Final lesson: Cultural heritage

I had my final lesson of teaching practice today. The topic was cultural heritage and heritage tourism. On few lessons several students had not completed the homework, so I had mentally prepared to give them some feedback on shaping up. This time everyone had done the homework, and the students were active and responded well to my interaction, so no rebuking was needed.

I had to correct some details that I mentioned the previous time, such as different types of conditionals and one certain phrase in an exercise, to which I had said that both answers are correct. I had not had the correct answers key with me and I had written my own answers to the task, and when one student had chosen the other alternative, and I had said that both options can be used, because I was unsure of the answer (If I would do this project again/If I will do this project again).

The students had the task of searching the definition for Cultural Heritage or Heritage tourism and in groups of three make a small introductory presentation of heritage tourism in a country chosen by them, and then present them for the others. The chosen countries were interesting: Italy, Spain, Great Britain, India, Indonesia. I was positively surprised by the effort and the level which they managed to put into the 3-minute presentations. The students asked if they had to do a PowerPoint presentation, and I told them they didn’t have to, but two groups had done them in PPT format, and they were great. The Spain group talked about the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela, and they had a great picture of the route. Another group, presenting Italy, had included a beautiful picture of Venice. The group on Indonesia had chosen three sites that they presented and they even mentioned that the next year is Visit Indonesia year. I was very pleased and impressed by the students’ work and praised them for that. One thing that I did not emphasize enough was the fact that the students should have come up with a definition of what is heritage tourism.

We also started another reading and rephrasing exercise on fossils, but that will be continued the next week with the regular teacher. I thanked the group for great work and told them that I had really enjoyed teaching them, and gave them some chocolate for farewell. I asked the students to submit comments at Answergarden: http://answergarden.ch/76207

Conditionals and business letters 2

This week I taught the both groups a lesson on business letters, or quotations, to be more specific, and conditionals. I selected the grammar to be the first item after checking the homework, because it would require more attention and a higher energy level.

Group A was quite cooperative and completed the exercises very quickly. We had time to even check the exercises in class. For group B, on the other hand, it took ages to even check the homework. The students were very passive and only two of them volunteered to say the answers.

The topic for the day was Conditionals and business letters. To illustrate a conditional structure “If x,… I would”  I used a video clip from the musical Fiddler on the Roof with the famous quote ”If I were a rich man…”.: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl7BVr36bbs

I had also selected one online conditional exercise on famous quotations, found at http://www.bes.info.pl/grammar/conditionals/conditionals-quotes.html. I really felt that the interactive touch add an interesting dimension to teaching, as well as the element of surprise.

On group B’s lesson it was time to take some video footage for Educational Science project. My supervising teaching filmed me teaching, helping the class and even two student’s comments.

The student are to write a second business letter, so we continued with this topic and looked at some useful beginning and ending sentences and a specimen letter.

After the lesson one student spontaneously thanked me for teaching. She said that she had liked my approach that everyone was able to participate and that I had emphasized that it was ok try, and the wrong answers were not discouraged.

I collected feedback from group B with Answergarden tool, because this was the trird and the last time I would teach them. Here is the responses that I got: http://answergarden.ch/view/76081

Lesson 4: a parallel lesson on Guiding

I have been a little sick for a week now, but luckily I have not gotten very ill, so I have been hanging in there. I had not slept very well last night, so I was very tired. I found out that so were the students: several of them were yawning in the classroom.

Only 11 students showed up today, so the lesson was quiet and peaceful. We covered the topic of guiding with the group B, the same class I conducted for the group A on Tuesday.

The biggest problem on the lesson was that Moodle and document camera were not working properly. Moodle kept throwing me out and I had to sign back in several times. When I switched to the document camera, the visibility was mostly very blurry. I fixed the problem by showing items on either apparatus that worked, since I had paper or transparency copies of everything that we did. While the students were working on something I set up the computer again. Also another problem emerged: the class was held in a Wine classroom, so we did not have computers there, as in all other lesson. Therefore the students did not have access to Moodle and online documents.

