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♥♥♥ The End of 2007 & ESLBase Competition ♥♥♥
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
Tomorrow 31/12/2007 will be the end of a year, the beginning of a new year and a new life for the competition winner. I wish all my colleagues in the competition for the very best out of year 2008 and good luck with the competition results.
Whether we win or lose, the important thing is that we win the hearts of our students and feed that language passion into their souls, so they may actually remember us by saying something like; “My English is good because of that one teacher I had from back in day”.
Well I guess this is it. Thank you for joining me in this wonderful journey and thanks for the amazing ride ESLBase.
Oh and how can I forget…
* HaPPy NeW YeAR EVeRYoNe *
Here is a little gift to you all for new years:
P.S. Time 19:36 Date: 30/12/2007. This will be an exciting wait and I don’t think I will be able to sleep tonight! My heart is beating like a zoo. ZoO?! Hehe..
Posted in 31/12/2007, eslbase, happy new year, passion, language, everyone, teachers, 2008, new year, English, students, the end, celta, 2007, competition, Uncategorized | No Comments »*** InterView witH a SuPer New CELTA gRaduate (PART 2) ***
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
Since the competition is about to end (8 more days!!!), I thought it would be best to feed my diary as much as I can. Here is another CELTA graduate from ITI - Istanbul. Emek Dedeoglu took the CELTA with Gamze Uslu. Here is what she had to say about the course and the outcome of the course.
***
First of all I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Emek Dedeoğlu and I’m currently working at a private school teaching kids between the ages of 7-14. I’ve heard CELTA from a friend who is working at a university. After a quick research I decided to take it in order to improve my teaching skills and apply more of the methodology I know to my practical teaching as well as getting a better job. After one week I realized that I was not aware of the content of the program I had decided to attend. It was ‘much more’ than what I had expected in many aspects. CELTA did not only help me with practical studies but also provided me with embodying my knowledge about teaching.
To me; the most challenging part of the experience was it being full time and the deadlines coming one after the other as it was an intense course. I would also admit that being observed is not something you completely feel fine with.
Most of the other teaching training courses involved in-house training or a longer term experience. Although I had been teaching for 6 years before CELTA, I thought it is better to start from the basics. I would definitely recommend the course to people who are thinking about doing the course if they really want to raise their awareness on teaching and improve their skills. I would still say that do not push yourself hard on conforming with the ‘criteria’ that you will hear of during the experience because there can be no such criteria as the tutors have different approaches and understandings; being careful about your deadlines and doing the best you can do will bring you the ultimate result but in the long run I would say it is worth taking the course.
My teaching before and after CELTA is totally different, I never hesitate or question the time spent in my classrooms as I know what I’m doing well now, it also improved the idea of how planning a lesson works. Awareness and setting up the most effective activities in order to reach the aim of the lesson has helped me a lot.
Turkish students’ biggest problem (actually it is a problem for all non-native speakers of English) is that they tend to speak Turkish in the classroom; for YL it is easier to cope with; giving them awards when they speak English motivates them, for adults it is a good idea to give clear instructions and the task language clearly.
Teaching English in Turkey makes you satisfied as there are too many people who want to learn the language and they are eager no matter what their age is but honestly you do not get paid as much as you should have as an English teacher.
To sum up; I wish luck to everybody who wants to take CELTA and build up a career in teaching. I hope you can find what you look for in life…
Best of all
Emek Dedeoğlu
*** InterView witH a SuPer New CELTA gRaduate (PART 1) ***
Friday, December 21st, 2007
After being interviewed by Katie from TEFLLogue, I thought I should interview one of the super recent CELTA graduates my self. Gamze Uslu took the CELTA at the same place I did (International Training Institute - Istanbul) right after I was done with the course.
***
Introduction: Gamze Uslu is a 25 year old Turkish girl. She is a Translation – Interpretation graduate. She describes her self as a full time translator, part time teacher and a dedicated party girl.
