Friday, 9 September 2011
Hi Everyone,
Friday, 9 September 2011
Hi Everyone,
I’m finding that part of living in Cambodia is getting used to constant surprises. Yesterday (Wednesday), when I arrived at the 8 a.m. Gogo Loves English 1 class (after having filled-in for the director in lieu of a fulltime teacher and having taught *4-different classes a day on Monday and Tuesday), I expected to see **ST1 teaching the class.
Future Light Orphanage |
Hi Everyone,
Friday, September 16th will be my last day volunteer teaching at FLO (Future Light Orphanage). It would be so great if there was someone lined up to step into my shoes on the following Monday.
Do you know of anyone qualified and interested? In my dream scenario, the person would arrive sometime during my last week, so that I could show him/her the ropes.
How does it work when you volunteer here? You pay for your lodging and meals; currently, that rate is *$38 per day. They were willing to give me a 10% discount because of my qualification and length of stay (2-months). Rob Hail has told me that they can make further cuts if you’re willing to stay at least several months and sleep in a room with a fan and shared bath (rather than the a/c and private bath I have).
Why would it be nice to have a volunteer continue what I’ve started? Because the students are responding! They want to learn!
So, if you would spread this email around with friends who you think might be interested, I and all the people who love the children at FLO would be deeply appreciative. Visit: http://flo-cambodia.blogspot.com/ and http://emailfosterparents.org/FLO.htm to learn more about FLO.
Mahalo,
-sj
*Perhaps $38 per day seems like a lot to you, but they have a great number of expenses. Inflation is increasing in Cambodia everyday. The orphanage is located about 45-minutes outside the downtown Phnom Penh area, which adds to their cost in terms of transportation, fuel, supplies, etc.
Maybe you can find a sponsor who wants to contribute to a most valuable cause? I’ve been getting to know these students, and believe me, they are v e r y valuable human beings.
My office/desk ! |
At the end of the class when I **played the “Busy everyday song” (track 86, Topic 22, Longman) for the I level Ss, it seemed kind of silly: “Monday evening,
But . . . as I was thinking about it last night in bed, I was realizing how disjointed their learning seems to be. They’ve memorized so many words, some expressions (I think). But they haven’t learned any variations. Also, when they learn an expression, statement, question, etc., it’s just with one pronoun (usually “I”), such as “What do you like to eat?” “I like to eat . . .” So if you were to ask them, “What does she like to eat?” they’re thrown for a loop.
Thursday, July 28th’s lesson with the Intermediate and pre-Intermediate students went very well. I realize now as I just glanced at what I wrote earlier, that I did kindof do what I intended (got them to talk about what goes on at the beach). I just prefaced it with an explanation of the use of present continuous (action in progress) with present simple (a habit, an ongoing behavior) in the CELTA style.
Narrator: (E, I wrote a different version for I)
I’m the teacher. Usually, I go to class at 5:45 p.m. every day. But today, I’m not at school. Where am I? I’m in a café. What am I doing? I’m drinking coffee. I’m sitting at a table drinking coffee. I’m also reading a newspaper.
Next came speaking in their group taking on one of these identities: asking each other questions, and using present continuous and present simple. There was lively discussion though I heard too much Cambodia. Then it just seemed right to ask them to please try and speak only English; that’s what I’m here for, I explained, to help you learn how to speak better English; you can speak Cambodia already. They really seemed to pay attention to this and promised very seriously (for 12-20 year olds : ) to try and speak only English.
The class ended with three different students coming up and writing a dialogue that they’d said within their group. It was a good example of being more “real” and playful with their language. Since they’d written a short dialogue, I asked the corresponding students to come up and read it; they did. It was good because one of the students is a shy girl who rarely wants to speak, but she did in this setting! That made me very happy to see (and hear).
-out
sj
This entry is dedicated to precious Fido who left his bodily form 7-years ago on this very day, August 1, 2004.
But there’s just not time now to write about it all. I completed my third of eight practice teaching sessions this afternoon. Today’s was definitely the best. : ) I turned in my first written assignment this past Monday and am looking at a 13-page document that is the second written assignment; it’s due this Friday.
A rhythm to the school day has slowly emerged. Eighteen people are in the group. Morning sessions run from 9 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. with one of the three teachers presenting information regarding lesson plans, language systems, etc. They somehow manage to do it in an interesting way. Generally, they’re using the teaching methods that they want us to use.
Then, every afternoon around 1:45 p.m. the students begin to arrive. They come from all parts of the world: Thailand, Japan, Pakistan, Somalia, you name it! The 18 split up into three groups of 6. Two groups are currently teaching students at the intermediate level; one group is teaching more elementary level students. Next week we’ll switch so that we all have an opportunity to experience both levels. We’re each teaching two 40-minute classes per week (the first three weeks). The fourth and last week we’ll each teach two 60-minute classes. (I’m down to teach on the last day, Friday the 24th. Talk about coming down to the wire!)
So, that’s the deal pickle. I’m enjoying it, but I’ll admit that when we came across the sentence, “She’s looking forward to the end of the course” in one of our exercises the other day*, I had to chuckle to myself and say, “Well, yes, I too am enjoying it, but I’m also looking forward to the end of it.” What’s the saying? It’s not the destination; it’s the journey? Fortunately, this girl IS enjoying the journey.
Love to you all. Below are some shots of Bangkok life, which the school accurately calls “the charming chaos of your new environment.”
Aloha,
SJ
*We were making CCQs (concept checking questions) to see if they students understand the meaning of the underlined portion. This statement’s CCQs were: “Will she be happy when it is finished?” (Yes), “Is the course finished?” (No), “Does she often think about the end of the course?” (Yes is the “official” answer, but from where I’m sitting, there’s not time to think about anything but the course! : )
Found a park about 10-minutes away (by foot) from where I’m staying. : )
Soccer-like Volleyball (really fun to watch!)
There are construction sites everywhere!