Super, Clare, Super!

Hello from India!
A bit about the project and how it started
Well many of you may already have heard of our project with SPPD but just in case I’ll give a quick sum up. Just over a year ago two of the esteemed teachers/ managers from Annalivia School made the trip of a life time to Incredible India and while they were there they met up with some people who had started a really worthwhile project here. The project was SPPD, which stands for the society for poor people’s development. They really do a lot of good work looking after very poor kids in their children’s home and in the community. You can check out more information on their webpage,(www.sppd.org). When the boys from Annalivia visited their main area of interest was how could we help? Being an English language school the best we could to do was to help out with the educational work they do, specifically their English classes and that was how it started.
Kevin and Peter taught for two weeks and wrote up a report and decided that continued English classes would be of great benefit to both the staff and the kids so they set up the scholarship programme with our TEFL course. This meant trainee teachers starting out could have a opportunity to do some very rewarding teaching with the support of experience EFL people behind them and the kids and staff could have regular English classes! English is the international language of business and although many Indians speak English very well, many only know the very basics, ‘’hello, how are you?’’ ‘’I’m fine.’’ The children being able to communicate effectively in English would really give them the edge when they want to go to university or need to look for a job.
Our teachers
I was a little jealous of the guys and their exciting new project. Soon we sent our first teacher David. (check out his blog, he was a big fan of the food here!) He worked really hard to give the kids a good base in understanding and using simple English with lots of ‘Simple Simon says’ and ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and toes,’ and he got stuck into the grammar with the staff. Proper order!
The second teacher to take up the challenge was Derek. He kept up the momentum with lots of games and competitions for the kids and giving his social nature lots of fluency practice for everyone! (for more see his blog entry!)
I couldn’t wait. I volunteered to come and see the project for myself but I couldn’t spare 3 months! The guys were keen to have someone on the ground do a needs anaylsis on what our next steps should be. I could come for two weeks and do some work on the programme and materials to help our teachers out over here. Perfect!
So here I am. It’s my first time to India so lots of things to get used to and I was quite nervous setting out but what an experience! The food is great, especially for me because as a vegetarian I fit right in. I’m also delighted to eat with my hand! The people are so warm and friendly. My only regret is that I don’t speak more Tamil. It is a very difficult language and I am a very slow student but every day the kitchen staff and the kids try to teach me!
The kids are the real reward for the long journey and hard work. It may sound like a cliché but they really have a lot to teach us. Many of them have lost a parent or two and really have very little but they are so generous and grateful for every little thing. They close their eyes and bow their heads to pray before their dinner and the one word I understand is, ‘nan ree’, thank you. It’s a humbling experience being here, even if everything I teach is, ‘’super Clara, super, thank you.’’
Is the program working?
Some visitors to SPPD were delighted with the kids’ ability to quiz them as was I when I arrived. Thanks to the boys they have the confidence and the English to ask lots of questions, ‘’what’s your mother’s name?’’ ‘’do you like cricket? ‘’ ‘’ where are you coming from? ‘’
That last question I haven’t bothered to correct it since everyone here says it and we have lots of other work to do! But yes, it is working, they can ask and answer and for the most part communicate better than the average Indian I met at the train station.
How can I help?
This is the bit where I ain’t too proud to beg!
If you wish to learn more or donate please see www.sppd.org or if are interested in our scholarship program please contact peter@annaliviaschool.com , if you wish to learn more about the programme we are teaching here contact me on clare@annaliviaschool.com

An amazing opportunity...

Hi all,
Some of you may already be aware of the programme we run in India in conjunction with SPPD. This is normally a scholarship in conjunction with our teacher training courses but as we have been unable to run one this June we have decided to throw the programme open to all former trainees and teachers so please send the following information to everyone you think might be interested.

The programme happens between September and December, which is the most comfortable time of year to visit India.

It takes place in arid plains of rural Tamil Nadu among the tribal villages where they eke out a living from subsistence agriculture. A stunning place at the end of the rainy season when the flat fields stretch all the way to the distant hills that fringe the horizon. There is an allowance for 2 weeks holiday in the programme which would allow you to travel to the ocean, visit the hill stations or do a tour of the magnificient Hindu tenples in Tamil Nadu and nieghbouring states. These are places that very few foreign tourists get to see.

You would be asked to teach small groups of orphan and semi-orphan children who SPPD support through the school system and for whom a command of English is the key not only to social mobility but also to being able to protect themselves from discrimination on the part of the administrative and legal system and when they go to work in non-Tamil speaking parts oft he country.

For more on SPPD check out this link.

You would be provided with:
- Comfortable European Style Accommodation in the SPPD community centre.
- Full board in the centre including plenty of dosai (rice pancakes) and tasty local curries.
- Pocket money of approx 2000 rupees a month, paid on a weekly basis.
- A laptop and internet access.
- A two day induction and weekly academic support for your time there.

In addition!
We will refund up to 800 Euro on your return to cover the cost of your travel.

You do not have to be based in Ireland to apply but would need to be able to come to Dunloaghaire for the induction in September.

