ESL Teacher's Confessions

  With a critical eye, I wanted to share my thoughts on the recorded English lesson from Dąbrówka. Overall, I can say that this was a great lesson, as there were many things the head teacher has done which was enjoyable for instance: good review of past vocabulary   creates a sense of community – carpet time (asking students names & how are you today)    implemented diverse activities - various learning modalities e.g. visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile included multiple quick activities – children have a short attention span   good lesson structure used many materials – chalkboard (pictures), storybook, flashcards involved the group chorally (large group) and at times individually    had good control of the group – applied methods to regain their focus used the target language for the whole class! I really liked that the English teacher started her lesson by asking questions such as how are you today? And what’s your ...

The aim of this post is to share my thoughts on the ESL English recorded lesson from a class from Żagle (Poland). The lesson was interesting and fairly engaging. I have to admit teaching a large group of boys is quite a challenge - they are full of life and just want to shout and play all day. There were certain aspects of the lesson which were enjoyable to see. The teacher implemented a routine for students, as this helps them mentally prepare for the lesson. When the song starts, it would make them realize that the English lesson is about to start. In addition, the teacher used high energy activities in order to fit the needs of his students. In my opinion, I think the teacher should have been clearer with his instructions as there were a few students who misunderstood the activity. Or, the teacher could have provided a model or an example beforehand, for instance, he could have named a few numbers and then show the picture until he guessed correctly then move the magnet on th...

  GPTE students participated in a Webinar entitled Teaching English to Young learners using Visuals presented by the talented Dominika Krawczynska. The aim was to present various activities that can be incorporated into online class. This was extremely helpful for teachers as myself, who have been trained for conducting lessons in a physical classroom and completely unprepared for online classes. First of all, she starts with activities that are already known by educators and simply transferring those tools in our online classroom. For example: the use of flash cards , realia , pictures (from coursebooks), multimedia , gestures and miming . One can still play games with flashcards virtually such as which picture/word is missing? Tell me when to stop and go find something in room . Online classes can still incorporate our beloved puppets . The main advantage is that children believe that the puppet is real and they don’t see the teacher hand up his/her backside (if you know...

  The act of observing a classroom in action is quite difficult and requires some preparation. In the first year of my studies we were required to observe a certain number of classes right off the bat, but the problem was, that I had no idea how to observe a classroom nor the things to look out for. I just noted down everything the teacher did and hoped that it was enough, but I often missed the most important aspects. I felt unprepared for this crucial step in teacher training — as I just jumped in the deep observation pool without an essential life-jacket. Observation of a classroom plays an important role in teaching training, and should aid in your teaching development. Let’s get into the things to keep in mind when observing a classroom. First of all , look at the classroom .  Answer questions such as: How does the classroom look?   Is there a display of students’ work? What is the seating arrangement for learners? Are the students facing the teacher or each othe...

  Why did I become a teacher? Teaching has been my passion ever since I was a small girl, because I had an inspirational teacher in school, and to keep matters short, she changed my life. She was the teacher who absolutely loved her subject, which made the classes more enjoyable, interactive and surprising (even though the subject was quite difficult). Her excitement for the subject sparked my love for learning and made me to never stop being curious about the world. I also realized that making mistakes is a good thing! I hope to one day also inspire my students and help them improve their abilities, their self-growth and their curiosity. From there, it was only natural for me to become a teacher. What do I believe in as an ESL teacher? I believe in the following quote as an ESL teacher: “ The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” - William A. Ward William A. Ward was an inspirational writer an...

  Welcome to my blog! I’m glad you’ve come across my blog. I created this page to share my two cents about ESL teaching. I post “confessions” about the teaching profession (things they don’t tell you in school) — some tips and tricks that I’ve picked up over the years. So, a short introduction, my name is Sara and I’m a student at the University of Warsaw. I have completed my Bachelor's Degree in Foreign language Teaching (English and French) and spent a number of years teaching (I promise no spoilers in this post). Currently, I am a student at the Pedagogy Faculty in the Graduate Programme in Teaching English to Young Learners and at the Institute of English Studies where I study English Philology also at the graduate level. I grew up in Canada and moved to Poland about five years ago. I have Polish roots, so it was a chance for me to reconnect with my family and explore the rich Polish culture. I can speak a handful of languages, such as English, Polish, French and America...