In their students´ shoes by Soňa Pazderová

In August I had an opportunity to be a trainer on a CTS-Primary course in Ankara. It was the second time I had participated in this programme, but it was the first time I had been there on my own.  I spent two weeks exchanging ideas and sharing experience with a wonderful group of eleven teachers. 

Microteaching

Microteaching represented the practical part of the course.  It was a series of mini-lessons focused on presenting vocabulary, grammar and skills which gave everybody a chance to teach a 10-minute lesson.  The trainees were divided into several groups and each group was assigned a topic which they had to prepare.  This system helped a lot with the theoretical input on presenting and practicing because it illustrated the need to exploit a task very clearly.  As if by magic, pre-task and post-task activities, which were a bit of a mystery at the beginning of the course, had to become real.  

Since some of the trainees worked with 1^st and 2^nd graders and some with 6^th graders, they could see and compare a variety approaches and task types according to the age group of their students. 

But microteaching was not only about teaching.  There was also space for peer observations, and above all, we needed students to be taught.  So suddenly, the trainees found themselves in completely different roles – they became 6-year-olds and teenagers again.

What challenges did we come across?

Not everything was easy.  The first thing that had to be done before every lesson was also one of the most dreaded one – writing a lesson plan with aims and anticipated problems.  It helped a little when I showed my group my 6-page detailed lesson plan I had compiled for an observed lesson at a summer school and assured them they didn´t have to write anything 'that long'.  

Another issue, this time a practical one, was classroom management.  Although the students were in fact teachers who knew how various activities should work, we could still see how important it was to formulate clear instructions and check them.  The mini-lessons also helped to discover why every student needed to be involved in a task.  The trainees who were observing could see what happened if the teacher chose one or two students to work in front of the board but left the rest without anything to do.  Those participating as students had first-hand experience with that situation.

Memorable moments

I think if the trainees in my group decided not to be teachers they could easily become famous as actresses.  They emulated their real students´ behaviour and favourite lines perfectly (“Teacher, teacher, she pinched me!” “But she took my sunglasses!” “Teacherrrr, fiiiniiished!”) so we had a lot of fun.  They could also pursue successful careers as artists because their resources and prompts for games were just beautiful. 

However, what made the deepest impression, was the spirit of cooperation.  Everyone tried to help the others as much as they could and contributed with useful tips.

What did we learn?

Throughout the microteaching and feedback sessions the trainees were encouraged to reflect on their work.  They put a lot of effort into their preparation to make the following lessons better and smoother.  The different roles which they played in the microteaching helped them see their lessons from more perspectives, especially through their students´ eyes. They realised their students needed good scaffolding to carry out a task well and this became more and more visible in the later in the course. 

But not only the trainees learned.  For me it was a great experience to work with people who love their work and who are so open to try out new ideas. 

My culture and your culture by Eva Szabo

Role-playing family matters in Baku

A truly memorable session which I love to think back to (since I enjoyed it so much and I learnt so much from it) was the one about effective speaking activities. The idea came from Krzysztof when one evening we were discussing news from home, and a Skype chat with my daughter seemed to be a good starting point for next day’s speaking activity.

At the beginning of the session I told my group about Skyping with my family the night before, and explained how difficult it was to see my teenage children going out more and more and coming home late at night, to pick them up after parties, to organize lifts among families to make sure that our children are safe after dark, and to accept that after a while they simply refuse to be picked up by parents and want to return home on their own. I could see that my story engaged the teachers some of whom were also parents or were planning to have a family. Another thing which I already noticed at the very beginning of the course and which made all my stories interesting was their curiosity towards anything related to my country, my culture, and my life in general. 

Slide 2 

And then it was over to them: I asked them how teenagers in Azerbaijan would behave in a similar situation and what sort of decisions they can make as they are growing up. To make it even more specific I used a situation of a 15-year old boy who starts coming home late, and I asked the teachers how conflicts like this are handled in the families (slide 2, above). The question and the situation triggered a really heated discussion – the teachers were eager to tell me about how their culture is different from mine, sometimes all speaking at the same time, disagreeing with each other over some details and trying to convince the others about their point. I was just sitting there listening to them, asking back or trying to clarify issues, and I have to say that it was one of the best cultural learning situations I have ever been part of.

