Blended learning, English language teaching and the use of technology - the MEC blog - CELTA diary

Diary of a London CELTA-girl

Steph — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:39:06 GMT

International House London CELTA training centre

Week Four

MEC Commissioning Editor and recent CELTA graduate, Jenny Lovel, writes:

'It's nearly over. We return from the bank holiday weekend having completed assignment four, a reflection on what we've learnt on the course and having had some sleep. Despite the end being in sight the class is feeling less than jubilant. Last week one of our classmates left the course, unable to cope with negative teaching feedback and a couple of failed assignments. We've become so dependent on each other that he's sorely missed. In addition, the bank holiday weekend has given us a taste of the social lives we've put on hold to do the course. Everyone tells stories of breaking down in tears of happiness in restaurants and partners with frayed patience. We've also all lost weight while doing the course but none of us would recommend the unique CELTA blend of sleep deprivation and sugary foods as an alternative to Weightwatchers.

On Wednesday I have my final lesson. I've now got the lesson planning down to a mere three hours so, in contrast to my other lessons, I've actually had some sleep the night before. The lesson is on the present perfect (shudder) so I decide to keep it simple and elicit the form of the language from the students. Unfortunately I write something on the board which isn't right and fail to notice until heckled by my tutor. Deeply embarrassed, I teach the remainder of the lesson looking a bit red and sweaty but in general the lesson has been a success. More importantly, it's my final lesson and my teaching practice is over! I feel like putting my jumper over my head and running round the classroom in celebration. The only remaining challenge is another un-assessed "carousel" lesson (where the class is divided into groups which rotate to a different teacher every 15 minutes) on the Friday. But a game of "Guess Who?" superficially to revise vocabulary about personal appearances goes down a treat and everyone enjoys it. We're in the pub by 4 pm eating baklava, a gift from a student, and drinking beer. We've all passed.'

Do you remember the day you passed your CELTA? Have you ever used MEC to help you reinvigorate the present perfect? What do your students think of MEC? Leave a comment.

Diary of a London CELTA-girl

Steph — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:50:27 GMT

Week Three

MEC Commissioning Editor and recent CELTA graduate, Jenny Lovel, writes:

'Week three of the CELTA course is a hot contender for the worst week of my life. I have two assignments due, on Monday and Thursday, and three lessons to plan. Lesson five goes well. The students are lively and chatty and I play a game with them that I've stolen directly from one of the teachers I observed last week. Each student has an expression on a piece of coloured card which he or she must describe to their partner. The game is great fun, with students proclaiming "Good Health!" and "Happy New Year!" joyfully. Once again I feel like I’m opening for a stand-up comedian, but the lesson has gone well and I've really enjoyed it.

Such feelings of adequacy are short-lived. In lesson six disaster strikes. Student numbers in our class have been dwindling, and before the lesson rumour has it that three new French students have signed up to the class. This doubles the size of our class, which is welcome news. Wondering if anyone is going to turn up for your class when you've spent five hours preparing it is not a pleasant emotion. The new students do turn up and I start my lesson enthusiastically. Within two minutes I realize that they have no idea what I am saying. They're not used to being taught entirely in English, my language isn't graded appropriately to their level, and they look at me in horror when I attempt some choral drilling. My confidence crumbles. No amount of coloured cardboard is going to get me out of this mess and the lesson is a disaster. The worst thing is that I have to bounce back from this experience quickly, so I can plan tomorrow's hour-long lesson and write assignment number three.

Deciding not to be beaten I stay up until 2 am planning and writing, and set my alarm for 6am to prepare my materials. After copious amounts of coffee I manage to deliver a lesson, and in contrast to yesterday the students understand my instructions and participate fully in class. Confidence restored! I've survived seven teaching practices and have only one more to go. I look forward to the fourth and final week by having a glass of wine and promptly falling asleep.'

Does MEC help you with lesson planning? How have you used support site materials to help you? Leave a comment.

Diary of a London CELTA-girl

Steph — Thu, 31 May 2007 09:20:08 GMT

Week Two

MEC Commissioning Editor and recent CELTA graduate, Jenny Lovel, writes:

'I start week two feeling quite tired, having spent the weekend at the IATEFL conference in Aberdeen. In the interview for my CELTA course I was asked if I had any social events planned that would prevent me from doing my coursework. Instead of being honest about the conference, I said that I didn't have any plans for the whole month. Consequently, sneaking up to IATEFL seems like having an affair and carrying textbooks in my conference bag like telltale lipstick on a collar. But at IATEFL I realise how much I've learnt in a week and feel heartened that the hard work I'm putting in is paying off.

