Dear Alexis,
First of all, let me tell you how much of a pleasure it has been for me to be part of this program. Every day came with its share of surprise and laughter which all in all contributed to make this experience so special for me and each one of my fellow interns and, I believe, everyone else around us. But you will also face challenges and situations specific to immersion schools for which you might not be prepared well enough, as long as no one is ever too much prepared anyway. So allow me to expose you this insight which reflects my own experience.
You might be amazed in the beginning by the fluency of their speech and their ease in comprehension, but don’t let yourself be fooled! You will realize soon enough that a whole lot of basic things that one would expect 14 year old French immersion students to know and apply. Don’t blame the teachers, in theory they should be familiar with most of the basic grammar rules of French. Some might say it’s due to their lack of practice during holidays, for my part I believe it shows the biggest crack of the immersion system: for they have to use a language they don’t know at all ever since their early childhood, they will obviously make mistakes as they express themselves, but it should be enough for the teachers who shall not expect perfect speech from their students, and these mistakes have a high chance to stay engraved in their minds for a longtime, if not forever. Eventually, the students will know the rules that would help them build correct sentences, and most of the times they just won’t bother thinking of applying them as they speak, for it has never been necessary before, except for tests and class or home practice. Brace yourself; this is going to be so frustrating. The best way to limit this would be to give each one of them individual reminders of the things they most struggle with and find a way to make sure they remember to use it at all times, this is something I was not so good at but with your experience, I’m sure you’ll handle it pretty well.
As I mentioned it, your experience will come handy here for sure, but you should not rely too much on it, remember you are dealing with American children who live in America with American parents who cherish their American culture. So our good old French teaching techniques are not always appropriate here and might even get you in trouble. Whatever happens, before you react too harshly, be sure to notify your teacher and she will always give you a good piece of advice on how to handle all kinds of situation. You will have to show tolerance and adaptability when you grade copies, reprehend a misbehaving student, or even interact with them. The way things are going in American schools might not always make sense to you, here again the best thing to do when you think something is wrong is to talk to another teacher who will be glad to show you how these questionable habits work, because let’s face it, it might look chaotic, purposeless and unfit, but American Education seems to work pretty well, at least in Edina.
And finally, if it’s never good for your teenage students to consider you as their buddy or their equal to whom they don’t have to show any sort of respect like they do to other teachers, do not build a fence between you and them either. As their TA, you are somehow the coolest of the two teachers in the classroom, the one they would rather talk to, and if you show that you are willing to connect with them in a more friendly and personal way than they normally do with other teachers, then being around your students might become the best times you will have during your stay in the US.
It’s all up to you now, enjoy this year to the bones, take the best of it and don’t miss the opportunity to go to a Vikings’ game, remember the NFL season is very short…
May the Force be with you,
Brice
mercredi 19 mai 2010
mardi 17 novembre 2009
I'm such a dirty dirty rockstar, yeah! (Marilyn Manson)
•Write about a lesson that went well for you. Did you feel like a rock star afterward? What did you do to prepare for the lesson? Why did it go well?
So far, most of the lessons I have participated into went pretty well, I believe I am lucky that most of my students are quite well behaved and not awfully distracted and careless as students of their age are known to be, but if I have to pick up one, I should choose the French culture class about roads and cars and driving licence in France because it was the first time that I had to take care of a whole lesson myself, which is pretty ironic for I don't even have a driving licence! But still, I managed to gather all the informations I needed, I inspired myself from the lesson my friend Yann had made last year and made my own, keeping a few things, taking some off, changing others...it took me a while, I even started to work on it at home the night before but I felt like I had something to prove, or at least, I needed to come up with something really good, it was like a test to me, if I was to mess this one up, I would have hated myself for disapointing my teacher and my students...
so here I was, facing my students, having to keep them going for the next hour and a half, therefore taking so much pressure but with the soothing impression that I had done what it takes for a lesson to be ok, all that was left to do was to keep my students awake and listening, so I tried to settle a good pace which implied them to participate actively and...well, everything went perfect! So I wouldn't say that I felt like a rockstar but more like...a soldier maybe, keeping the enemy busy until retreat or back up, or maybe like a surgeon, focusing on his operation for hours until he can sew the wound and breath out with relief once the patient is cured! So I think this careful preparation and the diversity of the activities I had included to my lesson made it successful. Another important thing is staying focused on what is going on and what is coming next so you can manage your time and you are always ready to keep going without interuption, the students must see that you are completly with them throughout the lesson and that you know where you are going and where you want them to go. This is what makes a lesson fluent and steady, you should not be overwhelmed by things you did not expect, and you should keep yourself from being confused, the lesson must be under your control.
