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  • Last one out, switch off the lights.

    Usually the last class of an academic year offers the chance to kick back, relax and enjoy some fun activities. In my case it was the scene of my final university teaching observation which leads me to believe that in a previous life I must have been...

  • KROPKA!

    I have blogged (listen to my trendy use of e-language) at length about my group of Polish students based at Weston Fire Station. I am sad to report that this group of amiable, polite and keen learners will have nowhere to go next year. Alas, the course...

  • I never realised that you wrote poetry...

    Four students writing Poetry. He must be mad. Haiku? I ask you. No you haven’t inadvertently logged on to the Reader’s Digest bad Japanese poetry website. The haiku above was my way of introducing the topic of this blog- the wisdom of asking...

  • Testing, testing 123...

    After all the toil, laughter and tears the last few weeks of a course come down to... the dreaded test. Whether our learners like it or not they will be subjected to the ordeal of having their learning evaluated and if they're successful we can send...

  • Of Poles and black holes

    Although many of you are now enjoying a summer break some of us are still thrashing away out in the field of conflict. This blog will try to address the problems caused by rapidly decreasing numbers in classes. I have written at length about my struggles...

  • Observations on a non-observation

    Sweaty palms. Racing heart and an all too familiar feeling of failure. Then... nothing! My final university observation was set for the aforementioned literacy/ ESOL class that is now officially The Polish Problem (see Poles Apart pts 1 & 2). I spent...

  • A square peg?

    Well, as we approach June I still feel like the novice tutor that I surely am. I had envisaged emerging butterfly-like from my trainee chrysalis at the end of May, however... Due to a late start on my placement I am still stumbling through session plans...

  • GET THEE BEHIND ME POWERPOINT!

    This is a warning to all trainee teachers: first the man uses a PowerPoint- then the PowerPoint uses the man! Yes, I'm sure you've all discovered just how easy it is to put all your ideas into the computer, press the button and out pops a professional...

  • Poles apart- the sequel.

    Another day another observation. Is it stage fright or am I just not up to this teaching lark? I have previously blogged(that's me getting down with the kids again) about my group of Polish students and the problems associated with the lack of a shared...

  • Musings on time-lords and teacher-talk

    Scaffolding, framework, ILP, levels 1&2, entry levels 1-3, pre-entry level, cognitive, kinaesthetic, pedagogy… the list goes on. Beat that for an exciting blog opening! If you fail to be enthralled by any of the above how about activating the...

  • An observation on observations

    Well, that's two widely contrasting university observations over and done with. The first was something of a car crash session with the naive tutor (me) flailing helplessly amidst the wreckage. The only positive thing to come out of it was the feeling...

  • The great debate

    A funny thing happened on the way to the college yesterday... Something stirred deep within me, threatening to upset the very core of my being. This unfamiliar feeling appeared to be something that had so far eluded me. Confidence. Even more unsettling...

  • Drowning in my own creative mire

    Yesterday I attempted to introduce a group of level 1 and 2 learners to the art of creative writing. Most of their learning so far appears quite disconnected - they learn about apostrophes adjectives and commas but rarely get the chance to put them into...

  • Poles apart!

    Last week I took a group of Eastern Europeans and tried to explain the wonders of past, present and future tenses. Ranging in ability from Entry 1 to Level 1 they seemed quite adept at the technical side of the English language in its written form. All...

  • Confessions of a placement virgin.

    After weeks(months?) of listening to peers comments about ' my learners did this...' or 'at my placement...' I finally started my own placement. It's quite a surreal feeling after months of being the exception, witnessing the awkward...
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