Conclusion: CELTA takers don’t have to be book worms! hehe
***
1. How did you hear about the CELTA? (advice? google? from a friend? etc.)
How should I start? In fact, I was familiar with the Cambridge teacher training courses before the CELTA as I once took the ICELT when I was a fresh English Instructor (this is how they call it at universities here) at a university but quit working there only after 4 months and obviously couldn’t finish the ICELT. It took me two years to regain my confidence and energy to go back to the idea of teaching. After I moved to Istanbul (I was in Ankara then) to work as a full-time translator for a translation company, I realized that I didn’t want to spend my next 20 years stuck in a choking translation office in front of a computer, unconsciously and continuously typing the same technical stuff. So I thought I could go back to teaching. My teacher friends also encouraged me. Then, I went online to see what I could find. First, I found out about the TEFL and then found the Cambridge CELTA page. I applied for both of them but only got a reply from the ITI which offers the CELTA course. And my journey started….
***
2. Why did you want to take the CELTA? (qualification? higher work pay? etc.)
In my country, I can be an English teacher without the CELTA as I have the pedagogic training certificate required by the public schools and even some teaching experience at a well-known university. However, my very first teaching experience was not exhilarating at all and this time I wanted to take firm steps. The CELTA is for beginners and this was what I needed to start all over from the beginning in order to gain my confidence back. Besides (like with everything else I do), I wanted to be as “perfect” as I could when it came to teaching. So I thought if I was going to be a teacher, I should be a good one like the one who taught me English at school and the CELTA is the mere convenient point one can start and follow on.
***
3. How has the CELTA changed your “outlook” on teaching?
The CELTA showed me how to look at the “picture” from the student’s eyes. When you know what the students “see” you know what to “show” better.
***
4. What was the most challenging part of the whole experience?
Hmmm….I remember the third week was the most difficult week (in the full-time course). I don’t know why but we were all fragile (unlike the first week when we were all cheerful and enthusiastic) trying to plan lessons (and finding them unsatisfactory), writing self-assessments (and hating the fact that you still have the same weak points since the first TP), writing reports for the observations and completing small tasks and also rushing to deliver the assignments on time, getting them back for re-submits (but what’s the problem this time?), then submit them again… “My God, where is the last copy? Can’t find it! Does anyone have the CELTA CD with them? I need the observation form again….” ….. and nervous break-downs, a girl or two crying…BUT, in the end IT ALL TURNED OUT WELL 
NO WORRIES! OK, the challenging part…I think you really need to dedicate yourself. It’s not something you can do easily while you look after young children, babies or ill family members who need your attention, fulfill a full-time job’s requirements, deal with an illness, move house or sort out a problematic relationship. Your mind, energy and attention should be with the course from the beginning until the end.
***
5. What words of wisdom/advice would you give to people THINKING about doing the course?
Follow whatever is required by the tutors. Push aside whatever conflicting idea/method/technique/point of view/belief you may ever have. Be it an experienced teacher who thinks he is made up of what he has gained through his professional life and can’t get himself “reshaped” or a fresh teacher candidate for whom everything seems a bit of a jungle life in the classroom, the CELTA is for you if you want to be the “real” teacher who “teaches”. So, digest whatever is served, try to get the “gist” without getting lost in the details – ABSOLUTELY keep your work done day-to-day and never postpone anything as they pile up and up and up….before you notice.
***
6. Was it worth the money? (Some people think twice before they can actually spend money, so yeah, I want to help them make a decision because the CELTA is not a cheap course)
You definitely learn. It’s for sure. You pay a good deal of money but you receive the course from the best tutors (at least this is the case at ITI
***
7. Think about the time you didn’t take the CELTA and think about now. What difference can you see?
Getting into a class is not a nightmare anymore and I now have an outline in my mind that I can use when I need to plan a lesson.
***
8. What problems do Turkish students have in classrooms? Any solutions? (for example they cant say “TH”, tongue twisters may help them learn how to say “TH”)
Apart from the difficulties in pronunciation, they always try to find the Turkish equivalent of every word or grammar structure which is sometimes impossible. Once they asked me why we put “-s” when we say “two dogs” because the number (two) already gives the plural sense (and yes, in Turkish we don’t add the plural suffix to a word when it is already preceded by a quantifier). I just told them this is the way English language is spoken.
