As a teacher, I'm still learning...

This is my 4th year teaching in Budapest. I've been at the same school all these years. After teaching the same thing year after year, I sometimes forget what/how I should be teaching. At the mid-year mark, I asked my students what they think we shoud do to make their English better. I got lots of responses from students, such as "play more games" and "watch more English movies (with subtitles.)"

I feel that in the right environment, those could be very good activities. But why? Well, a young lady wrote this response to my question, and I wanted to share it with you all. For her privacy, I'm not publishing her name, but I did get her permission to share it.

(I have not edited this at all)
"Speaking English is VERY important to me. Not just because I wouldn't ever get a diplom without having at least one language exam. English is really a beautiful language, I can be myself while using it.

I think we should help each other in a way that really helps. I mean the first thing the others shoud "learn" is how to enjoy speaking English. For a long time, I don't care so much about my marks anymore, I'm just trying to enjoy speaking, improving my knowledge. It means a lot more to me to watch a flm in English and understand it without subtitle, than to get a 5 in school.

So maybe watching more films would help. Or a nother good thing is I think reading. So maybe we could read more books in English. But I guess it would eb difficult to chose one that everyone likes, so each of us could find a book for him/herself. Than give a bookreport, or just talk about it after reading it.
Well, I hope my ideas will help you!"

What wisdom from an 11th grader. Wow...a student wanting more than a mark (grade) as a reason to learn a language.

Taste and see...Peanut Butter is good!!!

On Friday, we had short lessons, so for 9b I prepared a short lesson about peanut butter; how it's made, where it came from, etc. And then I treated the students to a taste of the stuff. Most liked it, some didn't. For all but about 3 of them, it was their first time trying it. Here are some pictures and a video.

Apples to Apples...Happy New Year!

Whenever I travel, I think about what I can bring back to share with my students. This holiday season, I went to Seattle to spend time with my family. My brother got a new game for Christmas, called Apples to Apples. It is a really fun game! We played it for hours on Christmas Day, and even a couple days after. We even played it on New Years Eve...almost missed midnight because we were having so much fun!

Well, I just knew I could play this with my students! I bought my self a copy of the game. I brought it to 12a today, and they loved it! It took no time at all for them to learn how to play it. They were laughing and learning new words too. I asked them to start cleaning up about 3 minutes before the bell and they didn't want to...they wanted to keep playing!

We're looking at reading "The Catcher in the Rye" this term. I think it will be a challenge for them...me as well. The language is kind of "slangy" and very "American." But they seem to want to read it, so we'll see. This class are all 18-year-olds, so I think they can handle the "mature" subject matter. I could use some prayer in this area!

11b-
We've been reading Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" since before the break. It's been interesting to see the students' reaction to the story. I've struggled a bit to be able to really discuss the meaning of the story and get the students to think critically about it. I'm thinking that it's a bit "heavy" for them in the language department, let alone the critical area. So, I just asked them to read for content, and the exam will be on that.

10a-
My co-teacher, Kati, found some portfolios that correspond with their course books on line. This is really cool! The activities in the portfolio go along with exercises that they're already doing. Plus, there's a section for reflection! Less work for the teacher! Score! For Christmas, I bought the class a bookshelf to store their portfolio binders. I hope we'll get to them next week and start putting things in them. I need to get on this!

We're going to start a literature unit in January. I'm torn between Pride and Prejudice, Oliver Twist, and Silas Marner. I have graded readers for all three, and I've taught all by OT, so I don't know yet. All three of them have great messages and are good stories. I may have the students vote!

9b-
They've gotten into the second book now, so they're no longer beginners! They're elementary English students! They're still a curious group, wanting to know about me and my life in America. I have a strategy to get them to use more English than Hungarian in class, and it seems to be working. They're such a smart group of kids!

Thanks for reading my update. With all the planning and grading, I don't update this blog as often as I'd like to, but your comments help me know you're reading.

Thanks,
Ms. Barrett

First Month

Well, we're now through the first full month of school for this year! I can't believe it's been a month already! Thanks to all of you that are checking this blog. Sorry I haven't been more diligent in getting post up, but most of my time is spent preparing for or teaching lessons.

Here's an outline of what each class has been doing.

9b-The first week consisted of testing the students to put them into two groups. The entire class is about 30 students, but they are split into two classes for English lessons. The other teachers gave a written exam, and I evaluated them orally. By the second week, they were settled in their new groups (one group at a higher level...they've had a bit of English before.) We've been covering a lot of topics; housing, colors, physical descriptions, and giving compliments. Next week, we'll look at food and how to make uncountable food (flour) countable (a kilo of flour). This is a fun activity because the students get to talk about food!

10a-We've just finished a unit called "These United States." We read about and discussed several traditional American things. The students even did an activity where they created, desigened, and presented a 51st state. There were some funny ones. Some students named the state after themselves, while others got more creative. I'll try to remember to post a photo later.

11b-We've been working on Pronunciation. I have a great book that I'd like all the students to get, but for now I'm just making copies...ssshhh! We're also going into the rhelm of Multiple Intelligences and Personality Types. I'll be doing the Myers-Brigg's Type Indicator with them next week. This week we did Dr. Howard Gardener's Multiple Intelligences.

12a-I got to do a lesson this month that made me a little homesick for Alaska. We listened to an interview with Susan Butcher, Iditarod musher, from 1983. The students listened, answered questions, then conducted a survey and gave a report on the results of the survey. They need a little more practice on how to present results from a survey. But these students are 4th year English students and did pretty good. They are fairly fluent but still make plenty of mistakes.