I would have liked to continue it much longer, but we needed to come back to our point, so we stepped out from the discussion and looked at it from a methodological perspective. We identified some important features that made it a good activity, such as there was a real information gap and a desire to exchange information thanks to the genuine interest in the topic on both sides, and that the situation was realistic, and everyone spoke a lot.

Slide 3

The next task was to turn the topic of our discussion into a role-play activity. I showed the teachers a role card of a similar situation (slide 3, above), 

Slide 4

they listed some useful phrases to use in the role-play and compared with the ones on slide 4, and they acted out the situation. It was so much fun to listen to them! Finally, they designed their own role-play, prepared the role-cards and displayed them on a poster (slides 5 and 6). 

                                                                                                                             Slide 5

Slide 6

I would say that the whole session went really well, but the most rewarding for me was to experience the teachers’ interest in my story and their enthusiasm for sharing theirs with me. I felt like someone who is given a warm welcome in a new world, is shown around by really friendly hosts and makes plenty of new discoveries.  Many thanks again for the experience! I look forward to having more of these in the future.


[Here are some photos of the work that participants created.]  

Tired? Let’s do some drawing! by Eva Szabo

For me one of the most enjoyable activities of this summer’s CTS 2 course in Baku was the drawing activity I did with a group of teachers when we discussed grammar presentations, time lines and CCQs.  

I was not new to CTS – last summer I had group of wonderful ladies in Bursa who were eager to do anything a trainer (or their students) might dream about – drawing, colouring, sticking post-its, decorating posters, and it goes without saying that their portfolios were visually very attractive. This year in Baku I had a completely new challenge: I was working with a group of male teachers, all ‘old’ course participants, arriving well-prepared on the first day with the usual equipment - paper, pens and folders – and with good memories from CTS 1 which they had all taken the year before.  When I first met them it quickly turned out that many of them had been using lots of the teaching ideas from CTS 1 in their own classrooms and were looking forward to learning new ones.  Drawing, however, did not seem to be their cup of tea.

I was working together with Krzysztof and we planned some of the activities together.  Mr Stick Figure and Mr Bellman was an activity we used for clarifying the use of timelines and CCQs which seemed to be unclear to many of the participants even after CTS 1. Our point was to show that anyone is good at drawing timelines and that it is fun to do.

When I asked the teachers if they were good at drawing because they would need their drawing skills in the next activity, the answer was unanimous ‘NO’ (at the same time I could see immediate curiosity in their eyes!) Then I drew Mr Stick Figure and Mr Bellman on the board, introduced the two men to them and explained that they would have to choose one and draw him doing one of the actions listed on the slide. 

The very first reaction of a teacher was:

‘Two men? Mr Bellman is wearing a skirt, isn’t she a woman?’

 Fortunately, another teacher came up with the idea that Mr Bellman must be a Scotsman and is probably wearing a kilt (which he later included in his drawing of two men fighting, just to avoid any misunderstandings...)

After we got over the initial confusion over ‘man or woman’, the teachers made their drawings and we all had a look around and guessed who drew which action. The results were remarkable and much fun: everyone could recognize what the others had drawn and the point that anyone can draw well when it comes to Mr Stick Figure or Mr Bellman was proved.

