Moya Daly » Uncategorized

Hello everybody! Yes, I am back, but only just. It was a very long summer-I taught thoughout, apart from two days in July for my daughter’s graduation, and three in August. Remember the famous long weekend in a caravan I had eagerly awaited? Well, that didn’t materialise, I’m afraid.

I feel that I should mention here that I am seriously wondering whether to continue with the course. Circumstances at my place of work, an extremely upsetting family problem and total lack of self esteem are all conspiring to erode my determination  to see this through.

Steeling myself to return, and armed with  ‘holiday souvenirs’ (printed copies of a wonderful article on TBL) for my classmates, I breezed in to be greeted by my third-yes THIRD- assignment for re submission. This was not pleasant, to say the least, and I am ashamed to tell you all that I was reduced to tears, scarcely able to hide my mood. I did manage to compose myself quickly, and my (lovely) tutor did her very best to reassure me that this was not ‘failing’ and that it would not be a good idea to give up now. However, with my second observation looming (how stupid of me to postpone this last term) I am still having doubts.

I have 5 new students in my class this week, which is great, except that two of these haven’t yet stepped foot in the classroom yet, and the other three have yet to complete their diagnostic test. Not the most reassuring way to be attempting a successful observed lesson! Still, these things were sent to try us, as my mother always says, and at present I wonder whether there are any other recipients of ‘these things’ who are as fed up with ‘being tried’ as I am!!!

So to the Big O…………..(observation, that is). Yes, we have just started the Health module, and I had a wonderful lesson last week which generated some fantastic ideas and language, so was looking forward to continuing with the various resources. It was at this point, (you know - just when you thought it was safe to go back into the CELTA 2 classroom and all that………) I discovered that there would be disruption on a grand scale: a Job Fair meant that my students would be away from the classroom on the day that I was due to be observed, plus I received the great news that I was to have three new students. I did not crumble, folks….. I calmly negotiated with the Jobsearch team to change the day of the  Job Fair outing, put in lots of unpaid hours before and after class completing various admin tasks in anticipation of the new students, only to discover  three days before the BIG O that I would have not three but five new students. It was at THIS stage that I DID begin to crumble.

So here I am, everybody. Back, and crumbling, basically; once again asking myself the question, ‘Why am I putting myself through this?’  

Things are particularly precarious in the ESOL field  at the moment, due to the government’s latest directive towards numeracy and employability. Some of my colleagues and classmates have been affected by the cuts in teaching staff. So if any reader feels the need to post a short sharp reminder that I should stop whingeing and think myself lucky, please do so. Those of you who have followed my blog (are there any followers, truly?) will know that I can’t stand whingers, so no offence will be taken at all. As I write this, I am conscious of the fact that my lesson plan for tomorrow hasn’t been written yet. The ever -present P disease has not been cured and if you don’ know what this is, then it serves you right for not being one of my readers!

Update-it is twenty minutes past midnight, and I am just about to type out my lesson plan. It is written (well, scribbled) out, and all materials (yes, fifteen million handouts and worksheets-just to be sure) are copied and in the correct order. For how long, I cannot guarantee, since once I begin my lesson, I am positive (me? positive?) that they will be reduced to a muddled  array (should that be disarray?) as I struggle to forget I am being scrutinised-oops, sorry observed!! No matter. By coffee time tomorrow, there will only be four more of these tortuous experiences to endure! Did you detect that hint there? Am I actually reconsidering? Will I finish this course after all?

Once again I beseech you to ………Watch this Space! Wish me luck!

So excited I don’t know which to mention first, but in keeping with the title, I must disclose the claim to fame heading………..I have had a comment on my post from……….wait for it…………Dave Willis!!!! Yes, THE Dave Willis. How very kind it was to thank me for MY comments. I have raved about the books both on here and at college, and what’s more I passed the  methodology/reflective practice assignment (well almost-I forgot to write in the phonemes-couldn’t manage to find them on the computer!!) Good old Task Based Learning, I say.