***
9. What information did you try to find about the course (before you started) and couldn’t find on the internet etc.?
I was very anxious about my accent and fluency as I’m not a native speaker. I browsed through hundreds of online forums to learn about those with similar cases and contacted some of them and was relieved to see that they were actually OK! So, I said “if they can do it, why can’t I?
***
Posted in non native speaker, istanbul training institute, celta tutors, problems in teaching english, solutions, native language, interview, what is the celta like, celta course, colleague, teacher, suggestions, certificate, cambridge university, celta, ITI, English | 2 Comments »
*** From the pen of my colleagues :) ***
Thursday, March 15th, 2007
All this time, you all had a chance to see how I handled the CELTA. So, just in case some of you might think I’m a nerd (heheh), here are what my colleagues had to say about the course. They can’t all be nerds! hehe..
Scott KESSENICK
Nationality: American
Age: 23
Prior to enrolling in the
Gunseli AKSUT
Nationality: Australian & Turkish
Age: 32
Do you want to be a teacher? I was so miserable in my “exciting” designer job and had thought about becominga teacher for years, but was scared to make a leap. “Who am I to become a teacher? I’m just a girl from Australia with a funny accent and an interest in art history and design.” But, it turned out that there was nothing to be afraid of and that teaching can be learned if you are dedicated enough. So what’s so great about the CELTA?
1. Well first of all you learn from fantastic teachers who really know their stuff and make their lessons enjoyable. 2. You learn so much in such an interesting way that I guarantee you won’t fall asleep in class. 3. You get heaps of support, encouragement and genuine feedback so you know how you are doing. 4. You learn with a small group of students, only 6,and get to interact, learn together and support eachother. 5. You get to observe experienced teachers and see the techniques they use. This course is one of the best things I’ve ever done.I’m so glad I made that huge decision to teach. But, be prepared for some serious work. Most of the time I thought I was at uni. again with all the paperwork, assignments, lesson plans, handouts etc. At times the course gets so intense that you feel overwhelmed by all the work and at those times you have to forget about doing the housework and be prepared to live on toast and coffee because you don’t have the time to look after yourself It’s all worth it though. I recommend this course for all those who have a desire to teach.
Ilknur CAN
Nationality: Turkish
Age: 30
I have been a student for 19 years through my 30 years of life. I had no idea about being a teacher so far until the CELTA course started. I was quite acquainted about the theories of teaching as I had had formation at university while I had been studying English Philology; however, I felt quite weird during my first Teaching Practice session and very nervous. CELTA, not only teaches you the teaching theories and techniques in a surprisingly detailed and interesting way, but also gives you the chance to stand up in the middle of an actual classroom and teach to students of various levels of English. Comparing my first TP session with my last, I already feel like an English teacher!
Alev SOGUT
Nationality: Turkish
Age: 34
I heard of CELTA long time ago and felt that I would give it a try one day, but I just could not give up my career in finance - until last September when I realised that one could be happy only by doing what he/she likes most in life. So I quit my job and enrolled in the CELTA Course. I had the opportunity to learn a great deal from great tutors and peers who were helpful and supportive throughout the course. The input sessions provided us with the basics of teaching and guided us through the vast literature on TEFL. The teaching practice sessions were a great challenge for all of us and we really had to work hard, but the result was satisfying. Through hard work and efficient feedback from tutors and peers, we managed to plan and run lessons, which is a very positive start in a teaching career. One important lesson I got from the CELTA Course is that there is no end to learning in teaching. To be a good teacher you have to be an enthusiastic learner.
Emiko Foster
Nationality: Australian & Japanese
Age: 56First it’s one of my most expensive paper! Considering how long I’ll be working from now(hope 5 years max), AU$500 a year. That’s my motivation to work during the course. Apart from my calculater mind, it was very interesting to me, all sessions were practical and hands-on. Now I’m ready to work anywhere in the globe, in the middle of the desert in
*** aLMosT oVeR ***
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
It’s almost good-bye time….. Time flew by so quickly. I have 2 more classes and guess what? One of them got cancelled because we already did all the input sessions for that day! As a result, I have one more day left for the CELTA! Can you believe it? (o_O)
Problem: I hope I don’t forget that we don’t have the course anymore and end up being there in class waiting for everyone to come!! AAah I’m a geek! Hehehe.
