If I don't learn to differentiate this year, it's a fairly safe bet that I NEVER WILL. As well as starting the second year of teacher training, which I'll be converting to a PGCE, I hope, I've got two new teaching gigs, working with mums (it's ALL women) at two primary schools who don't have English as their first language.
I expect to spend a lot of time telling people not to speak Bengali, as 98% of the population here is from Bangladesh.
At one school, ALL the women in my classes are Bengali, which of course presents me with the new challenge of a monolingual class.
At the other school there's a better mix, which bodes well for making them speak English.
However, the real challenge this year is going to be the varying abilities of my groups. In the Entry 1 class, some of the women can read quite well, and know a bit of vocabulary, but some of them can barely speak, let alone read, English. Luckily for me, I have two colleagues at my college who both have lots of experience of combining ESOL with literacy.
Another class has people some of whom are transitioning from Entry 1 to Entry 2, who need their other E1 modes strengthening, and some of whom have already done E1 reading. Fortunately I don't have to decide *just* yet what exam I'm aiming for with them.
I'm less worried about my Entry 2/3 class, as I've combined the two levels before and they work well together.
But yes. Differentiation is King of the Academic Year 2007-2008.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Well, I'm glad I didn't complete my action plan two weeks ago, because now I'm engaged, completing my Cert Ed AND doing Stage 4 AND planning a wedding would be a recipe for disaster. So I'll (hopefully!) be completing the Cert Ed and getting married. I think that's quite enough for me.
So what have I learned this year? Quite a lot, actually. I think I've covered most of the major experiences here, but generally I've become a lot more comfortable in my teaching skin. Where at the start of the year I hated being observed with a passion, now I feel more able to simply get on with the job of teaching, regardless of who's watching me.
I know that it takes work to keep your professional knowledge up to date, and this is something I need to work on but feel able to do.
My studies have, I feel, made me much more rigorous in the way I plan- I think a lot more about what I'm doing and how and why- though equally, a year's experience on top of what I had in September has meant that, generally, planning takes me less time. Of course in the new academic year, with new classes, I'll be back a few paces as I get to know the new students and their new sets of needs, problems, anxieties, personalities and strengths.
I know, from talking through the action plan, where I want to be and what I need to do to get there.
Most of all, I know that I love my job, and wouldn't change it for the world.
So what have I learned this year? Quite a lot, actually. I think I've covered most of the major experiences here, but generally I've become a lot more comfortable in my teaching skin. Where at the start of the year I hated being observed with a passion, now I feel more able to simply get on with the job of teaching, regardless of who's watching me.
I know that it takes work to keep your professional knowledge up to date, and this is something I need to work on but feel able to do.
My studies have, I feel, made me much more rigorous in the way I plan- I think a lot more about what I'm doing and how and why- though equally, a year's experience on top of what I had in September has meant that, generally, planning takes me less time. Of course in the new academic year, with new classes, I'll be back a few paces as I get to know the new students and their new sets of needs, problems, anxieties, personalities and strengths.
I know, from talking through the action plan, where I want to be and what I need to do to get there.
Most of all, I know that I love my job, and wouldn't change it for the world.
Monday, June 18, 2007
So it's almost the end of the year. Exams are approaching, as is the end of the year and the beginning of uncertainty for me.
Most of the tutors discuss not the students who will pass, but those who will fail. It's interesting that in most educational situations, when the student passes, it is all their own work, but if they fail, it is the teacher's fault. In ESOL it can be very different. There are plenty of students whose failure is obviously attributable to their lack of attendance or, when they do attend, their failure to contribute positively to classes. These are usually the students who complain when they find they have not been entered for particular exams. The ones who are here all the time, but who simply find the next level of attainment too difficult to achieve in a year (why are they on the course? Usually because they've already passed the exams at the level they should be learning- often the certificate is from another college, sometimes all we can do is wonder how on earth they passed the exam, and wish we could meet the teacher who got them through it), tend to understand that they are not ready.
The lack of understanding on the part of the generally-non-attending students can be staggering. CF the student who asked me (after the deadline for entering students had passed) why she couldn't take the reading and writing papers and have an extra hour to complete each one, because then she was sure she would pass them.
As for myself, this represents the end of my first full academic year of teaching. I've discovered a lot about myself, I think. Most notably, I've had it brought home to me how easily your professional knowledge base can get rusty. 7407 has helped me become much more self-aware as a teacher. I notice what I'm doing in the classroom more- by which I mean such things as body language.
However, I've also discovered how demotivating a lack of job security can be. I have been working to complete the course and to get my students through the exams because I want to achieve good results in both. That said, I've felt that some of my spark has gone because, for all my hard work, the end of the academic year will bring a lot of changes, and with so many other teachers with more experience looking for work, those changes may not be positive. I love teaching. I want to keep teaching, for all the frustrations and moments where all you want to do is bang your head against the desk (also known as IT with Entry 2D). I may well end up back in admin work. There was a reason I changed careers. It's depressing to think that, although both I and another student on my course have worked so hard to complete, and have taken on jobs for the department that nobody else would take, we still aren't being offered work next year. One of the permanent staff is moving to Wales. This may mean a post becoming vacant. But the department's management have made no noises about replacing her, at least not to me.
The upshot of all this is that as well as preparing students for exams, and completing the last of my assignments for 7407, I am also spending a substantial amount of my time applying for work. If nothing else, it makes it easier to understand how difficult it can be for students with outside worries to have their work affected. When you have this kind of uncertainty looming over you, you may be able to work, but you won't work nearly as enthusiastically.
Part of this is about seeing the point in what you are doing. If I can't complete my qualification, then part of me wonders what the point is. Similarly, for students who can't find work, there may seem like little point in improving their basic skills, if even when they improve they are still not successful. I experienced this kind of demotivation when teaching Employability. However, I've seen it before, when I taught at a secondary school. The kids I taught there came from families where unemployment was rife among the adults, even those who had GCSEs or A-levels. If their own parents were out of work, and they had finished school, then, as far as most of these kids were concerned, there was no point in trying hard in their education. Seeing a good reason to do what you're asked to do is vitally important. This is why I always try to give one. Luckily for my students, passing their exams is a very good reason indeed.
Most of the tutors discuss not the students who will pass, but those who will fail. It's interesting that in most educational situations, when the student passes, it is all their own work, but if they fail, it is the teacher's fault. In ESOL it can be very different. There are plenty of students whose failure is obviously attributable to their lack of attendance or, when they do attend, their failure to contribute positively to classes. These are usually the students who complain when they find they have not been entered for particular exams. The ones who are here all the time, but who simply find the next level of attainment too difficult to achieve in a year (why are they on the course? Usually because they've already passed the exams at the level they should be learning- often the certificate is from another college, sometimes all we can do is wonder how on earth they passed the exam, and wish we could meet the teacher who got them through it), tend to understand that they are not ready.
The lack of understanding on the part of the generally-non-attending students can be staggering. CF the student who asked me (after the deadline for entering students had passed) why she couldn't take the reading and writing papers and have an extra hour to complete each one, because then she was sure she would pass them.
As for myself, this represents the end of my first full academic year of teaching. I've discovered a lot about myself, I think. Most notably, I've had it brought home to me how easily your professional knowledge base can get rusty. 7407 has helped me become much more self-aware as a teacher. I notice what I'm doing in the classroom more- by which I mean such things as body language.
However, I've also discovered how demotivating a lack of job security can be. I have been working to complete the course and to get my students through the exams because I want to achieve good results in both. That said, I've felt that some of my spark has gone because, for all my hard work, the end of the academic year will bring a lot of changes, and with so many other teachers with more experience looking for work, those changes may not be positive. I love teaching. I want to keep teaching, for all the frustrations and moments where all you want to do is bang your head against the desk (also known as IT with Entry 2D). I may well end up back in admin work. There was a reason I changed careers. It's depressing to think that, although both I and another student on my course have worked so hard to complete, and have taken on jobs for the department that nobody else would take, we still aren't being offered work next year. One of the permanent staff is moving to Wales. This may mean a post becoming vacant. But the department's management have made no noises about replacing her, at least not to me.
The upshot of all this is that as well as preparing students for exams, and completing the last of my assignments for 7407, I am also spending a substantial amount of my time applying for work. If nothing else, it makes it easier to understand how difficult it can be for students with outside worries to have their work affected. When you have this kind of uncertainty looming over you, you may be able to work, but you won't work nearly as enthusiastically.
Part of this is about seeing the point in what you are doing. If I can't complete my qualification, then part of me wonders what the point is. Similarly, for students who can't find work, there may seem like little point in improving their basic skills, if even when they improve they are still not successful. I experienced this kind of demotivation when teaching Employability. However, I've seen it before, when I taught at a secondary school. The kids I taught there came from families where unemployment was rife among the adults, even those who had GCSEs or A-levels. If their own parents were out of work, and they had finished school, then, as far as most of these kids were concerned, there was no point in trying hard in their education. Seeing a good reason to do what you're asked to do is vitally important. This is why I always try to give one. Luckily for my students, passing their exams is a very good reason indeed.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
So! Oculesics...
