Tuesday 31 March 2015

Day 52 - Back Home

It's been 11 days since I last wrote a post on here. I am finally back home for Easter. Finally.
I can finally relax and forget all about university stuff.

WRONG

I have so much work to do and I'm not motivated in the slightest to do it.



Friday 20 March 2015

Day 51 - Solar Eclipse and One-to-One

I'm about to leave and do my first one to one lesson.
I'm a little nervous, I'm not entirely sure why because the person who I'm teaching is actually my friend and neighbour ahaha.

For my TESOL course we have to do a one to one lesson and then write an assignment based on it. Ideally we have to pick someone who is intermediate/upper intermediate level...but my learner is actually Advanced -.-''

So I really have to took for her errors in order to correct them...the problem with her is that she self corrects ...leave me something to do please~~~ ahah this lesson is going to be interesting


In other news apparently there was a solar eclipse.
I saw nothing because I live in the north of England...it's cloudy 95% of the time.

Thursday 19 March 2015

Day 50 - Bored

You don't see any problems until you post the thing....then everything is wrong

Monday 16 March 2015

Day 49 - OUCH!!!111!

Hi guys!~

I'm in agony right now! ahaha~~

It seems than in my 20 years on this planet I don't quite understand how flasks work. Especially the flask that has a "convenient 'open'  button" so you can "conveniently" drink your favourite hot beverage.

I haven't slept properly so I'm in dire need of some coffee, so I figure "Hey! Why don't I make a lot so I can put it in that convenient flask I have so I can drink it during my class so I won't die!" GENIUS I thought...

I went to test the flask...I opened the conveniently convenient open button and OIGHSOZJFHDAW;KLFH;DW;ALKHFDNS\JDNSA TOOMOTHERFUCKINGHOTTTOMGGGGG and proceed to spill it all down my face, chest and legs.

I look like Two-face...but horizontally instead of vertically :(



In other news I've recently made my instagram public~ ^^ *hint hint*
https://instagram.com/ppokkolae
Oh and while I'm shamelessly promoting myself because I'm lonely~ dont forget I have twitter~
insertlemonhere


SEXY SWIMMER IS NEEDED TO END THIS POST
because my face hurts :(

gif not mine....as for the guy (Qiu Bo), I wish he was

Tuesday 3 March 2015

Day 48 - Plan a Lesson with Me

DISCLAIMER
I dont actually know what I'm doing! This could be a train wreck!


Step 1
See what topic you have to teach. If you are teaching from a textbook, cry because the section you have to teach from is the smallest possible section of the entire book and the grammar point you have to teach is not in ANY FORM OF CONTEXT. (not bitter at all)
I like to draw my lesson plan in a kinda time line format

Step 2
Go online.
Look for a lesson plan that has some relevance to what you will be teaching.

Step 3
Cry some more.
After hours of trolling through pages and pages of results and visiting thousands of EFL websites it has been made painfully clear that the grammar point you have to teach is either a minuscule part of a large ass lesson OR it taught at beginner level...and would be difficult to adapt for advanced students.

Step 4.
Give up on the internet. Go back to the textbook.
Look at the pages of reference and think. "Right....I have 50 minutes to kill with this stupid grammar point...what can I do to make the lesson informative?"
crying is optional

Step 5
Try to think of an aim
Will the students USE the grammar point in freer practice later? Are they learning something new?

Step 6
Once you've decided that the grammar point is in fact taught at lower levels so therefore they MUST have been taught it previously, dedicate 10 minutes at the end of the lesson for students to use the point in a freer practices (just to show off that they can)


Step 7
Right, 10 minutes are sorted. 40 more to go.
How are we going to introduce the topic? I KNOW! Test to see how much they know! Maybe some sentence correction at the beginning to trigger some thoughts of previous lessons where they were taught about the grammar point.
It shouldn't take too long...let's say 1 minute discussion, 2 minutes feedback (correction). Maybe get the students to correct their answers...this way you can chill out at the back...ohh nice idea~


Step 8
Now the topic has been introduced indirectly...let's do a revision!
The students can discuss what they already know about the grammar point. Get them to chat for a bit and then do a group feedback.
maybe....8 minutes to discuss and feedback?

Step 9
Now we can feed them the correct information.
Go through the general rules of the grammar point. Maybe ask a few questions to help hammer it home. If the students are advanced they'll know the answers....we hope.
Let's say it takes 6 minutes.

Step 10
How much time has gone? around 25 mins? COOL!! half way! Now it's time to get some practice in.  How much did they listen to you? Throw some activities at them~
Maybe a "select the appropriate one" task?
Dont forget to feeedback!

Step 11
How about finding a short text with a butt load of examples of the grammar point? remove all the examples and replace with empty spaces~

Step 12
Introduce the topic of the text if needed...I do because it's nice ^^

Step 13
Make them fill the gaps. MAKE THEMMMMM
dont forget correction~

Step 14
Now we have like 10 minutes left! Let's do that 10 minute writing activity, walk around and correct any mistakes (spelling grammar and what not)...if you have time at the end get some students to read their piece out.

AND THAT'S IT!
wow...so visual
Step 15
Thank the students for coming to your lesson. Be professional even if you're dying on the inside. They smell fear.

Step 16
Once they've gone, now you can collapse, sob loudly and hope to god you get positive feedback.

Step 17
Repeat the next week with a different topic.

Monday 2 March 2015

Day 47 - My Bed

My university bed and I have a very unbalanced relationship.

I have a single bed here. Back home I have a double. I have  adapted well to not having that 'extra space'. However it seems that lately the bed has been doing whatever it can to push my buttons.

It knows when I have a 9am lecture and make me feel super uncomfortable so I can't sleep. But as soon as I get to sleep, and my alarm goes off after an hour or two my bed suddenly becomes to warmest more perfectly comfortable bed to ever exist.

Take this morning for example. My bed was like heaven~ I was so close to skip my class and sleep in...but those damn responsibilities ^^''

Sunday 1 March 2015

Day 46 - Happy St. David's Day

Last night  I couldn't get to sleep for ages because I was thinking of the things that I wanted to do today.

Go to the shop and buy bread and milk...maybe a tomato.
Go to the opticians and ask if I can book an eye test.

But when I woke up, I just didn't want to go out today. Then I felt guilty because  I didn't do the things I wanted to do the night before. Ugh -.-


On a slightly more positive note!!
I washed my hair last night and then out it into little braids (rope braids and normal plaits), and took them out today and ERMAHGERRDDD my hair is so puffehhh~

And it's Saint David's Day today~