We entered the class. The trainer held up a color picture of an orange and a glass of orange juice. Then he made sounds come out of his mouth.
I had no clue what he wanted but he looked sincere in his desire for me and the others in the room to reply. Someone said something. He became animated in his enthusiasm and encouraged us all to repeat the same sound. We did. And we made his day!
At least that's what it felt like.
What was happening was a language lesson in a language none of us knew -- Arabic. We repeated sounds and realized soon enough they were phrases and then finally put together they were meaningful sentences and by the end of a 30 minute period we were "speaking Arabic."
Nicely done, Jeff!!!
So, you really can teach a group of students a new language with some pictures, sounds, body language and a bit of writing on the board.
Perhaps I can do this CELTA stuff after all!
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1 comment:
What a fantastic idea! Now that you've experienced being on the classroom side of ESL, you'll always teach differently. I would never have thought of that!
I'm so happy you're being taken care of in your new home away from home. You're in good hands.
Lots of love--
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