TEFL course diaries - Moya Daly

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!!!

Well, I’ve managed to get through the first term….. one down only three to go!I don’t know what happened but my last post was not published!!! I wrote it last weeek but I couldn’t get it to publish for some reason. This is rather annoying and I hope it’s not going to happen again. Last week we had to do another presentation-audiolingualim-remember? Well I was up till 3.30 working on my part and this was the Saturday that the clocks went forward, so this meant that it was actually 4.30 am when I crawled into my bed-and I had to be ready for a wedding the next day at 8AM!!!!!!! Is it any wonder I was falling asleep in the temple? This was my first Sikh wedding and it was a memorable experience. Sadly my daughter, whose friend was the bride,was unable to attend as she had been admitted to hospital. She’s fine now-on the mend, but it was another thing to worry about.
The presentations went well-although ours was not quite as professional as the others-still my thanks go out to my partner who put it all on powerpoint for us. It was a little daunting delivering the presentation, as this is not really a particularly popular method of teaching, and at one stage I had to remind my audience that I wasn’t an advocate-I was simply trying to present the facts. We also had an impromptu demonstration by another teacher at the college using Cuisinere rods. Now this is a method I would never have believed could be so effective.The man was amazing! In ten minutes-honestly-he taught five of us some German: six colours, please, thank you, can i have a _____ rod please? Can I have two/three/four_______ rods please? It was a fantastic experience, and I would love to look into this method-it is linked to ‘The Silent Way’ methodology, which was one of the presentations from the previous week. These various methods of teaching will form the basis of our next but one assignment, after the policies and procedures one, which is due in after the Easter break on 24th April.
My observed lesson went quite well. Not as well as I had hoped, but not helped by the fact that my tutor turned up earlier than planned,which threw me somewhat. I think I was too ambitious- I tried to impress her with something I hadn’t ever tried before-BIG MISTAKE! The students had to obtain information from a timetable and convey it to their rspective groups to enter on a worksheet of comprehension questions. They worked in groups , one at a time as I had put the timetables outside the classroom to make it more fun, and get them moving about more. Hmmmm! Well serves me rigt for trying to be clever-this was an exercise easily within their capabilities, yet they seemd to have all kinds of problems completing the activity.
Anyway, I had my feedback yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive some encouraging comments which i have to share, including “…….you’re obviously a very competent teacher…….” WOW! That was lovely to hear. Still it was only a softener really, since I had totally neglected to realise that when the individual students were running in and out of the room to obtain the info from the timetables, the other members of the group were………… well, what were they doing???? Er…. nothing!!! What an idiot I was! Golden rule-you must engage ALL of the students ALL of the time! This was the main area to work on. The other comment was that at one point there was a little too much Teacher Talking Time. I am always working on this, and I think I am improving. She also said that my classroom felt like a very warm and safe environment, and I had a good rapport with my students. That was nice to hear. She praised me for the (last minute) work I had done on my class and student profile, which helped her to assess and understand why I planned my activities in the way I did. Still I guess that all in all, this wasn’t a bad first observation.
March is now over, thankfully. I am going to visit my Mum over Easter, and I shall thoroughly enjoy my few days off. I’m so annoyed that I didnt save that post last week-it was so much more entertaining than this one. Oh well-I’ll recharge the batteries over the Easter break and let you know how the assignment is going as and when.
Happy Holiday!