However, it will be a great challenge to teach in a class without 7 people watching (5 colleagues and 2 tutors will be missing!). Plus, I won’t have anyone to check my lesson plans 
Conclusion: Believe it or not, I feel like I swallowed a bulldozer already (just the same way I felt on my first day of the course!). I was once told that when you lose that feeling, you should change your career.
*** Quiz Time!!!!! ***
Wednesday, March 14th, 2007
You are probably reading this blog because; you are interested in taking the CELTA, I begged you to read my entries or you are just curious to know what happens in the life of a CELTA trainee. Whatever your reason may be, my reason to write is to let you know what the CELTA is about.
So…. my dear friends/fans/curious cats, I have prepared a quiz for you all!
Click “Take The Quiz” below and test your self to see how much you know about the CELTA! Hopefully, all these entries that I posted help you understand a bit from what’s going on in this teacher training program.
*** The side effects of CELTA ***
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
1. When you’re around people, you see them as potential learners.
2. You carry a pen, pencil, eraser and a notepad with you, wherever you go.
3. You plan out your day just as you would plan out your lesson plans.
4. Your friends think CELTA is the name of a new friend you made.
5. When you’re in your room, you’re surrounded by piles of paper.
6. You learn to use printers and photocopy machines with your eyes shut.
7. You think of the stress of each word you speak.
8. You inhale CELTA, you exhale CELTA.
I’m sure there are many more. These are all the ones that I could remember.
Posted in side effect, celta, English | 3 Comments »*** The Assessor ***
Monday, March 12th, 2007
The topic of my entry sounded like The Godfather didn’t it? hehe.. That would be a good name for a movie!Anyway, on the same day as my last teaching practice, we had a visit by Steve Darn (http://www.stevedarn.com/) as our assessor. You may wonder what the deal with assessors’ is. Well, they are there to make sure everything is going in the track set by Cambridge University, throughout the CELTA course. You know… to make sure everything is alright!
Most of us were waiting for someone like… hmmm I don’t know how to put this… but you know! When we met Steve Darn, we all admired him! We all felt relaxed around him and it wasn’t like the classic assessor thing going around in our conversations ANDDDD……….. he was super kind enough to share a couple of words about the course with you! :)
|
“CELTA courses are a good ’starter pack’ for teachers. No one can claim that you can learn to teach in the space of a one-month course or its part-time equivalent, but CELTA at least equips you with the tools you need to be able to begin to ‘make a difference’. As someone who has been in ELT for more than 20 years, I am constantly amazed at how much there is still to learn - about teaching, about language and about people. It is an unending process, sometimes frustrating, but often rewarding.” - Steve Darn |
Conclusion: Assessors are cool! They give you great advice and you look up to them! By the way, Steve Darn has some good articles you may want to check out (just Google his name).
Posted in steve darn, celta, cambridge university, assessor, English | 2 Comments »*** My L@sT Te@chiNg Pr@ctiCe! ***
Monday, March 12th, 2007
Remember my first teaching practice? Aaah*&^%$%^&?
http://www.eslbase.com/diaries/hilalhastaoglu-2007-01-my-first-teaching-practice
Well, yesterday I had my last TP! It didn’t go as Aaah^&%$! Instead, I felt very comfortable! I can’t believe how much I developed my teaching skills. Monitoring, concept questions, drilling etc. My first TP was for 20 min. and this one was 60 min.! Oh, I think I never told any of you about the teaching practices during the CELTA, have I? Well, it goes like this;
You teach 9 times to students + you get 2 microteaching (each 10 min.) to your peers.
1st lesson: 20 min. to elementary students
2nd till 5th: 40 min. elementary
6th till 8th lesson: 40 min. intermediate
9th lesson: last lesson, 60 min. intermediate
Anyway, where was I? Yes, comparing my first TP to my last one. BIG DIFFERENCE. I learned so many teaching tactics, approaches, strategies, methods, styles… whatever you want to call them.
¨ I feel confident when I’m teaching.
