Weeks
Just a couple weeks now.
Writing papers every weekend, reading tons of studies and chapters about acquisition theories and related content, and every day try to make sense of it all and how to apply it in the classroom. Sometimes it makes perfect sense, but just like with my original degree and the whole teaching process I 'learned' in school, often translating it from theory to practice in an actual situation is incredibly difficult.
I have been working with students that have *some ability in English for so long that now coming across a student that seems like he has none is somewhat shocking. I have had a variety of lessons that I can use or adapt to most of those abilities beyond the absolute beginners, and when I come to an absolute beginner, I realize that I am not prepared for this - but I didn't expect it. So then I have to go back and see how I can cast that net deeper and longer. I didn't expect to be teaching the alphabet here to a 16 year old in America. I expected it teaching it in Korea. But there, I had classrooms and tools to use, whether it was computers, manipulatives, or classrooms.
Here, I have a student simply pop up with no time to prepare, and even when I do, there are things that get in the way. We can't move around from class to class (there simply isn't room and the groups can't mix). There are tech concerns with the net not being reliable and computers being odd. And their is a laundry list of things that get in the way, like fellow teachers calling in sick every other week, not having a sub, testing, Dr. visits, and the rest of the variables that come with this particular location.
It does not help boost my already low self confidence.
Writing papers every weekend, reading tons of studies and chapters about acquisition theories and related content, and every day try to make sense of it all and how to apply it in the classroom. Sometimes it makes perfect sense, but just like with my original degree and the whole teaching process I 'learned' in school, often translating it from theory to practice in an actual situation is incredibly difficult.
I have been working with students that have *some ability in English for so long that now coming across a student that seems like he has none is somewhat shocking. I have had a variety of lessons that I can use or adapt to most of those abilities beyond the absolute beginners, and when I come to an absolute beginner, I realize that I am not prepared for this - but I didn't expect it. So then I have to go back and see how I can cast that net deeper and longer. I didn't expect to be teaching the alphabet here to a 16 year old in America. I expected it teaching it in Korea. But there, I had classrooms and tools to use, whether it was computers, manipulatives, or classrooms.
Here, I have a student simply pop up with no time to prepare, and even when I do, there are things that get in the way. We can't move around from class to class (there simply isn't room and the groups can't mix). There are tech concerns with the net not being reliable and computers being odd. And their is a laundry list of things that get in the way, like fellow teachers calling in sick every other week, not having a sub, testing, Dr. visits, and the rest of the variables that come with this particular location.
It does not help boost my already low self confidence.
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