Another post from Martine and Monika in Kathmandu.
"Today we observed another class in Lalit Kalyan, and again we were welcomed in the usual friendly Nepali way with tea and biscuits and plenty of smiles.
The teacher had written the objectives on the blackboard and topic, so it looked promising.
She also had written words and sentences on paper for the pupils to read while she was telling a story. Unfortunately I could not understand the story, as she told it very quickly. She made the pupils repeat words over and over again and made them spell the words individually. It was hard to give feedback as the Head told us she was a very good teacher, who had taught at the school for quite some time. The teacher herself asked us for feedback immediately after the lesson (in front of the children) and we told her how enthusiastic the children were and how impressed we were with the resources she was using...
I was mobbed by the children after the lesson! They are very excited.
We are very much aware of how different both teachers and pupils are re learning. We have spent all morning on a rooftop reviewing the workshop for the teachers. we have kept most of my original plan, but altered a few approaches as now we have a better idea of how they work and how their English is. We want it to go really well with plenty of practical stuff.
We can not observe this afternoon as we can't reach the school due to demonstrations all over Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. The government has put up oil prices and people are very angry...
The only big down side here is the pollution. I had to buy a mask to protect me a bit from all those toxic fumes.My lungs are used to the healthy mountain air...Hopefully we can escape to the country side again on our free day?
We have taken loads of pictures and will try to send some, but the internet connection in the cybercafe is VERY slow. It takes me around 20 minutes before I can even read my mail!
But no complaints.
One thing I had forgotten since my last visit was how Nepali people don't like to say 'no'. So when we went walking the other day a conversation would go like this:
"To the temple, 15 minutes?" Reply: "yes"
"Or 30 minutes?" Reply: "yes"
"Or 1 hour?" reply: "may be"
A supposedly 1 1/2 hour walk took us about 4 hours, but who cares in such a friendly place?"
More soon
Martine
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"We saw one more lesson this morning (unfortunately the afternoon was canceled due to a political protest caused by rising oil prices). This lesson used more resources than the others we have seen so far. It was a Grade 4 class with approximately 15 students present. The class started off with a quiet meditation/blessing which the students took very seriously. The objective was clear on the board, though both Martine and I were confused by the end of the lesson. It was not clear that the objective had been met, nor were the students made aware of the objective. I think just a little bit more lesson plan structure would be a simple and highly productive addition - by using a starter (or introductory activity) and a short plenary (or quick review) at the end of the lesson, students would find their language learning more grounded, and not just random words floating through their minds for 40 minutes.
The teacher made quite an effort using visuals to tell a story to the students. Once the story was finished, students were asked to pronounce and spell out vocabulary words from the story. This went on for quite some time. Students are asked to rise from their seats, and once they are standing, they say the word, spell it, and then say the word again, spelling bee style. Later, the students were asked to come to the front of the room and do a similar activity. This time the whole class repeated back what the student at the front had said. This caused some rather erroneous pronunciation of many of the words.
After observing three classes, there are some recurring elements coming up. Drills are popular - asking the students to repeat words over and over again, or spell them over and over again. Individual work is most common - we have not seen any group work and just a small element of partner work. What perhaps is most different from the way we teach languages in the UK (and Canada) is the lack of context in the learning here. Each lessons seems separate from the rest. I'm not sure if this is a factor of us arriving during exam time, and thus seeing "unreal" lessons in an isolated fashion, but even the way the textbook is structured, there is no overarching theme that the students can hold onto. They move from grammar to spelling to another grammar point, perhaps to a small game, and then a written drill. The topics and the vocabulary do not hang together as a coherent whole.
We are a bit hesitant offering negative feedback or "constructive criticism" at this stage. After all, what is being done is not "wrong" per se, it is just a different style of teaching. We hope that by attending the workshop, the teachers will be able to gather some fresh ideas and methods that they can apply in their classrooms. Changing from the "old fashioned" system to what he have now in the UK (and North America) was a gradual change that took over 50 years, so we certainly can't expect overnight results here! I feel that more resources would certainly be helpful - flashcards, vocabulary packs, laminated short story boards, etc. But at the same time, through the workshop, Martine and I hope we have can show the teachers that even with minimal resources, there are different approaches that can be taken.
Tomorrow I teach in the morning, and Martine in the afternoon - it should make for an interesting report!
Monika :)
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"We saw one more lesson this morning (unfortunately the afternoon was canceled due to a political protest caused by rising oil prices). This lesson used more resources than the others we have seen so far. It was a Grade 4 class with approximately 15 students present. The class started off with a quiet meditation/blessing which the students took very seriously. The objective was clear on the board, though both Martine and I were confused by the end of the lesson. It was not clear that the objective had been met, nor were the students made aware of the objective. I think just a little bit more lesson plan structure would be a simple and highly productive addition - by using a starter (or introductory activity) and a short plenary (or quick review) at the end of the lesson, students would find their language learning more grounded, and not just random words floating through their minds for 40 minutes.
The teacher made quite an effort using visuals to tell a story to the students. Once the story was finished, students were asked to pronounce and spell out vocabulary words from the story. This went on for quite some time. Students are asked to rise from their seats, and once they are standing, they say the word, spell it, and then say the word again, spelling bee style. Later, the students were asked to come to the front of the room and do a similar activity. This time the whole class repeated back what the student at the front had said. This caused some rather erroneous pronunciation of many of the words.
After observing three classes, there are some recurring elements coming up. Drills are popular - asking the students to repeat words over and over again, or spell them over and over again. Individual work is most common - we have not seen any group work and just a small element of partner work. What perhaps is most different from the way we teach languages in the UK (and Canada) is the lack of context in the learning here. Each lessons seems separate from the rest. I'm not sure if this is a factor of us arriving during exam time, and thus seeing "unreal" lessons in an isolated fashion, but even the way the textbook is structured, there is no overarching theme that the students can hold onto. They move from grammar to spelling to another grammar point, perhaps to a small game, and then a written drill. The topics and the vocabulary do not hang together as a coherent whole.
We are a bit hesitant offering negative feedback or "constructive criticism" at this stage. After all, what is being done is not "wrong" per se, it is just a different style of teaching. We hope that by attending the workshop, the teachers will be able to gather some fresh ideas and methods that they can apply in their classrooms. Changing from the "old fashioned" system to what he have now in the UK (and North America) was a gradual change that took over 50 years, so we certainly can't expect overnight results here! I feel that more resources would certainly be helpful - flashcards, vocabulary packs, laminated short story boards, etc. But at the same time, through the workshop, Martine and I hope we have can show the teachers that even with minimal resources, there are different approaches that can be taken.
Tomorrow I teach in the morning, and Martine in the afternoon - it should make for an interesting report!
Monika :)
1 comment:
Hello Martine and Monika
Fantastic reports that give an insight into Nepali classrooms. The teachers' and pupils' commitment shines through. I wish you luck with the workshops. It was our experience last year that Nepali teachers are equally as keen as UK teachers to do the best for the children in their schools. I'm sure they will appreciate some new ideas to improve learnng. It may have taken UK/Canada education systems 50 years to change but they can have the benefit of condensing that learning and miss out on the wasted trials.
I only know Martine but together I'm sure you are both so dynamic and positive that you will inspire everyone.
I'll make sure everyone at Haverigg checks out your blogs amidst the parties, carols and performances!
Best wishes. Have fun!
Janice
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