saffiter | I liiiiiiiive......

But just barely.

I have survived my first week of the CELTA course. They're going over so much stuff that I'm already having troubles remembering and placing exactly when I've done things *sigh*. They were talking yesterday about this 'Guided Learning' section we did... I have absolutely NO idea what the hell they're talking about. Guided learning... when did we do that? Did we do that? Umm.....

I'm not the only one having that problem LOL! Solen, one of the other girls (she taught in Japan for 8 years) actually lent over to me and asked me "Um, when did we do that? 'cause I sure don't remember it!'.

I've taught 4 classes and managed one above average mark for rapport with the students. Though apparently (according to one of the other teachers) I was a bit of a hardarse yesteday ^__^. *shrugs* I think they meant that in a good way though, 'cause they were smiling when they said it.

Was quite proud that I managed to get them to put those bloody electronic dictionaries AWAY for the rest of, not only my lesson, but all the other teachers' lessons as well. *grin* It's amazing what a pointed "Electronic dictionaries AWAY please" (said in the "Teacher is NOT HAPPY voice" when three of them have snuck them out will do when you try it. Everyone turned and looked around to see who had them out and they had to put them away ^___^. Didn't mention any names, didn't look at them when I said it, but it worked.

I've got one student that I could quite happily toss out a window. German girl who's constantly giving me dirty looks, staring, and rolling her eyes with this "This is f***ing stupid. This teacher is a moron" look on her face. She's difficult and seems to go out of her way to trip you up and make you look like an idiot.

I actually upped her yesterday. I've noticed that she'll sit up the back with her friend. They'll constantly be talking to eachother (sometimes across another student, which is EXTREMELY rude!). None of us have been able to catch her talking in German in class. She does it when the teacher isn't looking. Silly girl happened to be doing it while I was handing out a task sheet. I think she thought she was being quiet but didn't realise that I've got scarily good hearing *evil grin* (I've scared the crap out of people when they've thought I haven't heard stuff before or couldn't possibly hear them because I'm too far away) and recognised that the sounds were not English. *heh* A quiet little "English, please" stopped her and her friend for the rest of the two hour block they were there ^__^.

I'm basically just constantly scrambling to get things done. Lesson plans, assignments, required reading... I'll be up until really late each night (11pm, midnight) and then up by 6am the next morning to keep doing the stuff I didn't get a chance to do the night before. Course starts at 9am and then doesn't finish until 5:30pm, with the last two hours being teaching practice. Oh, and Thursdays start at 8:30am 'cause we've got a two hour real class observation.

And this is just the FIRST week.

We've got one more week with this class (upper intermediate) and then we swap and go teach the Pre-Intermediates for the last two weeks.

It's pretty full on. I'm exhausted. Not as much as I was, 'cause I got to sleep in today, but I've still got lessons to plan and assignments to write. The one due in on Monday looks like a doozy. Grammar AND timelines and all I've got to help me with timelines is a badly photocopied sheet telling me that I use this particular squiggle for this event and this particular squiggle for this.

wha?

Anyway, that was my first week. I'm currently tired and headachy, but I have Mondays lesson planned, and if this assignment doesn't take me too long tomorrow I might even be able to start planning Wednesdays lesson.