Jenny's class at IH London

In contrast to the first week, in week two we have to submit lesson plans for assessment. These have to detail learning objectives, stage aims, timing, analysis of target language and even a whiteboard plan. Confident the plan shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, I spend most of the evening combing magazines for photographs to illustrate my lesson on lexis for special occasions. When I've stuck pictures of happy couples, birthday presents and glasses of champagne to clashing pieces of cardboard I turn to the lesson plan. Fast-forward five hours and I'm still writing. The plans are unbelievably time-consuming, and need revising constantly. Working out the timing of each stage of the lesson requires military precision and yet it's hard to know how long the students will need. I don't want to be left twiddling my thumbs for ten minutes at the end of the lesson making small-talk and yet I similarly don't want to have to finish mid-activity.

Planning is a nightmare and I'm starting to have a newfound respect for teachers. In my lesson observations I realise, with a mix of envy and despair, how easy they make it look. The lessons are relaxed, the teachers have good rapport with the students, there are clear aims and, perhaps most importantly, at no point does the teacher look at his or her watch, mutter an expletive and start cantering towards the end of the lesson leaving the students behind. I learn a great deal from watching these experienced teachers and find this aspect of the course invaluable.

As the weekend approaches I start counting down the hours to my well-deserved lie-in and vow to have Saturday off. It's the end of week two.'

Does this bring back memories for you? Do you remember your first ever lesson? How much time do you spend planning these days? Leave a comment.

Diary of a London CELTA-girl

Steph — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:14:31 GMT

Week One

MEC Commissioning Editor and recent CELTA graduate, Jenny Lovel, writes:

'Day one of the CELTA course at International House is strangely reminiscent of my first day at school. Perhaps it's the new stationery I'm carrying, complete with OHP markers in colours I'll never need (pink) and an impractical notebook. There are ten of us CELTA students in the class - three men and seven women, who vary in age from 18 to 60. I had expected everyone to be a recent graduate, staving off their inevitable move into 9 to 5 drudgery with an exciting few years spent teaching abroad, but my fellow students' motivations range as widely as their ages. Some are taking CELTA before starting a university course; some for a change of career; and others are relocating abroad. The first thing our tutor does is give us each a letter from a former CELTA student that contains some words of advice. Mine opens with "Dear CELTA student, I pity you, for you have just signed away four weeks of your life". The future has looked brighter.

CELTA isn't renowned for easing students in gradually, and on day two my "teaching practice" (TP) group and I are teaching a two hour unobserved lesson as a carousel. I have to teach the students vocabulary relating to family relationships. I decide to draw a simplified version of my family tree, with a liberal dollop of poetic licence. My brother suddenly has a wife and two children, conveniently a boy and a girl. Add in a couple of family snapshots for that personal touch and I feel quite satisfied with my handiwork. A lesson is born.

Before the carousel I feel so nervous I would happily do a three hour job interview rather than walk into the classroom. But the name game we've prepared is good fun and puts me at my ease. We divide the students into five groups, and I teach each group for twenty minutes. I run out of material in the first group after fifteen minutes and have to adlib about family resemblances while the students look at me sympathetically. In the next group the conversation turns to vocabulary such as "my step-mother's fostered children" and "my sister-in-law is pregnant" making me wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew. But the two hours go surprisingly quickly and I feel I have really got to know the students.

Over the next few days we have input sessions in the mornings, in which we are taught how to teach, and then in the afternoon we take it in turns to teach a 40 minute lesson. In week one we are not expected to do an assessed lesson plan, so preparing for the lessons largely involves queuing for the photocopier and pasting pictures to coloured cardboard. My first lessons go reasonably well, but my attempts to use gesture, mime and enthusiasm make my lessons strangely similar to a one-woman comedy routine. No matter - I've survived week one.'

Does this remind you of your first week of CELTA, or did you have a different experience? How different is the CELTA from the DELTA? Leave us a comment.

CELTA Diary

Steph — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:20:31 GMT

OK so who remembers doing their CELTA? 'Ahh...' I hear you say '...how could I forget?!'

Well, for those of you who have, or those of you who would like their memory refreshed in order to get that 'thank goodness I made it!' feeling all over again, we are proudly presenting The CELTA Diary.

This is Jenny.

She's in the thick of her CELTA at International House London as we speak, so who better to ask for the latest on modern CELTA courses! One reason for this diary, aside from us wanting to feel smug that we are happily qualified, is because a few people at IATEFL mentioned that CELTA courses do not include any training on blended learning. Rena Penna of the British Council in the Czech Republic was one of those who remarked on this gap in ESL teacher training. You can find her on the British Council IATEFL website. Email her for details of her talk on the role of technology in teaching: Mind the Gap: What ICT skills do teachers need?

Over the next four weeks we'll hear from Jenny about what a CELTA is like these days, and whether teachers are being properly prepared for the modern world of ICT and blended learning.

We'll have Jenny's first posting at the end of next week. If you are inspired by anything she says please give us your thoughts. We'd also love to hear from you with your own CELTA anecdotes and memories.