It’s been a mad couple weeks my friends…. I can’t believe it’s all over now!! Student teaching was really tough, but as always we survived. I have pushed a couple things aside during that time, this blog included, so hopefully now things will begin to settle and I can get right back into it again.
So I am going to be a bit lazy. I had to write a reflection of my practicum for my course and will now be posting it here….stay tuned for a better and more up-to-date post :)
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Having the opportunity to complete a practicum teaching assignment has really given me a better understanding about what to do and what to expect in a real ESL classroom. I was very nervous to start this final component of the TESL program. I think it was the idea that I would be responsible, for the most part, for a group of adult’s learning. I take that thought very seriously and perhaps put too much pressure on myself to do the best job I could. I’d like to think that my students are all diligent learners and I would hate to waste their time by being unprepared to teach them.
Successes
First and foremost I want to say how fortunate I was in the pairing with both my mentor teachers. From what I heard from my classmates, sometimes there were some clashes in personality and teaching styles, which was not the case with me. Both teachers, although relatively new to the ESL profession are, in my opinion, excellent teachers who conduct their class in an effective, efficient but casual and comfortable manner. Their teaching styles are something I can see myself emulating and that is very encouraging to me. The classes I was designated to teach in front of were also a wonderful group of level 4 and 5 students who were eager to learn, talk and seemed to be appreciative of my efforts.
My first lesson was just a level 4 grammar review and game about the use of “supposed to;” a nice slow entrance into teaching. I was surprised about how well it went. Everything went smoothly, however it was my first lesson in time management, as I had to take a few extra minutes after the break to wrap up my lesson. Something else I really enjoyed was the level 4 novel studies. I was a bit intimidated about teaching that lesson. There was no “How to teach a Novel Studies class” in the TESL course!! Again, I think it was thanks to the great group of students that I had, that the class went so well. They really enjoyed discussions and with the right questions they would get really into the topic and stay on topic while they worked in discussion groups.
Challenges
Throughout this experience I realized many things about myself and learned some important lessons…..the hard way. One of the problems I anticipated for myself was overcoming my confidence level. As I said in the opening of this reflection, the thought that I am responsible for the learning of others especially those who have way more life experience than me is a bit overwhelming. My students are intelligent people who are my age or older so to stand in front of them and try to explain English grammar is very intimidating. My first set back was the first reading lesson I taught for my level 5 group. Everything that could go wrong, did. My timing was off, I didn’t explain things properly, and I underestimated how well they would pick up the new vocabulary. I quickly learned the importance of practicing beforehand, again timing, preparing extra material and knowing your students abilities.
I need to work on being more linear in my lessons and explanations particularly when it comes to grammar. Unfortunately my brain doesn’t work that way and in my own mind I jump back and forth to try and understand its form and function. When explaining it to others however, clarity and conciseness are essential. I hope that with less nervousness it will all come out clearer.
I will no longer underestimate the advantages of having a well laid out lesson plan. When preparing for the class there are many things that I thought were so basic that I didn’t have to write them down only to find that when I got to class and was standing in front of my students, again very nervous, that I forgot to mention these key points. Had I written them down, I don’t think I would have left them out.
Lastly it is important to never assume anything about the students. There are times, like with my level 5 class, who were really advanced level 5s and they went through the material I prepared much quicker than I anticipated and they were a bit restless in the class. Then there were times where I though some of the material was redundant but in the end the students didn’t grasp the lesson as easily as I thought they would. I think that if I were in the class more often than just the few classes that I taught I would have a better understanding of how the class works but that was the nature of the practicum teaching.
Overall Reaction
I am so glad to have had this experience and it has given me a lot to think about before becoming a full time teacher. I think the best part was the chance to try out some of the theories and methods discussed in class and changing them to fit our style or need. There are things that the TESL course can’t prepare you for, that you can’t learn from your seat but have to find out for yourself first hand and the practicum allows us to do that. The guidance and structure that the mentor teachers offer is so helpful. It’s nice to know that after teaching a lesson you can talk to someone about your performance and get feedback about what worked, what didn’t and to alert you to potential problems or pitfalls. Again I feel fortunate to have been paired with the mentor teachers I was because they are relatively new and remember how nerve-wracking it can be and I felt like they understood where I was coming from and the challenges I was facing and they encouraged me to do a good job. I really related to their teaching styles and when I observed their classes on the first days I felt like I could see myself conducting a class in a similar way. The practicum component of the TESL program is such a great way to begin the transition from student to teacher and I definitely feel more prepared for and actually teaching job.
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