Ok. I know it has been a long time since I have written a post. I have no excuse! So I am going to take the next couple of posts to give a few general life updates.
Teaching English
About a month ago, a fellow Fulbrighter advertised a position teaching English to Iraqi refugees through the Jesuit Refugee Service. I was interested so I went with her to the school in Ashrafiya to check out the classes and meet the students. I decided to give it a whirl and try my hand at teaching. First, a little more background on the program. JRS offers afternoon classes in English, French and computer sciences for Iraqi refugees. The program runs buses to different parts of Amman to collect the students and bring them to the school building and then take them all back after the classes are over. Currently, there are about 200 students that attend the courses ranging in age from 10 to 60 years old. The classes run from 330pm to about 630pm Monday through Thursday (so that both Christians and Muslims can observe their holy days). I share the three English conversation classes with a British woman who teaches Mondays, my Fulbright friend who teaches both Tuesdays and Thursdays. I have Wednesdays.
I have to admit that I was quite nervous the first day I taught. I had prepared a goal-setting and expectations exercise for the students. In retrospect, I am very glad I started with this activity. Essentially, I wanted to know what the students wanted me to teach them (having little idea where to begin myself). The three classes had similar requests: American slang, idiomatic expressions, synonyms, pronunciation, grammar and quizzes among other things. Since that first class, I have begun every class with 2 or 3 idiomatic expressions before diving into a discussion or group activity. So far, I have taught them expressions such as "same old, same old," "to lock horns," "basket-case," and "jack-of-all-trades." I intend to eventually teach them "muffin top" and "two shakes of a lamb's tail." I have found that some of the best activities for class are semi-controversial group discussions. They like to argue! As one of my students explained to me- "we all have an opinion!"
After teaching for several weeks, I have a better handle on the class compositions and strengths and weaknesses of the students. My first class has only about 15 students. Most of them are between 40 and 50 years old. This first class is great to teach because of the size and because the students are all genuinely interested in learning and participating. My second class is slightly larger with about 20 students. Again, most of them are between the ages of 40 and 50. This class is the most advanced and enthusiastic about learning English. There are two men (one about 28 and the other about 40) who sit next to each other and consistently disagree about everything for comedic value rather than actual opposing views. This playful antagonism gets the rest of the class involved in the jokes and the "disagreements" which ultimately makes for a more enjoyable class. My third class is my most difficult. There are about 40 students in this class, most of whom are 22 years old or younger with more young men than women. The age range isn't a problem by itself. This is compounded by the low level of competence in the English language. Essentially, a large portion of the students should be in a beginner class rather than an conversation course. So, the students who don't understand sit in the back and cause problems. There have been a number of times where I have just stood silently waiting for the ruckus to stop before continuing. I have had a couple of instances with the young men. For example, one stopped me in the middle of class to say "teacher, you're pretty." Another time, a couple of boys stayed after class to ask to take my picture. Of course, I told them no and that this was an inappropriate request. Aside from these instances, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive. The students are, more often than not, enthusiastic, respectful and eager. It is surprisingly rewarding to hear a student use an idiom I taught them. They have endeared themselves to me. I fully intend on continuing on teaching there until I leave.
Last week, I had a long discussion with the director of the program about placing students in their levels. Until now, the program has simply placed students into classes based on how the class schedule has worked out. This method has made my teaching experience much more difficult. I have to plan a class with multiple ability levels in mind. So, after talking with the director, we decided to administer a conversation placement evaluation. I developed some basic questions and a scale for evaluation for all of the teachers to use. So, last week I went to help with the placement exams for the incoming students- about 300! The process was much easier than I expected and made easier still with the help of the other teachers. My hope is that the classes for the next term will be more uniformly organized in terms of ability level.
This week is my last week teaching this term. There is a graduate ceremony and picnic for all of the students that I am very excited for. I honestly never thought I would enjoy teaching this much. Future career? Nope- not that much fun.
