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TEFL Certification Day 4 & 5: Going through the motions

Posted on April 6, 2011 by admin

Disclaimer: I want to warn readers that these posts are usually written after a long 8 hour day in the classroom after already completing my written assignments after class. Please do not expect perfect grammar as I’m not going to do any editing and will only be free writing as quickly as possible. I am fully aware of the irony here, don’t worry! 🙂

The last two days have been spent going through the motions of what we will eventually be doing in a couple of weeks. We are peer practicing so that we can used to the structure of the models that TEFL International uses in their course.

I’m really enjoying the course right now since the days are broken up nicely into different parts. We never spend too much time on one item. This will change next week with grammar but for now I’m just having fun. Usually, first thing in the morning is dedicated to a new phase of the structure models followed by some sort of activity that gets us moving around a little. The first day we did some acting and improvisation, the second day we played pictionary and today was charades. All of this ties into teaching English as a foreign language as illustrations, gestures and body language are all very important. With out these skills being able to communicate effectively with a student who doesn’t understand you would be nearly impossible. I’ve always been pretty good at acting and having a good time but I have to be careful with this. One phrase, often repeated in class is, “Be entertaining, not an entertainer.” There is a fine line between entertaining the kids and then going too far where you go overboard. I’m anxious to see how I handle this once I’m in front of the students.

Some people in class are having a harder time than others but I’m sure this is normal. I’ve found myself far more confident than I expected to be. Instead of being nervous about going up in front of the class, I’m usually eager to do it so that I can get more practice. I think in my free time, I’m going to go into the classroom to do some black board practice. My handwriting is already bad, so any chance I can get practicing my writing and drawing skills will be good. Living at the school has its benefits because if I ever have a night where I can’t sleep I can always walk down a quick staircase to the floor below and practice my lessons.

Last night there was a welcoming party where they cooked Thai food and served soft drinks. The food was amazing! I had a curry, sort of like massaman with chicken wings in it as well as a spicy beef dish called Lam. There was pad thai and morning glory served and we got to hang around the staff and administration.

Tonight, they are taking some of us into Rayong, a bigger city about 20 minutes away, so that we can get any clothing items that we still need for teaching. I need a couple of button up shirts as well as khaki pants. Then we’ll head over to a big night market to eat.

That’s about it for now! Tomorrow we meet with students for the first time to do a student profile. We’ll observe our trainers first and then be on our own with a Thai student for an interview.

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