Oh dear, what a challenge this will be!
Tony picked me up a little late at CVS. I had everything I though I would need: I had planned out the activities for the day and printed them out so they had them (these I was planning on using to see their level), bought three small booklets for them to start a vocabulary and reading log, got a magazine for their reading to start and a blackboard to write some stuff out. And I had my teacher sheet that laid out the class for me to more or less follow.
We arrived at his trailer house – which is actually larger than my apartment in Valencia – and did the entire introduction thing with his children and the girlfriend. Then we more or less sat in a circle in the living room and proceeded to start the class. First drawback: these are not students. These are people that want to learn, yes, and that have a vague idea of what to expect from a class and a teacher. But the last time they were in a classroom was probably in eighth grade. I not only have to teach them English but am going to have to try to teach them how to learn, the different ways of learning and what to expect from a class. Second drawback: there is no external motivation. They don´t have tests or grades, they only want to learn for themselves, yet don´t really know what learning is. I am forseeing complications!
I started the class explaining what my goals were: how I want to teach them how to use english on a day to day basis and give them some extra input on what they might need for the future in their jobs. After today I´m thinking… I might not even get to the first goal! We picked up some the activities on the sheet, starting with introductions. There I was able to see that:
1. - It is very difficult to get them to interact with each other. I´m going to have to try a way for them to speak to each other (and pottentially other North americans) without them thinking I am the only person that they can practice their English with. Actually, having sat in Andrea´s first level speaking class today has made me conscious of that fact that this might be a general drawback that happens with basic levels.
2. - They expect a sage teacher, someone that will offer them a very disciplined and controlled class, with books and spectacles and a bun on her head. I don´t think they concieve that part of learning implies they have to be active in class. They have a vague notion that they need to be introducing English more into their day to day basis but I think they sort of expect me to funnel it into the classes without them having to really change anything.
3.- They don´t take notes, don´t really follow and structure of the class and don´t write down any of the answers I gave them in class. Their only positive reaction was at the end of the class, when I literarly translated some expressions and words for them. These are expressions that they´ve been hearing around and haven´t been able to grasp correctly in composition or meaning.
My intention as tutor was to see what their level was and try to organize their knowledge of English. Recreating situations of a day to day life could motivate them, since it would be something that goes into immediate use, teaching them grammar structures as a plus. However, I think I will need to organize a lot more each activity and the time spent in class and lay it out as easy as possible so they can keep the most ammount of material to go over. I don´t want to give everything chewed out, but I also don´t want them to simply forget a structure they can check in a paper and go over because they are not writing it down.
I am also confused about their level. They are not at complete zero, but what they have learned is a collection of words, some vague expressions and some wrong concepts. How can I start building on top of this without making them feel like I am discarding everything they´ve got?
SST chapter one has been a very humbling experience… I might need to start calling it DSST (Difficult Super Sketch Tutoring), it´s been giving me a constant headache to try to find the answers to a better teaching. Hopefully I can come up with some answers soon!
Catalina, you have discovered a number of issues that exist with non-traditional students. They often don't have the study skills to transfer over to their SLL studies. This is true with many more "educated" students at CIES as well. Taking the time to go over how to study and explaining how it will help, as well as giving assignments to motivate them to do this is a daily task, and must be done constantly.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven;t already, ask them how they want to improve and have them set goals for themselves. You will need to spend time explaining to them the importance of this, as well as the necessity of their participation and feedback to you.
I assume that speaking and listening skills are their main focus, so you my want to start here. Since they are different genders and ages, you can do a lot of role playing around different functions and situations. You can then spend time finding reading resources that are easy, age and gender appropriate, as well as interesting for them.
Let me know if you are looking for any materials to help you out!