How to ‘demand high’ – Jim Scrivener at the IATEFL Conference

Demand High ELT has been on my radar for quite a while now.  In some ways it has given me the same feeling as Dogme.  The idea itself is not a new methodology or even a new idea, but it does give the idea a name, a banner that teachers can get behind.  Just as teachers may well have been teaching Dogme before it was called Dogme, teachers have probably been demanding high, before it had the name.  Giving a name to a movement or idea can help give teachers the courage to talk about what they are doing knowing that many others are also doing the same.

The session by Jim Scrivener was high on my list of sessions to see before the conference began.  It started off with the demand high meme, ‘Am I engaging the full learning potential of students in my class?’  This is a question I ask myself constantly. Scrivener and his colleague Adrian Underhill felt that they saw lots of good, entertaining, fun teaching.  What was probably missing was teaching that pushed students.  This strikes a chord with me.  I sometimes wonder if fun and entertainment are valued more than edgier teaching that pushes students beyond their comfort zone.

An interesting question he asked was, ‘is it OK to teach?’  This is well worth asking as teaching has almost become a dirty word in some circles.  Scrivener believes there is a role for explicit teaching in the classroom, although probably not lecturing at the front of the classroom.

Ultimately the slogan, ‘expect more, demand high’ sums it up in a nutshell.  This effectively ended the presentation part of the session as Scrivener moved on to a more practical workshop.  Although there are many aspects of a lesson he could explore he decided look at a common stage in most lessons, namely, when a student has done an exercise and the teacher leads a feedback stage to check answers.

Scrivener then challenged the attendees to a thought experiment, ‘If I wanted to extend this stage (going through the students’ answers) to last 60 minutes, what are some things I could do?’  I liked his suggestion not to stamp your authority on the answer from a student.  Rather than yes, yes, good, do you agree?  leave it open whether it is right or wrong and ask other students opinions first.  This is something that I have found useful in my classes.

He also talked about moving on from fixing students’ errors. ‘Fixing doesn’t lead to insight.  It doesn’t lead to awareness.  Fixing just papers over a crack.’.

He finished with a slide that offered an alternative approach.

At the beginning of the post I said that this is one of the sessions I was most looking forward to.  It certainly didn’t disappoint.  What a great start it has been to IATEFL 2013.  Can’t wait for further sessions as the week progresses.

As for this session, it seems apt to end with a quote from Scrivener, ‘Demand high isn’t a method.  All it is is putting that question in your head, How can I challenge my learners more?’

Check out the session at http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2013/sessions/2013-04-09/how-demand-high

I see you shiver with antici…..pation!

It’s that time of year. The IATEFL Annual International Conference is upon us.  When I was young I used to look forward to the two weeks of Wimbledon tennis.  It was different to the football I watched every week.  Wimbledon was once a year.  It was the biggie.  I settled in front of the television for two weeks each year and watched non-stop.

Is it sad that I feel the same excitement on the eve of the IATEFL conference?  I have been checking the IATEFL Online site all week (http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2013/) seeing if any updates have been made to the schedule.  Who will they show?  Who will they interview?  Will I get to see the presentations I hope to?

The IATEFL site is so important to teachers like me.  I am on the other side of the world.  I don’t have the time nor the money (although I certainly have the desire) to attend in person.  I hope to blog as the week progresses.  I don’t know what I will blog about yet.  I will watch what I can on the website and comment on what excites me,  What’s on my wish list? Well.just as I have my favorites when I watch Wimbledon, I also hope to see the big hitters at IATEFL. I hope to see the presentation about Demand High ELT by Jim Scrivener (pretty please IATEFL Online).  I’m intrigued by the presentation titled, ‘Is unplugged teaching a black art?’  I want to see any presentation involving Mike Hogan.  Chia Suan Chong is always high on my list.  Whenever I watch her online presentations or webinars etc I always leave feeling 100% enthused.  A conference wouldn’t be a conference without soaking up the wisdom of Ken Wilson. Who will be the breakout star?  I could actually list about 50 people I really want to see so I better stop now.  Suffice to say, I am certain we have an exciting week ahead of us.