•Write about a lesson that did not go well for you. What didn’t work? Were there things you could have anticipated better? Were there circumstances beyond your control? Would you teach this lesson again? Why or why not?
As I said most of the lessons in which I was involved went well, but there was a day when I was not so happy with myself for I noticed a lack of motivation in the classroom. It was an advanced French class on late october. For these classes, I am supposed to pick up a current event in the French news, this time I thought we could talk about how Halloween was perceived in France, so I chose a video on the news in which it was said that Halloween was very popular when it appeared in the late 90's, due to massive American advertising but its popularity kept decreasing for the last 3 years, and this year, no one in France actualy cared for halloween at all, it had disapeared from the shops, the tv shows and the medias. When I presented this lesson, I faced to problems: first, many students complained about how fast the people in the video were speaking, which made it hard for them to answer the understanding questions, so there was not much participation. Second, it got me thinking as I was going and it struck me: how can I expect them to be interested when I'm actually talking about lack of interest? Of course they didn't care about people who didn't care anymore about a tradition they actually took from their country, not to mention that it might have sounded offensive to them who love their traditions, specially this one. But the aim of this lesson was to understand the reasons why the excitement for Halloween slowly disapeared in France, so that we could have a debate about the exportation of traditions, whether it's a good thing or not, what it takes to make it sucessful, etc...I made sure they had enough elements to consider and to take into account to make their own opinion on this topic, and the debate occured a few days later. In the end, it was pretty animated, everyone was pleased to express themselves and some very good arguments were mentionned so it was not a total fiasco as far as we reached our goal anyway, but I should remember this and if I want to teach a similar lesson, I should take the time to consider to whom I'm teaching it, because it might not be apropriate for everyone, and I should make my objectives more obvious so the students can focus on them right from the start. Oh, and of course I shall not take videos from this channel again until they learn to speak a more inteligible way.
So far, most of the lessons I have participated into went pretty well, I believe I am lucky that most of my students are quite well behaved and not awfully distracted and careless as students of their age are known to be, but if I have to pick up one, I should choose the French culture class about roads and cars and driving licence in France because it was the first time that I had to take care of a whole lesson myself, which is pretty ironic for I don't even have a driving licence! But still, I managed to gather all the informations I needed, I inspired myself from the lesson my friend Yann had made last year and made my own, keeping a few things, taking some off, changing others...it took me a while, I even started to work on it at home the night before but I felt like I had something to prove, or at least, I needed to come up with something really good, it was like a test to me, if I was to mess this one up, I would have hated myself for disapointing my teacher and my students...
so here I was, facing my students, having to keep them going for the next hour and a half, therefore taking so much pressure but with the soothing impression that I had done what it takes for a lesson to be ok, all that was left to do was to keep my students awake and listening, so I tried to settle a good pace which implied them to participate actively and...well, everything went perfect! So I wouldn't say that I felt like a rockstar but more like...a soldier maybe, keeping the enemy busy until retreat or back up, or maybe like a surgeon, focusing on his operation for hours until he can sew the wound and breath out with relief once the patient is cured! So I think this careful preparation and the diversity of the activities I had included to my lesson made it successful. Another important thing is staying focused on what is going on and what is coming next so you can manage your time and you are always ready to keep going without interuption, the students must see that you are completly with them throughout the lesson and that you know where you are going and where you want them to go. This is what makes a lesson fluent and steady, you should not be overwhelmed by things you did not expect, and you should keep yourself from being confused, the lesson must be under your control.
•Write about a lesson that did not go well for you. What didn’t work? Were there things you could have anticipated better? Were there circumstances beyond your control? Would you teach this lesson again? Why or why not?
As I said most of the lessons in which I was involved went well, but there was a day when I was not so happy with myself for I noticed a lack of motivation in the classroom. It was an advanced French class on late october. For these classes, I am supposed to pick up a current event in the French news, this time I thought we could talk about how Halloween was perceived in France, so I chose a video on the news in which it was said that Halloween was very popular when it appeared in the late 90's, due to massive American advertising but its popularity kept decreasing for the last 3 years, and this year, no one in France actualy cared for halloween at all, it had disapeared from the shops, the tv shows and the medias. When I presented this lesson, I faced to problems: first, many students complained about how fast the people in the video were speaking, which made it hard for them to answer the understanding questions, so there was not much participation. Second, it got me thinking as I was going and it struck me: how can I expect them to be interested when I'm actually talking about lack of interest? Of course they didn't care about people who didn't care anymore about a tradition they actually took from their country, not to mention that it might have sounded offensive to them who love their traditions, specially this one. But the aim of this lesson was to understand the reasons why the excitement for Halloween slowly disapeared in France, so that we could have a debate about the exportation of traditions, whether it's a good thing or not, what it takes to make it sucessful, etc...I made sure they had enough elements to consider and to take into account to make their own opinion on this topic, and the debate occured a few days later. In the end, it was pretty animated, everyone was pleased to express themselves and some very good arguments were mentionned so it was not a total fiasco as far as we reached our goal anyway, but I should remember this and if I want to teach a similar lesson, I should take the time to consider to whom I'm teaching it, because it might not be apropriate for everyone, and I should make my objectives more obvious so the students can focus on them right from the start. Oh, and of course I shall not take videos from this channel again until they learn to speak a more inteligible way.