They're worth mentioning in reference to ESOL because, like any other part of NVC, they're very culturally linked. Eye-contact, as we all know, is a powerful thing, but it's something that's used in different ways by different cultures. For example, how many times have you heard (or indeed said) "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" or "Look me in the eyes and say that!". In England, eye-contact is how we show we are listening to someone, but in many other countries and in many other cultures, it is averting your eyes that signals respect- even more confusingly for the average teacher in the UK, many cultures make eye contact when they are being reprimanded, again not as an act of defiance, but as an act of respect. A teacher could easily think that a student was being rude or inattentive if they avert their eyes (and indeed my students with children report this happening fairly frequently to their sons and daughters of school-age), when really they are showing deference. Forcing eye contact on students is also another thing that could easily heighten their sense of danger, clouding what you're saying.
Vocalics and sound symbols are a huge topic in ESOL, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel by going too much into detail. Suffice it to say that we help ESOL students communicate by teaching them the importance of tone of voice and intonation- something they have to learn.
In conclusion, NVC is a vital part of a teacher's professional knowledge base. They have to ensure that what they say and what they do matches up for the students. Teaching English is not just about vocabulary and grammar- students in speaking exams are also marked on how well they communicate. NVC helps them make their message clear. NVC is invaluable in helping ESOL learners take their first steps in English- undestanding a gesture that is universal helps them attach words to something familiar. Finally, for ESOL learners, learning about NVC helps them communicate more effectively with others- surely the main aim of any ESOL teacher.
They're worth mentioning in reference to ESOL because, like any other part of NVC, they're very culturally linked. Eye-contact, as we all know, is a powerful thing, but it's something that's used in different ways by different cultures. For example, how many times have you heard (or indeed said) "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" or "Look me in the eyes and say that!". In England, eye-contact is how we show we are listening to someone, but in many other countries and in many other cultures, it is averting your eyes that signals respect- even more confusingly for the average teacher in the UK, many cultures make eye contact when they are being reprimanded, again not as an act of defiance, but as an act of respect. A teacher could easily think that a student was being rude or inattentive if they avert their eyes (and indeed my students with children report this happening fairly frequently to their sons and daughters of school-age), when really they are showing deference. Forcing eye contact on students is also another thing that could easily heighten their sense of danger, clouding what you're saying.
Vocalics and sound symbols are a huge topic in ESOL, and I don't want to reinvent the wheel by going too much into detail. Suffice it to say that we help ESOL students communicate by teaching them the importance of tone of voice and intonation- something they have to learn.
In conclusion, NVC is a vital part of a teacher's professional knowledge base. They have to ensure that what they say and what they do matches up for the students. Teaching English is not just about vocabulary and grammar- students in speaking exams are also marked on how well they communicate. NVC helps them make their message clear. NVC is invaluable in helping ESOL learners take their first steps in English- undestanding a gesture that is universal helps them attach words to something familiar. Finally, for ESOL learners, learning about NVC helps them communicate more effectively with others- surely the main aim of any ESOL teacher.
Monday, June 11, 2007
The communication presentation will be finished on here tomorrow.
In the meantime I'm just expressing my deep frustration with having to work with students who, quite evidently, can't be bothered with their classes. Most Mondays, my ESOL IT class only has one person in it. This is not because the work is too hard, as I have been very careful to ensure the work is at the right level, and that the students get all the help they need. It is because the class members simply can't be bothered to come. I have two students today which is highly unusual, but the second student has been away so long that he can't remember his password. Resetting it didn't help, as he has evidently shut the window asking him to change it, without reading the message (a common problem) and is now locked out of the system again. And of course, the IT helpdesk is empty.
Dealing with students like that is hard for me- what I want to do and know I shouldn't is yell at them, because this student's attitude makes me so cross. He wandered in late with no adequate explanation.
For some of our students, their upbringing and the country they come from does a lot to explain their attitudes to class and college- for example, Congolese students tend towards being late to very late, as they often simply don't understand the importance of timekeeping in the UK.
But for others it's pure laziness. And it's one of my biggest irritations as a teacher. I'm still working on strategies for dealing with it, but the main problem is that these students never show positive behaviour, which makes it impossible to reinforce positive behaviour with praise.
In the meantime I'm just expressing my deep frustration with having to work with students who, quite evidently, can't be bothered with their classes. Most Mondays, my ESOL IT class only has one person in it. This is not because the work is too hard, as I have been very careful to ensure the work is at the right level, and that the students get all the help they need. It is because the class members simply can't be bothered to come. I have two students today which is highly unusual, but the second student has been away so long that he can't remember his password. Resetting it didn't help, as he has evidently shut the window asking him to change it, without reading the message (a common problem) and is now locked out of the system again. And of course, the IT helpdesk is empty.
Dealing with students like that is hard for me- what I want to do and know I shouldn't is yell at them, because this student's attitude makes me so cross. He wandered in late with no adequate explanation.
For some of our students, their upbringing and the country they come from does a lot to explain their attitudes to class and college- for example, Congolese students tend towards being late to very late, as they often simply don't understand the importance of timekeeping in the UK.
But for others it's pure laziness. And it's one of my biggest irritations as a teacher. I'm still working on strategies for dealing with it, but the main problem is that these students never show positive behaviour, which makes it impossible to reinforce positive behaviour with praise.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Here's what I would have said...
In a subject like ESOL, communication is the be-all and end-all of what we are about. If our students are not able to communicate, in English, more successfully and correctly than they were able to before they came to us, we have, quite simply, failed. However, it is important for teachers of ESOL (or any language, particularly where you are teaching learners in a country that speaks the language they are learning) to remember that communication is not solely about what somebody says.
Equally, we have to be very aware of what we are communicating, and how we communicate, because our students will learn not only from information we give about, (for instance) correct grammar in the classroom, but from our example in a much broader and deeper way. They look to us as someone who can show them what is and isn't good English, both linguistically AND culturally to an extent.
Non-verbal communication makes up 93% of how we communicate with others, and how they understand us. It can be broken down into 13 categories (links to where I got all this from at the end):
Kinesics (body language) Body motions such as shrugs, foot tapping, drumming fingers, eye movements such as winking, facial expressions, and gestures
Proxemics (proximity)- where you are in relation to the physical environment, and other people.
Haptics: Touch
Oculesics: Eye contact
Chronemics: Use of time, waiting, pausing
Olfactics: Smell
Vocalics: Tone of voice, timbre, volume, speed
Sound symbols: Grunting, mmm, er, ah, uh-huh, mumbling
Silence: Pausing, waiting, secrecy
Posture: Position of the body, stance- this can be how you hold yourself naturally, or assumed postures.
Adornment: Clothing, jewellery, hairstyle
Locomotion: Walking, running, staggering, limping.
What makes every one of these things important in ESOL- even more than might be obvious- is the fact that non-verbal communication, just like spoken language, is linked very strongly to culture. This means that our students need to be aware of it, and we need to teach them about a lot of it, to help them break down the barriers to communication that face them as people whose first language is not English, living in an English-speaking country.
Kinesics:
Gestures are one of the most obvious culturally-based forms of non-verbal communication, and one that students do benefit from having explained to them, for the simple reason that just as a word that looks (and may even be pronounced) the same in two languages may have totally different meanings in each, so gestures do not necessarily translate across cultures. Any teacher who has flinched when a student gives them a reverse V-sign in order to give the answer 'two' will know exactly what I mean. However, gestures that have different meanings in other languages are something teachers should make themselves aware of. I do not only mean avoiding accidentally insulting a Nigerian student by giving them a 'thumbs up', I mean gestures that can cause considerably more confusion on both sides if a teacher isn't aware that the movement does not mean the same for the student who they are addressing as it does for themselves. Iranian and Albanian students nod their heads to say 'no'- if you ask the question you shouldn't ask, ie 'Do you understand', without knowing this, you could end up with some very lost students.
Of course, in a class of students with very low levels of English, universal gestures 'big', 'small', 'on', 'in', 'under', can be used to great effect- the gesture gives the students a 'hook' to connect their own language with the gesture, and the gesture with the English word. Correctly used, gestures are an invaluable tool.
Facial expressions can also be a minefield. In countries where politeness and hospitality are deemed important (such as Japan and Bangladesh), people learn to smile no matter how annoyed or angry they are- if their rancour worsens, the smile gets wider. A teacher cannot assume that their room of smiling faces means happy students who are having a good lesson. Equally, everyone has a 'screensaver' expression- the one you wear when you aren't communicating with other people. Quite often it can be mistaken for a bad mood. So grimaces aren't always the dead giveaway you would expect- the student may not be stuck, they may be going at just the right pace and find you slowing down to be deeply irritating.
Proxemics
Personal space is such a huge issue for the British that it is featured in citizenship coursebooks. Students need to be aware of how much space to give people they are speaking to- as do teachers- since invading a person's personal space will produce a danger reaction on the part of the person being spoken to, and that person will be so busy reacting to the perceived threat that they won't actually listen to anything being said to them. I am speaking from experience as someone who's retreated round classrooms before, backing away from someone asking about their exams.
However, just as with gestures, proxemics can be used to help modify the learning environment and make it positive. When helping someone in IT, I sit next to them to help them feel more relaxed than if I were standing over them. I do the same in group discussions, making sure I am on a chair that is the same height as the others- higher and I would still have more formal 'control', lower- well, let's not mention what could happen if I was sitting in a subservient position to the students. Equally, in classes where poor behaviour is rife, a teacher may seek to enhance the idea of their being in charge by standing up when the students are sitting down- a way of asserting dominance over the room. Being able to move easily around the classroom is another way to use proxemics to your advantage- if you are never obstructed by students or furniture, you will seem (and feel) much more 'in control' of the classroom, and your students will feed off this energy. I think it's important to move amongst them, even if you don't do it often, to assert your control over the whole room, not just the space in front of the whiteboard. It helps the students feel that you are not isolated from them, too.