Come and join the fun, won’t you?

My CELTA – The Good and the Bad

I used the previous posts to try and give an impression of how I was feeling as the course progressed.  As the course ends, and pressure disappears, it can be a good time to reflect.  Things that may have driven me mad during the course may be not bother me at all once finished.  I have allowed a few weeks to pass so I can (hopefully) give a balanced view of the CELTA.

I’m pretty laid back in life.  However, when it comes to teaching I’m very serious.  I can be overly critical of myself and can over analyze situations.  With this in mind, I’ve decided to start this reflection with positive points about the CELTA.

The Good

1. International House: This is not about the CELTA so much as where I chose to study.  I picked International House in Dublin because it has a good reputation (as many IH schools do).  I was delighted with my choice.  The location and facilities were top notch.  I was also very happy with my tutors.  The CELTA is such a personal experience.  Although it’s a standard course, the tutors you end up having will probably have the greatest impact on your feelings towards the course.  As I like to deviate from the norm, I was worried that I would get someone with no flexibility  seeing their way as the only way.  I soon discovered that both my tutors were excellent.  I did connect with one more than the other.  This was purely down to my own learning style.  I just ‘got’ her approach.  The second tutor’s approach wasn’t quite my style but other trainees really connected with her.  I still liked her approach and certainly admired that she had preciously completed an intensive two month DELTA.  In the end both tutors appealed to different students for different reason but I was delighted with both of them.

2. Re-evaluate teaching approach: I felt going into the course that having some experience would be both a help and a hindrance.  I talked about my worry that the tutors would be inflexible.  Would the problem be that, in fact, I would be the inflexible one, not taking advice of tutors and sticking to my tried and trusted (but not necessarily successful) methods.  I felt the CELTA proved very useful for me as my previous teaching experience was all with young learners, but my next job is going to be with adults.  Getting valuable class time with motivated adults, eased me into this new teaching environment.  When I start my next job, I feel I am much better prepared to face it because of the CELTA.

3. Aims:  The lesson plans in the CELTA can be ridiculous.  I hated the amount of detail that was expected and tended to keep them rather brief.  However, the purpose of the lessons plans are to get you thinking about your class aims.  The tutors realise you will not be making lesson plans like these out in the real world.  To be honest, although I hated how time consuming they were to write, they did really get me thinking about why I was doing a particular activity.  I come from a background of teaching in Korean private academies.  The aims are, sadly, often not thought of,.  The aim is to cover as many pages of the book as possible so it is completed by the end on the term.  The CELTA did make me sit down and not just think of what activity I chose, but why I chose it.

The Bad

1. Training or an Endurance test? I understand that a course should be challenging.  However, I feel that the balance of the CELTA is .. ermmm.. uneven.  I feel it would be useful having less input sessions, focusing on the main areas, and putting more time it on reflection.  Rather than endless input sessions, most of which will be forgotten, cover core areas.  I was disappointed, that in four weeks of input sessions, reflective practice was never mentioned.  In fact, in assignment four, I ended up putting, as one of my aims for the future, to engage in more reflective practice.  Even if it wasn’t mentioned in the course, I was going to mention it.

2. Professional Development: We had one input session on Professional Development.  It had some good practical ideas for new teachers with tips for getting through the first year.  I believe that if you are going to something, you should do it right.  Surely part of a training course like CELTA should be to introduce resources to new teachers and encouraging to take part in professional development from the very beginning.  Maybe I’m biased because I find them so useful, but the idea of reading blogs or using twitter and social networks to develop a PLN were never mentioned.  Wouldn’t it be great to encourage new teachers to connect with others as soon as possible and build up a support network which could help them through the difficult first year of teaching.