There is some more information here. (NB: References to the scholarship do not apply).
http://www.annaliviaschool.com/annaliviaschool/Main/sppd.htm

So if you are interested email kevin@annaliviaschool.com with your name, contact details, a brief outline of your expereince and an explanation of why you are interested in taking on the project.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Hello, my name is Derek and I travelled to India at the start of the New Year. I left Irelands winter and arrived to an ‘Indian winter’, at the start of January, with temperatures in the high twenties. Arriving in India is always a bit of a shock as the air is heavy with heat and the country operates in a type of organised chaos.

When I first thought about taking on this role I imagined teaching to large classes outside under the shade of a tree with anything up to 100 children, but in fact after talking with Peter from the Annalivia School he informed me that there would be a total of 24 children divided in to 3 separate classes. Locally teachers here can have classes up to 75 students at a time.

After arriving and settling in at the SPPD center, the facilities and location were noticeable different then what I had imagined. The center received large sponsorship aid from the Irish government when built so facilities are really quite impressive when compared to other Indian standards.

The childrens classes I taught were always appreciated by the children and in India they tend to want to grab your attention and always try and tell and explain things which really shows that they are confident in making the effort to communicate. The children are all at varying levels and ages which keeps things interesting and of course a little frustrating at times.

The children have a busy routine here as they go to school outside the center for the main part of the day and then in the evening between some study time, eating and 30 minutes free time, there day is coming to an end.

During my volunteer programme, there was also adult classes run on a routine basis which was a great way to meet some of the staff here at SPPD, who are all really easy going and good company to be with. Indian people are always friendly and trying to help you. Generally between staff and local people there is always a keen interest in your day to day happenings and some amazement with seeing a person of a different nationality.

One thing that I found a little easier about coming to India initially is that English is a ‘second language’ here so it is possible to communicate with people in many circumstances.

Although be aware just because an Indian can ask you your name and where is your native place i.e. Where are you from? It does not mean they can ask you anything else, the equivalent of many Irish people been able to say a few native words in their mother tongue ( e.g. Dia Dhuit, Conas a ta tu? ) And then getting stuck to say anything else.

There is a huge importance for the children to learn English as it can mean the difference between succeeding in jobs at varying levels here in India, as all official

and corporate work is conducted through English.

A big difference in life I find here is that the time between work, social and recreation becomes a bit of a blur and may in fact be mixed in to there day at work, do not tell any Indian that. Indians having an average working week of six days, this gives them one day off to relax.

My teaching experience has been greatly helped here with the constant guidance from the Annalivia School, with help on ideas and steps in making my lesson plans more simple and easy to go though. Also some of the staff from the Annalivia School have experience of been here so it has really helped make me feel more comfortable starting this project in the outset.

I would recommend this to any new or practising teachers. It was also a great help to talk with and ask questions to the previous volunteer that was here. I would be happy to help answer any queries people may have. Contact me at derekb70@hotmail.com

For information on applying for the scholarship, please click here

Patricks Day 2010!!

It's THAT time of the year again! for one day only, Ireland will become ultra irish and the world will turn Irish. We'll have green make-up, green Guinness, Green Milkshakes, Green Hair cuts. Ireland will suddenly fill up with tourists for 1 week and, for a few days, we'll celebrate our patron Saint Patrick. This year is a funny one, as St. Patricks' day falls on a Wednesday and so the people that organise these things, have decided to run a 6 day festival, culminating in the parade and party on the 17th.

The wonderful Diane, our social coordinator, will, as usual, be organising a huge day out for the 17th as well as a outings during the whole week leading up to it. There'll be comedy acts, the "skyfest" which is a huge fireworks display, Irish dancing, concerts and lots and lots of Guinness...

Last year, some of our students were in the parade itself, and afterwards, we booked the VIP section of the PURTY KITCHEN in Dublin's famous Temple Bar and had a typical Irish dinner followed dancing and partying...
March is a good time to be an English Student in Ireland! So, where will you be this St. Patricks Day 2010?

Our Man in India...

In December 2008, Annalivia School launched a scholarship programme for teacher's willing to teach English for 3 months in a childrens' charity (SPPD) in India. David Purdy was the first teacher to take on this challenge. He left for India in September and is coming towards the end of his time. We asked him to write a few words and here they are:

They told me that if I could get through the CELT course then I could get through anything. I certainly felt that way after successfully completing the course last June 2009, but for all the ups and downs and near failures during the teacher training, nothing could have prepared me for life as an English teacher........in India.
It helps to have been here before but that isn’t to imply that first-timers to India shouldn’t consider applying for this scholarship. It is not only great teaching experience, but also a great life experience.

