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Week 12 -We’re going through a mixed up phrase July 30, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : TESOL , 2comments

Captain’s Log:  Have made great headway this week. The winds have been in our favour. I’ve spent most nights studying the maps of these new waters, and commissioned a new map from Cartographer Multi. A productive fellow and the best at the trade..he should be for what we’re paying!  His latest map of the phrasal reef  is the finest he’s done. I must admit it is splendidly detailed. When pouring over it, I found he’d named a shoal after himself – the rake!

We’re going through a phrase of multiple verbs. Verbs you can’t separate. Verbs that are increasingly popular in modern venacular, and all because of the Norman Conquest. Why those Saxons didn’t defend their phrasal territory a little better I’ll never know. Pesky romance and germanic languages!!

D reckons a set of coloured boxes will sort it out. I find her box technique as perplexing as her use of improvisation skills. What she lacks in acting ability she makes up for in enthusiasm and it’s impossible NOT to applaud such a bold attempt.

S taught us how to teach writing. 4 models to chose from (of course!) There are always 4. The class decided a mixed up version was the best to hone foundation skills and increase fluency. And produce an academic essay, flowery love letter or application letter at the end – fit for purpose.

So as we start Semester 2 with a multi-page 100 point essay that has turned my hair more grey (if that’s possible?) I craft this  blog as testament to the e-genre -ation with this final verse:

It’s  too late to pack up
And don’t believe we’ll get off (lightly)
So still sort of mixed up
but not sure that I’m put out (nightly)

Thank God this is just a phrase we’re going through!

Week 10 and11 in TESOL town July 16, 2010

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Captain’s Log: Scraping barnacles at the moment.. this old gal’s holding up but only just!

 

We’re all enjoying a blissful 2 weeks away from classes. However that still means assignments must be done. Sigh.

While we’re in safe harbour, I’ve decided to amp up the research on teaching opportunities overseas via the famous cafe of Dave’s and an agency in Canada my friend P has used successfully.

P came out of the past just like a balmy sea breeze. We taught together many years ago in PNG. I am so grateful he recognised me. God knows how!

P’s  own TESOL travels have been rich and clearly rewarding if his Korean blog is anything to go by. He has encouraged me to think it is possible to do the same and is such a godsend to me at the moment as I navigate through the potentially treacherous shallows of job opportunities.

Had a second blast from the past via Facebook just this a.m. This is such a new phenomena for me to be uncovered by people who knew me and (thankfully) still recognise me.

D was a delight when we worked together in television many years ago. I’m not sure what her message will be, but I look forward to hearing her story. There is no such thing as an accidental meeting on this book of faces.

Well my hearties, let’s scrub the deck in bristol fashion with a heave ho and big hi to the future that awaits.

Week 9 -’Tween test times July 7, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : TESOL , 1 comment so far

Captain’s Log:  Midshipman Suprasegmental shot an albatross yesterday. The feeling of fear in the crew is palpable.

It’s the lead up to a TESOL test

A quiz, a trial that needs my best

But all I’ve got is mild distress.

The time invested studying

Has only worked at muddying

This addled brain of mine.

My skin in the game isn’t Wall Street inflated

It’s more like a ball of potential deflated.

So now when my rubber

is hitting the road,

Assessment is stymied

by mind-bending loads.

I’d decided to write upon my sleeve

when lo –there came a day’s reprieve.

so….

As English is stress-timed

and meaning is made

with focus on key words

once rhythm is laid.

A rhyming verse

Would do me well

To practice my phonemes

And suprasegme’ls.

Alas this mess of homophones

Is surely not a verse

But crafting it ‘tween test times

Has hardly made it worse!

Week 8 – This ‘aint simple! July 2, 2010

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Captain’s Log: Full fathom five thy father lies, of his bones are coral made,  those are pearls that were his eyes, nothing of him that doth fade, but doth suffer a sea change – into something rich and strange. (The Tempest)

This week has been like a runaway train.

It began by watching a brilliant pronunciation teacher identify and correct erros to the beat of syncopated jazz. I am deeply admiring of those who do this for a living.

Later that night in a language analysis session, I took on way too many functions and way too many forms! Though S and the watch were pretty funny.

In the following class we got the dirt on the phonology assessment: Piece of Cake! In 20 mins - translate phrases of phonemes into words and vice versa, describe where in the oral cavity we form sounds, tick off inflections and stress, and throw in a few suprasegmentals – what IS  suprasegmental??  Let me say our booking agent wasn’t overwhelmed with offers.

