Survived the term !

I have just survived what has been a very challenging term !

I started a new job in September with Plymouth Adult and Community Learning based at the Swarthmore Adult Education centre. Only 14 hours of teaching , but hours of preparation, planning, marking and recording progress ! It took me a week to sort out just one side of the Resources room and find out what resources were available there, and then a week to think about schemes of work for the Entry 1 and Level 1/2 groups. Once I started teaching,it then took a few weeks to get into the swing of using ILPs properly and working out how to use diagnostic tests for the first time,as I got to know the learners and their needs. I then had to adapt my scheme accordingly and think about teaching and learning styles that would suit the learners best and find ways in which they could work on their individual goals, as well as the group goals ( the main long-term one being to pass the exam at the end and get the certificate !)

I don't like having to teach to an exam , there is so much more I could teach them , and so many ways they could learn and achieve, but only having two lessons a week means most of the time is unavoidably spent on getting them used to the kind of tasks they will have to do in the exams and covering the kind of vocabulary and topics and skills that they will need for it too.

I have enjoyed getting to know the learners, and have enjoyed creating tasks for them and resources that would hopefully keep them motivated and help them to achieve. I found it hard that even after half-term new learners were joining the course, so they had to be taken through the induction and initial assessment process at different points, whilst the rest of the class worked on other things. I have also found it challenging that all three groups that I teach have quite spiky profiles - so even more preparation is required to provide differentiated tasks for them. Every lesson I have taught so far has been a lesson I have never taught before , so I have been learning a lot and will no doubt change the way I do things next time a bit.


I have created the beginnings of a self-access system , so that learners can have a certain amount of choice about what they would like to work on , I try to give them the opportunity to do that at least once a week. It is a good way of allowing other learners to catch up , if they have been absent or are working at a slower pace, and also of enabling individual learners to work on the areas they find most difficult or want to consolidate. I would like to develop this even more , and particularly to create tasks that are self- monitoring ( where the learners can check the work themselves ).

I would like to encourage more reading for pleasure with the higher level groups, maybe next term, I would also like to use a bit more technology in my lessons. I have a Powerpoint training day coming up at the end of January ! I would also like to try and use my resources a bit more effectively, as recently highlighted in my Observation of Teaching and Learning.I would like to use more authentic texts in my lessons, and also explore ways in which the learners can take even more responsibility for their own learning.I'd like to use group work more , and use different groups according to ability,interest or need.

I would also like to improve my use of ILPs, and particularly the SMART targets, so that they are more achievable and show progress being made even more. I would like to continue to explore different teaching styles and techniques to suit the various learning styles in the classes too.

I would like to bring more phonology into the lessons too. I did do some work on the schwa sound and a few other sounds with the higher level classes, but would like to develop this more and see more progress being made on particular pronunciation problems.

I think I need to develop a more structured approach for the learners to acquire more vocabulary in meaningful ways which will help them to remember how to say , recognize and spell new words.

I feel I have developed a good rapport with the learners on the whole , and there is usually a nice atmosphere in the lessons , which is more conducive for learning. I have identified their needs quite well, but would also like to keep in mind the soft targets like confidence, and encourage fluency more.

I have felt quite well supported by the staff at the Adult Education Centre , and have found the facilities quite good on the whole, with access to a computer room with 5 computers linked to the Internet, as well as the opportunity within the classroom itself to use screens, projectors, OHPs, MP3 players , audio recordings and video / DVds. I have also had the opportunity to do some training sessions in using video cameras and RARPA , and some webbased training too, as well as a curriculum meeting and a tutor meeting at the beginning of term, all of which I found very useful.

I do feel a bit isolated as one of only two ESOL tutors there, ( the other one works on different days to me , with different groups and even follows a different exam scheme, so we don't really cross paths ) and sometimes my natural self-sufficency has been good for that , but sometimes not so good , as I have muddled through and discovered things for myself , that I could probably have quite easily asked about by making a phone call or sending an e.mail !

I have found the Subject Specialist course really helpful alongside the teaching that I am doing , it is good to be able to put the theory into practice, and share ideas with the other students on the course, as well as to think more deeply about what I am doing , why I am doing it and how I am doing it when I teach ! I particularly found the Barriers to Learning report challenging , as it made me think again about why I want to teach ESOL and why I want to do it well, which is good to remember when buried under a pile of paperwork or facing another assignment !