Everybody here in SPPD is super-friendly and will go out of their way to help you, not that you need much help with anything. It helps if you like Indian food (I do) and despite the repetition, I have grown very fond of staple breakfast favourites like idlis (rice cakes) or dosai (rice pancakes) with their various accompanying chutneys............yummy..........
Sorry, got carried away there thinking about groundnut chutney (my favourite). I am supposed to be writing about English teaching. Well, where can I start? As a rookie English teacher (this is my first ever teaching job), this has probably been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Ever. Even harder than the CELT course.........or maybe not. Can’t decide on that one I’m afraid. But I don’t want to put people off ! It has also been one of the best things I’ve ever done and opened my eyes as to how other people live and what they use English for.
The big hurdle here is the fact that the students have to do quite a lot of ‘unlearning’ of the English they have been taught in school. A lot of their teachers have poor communicative English skills themselves which are inevitably passed onto their pupils. My pupils. So it is a difficult process to explain to grown adults that they are in fact saying something incorrectly, something they may have been saying for years in English-speaking India and being perfectly understood. But it is important to stress to them that the English I am imparting to them is different to what may be accepted in India, and not to dismiss what they may have learnt before as being incorrect. SPPD staff need to improve their English communication skills as a large amount of their necessary fundraising is dependent on foreign English speaking countries.
Aside from that small problem of ‘unlearning’, the students are very keen to learn and everyone really enjoys the various games employed to make their lessons more fun. Children’s classes are divided into teams, each competing to win the ‘English Games League’ for which I still have to decide on a prize. These kids are so competitive that if they are losing by too many points they can get very dejected and upset, akin to throwing in the towel. It calls for another skill altogether to slightly manipulate the scores to keep them on a level pegging. This is done by deducting penalty points if teams speak too much Tamil in class (not allowed!) or if they speak out of turn.
I am tempted to mention the confusion which arises from the often ridiculed unique Indian ‘head-wiggle’, but let’s just say that it doesn’t take very long before you can tell a wiggle (meaning yes), from a rotating shake (meaning no).
Spare time is spent keeping fit. You have to do this in order to counter the inevitable weight gain from a diet of so much rice. You can go cycling or running in the surrounding countryside and some of my jaunts have turned into 'Rocky' moments, with streams of kids chasing the only white man they've probably ever seen. There is even the occasional autograph hunter. Really. Okay, there was only ever one autograph hunter, but it's still a first for me...........
Finally, Annalivia have constantly been at hand to help with lesson planning and advice. I couldn't have done it without them. Like I said, this is probably the hardest thing I've ever done and I am dying to start my holidays in 10 days time, but I would recommend this position to all experienced and newly-trained teachers out there who may be looking for a new challenge.
David Purdy, SPPD, Musiri, Tamil Nadu 01/12/2009.

If you feel you might be up for the challenge, would like to become a qualified English CELT teacher then please check here for more information.

Standing, sitting, rocking or pacing ...

Do you ever look at your teacher and wonder if they were to stand somewhere else in the classroom would you learn more? Is where they stand in the classroom important? Is how they stand important? If they sit in front of you, behind you, behind a large desk or they give the class their back and you can't see their face? Do these factors affect how the student learns?

Don't get me wrong, if a teacher is a "bad" teacher, i don't think they'll become a good teacher by standing in a different corner of the room, but I do think we've all had the type of teacher that sits behind a desk, with an open book in front of them and essentially lectures the class. An English teacher, teaching students using a communicative approach to teaching, needs to facilitate learning and a lecture style class just doesn't work.

Some teachers have so much energy they hop around a class room, this energy can be contagious and students get completely drawn in. Nice. Although I'm sure some students find it annoying, particularly students that feel the class is moving too fast or students new to that level.

I know a (very good) teacher that, once he has set up a speaking activity, sits in his chair, his back to the class and just takes notes on what he hears. He does this because he found that when students are speaking to each other, they will often be very conscious that a teacher is listening and will periodically stop mid-sentence and look at the teacher to check if the sentence was correct. This wasn't helping their fluency. By sitting this way, he avoided eye contact with the students and he found that they were more likely to speak fluently. He'd note down most of the mistakes they made and tackle them after the speaking task had been completed.

Then there's the teacher who circulates around the students, checks their written work, looking over their shoulders, paying a lot of attention to every student. Sounds good? Maybe not, a lot of cultures don't like you in their personal space. They are not used to it and it makes them uncomfortable.

I strongly believe that if I were to look through a window into a classroom, it should be difficult to differentiate a teacher from a student. If a student feels that the teacher is at their level, they'll be more comfortable. If students are comfortable, they are more likely to learn.

So, what's best? Casually pacing around the class? A mix of all the above? I think it depends on what you are comfortable with (and your level of fitness). If you have a well thought out class, with clear outcomes and objectives, you are relaxed and can put the students at ease, then it probably doesn't matter.

Just as long as you're not sitting behind a desk.

Are women better than men at learning languages?

Yes. The answer is, unfortunately, yes.

Why? Here are some questions and answers that will show you what I mean...

Why learn a language? To communicate.

What's the best way to learn a language? By communicating.

What are (one of the things) men really bad at? COMMUNICATING.

Ok and there's also lots of neuroscienfic proof in an interesting article here

I'm going to ask the teachers in Annalivia School if they agree and get back to you all...

What are your thoughts?