more teaching!

I love to teach-which is probably a good thing, since I will be teaching for the next year! I taught my second lesson at Camp Fulbright today, and it went very well. I had a classroom of all boys, but was able to reign them in and get them involved in the lesson. Generally, lesson plans do not take an extraordinarily long time to put together, but this particular plan did not immediately gel. However, the work that I put into paid off and it was exciting to work through the concepts with the students.

There is a magical transition from not understanding a concept to "getting it" and I get this thrill every time one of my students has an "ah ha!" moment. It does not always occur when I think it will, or at the same time for every student, but I can usually see the breakthrough on the students' face.

Today I learned a few ESL particulars:
1. SPEAK SLOWLY (I do not think this can be emphasized enough)
2. The class does not always have to be playing a game and super excited to be learning; conversely, a chaotic classroom can also be instructive and effective
3. The follow through is often what makes or breaks a language lesson. Just memorizing a phrase or a rule often does not stick with the students. If they are able to apply what they have learned in a new way, then they have truly grasped the concept.

...now, if I can only remember to apply this in future lessons :)

Overall, life is good, and I am happy that it is the weekend!