Moving on, I cannot contain my relief at the thought of no college tomorrow. I feel terribly guilty saying this, as it in no way reflects my enjoyment of the content (well most of it anyway-does anyone truthfully get excited about  policies?) but I do have to say that Tuesdays have been very stressful, particularly when I have been up till four or five a.m. in order to meet deadlines for assignments!

The third was completed and duly handed in on the last day-this was the Learner support one, and it wasn’t quite as awful as I thought, but we will not have them back until September, so I shall simply put it out of my mind until then. Meanwhile, we have the Diagnostic Assessmnet assignment, which I am a little concerned about, as I have my own views on this which are not very complimentary.  Then the Discourse Analysis, which will involve mountains of work, but actually looks  quite interesting, as I mentioned before.

There is also a scheme of work to be planned and a rationale provided. This is difficult because it ties in with other portfolio requirements and as I work for a Training Provider, not a college, the intake is not on a yearly basis, but week to week, on a ‘Roll On, Roll Off’ system. Therefore students are arriving and leaving all the time, which makes the continuity of my portfolio difficult to maintain, to say the least.

For this week, though, I shall enjoy the freedom and the relief of having no balck cloud hanging over my head. (Just watch this space at the end of August-there will be one VERY stressed individual cursing for having left things until the last minute.

‘So what?’ I proclaim. ‘ Isn’t that what procrastinators do?’ I mean…….hay fever sufferers sneeze, smokers cough, drinkers slur their words, and procrastinators……well, you already know. Amnd if you don’t know, then you haven’t been paying enopugh attention to my diary blog, so I have no sympathy!!

I shall endeavour to astound everybody-including myself-by starting to think about these next mammoth tasks way in advance. Well, one can try, can’t one?

By the way, I found a resource I had thought was lost for eternity. I knew I had a dictaion activity related to money and numbers, which I need for a much later lesson I have to teach using numeracy. This was another great relief. I am now sharing my classroom again with a lovely lady from ‘Up North’ She and I are similar in many ways, and the last two weeks have been hectic, what with trying to make some space for her. After my last classroom sharer left, I simply spread out to fill the room with all my ’stuff’. Now I have had to move everything in a hurry, and I doubt I will ever remember not just where I put things but what resources I had that have now been stashed away somewhere never to be found.

Middle daughter graduates next Tuesday, oldest son moves house the following week, and as you all know (if you’ve been paying attention), youngest daughter takes her G7 piano exam on 18th July.

Hmmmmmm! Did I say I would be LESS stressed when the term ended?????? Must start to plan some of these assignments. Just not yet-I’m off to bed to enjoy that wonderful feeling you experience when youhave ……….no college for two months!!!!!!!

Hello

Just one more session left of this term…….hooray! Assignment 3 due in on that day………booooooooo! We now have two more assignments to be working on over the holiday-and I say that word lightly, you understand, because, in fact, poor me, I do not have a holiday. (Everybody say…….ahhhhhhhhhhh!) No seriously, please do not send words of sympathy, for I AM in fact having a teeny weeny holiday; I am going to Pagham with family for the August bank holiday, and have taken a couple of days off work beforehand, so I do in fact get a break. It should be relaxing, but I may have to take some ‘light reading’, (as in research for my discourse analysis assignment) and some notes on student assessment (yes, you guessed-that would be for my assessment assignment). But more of that later!

