December 7, 2011

Got to the PedInst before 9:30am as Pariso had told me her class began at that time. I couldn’t find the students anywhere and had to request the assistance of some of my colleagues only to find out her class didn’t start until 9:50am. While waiting in the hallway for this class to end, Sadat, another colleague approached me to request I teach a conversation class for his group of third year students. I told him I didn’t have anything prepared, but could introduce myself and have them carry out an introductory game. He was delighted,

Group 112 was very pleased with the practice exam we’ve been carrying on for the last week for even when they are able to select the right answer from the multiple choice selections, they are unable to explain the grammar rule involved or why the other choices are incorrect. I’m glad I was able to find the resources online so I didn’t have to create the questions from scratch.

The third year students were horrified to find out that they were expected to speak in English in front of their classmates while introducing their partners. Just as with the other third year students, they were unfamiliar with the vocabulary, couldn’t use the proper pronoun for a male or female and had no idea how to pronounce most of the words. I promised to bring them a handout to clarify the use of personal, possessive and adjective pronouns next week.

I rushed to my apartment as Elisabeth was coming over for a cup of tea and to vent about the way her job was going. My place was a mess and I had had no water in the morning to do dishes. I still had no water when I got home and did the best I could to tidy up the place before her arrival. Spent some time preparing materials for my upcoming teacher training workshop this Saturday. I took a trip down memory lane by reviewing the booklet I had created while serving in the Peace Corps as I had been able to include a collection of speaking activities that didn’t require any additional materials. It’s been almost ten years since I worked on that project.

Elisabeth came in looking dejected and threatening to quit her post if her supervisor continues to be so unreasonable in his demands as he keeps adding additional classes to her schedule. She’s also disappointed to be working with the police force and drug trafficking investigators although this was part of her job description and she knew exactly what she was getting into before coming here. I tried my best to remind her that we were all here because we thought this assignment was better than whatever else was available in the States. I told her how sometimes I feel that I’m on a paid vacation interrupted occasionally by some teaching duties.