mardi 10 novembre 2009
About a girl...(Nirvana)
During our last English session I had the pleasure to get to know more about Elsa. It had been two month since we had arrived in Edina and I realized I barely knew her. It occurred to me that in a group of 23 people who don't even meet on a regular basis for casualties, it would probably be hard to know each one of us very well, but I should say that he who would not get a chance to speak with Elsa would be truly missing out.
Like most of us I suppose, Elsa is utterly fascinated with American culture and have always had a taste for foreign languages, to which she owes her very good English level. She also speaks other languages, hopefully she will forgive me for not having written it down clearly, and maybe the fact that she has family from Lebanon helped in raising in her this will to learn more about different cultures and languages.
That won't be a surprise either, Elsa longs to be a teacher and this trip is the opportunity for her to improve her teaching skills and confirm her professional purpose. But how pleasantly surprised I was when she said she was also willing to become a translator, just like I am, and right now she is trying to figure out which way she should follow, so we have this in common too! Her interest into translation is nothing new; she has been a book worm for ages and every now and then she would even translate writings on her own, just for fun, how passionate is that? And unlike me, she had the fortune to be spared the boring Ancient Greek translating theories classes I had to attend during my first year in University...
And what does she do when she is not enjoying herself translating some text nor being a one of a kind kindergarten teacher will you ask? Well pay attention because this is something she likes people to know about her but she is too modest to talk about it herself: she is a complete artist. Her talent in song writing is not to be proved anymore among the interns, but she also likes painting and cooking, which I think is some kind of art in which for my part I desperately lack inspiration and technique...
So in one word, though hundreds wouldn't be enough to describe her properly, I would say Elsa is creative, something she probably got from her parents because, if you take a close look at her cute smile, it is obviously the masterpiece of an artist!
Like most of us I suppose, Elsa is utterly fascinated with American culture and have always had a taste for foreign languages, to which she owes her very good English level. She also speaks other languages, hopefully she will forgive me for not having written it down clearly, and maybe the fact that she has family from Lebanon helped in raising in her this will to learn more about different cultures and languages.
That won't be a surprise either, Elsa longs to be a teacher and this trip is the opportunity for her to improve her teaching skills and confirm her professional purpose. But how pleasantly surprised I was when she said she was also willing to become a translator, just like I am, and right now she is trying to figure out which way she should follow, so we have this in common too! Her interest into translation is nothing new; she has been a book worm for ages and every now and then she would even translate writings on her own, just for fun, how passionate is that? And unlike me, she had the fortune to be spared the boring Ancient Greek translating theories classes I had to attend during my first year in University...
And what does she do when she is not enjoying herself translating some text nor being a one of a kind kindergarten teacher will you ask? Well pay attention because this is something she likes people to know about her but she is too modest to talk about it herself: she is a complete artist. Her talent in song writing is not to be proved anymore among the interns, but she also likes painting and cooking, which I think is some kind of art in which for my part I desperately lack inspiration and technique...
So in one word, though hundreds wouldn't be enough to describe her properly, I would say Elsa is creative, something she probably got from her parents because, if you take a close look at her cute smile, it is obviously the masterpiece of an artist!
dimanche 18 octobre 2009
It's all about the blog, the sweat, the tears (Machine Head)
2nd post, let's make it properly despite of the late time again, just so everyone knows, I'm just back from Chica-fabulous-go and Metallica's show on Tuesday was simply awesome (though American crowd is kinda lame compared to the French, no offense here :p ). Now let's get it on with the Questions!
Oh, by the way Jet's new album sounds great, you all gotta check it out!
Now...focus...let's start...
¤This year, I want to acquire teaching skills specific to French language, my goal is to figure out by the end of the year wether I should cary on my studies in FLE and try to become a French teacher (abroad or in France, I still have sometime to think about it) or rather in English Culture in order to become an English teacher instead. Another option would be not to be a teacher at all, I guess it will be mostly up to my students, depending on how hard a time they are going to give me throughout the year! So in brief, I want to learn how to be a good French teacher, I want to learn the right way to prepare French classes, how to create a will to learn in my students' minds, how to make them enjoy my classes and efficient tricks to make sure they have learned something from my classes.
