This one's not for travellers...

...or photographers, because they already know it. It's for those stuck in an apocalypse they just can't get out of.



Have a really good day!!
Over&Out
Dora

How do you feel about learning today?

Hello everyone,

As I've learnt a lot this summer I've decided to introduce some changes to my lessons and I did it from day one of this school year. I've actually decided to try out everything I feel might be useful, so this is actually my first step of putting theory into practice.

The change my students have grown very fond of is asking them "How do you feel about learning today?". They don't even wait for me to ask anymore, they just show me with their thumbs or tell me. It really is a great way to start a lesson, because they get the chance to let all of the distractions go and warn me if there's something I can help with or need to take into consideration. As there is only 45 minutes to a lesson, the best way to approach this is by a quick survey. And here are some ways of how you can approach it:

• A SHOW OF THUMBS: thumbs up for great, in the middle for so-so, thumbs down for not well.
• A SHOW OF FINGERS: give yourself a grade from 1 to 10. 
• DOODLES: draw something that represents how you feel - you can limit this to an animal, a plant, a film character, a cartoon character, a monster,  or a household object, 
• MELODIES: Pick a song or a tune which represents how you feel and sing it or whistle it (noise risk factor to be taken into consideration!!)
• CALLING OUT EMOTIONS: This is great if you've just done adjectives about feelings, you or a student might call out words for emotions and people sit down when their emotional state is named. This is good for developing empathy as the one calling out words needs to think about others. 
• STRIKE A POSE: This one's primarily for young learners and only, and just maybe, for very open teenagers. Show how you feel by miming it or striking a pose. 
• JUST ASK THEM: It's pretty obvious. But don't insist on everyone sharing, some things are private. 

Finally, it's a good idea to ask yourself the same question about teaching - just so you know where you stand  and if there's something you could do for yourself to feel better. 

Maybe this was more of a Monday post, but I wanted to finish the week on a positive note. 

Now I'll go home and rest. Monday's a very BIG day.

Love to all,
Dora

DAY ONE: On rabbits, clocks and places to get

It took me twelve hours to get here, but I did it. :) I’m writing this from a six bedroom dorm house at the University of Kent. The trip from Stansted to Canterbury was stressful – nothing prepared me for that many misunderstandings and lack of helpfulness. But two things really struck me:

1.It was the Europeans who undoubtedly introduced the signalling system into the underground at Beijing and Shanghai, but yesterday the Tube was more difficult to navigate than the aforementioned…

2.I’ll never forget the first sight of departure boards at the Beijing West Train Station, but in the end we read them by comparing the numbers and departure times to the ones on our tickets. My ticket yesterday had no departure time, and there was no Canterbury on any of the boards, not to mention the woman at the ticket booth told me the train was leaving 20 minutes past real departure time…

But enough of travel troubles, I’m a student again and it’s wonderful. I’ve got 5 roommates and 8 classmates. My trainer is great – her name is Marie and I feel like I’ll learn a lot from her. Our day started with a plenary on intercultural communication and we learnt a golden rule:

IF YOU GET IRRITATED BY WHAT SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER CULTURE DOES OR SAYS THE CHANCES ARE THAT SOMEONE OF YOU HAS MISUNDERSTOOD SOMETHING. 

Throughout the lecture I wondered if that could be applied to my trip… The lecturer, James Banner, also mentioned the differences in viewing time: there are people who do need to be on time and have little tolerance for tardiness and then there are people who see time in a more relaxed way – understanding that watches are guides not overseers of punctuality… Then I wondered if the lady at Victoria sat at this lecture two weeks earlier… ;) 

There’s one last thing I need to mention on the matter of time – There are rabbits on campus. They’re not white, but they’re cute, worried and always in a hurry. 

Maybe I’m close to my Wonderland. 

All my love, Do