Experiences of a teacher of English

  Teachers may feel today that there’s a lot of bureaucracy around their teaching, right? And it may be so, I don’t mean the contrary. But why not to take advantage of that lot of bureaucracy?  For example, and we are starting the school year in the north hemisphere, you may have been told to make up your school subject curriculum or syllabus, okay. With such and such points to include in it.  On the other hand you may have made up your own goals for the student classes, because you already know those students or you have past years' experience about what works and what doesn’t work in class.  Let’s see. For your lessons you may take into account what you had thought of about the curriculum, beforehand, plus try and think briefly how to include those new points the school asks you to include. And don’t get choked or bogged down with all that.  Although you’ve been asked to use the school syllabus, on your own you may also consider and bear in mind the curriculum...

  We may be about to start a new school year, at least at the north earth hemisphere. And you may be a hectic teacher. And you have to plan that school year by following the premises given by the school plus the points perhaps the school does not demand from you but you think they are important for your daily teaching.  That is what I’m doing. And maybe you’re a committed teacher who wants to get hold of every problem that might turn up in your pathway and your students’ one. Ok, great.  All the same I would tell you not to specify every mishap which could pop up during that school year. Even more if you tend to be a perfectionist teacher.  You will face any trouble when it occurs. Even you may have some transcendent view of life and may trust in God and his loving providence. Do not get everything tied and super tied up. Also because we may not know the students we’ll have soon.  Each and every one of them is unique and can provide their richness to the lessons...

  Let’s proceed into a new point. You may be a second or foreign language teacher, like me. And you wish to carry out your teaching effectively, right? And you may be subject to fulfill a curriculum, or syllabus, or program, right? Anyway, let me tell you that although we may be kind of obliged to fulfill that program, I think we should try to lesson-plan for our dear students to really learn and acquire that language.  I mean, ok, you plan your lesson with a set of activities; well, what about thinking, How could I implement those exercises so that they actually learn and acquire the tongue?  In other words, each lesson ought to be for them, the students, a firm step forward in learning the language plus improving their communicative skills in that language.  That step may be small apparently, but one step plus another plus another … in following lessons make a big figure!  Even you may have more freedom to plan the kind of activities you think they are more ap...

  Okay, let’s start the new school year, 2022-’23. With some enormous “ilusión”, we say in Spanish, with great excitement and eagerness.  On the very first class day, hopefully I will introduce the syllabus or program or curriculum to my dear students, thus at that moment I am involving them up to the core of what we are about to do along that school year.  I will do it in a mild tone, but with great enthusiasm.  It’s up to the teacher: he or she is the main resource of activities and knowledge. I am getting my students into the marvelous task of learning English. And I hope they will do it by sharing my enthusiasm, I will speak in a mild tone, though.  In class each individual, each student is unique. And their teacher has to view the thing that way. Each person is suitable of being original, and most of them may provide some originality to the class.  I will not address a mass of people on that first class, I should address individuals, though.  I ca...

  On my previous post I told you that we teachers have to also educate our students for their future… and for the present alike. And we have to have them contemplate beauty. For example through texts.  And always in accordance with their parents and with human dignity.  Well, you know, if possible, we can have them read the classics, where we can find and encounter beauty. Plus other human values such as good, evil, love, virtues, generosity, sincerity and honesty, doing good to others, friendship, honorability, etcetera.  You know what? In principle I was going to have all my students read graded readers and other full version books, for instance classics, but for two of my groups I’m going to introduce an English coursebook, so what can I do to offer good reads?  Well, I have to check whether the coursebook contents are okay and in accordance to human dignity – otherwise I would have to offer other texts and not that coursebook. Anyway, I foresee that the text...

  Does the teacher have to give contents and knowledge to his or her students? Or otherwise he or she has to foster their students look for those contents and knowledge? Both.  However, that teacher has to give that information, those ideas, concepts, data, notions. They have to give contents and knowledge.  But their students will not be passive. It’s not like a half-robot which gives a lecture to an audience and that’s it. No. In the classroom, both face-to-face and remote, there will be a nice conversation, where the students may ask and comment on some points, with order and agreement.  The students are active in that classroom.  I teach English, as you must know. English as a foreign language, or English as a second language, and this latter case more and more in Spain, for more and more people speak English.  Now I teach online.  And I try to get a lot of conversation arise. I ask my dear students. Sometimes namely or nominatim , and many times I...

