Last week I wrote of a realized perspective of the foundation I would have to lay before I actually began to do the real change work. It was a little depressing to get all ready to set sail, have the sails fully unfurled, and find that there wouldn't be any wind for a bit. However, this week I got to start rowing and though its slower going it still feels good. So one week of classes is now finished.
Classes themselves are pretty good. At this point the students are very excited to know that they will have an American in their class a couple times a week. They are pretty attentive and seem interested. I attribute this to the fact that everything about me-from who I am to the teaching activities I'm using is so new. I'm curious how they'll be acting after a few months, once the glamour of Josh has worn off (I know, I know, hard to believe thats even possible). Classroom instruction in Azerbaijan is a very aural in nature, its a lot of oral recitation and repetition. I'm trying to compliment this excess with more visual techniques and utilizing the board a lot.
I have a pretty full schedule. I teach a total of 15 classes with four different counterpart teachers. I also meet with each of these counterparts to disseminate the previous week and prepare for the upcoming one. At this point my goal is to introduce different methods so we can begin a dialogue on teaching that doesn't exist between us yet. Every time they make an observation, I ask them about it: What did the students think was interesting?; What do you think they were excited about?; What did you like most about class?
Answers aren't immediate but I've been able to write down the questions to serve as follow in our meetings. In my opinion this is a very important process as it helps develop critical thinking about teaching. At this point my praise is extensive, discussion is high, and my opinion is checked. I've got two years here; there is no need for me to rush. Once this foundation piece is in place we'll be able to better brainstorm learning activities different from, or complimented by, the textbook.
Beyond this are extracurriculars which hosting organizations unappreciatively demand. One PCV and myself have started a conversation club through her organization. It meets twice a week for 8 weeks and is beginner focused. The advantage to conversation clubs is that you work independent of a counterpart and therefore can use whatever activities you want. Additionally, you are not restricted to a specific book.
However, the conversation club that I am most excited about begins this Saturday. It is a teachers' conversation club, for the English teachers at my school. Holding a club for intermediate-advanced speakers is significantly easier than for beginners and you can talk about far more interesting items. Additionally, this is a way for me to make good on my promise that I truly do want to work with all teachers. But most excitingly, for me, is the fact that I get to model various activities with the teachers that they might not see in the classroom and their level of English is good enough that we can have dissemination about the activity, which will help them further with their English and prep them for utilizing it in the classroom. Its a train the trainer situation and I am so excited to begin it.
So, there you have it, my first full work week. Its pretty tiring, especially when you factor into it that I have a 40 minute walk just to get to school. But its good to feel productive again.
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