Thoughts

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I see yellow, you see blue

The colour blind teacher

Because I started painting lessons, I have written a few blog posts about what it’s like to paint when being partially colour blind.  Sandy Millin wrote a post about teaching from an eye height of 1 m. and also asked me if/how not being able to tell between colours affects my teaching, so people, welcome to my classroom. The classroom where colours are different.

Let me start by saying that I do see colours and shades, I just mix them up. Where you see blue, I may think it’s red or green. But how does this affect the way I teach? How important are colours for the non colour seeing teacher?

Red and yellow, pink and blue…..

For starters, I can’t teach the names of colours if the colour is not written under the colour. This means that my flash cards have a blob of a colour on them, and under the blob, it says what colour this is. As far as singing the tune and pointing to the colours, well, my students point to the colours, I just sing the song.

Colourful handouts

I do not organize my handouts based on colours. Nope. My handouts may be random colours, I just don’t say, “Now let’s go to the pink handout.” Instead, I have a title on each handout. Task 1, Task 2 etc.

Pens

I use liquid paper/permanent markers to recognise the colour of my pens. So, my pens have liquid paper/or a permanent marker and I write the colour of the pen on the pen. I don’t want to use red pen when I am doing error correction, so on my red pens you see the word ‘red’ somewhere (very often I actually choose pens that have the colour written on the cap).

Colour coding

Yeah, great fun way to give feedback but… I don’t use it cause I am scared I might mess up, and my fun error correction task will go down the drain.  So, colour codes for error correction?  Nope , nope.

Stickers

Hmm this one is probably the hardest colour-related task. I have no idea what the colours of my smiley faces are,  so sometimes my boys start laughing and say, “Miss!! This is pink!!” They know I can’t see the colour, so they don’t get upset or anything. We have an understanding when it comes to stickers.

Course books

If colours play an integral part to the way the material is organized, I avoid the course book. If there are tasks that require the use of colours, I switch to different shapes or symbols. So instead of using red for verbs, I circle the verbs.  Instead of green for adjectives, I underline the adjectives and so on.

Texts

You never think of this cause you can see colours, but people who are partially colour blind have difficulty reading texts that contrast with the background colour. What do I mean? If the text is written in black and the background colour is red, then I cannot read it. The same happens with green on blue, I see nada. There is not much I can do here cause well, material writers just assume everyone can see colours and that all texts are easy to read. When I make task sheets though, I stick to darker colours on a lighter or white background and everything is fine.

On a more personal note

Not being able to see colours the ‘right’ way affects my everyday life more than my teaching. I bought bananas today but I am not sure if they are green or yellow. When I buy clothes, I write the colour of the clothes on the tag so I know what matches with what (I have done research on which colours go with which). When I am in the bank, I cannot read the sign that shows the customer number cause it’s red on black. BUT…..

Not being able to see green or orange isn’t a problem for me. I don’t mind.  Life does go on even when you mix up your colours. I ask people to help me, and they do.  I think that because I am a teacher, I have learnt to be more flexible and resourceful. I try to find solutions to whatever makes my teaching hard for me. My colleagues help me, my students help me, I help myself. In this case, the teacher makes it hard for the teacher to teach, and the teacher, me, has to find other ways to teach.

Blobs

 Not being able to see colours is not a disability, it’s what enables me to find other ways to do the same things as you do.

A few days later, I received a tweet from the colourblind awareness. org. One in every 12 men and 1 in every 200 women are colour blind. There is one student in every classroom.  #1ineveryclassroom

They also have amazing videos you may want to show your students.

Till next time…..

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TPTT: Teacher personal talk time

How personal is personal?

The other day I saw a question in a Facebook group I am a member of. Somebody asked, ” Do you answer personal questions when your learners ask you?” This is what I am going to talk about here today. (Advice to reader: time to pour yourself a cup of coffee 🙂 )

My first question is, what is personal?

I mean do you consider your age personal? Information about your marital status? How tall you are? Where you were born? Cause if the answers to those questions is YES then, OMG, my students know loads about me!

