June 6th
Although this is my first time teaching a live class, there are many aspects to consider. Firstly, I’m lucky that I have confidence in my own abilities, as I wasn’t unnerved nor had much anxiety when I opened my lesson. I enjoyed being up there, almost like it was a performance. Despite these positives, this teaching session has ironically taught me mush to consider as well. The introduction was lacking in context and direction, leading to some disorientation in the opening. Further, I failed to consider the proficiency of my students. Though some would consider it admirable that I was willing to treat my students as if they were academically proficient like the peers I’m usually exposed to (this being a university setting) the course was still an English second language course. So, printing off a section of an academic journal was probably not the best strategy for the nature of this course. On top of that, the lesson itself could’ve had a bit more structure.
Still, I did enjoy the class, and it has taught me much to consider. Despite the confusion there was good energy and a positive atmosphere throughout the session. It is not uncommon to go off script of the lesson plan and improvise as the teacher sees fit. We dissected the meanings of the words ‘accessible’ and ‘portable’ which the students were able to grasp. All in all, there needs to be an improvement on classroom management, given the nature of the course was communicative, and more structure in the lesson plan. But the topic was relevant, and we were able to come up with some good ideas to structure around a debate for the next class.
June 13th
This class began much better than the first one. The last class taught me much, including the benefits of having a clear, relatable, and relevant opener. In keeping it tied to the bulk of the lesson, which was to debate the positives and negatives of E-books versus print, we discussed the merits of the audiobook, its popularity in the classroom, and whether we could classify it as an E-book as well. While still sustaining positive atmosphere, the class began their debate. It went well, but clearly it could have used more structure. Perhaps instructions or a template of some kind to entrench the flow of the debate. Here though, my personality turned against me, for my voice appropriated most of session. It is important for ESL students to hear a native speaker talk naturally, but the essence of a communicative course is to have the students communicate while the teacher shepherds the conversation. This session has at least opened-up awareness of myself within the classroom and has allowed me to reflect on what should be the focus of my role.
Still, the discussion heated up, and students were enthralled, as well as engaged in the debate. The result was a bit surprising to me as well, as the students in certain circumstances preferred to use print books over E-books.
June 20th
I find this lesson in theory an innovative idea, but in practice there were some things I would have changed. For the amount of engagement I’ve experienced with this class, I found in this lesson more reluctance to try out some improv and roleplaying. This may have been the case because I failed to provide a proper set up, and asked them to try things that they may have not been ready to experiment with. In tandem with the topic of trends and fame, I had taken a transcript off YouTube from an influencer doing a make-up tutorial and a brief introduction from a auto-biography of Jimi Hendrix. I had removed some of the words and had the students replace them in class, in attempt to try a session of madlib theatre, where they would then act the scene for the class. This activity I felt would have been ideal because it is an eccentric activity for a lesson that would require students to listen and acquisition form and vocabulary by acting out English transcripts. The words I eliminated from the transcript I felt were difficult and had them use words with which they were familiar. Moving forward with this method, I should first be stern with my approach in selecting students should they opt not to volunteer. An approach I should also follow is to instill their confidence where they would be more willing to volunteer. For this approach in an English communication class, having them see the videos or having a worksheet with the transcript in front of them would give them a sort of scaffolding to fall back onto as they were performing the scene. If I had told the class to engage this activity as acting coaches, and having the whole class guide them through the different actions in the transcripts, it would’ve included the entirety of the class and ease the pressure off of the brave individuals who were playing out the scene. Regardless, this class was my least productive, but in failure there are lesson to be learned and corrected, and at least I can experience these failures as a student rather than as a teacher.
June 27th
The lesson went much better than last weeks. I have included a PowerPoint into this lecture, which has helped improve my structure, transition, and timing, as well as keeping myself and my class on track. I created a relevant warm-up. I have my template, rhythm, and pace set, and now I just need to refine minute details. This includes balancing out the ratio between student and teacher talk. I still monopolize speaking time during the session, as well as not allowing everyone in the class to contribute something to the conversation. I also need to refine my lecture wrap up, which I can include some form of verbal assessment and classroom feedback from the students. Despite this, it has been suggested that I am developing the composure of a teacher, which really excites me.
June 29th
This lesson demonstrated to me how to set up my classes. From Tuesday’s lecture my students and I found value in images that correspond to my lecture topics. The topic included means of recycling, up-cycling, and composting, topics that I am very interested in and well versed on, so it was very enjoyable for me to teach this type of content. The students knew a thing or two about it as well, as we discussed and brainstormed different ways of reusing waste materials. The crux of the lesson was when we began dissecting what materials are organic, and therefore can be composted. A student suggested excrement as a source of organic material, and there was noted an increase in attention and engagement as we began discussing some alternative synonyms for excrement. What students find fascinating is quite universal, and it is nice, fun and productive to have these tangents in class, especially if it compels students to converse with each other.
To end the session, I gathered some feedback from the students, and they gave me some sound advice. I do need to watch the pace of my speech, as sometimes it just flows naturally, which may be a little too fast for some students. They informed me that they enjoy learning new vocabulary as well and to consider including more in my lectures.
July 4th
So, it was at this point in my teaching where I felt I had established my methodology and had a pretty good pulse on my flow. An opening question that set the topic, drew in attention and was broad enough for an open response. The students were asked about any interesting places that they have visited, and we had answers ranging from nature park in Ethiopia, to the Great Pyramids of Egypt. This question was placed with some of my personal vacation photos, which the students really took to; they were asking their own questions about where I’ve traveled to and the names of various things in the background. This is a simple way to coax out communication. The vocabulary was more difficult this time, but we went through each term and students were effective at adhering to the meaning, with me guiding their learning.
