My beliefs as a teacher: role of the teacher

As part of the post series on my beliefs as a teacher, today I would like to discuss the assumptions and principles about my role and aims as a teacher.
As everything else, I am sure these ideas are in constant change, so that if I was to re-write this post in a year or even a month, it might sound partially or totally different. However, I like the idea of bringing how I see myself as a teacher into focus, partly because I would love to come back to this post in a while and consider what and how things have changed. Continue reading “My beliefs as a teacher: role of the teacher”

Realisations

I am writing this quick post to share a realisation I came to this week.
After one year of worrying and studying for Cambridge Delta module 1, I finally feel it’s paying off. Even if I won’t pass the exam in December, I recently saw the fruit of all my hard work, which makes it worthwhile.
Namely, this week I felt confident and at ease teaching an upper-intermediate pronunciation class, which I would have been terrified of doing last year. I was also able to plan and deliver an intermediate-level study skills workshop, concentrating on dictionary skills and routine-building for language study.
Both these experiences made me understand how much I’ve grown in the past year, thanks to a supportive environment at school, CDP, as well as Delta, and how much I can still grow with the next modules and (hopefully) years of work.
I can now say that all that (supposedly free) time spent reading and reflecting was indeed well spent. 🙂

Taking a break

As you can see, I haven’t been posting for a while. Those of you who (used to) follow me on Twitter might have noticed I have been absent from there too — I have actually deleted my account recently, in favour of Mastodon.
I think I need to take a short break from the ELT world, a mental as well as physical holiday.
I will (hopefully) be back in September for a fresh start, new ideas and renewed energy. In the meanwhile, I wish you a peaceful and relaxing summer.

Self-observation in the classroom

I don’t know if this word even exists in ELT, it’s probably called ‘self-reflection’ or something similar. Terminology aside, this is what I’ve tried to do more consistently in the last few months: consciously noticing and if possible reflecting on the on-the-spot choices I make as a teacher in the classroom. Continue reading “Self-observation in the classroom”

About mindfulness in ELT (again!)

Last year I wrote a blog post about what I perceived as a commodification of an amazing Buddhist concept: mindfulness, or sati. Today, I would like to go back on the topic, after I’ve recently attended:

  • a one-day Vipassana meditation retreat;
  • a two-hour training session on mindfulness for teachers.

I now feel I have familiarised with both aspects a little bit more, so I would like to update my previous post with some more in-depth considerations on the issue. Continue reading “About mindfulness in ELT (again!)”