3. The CELTA Method the best method?  I’m willing to accept that putting this point as a negative may say more about me than the course.  Let me explain.  I felt the structure of each lesson was quite rigid.  Part of this was it was necessary for new teachers to have that structure as they were teaching for the first time.  It seemed a bit too rigid.  I also felt (rightly or wrongly) that if I veered from the structure too much, that I would get a lower mark.  This led to my lessons being rather bland.  I wasn’t sure I could really let my personality show.  It just felt a little bit too much teaching by numbers.  As I said, this may be my fault.  A course new teachers should  have clear simple quite rigid structure.  In saying that, my experience of the CELTA and having talked to many others is that quite a number of trainees do have previous teaching experience and maybe a little more flexibility with teaching style should be allowed.

So that’s it.  The good and the bad.  I could write more things but I wanted to keep the blog post relatively succinct.  I’m happy I did the course.  I would do it again.  Next up on my list is either the DELTA (I will NOT do the intensive course) or a Masters.  Either way, the CELTA is over and I’m happy to move on and hopefully take some of the lessons it taught me into my next job.

My CELTA – Weeks Three and Four

As I entered week 3 I felt a little anxious.  The course hadn’t been too bad up to this point.  However, the 5:50am starts were starting to hurt.  I had also heard the stories of week 3.  It’s legendary.  Grown men cry, the weak minded run from the room in tears, average human beings wilt under the pressure.  It felt like some epic movie.  The reality was somewhat different.  I found it okay.  Week 2 had been quite difficult with three Teaching Practices and an assignment.  Week 3 was easier for me as I only had two TPs, but had the prospect of two assignments to do over the weekend as I led into week 4.

We continued with the input sessions, covering areas such as controlled practice, phonology, productive skills.  Although I found each session useful, I was discovering more and more that my learning style was not suited to the CELTA.  I enjoy studying something, taking it in, analyzing it, going over the details in my mind, and then putting it into practice.  This is not possible in the CELTA.  It often felt more like an endurance test than a teacher training course.  My feeling at this point was that many of the points made by the tutors would not help me during the course, as I hadn’t time to process the information.  My hope was that after the course ended, I would be able to make more sense of it all.

The third week also brought a sad moment.  One of the trainees quit.  It was quite a blow to morale.  She was doing well, but she was also a little older at 58, and the paperwork involved and using Word was slowing her down.  We had a TP on Tuesday and she failed that (although she had passed all the others).  She seemed okay at the time but it seemed to hit hard later on.  I found her next morning in a coffee shop crying.  She felt it was too difficult at this stage of her life to do something like this.  I spent 25 minutes trying to convince just to go in and speak to the tutors but her mind was made up.  I have spoken to her since, and I think she will go back at a later date to try to complete it.  She is happy with her decision, so that’s all that matters

We all felt low after that but you don’t have time to reflect on the CELTA so we just had to keep going.  Personally, I felt week 3 was easier than week 2, despite the stories.  I made it to the weekend having passed all TPs so far and having passed assignment 1 and 2.

Over the weekend, I did assignments 3 and 4 (Language Skills Task and Lessons from the classroom).  I probably rushed them, but to be honest I was getting a little bored of the course,  I love teaching, i love reading about teaching, but I was not a huge fan of the intensive nature of the course.  As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy reflecting on teaching and training, and I didn’t feel I had time to do that.  For me, it was a case of just getting the course done and dusted.  I made a stupid (but small) mistake on Assignment 3 and had to resubmit.  I passed Assignment 4 and felt good that they were all completed.  Being in the A group, I did my final TP on Tuesday so effectively, that was the course finished.  I had to keep coming in for the final three days, but with all TPs and assignments passed, the main part of the course was over.  I did feel much more relaxed.  The A and B groups felt as if we had done a three week CELTA rather than four.  Happy times.

In my next blog post I will reflect on the course and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of the CELTA.