The teachers’ drawing skills were put to use in the next exercise when we modelled a pre-intermediate grammar lesson. We looked at George W. Bush’s photo and the teachers came up with statements about him (e.g.: he was a US president, he lived in the White House, he now lives in Texas on a ranch, he is the son of a former US president, etc.) and I also added some. (I have to admit that the teachers were very well informed about Bush, just like about any other topics that came up, let it be politics, geography, sports or any other world-affairs.  I found it really impressive!) In the next step I introduced ‘used to’ by giving examples such as

‘He used to live in the White House, but now he lives on a ranch’,

and many others based on what the teachers collected before. And then came the drawing part, when the ‘pre-intermediate students’ transformed back into teachers and they all attempted to explain ‘used to’ with the help of a timeline. I was happy to see that the they were imaginative and skilful at time-line drawing: ‘living on a ranch’ was usually represented by Mr Bush riding a horse, the White House looked like the White House, and Mr Bush’s early years when he was not always completely sober (‘like many students’, as one teacher added) were illustrated with his eyes both looking towards his nose (again a source of much fun). And the point was again proved: they were all able to draw really well.

To end the session, the teachers invented and compared CCQs for ‘used to’ (which was slightly less fun than timeline drawing).  

And a last word about the teachers’ drawing and decorating abilities: by the end of the second week they prepared a poster presentation based on an article from Modern English Teacher. Some of the presentations went extremely well and some of the final products were really impressive: not only were the main points highlighted in the clearest way possible, but they were also presented in a most attractive, colourful, and to-the-point manner. I took some photos, but unfortunately some of the posters were displayed on windows and they cannot be seen well in my photos (my camera has a problem handling background light). I felt that all the participants should take away a copy of each poster (which they did by taking pictures and I can only hope that theirs are better than mine) and have it on display somewhere to look at and to think about later, too.  

                 

Notes:

Kristina and Krzysztof were talking about CCQs and timelines and stick figures some time earlier in the year. We'd seen the links embedded in the post above. They inspired Krzysztof to add rounded figures to his demo's of contextualising grammar. These are now a part of the CTS course so thank you to the 'Recipes for the EFL Classroom' blog writer. 

We find that teachers really want to EXPLAIN the grammar, which leads to a lot of unnecessary metalanguage as well as long explanations that students don't understand and then in the end to a translation into L1. Teachers feel justified in translating because they say that the students clearly didn't understand. Well, of course they didn't! There are ways of clarifying meaning and checking understanding without L1, and we show them on the CTS course. 

Part of that is is showing participants how to create a little situation and example sentence with the target language, draw stick figures to illustrate the target language and then if it is helpful, add a timeline. 

More links: Chia's blog post on CCQs and an article on checking meaning/understanding from the British Council's Teaching English website.  

And finally, Kristina's favorite list of 'how to draw' tutorials from The Guardian. 

Thanks, Eva, for writing about this and providing illustrations of what teachers produced! 

Wow, what an experience!

I have just returned to Poland from Baku. Although I am still a bit disoriented from the 3 hour time difference, driving my wife crazy with waking, falling asleep and requesting meals at strange hours, (plus also complaining, ‘It’s cold here.’ referring to +25 C), I would like to formulate some of my impressions while they are still fresh in memory.

A trainer goes somewhere to share knowledge and expertise, to make positive change, but there is always this added value for him or her: you teach but you also learn from others and grow as well. This is what I got from my Baku experience; this is what enriched me:

1.) The understanding of what the Turkish schools contribute to education in Azerbaijan. The teachers and school administrators attach great importance to quality education, and channel incredible resources into it.

2.) Living briefly in this country. Before I went, I did a bit of homework reading about Azerbaijan and also contacting people who have also been there, but nothing prepared me for the grandeur of Baku and the dynamism of its growth. In my part of the world there is always talk of economic crisis, followed by budget cuts for education and worry caused by low demography. This part of the world , in turn, looks extremely vibrant, with incredible potential. For instance, I was impressed by the facilities in which I was to work with IWBs in every classroom.

3.) The contact with my teaching group that came from Nakhchivan, a place I had never heard of. They turned out to be pleasant, gentle, and good-humored people. We had a lot of common knowledge in terms of global culture, but it was exciting for me to pick up all these little ‘exotic’ elements: the way they addressed me and the others in formal situations, (Hasan Teacher), the gesture of crossing their hearts, the little dance that my people did in class, or the literal meaning of their first names: Sahil, Jahid, Elkhaz, Elchin, Niyameddin, Sakhavat, Sumer, for example.

