Troy's Blog - 5th September 2009
Coping with coursework
Ten easy pointers to reduce stress during your TESOL course
At the end of each course trainees submit a 'portfolio' of work that they have built up during the previous weeks. This portfolio represents all the work, teaching practice and knowledge acquisition over the four weeks of the course, and understandably, compiling the portfolio can be on of the most stressful aspects of the course for those trainees who are, well, administratively challenged.
And so, towards the end of each course, as trainees are preparing to submit their teaching portfolios, trainers are bombarded with some predictable questions:
Do I need to put XXX in my portfolio?
I don't have X, is that a problem?
Do I need to write a lesson plan for X?
With this in mind I thought I would write a few simple guidelines for trainees to follow while taking the Chichester College TESOL course to make things a little easier when it comes to the final submission of the portfolio.
1. Keep everything.
This is really the simplest and most valuable advice anyone can give for a trainee taking the Chichester College TESOL course. This may seem logical but sometimes you may be drowned out by other things that you are concentrating on at the time.Each day of the course builds on prior sessions, but also represents a particular aspect or theme of English Language Teaching. This means that each day of the course gives you more (and fresh) material to work from. The simplest way to keep all of this organised is to file the given material for each session in it's own section of your folder. This way you can find it if you need to refer to it for resources when teaching, to give you ideas for creating your own material, for completing assignment work, and for a host of other uses.
2. Observe and take notes in every class you observe.
During the course you are given the chance to watch a variety of lessons. In each of these make sure that you take notes on the way the lesson is run, the activities the teacher uses, and the responses from the students. Trainees are given an outline on how to observe, and have a chance to try this out right at the beginning of the course. Whilst this may seem like an odd exercise at first it will prove to be a very valuable tool in your career whether you choose to teach English in Thailand or elsewhere. Make sure you keep these notes – file them away in your folder in a way that makes them easy to find when you need them.
3. Write a lesson plan (and keep it) for every lesson you teach.
There are a variety of types of teaching practice conducted throughout the course, if you stick to the basic principles of making sure you write a lesson plan, label it clearly with the date and the type of teaching you are doing, and then file it away in the folder you are given life will be a lot easier on you when it comes time to compiling and submitting your portfolio.
4. Keep all of your material.
Often during the course you will make or find material for your lessons. Make sure that you file this material along with the lesson it pertains to, along with any supporting ideas, like where you found it, how you adapted it, or notes you made for it. Not only will this help you out when building your portfolio at the end of the course, but it is a fantastic start to building up your own set of teaching resources – something that can be used over and over throughout your career as an English teacher, and it will save you a lot of time and effort too!
5. Write a 'Reflection on Teaching' for every lesson you teach during the course.
At the beginning of the course each trainee is given a folder which contains an outline of how to analyze each lesson you teach, and therefore learn from it. Make sure you complete one of these 'Reflections on Teaching' after each lesson, and file it away along with the lesson plan for that class. By reflecting on the successes and failures of each lesson, you are sure to accelerate your progress and ensure that you learn from your experience.
6. Keep up with your assignments.
There are very few formal assignments given during the course, but most of them can be completed, or at least outlined on the day you receive them. If you manage to do this, it means you won't feel snowballed once the next assignment roles in.
7. Write your journals before you forget what to say.
Trainees are asked to write a journal after each session to help them process the material covered during the course. These journals are informal and personal, and writing them need not be difficult or time consuming exercises; generally a page or less in length. Try to make sure that you do these on the sane day, as getting just one day behind means that you are trying to think back and remember material that may be confused very easily with the new day's information. As with everything, make sure they are clearly labeled and file them away where they are easy to find.
8. Do it now!
Leaving this till 'later' is dangerous. Over the course, the work tends to pile up pretty quickly, and each week there is an additional task, assignment or activity that is added to the workload. For trainees who get things done as soon as they get it, it's never a problem. But waiting till the last week to get the portfolio together means you will have a mountain of work that will cause even avid workaholics to have heart palpitations.
9. Understand what the portfolio is.
The portfolio is a representation of what you have done and how you have developed as a teacher over the period of the course. It should show your progress as a teacher and it gives the person who is allocating a score an insight into what you have managed to achieve. If there is progress from week 1 to week 4 in terms of your teaching skill, let it shine in your portfolio. Obviously if there is material missing, or your portfolio is incomplete, it's not good for your final score; but a perfect portfolio does also not equate to a perfect score. What the markers are looking for is a sense of progress and your personal insight into your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher.
10. Don't be afraid to be you.
Teaching is a very personal experience. Many people approach it in ways that seem strange to other teachers, but they are successful because, well, they are being themselves. In your portfolio, let your personality come through, and don't be afraid about giving your personal opinion, your ideas and your experiences. Afterall, your portfolio is all about you!I hope that these tips will help out future and current trainees on the Chichester College TESOL course - or any TEFL course, and to those of you who may be thinking about making some potentially life altering decisions and embarking on a new career; Relax!, it's a piece of cake!
Other recent articles in Troy's Blog:
So they want you to do a demonstration class?
28th February 2010
How to be prepared for an interview
6th December 2009
The Asian fascination with appearance
25th November 2009
What does a teacher look like anyway?
28th September 2009
Three simple pointers to avoid becoming a nervous wreck
18th June 2009
Getting started in the teaching game