Chugging into the station for the micro teaching class, where we unpacked the food chain and designed a zoo with passive verbs and polite suggestions, I realised my train was starting to de-rail.

By the time we got to the last lesson, where we learnt how to describe things that will have occured sometime between now and the future that hasn’t happened yet, I was ready to pull the emergency switch.

And the coach wants me to keep it simple.

Sigh.

Choo Choo.

A brave new world June 24, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : Into the new space , add a comment

Who’d have thought the image of Parliament House – used in a lesson plan last night 23 June– would be a glimpse into a brave new world for Australian Politics. Our first female Prime Minister. Bring it on Julia

And you guys thought a trip to Canberra might be boring!

Week 7 – Windswept and Unknown June 24, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : TESOL , 1 comment so far

Captains Log: It does us all good to be out on the open seas finally! The salt spray, the white-capped waves, the sails unfurled, the wind in our favour. We’re making good progress.  With a belly full of rum, the crew are in fine voice - I believe able-seaman J sang loudest of all ! I can’t say the same for our passenger Ms Longrange, who refuses to leave her cabin. It seems the pitching and rolling doesn’t suit everyone.

Hit the wall this week.

An $84 parking ticket from last night’s scramble to get a spot. Annoying, because I just didn’t read the sign properly.

This TESOL journey has certainly pitched me out of my normal routine. I’m developing my own brand of sea-legs. No flippers or fins yet, but this rocking and rolling certainly’aint from the sixties- it’s a whole new dance routine.

I can’t see clearly anymore. I don’t know where it will lead me and if it will lead anywhere.

I don’t expect to see the future as the present is where we’re at. But it’s a balancing act to maintain equilibrium and to keep my normal (increasinly busy) job balanced with these additional demands.

I have a foot in each camp and I feel an increasing chasm open beneath me. The chasm, aka “unknown” is my only certainty:

Wouldn’t mind a compass though.

Week 6 – Time, Tense and Teaching Tiny Things June 17, 2010

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Captain’s Log. I had to punish one of the crew who stole a watch from another. The foolish fellow was unable to tell the difference in time zones and triggered the alarm already set on the stolen watch. I assembled the whole crew and  had them hold out their  hands. Now it’s well known that time and tense are a complicated issue. So when this rogue was the only one with a clenched fist – clearly tense – I knew I had found my time stealer. I gave him three options:  Swab the deck in 20 minutes top to bottom,  walk the plank, or simply hand the watch back. He returned the booty immediately. But as I had to make an example for the others I sent him a task that will take him the rest of the journey….but that’s between he and me..

 I observed a class today back near my old alma mater. Years of trying to find a park, worrying about late assignments, studying lines for the next play and fantasising about the cute boy in my drama class,  came flooding back.

Earlier that day, I had listened to an interview on radio with Daniel Hope, the violinist who played at the funeral of Yehudi Menuhin and who knew he would play the violin when he was just 4 years old.  In my observation class we learnt about a dancer, Steven McCrae who likewise envisaged a clear artistic path from a young age. That night I dreamt about Cate Blanchett and our local theatre. The whole day yesterday was populated by artists.

Several days earlier, my sister had pointed out I was using overtly negative language about my future and was, she suggested, not enabling the positive artistic future I yearned. She was right. If we keep focusing on the old, or saying No to the things we don’t want, we stay fixated on the old situation – we’re facing in the wrong direction and can’t see the new.

So in TESOL speak the plan for this micro life – lesson goes as follows:

Student Level: Pre adult.

Context and target language: Balance the good and bad bits of the past just enough to positively alter the direction of my  work and life

Form and Function: Give myself time to understand how care, optimism,  a sense of exploration and playing to my strengths will enable change.

Resources: Realia and memories, childhood dreams, stolen time and bold brave micro teachers.

Week 5 – Tesol and the Beatniks June 9, 2010

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Captain’s Log. The noise of the islanders’ drums went well into the night.. it has now been 30 days straight…My crew are either bewitched or drunk. Was it just the rum, the kava or the  drums that are so soporific? Can’t afford to give in…yet I want to. Strange  how enticing that rhythm is..must maintain clear head…. will beat to quarters … must ..imperative..something..or is it intonate something?  is that a word? ..the drums…oh the drums….

 We’re moving to the beat alright.