For me, personal is a bit more personal. Let me explain what I mean. I tell my students things that some of you may consider personal. For examples, my learners often ask me, ” Miss do you have a boyfriend?” I say, ” No” then they smile and say, ” Well, I have an uncle… ” They know I am color blind. Health is also personal info, isn’t it? But being color blind affects my teaching, so they need to know this as well. They know when my birthday is, they know I started painting.

I talk about politics and religious beliefs. My struggles as a student or my battle with the scales. I do not consider this personal information. My learners know a lot about me and I know a lot about them. Our ‘personal’ talks do not dominate our lessons, but they do help us connect.

Does language learning have anything to do with being connected with your teacher? Well,  of course. I have one buzz term for you. Rapport. If you ask me, rapport is all about knowing who your teacher is and having a good relationship with him/her. This leads to a good atmosphere.  It is also about knowing your learner. Knowing my learners also helps me understand why they may not have done their homework one day or why they are sad or happy.

Are there cases when personal questions may make me feel uncomfortable?  Yes, and I then say, ” well this is something I would prefer to not discuss with you” and they respect that, and that’s the end of that story. There are also occasions where my learners say, ” My mum doesn’t know this miss” and then I say, ” well, I think you should tell her first and then me”.

Personal chit-chat warmer

Every time I have a lesson with a learner I ask them, ” So, what did you do today?” and they tell me. We have a bit of a chit-chat. I get to know their likes and dislikes. This helps me as a teacher. It enables me to decide what I can or cannot try with the particular learner. It also helps me avoid issues/ topics that are ‘uncomfortable’. I once had a learner who had recently lost her father. Knowing this information was the reason why I decided to avoid talking about the nuclear family. It was too soon.

Bottom line is. We are not from outer space. Teachers are people who have lives. If a student wants to get to know me a bit better, he/she can. I only share what I feel comfortable sharing. I do not think I should be on a pedestal or that by saying how old I am I am being unprofessional. I am not saying my way is right or wrong. I am just being me.

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If you have read this up to this last line and feel like commenting, please do. I really am interested in knowing what you consider personal and what not.

A few days later……

I have posted this in several groups and there are some really good comments around. Please copy paste them here as well, so everyone can read your views. I would really appreciate that!! Thanks!!

Till next time……

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Working from home

First let me make something clear. If you expect this article to be about the benefits of working from home, stop reading. This ain’t THAT type of post. Nope. I am going to tell you a true story, my story and you can help me draw a few conclusions about what stays and what needs to go/change.

Home….. schooling

I have been teaching online for 2 years now. That is my morning job, so it is only inevitable that I work from home. I was also running my own business and taught at my own language school but that shut down. As a result, I now teach as a freelance teacher and my students come to my home. Now let’s do the math.

Morning online teaching 9-2:30: 5,5 hours

Afternoon teaching at home 4-9: 5 hours

Does this look appealing? Are you jealous? Well, don’t be. What this actually means is that I am at home all day, working. When I am not working I am kinda working.

Kinda working activities: blogging, reading blog posts, social media-ing, preparing for lessons, material designing.

So, in my free time at home, once again,  I am in front of the computer. You want more? I work out as well. I have a stationary bike in my room so that’s where my gym is!! Yeap. I do not need to go to the supermarket cause someone else does. I do not need to go into town to pay bills cause someone else does.

So, what about weekends? Well, on the weekends, I go out a bit (nothing cray cray people. Just a meal or a drink).

Now, time to make a list:

Benefits of working from home 

  • It’s convenient
  • You save money

Disadvantages of working from home

  • Well, if you work all day like me, you will probably end up with vitamin D deficiency (that’s cause you never see the sun).
  • At some point you will become one with your chair.

The action plan-Things I am now changing

I want to work out more which is why I am cutting down on my kinda work related activities and am running to my bike a bit more. In the past, my excuse for not working out was the Delta, now it’s “I have stuff to write”. All this is not good. Something really needs to change.

I will be paying my own bills. I will try to stick more sessions closer together, manage my teaching time better, so that I have more free time, and thus, am forced to leave the house and pay stuff, do stuff.

I started painting lessons, so now I have a hobby. A hobby that requires I go somewhere to do it.

I want to go out during the week a bit more. I really need to start saying, “Yes!” to invites to go out after work.