4.) Finally, the contact with my team, my co-teachers at the smartboard: Anette, Ola, and Vanessa, but also the ‘mission control’ people (Houston, we have a problem!), Kristina and Andi, working hard behind the scenes, making things happen. When you are blessed with a good team, their special combination of EFL expertise and international teaching experience, they share with you tips and materials, they support you, plus you have good fun with them after hours (every good trainer is a superb storyteller and an actor).

I will remember all these things, but what am I not going to miss? The situation when, before a class, I carefully arranged my notes and handouts, and then, because of the heat, my somebody opened the windows and the doors and turned on a fan. Guess what inevitably happened next ;)

Krzysztof

Baku course reflections 1 by Ola

On the first day of the course we met our trainees. It was a challenge for me to get a group of ten energetic men (in alphabetical order): Adalet, Ahmet, Cem, Emil, Ilkin,Mustafa, Reshad, Rufet, Sarvan and Yakup. They all came rather unprepared (no pens, not notebooks) but we have managed to get them organized! At the end of the course theY ALL produced folders with their handouts and microteaching stuff! 

Their expectations were very concrete: to get an insight into the EFL methodology to become better teachers. I myself also had goals – I wanted to learn the Azeri EFL context and… to have fun :). Teaching and teacher training is a job, but doing it without pleasure is a dreadful thing.      

One of the activities all my trainees enjoyed a lot was called 'It’s a bad line'. I have used it many times with all age groups of students, including adults. It always works! Students sit on the chairs in two rows, each person facing a partner about 2 m away, like this: 

x  o  x  o  x  o  x  o

o  x  o  x  o  x  o  x  

The ‘o’ students have a piece of paper with personal info about a person (name, address, telephone). Their task is to dictate/spell the info to the partner opposite (‘x’) whose task is to write all this down. The only problem is there are other people around who have the same task! Can you imagine the noise? Yes, it is a noisy activity but also fun and you practice spelling. Can you imagine 10 grown up men shouting like crazy to get the message across? I wish I had taken a photo of that activity. 

So, the teachers enjoyed the activity, they also practiced spelling. But what about the noise? Some of the teachers said they would not be allowed to do such an activity with their students because this would mean other teachersconducting their lessons nearby would get upset. They told me noise in the classroom means you are not controlling you students. Well, there is bad noise and there is good noise. If you are in control and know how to install order once the activity is over – that’s good noise! How can learn a language without using it? Even if my trainees decide not to use this activity in the classroom they at least had some fun and learnt at the same time!         

My name is Ola and I’m Polish. I have been teaching English (and Geography) for 25 years. For the last 8 years I have also been engaged in teacher training as a freelancer – mostly in Poland (especially in Geography and bilingual education) but also in the UK (EFL teacher training courses for Pilgrims and Bell). As a professional geographer I like travelling so combining English teacher training with visiting new places is what I like best! So far I have worked with teachers in Uzbekistan, Qatar and now in Azerbaijan as part of the CTS wonderful teacher training team. Thanks a lot for this opportunity, Kristina :).        

First Day Stresses

26.06.2013

First day stresses of any PD course…

Will we get started on time?

Yes! The director of the schools in Azerbaijan made a fantastic speech to all the course participants who were gathered in the amphitheater the first morning.  He welcomed all the foreign trainers (more about them later.) He clearly explained that as everything is in motion, from the stars and the the planets to the molecules in our bodies, we must accept that change is the norm. In short, all teachers need to study throughout their professional lives to learn more so that they can help students better.

As trainers we appreciated this support at the start, since there are always differing levels of motivation on a required PD summer course. A nudge from the ‘boss’ helps make some participants work more J. We also have a demanding course – with homework every night!

