I went to a TESL conference this weekend, and attended two workshops. The first was on using task-based activities to teach/introduce grammar. It was good, but I'm still stuck with the problem of time. In our intensive program we have to teach huge chunks of grammar in a short period of time. I try to start with an inductive approach, but communicative stuff does tend to get short shrift.

The second workshop was on promoting reading for pleasure. Apart from being a sales pitch for Penguin ESL readers, it was interesting. I was particularly interested in the question of reading to your class. There was also a long discussion of this on TESL-L. So I'm thinking of trying it with the story "The Lottery."

Well, I'm exhausted. I forgot how you have to know everything when you teach advanced students. It seems bizarre to have to teach "rules" for things that just developed naturally. I reviewed article use, and I'm trying to explain why for each choice, and it's almost impossible. One text I looked at had 38 rules, plus exceptions, for article use. Over 90% of the class said that their native language did not have articles. All I could advise was lots of reading, listening, and patience.

Today was the last day of class. I gave out the marks, and then we took some pictures. I enjoyed this class a lot, despite the room being too small and the class numbers too high. Click here to see the photos: Pictures

Thursday was my class' grammar test. It wasn't pretty. It was also discouraging, since I really enjoy teaching grammar, and I like to think I'm kind of good at it. It was a pretty hard test, lots of sentence combining, but a good one. One fourth of the class flunked. Fortunately, they can all actually write pretty well, so no one failed the whole writing skill. However, a number just made it. There's so much to teach, and so little time to go beyond practice drills. Ah, well. At least everyone's passing so far.

Today we did one of my favourite speaking activities. Structure: obligation/necessity. Discuss issues roommates have to work out to live together (e.g., cleaning, cooking, boy/girlfriends/ smoking, noise, expenses, etc.). Then break up class into groups of 4 or 5. Do it randomly, and hope every group has some mix of male and female. Then present the scenario: they all share a 3 bedroom apartment. There is one bathroom. One of them smokes. Only one has a car. Work out the rules. Lots of talking. Lots of laughter. Then someone from each group presents their rules. Could put on chart paper if there is time. I got this inspiration from a chapter in Have Your Say by Irene McKay. I use a paragraph she has on young adults moving out of their parents' home.

Went with my class on the school field trip to a Maple Sugar Bush. Very Canadiana! It went well, and my class, at least, was well prepped, but it was much too cold. Because of a sudden cold snap the sap wasn't running, and all the lines were frozen. Still, everyone seemed to have fun. They often looked and played like children. Unfortunately, the people running the place often treated them like children. Our guide would say things like, "The tree is covered in bark. Can you say 'bark'?" Then she would use phrases like "labour intensive" with no explanation at all.