adult literacy training, day two
Apr. 8th, 2005 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyToday was my second class. The reading for this class was around seventy pages - yikes! I looked through all of it, and read all but the section on how all English phonemes are produced in the vocal tract, which I found pretty impenetrable.
However, much to my relief, the class itself was still followable. Fast-paced, and challenging, but followable. To me at least - several of the other members approached me afterwards and said that they had felt overwhelmed or lost. (But neither of them had done the reading, so that could have had something to do with it.)
Today we learned about Total Physical Response, which is a technique for teaching English to someone whose native language you do not know. It's called Total Physical Response because it's very body-oriented. We did an excercise where we had to teach a partner some vocabulary in a made-up language. That was interesting because it brought up feelings that I imagine are what a student trying to learn English feels - frustration, vulnerability, anxiety. Of course, with them I imagine it would be intensely magnified because the stakes are much higher. Not easy, but possible. It definitely emphasized some of the things we've been talking about for overall tutoring success - going slowly, doing things in small pieces, using a lot of repetition and giving the learner plenty of reassurance.
We also learned about setting up effective dialogues and role-plays that allow your student to practice their English skills. I enjoyed that and found it interesting. My group, at my suggestion, wrote our dialogue about buying subway tokens. It was a good one, because it's very useful/ubiquitous, you have to do it pretty quickly in real life, and it allowed for some learning possibilities around currency. How much change is the right amount, etc.
Happily, when the teacher talked about how we make different sounds and why we need to understand this to help our students, it made a lot more sense to me than when I had read it. She talked about it as a system, not an arbitrary set of rules to remember, which made it a lot easier for me. Also happily, the woman who had latched onto me at the first class, who gave me the creeps, didn't show up for the second class.
Everything seems to be going well. I am very much hoping they will give me a woman as a student - I asked for that consideration and I had good reason to, so I hope they will give it. Right now that's my main point of anxiety. I'm sure that more will develop as I get closer to the time of my responsibility, when I will actually be trying to tutor someone.
However, much to my relief, the class itself was still followable. Fast-paced, and challenging, but followable. To me at least - several of the other members approached me afterwards and said that they had felt overwhelmed or lost. (But neither of them had done the reading, so that could have had something to do with it.)
Today we learned about Total Physical Response, which is a technique for teaching English to someone whose native language you do not know. It's called Total Physical Response because it's very body-oriented. We did an excercise where we had to teach a partner some vocabulary in a made-up language. That was interesting because it brought up feelings that I imagine are what a student trying to learn English feels - frustration, vulnerability, anxiety. Of course, with them I imagine it would be intensely magnified because the stakes are much higher. Not easy, but possible. It definitely emphasized some of the things we've been talking about for overall tutoring success - going slowly, doing things in small pieces, using a lot of repetition and giving the learner plenty of reassurance.
We also learned about setting up effective dialogues and role-plays that allow your student to practice their English skills. I enjoyed that and found it interesting. My group, at my suggestion, wrote our dialogue about buying subway tokens. It was a good one, because it's very useful/ubiquitous, you have to do it pretty quickly in real life, and it allowed for some learning possibilities around currency. How much change is the right amount, etc.
Happily, when the teacher talked about how we make different sounds and why we need to understand this to help our students, it made a lot more sense to me than when I had read it. She talked about it as a system, not an arbitrary set of rules to remember, which made it a lot easier for me. Also happily, the woman who had latched onto me at the first class, who gave me the creeps, didn't show up for the second class.
Everything seems to be going well. I am very much hoping they will give me a woman as a student - I asked for that consideration and I had good reason to, so I hope they will give it. Right now that's my main point of anxiety. I'm sure that more will develop as I get closer to the time of my responsibility, when I will actually be trying to tutor someone.