The director also reminded people about cell phones – we are at the ‘let’s keep them off’ level here. No mobile learning apps on this course. (Sorry, Işil Boy) And 100% attendance is expected. Work hard, play hard (but after the course finishes.)

There was almost nothing left for me to say to the audience except to joke that we are working on ‘German time’, where 9.45 means 9.45 and not 10.30 like some places I have been to! An ambitious statement. Let’s see what happens. Then I introduced the trainers and got them matched with their groups.  They went off to show the groups to their classrooms and find tea. I breathed a sigh of relief and checked my watch.  9.30 - right on time. Fifteen minutes before we should start the first session.   

The last fifteen minutes …   

We rather cleverly(if I do say so myself) organized a 30-minute session from 9.00-9.30 in the morning of flexi time where the trainer can go over homework or review a point from the previous day before the first major input session starts. Why? Think Maslow. It allows us to all get a cup of tea or coffee before getting stuck into the main input. Very important. I don’t function very well without enough liquid caffeine. (Hint, hint.)

For a moment that nervous tension before that first session made me feel like there is something I was supposed to do for trainers (but had forgotten.) Then I snapped out of it. They looked like I felt. Thoughts and energy inside getting focused for going ‘on stage’. Finally we are heading down the corridor at 9.45. German time. Hmm. I am going to live to regret that remark.

Who are the participants? What are our aims?

On our Baku course we have 4 groups of teachers – three male and three female. They are all secondary school teachers working at Turkish schools around Azerbaijan. To make everybody more comfortable, the ladies were one floor higher up with their own room for breaks. Obviously we gave them female trainers since we had enough. The male teachers were mostly people I have met or observed except for one group.  (After 7 months of working in the country we didn't even know they existed!)

Almost all the participants have been observed and certain common points have come up: In general ….

1.)    Lack of planning for lessons means there are a lot of classroom management problems and a LOT of potential learning time is wasted.

2.)    Classroom management problems are compounded by a “We talk about it in the first week for 10 minutes” attitude. Teachers are not aware that they need to spend time in the first weeks and months setting clear expectations and creating (and enforcing) natural consequences to get the students behaving the way they want them to.

3.)    Classes are very teacher-centered (in general). Most opportunities for genuine interaction in the course book are skipped. As a result, students do very little speaking. I have not seen any communicative activities with an info-gap.

4.)    Students do very little reading – just reading aloud or listen and read with the book. Reading skills are not really taught directly (and are probably not tested.)  

5.)    Skills work in class needs a much stronger focus. Skills are tested, not taught.

6.)    We have never seen teachers use any Concept Checking Questions or timelines, which are pretty standard tools in a teacher’s toolkit.

7.)    Instructions tend to be unplanned and therefore too long, not checked, etc. which again brings us to the classroom management problems in (1).

Our course is organized to help teachers think about these points (1-7) and have strategies for improving student learning.  

Downstairs I went to my class. One trainer, Vanessa Esteves, hadn't arrived yet due to visa problems so I took her group for the first day.

What did I notice? Well, again I was struck by the number of teachers turning up with no pens and no paper. Is it really such a gender issue? Don’t men ever write anything down?  I’m not expecting color-coordinated Galatasaray pencils and erasers but a workmanlike set of stationery for a two-week course shouldn't be too much to ask…. Especially when it is Part A and they have to bring their completed portfolios to the next two-week sessions. We will have to make it a requirement that everyone has an A4 notebook and a file for handouts. (Note to self to organize this next time.) 

The Final Preparations

25.06.2013

The day before our course started we were all busy. We checked all the arrangements to ensure the course would run smoothly.  The suitcase full of stationery items has been unpacked - thank you Ali Bey for bringing that!  The books for micro-teaching are on the table. Our laptops are connected to the Internet and the printers. There is enough paper for photocopying. Tea and hot water have been arranged for the next day. To be done... get a good night's sleep before meeting the teachers.

This picture is taken in front of the main Turkish school in Baku, 'Baku Privat'.  A big thank you to Cag Egitim Merkezi for making all the arrangements.