As for me, I've got a new method of lessons planning that seems to be working for me very well. I'm doing better and writing out every step of a lesson. Before I would have an idea of what I would do, but this gives me much more to go on when I enter the classroom. I sometimes find that I have too much planned for the time alloted...that's the opposite problem I've had in years past. It's better to have too much planned than not enough and have bored teenagers in a small room.

I've started taking Hungarian lessons. They've been going very well. There are only two other guys in my class. One guy is from Scotland, the other from France. Our teacher is named Tibor and he speaks very little English. But that's good for us, because it forces us to speak only Hungarian.

It's ben interested being on the other side of the desk. I'm getting a bit of the feeling of what my students are going through. I feel like I have a little more empathy for that they experience with a native speaking teacher. I've even borrowed some activities Tibor does with us, and have used them with my classes.

Well, thanks for reading and please continue to pray for my students.

God Bless,
Erin

Rainbows and Butterflies

I was teaching 11b today and had a student say something I just HAD to share. Roberta (Babetta) is a pretty high level student. She often dresses in black, and wears heavy black eyeliner and heavy metal band t-shirts. She doesn't look like the sensitive type. But, today, we were practicing dialogues "Going to the Doctor." I started the lessons with brainstorming ailments and illnesses. Babetta got so concerned and was complaining about having to talk about this topic. "Why do we have to talk about this bad stuff. Why can't we talk about rainbows and butterflies."

Wow, she totally reminded me that the exterior is often quite different than what's on the inside. Babetta is a very sensitive girl. She's always showing concern for her classmates and is very polite to teachers.

So, I'm going to try to keep "upbeat" lessons going for this group.

Thanks for reading, and please comment!

Blessings,
Ms. Barrett

First day!

Today was the first day of regular teaching. The students were all at school yesterday for opening ceremonies and meeting with head teachers...I'm not one of them. I didn't have to go in, but I did anyway to get ready for today.

I met with 10a, 11b, 12a, and 9b (both halves.) For all the classes, but 9a, we didn't have to do any introduction because I know these groups. For 9a, I did individual interviews to get an idea of where they are with English. Some could answer my basic questions (How old are you? How many people in your family? etc.) Only one students couldn't understand anything! Poor guy. I think he was really embarrassed. His classmates were kind though.

So between my evaluation of their speaking skills, and the written exam their other teacher gave them, we'll be able to split them up into two groups for language class.

12a-This group is really great! Their English has really improved since our first year (when they were 10a). Gabor asked me if I missed them this summer..I had to say "yes," I missed them. When I was visiting Cornerstone Clinic this summer, I picked up a game called The Ungame...Thank you Carol Elliot for getting it for me! :-) It's a version for kids. I played this game with 12a for the last 20 minutes of class. I think they enjoyed it. When we were finished with class, Akos went up to Janos and asked if he wanted to go un-smoke. I had to laugh. I'm not a fan of their smoking, but it was funny how Akos used the "un" and made a joke.

Well, there's always things to tell about my students. Thank you for reading and keeping up with them. Please remember to keep them in your prayers!

God Bless,
Erin

Some notes about Hungarian school system

Some of you might be wondering what's up when I talk about 10a, 11b, etc. Here I'm going to explain what these numbers and letters mean.

There are mostly vocational high schools in Hungary. That means that when a student is learning regular high school subjects (history, math, biology, etc.) they're also learning some sort of vocational skill. Each school has a focus (i.e. computers, business, airplane industry) that the students major in. Gundel's focus is catering and tourism.

In a typical Hungarian school, students are put into groups their freshman year and stay with that group as long as they're at the school. At Gundel, and at most typical schools, the letter of the class tells what vocation the students are learning.

The "A" classes are the bi-lingual tour guides. These students are either studying in English or German. They alternate each year which language is started. For example, in the 2007-2008 school year 10a and 12a are the English groups, and 9a, 11a, and 13a are the German groups. Next year 11a will be 12a, etc. The "A" classes will go until the 13th grade. Their 9th grade year is ALL English...usually 18+ hours just to get them to a level of English that is fluent...at lease a pre-intermediate level by the end of 9th grade. At the end of 13th grade, they will take an advanced English exam, where other non-bilingual students will just take an intermediate exam.

Students don't typically move from class to class. When they start with their class, they will be with them all 4 or 5 years of school. All the students take all the same classes...there aren't many electives. Students stay together for every period of every day. All the students have the same schedule. The teachers go to the students' classroom to teach.

The "B" classes are also bi-lingual students, but they're learning confectionery (baking.) They will also take the advanced exam at the end of 13th grade. Their 9th grade year was all English too. Like the "A" classes, they alternate years with English and German.

There are other classes at Gundel c, d, e, f, etc. Each letter is a different vocational topic of study. Some are waiters, cooks, or basic high school with a little vocation (few classes a week.)

Also, there is not a daily schedule. Each day is different. For example, most of the English classes occur two times a week for 45 minutes. They'll be on different days and at different times (Monday, 1st period and Thursday 5th period.) So students rarely memorize their schedule because it's different every day. And sometimes it changes mid-year.

Students don't earn credits from their classes. They basically have to pass everything in order to move on to the next grade. If they fail one or two classes in a year, they'll usually have an opportunity just before the new school year starts to take an exam to "catch up."

Well, I hope this helps you understand a bit more about the Hungarian school system. As with many things in Hungary, it could be a completely different set up at another school...this is just my experience.

Thanks for checking in to the blog!

Ms. Barrett