We will assume that, as professionals who care about their CRB disclosures, haptics (touch) doesn't figure in your teaching, and move on to oculesics tomorrow- right now I'm out of time on the computer. Tune in again for the next exciting instalment of 'Non Verbal Communication and ESOL- a cultural perspective'.
Equally, we have to be very aware of what we are communicating, and how we communicate, because our students will learn not only from information we give about, (for instance) correct grammar in the classroom, but from our example in a much broader and deeper way. They look to us as someone who can show them what is and isn't good English, both linguistically AND culturally to an extent.
Non-verbal communication makes up 93% of how we communicate with others, and how they understand us. It can be broken down into 13 categories (links to where I got all this from at the end):
Kinesics (body language) Body motions such as shrugs, foot tapping, drumming fingers, eye movements such as winking, facial expressions, and gestures
Proxemics (proximity)- where you are in relation to the physical environment, and other people.
Haptics: Touch
Oculesics: Eye contact
Chronemics: Use of time, waiting, pausing
Olfactics: Smell
Vocalics: Tone of voice, timbre, volume, speed
Sound symbols: Grunting, mmm, er, ah, uh-huh, mumbling
Silence: Pausing, waiting, secrecy
Posture: Position of the body, stance- this can be how you hold yourself naturally, or assumed postures.
Adornment: Clothing, jewellery, hairstyle
Locomotion: Walking, running, staggering, limping.
What makes every one of these things important in ESOL- even more than might be obvious- is the fact that non-verbal communication, just like spoken language, is linked very strongly to culture. This means that our students need to be aware of it, and we need to teach them about a lot of it, to help them break down the barriers to communication that face them as people whose first language is not English, living in an English-speaking country.
Kinesics:
Gestures are one of the most obvious culturally-based forms of non-verbal communication, and one that students do benefit from having explained to them, for the simple reason that just as a word that looks (and may even be pronounced) the same in two languages may have totally different meanings in each, so gestures do not necessarily translate across cultures. Any teacher who has flinched when a student gives them a reverse V-sign in order to give the answer 'two' will know exactly what I mean. However, gestures that have different meanings in other languages are something teachers should make themselves aware of. I do not only mean avoiding accidentally insulting a Nigerian student by giving them a 'thumbs up', I mean gestures that can cause considerably more confusion on both sides if a teacher isn't aware that the movement does not mean the same for the student who they are addressing as it does for themselves. Iranian and Albanian students nod their heads to say 'no'- if you ask the question you shouldn't ask, ie 'Do you understand', without knowing this, you could end up with some very lost students.
Of course, in a class of students with very low levels of English, universal gestures 'big', 'small', 'on', 'in', 'under', can be used to great effect- the gesture gives the students a 'hook' to connect their own language with the gesture, and the gesture with the English word. Correctly used, gestures are an invaluable tool.
Facial expressions can also be a minefield. In countries where politeness and hospitality are deemed important (such as Japan and Bangladesh), people learn to smile no matter how annoyed or angry they are- if their rancour worsens, the smile gets wider. A teacher cannot assume that their room of smiling faces means happy students who are having a good lesson. Equally, everyone has a 'screensaver' expression- the one you wear when you aren't communicating with other people. Quite often it can be mistaken for a bad mood. So grimaces aren't always the dead giveaway you would expect- the student may not be stuck, they may be going at just the right pace and find you slowing down to be deeply irritating.
Proxemics
Personal space is such a huge issue for the British that it is featured in citizenship coursebooks. Students need to be aware of how much space to give people they are speaking to- as do teachers- since invading a person's personal space will produce a danger reaction on the part of the person being spoken to, and that person will be so busy reacting to the perceived threat that they won't actually listen to anything being said to them. I am speaking from experience as someone who's retreated round classrooms before, backing away from someone asking about their exams.
However, just as with gestures, proxemics can be used to help modify the learning environment and make it positive. When helping someone in IT, I sit next to them to help them feel more relaxed than if I were standing over them. I do the same in group discussions, making sure I am on a chair that is the same height as the others- higher and I would still have more formal 'control', lower- well, let's not mention what could happen if I was sitting in a subservient position to the students. Equally, in classes where poor behaviour is rife, a teacher may seek to enhance the idea of their being in charge by standing up when the students are sitting down- a way of asserting dominance over the room. Being able to move easily around the classroom is another way to use proxemics to your advantage- if you are never obstructed by students or furniture, you will seem (and feel) much more 'in control' of the classroom, and your students will feed off this energy. I think it's important to move amongst them, even if you don't do it often, to assert your control over the whole room, not just the space in front of the whiteboard. It helps the students feel that you are not isolated from them, too.
We will assume that, as professionals who care about their CRB disclosures, haptics (touch) doesn't figure in your teaching, and move on to oculesics tomorrow- right now I'm out of time on the computer. Tune in again for the next exciting instalment of 'Non Verbal Communication and ESOL- a cultural perspective'.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
I had another observation today.
I still don't like being watched- I dislike it slightly less than I did at the start of the year, probably because I am so used to them.
I felt flustered, which was caused by the fact that I was collared by various colleagues while trying to prepare the lesson, and again this morning, so I didn't get a chance to gather my thoughts. I have come to feel that having even a few minutes to clear your mind and have some peace adn quiet is a key part to being in control in the lesson you are about to teach. Going through the plan, and especially going through what you are going to teach, are really important for you to really 'own' the session. If you don't 'own' the work, the learning that takes place is diminished- not a huge amount, it should still take place, but it feels like it's diminished to me.
So some calm before the storm (even if that 'storm' is a well-behaved and quiet class- not that today's was, I'm just saying) is, to me, very important for teachers. I think this may be a professional knowledge thing, too- you need to know when other staff are teaching, because I think it's important not to disturb people who are getting ready for a lesson unless it's really horribly important that whatever you're bringing them is dealt with right now.
The flustering, though, is also contributed to more broad-ranging stress about the job. I don't know where I'll be teaching next academic year. I can only hope that someone will hire me, so that I am actually teaching. This is why I've been somewhat demotivated about the course lately- I'm not sure I'll be able to complete the qualification, and I really want to, so the uncertainty is demoralising. I'm applying for jobs, but I haven't heard anything yet. My boss has said not to disappear, that they may have work, but I need some security, and I don't have it. Why is this in the PDJ? Simple- I am gaining real experience of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs- some of the needs that need to be met for me to learn and self-actualise aren't being met. Thus, I don't concentrate so much on my work.
Yesterday's seminar presentation went, not extremely well, but not badly. People were interested in what I had to say, but I had far too much to talk about, and only got through about a third of what I wanted to present. The trouble is, the subject had been so interesting for me that I didn't want to miss any of it out. So tomorrow morning, when I have time, I shall be typing up what I would have said (because there won't be room for it in my written assignment either) here, for your delectation.
And I wonder, with this being the third time an assignment has gone way, way over 'budget' as far as length is concerned, why I have trouble with timing my lessons. I always want to do too much. Maybe I should get lazy, and want to do less...
I still don't like being watched- I dislike it slightly less than I did at the start of the year, probably because I am so used to them.
I felt flustered, which was caused by the fact that I was collared by various colleagues while trying to prepare the lesson, and again this morning, so I didn't get a chance to gather my thoughts. I have come to feel that having even a few minutes to clear your mind and have some peace adn quiet is a key part to being in control in the lesson you are about to teach. Going through the plan, and especially going through what you are going to teach, are really important for you to really 'own' the session. If you don't 'own' the work, the learning that takes place is diminished- not a huge amount, it should still take place, but it feels like it's diminished to me.
So some calm before the storm (even if that 'storm' is a well-behaved and quiet class- not that today's was, I'm just saying) is, to me, very important for teachers. I think this may be a professional knowledge thing, too- you need to know when other staff are teaching, because I think it's important not to disturb people who are getting ready for a lesson unless it's really horribly important that whatever you're bringing them is dealt with right now.
The flustering, though, is also contributed to more broad-ranging stress about the job. I don't know where I'll be teaching next academic year. I can only hope that someone will hire me, so that I am actually teaching. This is why I've been somewhat demotivated about the course lately- I'm not sure I'll be able to complete the qualification, and I really want to, so the uncertainty is demoralising. I'm applying for jobs, but I haven't heard anything yet. My boss has said not to disappear, that they may have work, but I need some security, and I don't have it. Why is this in the PDJ? Simple- I am gaining real experience of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs- some of the needs that need to be met for me to learn and self-actualise aren't being met. Thus, I don't concentrate so much on my work.
Yesterday's seminar presentation went, not extremely well, but not badly. People were interested in what I had to say, but I had far too much to talk about, and only got through about a third of what I wanted to present. The trouble is, the subject had been so interesting for me that I didn't want to miss any of it out. So tomorrow morning, when I have time, I shall be typing up what I would have said (because there won't be room for it in my written assignment either) here, for your delectation.
And I wonder, with this being the third time an assignment has gone way, way over 'budget' as far as length is concerned, why I have trouble with timing my lessons. I always want to do too much. Maybe I should get lazy, and want to do less...
Friday, May 25, 2007
I wonder, sometimes, why some of my students seem to be under the impression that, although I have been teaching them all year, I in fact came down with the last shower of rain.