July 6th
This lecture has had the highest engagement in my teachings so far. The topic was engaging, and we had developed some interesting and unique responses. As my class has student from all around the world, from Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa, they all had something worth contributing. As I had missed breakfast that morning, I told this to the class and then proceeded to ask them if I was in their home country, what would they recommend I try for breakfast. We got answer ranging from traditional staples like toast and cereals. Some of the more interesting responses included fried breads, something resembling a pancake, to chilaquiles, a dish I was privy to try while I vacationed in Mexico. Further into the lesson we delved into the North American food pyramid, and what was considered proper nutrition. Then we compared it to a modern food pyramid, as well as food guides from around the world. This exercise required students to work in groups, move around a little and to use their own knowledge to complete a task.
Another idea I picked up from last lesson is to include 2-3 minutes for open questions, which the students could ask me anything, personal or otherwise. For the purposes of a communicative course, this provides the students the opportunity to communicate at their own level, throw in dialogue that may be unfamiliar but is scaffolded by any concept they may wish to discuss and an opportunity to hear rhetoric from a native speaker.
July 11th
The conversation had in this class are quite humorous. In a topic about ethicality of some uses we have for animals, I opened with the question ‘would you like to have a pet,’ and of course there were various responses. One of my students expressed a disdain for cats, dogs, and other traditional pets, only to fawn over a picture of me petting a horse in the next slide, to which I briefly interjected by saying that horses can count as pets.
This lecture I was keen on keeping student engagement dynamic and on the go, from teacher to student, communication, student to student communication, and groups to class debate style. Engagement was strong there was a decent quality in responses and answers. This class I failed to be cognizant of feedback and assessment. Some instructions could’ve been applied more clearly and concisely, and it was probably worth probing the students more to see if they understood what they were being asked to do. Still, energy was fantastic, and the students impressed me with their philosophy.
July 13th
This lesson was another example of using content that is important to me as a geography major, and of course has relevance to people outside of North America, public transportation. The visuals in this presentation gave the students a little chuckle, so it is gratifying to see them get my sense of humour.
It was interesting to hear their experiences with public transportation here in Kamloops, and I felt most of them came from a place where public transportation is reliable, robust, and efficient. So, I thought getting them to roleplay as the city counsel was an opportunity for them to share some of their ideas to help make the city more navigable, and it paid off. The first debate I hosted in this class didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, and to see this one succeed as it did, it made me very happy. Answers as simple as more funding for the networks, more active buses, and a greater dispersion of bus stops, to more intricate ideas like bridging the North Thompson between the communities of Westsyde and Rayleigh and to give priority to pedestrian spaces in Kamloops. Students were even open to ask me my ideas on how to improve commuting throughout the city.
July 18th
This was my final lecture as a TESL student teacher, and I was very proud of my lesson plan and how we engaged in the topic. We discussed some personal themes, including childhood activities and ambitions. We discussed how our expectations, dreams and interests change as we get older and acquire knowledge and experiences.
Student groups discussed their goals for the future, and I gave them the opportunity to give each other advise. In my experience, classmates can be the pinnacle of support, especially in university settings, and I may have come a long way, but the waters would be that much more treacherous without the friends and colleagues I have earned throughout my post secondary career.
I will never forget the experiences I gained teaching these wonderful students and their insights from around the globe will aid in my inter-cultural abilities.
Teaching Reflections- Saigontourist Hospitality College
Dec 12th
This is a reflection of my entrance into the field of teaching abroad.
I was very excited to experience teaching abroad for the first time, and it was all the more rewarding to visit Asia for the first time as well. Not only did I get to experience a new and distant culture from my own, but I was also there to experience it with an admirable objective. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is an energetic city with a lot offer the world. It was a privilege to engage with aspiring students breaking into the tourism field.
My experience with teaching has so far stemmed in relating to advanced students in conversational English, where my students are engaging real world topics and expressing their opinions and thoughts into English while conveying them to the rest of the class. Their diversity in languages and culture, that one tends to find in Canadian University settings, also disincentivizes conveying thoughts to each other in one’s own language. In my first attempt to teach young adults, who have a common language among each other and are still learning basic English, is a stark contrast to what I have experienced prior.
So, in going through this class, I recognize that what I have used in the past so far may not be as relevant to beginner students that are yet as fluent as my previous ones. As well, in shaking off a semester worth of rust in the Teaching English vault, I have had to re-shed some critical mistakes I made as fresh student teacher. They include the diversifying of activities centered around a lesson plan. Although I am a teacher with a role that requires my students attend their focus to me, I am not there to monologue. It is necessary to hear native speakers to speak their language, but listening is only one of many parts in language acquisition.
Still, I will not forget how this lesson went. Though the students were empathetic and enthusiastic, there is much for me to take away from this debut, and I will make it serve me well in the adventures ahead.
Dec 14th
This is a reflection of my second lecture here at the Saigontourist Hospitality College.
This class felt much more professional than my previous attempt here. This class more closely resembles lectures I have taught in the past, where the students have more confidents in their English proficiency and has a topic that I can apply to incite conversational English, or to manicure a dialogue related to a specific field. This class, Teaching English for Specific Purposes in tour guiding, has allowed me to gain incite and inspiration from some older lesson plans. This includes some related activities that have given me success in the past, such as utilizing YouTube videos to convey the flow of English language structure.
I was able to plan this lecture with some opening content to dictate the flow of the class and to allow students to talk about where they’re from. This opened the floor to talk about sites, monuments, settings, and other tourism related activities that potential tourists abroad may want to engage in. We fortified it with the planning of an itinerary, and eventually acting out a vlog about a specific site that is advertised in Vietnam. I hoped to introduce YouTube as a real-world source of English content that students may find entertaining and to help them develop an ear for English conversation related to their fields of interest.
This is a template I wish to refine for future classes I may lead.
