TESL Training Reflection

**I would have posted this last week, but the internet went down at PATS.**

On Monday July 13^th, we start model school. Model school is a teaching practicum for PCTs and their partner HCTs (host country teachers) that allows us to apply and perform ESL teaching methodologies and approaches that we (supposedly) gained from the first 3 weeks of our TESL technical training during PST.

These past 3 weeks we have covered topics like:

-Learning styles

-Teaching listening and listening activities

-Teaching speaking

-Teaching vocabulary

-Critical thinking

-School accreditation

-Classroom management

-Decoding: Learning to read

-Motivating students to learn

-Comprehending: Reading to learn

-Classroom assessments and tools

-Teaching young learners

-Beginning writing and paragraph writing

-Teaching grammar and functional approaches

-etc…

TESL training was nonstop for 3 weeks, yet I feel as if I didn’t learn anything new. And that really worries me. As a relatively new teacher I was hoping the sessions would provide me with useful and appropriate teaching theories and practices that I could try out during model school and then hopefully apply to my classroom on Ettal. However, much of what the training staff has “taught” us is common sense and not in the least bit enlightening.

On top of that, there were other issues that inhibited learning.

The sessions tended to be rushed and we rarely had time to debrief, discuss, or have our questions answered. I understand there was a lot to cover in the first 3 weeks, but that’s no reason to stop us in the middle of an activity or cut our lesson planning session (one of the more important sessions, in my opinion) down so we make it to lunch on time. If the sessions actually started on time and were paced appropriately (maybe have us do 1-2 group work activities per session instead of 5) I believe we would have gotten much more information from them. We would also have had opportunities to regroup and discuss any issues we struggle with or foresee struggling with in the classroom.

The presenters did not model good classroom management or teaching techniques. Many presenters had difficulty being engaging and providing us with clear directions when it came to individual or group work. It was blatantly obvious and, I’m sure, made many people think the session was a joke, which is really unfortunate.

The HCTs were and continue to be apathetic. A good number of the HCTs are required to come to the sessions and teach in model school either to earn credit for their teaching degree or because they’re getting paid to do so. To each his own, but really?! I can see the boredom on their faces, hear the sarcastic comments under their breath, and notice that they don’t have anything to contribute to lesson planning! The partnering between PCTs and HCTs was created to encourage the sharing of knowledge and experimentation in model school, and ultimately to plant the roots for sustainable development. But that’s definitely not happening when the PCTs are doing most of the work. It’s also incredibly discouraging for us to see the HCTs’ apathy.

In no way am I trying to be a Debbie Downer. I’m just trying to be as honest (yet respectful) as possible. There is very little public literature about whether or not Peace Corps trainings (Pre-Service Training, In-Service Training, and Mid-Service Training) are beneficial to Volunteers’ actual service. In theory they should be beneficial, but it’s hard to tell when Volunteers don’t actively record and reflect on it. So that’s what I’m trying to do here.

Do I feel like the 3 weeks of TESL training prepared me for Model School on Monday? Nope. But I’m predicting a lot of my Peace Corps experience will be jumping into things not really knowing what’s going on and doing my best. So I guess I need to get use to trial and error.

Did TESL training reinforce any ideas I had about teaching? Yes. Teaching is incredibly difficult and requires a lot of preparation. But when you see a light bulb go on in a student’s head, it’s all worth it.

Did I learn anything new during the TESL training? Sure. I learned some new songs and activities to refocus my student’s attention. But the most important thing I learned what the type of teacher I don’t want to be.

Do I foresee using anything from TESL training in my classroom in Ettal? It’s hard to say. Hopefully the “keep-at-it-Rachel!” reminders I tell myself when things aren’t going so smoothly (like when my HCT doesn’t say a word to me during lesson planning) will come in handy in Ettal.

I’ll let you know how Monday and the rest of Model school goes.

Stay well,

Rachel 

P.S. The TESL training content was created by the Peace Corps department in Washington D.C., so I do acknowledge that the Micronesia/Palau training staff had little say in the materials they presented. I do believe, however, that the manner in which they presented it could have been more engaging and time efficient.