One of my terminally late students wandered in, as usual, after the lesson had started with an armful of shopping bags from Primark. When I asked her why she was late, she simply announced 'the bus'. I couldn't help wondering why our students seem to believe that the buses are so very unreliable that they are the panacea of excuses. In my experience the problem, 9 times out of 10, isn't the bus but the fact that the student gets on it too late to arrive when they are supposed to.
But anyway.
We've been studying communication- I am extremely nervous as our seminar presentation is coming up- and I have as a result been wondering what my clothes say about me. I always try to be smart, but not too smart as that might alienate the students. I wonder if it works?
Then there's my body language. Ever since I learned that the 'thumbs up' is extremely rude in some countries, I've been self-conscious about using it- for some reason, I often do when someone does something well. It's a good non-verbal praise cue for learners with very low levels of English. But I don't want to unwittingly offend anyone. I'm going to talk about the cultural issues surrounding non-verbal communication as my seminar presentation. I've found lots of evidence of the problems it can cause, and hope also to talk about how we can teach our students about proxemics and gestures, as it's a citizenship issue. It's relevant to my teaching, and I hope it will be interesting to the rest of the group. 10 minutes sounds like a lot to most people, I think, but I know how quickly it can go- and how slowly. Hopefully it will be the former.
One of my terminally late students wandered in, as usual, after the lesson had started with an armful of shopping bags from Primark. When I asked her why she was late, she simply announced 'the bus'. I couldn't help wondering why our students seem to believe that the buses are so very unreliable that they are the panacea of excuses. In my experience the problem, 9 times out of 10, isn't the bus but the fact that the student gets on it too late to arrive when they are supposed to.
But anyway.
We've been studying communication- I am extremely nervous as our seminar presentation is coming up- and I have as a result been wondering what my clothes say about me. I always try to be smart, but not too smart as that might alienate the students. I wonder if it works?
Then there's my body language. Ever since I learned that the 'thumbs up' is extremely rude in some countries, I've been self-conscious about using it- for some reason, I often do when someone does something well. It's a good non-verbal praise cue for learners with very low levels of English. But I don't want to unwittingly offend anyone. I'm going to talk about the cultural issues surrounding non-verbal communication as my seminar presentation. I've found lots of evidence of the problems it can cause, and hope also to talk about how we can teach our students about proxemics and gestures, as it's a citizenship issue. It's relevant to my teaching, and I hope it will be interesting to the rest of the group. 10 minutes sounds like a lot to most people, I think, but I know how quickly it can go- and how slowly. Hopefully it will be the former.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Where does one get good grammar-joint oil? It's been a while since I did grammar with a class- mainly because we're approaching exam time, and if they don't know it by now, they never will, thus we do revision but not learning the new stuff.
As a result, I was somewhat rusty on that bit when I had to teach it in an observed class today. Fortunately the rest of the class was fine, so the observation still went OK.
I seem to be a bit better about observations now. Maybe that's because we've got the Communication Seminar coming up in a couple of weeks, and not only are we being filmed, but our supervisors have been invited to come and watch.
I'm SURE they can't have done this last year- a friend of mine did this course last year and she would have said something.
It's quite comforting to realise that although I've added a lot more to my teaching from the course- the things I consider when planning a lesson are more detailed, for example- my CELTA training is still very relevant.
For example, we have been thinking about communication, and how we make sure the student understands what we meant them to. One of the main techniques I was taught in CELTA was how to ask Concept Check Questions and Instruction Check Questions- how to make sure the students understand what you are talking about, and what they have to do. I think perhaps that some aspects of teacher training are a bit easier for me because of the subject that I teach- communication is a key part of everything we do. We have to think about everything we say, have to choose resources very carefully, have to think about how and when we use ICT etc, all because we have to make sure that our students, whose first language is not English, will be able to use what we give them.
As a result, I was somewhat rusty on that bit when I had to teach it in an observed class today. Fortunately the rest of the class was fine, so the observation still went OK.
I seem to be a bit better about observations now. Maybe that's because we've got the Communication Seminar coming up in a couple of weeks, and not only are we being filmed, but our supervisors have been invited to come and watch.
I'm SURE they can't have done this last year- a friend of mine did this course last year and she would have said something.
It's quite comforting to realise that although I've added a lot more to my teaching from the course- the things I consider when planning a lesson are more detailed, for example- my CELTA training is still very relevant.
For example, we have been thinking about communication, and how we make sure the student understands what we meant them to. One of the main techniques I was taught in CELTA was how to ask Concept Check Questions and Instruction Check Questions- how to make sure the students understand what you are talking about, and what they have to do. I think perhaps that some aspects of teacher training are a bit easier for me because of the subject that I teach- communication is a key part of everything we do. We have to think about everything we say, have to choose resources very carefully, have to think about how and when we use ICT etc, all because we have to make sure that our students, whose first language is not English, will be able to use what we give them.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Teaching can at times feel like Tartarus. Specifically, Sisyphus. You struggle and struggle to get the students higher up the steep mountain that is learning- especially learning English- and when you think they've got to the top of the molehill you're trying to reach the summit of, they roll right back down to the bottom and you have to try again.
Today is not one of those days. Today I've had the joy of the 'aahhhh' of realisation, and it hasn't been followed by my discovering that though they think they've understood something, they've got it totally wrong. The weaker students have persevered and it has paid off wonderfully- a student who could barely use a mouse at the start of the year is quietly and happily putting together a Powerpoint presentation about her family. She's got the hang of what to write on the slides- basic facts not lots of detail- and is using the title and text boxes. It's very satisfying.
Which is nice, on my birthday.
Also, the lady who came into my class on Wednesday? Apparently it's a compliment that she's got to come to my classes, because she's had a couple of bad observations and is shadowing people for best practice. Very flattering, I just hope that seeing me will actually be a positive thing...
Today is not one of those days. Today I've had the joy of the 'aahhhh' of realisation, and it hasn't been followed by my discovering that though they think they've understood something, they've got it totally wrong. The weaker students have persevered and it has paid off wonderfully- a student who could barely use a mouse at the start of the year is quietly and happily putting together a Powerpoint presentation about her family. She's got the hang of what to write on the slides- basic facts not lots of detail- and is using the title and text boxes. It's very satisfying.
Which is nice, on my birthday.
Also, the lady who came into my class on Wednesday? Apparently it's a compliment that she's got to come to my classes, because she's had a couple of bad observations and is shadowing people for best practice. Very flattering, I just hope that seeing me will actually be a positive thing...
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Sometimes it's hard to be a teacher...
Trying to keep a straight face when one of your students presents you with the following answer to the question "Where is the Gaza Strip?"
"Now on show at the Gaza."
"Now on show at the Gaza."
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
So my manager comes to me this morning and announces that I've got someone coming in to my class this afternoon. And every Wednesday afternoon for the next month.
She wasn't exactly clear about why they were coming, but mentioned something vague about the person having a group of students to teach next week, and how I had to tell her about the group.
She arrived (15 minutes late), stayed for the whole lesson, at the end of which I'd had an hour of feeling uncomfortable and discombobulated and was none the wiser as to why she was coming into my class.
The class in question is ostensibly IT, but they have 2 IT classes, and the one I do with them tends to be an extension of what they've done the lesson before. Not exactly thrill-a-minute ICT, but most of them only use the basics of a computer, plus at Entry 2 that's what we cover. And now I feel like I've got the sword of Damocles over my head, because I don't like being watched in a lesson, and I have no idea what kind of observation this was. Also, the person who came in said she was 'shadowing' me, but I hadn't been asked whether I would be willing to be shadowed, I just had a month's worth of discomfort sprung on me.
And I have no idea what to do about it.
She wasn't exactly clear about why they were coming, but mentioned something vague about the person having a group of students to teach next week, and how I had to tell her about the group.
She arrived (15 minutes late), stayed for the whole lesson, at the end of which I'd had an hour of feeling uncomfortable and discombobulated and was none the wiser as to why she was coming into my class.
The class in question is ostensibly IT, but they have 2 IT classes, and the one I do with them tends to be an extension of what they've done the lesson before. Not exactly thrill-a-minute ICT, but most of them only use the basics of a computer, plus at Entry 2 that's what we cover. And now I feel like I've got the sword of Damocles over my head, because I don't like being watched in a lesson, and I have no idea what kind of observation this was. Also, the person who came in said she was 'shadowing' me, but I hadn't been asked whether I would be willing to be shadowed, I just had a month's worth of discomfort sprung on me.
And I have no idea what to do about it.
Friday, April 27, 2007
In a subject like the one I teach, most, if not all, of our students have some outside commitments. If it's not work, it's children, or other family, who need looking after. Sometimes it's both. This, naturally, means that in some cases, attendance can be rather sporadic.
However, it still seems to obey Murphy's Law. Just because a student hasn't turned up all week does NOT mean they won't turn up to your lesson. And they are most likely to do this when you've planned (and made resources) for the class without them there.
Conversely, you can't guarantee that a particular student will be in your lesson. You have to plan for all the students being in class, but allow for some of them being absent.
It's a barrier to learning, and it's also a possible problem. It is, therefore, something I need to start including in my lesson plans, because student absence or attendance still throws me from time to time.
What's irritating is the waste of resources when the former is the unexpected event.
However, it still seems to obey Murphy's Law. Just because a student hasn't turned up all week does NOT mean they won't turn up to your lesson. And they are most likely to do this when you've planned (and made resources) for the class without them there.
Conversely, you can't guarantee that a particular student will be in your lesson. You have to plan for all the students being in class, but allow for some of them being absent.
