Actual Teaching

 Aliza and I started a new adventure this year--helping in an adult ESL class. We are in the Beginner 1 class. Our students speak no English. We have really enjoyed watching them learn. Our students are from Mexico, Guatemala, Hondorus, Nicaragua, China, Vietnam, Brazil and Haiti. 

This semester the Beginner 1 teacher needed to move to teach the Beginner 2 class and, by default, I became the lead teacher for the Beginner 1 class. I didn't think I needed a new responsibility this semester, but I'm doing it! I've taught three lessons so far and each week I have felt more confident and haven't mentally obsessed over the lesson quite as much.

We've covered days of the week including "yesterday," "today," and "tomorrow." Teaching time concepts in English was more challenging than I expected. And last week we covered the parts of an address which was also more challenging then I thought it would be. 

At the beginning of the semester we had 5 new students and have added new students each week. It's especially challenging in the Beginner 1 class to have students who have not had any lessons in the book and other students who have had half of the book. It's a big skill difference at the beginner level.

 

During the class, we pass out Bibles in each student's first language and the teacher presents a Bible verse. (I'm laughing at my white board writing. You know if I *tried* to write in waves, I wouldn't be able to!) We read the verse in English, I explain or Aliza acts out words to portray the meaning, one students representing each language reads the verse in their language out loud, we read it together in English again and then I pray.

 

Each week I don't really look forward to going out in the evening to have class, but by the end, I'm so glad I did. I come home all wound up. It takes me so long to fall asleep on Thursday nights! I'm glad Aliza thought that volunteering at ESL class was a good idea and dragged me into it with her.