. You text while talking to other people, you check your e-mail every five minutes (even when you’re not expecting something), and talk on your cell phone while driving, despite the danger to yourself and others. (A Harvard study in 2005 estimated that 330,000 people are injured and 2,600 people are killed in cell phone related accidents each year.) You feel anxious without your phone and don’t know what to do with yourself when you don’t have it.

How to fix it: Try to remember that technology is only a tool, not an extension of your life.

Texting: Consider how much your relationships could be strengthened if your conversations were in person or even over the phone, rather than through a text. If you like to text late at night, leave your phone in the other room when you go to bed. Give yourself a daily limit of texts sent and received, and when you reach it, stop.

E-mail: It’s an indispensable tool, it’s true, but limit yourself to checking it spontaneously every two hours during business, and only once after you get home. You’ll be more productive and free to enjoy your time.

Cell Phone: Keep your phone in your purse or pocket while you drive and resist the temptation to call others or answer a call until you get out of your car. That way you’ll be able to focus on driving, and give the person your full attention during the conversation.
Wish me lots of luck...