¤I discovered, somehow to my disapointment, how easy it was to obtain good grades in the American educational system, I learned how to correct and grade tests the American way and I believe the grades are not relevent to what the students have actualy learned, I think sometimes it rewards some students when they should rather be told to study harder, I also believe it doesn't help them learn more, or at least a better way, some of them obviously just do the minimum work just not to be punished or get a bad grade and these ones don't seem to improve, very often they show a lack of interest for their studies, or French at least and I think this is when they should be confronted to this reality and the teacher should do something about it instead of letting go. But of course it's just my French strict opinion, I just thought it was the right place to share it and see everyone's reaction...
¤About myself, I could only observe how I naturaly got involved in the life of the class. Very fast, I felt concerned about all the students, what they learn and the way they learn it, I want them to acquire real language skills in reading, writing, speaking and understanding, and of course I want them to enjoy it and like me as a teacher! This is why I keep trying to make my classes more and more attractive and find new ways to entertain them as they learn. I still have to improve but it's always stuck on my mind when I prepare my classes and I believe it will flow as I long as we keep this friendly but professional relation we share.
That's it, I'm eager to read your feedback my fellow French interns! And yours to Mrs Wolf!
Oh, by the way Jet's new album sounds great, you all gotta check it out!
Now...focus...let's start...
¤This year, I want to acquire teaching skills specific to French language, my goal is to figure out by the end of the year wether I should cary on my studies in FLE and try to become a French teacher (abroad or in France, I still have sometime to think about it) or rather in English Culture in order to become an English teacher instead. Another option would be not to be a teacher at all, I guess it will be mostly up to my students, depending on how hard a time they are going to give me throughout the year! So in brief, I want to learn how to be a good French teacher, I want to learn the right way to prepare French classes, how to create a will to learn in my students' minds, how to make them enjoy my classes and efficient tricks to make sure they have learned something from my classes.
¤I discovered, somehow to my disapointment, how easy it was to obtain good grades in the American educational system, I learned how to correct and grade tests the American way and I believe the grades are not relevent to what the students have actualy learned, I think sometimes it rewards some students when they should rather be told to study harder, I also believe it doesn't help them learn more, or at least a better way, some of them obviously just do the minimum work just not to be punished or get a bad grade and these ones don't seem to improve, very often they show a lack of interest for their studies, or French at least and I think this is when they should be confronted to this reality and the teacher should do something about it instead of letting go. But of course it's just my French strict opinion, I just thought it was the right place to share it and see everyone's reaction...
¤About myself, I could only observe how I naturaly got involved in the life of the class. Very fast, I felt concerned about all the students, what they learn and the way they learn it, I want them to acquire real language skills in reading, writing, speaking and understanding, and of course I want them to enjoy it and like me as a teacher! This is why I keep trying to make my classes more and more attractive and find new ways to entertain them as they learn. I still have to improve but it's always stuck on my mind when I prepare my classes and I believe it will flow as I long as we keep this friendly but professional relation we share.
That's it, I'm eager to read your feedback my fellow French interns! And yours to Mrs Wolf!
lundi 12 octobre 2009
Let the blog spill! (Hatebreed)
First, allow me to explain de the title of this blog, it is related to Metallica's first album ever "kill'em all" released back in 1983, start of a long and epic career! So you know that I will keep refering to Metallica and other awesome metal bands throughout this blog on every occasion, just like I do all the time, so get used to it!
Now it is...12:25 AM, I'm just back from the weirdest concert I've ever seen (gwar at first avenue), tomorow is metallica's concert, Wednesday I will be visiting my partner family whom I unfortunately didn't get to see very often lately, and right after that I'll be heading for Chicago until Sunday in the evening so I should get done with my September Assignment, otherwise I will make Mrs Wolf very upset and it is the last thing I want!
But! Come to think about it, I shouldn't haste and waste my work on this so I guess I should take some extra time for the questions on Sunday evening, so that I can go to bed by now and rest in order to be healthy and cheerful in front of my students tomorow morning (and eventualy be up to rock out at the concert later on), I think this is what a wise teacher would do so...
...to be continued...
Now it is...12:25 AM, I'm just back from the weirdest concert I've ever seen (gwar at first avenue), tomorow is metallica's concert, Wednesday I will be visiting my partner family whom I unfortunately didn't get to see very often lately, and right after that I'll be heading for Chicago until Sunday in the evening so I should get done with my September Assignment, otherwise I will make Mrs Wolf very upset and it is the last thing I want!
But! Come to think about it, I shouldn't haste and waste my work on this so I guess I should take some extra time for the questions on Sunday evening, so that I can go to bed by now and rest in order to be healthy and cheerful in front of my students tomorow morning (and eventualy be up to rock out at the concert later on), I think this is what a wise teacher would do so...
...to be continued...
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