Hel-lo-o, Get Real, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee!
Sometimes as I write this, I know I sound like a new teacher--naive, taking things personally that I should have gotten over years ago, going blindly from day to day, making it up as I go along.
Well, I do make it up each time; I'm not one of those teachers who has a set syllabus with the same lectures term after term, the same tests, the same everything. I adjust my class according to my students and how things go with us; I expect that most ESL teachers do the same.
But I am naive; it's true. Take this test I wrote about last time. I was so proud of it, and I expected my students to love it too, to savor it like fine wine. What am I, nuts? It's a test, for heaven's sake. They just want it to be easy and to get it over with.
And to be fair. Today I asked them if they thought it was fair, because they took it yesterday, and in a lot of cases, their performances were disappointing. "Didn't you study?" I was thinking. "Didn't I tell you this was important?" "Don't you see the clues?" On the other hand, in the essay portion of the test most of them redeemed themselves, writing opinions about the play and the characters that I thought showed they had been reading it and also thinking about it.
Today, when I asked if they had anything to say about the test, one person said that they had thought it was a quiz; was it really a midterm?
Good question. I said it was a test on Act I, and since it was the midpoint of the term, I'd thought it could be a midterm. But that wasn't fair, I realized. So we wouldn't have a midterm; I would change the course description and grading. We will have a test at the end of each act, so this was one of three.
Okay, they said. And I also said I would try to give more credit for the essay section than for the individual items--fill-ins, matching, parts of speech. I want them to learn those, but I'll have to teach it better, differently, more.
Then we had a good class. Simple. Reading, and stopping at each page to ask for questions, or to comment, or ask them questions. It worked. There was good participation. Also, one brave girl acted out Helen as we narrated about her actions. Bravo!!
Well, I do make it up each time; I'm not one of those teachers who has a set syllabus with the same lectures term after term, the same tests, the same everything. I adjust my class according to my students and how things go with us; I expect that most ESL teachers do the same.
But I am naive; it's true. Take this test I wrote about last time. I was so proud of it, and I expected my students to love it too, to savor it like fine wine. What am I, nuts? It's a test, for heaven's sake. They just want it to be easy and to get it over with.
And to be fair. Today I asked them if they thought it was fair, because they took it yesterday, and in a lot of cases, their performances were disappointing. "Didn't you study?" I was thinking. "Didn't I tell you this was important?" "Don't you see the clues?" On the other hand, in the essay portion of the test most of them redeemed themselves, writing opinions about the play and the characters that I thought showed they had been reading it and also thinking about it.
Today, when I asked if they had anything to say about the test, one person said that they had thought it was a quiz; was it really a midterm?
Good question. I said it was a test on Act I, and since it was the midpoint of the term, I'd thought it could be a midterm. But that wasn't fair, I realized. So we wouldn't have a midterm; I would change the course description and grading. We will have a test at the end of each act, so this was one of three.
Okay, they said. And I also said I would try to give more credit for the essay section than for the individual items--fill-ins, matching, parts of speech. I want them to learn those, but I'll have to teach it better, differently, more.
Then we had a good class. Simple. Reading, and stopping at each page to ask for questions, or to comment, or ask them questions. It worked. There was good participation. Also, one brave girl acted out Helen as we narrated about her actions. Bravo!!
posted by Lynne Davis at 8:33 AM
2 Comments:
Take this test I wrote about last time. I was so proud of it, and I expected my students to love it too, to savor it like fine wine.
That line is classic - I just loved it, especially because I could've written it.
Hey, thanks! I can't tell you how surprised I was to read your comment. I thought only my boyfriend and one student read my blog!
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