Our united band of beatnik learners struggled wearily into the night this week in order to master

•           Tonic stress
•           Rising and falling inflection
•           Cigarette–sausage- bananas emphatically described words and
•           Altering meaning through emphatic stress.

Who’d have thought promising to buy roses for imaginary partner would give us all such para-linguistic joy!  S’s  discovery that para-linguistics meant everything other than the actual language - was a great relief to all. Do P’s lollies count as a paralinguistic aid?

Still the beat goes on…

We stretched, squeezed and rounded our vowels. We exploded our consonants, and pushed the language right through the top of our, lime green and pretty pink heads, someone might have been wearing a red dress, I can’t recall.

And the beat went on…..

English as a stress-based language is notoriously difficult for new language learners to get “right”.   It was a relief to know the Windsor palace tone is not necessary! There’s no need to even drill the “R”. “Rrrrrreally?  sigh.. (I was looking forward to a good roll mid alphabet).

Note to self: purchase yet another Michael  Swan’s book  on some commonly occurring speech problems.  This Swan bloke is fast becoming my significant other.

Now we’re really moving to the beat…

Whilst the World Cup in South Africa takes over our mass media,  I realise I have my own world cup game each week, this week’s draw saw

I would change it for the world… come to think of it .. that’s exactly what we’re  trying to do..

Week 4 Tesol – Phonemes, Allophones and a couple of ‘gators June 4, 2010

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Captains log –  1000 hours First mate Lote Lost at sea:   1200 hours shock squall hit ship -mast severely damaged. Will weigh anchor at Phonemanical  Archipelago – part of the micro Melopolopoulous within the week.  Quarter Master Cote is keen to spot an illusive diphtonogator.  Cabin boy Modal ate unknown amoeba and came down with fever and shakes. Clearly an education program is required.

This week our teacher advised the honeymoon was over. Seeing as though none of the class are actually dating each other, I presume she was referring to expectations of us on this TESOL teacher training course.

We have 4 micro-teaching sessions to plan and deliver!! a phonetic alphabet to learn and the first lesson plan assignment to complete. My mind is awash and awake, and awry.

I fear that even if I can maintain private and desparate study each night - I fear it won’t be enough to stay ahead of the game.

Each week, the lesson delivers information I had not even thought of thinking about. I clearly don’t know what I don’t know.

For instance, I definitely didn’t know about elisions, allophones, plosives, and voiced consonants or the fact that most of actually say “reb meat” instead of “red meat”, or “Tea your coffee” or that yapples and woranges are the new fresh fruit.  The second lesson was as overwhelming – forms and functions in full flight, questions and auxiliaries, prepositional phrases, direction setting and map reading were all on display.

To add insult to injury, last night I dreamt that alligators were breaking into my house. To get rid of them, someone suggested I throw a book at them. I did so, and they turned tail.

But what do alligators have to do with my learning Tesol?

Sure I’m trying to toughen up, and yes, I’ve got to be thick-skinned, and yes beneath the surface of my language knowledge, lurks a monstrous threat of ignorance. But is the chance of failing phonology really cause for psychological concern?

Just in case it is – I’ve decided to twist the dream on its tail and throw myself at the books instead

Interesting links on abc radio: australia talks

Week 3 TESOL Log on Deficiencies May 26, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : TESOL , 1 comment so far

Captains Log – 3rd week out from port – lost sight of the Isle of Tesol, confirming we packed the right navigation charts!  Checked supplies today, Cook tells me we’re low on fresh fruit. Unless we can pull into one of the Islands, I fear the crew will come down with Scurvy.

3rd week into my TESOL (Teaching English as a second language) course, and I’m noticing – like one would notice a skin condition – my own failings in the classroom.

  1. I have an unsettling emotional reaction to negative feedback
  2. I don’t read carefully
  3. I don’t listen properly and
  4. I use information for humour, sometimes without considering the implications.

I’m getting the impression my condition is fairly skin-deep, and certainly doesn’t bode well for the course I’ve set myself – to being an effective teacher!

As soon as I had the insight it didn’t take me long to slip into my default position of “I give up! I knew I’d never be a teacher!”.

After this rigorous audit and decision making process however I take a deep breath and re-evaluate my options.

I could turn those weaknesses into strength and fix my condition with the very things I think are weaknesses. Who better to understand a learning process that one who doesn’t learn as quickly as others.

I settle on the antidote:

Lift anchor, as I have enough supplies to get back on course.