Week 2 - Ready, Steady, Go

Image on Flickr by Charles Smith

After introductions were exchanged in Week 1, serious work starts in Week 2. I expect it is going to be a steep learning curve from now on. A bit like marathon running. Though the work before us might seem overwhelming at times, we will get there eventually.

So, this is what my week looked like:

SUNDAY

On Sunday I curl up on my couch, weekly readings in my hands. Three hours later, I feel that my brain has expanded. All that information about search engines! I can't wait to try them out. And the ABCD objectives are new to me.

MONDAY

Time for my first go at search engines. I pick the ones that help you choose a controversial topic - IDEA Portal and Glean Comparison. I end up with a solid lesson plan for my Advanced students.

TUESDAY

Time for some serious work - writing the ABCD objective. Since I have never written objectives this way before, I am a little apprehensive. I decide that it is a good idea to post the first draft of the objective as early as possible and refine it by the end of the week. I start with:

Given the vocabulary for describing books and films provided in their textbook, adult intermediate students will be able to retel the plot of a book or a film and describe their reactions to it comprehensibly, with reasonable fluency and reasonable accuracy.

Luisa provides some really helpful feedback and reading through the forum discussions I learn a bit more and write my second draft. Then Yuliya jumps in to my rescue and I and end up with:

Given the vocabulary for describing books and films provided in their textbook, adult intermediate students will retel the plot of a book or a film and describe their reactions to it in 20 sentences using at least 10 words from the list. Although mistakes may occur, they will be of such nature that they do not hinder communication.

What has become obvious this week is that, as I have suspected, I will learn as much from my fellow-participants as I will from the weekly readings. Our forum is very lively and people are willing to help each other and provide feedback.

WEDNESDAY

I write the first draft of my main task - the description of one of my groups. This makes me reflect on my teaching situation.

I love working in a language school and I love working with adults. I like the fact that all my students are in class because they chose to be there. Since I don't mark them, they are not afraid of me. They can leave at any time, but they choose to stay. They will choose to stay only if my teaching is good, if my lessons are interesting and if they are making progress. Their ideas about what they need and why they are there are often vague, but they are happy to be there. This is inspiring, but it is also limiting in so many ways. I can't rely on them to be where I want them to be and do what I tell them to do. I can never be sure that they will blog with me or edit a wiki with me. I can't be sure that they have got my back. This project is no exception. How do I know that they will participate? I have got to make sure that it is interesting and answers their needs. Then I just need to wait and hope for the best.

THURSDAY

On Thursday I write the second draft of my class description and several more versions of my ABCD objective. I read through the forums and reflect.

FRIDAY

I do a webquest using various search engines provided in our weekly readings and post my reflections to the forum. I explore a couple more for good measure. I will definitely go back to American Rhetoric, which provides American public speeches, lectures, debates and there is a section with famous movie speeches. I will also return to the Moving Image Archive to search for movies to share with my students or watch on my own.

And here I am. It is almost 3.30AM here in Belgrade. Tomorrow I will visit my fellow participants' blogs to see what they are posting.

This looks like a solid weekly plan. I will try to stick to it.