So I have been trying to figure out what I should post for this week. As I get more and more into teaching, I have started to realize what a huge responsibility this is. We always talked about that in education classes, but you don't really realize how true that is until you actually get into a classroom. One of the classes that I'm teaching this year was just added because there is a small group of ESL students that need some specific instruction in reading strategies. And so, along with attempting to figure out ESL in general, I have also been planning/teaching this brand new class. There aren't a lot of resources out there, so a lot of it is very experimental. I have finally come to a place where I see what the students need, I'm just trying to figure out how to teach it.
I didn't realize how many skills you just kind of pick up in school in the States without specifically being taught. For example, I'm attempting to teach them how to research-I can't even remember how I was taught. In fact, I don't think I was specifically taught, I just started researching in high school and that was about it. But, I have found it rather difficult to explain effective internet searching and finding the information you actually need out of the millions of articles that you find. These students have done a lot of research before, but it's an extremely frustrating process for them because they are language learners (and from cultures that don't view research the same way that States does), and I am really trying to show them things that will make the process less agonizing.
Along with that, we are also reading a novel in that class and the themes and life application that can be taken from the book are really good. Again, I have been attempting to connect these themes and issues with their lives. In and of itself, doing this in an English class in the States is hard enough--then you add the language barrier and it gives a delightful twist to life:) .....meh....I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably trying too hard. I don't know, I want so much to show them that books and reading really do matter, but I suppose I can only do so much.
On the other hand, my 8th grade lit. class has been a lot of fun. They are a group of students that just love reading. I continue to be impressed with their insight and their desire to learn and ask questions.
I also have a new appreciation for the teacher who teaches the religion class here. My ESL student (yes, I only have one-my other student was deemed proficient enough to pass out of ESL) brings in her homework from that class, and we work on it together. There have been many times that I have been rather stuck as to how to explain certain passages, or faith in general to someone who has very basic English skills. Again, I kept thinking about the opportunity that I have in that class as I work with her and attempt to explain things about faith.
Even in these couple short months, I have experienced many challenges and opportunities that I wasn't expecting. There have been bright spots, but I think I'm just beginning to understand what this job will require of me. He certainly does like to stretch and challenge us:)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
...I went to a basketball game......yes....you should be proud of me....
Currently, the FIBA Asia Championship basketball tournament is taking place at a stadium a mere 15 minute walk from my home. One of the teachers at school got tickets this weekend and so my roommate and I went to a couple of games on Saturday afternoon. Apparently these games decide which teams go on to compete in the Olympics so they're a pretty big deal. However, we went on the first weekend so we saw some of the lowest teams playing. It was quite a unique experience, and I will try to relate it as best I can.
The first thing I noticed when we sat down was the fact that I'm pretty sure the court is smaller than any basketball court I've ever seen. I assumed that all basketball courts were set up according to some type of regulated measurements, but this court was definitely smaller than ones I've seen before. It was also strange that there weren't a lot of people there. Now, we were at the Saturday afternoon games watching teams that weren't really expected to do much, so I know that had a lot to do with it, but it was still strange.
The first game was between Korea and India. So they start the game like normal.......and then..........the music......oh my. Throughout the entire game they played short clips from all of the following (this is not fabricated, we made a list):
-If You're Happy and You Know it, Clap Your Hands,
-Star Wars: The Imperial March
-It's Raining Men (quite appropriate actually-I approved of that selection)
-Smoke on the Water
-A random tune that sounded Greek
-Traditional Chinese music
-Popular Korean songs
-An Indian ditty
-The Final Countdown
-She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain
-American pop songs (I don't know the titles, but I recognized the tunes)
-BINGO
-Battle Hymn of the Republic
-A distinguished English classical sonata
There were a few more, but you get the idea-all of these would repeat throughout the game. It was the best game of "Name that Tune" I'd ever played. I'm pretty sure that the best part of the whole thing was the music.