 

Final thoughts

Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining about my work life. I LOVE online teaching and I really like the fact that I work from home. I just don’t wanna end up like a person who misses out on everything cause I am at home and not outside! Marjorie talk about her life as a teacher and how she combines working from home and moving for work. I read Theodora’s blog a few hours ago and she talks about balance. I think I, too, need to find balance but I first need to figure out where I draw the line. The line between being Joanna the teacher, who works from home, and Joanna who lives at home.

Beach Kolumpari

This is my first post on Word Press. I hope you like it. Still trying to figure out how things work : ) like how to align, font size  and stuff…

Till next time………..

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Teacher pep talk

I was watching the Voice the other day and noticed that whenever a young contestant was ready to perform, their family would say, ” Go for it. Aim big!” Now, it is worrying to think that getting on the Voice for some is aiming big, but then again, this is the reality of the fame frenzy era we live in and this post is not one of those posts. No. Here I am going to talk about teachers and goals.
When you were young, did your loved ones tell you, ” You can do it. Aim high. Shoot for the stars”? I think most of us have heard these phrases. What does it have to do with work though? If we take personal happiness and love out of the life equation, what does “shoot for the starts” mean for a teacher? What is aim big? Is it aim for the big bucks? For a higher ranking position? For fame? How high is high?
So, let’s do the math
Aim for the big bucks: Now that is funny. I don’t know any filthy rich teachers. I don’t really think that any of us are on the Forbes list, or will be any time sooner. So, for a teacher, aim big is not money related.
Aim for fame: Well, superstar stardom is probably out of the question, but being popular among your students, being loved and respected by students and colleagues should be one of your aims. Is it aiming high? That depends on your psyche. For me, both take time and are not the easiest of goals. They are very important though. 
Aim for a higher teaching /ranking position: If you are a new teacher and you want to try something new in class, try it! If you want to become a headmaster, go for it. If you want to go from a freelance teacher to a university teacher, do it. You want to write a book about teaching? Pursue your dream! Of course it will be hard, but no pain, no gain and anyway, us teachers are tough cookies. So, these can and should be considered aiming high!
Going for it means you set a goal and try to achieve it. How do you do this?You educate yourself, you get qualifications, you listen to your superiors, your students, your colleagues. You are patient. You try to better yourself as a person and as a professional. You prepare yourself for failure, and if you fail, you pick yourself up and give it another shot.
A more personal note
I, for example, started by being a freelance teacher. I worked in both the public and private sector. I ran a business, lost a business. I initially applied for summer schools in the UK, but then thought, “Hey! I will try EAP”. I did, and I got a job in the UK. I love it, I go every summer now. I started teaching online and I will now be developing materials for my company (material development is a new goal). I love blogging and have been asked to write guest posts (two very exciting ones are just around the corner), I want to start writing more and who knows where that will lead. FYI: I applied for two jobs that I probably won’t get, but you know what? Big woop if I don’t. At least I am setting goals and trying to make something happen : ).
So, from an ‘old’ teacher, this is my advice. Set goals and try to achieve them. Little ones, big ones. Whatever makes you happy, cause bottom line is that for a teacher as well, the sky is the limit! Don’t settle for second best!
Picture from: www.newforestobservatory.com link here
I would really like to hear from you. What is the ‘sky’ for you? Have you reached it? What are you doing to make it happen? Comments are welcome in the comments section below.
Till next time……
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Blogging confessions

My blogging style
I have read a few blog posts from other bloggers about how they blog, their blogging habits/history and really enjoyed how other people go about blogging (Zhenya started the blogging habit posts, Hana,  Micaela , Sandy and Vedrana have written relevant/similar posts too). After reading, I thought to myself, “Hey! I am going to write a post about this as well”. Let me begin by saying that I find it weird when someone calls me a blogger and this actually defines my blogging style. I am a blogger, maybe even an educational blogger, but I don’t feel like a blogger (then again, what does that feel like?). Do I make sense? (Nah) So, anyway, let’s get down to business! What are my blogging habits? How do I blog?
Blogging habit #1
So, I guess from what you can already see from the first lines of this post, I blog the way I talk. For me, blogging is like chatting with my friends over coffee and cakes. So, if you expect me to be more ‘proper’ cause I am a professional, a teacher, forget it! Actually, my blog posts are more like spontaneous speech moments (is that even a word/phrase?) and less like a written text. I have a blurt-y blog.

