7:00 AM I get up, shower, dress and have breakfast with my host family. 8:00 AM I leave for class at CEDEI. Today, I walk, though I sometimes take a bus. 8:30 AM TEFL class begins. This portion of the class addresses the differences between two approaches to language teaching, audiolinguism and the communicative approach. 10:00 AM During the half-hour break, I check e-mail, chat with friends and enjoy a snack. 10:30 AM The second portion of the TEFL class begins. The focus is on teaching productive skills, especially speaking. We are given a group of useful principles and strategies; we design and try out some activities of our own. 12:00 PM I meet with my teaching team to organize tonight's class--who will teach which segments, what our overall theme will be. We decide on food as the theme--who can resist learning about and talking about food? 12:15 PM I start preparation for my portion of the class; I'm responsible for a presentation of lexis (vocabulary) related to food. I check out resources in the English Department office and the library, and I consult one of the teachers as well. 12:45 PM I leave for home--and lunch 1:15 PM I eat a great lunch (including my favorite locro--potato soup) and relax with my host family. 3:00 PM Back at CEDEI, I attend an hour-long lecture on dollarization in Ecuador. The talk makes me think about my host family and my evening students--and how these economic changes have affected their lives. I can also observe an EFL class at CEDEI during these hours. 4:00 PM I finish up preparation for this evening's class and then, over a cappuccino, I begin tomorrow's reading assignment. 5:15 PM I run a few errands in Cuenca: pick up photos at the camera store, buy some stamps, stop by the market for some fruit that I'll use for my class segment on vocabulary related to food. 5:50 PM Back to school, neatly dressed and ready to teach. Catch up with my teaching team at our classroom; rearrange the tables for the first activity; set out materials for my portion of the class; greet the Ecuadorian students as they arrive. This is a low beginners group, so informal conversation can be challenging, but it's really great when I hear a student use a phrase or a tense from last night's lesson. 6:00 PM English class begins. A few students are late, and two are absent, so I adjust my activities a bit. As other members of my team teach, I observe and make notes of their strengths and weaknesses. 7:30 PM English class is dismissed. We put the classroom back in order and then, with our observer/trainer, we review what happened during class. We all offer suggestions and comments to each teacher. 8:15 PM The evening session ends. I join several TEFLers for a slice of pizza and a cerveza at a nearby pizza place before heading home. 10:00 PM After chatting a bit with my host mom and brother, I take a few minutes to complete tomorrow's reading assignment before turning in. |