It's a barrier to learning, and it's also a possible problem. It is, therefore, something I need to start including in my lesson plans, because student absence or attendance still throws me from time to time.
What's irritating is the waste of resources when the former is the unexpected event.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
So the powers-that-be of the college decided that for some reason, Blogger was a naughty naughty website, and blocked it, hence the hiatus. Fortunately, I've been able to persuade them to unlock it for me. I'm all for a monitoring system to stop students accessing damaging, offensive, or inappropriate material, but the trouble is that even safe sites aren't supposed to be used in class time. I can't help thinking it's a shame there's no way to use the NHS system, which I discovered in my time as a temp- certain catergories of internet site- e-mail, internet shopping, and similar- were blocked completely during working hours, but unblocked at lunch-time and after 5pm. If there was a way to achieve that for lesson times for different students, it might help a very great deal. That said, the new software that the college is trialling which allows the teacher to see the students' screens on their PC, take over control of their computers, switch off the monitors and other such measures, seems to be an excellent idea- though like any electronic resource (actually, like almost any resource you use in teaching)- it's important to know how it works, and what it can do, if you're to use it effectively.
I've been making a conscious effort to think about how I assess students learning, since we had the input sessions on assessment. Most of the work I do is formative assessment, since the only class I am a personal tutor for is one I see for only 3 hours a week. So the best thing I can do for most of my students is tell them how they're getting on and attempt to stop them making common mistakes- "what it is?" or "I was go" for example.
I'm still considering the communication paper. It seems to me that, teaching ESOL as I do, talking about techniques for communicating to students should be quite straightforward, as it's much easier for us to tell if we've been understood or not, since we have to work to ensure that the instructions are comprehensible at a most basic level- did they understand all the words? Instruction Check Questions were one of the first things we learned about on my CELTA course, and I still use them. They're a very effective way to make sure that communication has taken place, at least in terms of instructions. But what interests me, and what I want to be able to talk about in my paper, is the non-verbal elements of communication, since the cultural issues within that are quite major. A smiling Italian student will probably be happy. A smilling Bengali or Japanese student may well be extremely angry or annoyed- smiling is their way of covering this up, and the broader the grin, the worse you're doing. What interests me is how we as teachers might be able to try to gain enough cultural understanding to be sensitive to what different students are communicating, and what we as teachers are saying without speaking. Also, often people behave how we expect them to- by which I mean that you can get into quite the cycle of behaviour if you're not careful- you expect poor behaviour, so you become 'controlling parent' which brings out the student's 'uncoooperative child', leading to MORE poor behaviour. Similarly- you might expect a particular student to be quiet, or shy, because of their culture (I'm talking about peoples' perceptions rather than the truth), which would lead you to treat them in a particular way, which may or may not be appropriate to the student.
More thoughts later (hopefully). Now, cover lesson.
I've been making a conscious effort to think about how I assess students learning, since we had the input sessions on assessment. Most of the work I do is formative assessment, since the only class I am a personal tutor for is one I see for only 3 hours a week. So the best thing I can do for most of my students is tell them how they're getting on and attempt to stop them making common mistakes- "what it is?" or "I was go" for example.
I'm still considering the communication paper. It seems to me that, teaching ESOL as I do, talking about techniques for communicating to students should be quite straightforward, as it's much easier for us to tell if we've been understood or not, since we have to work to ensure that the instructions are comprehensible at a most basic level- did they understand all the words? Instruction Check Questions were one of the first things we learned about on my CELTA course, and I still use them. They're a very effective way to make sure that communication has taken place, at least in terms of instructions. But what interests me, and what I want to be able to talk about in my paper, is the non-verbal elements of communication, since the cultural issues within that are quite major. A smiling Italian student will probably be happy. A smilling Bengali or Japanese student may well be extremely angry or annoyed- smiling is their way of covering this up, and the broader the grin, the worse you're doing. What interests me is how we as teachers might be able to try to gain enough cultural understanding to be sensitive to what different students are communicating, and what we as teachers are saying without speaking. Also, often people behave how we expect them to- by which I mean that you can get into quite the cycle of behaviour if you're not careful- you expect poor behaviour, so you become 'controlling parent' which brings out the student's 'uncoooperative child', leading to MORE poor behaviour. Similarly- you might expect a particular student to be quiet, or shy, because of their culture (I'm talking about peoples' perceptions rather than the truth), which would lead you to treat them in a particular way, which may or may not be appropriate to the student.
More thoughts later (hopefully). Now, cover lesson.
Friday, March 09, 2007
One last thing...
I've discovered I'm getting better at judging, when I consider an activity, how long it will take. This is wonderful as far as planning is concerned, as it was one of the things that took me the longest.
Taking advantage of the new audio equipment in the department (which I intend to discuss in some detail when I write my assignment on resources) has also been great fun- I've found some excellent listening texts at Channel 4's Book Box website (authors discuss their work), and at National Public Radio in America, where you can still get the audio (and transcriptions) of Paul Auster's National Story Project, where there are some great reading/listening texts for groups from about Entry 2 and up.
Taking advantage of the new audio equipment in the department (which I intend to discuss in some detail when I write my assignment on resources) has also been great fun- I've found some excellent listening texts at Channel 4's Book Box website (authors discuss their work), and at National Public Radio in America, where you can still get the audio (and transcriptions) of Paul Auster's National Story Project, where there are some great reading/listening texts for groups from about Entry 2 and up.
It's been a hard day's night...
So Blogger and it's So!Exciting!Unavoidable!Updates! and the college internet restrictions have conspired against me and it's now impossible for me to update this PDJ from work when things are fresh in my mind. Oh well.
I definitely feel that my ability to plan- or at least to write a good plan- for a lesson has improved since I started this course. I've got a much clearer understanding of aims and objectives than I had before, which has been added to by observations and by teaching. I'm getting much better at being specific in my own mind about what I want students to learn, and how they are going to achieve it.
My classroom management, in the one class where it is really visibly needed, seems to be getting better. Being an FE establishment, there are some punishments which (though they might be effective) we can't mete out, like detention. But what it is in my power to do, I do. Last week, I instigated a new rule with a class some members of which take a mile when you give them an inch, and told them that if they were not back from break on time, i.e. after 20 minutes, those who were late back wouldn't get a break the week after. So this week, two of the students wrote lines instead of getting a break. One of them accepted it, the other one (who is, quite frankly, a right royal pain in the backside pretty much all the time), moaned but ended up following the other. I am waiting to see what effect it will have on them, though it certainly worked on the rest of the class, who were in the habit of coming back in dribs and drabs but now return, en masse, and bang on time. But they weren't the problem in the first place, it was the two who got lines. Which is why I shall wait and see before I declare the idea to have been a complete success.
ICT continues to bother me. I've mentioned the lack of streaming before, but not that in a busy class, one student whose abilities are markedly below that of the others can cause all kinds of problems. The student about whom I expressed surprise (I think) in this blog when I discovered that she had been to an IT college continues to make life difficult. I would love nothing more than to sit down with her and go through everything very slowly, but in a room full of other students with an equal claim on my time and attention, this isn't fair or possible. The issues she has with the computer are compounded by the fact that she is always late for the lesson, and subsequently misses the explanation and opportunity other students have to ask initial questions, and thus for me to get the group off to a good start- something I am ever more keen to do. Her excuses- I use this word because they never adequately explain her continual lack of punctuality- are invariably to do with the bus, despite the fact that I have pointed out to her on numerous occasions that the bus journey she takes is at least 25 minutes, and therefore getting on the bus at quarter to the hour when the lesson starts is not going to get her to college on time. If I press her on the subject she simply repeats "it's hard for me", which is the same thing she says when I try to help her with her work. I am trying desperately to be understanding, but there's being understanding and there's being a doormat. Further, it doesn't seem to have any beneficial effect, since this week she announced that she wasn't coming to the class anymore. I spoke to her tutor about the problems I have with her, which the lesson record tells me aren't a problem for other teachers, as she is only ever late to my class although she has other lessons that start at the same time- even earlier- in the day. I want so much to help her progress, but I don't see how she can with the impenetrable "it's hard for me" which seems to accompany a silent "therefore I'm not going to try". I would be a lot more understanding were it not for the fact that her excuse that she hasn't used a computer before doesn't hold up- there are others in other classes- in fact there are others in THAT class- who haven't used a computer before, but they put the effort in and are doing really well. For example a student who had problems even with using the mouse when I first saw her managed to complete almost all of the work on spreadsheets that I gave the class to do- in fact, she had got as far as the extension work by the end of the lesson. Now you could argue that this may just mean that some of the students have a more natural aptitude for the computer than others, but my belief is that the students who are doing best are the students who are making the effort, asking questions when they have a problem, rather than just sitting there looking lost. I do my best to keep on top of this last issue by monitoring the class, but I can't be in three places at once, and if one person wants help, I can't abandon them to rush over and goad and cajole another student until I've helped the first student with their problem.
I'm really at a loss as to what to do with her, but hope that the training will help me soon.
My highest-level class continues to be a pleasure to work with- lots of experimenting with new vocabulary and grammar forms means that they are really improving. One of them seems to pick up the most fascinating array of slang and expressions- this week his letter of complaint announced that the person he was writing to was "clipping our wings". I see fewer and fewer mistakes every time I mark their work- it's heartening, and a good end to the week, to work with them.
