Tomorrow starts my second week of TEFL teacher training at LADO. To be honest, I was surprised at the degree of difficulty the class has offered up. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been a student in many years, I’m not sure yet. But the first two days were absolute hell for me. It wasn’t fun, it was more a trial for survival. Everything seemed to overwhelm me: readings, grammar, exercises, long days, lesson plans and of course, teaching the actual classes.
The first two days were absolute stage fright. I’ve taught technical information in corporate america and taught photography classes for two years in college, but this was somehow completely different. For one thing, I haven’t done any instruction in a long time (it’s scary how the years slip away), and the other major factor was the diversity of the students. Various age groups and backgrounds made this out of my norm and it took me a couple of days to adjust. I still feel a bit nervous with my flow, but things are coming along now.
I was surprised that we started teaching immediately. It was very hard but i think that is the single most important factor to this program. I’m so glad I’m experiencing the emotional trauma and stage fright for the first time now in this controlled environment rather than in Korea. I would hate to be struggling to find the train station, getting lost, having people yell at me in a foreign language and then being promptly dumped in front of a class on 20-30 students for the first time. Talk about real emotional stress… I think I’ve worked out the main delirium tremens for the moment.
I think it’s worth mentioning the group aspect to the lesson planning. At first I thought this would make things easier, but I don’t think that’s the case. My classmates are all very capable, but coordination in the group under tight time deadlines and negotiating personality and methodolgy differences is a real challange. With little time and planning it’s very hard to make sure everyone is clear about the end goal and in sync during presentation of materials. Overlapping ideas for section demonstrations and awkward transitions between those in the group is common. Critical definition of the end goal seems absolutely essential, but it’s amazing how so many variables make this hard to attain.
My goal for the next week is all about refinement. Refining my understanding and method for interacting with my fellow trainees. The better I can understand the group dynamic and help each of us exploit our strengths, the stronger our presentations will come off. Looking inward, my goal is to refine my presentation style and also the mechanics and flow of information. I’m still confused by some details of the LAF (Language, Acquisition, Facility) model.
Overall, this week has been both extremely frustrating, and also very gratifying. I hope to continue refining my methods so the frustration points melt away. It has been so wonderful to see students interact and talk, realzing that you are slowly playing a direct role in their development. I’m looking forward to continuing to meet new people and start having fun with my presentations.