In less than 12 hours it will all be over-well this part anyway! I have my first observed lesson tomorrow and I swore I wasn’t going to start stressing at this early stage……….oh how I lied!!!!!!! I got into work at 8.15 this morning and worked on the lesson plan almost non stop till 1pm , when I had to teach again. After the (unprepared) lesson, I proceded to try and get tomorrow’s lesson plan completed.
I feel as though I haven’t moved on from the CELTA course-I tend to be rather indecisive-understatement-when it comes to observed teaching-even within my own place of work! This is why I am usually left panicking at the last minute. If only I could stick to what I originally planned to teach……. but no, I keep coming up with these brilliant ideas on how to wow the observer-A NEW ONE EVERY DAY!Eventually I had to decide and so spent another hour and a half designing the new materials that I needed. Why oh why didn’t I just use the Skills for Life student pack and materials? No I had to try and be clever. Planned a kind of running dictation style comprehension. (hmmmm… yes, I wondered, too)
Anyway, after photocopying everything and remembering to copy the lesson plan for myself, I stupidly left it at work, so will have to go in early YET AGAIN to highlight all the bits I want to remember. I hope the cleaner doesn’t move anything on my desk: I will freak out! Poor Polly-my 14 yr old daughter- has been ill off and on for the last 12 days. She now has a mouth full of ulcers and the usual mother’s guilt seeps in BIG TIME!! Any other day I would have just called in late and taken her to the GP, but I have no way of contacting my tutor at this late stage, so I have to hope that the doctor will have an afternoon appointment free. One thing I am sure of-once my hour long stand alone observed lesson is over, my students will be glad to know that I am off home to my daughter! There is a limit, you know.
If anyone’s interested, my E1 students will be ‘obtaining information from a school timetable, talking about likes and dislikes re school subjects, and writing a sentence or two about it.’ That’s the plan, anyway. Let’s see if I manage to achieve my aims, eh? Can’t wait till it’s all over. This is worse than the dreaded presentation.
I will let you know how it goes-if I can stay awake!!!!!
Wish me luck!

In less than 12 hours it will all be over-well this part anyway! I have my first observed lesson tomorrow and I swore I wasn’t going to start stressing at this early stage……….oh how I lied!!!!!!! I got into work at 8.15 this morning and worked on the lesson plan almost non stop till 1pm , when I had to teach again. After the (unprepared) lesson, I proceded to try and get tomorrow’s lesson plan completed.
I feel as though I haven’t moved on from the CELTA course-I tend to be rather indecisive-understatement-when it comes to observed teaching-even within my own place of work! This is why I am usually left panicking at the last minute. If only I could stick to what I originally planned to teach……. but no, I keep coming up with these brilliant ideas on how to wow the observer-A NEW ONE EVERY DAY!Eventually I had to decide and so spent another hour and a half designing the new materials that I needed. Why oh why didn’t I just use the Skills for Life student pack and materials? No I had to try and be clever. Planned a kind of running dictation style comprehension. (hmmmm… yes, I wondered, too)
Anyway, after photocopying everything and remembering to copy the lesson plan for myself, I stupidly left it at work, so will have to go in early YET AGAIN to highlight all the bits I want to remember. I hope the cleaner doesn’t move anything on my desk: I will freak out! Poor Polly-my 14 yr old daughter- has been ill off and on for the last 12 days. She now has a mouth full of ulcers and the usual mother’s guilt seeps in BIG TIME!! Any other day I would have just called in late and taken her to the GP, but I have no way of contacting my tutor at this late stage, so I have to hope that the doctor will have an afternoon appointment free. One thing I am sure of-once my hour long stand alone observed lesson is over, my students will be glad to know that I am off home to my daughter! There is a limit, you know.
If anyone’s interested, my E1 students will be ‘obtaining information from a school timetable, talking about likes and dislikes re school subjects, and writing a sentence or two about it.’ That’s the plan, anyway. Let’s see if I manage to achieve my aims, eh? Can’t wait till it’s all over. This is worse than the dreaded presentation.
I will let you know how it goes-if I can stay awake!!!!!
Wish me luck!

