Today is a typical Monday…I showed up at the beginning of the school day to see if any teachers were MIA that I'd need to replace until further notice. Only one of them was missing, but he doesn't teach till later. So I'm free to blog and email and do whatever else I see fit. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are usually like that, actually. But somehow I always manage to stay pretty busy, and I'm still not caught up with blogging and emails! I try to use the free time to plan lessons also, in order that when I do teach the teachers or Sr. Rose, or if the schedule changes again and I am given more classes, I will have efficient and effective lessons.
On Thursdays and Fridays I teach Vincent's 4th Form English class. This is the large, co-ed class, which now numbers 36 students. I feel better about my ability to conduct this class now. I've become a bit more authoritative in telling them to quiet down, but now it’s a matter of giving them material that is actually useful. So the problem is this: Vincent writes out his lessons according to what the Ministry of Education requires. He needs to finish off his internship every Thursday and Friday for the next 2 months, so I'm replacing him on those days. But his lessons are only grammatical topics. I write the notes on the board, the students copy them, then I ask someone to read a paragraph of the notes, and I explain them. He includes exercises at the end of the lesson, things like fill-in-the-blanks, and correct the errors in this sentence, etc. So we do the exercises individually then discuss them as a class. There are no speaking exercises given! And there are no think-for-yourself exercises! Everything is extremely passive, severely lacking in giving practice creating your own coherent sentences, and saying them out loud. I tweaked his lessons a bit on Friday to give them a group assignment in which they simply had to use a given adjective in a sentence of their own.
They worked together in groups of 4 to write one sentence. Out of 9 groups, only one group actually used their adjective correctly. The majority of the sentences resembled this one: Our president Paul Kagame has a resourceful. I tried my best to explain that you need to include a noun after your adjective, or you need to use the verb "to be." Example: Our president Paul Kagame has a resourceful team. Or, our president Paul Kagame has a team that is resourceful. I'm not sure if they got it…the thing is, I know they know what an adjective is. They know that an adjective describes a noun like the back of their hand. But obviously, putting it into practice is another story.
On Thursdays and Fridays I teach Vincent's 4th Form English class. This is the large, co-ed class, which now numbers 36 students. I feel better about my ability to conduct this class now. I've become a bit more authoritative in telling them to quiet down, but now it’s a matter of giving them material that is actually useful. So the problem is this: Vincent writes out his lessons according to what the Ministry of Education requires. He needs to finish off his internship every Thursday and Friday for the next 2 months, so I'm replacing him on those days. But his lessons are only grammatical topics. I write the notes on the board, the students copy them, then I ask someone to read a paragraph of the notes, and I explain them. He includes exercises at the end of the lesson, things like fill-in-the-blanks, and correct the errors in this sentence, etc. So we do the exercises individually then discuss them as a class. There are no speaking exercises given! And there are no think-for-yourself exercises! Everything is extremely passive, severely lacking in giving practice creating your own coherent sentences, and saying them out loud. I tweaked his lessons a bit on Friday to give them a group assignment in which they simply had to use a given adjective in a sentence of their own.
They worked together in groups of 4 to write one sentence. Out of 9 groups, only one group actually used their adjective correctly. The majority of the sentences resembled this one: Our president Paul Kagame has a resourceful. I tried my best to explain that you need to include a noun after your adjective, or you need to use the verb "to be." Example: Our president Paul Kagame has a resourceful team. Or, our president Paul Kagame has a team that is resourceful. I'm not sure if they got it…the thing is, I know they know what an adjective is. They know that an adjective describes a noun like the back of their hand. But obviously, putting it into practice is another story.
So, I'm really struggling in giving his lessons. I'm perpetuating the English problem! I would really like to offer a conversation-only class. I wish they could squeeze me into the schedule somehow so that I could teach the same students regularly, with a good plan and longer-term goals. But who knows, everything may again change completely and this wish will be granted to me. We'll just wait and see.
I want to mention how much I love getting emails! (jaclyn.krupsky@gmail.com) I wish I had more time to email friends and famly from back home. When I do get around to sending one, I get super excited to check my email the next day or so in hopes that they wrote back. Distance really does make the heart fonder! Even the stupidest little jokes that someone puts in their email make me fall on the floor laughing, because they remind me of that person's personality. Its really really good to receive correspondence, so thanks! And I'm at a very good place in terms of homesickness. I've never felt truly homesick, to the point of being sad/lonely/wishing I were at home instead of here. I've consistently been very happy to be here. So when I receive a token of friendship from back home, I of course miss that person. But I don't feel sad or lonely. Instead, I'm very excited when I remember that I will see them again. I remember that I will eventually go back to good ol' U.S. of A. and give gigantic hugs to all these people. It makes me very grateful for my friends and my support network in general.
Murakoze cyane! Thank you very much!
Murakoze cyane! Thank you very much!
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