DELTA Module 2 – Intensive Diary: Weeks 4-6
DELTA Module 2 – Intensive Diary: Weeks 4-6
Week 4
The week began with writing our PDA stage 3 – analysing the techniques we’d used to evaluate our skills and refocus our plans. This included samples of questionnaires and observation forms filled out by our colleagues (who were observing each other in every lesson). With another week came another assignment – I decided to get the second skills assignment out of the way so I could choose a comfortable area for my final assessment.
I selected formal writing. By this point we were running on grit and caffeine alone – probably paying the school’s’ annual rent in espresso sales. But we were all starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.
I found the research easier this time round, after my epiphany on teaching a skill rather than practicing it, things made more sense. My lesson didn’t go so smoothly – the delivery was fine – but I vastly underestimated the knowledge of my group (who had probably written more formal letters than I had) and had spent twenty-five years sitting through tedious English writing ‘practice classes’. I basically got schooled – they knew all these rules and regulations – most of which were completely new to me. I was forced to wing it, but my research helped and I managed to backup my lesson with some (almost) plausible theory.
The essay was a merit and the lesson got a high-pass – basically because the skills were addressed well (even if the knowledge wasn’t spot-on). The rest of the week was spent on reflection writing and research for the fast approaching Experimental Practice essay.
Week 5
Finally, some down-time, or so we thought. I went home at the weekend and had a well-needed night off down the pub. Inevitably by the time Monday morning rolled around I was shattered. That’s when we were hit with the weekly schedule that included a research and experimental teaching assignment (+ evaluation) for our PDA stage 4. This was genuinely one of the most fun parts of the course – we researched different methods of language teaching and chose something to replicate. I was feeling adventurous and decided to go for ‘Suggestopedia’ which has roots in hypnotism and yoga – pretty far from traditional language teaching. I got my learners to do some stretching then sit on bean-bags whilst I acted out a story over baroque music (It’s exactly as crazy as it sounds).
Surprisingly, it went really well. The learners loved it. I dunno if they actually learnt anything but damn it was a refreshing change from grammar and lexis – something well-needed before the final push.
Other colleagues tried out: Task-based learning, Dogme (teaching without materials or a plan) and using the phonemic chart. They were all really engaging and a massive eye-opener to the other kinds of methods out there.
To find-out more about Suggestopedia and its’ relative insanity, my lesson plan and a video is available here.
As soon as experimental practice was over we were onto researching our final assessments, I had chosen pronunciation.
Week 6
As any of my fellow students would tell you, I’m a pretty chilled-out guy. But, as the weekend before Week 6 rolled-up I was getting more anxious than I’d care to admit (most nights I dreamt about pronunciation).
My research and essay was focused on intonation and how we use it – as I began writing I noticed a big problem:
-
Intonation is a massive area that covers virtually any speech.
-
You need words to practice intonation, and that meant my pronunciation specific-lesson needed to branch into both lexis and discourse.