¨ I don’t worry about questions coming from students anymore.
¨ I enjoy teaching grammar.
¨ I can categorize students into their learning styles (and I thought you need to be a psychologist to be able to do that). In addition to that, I learned that I am a kinaesthetic, visual, auditory and a interpersonal learner.
¨ When I’m teaching, I don’t see blank faces anymore.
¨ I learned to listen (yes, I know that is unbelievable).
¨ I know what “synonym” means!
¨ I can handle criticism!
¨ I don’t need pink stuff to help me overcome stress! (I wonder if any of my tutors and colleagues realised that I don’t bring my pink folder, pink pen, pink pencil, pink eraser to class anymore)
ZzZzzz…..(Sleep) vs. (CELTA)….9am - 7pm
Sunday, March 11th, 2007
I was supposed to prepare for my CELTA Teaching Practice and one of my assignments due the next day. However, I forgot all about it and spent hours watching TV and thinking about the Eurovision contest. It was something like 1:00am when I remembered I have class the next day. “Oh My God!!!” was the only sentence I said to my self for at least an hour. The time was 2:00am and I still hadn’t prepared a word for my lesson plan or assignment! I sat down in front of the computer and started working on it. Finally, I had finished everything at around 7 am (writing my lesson plan, preparing the activities, finding visuals I may need, thinking and searching for the stress on the new vocabulary I was to introduce, preparing activities and their answer keys, writing out my assignment etc.). My class was to begin at 9 am. So, I left the house at 8am and was there on time!
Note: That day ended at 7pm; I managed not to fall asleep or look tired for 10 hours!
P.S. I got an Above Standard for that lesson and a pass on my assignment!
P.P.S. This may happen to you as well. What I kept on telling my self all night was “You’re young and you have energy”! So try to convince your self when you are at a crisis. However, don’t forget your health comes first, so don’t push your luck.
Posted in teaching practice, forgot, celta, lesson plan, plan, English, assignment, sleep | 2 Comments »*** $ Business English $ ***
Sunday, March 11th, 2007
Yes!!! The CELTA gave us a class on Business English! It was so much fun! One of my tutors told us about how Businessmen learning Business English enjoy kinaesthetic activities! It was funny thinking about adults in suits running around for a task! However, one of my colleagues thought teaching Business English requires wearing a suit! Hehehe!
Many people have many opinions in regards to Business English. Here is how it was defined;
* Communication with a sense of purpose. Language is used to achieve an end, and its successful use is seen in terms of a successful outcome to the business transaction or event.
* Users of Business English need to speak English primarily so that they can achieve more in their jobs.
* Performance objectives take priority over educational objectives or language learning for its own sake.
Teaching Business English – Mark Ellis and Christine Johnson 1994 OUP
Here is a great BoArD GaMe by ESLbase for Business English.
http://www.eslbase.com/resources/business-english-board-game.asp
Posted in celta, businessmen, business english, English, business | No Comments »&^%$£ YoUnG LeaRNeRz! (*&^%
Sunday, March 11th, 2007
The best thing about the CELTA course is that they go through other areas as well, like teaching Young Learners (YLs)!! Before starting the CELTA course, I was teaching English to YLs and it was wonderful looking at the difference between the two learners (adults vs. young learners)!
¨ Adults can concentrate longer than children.
¨ YLs learn quickly and forget quickly.
¨ We need to consider motor skills when teaching YLs.
¨ Teachers need to think about activities to develop social skills for YLs.
¨ Routines help to solve behavioural issues in the YL classroom.
¨ YLs energy levels are high.
¨ Accuracy is not important to YLs
¨ YLs are usually externally motivated.
¨ It is important to do creative and imaginative activities with YLs.
¨ YLs tend to acquire language whereas adults actively go about learning it.
*** Did you know? ***
Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
Trivia about the English language and word origins (By: Corsinet.com)
• No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.
• Of all the words in the English language, the word “set” has the most definitions.
• “Ough” can be pronounced in eight different ways.
The following sentence contains them all: “A rough-coated, dough-faced ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully.”
• “Rhythms” is the longest English word without the normal vowels, a, e, i, o, or u.
