2009年2月22日 星期日

Teaching The Elderly

Most of Taiwan people experienced what buxiban ( supplementary school) is like. Usually, students go to buxibans after school for their further entrance examinations. As for the adults, they go to buxibans to skill themselves better to fit their jobs or get promoted in the future. Since English has become an international language, lots of Taiwanese found it important. Even the elderly found English very useful especially while going abroad.

I used to teach young students, who were7-15 years old, English in buxiban in the evening for several years. A couple of years ago, I decided to get back to Wenzao language college evening program to develop my English and teaching skill so that I quit the job. I was very lucky that I got a position while a Presbyterian church establishing the community school for the elderly in the day time. There are three levels of English classes in this program. I teach the third level which is called "advanced" class, but it may be just about the level of basic to intermediate technically.

We have Spring: March to June, Fall: September to December, semesters that the elderly can attend to. As the class gets started, I usually like to have a small talk in English as a warm-up. And then we'd have reading and practice time. Sometimes they would learn one or two English songs during the semester. They won't have any quizzes or exams according to my boss' demand. How can I know if they have learned? We do activities or games! There are about 15 people in my class; a few of them are retired teachers, one is a retired pharmacist, one is a retired sailor, one is a half-retired business owner, and the rest of them are homemakers.

Well, I'm excited as well as nervous about getting involved in Aiden Yeh's study group of University of Birmingham. I perceived that this is an approach to learn more professional teaching skills for free. But I'm a little bit afraid of some academic terms or "British words" that I might not get it. Since this is a quite precious opportunity for me, I'll try my best and keep my blog up-to-date weekly.

Cindy R Shih

3 則留言:

  1. Dear Cindy,

    This is a great start. Thanks for sharing your past teaching experiences.

    Perhaps in your next blog entry, you can write about a particular teaching skill that you wish to improve on.

    Way to go, Cindy!

    Aiden

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  2. Cindy,

    You may find this podcast useful. Give it a listen, Standards for ESL/EFL Teachers of Adult Learners (MP3)

    http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=326&DID=12050

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  3. Dear Cindy,

    I received this email from Terry Doyle. He's interested in joining us for this project. He's given me the permission to post his message here:

    Hi, Aiden and anyone else reading this. I read with great interest your post
    about your second case study involving the teacher, Cindy Shih, who
    is teaching senior students.?I am very interested in this project first because
    participation in the NNEST EVO really opened up a whole new world about the
    possibilities of using new technologies like the EVO. Second, I teach in a
    school
    which is really quite similar to the Tainwanese buxiban.?I teachon-credit
    classes in my college.?Although we do not have particular classes for seniors,
    we do have many seniors
    in our classes.?In particular, in my "Video ESL" class, which I have taught the
    past? years, the seniors comprise the core of the class.?By this I mean they
    are the students
    who keep repeating year after year, so when I plan the class for the next
    semester and decide which movies I will use, I naturally think of them because I
    know they are going to be in the class. Most of the seniors I am thinking of are
    from Russia or other countries in the former Sovietnion.?But there are some
    from China and Taiwan, as well.?One who is around 63 (I guess he's not yet a
    senior) is from China. Heometimes writes me e-mailsbout his opinions of
    movies, a soap opera which I played a little of for the class (at the end of the
    semester, we had a week remaining after watching the main three movies), and
    just to wish me well.?Some of these students started in level one with no
    English ability when they first came, and now they can speak and write very
    well. One such woman even publishes her essays in newspaper for ESL leaners. I
    think she has also publishedoems andtoriesn Russian, but she told me that
    before she came to the
    US she never wrote much creatively because she was an engineer. Indeed, our
    classes have given these seniors something very important they can focus on --
    learning English.
    One of my favorite studentss Larisa, who is from Latvia, because my class is
    her favorite. Since she joined my Video ESL class three years ago, she says it
    has helped her greatly to improve her speaking and listening skills. She says
    that she can now interact with people outside the school. She studies the
    materials I prepare for these classes.. the scripts of movies, idioms
    explanation and examples and listening comprehension activities ...in great
    detail. It is because of these senior students like Larisa that I have to
    prepare new materials each semester. Each semester I search for three different
    movies, prepare the scripts, and write idioms explanations and listening
    comprehension activities. But it is my great pleasure to do so. In fact, my two
    passions in my life are NNEST issues and my ESL Video class and the students of
    this class. Now you know how I spend most of my time and energy.. on these two
    passions.
    ?br> Of course, there are also younger students (in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s) in
    my classes,
    but when I think pf this class over the years, of course, it is the senior
    students who stick out in my mind.?And the younger students and seniors get
    along very well.
    ?br> One thing that I would like to do is encourage them to use the internet more. It
    would be nice to have online discussions with them about the movies we are
    watching, or even to have a small EVO. Also, right now I'm working on making all
    the materials I have developed
    on a website.?Because of my limitations with using technology, I am limiting
    myself to putting them on a blog first, but when I learn more about how to set
    up a web page, I plan to put them on a website. In fact, I got up early this
    morning to work on this... but then I saw your very interesting e-mail, and I
    couldn't resist answering you.
    ?br> I'm looking forward to hearing more about ths, and if I am available (if Im
    not teaching or traveling to and from?San Francsico from my home), I would like
    to participate in the live voice confernece in April.
    Best wishes,
    Terry

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