The conference was a little disappointing, as well as extremely exhausting. Arising at 5 am on a Saturday is not the most enjoyable of prospects to begin with. Furthermore, experiencing London Transport and its inefficiencies so early in the morning leads me to offer my greatest applause to all who are misfortune enough to have to use such an abysmal service an a daily basis! But I digress-the main attraction for me was the prospect of the task based learning workshop; sadly this was probably the most disappointing part of the day. My tutor had joked that I would probably find I already knew everything, and at the risk of sounding pompous, this turned out to be the case. The morning presentation, on the principles of Dogme,however, was very interesting. I recognised this term from something I had read, but wasn’t totally sure exactly what it was. The speaker was very good, and certainly held my attention throughout, unlike the afternoon presentation on Creative Writing, which I was looking forward to, but which failed to inspire me at all. A great shame, as this is also an area of interest to me. The afternoon workshop was successful, with lots of participation, ideas for class activities, and some points to think about. It was mainly concerned with dialogue, which will be extremely helpful for my Discourse Analysis assignment. Oh noooooooooooooooooooooo! I did it-I said the ‘A’ word! It is 2.19 am now, and I have yet to start putting my assignment together. I now have my ‘case study’ and pages of notes covering most of the bullet points, but it looks like once again I shall be sitting up till the wee small hours tomorrow in order to meet the deadline. (Why change the habit of a lifetime?)

Last week’s input sessions were very useful: continuation of Listening material, and the importance of its authenticity; then a very long but extremely informative session on Dyslexia, which I  found  both interesting and enlightening.

Anyway, I really ought to ge some sleep, because I doubt I’ll get more than two or three hours tomorrow night. Hopefully by the next blog entry, I will have completed and handed in my 3rd assignment. This will mark the very significant halfway stage of my CELTA 2, although I do still have an observed lesson to endure in the next month!! Hopefully this will keep you all interested, even though I have no idea what I am going to teach on that day. I’m sure that you all understand now about my affliction, and perhaps allow me just a little sympathy??? Enough for now-I’m very tired!!!

Hello everybody! After various problems on the site, I am back again! Now I have to get used to the new site and start my entries again. So, what do I have to reveal since my last entry? Well, apart from the class trip and the usual stresses and strains of family life (more of this later) I am very excited about the conference this weekend in Birmingham. One of my chosen workshops is on my newly found passion-Task Based Learning. I’m so surprised at the conversion; my enthusiasm was somewhat lukewarm when I first researched it for my assignment (which incidentally is currently awaiting ’second marking’) but I chose this teaching approach because it was so far removed from my usual method. Now, however, I am so enthralled by the progress I have made in incorporating it into my teaching, that I am eager to learn even more. I can’t say I’ve mastered the whole procedure-my time management is still a problem, and as my students are only E1/E2, the end stage is still in the early stages, if you will forgive the pun! Nevertheless, I have already used one of the ideas from my newly acquired literaure to help with planning my next scheme of work!! Are you all impressed? You should be! Negotiating course content sounds so professional, doesn’t it? Well, let’s face it, I am almost halfway though this course now, and I am beginning to realise that this qualification will indeed afford me the equivalent status of Qualified Teacher in FE!! Hmm, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here-there is the small matter of seven more assignments, five more nerve-racking observations, completion of portfolio, final professional research project, and two more terms of input. No worries!!!!!!!!!

OK, back to the TBL. After my class trip to a local Victorian House Museum, which was very enjoyable, we spent the next week planning and writing letters of thank you, and making a classroom display of  photos, headings and personal recollections of the day. This was an excellent opportunity for TBL, and I was so excited when I sat back and actually listened to the students during the task. I was genuinely surprised  at the amount of language generated by the collaborative planning. I sall endeavour to find out how to post photos on here, as the final result was a wall display produced exclusively by the students. There were ,of course, disagreements: type of display, siting of the display, which photos to select, arrangement etc. Nonetheless, even the disagreements enabled the learners to show what they knew, or at least try to! I was so proud of them!

The last few input sessions have been related to the next assignment-notice how I am able to write that word now without shuddering!! When I say next assignment, what I actually mean is the next next assignment, which will be number 4. The third, due in on the last day of term(that will definitely be a ‘good news, bad news’ day) is……..well, it’s …….er……… in my head, that’s where it is! At least, that’s where I am constantly writing it! This is the one about Learner Support, and it is NOT easy. Say no more. Number 4 assignment is at least interesting. The sessions have been quite enjoyable. Discourse analysis sounds so complex but honestly it’s an area of subject specialism which I find fascinating. That didn’t stop me from feeling pretty useless yesterday when I was unable to complete a task without asking everyone else. I wasn’t the only one who found it difficult,  thank goodness, but I managed to convince myself I was definitely the most incompetent in the room!