Coffee in Paris


Blogging habit #2
Checking: I spell-check and read my texts once, maybe twice. So, one of my weaknesses is that you may come across a little mistake, a typo or some odd dangling modifier in my blog posts (Luckily, when people spot a mistake, they let me know so I edit. You know who you are : ). Why do I do this? I do not know! I am a teacher for God’s sake! I should be checking my writing already!! Maybe when you always correct other people’s mistakes, you stop noticing yours, or your brain just gives up on you and doesn’t respond to your mistakes or yada, yada, yada. I think it is mostly cause I don’t consider blogging as part of my job. I don’t think it is teaching. It is something fun for me and my ideas bubble up, so when I want them to come out, that’s what they do. They pop out!! I blurt em out!!  I also do not really realise/comprehend how many or if anyone reads what I write, so I am like, “Eh, it’s me writing to myself. You just need to check once, twice and then publish”.
Blogging habit #3
I stay up late at night or do not take a siesta cause I want to write a blog post. You want something even worse? I wake up at night and take notes of the things I want to share. I actually have a pencil and a note pad on my bedside table (seriously… should I start worrying about habits #2 & #3?).

Notebooks

Blogging habit #4
To write or not to write?: I have unfinished posts. I have a lot of ideas about things I want to write about. I start writing one post and then start writing another one. The one that inspires me the most is the lucky duck post. The one that gets finished first.  The other one just sits around waiting for TLC. I often write the outline of a blog post on the post’s page. That way I have the backbone ready when I come back to the post later. The posts that take longer to write are the ones that have the unfinished ‘statuses’. I have a post on conditionals pending at the moment. Why does this happen? Well, some of my posts require more brainstorming, longer texts, more pictures or finding more links to connect to my texts, so because they need more work, they take more time to finish. Writing a post about an ELT thought takes much less time. I sit down, start writing and am done quite quickly (see habit #2 for more info).
Blogging habit #5
I write about the things I am interested in. My blogging is like a me, me ,me fest. I write about the things I enjoy, and hopefully someone else, in a land far, far away will like it as well.
Blogging habit #6
My writing style is simple. I don’t really use fancy words. I have noticed though that when I write posts about EAP, I tend to be a bit more formal. I think that is me, being a bit more ‘academic’. I sometimes cross reference, I cite, I plan more, I draft and redraft. So, while in the rest of my posts I am chatty, wordy and the worst type of blogger eva, in my EAP posts, I am sometimes even a bit proud of my writing (nope, I am not getting big headed, I promise). On a more personal note here: I do feel that my writing has improved a bit since I first started blogging, so that is rewarding.
Blogging habit #7
I like chain or blog challenges. I sometimes take part in them. They are like taking a road trip with others.

Car in rural Crete

Blogging habit #8
Playful blog posts: I use emoticons or smiley faces (sometimes sad faces : (  as well). I use direct speech. I like using bullet points but I rarely use numbers in my lists. I like using color as well. I think it adds character to my blog posts and emphasizes some of the points I want to make. In terms of theme, almost all my posts are related to education BUT I have a tab on my blog which is called the gillie side of ELT, and there I write about fun, girlie ELT topics (yeah, I know…. ).
Blogging habit #9
I try to write regularly, at least one post a week. Sometimes I stick to my plan, others I don’t!
Blogging habit #10
Once I have written a blog post, I start sharing. I share on Facebook, Twitter and sometimes LinkedIn. 
Blogging habit that tops all the other blogging habits
I ramble, but I guess you already know that cause of the name of my blog : ) (see top of this page).

Notes to my future blogger self (or action plan if you prefer!):

  • I need to proof read and edit myself more, and then even more.
  • I need to get out of my comfort zone and maybe even write about something I don’t really know that well. Something like a research writing blog post.
  • I want to take part in more chains/challenges. I like reading people’s stories and taking part in them.
  • I want to improve my writing skill. I need to look into courses on writing (maybe even creative writing).
  • I need to stop using the word so so much.
  • I want to start using Eltpics and learn how to make infographics.
A final note
A friend of mine once told me “Joanna, you really like laughing at your own jokes” I think that applies to my blog posts as well. I smile when I write cause I think I am funny and I draw joy from my posts. I think that and the fact that I love teaching is what keeps me going. Blogging gives me the chance to talk about a great love; teaching. When you write about what you love, you write good (stuff).