Ok Ok so it’s finally over-the Dreaded Presentation has been delivered, and you have no idea how relieved I m feeling! Well, if you’ve been reading this,then perhaps you will be able to imagine the relief at least. I’d love to be able to say that it was worth all the stress and hard work………..but I’m sorry, it wasn’t! Not that it didn’t go well, because it did(thanks to the combined effort of our group, not least H, who designed the powerpoint stuff, and M, who operated the changes of page throughout this nerve-racking ordeal) I have no idea if that is actually a verb….to page-change??? It seemed to be quite successful. A couple of overlapping points, one part where I prayed no-one would ask a question because I had totally forgotten what a phrase meant, and one amusing point where I reverted into teacher mode and started the elicitation process ‘…..can anyone tell me………?’ Went down well, however: I acknowledged how as teachers we seem to do this naturally, and laughed it off.
Secretly we thought ours was the best….well, we would, wouldn’t we? However I still can’t accept that it was worth the sleepless nights-my older daughter remarked, ‘I always hated presentations at Uni;I still maintain it was the tutors way of getting the students to give the lesson instead, thus saving them work.’ Now,I did not say that, remember, SHE did!!! I have to say at this point that this course deals quite strongly with the famous student-centred/student-led lesson theory. I have really enjoyed the input sessions on the various views on methodology, and have managed to read quite a lot of the famous Geoff Petty.Much of it is very interesting, and I can see why things have veered away from the dated and traditional methods. I must say, however, that regardless of the million and one surveys and investigations,I have yet to be converted to the theory that lessons should be completely student-centred. Peer correction can never be 100% effective, despite being productive in that it promotes L2 speaking. Students, regardless of age and background,will nearly always expect their ‘two penn’orth’-i.e. teacher direction and teacher correction. Uh-oh!! I said the C word-a very dirty word in this very enlightened era! Heuristic is the buzz word. They must DISCOVER things for themselves!!! However, as one student was so quick to point out to me (when I applied my taught methods of self correction and smugly asked,’Now, what do you think is wrong with this here?’ ,rather than telling him)……….’You are teacher-you tell me what is wrong!’You have to laugh, don’t you?
So,presentaton over, and all that remains is….well, the rest of the course basically, which includes this assignment INCLUDING the b****y grid, the next 9, the 6 observations, the 5ILPs,the portfolio in all its glory and probably the loss of my sanity. Hallelujah! Oh, by the way, I have another (unassessed) mini presentation to research for next week-this time on audiolingual teaching-so interesting at least-AND my first observed lesson will be on Friday 23rd March, so watch this space-I now have something new to stress about. March is a very busy month for me-Piano Festival with youngest daughter, trip to Suffolk to see my Mum on Mother’s Day-of course,my very first Sikh wedding on 25th,and an overdue visit to Northampton to see my younger son. Easter cannot come soon enough for me!!!!!!!!

Well, last week was a nightmare!Felt quite confident when I walked into the session…………and most definitely NOT when I left-early, you remember-I had to go to my daughter’s Yr 9 Options Evening. (Also not a barrel of laughs)
Anyway, we covered Teaching and Learning Styles, matching definitions and quotes from various authors, many of whopm I had never read. My group members, however, seemed to know them all!!!! Ever felt stupid???
Anyway, this week was the first of the presentations-one on Lifelong Learning, the other on Success for All. Both of these were very professional, and filled me with dread at the thought that it will be our turn next . My research has proved very draining, and I was stressed out even more when I discovered (Friday 4pm) that my group members needed my bullet points typed up and sent by’Saturday afternoon latest’!!!!! As I work all day on Saturday, this meant that I was up till 2.30am working on this mind-numbingly boring subject to produce just seven or eight bullet points and an introduction.I don’t ever want to discuss Inclusive Learning and its Influence on Practice EVER again!!!
Incidentally, in case anyone’s intersted, I finally got home at 9.30pm on Tuesday and Polly will be taking Italian and Drama as her options, along with Latin and GCSE Music in year 10!! I have so much more admiration for my children now that I am under the pressure of deadlines myself.
I hope that my moaning doesn’t portray me as a miserable person-I’m really not-honest!! I’m sure that once this presentation is over, and the THE GRID filled in, I can proceed to completing the first assignment within the allotted time frame and move on to more interesting topics.