Never mind-there is always TBL. At this moment in time, I take comfort from the latest learning curve. The conference approaches…………………Birmingham, here we come!

I will try to sort out photos for future viewing. Watch this space!

Anyway,

Ok here goes:We have now started the second of four terms. Last week we all returned to college armed with our completed assignments-some far more professional than others (and I don’t include my own in that category)As per usual my affliction badly affected the quality of the assignment on Policies and Issues. ‘What is this affliction?’you may ask. Well I have suffered from this ailment for as long as I can remember-I believe it is genetic, but I can’t be sure. It begins with P-have you guessed yet? PROCRASTINATION!!!!! In all areas of life, mind-not just as a learner! Coupled with my other, slightly less serious, disease ( indecision) I am usually struck down quite badly when it comes to assignments and observed lessons. That reminds me, I must be due for my second observation soon.(But more of that later)
Anyway, having checked thoroughly the bullet points on the assignment brief, I feel confident that I have fully covered the required elements, and described efficiently how the policy is implemented in my workplace. I changed my mind at the last minute and decided to choose Lifelong Learing as my policy focus, as it was more relevant to the type of institution where I teach. Then you get to class, and glance nonchalantly at the perfectly presented masterpieces of the other students, with title front pages, colour coded referencing and your plain old two page offering seems….well..pathetic to say the least.(I was up till 4am the night before, so you can imagine how tired I was!) No matter, I was so excited because the first session was on syntax, and it was a really enjoyable session, both subject matter AND style of activity. Once again, I was struck by how much I DONT know; however this didn’t bother me, because I love learning more, especially when it’s grammar or phonology. The second session was quite heavy: correct terminology to describe different disabilities. Eye opening, difficult to take in, but reassuring that such a lovely young lady is in charge of this area.Looking forward to learning more about dyslexia in the next few weeks, as my younger son, now almost 19, is dyslexic, so I have a little to offer in the way of experience. It was sooooooooooo lovely going off to class today without the dark cloud of an assignment or presentation or observation looming overhead!Pure input-just what I love! First session was phonology-I had forgotten so much, I’m ashamed to say, but it was very interesting analysing students speaking on tape and identifying strengths and weaknesses. Picked up a few ideas for ways to improve pronunciation, and was happy to learn that some of the methods I already use in class were recommended. YeA!!!!!!I’m doing something right! I have my first tutorial next Tuesday and the next assignment is due in two weeks. I have to choose a teaching style I don’t normally use and teach a lesson, then evaluate it. As per usual, I have changed my mind at least three times. Silent Way???? Lexical Approach? Communicative? Latest choice is Task Based Learning, as it is the farthest removed from my usual method,however, watch this space, because………yes, you guessed it. I MAY change my mind! On a positive note, I have now logged 83 hours of lessons. Oh and I have also had another family crisis-this year has not been good to me. My daughter-in-law is in hospital with a clot on her lung; not ideal with three children, one of whom is only 12 weeks old. (you who have been faithfuly reading my diary will know this, of course)My son is quite capable, but it’s not easy-as we mothers know-and I have had the odd phone call, such as the one yesterday asking me if I could remember where he put his car keys the night before, as he needed to leave for the hospital, and Kye was screaming the place down. Daughter-in-law is recovering slowly. I’m off now to track my amazon account. I ordered three books which I need for my next assignment, and I’ve exhausted Petty for the moment!!!

Absolutely irrelevant really but I am soooooooooo furious that I got a parking ticket after paying £4.80 to park near the college-as I have to every week-only to find that the ticket had slipped down the windscreen and I had been ticketed!!! It was actually still partially visible, so I am really cross. It’s bad enough having to pay that much to park every week, without the added indignation of being faced with a 40.00 fine. I am going to appeal it. Any suggestions anybody????

