Meet the interviewers!

It all began two days ago when I nominated Julia for a Blog Challenge. She sent me a message that she is not a blogger but she would gladly answer my questions; I could post them in my blog. Then I came up with the idea to use her answers for my first post for TESOL Convention blog. After all, it is a blog, isn't it? That would be a change and fun! Like the tables have turned and the interviewees take the role of the TESOL Convention reporters !

However, I first asked Elinda Gjondedaj, one of the administrators of the blog, whether all this complies with the TG posting by-laws. Since she assured me that it is fine, I proudly present you the one and only Julia Aliverti! My questions are quite tough and she has proved that teachers are brave and accept challenges!!!

So here are the questions and Julia's responses:

1. What did you want to become when you were a child?
When I was a child, I was convinced by my father that I was princess and I didn't see any point in becoming anything else.
2. Why have you become a teacher?
As soon as I started school, I knew I had to become a teacher; I felt that it was the only thing I wanted to do and my only hope was that I would be able to do it well. I remember studying my lessons trying to figure out not how to learn them, but how to teach them, if- for some unidentified reason- I was asked to do so the following day.
3. Have you ever regretted becoming a teacher?
Never. Being a teacher is part of what I am; not part of what I do.
4. You avoid people who...?
I think I will start avoiding people who take me for granted.
5. Tell us about your biggest dream.
My biggest dream is that our children will live in a better world than the one we have now and that I'll have the chance to travel to most of its places.
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Blue. All shades of blue; it's the colour of the sea, with which I have a very strong bond.
7. Which city would you like to visit?
This is the most difficult question of this interview for me; I can't choose just one; there are cities I always want to return to and cities that have been calling me for years and I haven't had the chance to visit; also, there are cities I have been avoiding for very personal reasons, about which I have started to feel very differently...So, I will not try to decide today.
8. What is your favourite piece of clothing?
My swimsuit
9. Have you ever cheated on a test?
No, never. It would feel like trying to fool myself
10. Describe your desk.
Wooden, handmade, overlooking the sea, hospitable, and therefore, rather crowded :)
11. Who is your favourite character either in a book or movie?
Alexis Zorbas

In the end she thanked me for the opportunity I gave her to contemplate certain facts about herself!

 Well, Julia, it has been my honour that you took the time, sat down and answered all these questions from your heart! 

Another 11 Blog Challenge

There is another 11 Blog Challenge for which I was nominated by my new FB friend and colleague Malefaki Joanna. I can't wait to meet her and so many others in TESOL Greece Convention in Athens! Both of us are having a presentation there.

How this works:
1. I need to acknowledge the nominating blogger.
2. I share 11 random facts about myself.
3. I must answer the questions the blogger who nominated me asked.
4. I will list 11 other bloggers
5. I post eleven questions for the bloggers I nominated. I must let the bloggers know that they have been nominated (that actually took some time) and I cannot nominate the person who nominated me.

I took all this information from Joanna's blog.

This time I thought to use another way to list 11 random facts about me... So here you are...

vI love the sun

vI respect nature…and animals

vI can’t stand lies and hypocrisy

vI suffer if I can’t keep a promise

vI can’t resist chocolate

vI love people with new ideas

vI love talking with hours with friends and I really miss it

vI can’t stand anything that crawls, literally and metaphorically

vI prefer theatre to movies

vI get easily stressed

vI wish I were more confident

And now the moment of truth.... Joanna's questions...

1.  Describe a good teaching experience you have had.

A good experience was when I participated with my students in a project run by Theodora

Papapanagiotou. Very refreshing and promising. It was the first time I had prepared,

organised and carried out a project.

2. Describe a difficult teaching experience you have had.

It was at the beginning of my teaching career. There was a teenage student who didn't want

to cooperate at all and always tried to mess the class.

3. Do you have a teaching mentor? If yes, can you tell me how this person has affected

your teaching?

Unfortunately, I don't. But I have met so many inspiring and motivating colleagues online

and in person that I think I will make up for all past years.

4. Where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

Hopefully, still teaching and participating in TESOL Conventions.

5. How do you deal with students who dominate the sessions?

I try to use their energy and eagerness by having them help the other students.

6. How do you deal with introvert students?

First, I give them time to feel confident and talk about topics and matters that interest them.

Then I have them work in pairs with peers they feel comfortable with and friendlier to. 

7. How much time do you spend on you work and how much on your personal life?

At first, I used to give all my energy to my work. Now, I have realised that there should be a

balance and try to spend some time doing things that please me, mostly at weekends.

Saturday evenings are sacred!

8. If you won 1 million euros, how would you spend it?

Honestly? I would travel!

9. What's your favourite food?

Anything that has to do with potatoes and mushrooms!

10. What do you hate doing around the house?

Ironing!

11. Describe your ideal day.

Spending it with people I love outdoors from dusk to dawn.

The questions I have for the bloggers I nominate are:

1. What did you want to become when you were a child?

2. Why have you become a teacher?

3. Have you ever regretted becoming a teacher?

4. You avoid people who...?

5. Tell us about your biggest dream.

6. What is your favourite colour and why?

7. Which city would you like to visit?

8. What is your favourite piece of clothing?

9. Have you ever cheated on a test?

10. Describe your desk.

11. Who is your favourite character either in a book or movie?

The bloggers I nominate are:

1. Vicky Papageorgiou

2. Julia Aliverti

3. Theodora Papapanagiotou

4. Maria Bossa

5. Hana Ticha

6. Roseli Serra

7. Aphro Gkiouris

8. Christina Markoulaki

9. Papadeli Sophia

10. Natasa Bozic Grojic

11. Nora Touparlaki

My first attempt to use powtoon app.