The second game we saw was between Chinese Taipei and Qatar. The Qatar team only had 5 players, and it appeared that they didn't really have an actual coach. They had at least 6 people sitting on the bench that looked coach like, but every time they had a time out one of the players was telling everyone what to do. At one point, one of the players had some type of injury and had to sit out for a few minutes of the game-leaving the other four to fend off the opposition. Needless to say, they lost-however, they actually didn't lose as bad as India lost to Korea.
Other than the music, the games were not as intense or aggressive as I've seen in the States. Also, the refs don't really catch much. If I can tell that they aren't calling it when people are traveling or fouling each other, than there's a serious problem. It was also fun to watch the crowd because they cheer for everybody. This is probably because China wasn't playing in either of the games so they didn't care who won either way. Though it was strange that they really only cheered when anyone made a basket. Other than that, it was basically silent. I was actually thankful for the random music because when it stopped for a few seconds all you could hear was the squeaky shoes of the players. It was strange to go to a sports event without die hard fans screaming at each other, the players and the refs.
And so, it was a pretty fun afternoon and quite a unique experience.
The first thing I noticed when we sat down was the fact that I'm pretty sure the court is smaller than any basketball court I've ever seen. I assumed that all basketball courts were set up according to some type of regulated measurements, but this court was definitely smaller than ones I've seen before. It was also strange that there weren't a lot of people there. Now, we were at the Saturday afternoon games watching teams that weren't really expected to do much, so I know that had a lot to do with it, but it was still strange.
The first game was between Korea and India. So they start the game like normal.......and then..........the music......oh my. Throughout the entire game they played short clips from all of the following (this is not fabricated, we made a list):
-If You're Happy and You Know it, Clap Your Hands,
-Star Wars: The Imperial March
-It's Raining Men (quite appropriate actually-I approved of that selection)
-Smoke on the Water
-A random tune that sounded Greek
-Traditional Chinese music
-Popular Korean songs
-An Indian ditty
-The Final Countdown
-She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain
-American pop songs (I don't know the titles, but I recognized the tunes)
-BINGO
-Battle Hymn of the Republic
-A distinguished English classical sonata
There were a few more, but you get the idea-all of these would repeat throughout the game. It was the best game of "Name that Tune" I'd ever played. I'm pretty sure that the best part of the whole thing was the music.
The second game we saw was between Chinese Taipei and Qatar. The Qatar team only had 5 players, and it appeared that they didn't really have an actual coach. They had at least 6 people sitting on the bench that looked coach like, but every time they had a time out one of the players was telling everyone what to do. At one point, one of the players had some type of injury and had to sit out for a few minutes of the game-leaving the other four to fend off the opposition. Needless to say, they lost-however, they actually didn't lose as bad as India lost to Korea.
Other than the music, the games were not as intense or aggressive as I've seen in the States. Also, the refs don't really catch much. If I can tell that they aren't calling it when people are traveling or fouling each other, than there's a serious problem. It was also fun to watch the crowd because they cheer for everybody. This is probably because China wasn't playing in either of the games so they didn't care who won either way. Though it was strange that they really only cheered when anyone made a basket. Other than that, it was basically silent. I was actually thankful for the random music because when it stopped for a few seconds all you could hear was the squeaky shoes of the players. It was strange to go to a sports event without die hard fans screaming at each other, the players and the refs.
And so, it was a pretty fun afternoon and quite a unique experience.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
...apparently I was channeling my inner feline...
My roommate is an amazing cook, and she likes to make lots of tasty food. This week she made a huge pot of vegetable soup that is full of health, and we were excited to have food for lunch/dinner for the next few days. We have not been extremely motivated to shop for groceries lately, so this is basically all of the food we currently have in our house.
I was excited to have some good food for lunch, but sadly I arrived at school before realizing that I had left my food at home. I was preparing for a foodless day at school when my roommate brought me a can of tuna that she had left in her drawer. And so, along with some chips I sat at my desk eating my tuna out of a can. As I was eating, I couldn't help thinking about how similar cans of cat food and tuna are. I do enjoy tuna, but it was slightly amusing to sit and eat it straight out of a can, and I felt slightly cat-like.