• The word “assassination” was invented by Shakespeare.
• The ZIP in Zip-code stands for “Zoning Improvement Plan.”
• DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid.
*** English [Easy] oR [Difficult]? ***
Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today and English is one of them. I was talking to some friends the other day. We were trying to figure out whether English was a easy language or a difficult one to learn. I couldn’t decide.
What do you think?
Posted in easy language, difficult language, first language, celta, English | 1 Comment »*** SPeLLiNG GaMes Are FuN!!!! ***
Monday, March 5th, 2007
Here is a fun spelling game you can have your students play. It can be useful in teaching phonemes with two letters like “sh”, “ch” and “th” as well. Don’t let spelling become a nightmare!
Spelling Game
By: GamesDr.com
Instructions: Click and drag the letters to form a word!
GAME 1:
Spelling Game
Provided to you by the GamesDr.com - 100% Free Myspace Games.
GAME 2:
Word Search 2000
Provided to you by the GamesDr.com - 100% Free Myspace Games.
*** GRaMMaR is not a MONSTER!!! ***
Sunday, March 4th, 2007
Most students think grammar is a big monster. You need to tell your students that “GraMMaR tHe MoNsTeR” never kicks people, never punches people and never bites!
Advice:
* Use visuals to teach grammar: Use time clines with pictures, examples with pictures (Here is a website that is useful for visual learners: englishtenseswithcartoons.com )
* Avoid mathematical formulas: To be (am/is/are) + going to + Verb1. Use this structure with examples! Using this form alone will look boring and boring and boring… Zzzz!
*** (((Asia - Europe))) and (((CeLTa))) ***
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
Picture By © Corbis Photos
I travel between Asia and Europe, just so that I can get the CELTA certificate!
Picture By © Balsoy.com
Istanbul is the only city in the world reaching across two continents. Atleast 10 million people travel between Asia and Europe everyday. Usually 2 or 3 people travel between Asia and Europe, every other course, for the CELTA certificate! I am one of them.
*** Human Mind VS. Language ***
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
When I was 5, we had Chinese neighbours. I would sneak out of our house and visit them daily! Whenever I was missing, my mom knew exactly where I was. However, just a few months ago I was teaching English to 2 boys and they had a private Chinese teacher. She didn’t know a word of English and I didn’t know a word of Chinese. I was starting to think that we will have a huge communication problem. Yet, as she spoke, I understood what she was saying! Ahhhh &^%$ was my first reaction!
I felt like Doctor Dolittle, a physician who rediscovers a very special gift he has suppressed ever since he was a young boy - the ability to understand and talk to animals (Dr. Dolittle - Directed by Betty Thomas).
Conclusion: The human mind is like a memory bank which stores almost everything! I guess my experience proves some theories of language learning/teaching wrong. Language is not always about loads of practice; instead it is about forming the right base to give opportunity for improvement.
P.S. I understand Chinese!
Posted in ITI, celta, first language, teaching practice, English, mind, memory, istanbul | 4 Comments »*** YOU ARE WRONG! ***
Sunday, February 11th, 2007
Making errors are part of learning!
Let’s face it; hardly anybody likes others finding their errors/mistakes! However, there are several ways to treat errors/mistakes without having anyone hate you for it!Error: Lack of knowledge – Don’t know the correct version yet - Fossilised
Mistake: Slip of the tongue (ooops!)
A - English as a first language: We know how to correct our mistakes/errors and we can recognize our mistakes for what they are.
B - English as a second language: Not only do they not always recognize their mistakes, but when their attention is drawn to them they often cannot correct them; they may even commit another error in trying to do so. (Reference: S P Corder: Introducing Applied Linguistics pp.256/7)
TREATMENT:
* Concept Questions * Face expressions * Gestures * Re-formulation * Peer correction * Using the white board * Repeat sentence with a blank (beep) for them to fill in with correction etc.
The other day, during our error correction class, our tutor read intonation as in-te-nation. She was asking us whether any of us say it in another way. I told her that I say in-tow-nation! Canadians say it different!
Conclusion: It may not always be an error/mistake; it may be a pronunciation difference.
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