Almost done….
I am really thankful to all the people who read, comment and share my posts.  I feel really happy when I get asked to write guest posts or articles for blogs/ newsletters. It feels like I am doing something right in Blogsville.

Chania, Crete

Feel free to comment in the comments section (I love reading comments btw so go ahead and write  in the comments space, that’s your space). If you have written a blogging habits post, add the link in the comments section and I will then add it to this post. Thanks for reading : ).

Till next time……

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#dailyELTroutine

My daily ELT routine

 So, what’s your life like as a teacher? What do you do when school is in, and you are the busy bee teacher? If you ask a teacher about their daily routine, you will probably get what you are about to read in this post. So, here is my #dailyELTroutine (note to the blogger/teacher/reader:

it would be so cool if this turned out to be a chain if other teachers shared their daily routines. Teachers from around the world.Let me know if you do).Ah, yes, a bit of context: I live in Greece and have been teaching for 17 years.

So, this is my day. Let‘s call it Monday

8:17. This is when the dreadful alarm clock goes off. First thing I do is turn on the light. Second… check my phone. I look at my emails, my facebook notifications and check to see if I had any missed calls or text messages (my phone is on silent mode when I am sleeping).There is actually a term for this. It’s called FOMO (fear of missing out). My day starts with a severe FOMO attack.
Between 8:20-8:45. I have breakfast, get dressed and slap on whatever creams I have laying around somewhere.
8:45-9. As I teach Business English online, I need to:
  1. Send my learners an email with a link to the platform we are using.
  2. Log into Adobe and upload all the material I will be using.
  3. Check my learners’ management system and download any teaching material, lesson notes necessary.
  4. Call my learner.
9-2:30 Teach, teach, make lesson notes and pretty much repeat what I do from 8:45-9.
* I often have gaps between lessons and as I am an online teacher, I get to do other stuff at home.  Stuff means: check twitter and read blog posts or articles I find interesting, write a blog post, ride my bike (stationary workout bike of course!) and listen to music whilst also reading MC or Elle (yeah, I am a multi task bike rider). I may also make lunch, call a friend or just watch sth on TV. Doing some marking, planning or writing up lesson notes is also a given.

4:00 to 9:00 More teaching. I teach all ages and all groups. Some of my students come to my house, others don’t,so I go to theirs. I only teach one to one or little group sessions (maybe I should say pair sessions but does that even exist? Pair as in two students and me.. dunno).

9- undetermined: Correcting+planning.  This varies cause every day I have different things to correct or upload (for my online learners). I would say though that roughly this takes about an hour.
Then dinner time followed by some serious YouTube video watching. This is when I stop thinking of teaching and I watch women talk about makeup, lifestyle etc.. etc. and then….

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
And that folks is #dailyELTroutine.
Pretty much teach, teach and teach. 
Yeah, and I’m loving it cause, I may have a schedule, but as you know, no lesson is like the previous one : )

Till next time….
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Online Presentations, CPD and the lots

Presenting at an Online Conference: 
                                                 food for thought

