Day 15
Day 15: 1/15/09
Another fairly easy day of classes at ITTP language school. I gave a lesson to 2 beginner level students. Two Czech ladies came in today and I tried to teach them some grammar. I didn't do a horrible job, well, at least I didn't confuse them beyond help. I used a warm up of naming animals alphabetically which they struggled in a little. I started off with Ape and they didn't know what that was but we continued after I explained. Bird and cat were easy follow ups and so on and so on.
Getting into the grammar was difficult for me but they seemed interested in hearing the difference between “the dog barks” and “the dog is barking.” (Essentially present simple and present continuous). I had to explain what barking means so naturally I just barked and the class found that entertaining. But not as much as the game at the end. I blew up four balloons and had a big bowl. The object was to pull back the end of the balloon where you blew it up from between your fingers and release, thus bumping the entire balloon a fair distance away from you. I was farther back from the two students and made it into the bowl my very first try. But through out the game, they were having fun constantly trying and not succeeding as well. The catch of the game was once you got a balloon in the bowl, you could answer a question. I would then show a picture of an animal doing something, for example: a panda eating or a cat sleeping. And the students would have to say what the animal is doing, not what it does, but what it is doing right now. It was good , fun day.
Every Thursday night, the course teachers reserve a room in a bar and invite past and present students to join them. Besides the majority of us current trainees, a couple from Southern California, two guys from Ireland, and another couple were there. We asked them a lot of questions about finding jobs and the about final (and only) exam. The past trainees left after a while but those of us that stayed were finally yet politely asked to leave. Funny, I've never been kicked out of a bar before....
Another fairly easy day of classes at ITTP language school. I gave a lesson to 2 beginner level students. Two Czech ladies came in today and I tried to teach them some grammar. I didn't do a horrible job, well, at least I didn't confuse them beyond help. I used a warm up of naming animals alphabetically which they struggled in a little. I started off with Ape and they didn't know what that was but we continued after I explained. Bird and cat were easy follow ups and so on and so on.
Getting into the grammar was difficult for me but they seemed interested in hearing the difference between “the dog barks” and “the dog is barking.” (Essentially present simple and present continuous). I had to explain what barking means so naturally I just barked and the class found that entertaining. But not as much as the game at the end. I blew up four balloons and had a big bowl. The object was to pull back the end of the balloon where you blew it up from between your fingers and release, thus bumping the entire balloon a fair distance away from you. I was farther back from the two students and made it into the bowl my very first try. But through out the game, they were having fun constantly trying and not succeeding as well. The catch of the game was once you got a balloon in the bowl, you could answer a question. I would then show a picture of an animal doing something, for example: a panda eating or a cat sleeping. And the students would have to say what the animal is doing, not what it does, but what it is doing right now. It was good , fun day.
Every Thursday night, the course teachers reserve a room in a bar and invite past and present students to join them. Besides the majority of us current trainees, a couple from Southern California, two guys from Ireland, and another couple were there. We asked them a lot of questions about finding jobs and the about final (and only) exam. The past trainees left after a while but those of us that stayed were finally yet politely asked to leave. Funny, I've never been kicked out of a bar before....
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