Hello!
I am soooooooo tired I can hardly type. This is only the second day of the course and I felt so disillusioned that I wondered whether I had made a big mistake. The input sessions, though hard going, are informative and interesting. We learnt about Kolb and Bloom’s Taxonomy-makes you feel so-well clever, doesn’t it? Haha! This early in the course we’re still coming to terms with the course content and getting to know the tutors. (I hadn’t realised we would have so many different tutors-so far we’ve met and had sessions with 4!!)
The second half of the session today was a real problem for me:online researching for policy documents, which will eventually contribute to the dreaded presentation and ultmately to the first assignment. I wouldn’t mind were it not for the fact that we’re working in groups, and I feel so terrified that I’m going to let my group down. All the other groups were whizzing through, and sounded like they had theirs all sewn up. We, on the other hand, hadn’t even managed to locate the correct flippin webpage!!!! By the time we got to the last ten minutes I was desperate for the final feedback.
On a lighter note, I have started my reading - one of the main books on the recommended list-About Language-tasks for English teachers. It has some great chapters-my favourite is the one on Phonology. I can’t wait to learn more on that subject-I would love to do my final research assignment on that topic.
Anyway I am really too tired to write any more. This is such a boring blog. I had visions of being chirpy and humorous………………….some hope!!!!!

I couldn’t have chosen a worse time to start this course!!!! As you will know if you read my previous entry, I had to miss the first half of the first session to attend a funeral. This was a very sad day, so obviously not the best of starts. And, as I feared, I DID get lost AGAIN on the way to the college. However, I arrived in the middle of a group matching task and managed to contribute at least. Facts, figures, acronymns, FENTO standards, Skills for Life, Aim Higher, Success for All, Access for All……….well, ok-do you know what all these are?
Anyway, as with all courses, the first session centres around paperwork, enrolment, and far too much information being throw at you which you convince yourself you’ll NEVER remember. (Meanwhile, I had developed a splitting headache, had run out of paracetomols, and was unable to use the drinks machine because I had no change!!!!!!!!) Towards the end of the session, one of my classmates-can we call them that?- kindly gave me a tablet, so that by the end of the session the head felt better and I was fully placed to attempt the journey home armed with my important course booklets, and the terrifying scheme of work, listing what’s in store for us. Oh and as a nice little bonus-we have a group presentation to do in 3-4 weeks, which must include the use of Powerpoint……….HEEEEEELP!!!!!!!!
I think I need a couple of days holidays to read the booklets and take in the enormity of what I have let myself in for!
On a lighter note, I’m pleased to know that I already own two of the books on the suggested reading list, so I’m feeling dead smug, since I’ve done quite a bit of reading from them.
I’m off now to re read the course content. Bye for now

I don’t know what’s worse-being on the Celta course and fearing you’ll deliver a rubbish lesson on your TP slot OR delivering a lesson that you now KNOW is rubbish because, after all, you’ve done the course, you’re actually doing the job now and are well aware of making all those mistakes you were warned about.
As I count the days before I start this greatly-feared CELTA 2 course, I can just feel my confidence ebbing away. Every lesson I deliver at work now seems to be filled with the renowned pitfalls.
Note to self:Come on-you know you can do it!
Scary!

Well here I am, one week before the start of a course I know will wear me to a frazzle, and I find out I will be unable to attend the very first session. My very dear friend Claire passed away on Sunday morning after a fierce battle with cancer, and her funeral is on the first day of my CELTA 2 course. I am a stickler for punctuality and attendance and feel very bad about it, but these are extreme circumstances! Actually I’m a little concerned. My uncle passed away while I was doing my CELTA 1. Hmmmm!!!!!!
Anyway, as I am new to blogging I think I had better post this to see if it works first, before I go on to tell you all about my very exciting background. Ha Ha….that’s got you interested hasn’ t it? Speak soon , I hope!!