First Day Teaching

My co-teacher from my visiting school called me on Sunday evening to see if I was able to come in Monday afternoon to meet my principal. My schedule is pretty open, so I said "sure."

I was picked up by her, and we drove a few minutes to school. The visiting school is also brand new, and it is about 25 minutes away walking. I got a brief tour, and was shown the English Only Zone (EOZ), my office, and met some of the coworkers. I was also presented to the vice principal and principal. Neither one speaks English.

During the tour, my co-teacher said that there were still two English classes that afternoon and asked if I was able to teach them. I was not expecting that, but I didn't want to disappoint her, so I said yes.

Luckily, I had prepared my lesson for my center school already. I hadn't run through it, so I figured it would be pretty bumpy. I walked into the classroom, and the kids were SO happy to see me! They knew I would be coming, and they were really excited I was there.

For the lesson, we made nametags with some of their favorite things on them. My main focus this year is getting the 7th graders to speak and listen, so I had them create nametags for their partners. I wrote down the questions they had for me on the board, and told them to take turns asking their partners the same questions. Not all the questions I got asked got put on the board (for example: "Do you have a husband?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Will you marry me?"). Overall, I think the lesson went well, and it allowed me to see what level their English is at. At the visiting school, there are 7 classes of 7th graders. They took a test and were placed at different levels, but there is still a wide range of language ability within the class. I walked around and talked to the students during the activity, and some students were really good at saying whole sentences, while others would just say the answer.

Later on, I attended a faculty meeting. It was about 45 minutes long, and the only word I recgonized that entire time was "Mara." I am having them call me that nickname because I think it is easier to pronounce.

The day went pretty well overall. Because both my schools are 7th grade only, I am going to do the same introduction activity for each class. After I get better with their names, I'll collect the nametags and put them up in the EOZ. I'm really glad to have my own classroom rather than moving from room to room.

I still don't have internet at my apartment, but I will post some of my 300 pictures as soon as I can so you can see what things are like on the other side of the pond.