The other day I presented at “The cultures of EAP” online conference and my presentation got me thinking (yay, you get to read another one of my rambles), so,  I now really want to share with you some of my thoughts about online conferences, how I experienced the conference as a member of the audience and my views as a presenter as well.
Why attend an online conference?
  • For continual professional development…. obviously!
  • They offer the option of recordings, so everything is saved. If you miss a session, you can watch it later. 
  • They are convenient. You are at home, in your jammies and learning in the most comfortable of ways.
  • Participants can be from all over the world, so you may hear a talk from someone who would not be able to present at a face to face conference (for presenters who are not key note or invited speakers, face to face conferences can be a bit expensive in terms of travel expenses).
  • The platforms that host online conferences have chat boxes so you also get to interact with the other attendees. There are no ”shhhhh” moments in this case (while they are an an excellent opportunity for some serious chatting, they can be a bit distracting though).
Why present at an online conference?
Well, why not? OK, if you need a bit more persuading, here goes.
  • You, the presenter, don’t have to go anywhere. You are at home, so actually there are no expenses! It is also probably the most comfortable way to present (you are in your slippers, in your own chair etc, etc)!!
  • Because presentations get recorded, you can reflect on what went well in your presentation and what needs to be improved. You can also keep your presentation in some sort of e-portfolio ( I add mine to my blog page). 
  • You may be nervous, but not as nervous as when presenting face to face. So, if you want to start presenting your views, an online conference is less nerve wracking.
  • Your audience is from all around the world!
  • It is good for the CV fellow teacher.
  • Like any conference presentation, you get to dig deeper into issues you are interested in, share your views and even learn something from the audience’s comments. It is a win-win situation.
The PPP of an online presentation: advice to the presenter
Plan
Practice
Promote
If you do submit a proposal for a talk at an online conference, this is what I suggest. Plan your talk, make you slides and then practice what you are going to say. Time yourself because while at a face to face conference someone will probably warn you when you only have 5 minutes left, at an online one that does not really happen so it is easier to lose track of time. Finally, start promoting your talk. If you want people to attend your talk, inform them by tweeting about it (systematically), share the info on Facebook and LinkedIn groups. If you have a google+ button, press it. 
On a more personal note… my talk….. my reflections….
I talked about the impact of presentation skills assessment criteria on syllabus design. This was my first EAP related talk, so I was really enthused about it. I am not going to toot my own horn about the things I think I did well. I am going to tall you what I did do though. I had a lot of things to say and that was mistake numero uno. My planning. I timed myself at home, but lost track of time due to nervousness and stumbling over my own words. I also made a major omission.I talked about presentation skills assessment criteria, learner problems and syllabus design, and how criteria can inform syllabus design. However, I did not mention any implications to such an approach. Ironically, I always tell my learners, you gotta mention implications when you talk about your research. Yeah, practice what you preach, Joanna!!Sadly enough, a friend who attended my talk, spelt this one out for me : (. 
Notes to my future online (and offline) presenter self:
Even though you think you have planned your presentation well, you haven’t, so, plan more.
If you know anyone who knows anything about what you are talking about OR has experience presenting, ask for advice regarding your presentation. You may hear something helpful.
Final thoughts
I am really thankful to everyone at Sheffield university’s English Language Center and Oxford University Press for organising/hosting the “Cultures of EAP” conference and giving me the opportunity to attend and present at the conference. The conference was about the Cultures of English for Academic Purposes (for more information go here). 
If you have presented online and want to share your own thoughts, feel free to comment in the comment section below. 


Till next time…
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Blog Challenge

What’s Your Story?
I read about this blog challenge on Vicky Loras’ blog and thought, “I want to take part in this challenge”. So, here is my story.
I grew up in Sydney, Australia and at the age of 12, my parents decided that it was about time to move back to the mother land, Greece. So, we did. We moved from Sydney to Crete. At the beginning, my Greek was very very bad. So bad that my Greek teacher wanted me to repeat the class. I would not hear of that cause, well, I was a nerdy student. So, I studied a lot, had private lessons and manged to pass the class. I did always struggle with my Greek though. Anyhow, years went by, I got into university. I got a BA in English from the University of Athens and after finishing my studies I was ready to become a public school teacher. And I did. And I hated it. I was miserable. I actually resigned from a teaching job one year! So, I thought, ” What will I do now?” I stopped teaching in the public sector and spent more time teaching as a freelance teacher and at different private language schools in my hometown. I also decided that it was about time to do an MA and I did. I got a M.Ed in Tesol. In my mind, at that time, I was a qualified teacher, a super duper one, and I wanted more.
In 2007, I decided to open a language school and I did with my sister. I was going to be a language school ‘owner’ and a DOS. Thirty years old, with an MA and a language school. I was doing something right (or was I?).
In 2011, my friend Anna suggested we apply for a summer school job in the UK. As she had experience teaching at a University she suggested we try applying for pre sessional EAP jobs. And we did. And I got an interview. My interview was successful and my first uni job was at Newcastle University. I loved it! I went back the next year and met Deirdre. We became very good friends and kept in touch. During the winter of 2013, she suggested I apply for a job as an online Business English tutor and I did. I got the job. I loved it!
I actually needed a second job because recession hit very close to home and my langauge school was not going well. During the winter of 2013, I was teaching business English online in the mornings and general English at my language school in the afternoons. EAP courses in the summer. Oh! That is when I also decided it was time to do the Delta (and I did). I also started blogging (yes, that is when this monster was born : p) and presenting at conferences. All was going as I had planned.
And then everything changed.
Septemeber 2014, my language school stopped existing. My sister and I decided that we could no longer run the business and that it was better to close. We did. I was very sad. I had spent 7 years of my life putting effort into something that did not succeed.
I still think about what else I could have done, but I am not going to dwell on the past any more. Everything happens for a reason. I do know one thing. I am not cut out to be a business woman. 
The present: I am still teaching Business English online, I have my one to one lessons and will probably be going back to Sheffield university this summer, so workwise I am alright. I blog and present at conferences. I am also writing my first article (yay). I have much more free time now as well. I am content with how things are.
Final thoughts…..
Today, what I really want to share with you in this blog post are my conclusions. Having been a teacher for 17 years, I think that it is important to learn and get qualifications. They make us better teachers and open doors. With these learning and teaching experiences, come people, and these people become our friends, they make our lives richer and help us when we need help. Finally, if there is one thing I have learnt this year, it is that you gotta take risks and if you fail, eh , who cares? You will get over it and move on. That is what I am doing.

