Now Let's See What We Can Do with This . . .

The last day of class was Saturday. We heard about other approaches to language acquisition. We learned that CELTA was not a method but rather a collection of methods. We learned that arrogance is not the domain of any one profession and that some folks look to their one approach as THE approach and therefore are none too thrilled with CELTA's offering this and that to complete the package.

That's when CELTA won me over. I like the idea of drawing from the best, no limits, few boundaries. I like the idea of doing what works rather than adhering to one rule and only one.

And . . . as previously noted in the post below . . . I love teaching.

So I'm checking out my options. Thus far in this journey (taking a year off to find out what I next want to be as I grow up) I've determined that
-- I like to write but not enough to be a novelist or pursue the kind of freelance work that will pay the bills.
-- Houston is home and I don't want to live elsewhere at this time.
-- I love to teach.

So, class, can we guess want I want to do next?

That's right! Teach ESL. Of course, that means I have to find enough jobs to make a living at it given that fulltime positions are not that available.

But I've got a trip to Tanzania to make in January and February and a couple of months to do the research so we will see.

For those of you who want to keep up with me fairly regulary you can now go back to www.starsdancing.blogspot.com. For you folks who were reading for CELTA, stay tuned. I'll be back.

Remembering . . .

I accomplished all my TPs (that's teaching points for you who are not nearly CELTA certified) in my last hour of teaching. That means I covered present continuous to the point that several showed understanding of the idea that it's not just for talking about now (as in "I am typing") but also around now (as in "I'm driving to my sick friend's in a few minutes). We also practiced I, we, you and, believe it or not, "y'all." Plus we squeezed in a bit of reading comprehension.

But the greatest goal achieved from 1:15 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. on Friday, November 30, was that I remembered that I love teaching.

Somehow I'd let that fact escape me. Somehow illustrating meaning, concept checking, oral highlighting, drilling, written highlighting and the knowledge that someone was watching my every move to ensure that I did those things and in order while simultaneously covering the material was obscuring what had always been obvious.

I smiled. I calmed down. I listened to the students. I laughed. We got up from our chairs. We practiced and practiced and most, if not all, got something they didn't come into that room with.

When it was all said and done, I told them to ask me the question I'd had them asking each other throughout the hour, "What are you doing tonight?"

"I'm going dancing!" I replied.

Adriana said, "You dance?"

I said I did and she moved toward me and we twirled each other around the room. The dance, like my teaching, was amusing -- I wasn't really sure who was leading whom.