I definitely feel that my ability to plan- or at least to write a good plan- for a lesson has improved since I started this course. I've got a much clearer understanding of aims and objectives than I had before, which has been added to by observations and by teaching. I'm getting much better at being specific in my own mind about what I want students to learn, and how they are going to achieve it.
My classroom management, in the one class where it is really visibly needed, seems to be getting better. Being an FE establishment, there are some punishments which (though they might be effective) we can't mete out, like detention. But what it is in my power to do, I do. Last week, I instigated a new rule with a class some members of which take a mile when you give them an inch, and told them that if they were not back from break on time, i.e. after 20 minutes, those who were late back wouldn't get a break the week after. So this week, two of the students wrote lines instead of getting a break. One of them accepted it, the other one (who is, quite frankly, a right royal pain in the backside pretty much all the time), moaned but ended up following the other. I am waiting to see what effect it will have on them, though it certainly worked on the rest of the class, who were in the habit of coming back in dribs and drabs but now return, en masse, and bang on time. But they weren't the problem in the first place, it was the two who got lines. Which is why I shall wait and see before I declare the idea to have been a complete success.
ICT continues to bother me. I've mentioned the lack of streaming before, but not that in a busy class, one student whose abilities are markedly below that of the others can cause all kinds of problems. The student about whom I expressed surprise (I think) in this blog when I discovered that she had been to an IT college continues to make life difficult. I would love nothing more than to sit down with her and go through everything very slowly, but in a room full of other students with an equal claim on my time and attention, this isn't fair or possible. The issues she has with the computer are compounded by the fact that she is always late for the lesson, and subsequently misses the explanation and opportunity other students have to ask initial questions, and thus for me to get the group off to a good start- something I am ever more keen to do. Her excuses- I use this word because they never adequately explain her continual lack of punctuality- are invariably to do with the bus, despite the fact that I have pointed out to her on numerous occasions that the bus journey she takes is at least 25 minutes, and therefore getting on the bus at quarter to the hour when the lesson starts is not going to get her to college on time. If I press her on the subject she simply repeats "it's hard for me", which is the same thing she says when I try to help her with her work. I am trying desperately to be understanding, but there's being understanding and there's being a doormat. Further, it doesn't seem to have any beneficial effect, since this week she announced that she wasn't coming to the class anymore. I spoke to her tutor about the problems I have with her, which the lesson record tells me aren't a problem for other teachers, as she is only ever late to my class although she has other lessons that start at the same time- even earlier- in the day. I want so much to help her progress, but I don't see how she can with the impenetrable "it's hard for me" which seems to accompany a silent "therefore I'm not going to try". I would be a lot more understanding were it not for the fact that her excuse that she hasn't used a computer before doesn't hold up- there are others in other classes- in fact there are others in THAT class- who haven't used a computer before, but they put the effort in and are doing really well. For example a student who had problems even with using the mouse when I first saw her managed to complete almost all of the work on spreadsheets that I gave the class to do- in fact, she had got as far as the extension work by the end of the lesson. Now you could argue that this may just mean that some of the students have a more natural aptitude for the computer than others, but my belief is that the students who are doing best are the students who are making the effort, asking questions when they have a problem, rather than just sitting there looking lost. I do my best to keep on top of this last issue by monitoring the class, but I can't be in three places at once, and if one person wants help, I can't abandon them to rush over and goad and cajole another student until I've helped the first student with their problem.
I'm really at a loss as to what to do with her, but hope that the training will help me soon.
My highest-level class continues to be a pleasure to work with- lots of experimenting with new vocabulary and grammar forms means that they are really improving. One of them seems to pick up the most fascinating array of slang and expressions- this week his letter of complaint announced that the person he was writing to was "clipping our wings". I see fewer and fewer mistakes every time I mark their work- it's heartening, and a good end to the week, to work with them.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Embedding, or it's nice to be right...
So the class that was causing trouble rears its head again.
Their tutor has decided that their levels of literacy are so low that none of them have a chance of passing the reading and writing exams, so they are only being entered for speaking. Which presents me with an interesting challenge for IT- there are maybe one or two things I can do with them which are relevant to speaking, but their IT literacy is also very low, and I'm still not sure that learning more about how to use a computer would benefit them.
I'm hoping to persuade the tutor of one of the higher level groups, who are very good with computers, to make a podcast for the other class to listen to. We may also be able to use the computers to drill pronunciation. Using ICT as a resource, anyone?
In other news, I had my next 7407 observation on Wednesday. Much less hassle. It was just a shame that the observer didn't see the speaking activity I did with the class, which went down very well and got them all talking. Though in that session I did have to do my first real school-marm bit of classroom management- splitting up two students who are always arguing and calling on me to adjudicate. I told them I had had enough, that I didn't want to hear it any more and then sat them at separate tables, which I hope will solve the problem. One of the pair seems to have some affective problems anyway- I don't think this student's been in a classroom situation before, so rules like "don't talk when other people (including the teacher) are talking" are totally alien, and this is on top of the fact that I suspect they may have mild Aspergers, since comments the student makes in class sometimes smack of an inability to understand how other people feel- CF when some of the students were laughing about something in a text , and the student did not understand why they were laughing, and this wasn't anything to do with ESOL needs. Their behaviour risks being a big barrier to their learning, so I have to work to keep it in check. Of course, said student is just as unpopular with most of the rest of the class as they are with the student I had to move.
Half term, because of outside problems, promises to actually be more stressful than coming in to college to teach. But I'm applying for a couple of things which would earn money in the holidays, so at least it has a chance of being productive. Sometimes leaving your homelife at home is as difficult as leaving your work at work.
Finally, one of my Polish students said something in class that proved the theory that formal exams are not necessarily a good way to make students learn: "I took the exam and then I forgot everything, I was so tired and worried."
Their tutor has decided that their levels of literacy are so low that none of them have a chance of passing the reading and writing exams, so they are only being entered for speaking. Which presents me with an interesting challenge for IT- there are maybe one or two things I can do with them which are relevant to speaking, but their IT literacy is also very low, and I'm still not sure that learning more about how to use a computer would benefit them.
I'm hoping to persuade the tutor of one of the higher level groups, who are very good with computers, to make a podcast for the other class to listen to. We may also be able to use the computers to drill pronunciation. Using ICT as a resource, anyone?
In other news, I had my next 7407 observation on Wednesday. Much less hassle. It was just a shame that the observer didn't see the speaking activity I did with the class, which went down very well and got them all talking. Though in that session I did have to do my first real school-marm bit of classroom management- splitting up two students who are always arguing and calling on me to adjudicate. I told them I had had enough, that I didn't want to hear it any more and then sat them at separate tables, which I hope will solve the problem. One of the pair seems to have some affective problems anyway- I don't think this student's been in a classroom situation before, so rules like "don't talk when other people (including the teacher) are talking" are totally alien, and this is on top of the fact that I suspect they may have mild Aspergers, since comments the student makes in class sometimes smack of an inability to understand how other people feel- CF when some of the students were laughing about something in a text , and the student did not understand why they were laughing, and this wasn't anything to do with ESOL needs. Their behaviour risks being a big barrier to their learning, so I have to work to keep it in check. Of course, said student is just as unpopular with most of the rest of the class as they are with the student I had to move.
Half term, because of outside problems, promises to actually be more stressful than coming in to college to teach. But I'm applying for a couple of things which would earn money in the holidays, so at least it has a chance of being productive. Sometimes leaving your homelife at home is as difficult as leaving your work at work.
Finally, one of my Polish students said something in class that proved the theory that formal exams are not necessarily a good way to make students learn: "I took the exam and then I forgot everything, I was so tired and worried."
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Maybe I should have used fewer monkeys...
(This post is typed to the music of Jonathan Coulton, which is currently stuck in my head).
Today saw my first peer observation. I get on very well with the teacher from my department who observed me, and we both agree that in fact, observation by peers is a very good thing. I hold to the fact that a graded observation is different to the kind I had today. You're less nervous because you know that the process is entirely constructive, and that you're not being judged against set criteria in the same way. Although I know that the graded ones are intended to help you develop, the grade hangs over your head like a sword over Damocles. Of course, it would help if I had a permanent contract, to be perfectly honest- there are particular staff incentives for good observation grades which are not available to me, and frankly that makes me feel like, as a temp, I get a stick (a bad observation grade would mean my job here would be in jeopardy, so I work hard to perform well and keep in work- observed AND unobserved) where everyone else gets a carrot (staff employed by the college on permanent contracts get bonuses as part of the college pay initiative if they receive a certain number of good observation grades, and poor performance in the first instance simply means additional support and work going into their development).
Having begun to look at assessment in teacher training, I would consider that the College Observations are the summative ones, and therefore much more nervewracking than the peer observations and other 7407 obs, which are formative.
It helps that the observer knew the class I was teaching, I think, because she knew the different students and their particular issues. In fact, said observer had asked if she could come and watch me with them previously, which was why I was jammy enough to ask her if she'd do it for my 7407 assignment.
Because I knew that this was formative, I felt a lot more relaxed with someone else in the room than I normally do. That said, I did do a few things differently to how I had planned, but I felt that the changes were improvements, and ones I want to keep in mind for the future with that class- for example getting each individual student to read the text they had studied to me while the class carried out a writing exercise. It's something I could only hope to do with a class that size- there are only about 9 on the register, and today I only had 4 students, so I could give each of them more individual attention.
And now, to write my personal reflection...