Till next time…..

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The Dominant one strikes again!

               Classroom Déjà vu
I have been wondering the past few days about my online teaching style. I am actually starting to think that I am a softie online teacher, or am I just going with the flow?! For the past few weeks, I have been teaching a student who is the type of learner I fret…., the dominant one!

Blast from the past
About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about my Dominant Eap student. This is what I wrote:
We all have or have had one of them in our class. The student with all the answers, the one who happily shouts out the answer to the question sometimes before you even ask it! Now, in an EAP class, a class full of adults, who in my case are usually post grads students, dealing with the dominant student can be a tough cookie.
EFL tricks that may work in a classroom setting.
So, how do you deal with the dominant student?

  • Nomination: The easiest way is to actually nominate students when asking questions. Avoid addressing the whole class with classroom questions, and just use names.
  • Paperclips: The idea is you give each student some paper clips and tell them that they have to use the paper clips during an activity. Each time the student speaks, he hands in a paper clip. That way your dominating student will only speak a few times and the rest of the ss will also have to contribute to the conversation/task.If you do not like paper clips, then you can use pieces of paper, postit notes, or whatever you wish.
  • Paper boards: This is quite fun! In order to know everyone is on task, give your students a sheet of paper (a paperboard). ask a question and tell them to write the answer on their paperboard. When everyone has finished, ask them all to show you their board. That way everyone answers your question. The limitation here is that you cannot use this paper board when you are practicing a long turn and it is not very practical during speaking tasks.
  • Group/work/pair work: Group or pair work minimises the problem because your students are in pairs or groups so there are less chances of the dominant student to dominate the whole class.
  • Role reverse: Actually, you could always ask your dominant student to be the teacher for a few minutes and ask questions instead of answer them!
A ‘thorny’ issue
Back to the present

All these ideas worked. My dominant student was less dominant and my classes ran smoothly.
BUT……….
What happens when you are having a one to one session with a very dynamic/dominant student and this is online? To make matters worse, what happens when the dynamic teacher is paired with a dynamic learner? Well, then ,fellow teacher, welcome to my world!
When teaching online, not everything you do in your nomral class works, so scracth everything I said in the previous section. I cannot give paper clips, I cannot give paperboards, this is a one to one session so, well, there are no groups or pairs. My student is an adult. He is always interrupting me and speaking over me! This learner does not like instructions, and enjoys to jump into things and do the tasks… his way. What can I do? I can’t exaclty mute this learner (although to be totally honest, this has crossed my mind : P).
In this online classroom this is my solution
The talk: Of course, I have had a discussion about how different online learning is and how turn-taking is very important etc, etc.
Other solutions:
Problem: Learner speaking over me—–> I let the learner say his piece, and then I repeat what I said. I sometimes even write some of the things I said in the chat box, just to make sure my learner is aware of what I am talking about. I also laugh it off, because talking over each other is frustrating, so  being a bit light hearted, good willed can help.
Problem: Jumping into tasks —-> Instead of letting the learner read the instructions of the tasks (like I normally do with all my other online learners). I do the reading and then I ask the instruction checking questions.
AND some more ideas
Lesson notes When I teach online, I make lesson notes of corrections, grammar points, vocabulary and important lesson-related topics. I always make sure that everything I want to correct or give suggestions on is in these lesson notes. I highlight the points I may not have been able to highlight during the lesson.
Politeness and hedging: I am assertive, polite and use a lot of hedging with this learner. I very often say, “You may like to…, I am just suggesting……. You could also….”