MY CELTA – Week Two

Just as with my review of week one, this will not be a detailed review of the CELTA (which will come at a later date).  The aim of this is to progress how I am feeling as the course progresses.

Week two was certainly tougher than week one.  Mostly this was due to my early morning starts.  The 16 hour days are starting to get to me.  The course workload itself, is still okay.  Rather then finding it incredibly difficult, I find it time consuming.  The other thing that I have found difficult has been grammar lessons.  I have been struggling to make them more student centred.  I do tend to use the board quite a  lot which is not the CELTA way.  The aim for this week will be to try to introduce more tasks and stay away from the board as much as possible.  I’ll probably do this through some form of guided discovery, which should interesting.

I also changed levels this week from Pre-Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate.  This has drastically changed the sort of language I use in the classroom.  I struggle to use ICQ’s as much as I should as I worry I’ll patronize the learner with endless questions about what they are supposed to do in the next task.

Feedback so far has been positive. Assignment 1 was passed at the first time of asking, and most lessons have been positively reviewed, although of course, there are always action points to work on.  I have completed Assignment 2 this weekend, and will probably also make a start on Assignment 3 tonight.  I want to get a little bit ahead before the 5.50 am alarm in the morning.

One of the biggest challenges has been having little time to reflect.  I’m the type of teacher who likes to reflect on his lessons, analyse them and tweak them over time.  That is not possible within the mania of a CELTA course.

So that is week two.  I’m tired, looking forward to the end of the course, but still enjoying it for the most part.  Now, I’m off to fill out my Stage Two progress report.  The fun never ends!

My CELTA – Week One

Well, that’s one week down.  This blog post is not intended as a detailed overview.  To be honest, I have little time, but I did want to get something down while fresh in the memory.  I’m keeping decent notes so I hope to do a more detailed review of my course when it’s all over.

The first thing to talk about about is that I am certainly happy I chose International House.  They have a great reputation around the world, and the Dublin branch lives up to those high standards.  My worry about the doing the CELTA was that the tutors would not be particularly flexible, that they would only accept the CELTA way. I have found them open minded to ideas and although each teaching practice needs to be done the CELTA way, discussion and sharing of ideas are open.  I don’t feel they are trying to brain wash me into believing it is the best and only way to teach.  Just that it has many benefits for new and not so new teachers.

The course itself has not been as intense as I imagined (although some other trainees felt that it has).  For me it has been more time consuming.  I get up at 6 am and get home at 7pm, and then work on lesson plans or review the days notes.  This has led to long, long days.  I feel the amount of material presented has been manageable, although still sizable.

I considered before the course whether having some experience as a teacher would be a help or a hindrance.  I can say with certainty, it is both.  The biggest positive, is that I don’t feel as nervous in front of the class as those without any experience.  This has allowed me to focus on the stages of each lesson especially pre-teaching vocabulary meaning, form and pronunciation (M.F.P. the CELTA mantra?).

Where experience has been a disadvantage, is that I tend to put too much pressure on myself to get everything perfect first time.  Those new to teaching have the natural (steep) learning curve.  I feel I should ahead of that.  I relaxed a little bit in the second half of the week, and am trying to allow myself go with the flow, and not have any unrealistic expectations.

The other problem is that I had got into a rut teaching a particular way.  I have to break some of these habits to teach the CELTA way.  New trainees have no bad habits to break.  At the end of the course I will hopefully blend the best of both worlds.

So that’s it.  A quick review of week one.  I’m off to finish assignment one, and get some rest before the 6 am wake up call tomorrow.

My CELTA – Interview and Pre-Course Tasks

Phone Interview

The date and time were set.  I was more nervous than I thought I would be as the time approached.  The interview was made more difficult by the fact that we couldn’t get a good connection and I could barely hear the Assistant Director Of Studies (from now referred to as ADOS).  However, I tried to avoid the distraction and listen intently so I could hear each question.