Today saw my first peer observation. I get on very well with the teacher from my department who observed me, and we both agree that in fact, observation by peers is a very good thing. I hold to the fact that a graded observation is different to the kind I had today. You're less nervous because you know that the process is entirely constructive, and that you're not being judged against set criteria in the same way. Although I know that the graded ones are intended to help you develop, the grade hangs over your head like a sword over Damocles. Of course, it would help if I had a permanent contract, to be perfectly honest- there are particular staff incentives for good observation grades which are not available to me, and frankly that makes me feel like, as a temp, I get a stick (a bad observation grade would mean my job here would be in jeopardy, so I work hard to perform well and keep in work- observed AND unobserved) where everyone else gets a carrot (staff employed by the college on permanent contracts get bonuses as part of the college pay initiative if they receive a certain number of good observation grades, and poor performance in the first instance simply means additional support and work going into their development).
Having begun to look at assessment in teacher training, I would consider that the College Observations are the summative ones, and therefore much more nervewracking than the peer observations and other 7407 obs, which are formative.
It helps that the observer knew the class I was teaching, I think, because she knew the different students and their particular issues. In fact, said observer had asked if she could come and watch me with them previously, which was why I was jammy enough to ask her if she'd do it for my 7407 assignment.
Because I knew that this was formative, I felt a lot more relaxed with someone else in the room than I normally do. That said, I did do a few things differently to how I had planned, but I felt that the changes were improvements, and ones I want to keep in mind for the future with that class- for example getting each individual student to read the text they had studied to me while the class carried out a writing exercise. It's something I could only hope to do with a class that size- there are only about 9 on the register, and today I only had 4 students, so I could give each of them more individual attention.
And now, to write my personal reflection...
Friday, February 02, 2007
The Railroad method of teaching...
Sometimes, just sometimes, teaching is like being on a train where the brakes have gone. What you are about to cover with the class is a bad idea. You know it's a bad idea. You know that you're going to end up not so much monitoring as frogmarching the class through the work. And yet you can't stop yourself.
Today, it was Powerpoint. Fine for all but one of the Entry 2 class. Oddly enough, the one student who is utterly at sea with computers actually went to an IT college in their country, according to the Class Profile. I knew that asking her to try Powerpoint was probably asking for trouble. So what made me do it? Possibly the fact that it takes her long enough to type anything in Word, and that since Powerpoint demands a lot less from students in terms of sentences, it might be easier for her.
I need to work on differentiation, especially in this class. The normal E2 scheme of work is fine for most of the students, but there are 3 who are much faster than the others, and then at the other end there's At Sea.
Of course, one of the main issues with the IT classes, as I think I've said elsewhere in this PDJ, is the fact that the ESOL IT classes are not grouped separately from the basic ESOL classes. Which means that in one class you have a myriad of different levels of experience and ability. My personal feeling on the subject is that the students cannot possibly hope to truly benefit from the IT classes if they are not treated as a separate subject, and thus the students' needs and abilities diagnosed SEPARATELY from their ESOL needs. More than this, the benefits for those of us who teach IT for ESOL students would be enormous- we would be able to plan more effectively, and teach all the students things they need to learn. Perhaps we could include language studies as part of that, and these could be differentiated, but the actual IT part of the session would keep all our students challenged, and save the usual notes for cover teachers: "Nuala, Nigel and Norbert are doing this, Geoffrey, Gladys, Gomez and George are doing this, and Sophie and Simon are doing this..."
One of these days, when I'm better at the IT side of what I do, I shall write ESOL IT coursebooks. The elementary book will be entitled "Teacher! I click?". The intermediate one will be entitled "No, click there." And the advanced book will be called "Oh- you're a computer programmer."
Today, it was Powerpoint. Fine for all but one of the Entry 2 class. Oddly enough, the one student who is utterly at sea with computers actually went to an IT college in their country, according to the Class Profile. I knew that asking her to try Powerpoint was probably asking for trouble. So what made me do it? Possibly the fact that it takes her long enough to type anything in Word, and that since Powerpoint demands a lot less from students in terms of sentences, it might be easier for her.
I need to work on differentiation, especially in this class. The normal E2 scheme of work is fine for most of the students, but there are 3 who are much faster than the others, and then at the other end there's At Sea.
Of course, one of the main issues with the IT classes, as I think I've said elsewhere in this PDJ, is the fact that the ESOL IT classes are not grouped separately from the basic ESOL classes. Which means that in one class you have a myriad of different levels of experience and ability. My personal feeling on the subject is that the students cannot possibly hope to truly benefit from the IT classes if they are not treated as a separate subject, and thus the students' needs and abilities diagnosed SEPARATELY from their ESOL needs. More than this, the benefits for those of us who teach IT for ESOL students would be enormous- we would be able to plan more effectively, and teach all the students things they need to learn. Perhaps we could include language studies as part of that, and these could be differentiated, but the actual IT part of the session would keep all our students challenged, and save the usual notes for cover teachers: "Nuala, Nigel and Norbert are doing this, Geoffrey, Gladys, Gomez and George are doing this, and Sophie and Simon are doing this..."
One of these days, when I'm better at the IT side of what I do, I shall write ESOL IT coursebooks. The elementary book will be entitled "Teacher! I click?". The intermediate one will be entitled "No, click there." And the advanced book will be called "Oh- you're a computer programmer."
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Overheard from my classroom...
...after a fire alarm:
"When the fire alarm goes, you wait outside and then you come back in. You DON'T disappear off down the shops, and you DON'T do whatever it was you did."
At least in ESOL, if our students vanish during an alarm, it's because they think it's time to go home.
Instead, we get the fun of dealing with questions like this one, whilst keeping a straight face:
Student: Teacher, what means this word?
Me (from across the classroom): What word?
Student: Penetration.
In other news, I have discovered the joy of the laminator. After our training sessions on resources, I have decided that making resources I can use again is definitely the way to go, so I'm doing my best to store them in a sensible way, as well as quick-reference them for other staff. No point reinventing the wheel.
"When the fire alarm goes, you wait outside and then you come back in. You DON'T disappear off down the shops, and you DON'T do whatever it was you did."
At least in ESOL, if our students vanish during an alarm, it's because they think it's time to go home.
Instead, we get the fun of dealing with questions like this one, whilst keeping a straight face:
Student: Teacher, what means this word?
Me (from across the classroom): What word?
Student: Penetration.
In other news, I have discovered the joy of the laminator. After our training sessions on resources, I have decided that making resources I can use again is definitely the way to go, so I'm doing my best to store them in a sensible way, as well as quick-reference them for other staff. No point reinventing the wheel.
Monday, January 22, 2007
You can't please all of the people all of the time...
And in ESOL, it would seem, you can't please some of the people any of the time. The class who moaned about having been made to do mouse exercises are now moaning that they don't know the basics of how to use a computer. So we're going back to doing what I wanted them to do before on the request of their tutor, but which I was told by their tutor they didn't want to do.
I do wish people would make up their minds.
I do wish people would make up their minds.
Friday, January 19, 2007
A positive note...
For all we have problems and issues to tackle in teaching, I still love my job. I'm lucky enough, though, to work in a department where things like this turn up on the filing cabinet.
In addition, you would be amazed how many rivals Microsoft has in our students minds- one Entry 2 student told me he wanted to learn about Microscope Powerpoint- the slides are really small. Still another wanted to use Sherlock Holmes's brother's IT company- Mycroft.
The perils of last year's worksheets...
You know, you'd think I would have learned by now that a worksheet, even a recent one, can be fraught with perils if you're silly enough to think "Hey, that's fine, it doesn't need anything changing"- and this when I was altering other worksheets!
It is most definitely a con of using them in terms of resources- they become out of date. This is especially true of Internet worksheets. You would think that a webquest involving jobs on the internet would be reliable enough. OH no. Of COURSE, the sheet asks the students to write down how many jobs there are in Nursing this week on the Reed website, in the students' local area. Fine, yes? No. NATURALLY, there are NO jobs in nursing listed this week. Which of course causes merry hell. ESOL students are daunted enough by IT, without problems like this cropping up. We have enough trouble with Microsoft Word, which keeps coming up with at least 3 pop-up windows asking the students about macros. MACROS! Most of them are just about able to save and print, and to log in given 5 or 10 minutes, or at the higher end of Entry 2, to insert clip-art from the internet. Extra windows mean they flounder, helpless in a sea of supposedly useful bits of information. I do wish the college would think about these things before installing all kinds of exciting new programmes on the computers. MOST of the students who use them will have no trouble. But MOST is not ALL, and it causes no end of wasting of class time.
I feel that a more formal version of this particular rant- which is a bugbear of mine- will form part of my report on resources for the training course. I cannot see the wisdom in keeping ESOL students grouped according to their language ability for their IT classes. I just can't. IT is a separate basic skill. We can't assume that just because a student speaks excellent English, they will be similarly excellent on the computer. They would get far more out of their IT classes if they were grouped through an IT diagnostic for them. As it is, in most classes there are some students studying one thing, and some studying another- and the amount of time this uses up in terms of planning is a waste. Teachers DO have better things to do than plan five separate lessons for the same 2 hour period. Yes, differentiation is possible to an extent, but surely it would be better to be differentiating the level of English (which causes just as many problems for ESOL IT students) used in the worksheets than what the students are studying. ICT, for all its wonders, is a whole new world for most students, so in my ESOL classes (as opposed to ESOL IT), as far as I'm concerned, the best way to incorporate IT is for me to use it, not the students.
