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Week 16 Diving into the Tesol sea August 28, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : TESOL , add a comment

Captain’s Log: Last night I dreamt I’d swum into Davy Jones’ locker. And in the dark depths of the ocean, I hovered, expecting to see the locker - full of old pirate graves, or meet face to evil face- old Davy himself.  I found myself, instead, suprised by a sudden shaft of sunlight that had made its way into the depths. And as it penetrated the darkness, I caught sight of treasure troves of gold and jewels, and heard  a faint whisper, “ not yet… not yet.. there is much to do .. much yet to do”.    

 Just completed a happy week on this Tesol journey.

This week,, the class dived into the power of shared stories and discussed their usefulness in the learning proces. We explored the bottomless pit of IT as a teaching aid, including the value of using wikis to strengthen collaborative learning. We even re-discovered Russell Coight and an unfortunate camp chair in the process.

And to top it all – I was delighted to be assigned a migrant prac teaching class.  

 Heave ho.. much to do.

All good indeed.

Week 15 -Bail or row? August 22, 2010

Posted by Liz Mead in : TESOL , 2comments

Captain’s Log: Bail! I shouted, and the crew not working the oars frantically scooped water over the side as the her prow reared into the sky. Row!! I bellowed, and the oars bit the water and we fell into a trough of the ocean with a crash that made her timbers tremble *

This week I am undone.

Just handed in a language analysis assignment that has removed all the joy from this TESOL journey.

I’ve also discovered that migrant education in Australia will require me to acquire even greater certification than the level I’m striving towards. This exhaustive mountain climb just got a whole lot steeper. Another significant leak has been noted. Bail!

And why shouldn’t migrant education be highly specialised?  I think it should ask the best of our teachers and I believer our migrant classes should receive the best. That’s not the issue.

The  issue  for me is about stamina and sense-making. But I’m too far out to sea to even recall the logic of commencing the course, save that it seemed a valuable addition to my skill set.  Alas not valuable enough.

I know it’s way too early in the process to estimate the value or otherwise. I haven’t even stood up in front of a class to see if I like teaching or if teaching likes me. But it’s not too early to be questioning the route I’ve taken.

This particular week  included 2 classes on integrated skills – Dictogloss (and reconstructing a text).  2 new books, a plethora of reading and the bitter sweet victory of completing an assignment.

Whatever they do with this certification – I believe their classes will be richer for knowing them.

Our 6 hours of prac classes start in a minute, and with that challenge comes a whole new sea of white caps!

Bail!? or Row!!!

 

*With apologies to B Cornwell

Week 14 – what the?! August 10, 2010

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

Captain’s Log: Adjustment by First Mate. I hate to be the one to say this, but the Captain drank too much rum last week and lost her lexical head. Let’s face it she wouldn’t even know a collocation if it reared up and bit her, let alone something so elusive as a  LH. It’s not that I want to rub it in, but a lexical head has to appear at the start of a sentence and is one of those sacred items only the true followers of lexis can understand.

I learnt about dense semantics, and discovered the semantic issue wasn’t the only dense one in the room

What is a lexis if it isn’t an expensive car?

It is vocabulary and was the subject of yet another great class with D.  The woman has unstoppable enthusiasm for making us think for ourselves. How cool to be able to do it for others in a classroom. How frightening to realise the chasm between what she does and where I am.

Educating with enthusiasm! Well that’s the goal. How goes it?  mmm (semantically dense sound)

I’ve got to say instead of feeling a sense of progress, I feel once again as if at the foot of a huge learning curve, but one that is now turning back on itself. Surfing a white crested wave without the board.

If the course deliverers  ever ask –  I’d probably recommend doing it over a longer period, as it is almost impossible to keep up with full time work and the pressure of class attendance, assignments, contact hours, observations, practicum. God forbid actually remembering anything from week to week.

But I can say for sure that I finally now know the difference between a collocation and  lexical head. Great! Like they’re going to be lining up for that lesson!

 I also understand that simpler looking words aren’t always simple to learn or teach! But if they are used frequently and are useful to students then the word should move up the list of lexis to teach. That’s a great way of thinking about useful vocabulary.

When all’s said and done, without making too fine a point of it – the future will be forged not by a paper clip but by a bunch of old boyfriends and a carrot or two.

Week 13 – A Sliding Door Moment August 6, 2010

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

Captain’s Log: Sometimes I wonder what a land-life would be like.

Tally for the week

• 1 missed observation class
• 1 lesson in classroom management and learner levels
• 1 lesson in reading skills and
• 1 sliding door moment

Have you ever had a moment in which you observe the life you’re leading with greater clarity than normal?

As if a camera framed for a close-up pans back suddenly to show the bigger picture.

And in that picture you also get a glimpse of the person you might have been had you gone through a different door, down a different path.

That’s a sliding door moment.

This week in my TESOL class, I was pulling a text apart in order to identify cohesive devices (aka discourse markers). And it reminded me of the other thing I’m trying to pull apart – my professional life to find meaning

My understanding of meaningful work has its genesis in my family ideals of purpose and success. And in the past, when work opportunities appeared “out of the blue”, suddenly, as if in answer to a wish or a prayer, the process often felt part of a pre-destined plan – ie I was on the “right” path. The markers clear. 

That path and the bigger plan has changed though. I now make sense of things in a different way.

Residues of the old markers will always be there. Because  habits take time to change. The challenge is to know the difference between the accidental (or left-over markers) and the intended (or new markers).

So that when I pull apart the text of this hoped-for joyful, authentic life of mine, I’ll be able to identify the discourse markers that indicated a meaningful and honest connection with others and (please god!) a skilful contribution to the world. 

And then, if the door ever slides open again, I hope I can say, hand-on-heart that I ended up on the right road, simply because it was my road.