Thursday 31 August 2017

Beginning a new school year: some tips


Going back to teaching – let alone studying—can be an unsettling or even traumatic (!) experience. As teachers, we sometimes feel that there is so much we can do to acclimatize our students to classes again.

No need to despair. We can still go on in our own familiar way while giving our lessons a fresh edge. Besides there are things that your students hardly ever get bored with despite the frequency of their occurrence.

Let me provide an example of how we can present new material and at the same time sneak in some revision.

I am aware of the fact that my advanced students are keen on science; therefore, they are prepared to read up or do their own research online – if asked – on condition that the topic is science-related.

My point is:

·       Pick a text your students will appreciate.
·       Select some lexical items from this text which you have taught but suspect your students might not remember.
·       Make three columns next to the one of the selected words.
·       Name the columns: I remember well, I vaguely remember, I forget.
·       Ask the students to indicate how well they know the words by marking the right column.

WORD
I remember
I vaguely remember
I forget
unveil

+

mould


+
dub
+


eliminate
+



This is a preliminary activity which will be supplemented by a follow-up vocabulary exercise to boost your students’ memory of already taught words.
On a small scale (words used in the table above) this is how it would go:

Fill the gaps with the right form of the words provided in the table. You may have to use some words more than once:

Plans were ………………………. for a new food store and 13 shopping units in the town.
The media ……………………. anorexia ‘the slimming disease.
Security agents have started a campaign to ………………………….. some of the government's opponents.
Silicone rubber is easily ……………………………., serving as a replacement for body parts.
If we could ………………………… stress, would we …………………………………. a lot of disease?
It is also the duty of educational institutions to …………………………..  the personality of students.

Perhaps for the first few classes of the year it would be wise to focus on practising words which have been presented once or twice but not anchored, as I have explained in a previous post.
It is important for teachers to be flexible and decide at each stage how much to teach, how much to practise and test and what to earmark for later practice. And this is something no device can do for you. Being aware of our students’ progress is something we save in our memory rather than on a device in the form of corrected tests. The overall performance of each student is, thankfully, resilient to classification.


Sunday 27 August 2017

Time against Memory

Summer is drawing to a close --at least in the northern hemisphere-- but there is still time to share some lines about its effect on many of us. Here is a poem written in the heat of the summer.


Time against memory

The scorching flesh
Under the merciless sun
The splash of waves
On the sea-chiselled pebbles
The lifeless shells
 Washed  ashore

The taste of salt
On the thirsty mouth
The time-dimmed memories
Of all bygone summers
The dazzling nothingness
Of the engulfing heat

Monday 21 August 2017

Digital vs, non-digital

For people old enough to have had a taste of both the non-digital and digital age, many things may feel odd. Without being critical or judgemental, I'd like to share this poem I wrote a while ago:


ONLINE


ONLINE
I talk to funny people
With funny English
They make me laugh
Sometimes they make me cry

We do simple things
Like saying “hello”
Over and over again
Or taking turns
Inventing stories
Stories that never end
And never will end

We kill time together
For fear time should kill us
Oh the things we would do
If we could teleport
Or would we?

Perhaps proximity
Would take its toll
It always does
Pity, isn’t it?

Monday 14 August 2017

The Metamorphose

Under the summer night sky everything undergoes a fantastical change beyond words.

The following is a humble effort to capture the miracle. It was written on a hot summer night a couple of years ago.


The Metamorphose

The starry moonful
Joyful summer sky
Is gently laying down
Its precious load

The luring limpid night sea
Embraces the priceless gift

A myriad nimble ripples
Embroider wondrous shapes
Until the ultimate metamorphose

Saturday 5 August 2017

A passionate poem or emotions run high in summer time

THE OTHER PLACE

I was in that other place
The other day
The place where
Trees grow tall
And clouds
Bring rain
And the sun
Is a bright gold
And the waves
Lap  my feet
And the blue of the sky
Speaks to my heart
And the children
Play in the mud
And I am so happy
I want to run
Straight into
Your love.