Out of all the challenges I have faced whilst teaching online, I think this has been the biggest one. In the online classroom your posture, your non-verbal communication cannot be effective and  the Elt tricks do not work. You need to be even more creative and very patient. One to one sessions are also more delicate cause if you lose the student, the class is lost as well. If you have any suggestions, please DO share in the comments section below.

Till next time……


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L1 vs L2

When your learner says, ” That’s Greek to me!” Is it OK to use… Greek?
There is a lot of talk going around about whether or not a teacher should use the learners’ L1 when teaching them English. I  speak two languages well. English and Greek. I also speak a bit of German. So, when I teach learners whose language I know, I do tend to use the students’ L1. Is that such a bad thing? I don’t think so. For me, from time to time (not always!), it is OK to use the L1 in class. OK, but when?

  • To highlight the difference between the L1 and L2:
    • For example, in Greek we say, ” Πάω για ψώνια  (pao gia psonia)” which if when translated, is “I go for shopping”. This is of course what my Greek learners very often say.  So, I resort to Greek and explain the differences between the Greek language and use of preposition and the equivalent English structure go + verb+ ing (go shopping). I also use the L1 to explain collocations. I highlight the different verbs and how the collocate with nouns. In fact, when teaching Grammar and vocabulary I often use the L1 to clarify terms, to show differences and avoid L1 transfer errors. I know learners are not supposed to translate from the L1 to the L2 and that I, the teacher, am supposed to instill in them the English way of thinking/saying but reality is not that simple.
  • To focus on/teach an English word:
    • When I am teaching young learners, I often sing to them and very frequently I sing a well known Greek song but add English words! The English words are translations of the Greek lyrics. My learners always remember the English words that accompany a Greek  tune!
  • I use the L1 out of my own insecurity just to check (clarification/ comprehension or concept checking) that we are on the same page:
    • What can I say here? I know this is wrong, but I still do it. I ask my concept checking questions, I do an example in class but there is always a part of me, a little devil that pushes me to say something in Greek. Just a little check to make sure that everyone is on board! I want to be 100% sure, especially with my younger learners.
      Being on the fence about L1/L2 usage
  • I use it when I am giving feedback on writing (especially with weaker students):
    • Sometimes some of the things my learners write in their essays do not make sense and then I ask them in Greek, ” Do you mean ……….?” They tell me what they want to say. they give me their English version and then I guide them towards the correct version of what they wanted to say.
  • To avoid frustration:
    • there are times when my students are just simply tired of trying over and over to say something in English, so they just blurt out the Greek word. I then offer the English equivalent and they just repeat what I said. I try to discourage this, but at times, I do let my students get away with it. In Greece very often students come to class after a full day of school. Therefore, my learners are often extremely tired and frustrated and when it is 10 o’clock at night, they may resort to their L1.
    • I use my (bad) German with my German students to show my students that I too have difficulty learning a foreign language:
      • I often use German with my German learners because I want them to understand that I know where they are coming from. I understand. I know that learning another language is hard. When using my lower level German I show them that it is OK to make mistakes and that they should be willing to take risks. Another bonus? My students feel like teachers cause there is a reverse in roles. They teach me some language as well. They become my teacher and they love it : D
    Learning a language is not something black and white. I am here to help my students learn and sometimes using the L1 simply does that. It helps them. Should the L1 dominate the class? Of course not, but it can facilitate learning, don’t you think?


    Till next time…….