With that in mind, I'm getting trained to use Qwizdom on Monday- meaning lots of push-button handset fun for my classes- I use the PC, they don't have to. I can't wait! I've been dying to learn how to use it since the end of the Summer term, which is when I first saw it demonstrated.
It is most definitely a con of using them in terms of resources- they become out of date. This is especially true of Internet worksheets. You would think that a webquest involving jobs on the internet would be reliable enough. OH no. Of COURSE, the sheet asks the students to write down how many jobs there are in Nursing this week on the Reed website, in the students' local area. Fine, yes? No. NATURALLY, there are NO jobs in nursing listed this week. Which of course causes merry hell. ESOL students are daunted enough by IT, without problems like this cropping up. We have enough trouble with Microsoft Word, which keeps coming up with at least 3 pop-up windows asking the students about macros. MACROS! Most of them are just about able to save and print, and to log in given 5 or 10 minutes, or at the higher end of Entry 2, to insert clip-art from the internet. Extra windows mean they flounder, helpless in a sea of supposedly useful bits of information. I do wish the college would think about these things before installing all kinds of exciting new programmes on the computers. MOST of the students who use them will have no trouble. But MOST is not ALL, and it causes no end of wasting of class time.
I feel that a more formal version of this particular rant- which is a bugbear of mine- will form part of my report on resources for the training course. I cannot see the wisdom in keeping ESOL students grouped according to their language ability for their IT classes. I just can't. IT is a separate basic skill. We can't assume that just because a student speaks excellent English, they will be similarly excellent on the computer. They would get far more out of their IT classes if they were grouped through an IT diagnostic for them. As it is, in most classes there are some students studying one thing, and some studying another- and the amount of time this uses up in terms of planning is a waste. Teachers DO have better things to do than plan five separate lessons for the same 2 hour period. Yes, differentiation is possible to an extent, but surely it would be better to be differentiating the level of English (which causes just as many problems for ESOL IT students) used in the worksheets than what the students are studying. ICT, for all its wonders, is a whole new world for most students, so in my ESOL classes (as opposed to ESOL IT), as far as I'm concerned, the best way to incorporate IT is for me to use it, not the students.
With that in mind, I'm getting trained to use Qwizdom on Monday- meaning lots of push-button handset fun for my classes- I use the PC, they don't have to. I can't wait! I've been dying to learn how to use it since the end of the Summer term, which is when I first saw it demonstrated.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Note to self:
When teaching a group with extremely low-level English, telling them they are finished will mean they go home, regardless of whether they have another lesson straight after yours in the same room, or not.
Second note to self:
Tell your colleague who takes the class after you to barge in when they are due to start, to avoid confusion and having to chase random elderly ladies down the stairs to tell them they're not done for the day.
When teaching a group with extremely low-level English, telling them they are finished will mean they go home, regardless of whether they have another lesson straight after yours in the same room, or not.
Second note to self:
Tell your colleague who takes the class after you to barge in when they are due to start, to avoid confusion and having to chase random elderly ladies down the stairs to tell them they're not done for the day.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Back from beyond...
Six weeks away from teaching has had some interesting effects. I've had lots of time to recover, which I didn't over the summer, and I've come back to my classes with a much calmer attitude, I think.
I had in fact relaxed so much that I forgot about the one member of my teacher training class who drives me up the wall. This week, it was disparaging comments about a much-loved teaching method of mine- specifically, using games in class- which got me going and stopped me wanting to contribute. "In my subject," he announced, "games are for Christmas break." I found that very rude of him, and can't help wondering whether he allows his own students to be so rude about other students' opinions and ideas. I was rather frustrated that games were not discussed further as other methods were, since I was itching for the opportunity at least to explain why they are so useful in an English class. What I should have done was jump on the comment, which was made seemingly as a parting shot as other comments have been, and ask why he said that. I felt very angry that someone felt it was acceptable to denigrate a teaching tool, simply because it couldn't be used for a particular subject. That said, I feel that a game approach can be used in a variety of subject areas. It's not specifically playing a game- I don't spend my English classes playing parlour games- it's putting the learning goal into a game format.
For example: I want my students to revise the past simple tense. I could give them a test. I could give them a worksheet on the past simple. In some classes that is precisely what I would do, as they respond to a more formal teaching style. But I could, with equal success in terms of the learning outcome, use the Blockbusters I think I've mentioned before- a hex-grid of verbs, which the students have to turn into the tense I specify to win the hex and get across the board.
Another example: I want to feedback with the class and go through the answers to some work they have been doing, let us for the sake of argument say a Cloze exercise. I could simply ask them to tell me the answers and I write them down. But I could also put the students in teams, and 'buy' the correct answers with monopoly money- if they bid on the correct one, they get their money back. If they bid incorrectly, they lose their money, and the team with the most money at the end is the winner. It keeps their interest, as they have a stake in every answer, and getting them right matters more. Or I could project (this is pre-Smartboard) the exercise onto the whiteboard twice- as in two copies up at the same time- give two groups of students pens, and get them to race to fill out the correct answers. The team with the most correct, and correctly spelled, wins. Again, it makes getting things right matter.
A final example, from a listening exercise: I want my students to pick out particular words in a listening exercise, to practice their listening skills. A great, fun, and very kinaesthetic way to do this, is to give the students flashcards, each with a different word on it. The chairs are put out so that students can stand up easily. When they hear their word, that is exactly what they have to do. It hones their skills, and is tremendous fun when you use a song.
These examples, and others like them (I shall talk about using puppets and drama another time) are, as far as I'm concerned, games. They are not serious, but they have learning outcomes, and students gain from them. One of the most important things they gain is a more varied lesson. Varying the way that I deliver my subject is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most important skills I can develop. It keeps my students engaged, interested, and focussed on the task.
At least I can empathise now with students who have problems with particular peers who antagonise them- there was a time when I would deliberately pair such students to try and get them to co-operate and get over their differences, but I realise now, having had to work with said classmember, just how unproductive that can be.
Slang and talking about the trip will, I think, provide some interesting lessons.
But not as interesting, I suspect, as the ESOL citizenship work. Why didn't I start using this sooner? It's an ideal way to introduce some positive changes in classroom management, as one of the first things discussed in both the coursebooks are good and bad manners. Now that we have established what they are, my Entry 2 class are keenly putting up their hands before answering or asking questions- a good start to getting them not to talk to each other when others are talking.
I had in fact relaxed so much that I forgot about the one member of my teacher training class who drives me up the wall. This week, it was disparaging comments about a much-loved teaching method of mine- specifically, using games in class- which got me going and stopped me wanting to contribute. "In my subject," he announced, "games are for Christmas break." I found that very rude of him, and can't help wondering whether he allows his own students to be so rude about other students' opinions and ideas. I was rather frustrated that games were not discussed further as other methods were, since I was itching for the opportunity at least to explain why they are so useful in an English class. What I should have done was jump on the comment, which was made seemingly as a parting shot as other comments have been, and ask why he said that. I felt very angry that someone felt it was acceptable to denigrate a teaching tool, simply because it couldn't be used for a particular subject. That said, I feel that a game approach can be used in a variety of subject areas. It's not specifically playing a game- I don't spend my English classes playing parlour games- it's putting the learning goal into a game format.
For example: I want my students to revise the past simple tense. I could give them a test. I could give them a worksheet on the past simple. In some classes that is precisely what I would do, as they respond to a more formal teaching style. But I could, with equal success in terms of the learning outcome, use the Blockbusters I think I've mentioned before- a hex-grid of verbs, which the students have to turn into the tense I specify to win the hex and get across the board.
Another example: I want to feedback with the class and go through the answers to some work they have been doing, let us for the sake of argument say a Cloze exercise. I could simply ask them to tell me the answers and I write them down. But I could also put the students in teams, and 'buy' the correct answers with monopoly money- if they bid on the correct one, they get their money back. If they bid incorrectly, they lose their money, and the team with the most money at the end is the winner. It keeps their interest, as they have a stake in every answer, and getting them right matters more. Or I could project (this is pre-Smartboard) the exercise onto the whiteboard twice- as in two copies up at the same time- give two groups of students pens, and get them to race to fill out the correct answers. The team with the most correct, and correctly spelled, wins. Again, it makes getting things right matter.
A final example, from a listening exercise: I want my students to pick out particular words in a listening exercise, to practice their listening skills. A great, fun, and very kinaesthetic way to do this, is to give the students flashcards, each with a different word on it. The chairs are put out so that students can stand up easily. When they hear their word, that is exactly what they have to do. It hones their skills, and is tremendous fun when you use a song.
These examples, and others like them (I shall talk about using puppets and drama another time) are, as far as I'm concerned, games. They are not serious, but they have learning outcomes, and students gain from them. One of the most important things they gain is a more varied lesson. Varying the way that I deliver my subject is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the most important skills I can develop. It keeps my students engaged, interested, and focussed on the task.
At least I can empathise now with students who have problems with particular peers who antagonise them- there was a time when I would deliberately pair such students to try and get them to co-operate and get over their differences, but I realise now, having had to work with said classmember, just how unproductive that can be.
Slang and talking about the trip will, I think, provide some interesting lessons.
But not as interesting, I suspect, as the ESOL citizenship work. Why didn't I start using this sooner? It's an ideal way to introduce some positive changes in classroom management, as one of the first things discussed in both the coursebooks are good and bad manners. Now that we have established what they are, my Entry 2 class are keenly putting up their hands before answering or asking questions- a good start to getting them not to talk to each other when others are talking.
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