Tuesday Twelve

What I like about teaching ESL.

1. Walking into the classroom to a chorus of "Hi Teacher! How are you today?" in various accents. They seem genuinely happy to be there and happy to see me.
2. Being the only caucasian in the classroom.
3. I love being stretched and challenged in a new way.
4. Not having to worry about class control.
5. Seeing the "aha!" moment, when something I'm trying to teach is understood.
6. We listened to "Let it Snow" today and one of the vocabulary words I presented was "kiss." One student, in very broken English described how his nephew would greet him with a big kiss and a hug when he would walk in the door. That just warmed my heart.
7. The unit I'm teaching now is about weather. It's so good to see people excited about the snow and cold.
8. I'm using a Smart Board. What a great invention!
9. My practicum teacher, Heather, who is full of encouragement and ideas.
10. I asked one student where she was from and she answered that she is originally from Somalia but lived in Yeoman for a while. She must have quite a story and I'm thrilled to be part of the group that will give her the English skills to share it one day.
11. It doesn't matter what your class is made up of, there is always one or two jokers (usually male). We have them too and they add some great humour to the class.
12. It's cool to see students from so many different countries work so hard to communicate even though their English is very basic. The need to communicate and relate is so very strong.

I am not making this up

I read a quote in a magazine at the salon today. I can't remember it exactly but it went something like this:

"Women are wearing bold, brightly coloured lipsticks as a response to the way men have messed up the economy so badly in the last few years."

Go girls. Let's all buy great lipsticks and show those men.

ESL

I never thought I'd say it but, I'm loving school! Going to university when I was younger was not fun. It was just something I started and felt I had to finish. Stepping onto a university campus for the first time in thirty years, as a student, was a thrill. As I walk around there, I feel like I'm 20 again. There's energy, hope and possibility reflected in the faces around me. What an inspiring place to be.

It's only an 8 week course and I'm just about finished. I'll miss my classmates, 80% of whom are interesting, intelligent and fun people. But I think that teaching English to immigrants and foreign students will be a great challenge and plenty of fun too.

One of my teachers is teaching a class of young mothers, many who are not literate in their first language. Imagine the challenge of teaching people like that! Not only are you teaching them a new language, they are also learning how to read and write for the first time!

In a couple of weeks I start a practicum and then who knows where I'll be after that. No doubt it will be quite an interesting journey for my students and me.