Motivated by Shelly Terelll and since I am a very diligent student and want to do my homework for our 30 Goals challenge group, I decided to try out Powtoon!
My feedback for this app:

Pros
1. It is good that you can sign in with your facebook or twitter account.
2. There are many categories, templates and features.

Cons
1. The introductory video is rather short and it doesn't explain much. You either have to be digital literate or find your way around.
2. I spent quite much time to coordinate the time that each slide appears.

So, be lenient with my time flaws. This is my presentation for the first goal this year.

My 3-2-1 intro

Nothing's implicit!

Last week was full of emotions and joy for my family. My daughter has been accepted in the Public High School of Arts after having taken exams. There was only one open place, so you can imagine how proud she made us feel. It was a big dream of hers, following her gift and talent! I don't know where it will lead her to but, at least, she tried and achieved her goal.

And here comes the tutor who has helped her all the way to the exams. When I called to tell him the good news, I thanked him for his contribution. He is a good, patient, calm, full of understanding teacher; and quite modest, I should add. His spontaneous reply, " I did what I had to do. Alexandra achieved everything on her own. During the exams she was all alone with no help from my part." I couldn't help it! I told him that I totally disagree. Being a teacher myself, I think that we should believe in ourselves! Where should I start from? We are there for our students, showing them the right methods, helping them improve their skills, letting them express themselves, standing by them. My golden rule in teaching is to show students how to handle difficulties, think of other options, not to stick in one single path. And this is what he did! After many years of teaching, allow me to think that I can judge whether a colleague tries to find alternative procedures to get the message across, depending on the personality and skills of the student.

I must admit that I was sceptical at first. I have no idea about Arts. I admire them, feel content in front of a painting, sculpture, when I listen to music, watch a film/ a play, but as for the techniques.... not a single clue...
However, I could see how my daughter trusted him, followed his instructions, leaned on him. That was enough for me.

My point is that colleagues who think out of the box, ditch the plan, make the difference; and we should thank them! As the title of the post... nothing's implicit!

Goal # 21 Ditch the plan

Last Monday, last lesson of the day with my B2 students. They came in my office with a guilty smile on their faces. It was a strange coincidence that all of them forgot their workbook either at home or at school. I smile back, 'Don't worry. We'll find something to do.' I sensed they weren't very thrilled .

They are good kids, cooperative, and I must admit that they did their best in both projects we have worked on. Then it struck me! How about finishing the last part of our project about literature? We had to arrange the presentation and they had to evaluate the whole process. What impact did it have on them? Did they gain anything?

Believe it or not, I hadn't seen them so engaged before! First, they worked  on their own, preparing their part. When  they asked me for my help, I encouraged them to help each other. I would check their outcome later.

Thus, as you can realise, I ditched the plan.

I was there as a facilitator in the procedure, watching over them without interfering. For the whole two-hour lesson they were talking in English, writing, looking up words/phrases/expressions in dictionaries or on line, editing, practising all four skills and sub-skills.

I didn't have much to do in the end. I just suggested some changes in their pieces and then I had them rehearse their presentation. There I took up the role of the director (and I loved it!). You may have noticed that some students do not know how to read aloud, where to pause, where to change the tone and use the right intonation.

Soon I hope we will have the pleasure to share our work with you!

The Seagull (Part B)

It is a national holiday today and I grabbed the opportunity to update our project with my elementasy class. 
All kids were anxious to work on our poem. I think it is more their desire to be presented in a blog post rather than the poem itself but even this motivation is quite enough to shake them up.

We first heard the poem The seagull composed by Michalis Tranoudakis and sung by Aphrodite Manou. Then I let them read the poem for themselves. I urged them to take their time and read slowly. Young pupils get easily carried away and skip meanings and language items. When they were ready, I simply asked them whether they liked it or not. They spontaneously answered, 'Yes!!!'.  But then, the big question followed, 'Why?' I must confess I was surprised with their replies. They liked the language, the lines, the rhymes, the meanings and metaphors. Elytis describes and compares the seagull (symbol of freedom) and people's lives. 

In the next phase I thought to dare them a little bit. I asked them to translate the poem as much as they could. They came up with many words. My goal is not to have them translate but I believe they will be encouraged to see their contribution in theEnglish version.

 The reason I used the original text first was that I wanted them to get familiarised with the poem. They are preliminary pupils of elementary level and my intention is to make them feel secure and confident. However, the whole discussion was in English and they successfully transferred their ideas and opinions from their mother tongue to English.

In our next lesson I will distribute the English version and we will work on from there.

Opening their wings like the seagull!!!

Fly up to the sky!

The main purpose of our literature project is to involve English learners of as many age groups and levels. This is why I thought to encourage elementary school pupils at A1+ level to participate.

As I was flicking through their anthology of their Greek language subject at school, I came across Odysseas Elytis' poem 'The seagull'. I had no doubt that we would work on it. The reason? I have a special predilection to that bird as I always connect it with freedom.

The problem was that this poem has never been translated to English. Here, I would like to thank a good friend of mine who offered to help me out and make a free translation of the poem. The aim of the project is not the translation but to get the meanings, emotions, thoughts through into the world!
Since we went past this obstacle, I was confident that they would perform excellently and they will get wholeheartedly involved. The idea that their work will be uploaded in YouTube and that other English teachers will watch it filled them with excitement and eagerness.

The first step was to find information about the poet. They did their research and in the very next lesson they were ready to answer questions about Elytis' life and work. We picked up the main points through questions. This is how it looked:

The Kids :)

In our next meeting we will start working on the poem. The best are yet to come!!!