The interview itself covered the areas that I expected.  We discussed my reasons for wanting to do the course.  We also looked at how I would approach certain teaching situations.  I felt this is where having some experience as a teacher helped.  I have had a couple of years to formulate my teaching beliefs and have been faced with many challenges in and out of the classroom.

The one word that is repeatedly used in relation to the CELTA is ‘intense’.  I decided I would mention it first when the ADOS asked me what impressions I had about the course.  She seemed happy that I understood that it was a serious course and that I was using it as part of my ongoing professional development.  I also emphasised that I knew I would only get out of it what I put in, and I was prepared to put in the required effort.

The ADOS covered several language points including meaning and form, I felt I did okay but stumbled on a few answers and was a little disappointed with myself.  This was the part I was worried about.  I don’t think I am too bad at grammar but sometimes struggle when put under the spotlight. When it comes to grammar I like to give my brain time to process.  It wasn’t too bad though.

Overall I enjoyed the interview and it was a very interesting discussion with someone who was obviously a talented teacher and I even felt I learned some things over the course of the interview.  It lasted for almost 50 minutes so it felt like a good workout.

The feedback I received was exactly as expected.  The ADOS was happy with most of my responses but felt I needed to work a little on ‘form’ before the course.  Time to blow the dust off those grammar books!

Pre-Course Tasks

I will look at these briefly without going into specific answers that I gave.  There are five sections to cover as part of the pre-course tasks.  These are:

1. Learners and Teachers, and the Learning and Teaching Context
2. Language Analysis and Awareness
3. Language Skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing
4. Planning and Resources
5. Developing Teaching Skills and Professionalism

1. Learners and Teachers, and the Learning and Teaching Context

I felt relatively confident when I started looking at this section.  I felt this was an area where my teaching experience would help.  The early tasks covered my reasons for wanting to do a CELTA, and what I would bring to the learning situation.  It looked at how I would analyse learners to plan lessons.  I also had to look at what qualities I think I would need to be a successful teacher.

2. Language Analysis and Awareness

This is the part I was slightly apprehensive about.  This section covered three main areas: grammar, vocabulary, and phonology.  Although, I am okay at grammar I think I need to improve how I explain it to students.  However, I felt a little better after doing the tasks.  They covered areas such as word class, verb forms, verb phrases, and meaning, The tasks were not overly difficult although I should have done better on a few answers.

Vocabulary focused on different aspects of the meaning of words, and clarifying key features of word formation.  The tasks were okay and I felt confident I understood semantic meaning, register, connotation and collocation.

Phonology covered key terminology, role of phonology, relationship between sound and phonemic script, and stress.  Again, the tasks seemed relatively straight forward although I do need to brush up on phonemic symbols.  I was surprised the part I did poorer than expected on was word stress.  I’ll have to have a closer look at that before starting the course.

3. Language Skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing

The key areas covered in section 3 are the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing.  Reading covered scan, gist, intensive, and reading to infer.  I did okay at the tasks but felt I rushed through the questions and answers.  I need to learn to slow down sometimes.

Listening covered the same areas of scan, gist, intensive and inference.  The speaking tasks were quite straight forward.

Writing looked at the difference between spoken and written English.  The tasks did not present any major problems.

4. Planning and Resources

The planning tasks looked at 7 key areas: lesson aims, anticipated problems/solutions, personal aims, stage, procedure, interaction pattern, and stage aim.

Resources looked at, as expected, class materials such as coursebooks, whiteboards, internet etc.

5. Developing Teaching Skills and Professionalism

This was another area I felt was helped by the fact that I have some teaching experience.  I have had time previously to reflect on my teaching skills and strategies.

Conclusion

Overall I’m happy with my answers in the pre-course tasks.  They also helped my focus in on some weak areas that I need to address before the commencement of the course.  Happily, I am even more motivated than before, and I am eagerly anticipating the start of the course.