This meant that most the students did not have the text they were supposed to read on being a good guide and to do the related exercises. I asked the students read the same text in pairs, and two students made some copies for those who did not have them. We had to skip one grammar exercise on passives, because the material is in Moodle. The students were asked to pick any sight or place or interest in Kuopio and to write a short guiding script on it in small groups, using guiding language which we studied today, as well as passive structures. The students were creative and came up with Puijo Tower, harbour, Tahko resort, and Matkus shopping centre, which is the newest place of interest. The lesson went swiftly and the students managed to finish even most of their homework in class.

I have now completed three fourths of my teaching practice: only 3 double lessons to go!

4th English lesson -a parallel group

I met with the group B for the first time. It is a parallel group for 2nd-year tourism students. Almost everyone showed up, so we had about 2+ students, 4 of which were guys. Also my supervising teaching was observing me.

I led almost a replica of Business Letters 1 class that I did last week for group A, except that the basics of business letters had been covered already. I received information about what had already been done only 1-2 hours before the lesson, so I needed to plan to fill some 30 minutes with some exercises. It threw me be a bit, because the next lesson is a compact and complete unit around guiding, and I did not want to break that. However, as it turned out, we did not need any extra material as the planned activities filled the whole double lesson.

One one my key observations is that for a 90-minute class, you only need 3 to 4 exercises, tasks or items. There always seems to be more material than time. For example, checking the homework and attendance already takes about 15 minutes from the beginning of the lesson.

I found this group to be very active and I got a good contact with them. I introduced myself and told a bit about my background. The I asked the students to tell what is their favourite country and why. The students were open and chatted freely, when I commented on what they said.

I have observed that this teaching practice has changed me as a person. I feel quite open to share about my experiences. I am not apprehensive about the students any more, but it is much easier for me to go to talk to them now. I have grown more confident and I use my voice better. Previously I have not had much contact with teenagers or young adults, but I am starting to enjoy them more and more.

My supervisor commented after the class that it is great that I want to make a connection and build a relationship with my students. We had a lengthy discussion how important this is and we seemed to share this view. I have learned from my American teachers that teaching and learning it is all about a relationship, and that the most important lessons are those that you learn about life. As a teacher you can be a key person for a student's growth and the discovery of his/her talents and passions. That is why I aim to be open and transparent about my life, whenever appropriate.

Overall, this lesson went very well on my own opinion and also according to my supervisor. The only point for improvement is that when we check for homework, I need to be careful of not showing the answers before the word or sentence in question is said: I could either fill out a blank exercise sheet or reveal the correct answers in the end.

English lesson # 3

The computer problem had been solved: I had not known how to turn on the screen : -)… Today only 11 students showed up, so the lesson was quiet.

Today’s topic was on guiding. I shared some of my experiences about guiding in Egypt: what the clientele was like, what kind of excursions the tour leaders led (marathon length) and how the passive tense was used in guiding in certain destinations, e.g. in the organic oil factory.

The students read a text about being a good guide and completed two exercises. Then we studied guiding language and passive tense, and there was more exercises. Finally the students wrote a short guiding script using passive and other typical guiding structures and the speeches were read out loud.

I feel that I have developed as a teacher now that I have gained some routine. I feel more natural around the students and maintain a contact with them by asking them things that make them part of the lesson, for example, if anyone has been to Egypt and what did they do there. I believe I am learning to use my authority more without thinking what the students are thinking about me, e.g. when the students get noisy or start chatting about other topics.

I already feel confident about using Moodle and the document camera. Just 2 lessons ago I was not sure if I could get it running. I remember to lower the text or transparency so that they students can follow what is shown on the overhead projector.

I also had a nice chat with one of the students after the lesson. She has dyslexia and she was apologizing for being so slow and not completing the exercises in the given time. (I wait that at least most student are ready, depending on how much time we have available). I encouraged her for being brave and always making an effort – she is the most active student in the class. I told her of my relative who has the same background and how he improved his linguistic skills a lot in working practice abroad. Overall, it was  a good lesson.