Throwing Chalk: diary of a trainee teacher

So here I am, admitting yet again to my lack of knowledge. ESOL teaching, as previously said, it wasn't my first choice but in January with most FE colleges full to the brim with student teachers and me wanting to get away from my assigned mentor - it was an opportunity and one that I jumped at. Teaching what? Yeah, I can do that.... Ummm, what does ESOL mean again? It's not TEFL is it?

It's not gonna be hilariously like the 1970s sitcom, 'Mind Your Language', is it? As Wikipedia describes it: "The series focuses on the adult students of the English as a Foreign Language class in a London school. The classes take place in the early evening, and are taught by Mr. Brown, though on occasion other individuals take over the class if he is not available. The class consists of foreigners with varying degrees of English proficiency. The humour of the show is derived from the students misunderstanding English words or terms, and plays up to the cultural stereotype of their individual nation of origin." A series for which the phrase, "not politically correct" was probably invented...

No, it isn't. The learners have some knowledge of English depending on the grade they've been assigned to. (There's a beginners level that isn't taught at my new college - then there's levels 3, 2 & 1 - which leads directly into Level 1, then level 2, then level 3 - which is GCSE equivalent - but with better grammar and less poetry). So that's where I am right now. Teaching English. It is the most fundamental skill of them all. Here is where all potential English students start at some age or other.

And I can't help thinking it's all quite noble. Not from my point of view, but from the students'. They have their reasons to be here and they have their reasons to learn the language, but they don't have to. Lots of people live within their ethnic communities and survive with very little knowledge of English. In fact, in some ways, the larger the community is, and the more resources it has, the less need there is to actually learn the language of the country. Like Brits on the Costa Del Sol or in Dubai, if you've got everything laid on for you: entertainment, shops, jobs, friends - why would you bother learning a difficult second language?

So I bow down (not literally) to my new students and hope that they will be hard working and willing. Although I already know that some of them like to be cheeky and turn up late, and want to leave early and leave their mobiles turned on cos they're expecting a very important call from bla bla bla.....

Except, in there case it might be an important call from their lawyer about their immigrant status, so I've been told I might have to accept that., but ... I'm not so sure, we shall see.

All the same, the mix of students is very interesting, being made up primarily of asylum seekers (and those granted asylum? I'm not sure yet) at the lower ability levels - Iraqi Kurds, Eritreans, Iranians - then moving into the next class and perhaps reflecting how long they've been in the country or whether they knew any English before they arrived - there are Somalian women, people from the Congo - then in the higher ability levels various European nationals: Russians, Polish people, young people from Spain. It's interesting and apparently there is a high level of pastoral care and advice given by the teachers.

Mr A. isn't going to be coming in again because he's been sent back to ...

In the meantime, I need to concentrate on the teaching and find out what works, find out how they respond to my ideas. I need to learn a whole new curriculum and set of 'behavioural & educational outcomes'.

I feel I need to read lots and lots about this subject/style/genre of teaching - ask lots of questions - train and try - go with the flow - test ideas and see what works. It's quite a pure environment - with one obvious outcome if all goes well: they learn to speak, write and understand English. And while you might be able to question the value of some skills (I'm still bitter about spending time learning to draw machine parts for my Geometrical & Engineering Drawing O Level - yeah, thanks computers - you really made my skills with a t-square and pencil pretty obsolete) - I don't think English is ever going to go out of style.

Posted by Stipey Sullivan at 00:06 Comments