Good news….I found a website to appeal against the ****** parking ticket, and lodged my appeal online, informing them I have proof of payment. Bad news………..I lost the ticket proving payment!!!!! Good news…………found it again today!
More good news………..I have been reading Geoff Petty’s ‘Evidence Based Teaching’(it’s the in thing, you know)and ‘Teaching Today’, which has reassured me that I am actually doing quite a lot of the recommended ‘stuff’ already. This boosted my confidence no end. Bad news………..first observation looms!!!!
First half of the input session was about reflective practice followed by best practice. We had to take in a lesson plan we had taught and scrutinise it for good and bad points…….hmmmmmm yes,well……. moving on……..
As the session went on, we discovered more and more ‘stuff’ we are required to include in our observed lessons. Class profile,for example must contain notes for each student (!!!) on level,background, learning style,assessmnet to date, and any relevant detail which could affect the teaching or learning! So that’s fine, then-no problems!!!!!! I felt close to tears.
Thank goodness for the second half-feedback on the mini task from last session. Very interesting-and no,sadly I did NOT shine, as I thought I would;actually my effort was very mediocre. The final nail in the coffin was when I had to ask what ‘inflected’ meant when referring to verbs!!! I’m sure everyone knows that-I, unfortunately, did not and this did nothing to boost my already drooping confidence.
On a (slightly) lighter note, (I use that term rather a lot, don’t I?)I have at least managed to log sixteen and a half hours of lesson plans. Only ninety-seven and a half to go then!
The presentation looms-(shivers in fear)-it’s no laughing matter, really.I just need to find the Tomlinson report somewhere, summarise it, pick out the important parts, match all these pats to the corresponding column in the grid, and think of an entertaining way of presenting these rivettingly interesting facts and figures to the rest of my class.
How could I ever have thought that CELTA was easy???????
More bad news……I missed my daughter’s school parents evening two weeks ago, rather than miss a week of the course. Now I find out that the Year 9 Options Evening is also on a Tuesday-next Tuesday, in fact. Had a very nice letter from her head of year saying how sorry she was not to have seen me at Parents Evening, and hoping I could make it to the Options Evening. So I had to make myself look totally uncommitted to the course by asking my tutor if I could leave early next week. She said that of course I shouldn’t miss this event, that it was very important, but of course the paranoid side of me was convinced that the words were uttered through clenched teeth, and I swear I could hear what she was really thinking……..useless, uncommitted, drama queen. I just KNOW she was!!!!
I need to start planning all my observed lessons well in advance. I am sooooooooooo scared.
Meanwhile, I must sleep, perchance to dream and all that. Just hope that damned grid assignment doesn’t make an appearance!
Until next week, then-bye!

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????

Now I know how my kids feel! I have never been so glad to know that there is a half term holiday! Input sessions this week were extremely contrasting. The first dealt with Objectives-unless the verbs used are actually something the students will be able to do at the end of the lesson- you just cannot use them!!! Structure of lessons and realistic objectives are weaknesses for me, so I felt very deflated and inadequate. It’s very daunting when you know that these are the things which will be scrutinised when you are being observed. I am also experiencing something I have never had to deal with before-cliques! In all my years as a mature student, I have always integrated well with my fellow trainees, however over 50% of this group is already working in the college, so there seems to be a bit of a divide, which is a real shame, as it does make things quite difficult. I am fortunate that I am quite confident and chatty, and I have to say that they’re not all like that, but nevertheless it’s a shock-and a first for me. Still fretting over the dreaded presentation-haven’t done any real research yet but it’s due on the 6th March I think, and I cant think of it without going cold all over!! Anway now to the positives-yes, there are some- the second half of the input session was bilingualism, accent and dialect and we discussed the demise of received pronunciation and the value(???) and acceptance of estuary English. This subject fascinates me and oh how I wish that the presentation were on this subject! Instead we have a mini task to do which isn’t even going to be marked or assessed!!! Just my luck.
I have yet to start logging my required 114 hours of teaching and I am the only one in the group to be so remiss. Every one of my lessons on a daily basis now seems to be lacking in almost every way! I must start some serious forward planning to ensure good lessons for the observations.
Apparently I am being overindulgent with my objectives-one is ideal-two is the maximum………….some days I have four or five!!!!!!!!!!! Note to self:-choose one, stick to it, time your activities and ensure the objectives are easily met. Oh it sounds so easy, doesn’t it?
Have I mentioned on here that I have a new grandson? I’m sure i did. He was born last Monday at 7.05pm-Kye Preston. My fourth grandchild, my son and daughter-in-law’s third child. That was my excuse for not having researched enough about Inclusive Learning. Never mind-I will shine in the mini task, I’m sure. We have to focus on one person for whom English is not a mother tongue and ask lots of very intersting questions, then write it up. Oh it really isn’t fair this won’t be marked as i’m sure I could do better in this than in the other project.
Anyway, must go now. Need to start reading some more books. Geoff Petty has been recommended so I bought two of his and now I’m off to look for some of the recommended titles in the bilingualism field.
Happy Teaching everybody!

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!!!!!