Sep 09, 2011

The first difficulty faced for TA-ed me is planning a sequence of lessons. What to start with, how much time to plan, how to combine technologies, should I combine technologies, etc. – these look like the first questions that come to my mind. In addition, let’s keep in mind that I am an absolute newbie so what exactly students are supposed to know at this level is not that clear for me. Apart from that, one more problem that I am trying to overcome is how to combine TA with something the school expects from me. Students have their books and I am expected to work with them.
Thus, there were 3 main lines to think about.

Pre-testing
As the starting point, I was suggested to conduct diagnostic tests to identify the level of students and use their results for motivating them for work. The results showed that the majority of my students in both forms are very poor in every aspect of language taught (Use of English, listening, reading), with not more than 30% being average for forms 11 and not more than 40% as average for forms 10.

Though, I am absolutely sure I’ll fail, I decided to try to work with three technologies at once. Why? Because after their tests self-study seems indispensable, otherwise only class work will be useless. Though, working with grammar in a traditional way seems the easiest option for me I may try creative grammar technology (CGT). And texts have always seemed interesting for me though I am sure I won’t be able to work with them appropriately. At the same time, this is only learning so I can try to sacrifice my nerve cells and try it out.
How did I decide to solve the problem of ‘school expectations’? Taking into account I am not confident at all about working with CGT, some small topics in the book will serve as a life-saver. I’ll cover some of them during some lessons. At least this is the plan for today.

Thus, the reflections in this diary should normally be organised in 3 main blocks, namely, developing students learning autonomy (self-study), developing thinking skills when working with grammar, and developing thinking skills when working with texts.