So, later that day I also had my Chinese lesson. I get Chinese lessons twice a week at the end of the day. Right now, I'm just learning the vowel sounds. The first round of sounds went pretty well, but the ones I was learning this week were a bit tricky. I'm saying all of the sounds and attempting to get my mouth to move the right way so that they sound right. As I'm repeating all of the sounds, I notice that my head keeps bobbing up and down as I try to pronounce all of the words. I wonder if my language teacher ever wants to chuckle at how ridiculous I look as I try to make the right sounds. My last lesson was pretty fun-I learned how to count from 1-10, which now enables me to count from 1-100. I'm quite proud of my kindergarten level Chinese skills:)
I was excited to have some good food for lunch, but sadly I arrived at school before realizing that I had left my food at home. I was preparing for a foodless day at school when my roommate brought me a can of tuna that she had left in her drawer. And so, along with some chips I sat at my desk eating my tuna out of a can. As I was eating, I couldn't help thinking about how similar cans of cat food and tuna are. I do enjoy tuna, but it was slightly amusing to sit and eat it straight out of a can, and I felt slightly cat-like.
So, later that day I also had my Chinese lesson. I get Chinese lessons twice a week at the end of the day. Right now, I'm just learning the vowel sounds. The first round of sounds went pretty well, but the ones I was learning this week were a bit tricky. I'm saying all of the sounds and attempting to get my mouth to move the right way so that they sound right. As I'm repeating all of the sounds, I notice that my head keeps bobbing up and down as I try to pronounce all of the words. I wonder if my language teacher ever wants to chuckle at how ridiculous I look as I try to make the right sounds. My last lesson was pretty fun-I learned how to count from 1-10, which now enables me to count from 1-100. I'm quite proud of my kindergarten level Chinese skills:)
Saturday, September 3, 2011
....so this week.....
This past week at school was a bit crazy. Fall camp was awesome, but it put me behind with my planning. The entire week I felt like I was running to catch up, and as soon as I did, I realized I was still way behind. I find myself just making sure that everything was in place for the next class I had to teach. I don't enjoy feeling that unprepared, and it left me feeling like I was completely failing with all of my classes.
Teaching ESL is a quite a different experience as well. So much of the planning depends on what the students need, so many times it's not possible to even plan far in advance. It's also disconcerting when I walk into class with my neat little plan, and they look at it and say "this is easy." So then it's time for Kara to come up with a new plan on the spot-quite the growing experience:)
Though the week was difficult, I clearly saw Him working through all of my failures and insecurities. I had a particular lesson and activity in mind that I wanted to do this week, but I did not have the time to plan it like I wanted. I went to my 8th grade English class and before I started with everything, I asked if they had questions about the reading. We ended up discussing the book for the entire class period. He knew what the students needed, and it was really fun just to talk about the book with my students. I continue to be impressed with their insight and questions about the material. And so, I started the week struggling with my weaknesses and failures and wondering why He has called me to do this, and He faithfully encouraged me and helped me realize that He is, of course, in control and able to work through me in spite of all my failures.
Teaching ESL is a quite a different experience as well. So much of the planning depends on what the students need, so many times it's not possible to even plan far in advance. It's also disconcerting when I walk into class with my neat little plan, and they look at it and say "this is easy." So then it's time for Kara to come up with a new plan on the spot-quite the growing experience:)
Though the week was difficult, I clearly saw Him working through all of my failures and insecurities. I had a particular lesson and activity in mind that I wanted to do this week, but I did not have the time to plan it like I wanted. I went to my 8th grade English class and before I started with everything, I asked if they had questions about the reading. We ended up discussing the book for the entire class period. He knew what the students needed, and it was really fun just to talk about the book with my students. I continue to be impressed with their insight and questions about the material. And so, I started the week struggling with my weaknesses and failures and wondering why He has called me to do this, and He faithfully encouraged me and helped me realize that He is, of course, in control and able to work through me in spite of all my failures.
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