We teachers may be still confined at home. Also our students. We might be working on the end of this school year by addressing our students remotely.  Well, also now may be the time to briefly think of our students and how to really help them, or help them more fully.  When I plan my classes – and this will hopefully ensue next school year – I have to think of the students I have before me in the classroom. I may take into account the syllabus and all the stuff, yet I have real and specific people in the classroom: It’s them I have to serve!  As well – and this is something I’m actually doing – now when confined at home I can think of my lessons in a more detached way, and I can possibly draw conclusions about what I have to change in my lessons.  I’m longing to have my students before me again, though I reckon that my classes take me a great effort.  Now I can contemplate my lessons in a more ample angle of vision. And therefore I can think of changing this poi...

I appreciate committed teachers. They’re the protagonists of schools. Together with their dear students.  They promote those students and boost them as learners and as persons themselves. They’re boosting their nation as well.  However, some of those teachers look worried and uneasy. I would tell them, Enjoy teaching! It’s what you’ve got to do in the classroom. Not as a selfish seeking of some insane pride, but for the school community, and the families as well, of course. Come on, enjoy teaching!, I would tell them. When we try and do our best for other people, we likely become happy. Although we'll be happy with God our Father's help. Something else for today. It seems sound and sensible to daily think of the classes we teach – the classes of students I mean. Maybe when planning lessons, we may think of a single thing we have to try those students should better and improve.  Let’s think of those classes, every day, from the air, looking over, thinking ...

Some days ago I told you that before and at the beginning of the new school year we teachers could have in mind some few and exciting and necessary goals for our students.  Okay then, let’s come back to those few nice goals on the following days, also so as to internalize them deep in mind and heart.  I do know your school also demands more goals from you, but inside our heart we should have those objectives we have thought of.  I mean it: we tentatively know our students and so we know what they need. Perhaps we do not know some new students but we reckon what an average student may need, because we can have taught some or many lessons already.  For starting the new school year it is enough we have those aims by heart. And we try to apply them. Then we will try to define some other objectives our school asks from us. Have a nice week, fellow teachers and everybody else! / Photo from: ABC de Sevilla

We are near a new school year. Are you curious about what you’re going to teach?  Now we teachers can plan that school year with ample lenses, which is better for our regular planning.  I mean, come on, sit down at the computer and think of few points you would like to implement along the school year. Few and exciting ones.  Think of what you would like for your students to gain in that new school year. Think of specific and exciting goals. You’re becoming more of an experienced teacher.  Think but not too much time maybe. Think of useful stuff, something you can see at once on your computer. Not many points, at least at a first moment. Later you’ll plan furtherly. Goals you can realistically implement.  Think of those goals for not too much time, and come back to those goals tomorrow, for letting the subconscious work on its own, for letting the little flood sediment on mind. / Photo from: Boeing 747 vs Cessna YouTube. Well I posted tha...

  So yesterday I wrote to you something about determining some goals for our classes (I mean groups). Summarizing and insisting on purpose: When thinking of goals they should be few , and they should serve the purpose of helping me, who is the one that will refer back to those goals after having applied them and while applying them. It is not something just for the principal to learn, but they have to be useful to me! Intuition, after this school year: I do know what is good for my classes (groups). Plus I will NOT dedicate too much time to determining those goals, just the necessary one. Those goals must be practical!! I have just transcribed some notes about those meaningful, significant, and helpful goals. I hope this article be any useful to you, committed teachers and all others that drop by my blog! Sorry for my mistakes and errors while writing in English! / Photo from: passarello_la_crecida_del_rio_sena_paris_francia_el_24_de_enero_de_2018

  We are about to finish this school year or we have already finished or anyway we will finish soon. We can behold the school year. We can draw conclusions. We can handle intuition. Intuition about what our classes (groups) need. Is this so? As I’ve already said we should have goals for our classes (groups). Quick-view goals. Goals we can apply at once. Goals that our classes (groups) need. We should have those goals in mind. What I need for that class (group) is this or that. Just one thing. Or two at the utmost. We should draw goals for our classes (groups). Those goals will determine my lesson plans. They should be few and brief. They should be practical. Easy to deduce and apply. Few ones. They should help me, plus I do not draw those goals just because my principal demands so. They are for me and my classes (groups). Of course I will let my boss learn about them if necessary but they will help me first of all. And they refer to mid-term periods. Or some wee...

  As you well know, busy teachers, we must have lesson plans. Also we may have midterm-goals. Okay then, what about letting our students know about all those goals and objectives…? So they might also cooperate to reach those goals. We can try and see. This is so if there’s rapport between them and us teachers. More often than not, our students may understand what we want to reach together with them. Even more: we can help them to learn what they can reach, what they are able to reach. Give it a try! You may be encouraging them to reach farther! / Photo from: Quora. Our students may be like airplanes which can reach so far!

  Lately what follows happens to me. Although I have some look at the general syllabus planning, also I tend to think of the main core point for each class-group. This is, I think of the main single goal for my dear students. It’s the only-one-goal theory. Thus for a class-group the main goal may be just they must talk, talk, talk in English; for another to have them in my pocket; or for a third one some grammar would be fine with them, either high-leveled grammar, like C1 or maybe B1 grammar stuff. That grammar will help them give more messages in English. And so forth. Every single day I think of a single goal for those nice people. And the thing works and they’re satisfied and content and happy, for nice rapport in the classroom is of a grand importance. Well, you know, currently I teach adult learners, but the same theory would match kids’ learning. And concerning the general program or syllabus and as I said I have some peek at that wide general planning and extr...

  Of course it’s okay to plan the classes and to plan the syllabus. But people like me and other teachers should take into account that also it is okay to let the lesson flow itself and develop itself too, as a nice stream. Improvising may be right too. Thank you very much for reading this post. Hope it be of any use, like the previous ones and the ones I expect to write: teachers should help one another, right? So let’s lessons also stream and flow themselves, even to overflow, if the lesson is taking an accurate discourse: we work with people and they for sure are more important than the planning itself. We teachers should have some trusting ourselves! / Photo from: bicicleta-antigua blogger. The picture is just an illustration.

  Some days ago I wrote the following notes: “One-goal theory: let’s see what’s good for my two schools: presentations and have them in my pocket. November 10, 2017. I guess that is gotten by a mature person.” I meant that sometimes, especially when the teacher is experienced, he can have a single-goal planning for his lessons – plus the actual activities, of course. He seeks what’s most necessary for his class-groups. In my case: since I teach at two centers, some days ago I achieved to think what the main points for my class-groups were. And I decided that a single goal would be okay with my lesson planning – plus the specific activities. For one of those centers the main goal should be for the students to give their oral presentations about a topic their choice, in the classroom. And for the other center the main goal should be having my students in my pocket. And I said this latter goal because I’m starting classes with them and the core point regarding them no...

  With two of the class-groups I currently have I’ve proceeded in a different way than usually. I’ve started the classes first, and when I realize and make out their levels I’ll make up my planning and programming the whole school year. First I want to learn about those new students – adults – and only then will I plan their general syllabus. Ordinarily I plan the syllabus first, and then I start my classes. Better said, I get a general planning or syllabus beforehand and then, when I’ve taught several classes I point out the main strokes or points about the learning process they could follow; their syllabus, in a single word. Something that helps me a lot is taking to the classroom some lesson planning for each class-period: when I stop to think about each class-group I think of what they need the most, and thus, as I can remember what I’ve thought for each class-group. In that way I can teach something more specific for each class-group: I have several class-group...

It is also sensible we teachers should have scheduled goals and objectives concerning our teaching labor, and with our students in mind. So those goals would be general and the same ones for everybody. However it could be also sound to have extra-goals for those students who can progress more, and otherwise, with no extra-goals they would get terribly bored in our lessons... As well they could be objectives or goals those high-achievers might freely choose – it is clever to give freedom and responsibility to our students, and educate them in those freedom and responsibility. In my case, as I am an English-language teacher I used to provide extra-material for those high-achievers. Namely and specifically I used to hand them material for training for First Certificate level of English, according to Cambridge University, or in other words B2 level of English, the first professional level of that language – it’s high-intermediate. In the school subject of English, moreover,...

Some teachers attend their classes with some ideas to implement.  I advise you, if you like, to plan each and every class on written notes.  I personally think of the students I have and their necessities and expectations, and then I plan the activities I shall implement in the class.  The point now lately is for them to listen to me massively, and start to make them speak in English, with some meaningful contents for them.  What else?  I don’t have any perspective of my own classes: if one of you fellows would attend my classes could remark any other point. Oh, I bear in mind the previous class or classes, so as to make a continuum or plot in the line of their learning and acquiring English. / Photo from: young woman with laptop English teacher www young-germany de

I have nothing special to tell you all today.  Just specify a goal or objective per class; and also plan the activities you're carrying out on such day.  When planning goals per class, little by little your class-group will improve step by step.  Anyway some day don't plan a given class; sometimes these latter ones turn out better than the scheduled ones.  However, as a regular rule, I would advise you to plan each class. / Photo from: supergoal com. kids playing soccer