tyler,
i'm very busy these days planning lessons. today was my first experience teaching and i came away with mixed results. first, my lesson was about moral values and family values, mostly geared to get my students speaking to one another. they're upper-intermediate level, which means they understand natural speech but miss a lot of articles and pronunciation and vocab.
they were all very interested in my lesson until one of the korean students started talking about a "hypothetical" situation about telling the teacher when one of her fellow students cheated on an exam. she went on and on, trying to clarify her story, but we were all lost, mostly in her accent. as moderator, i suddenly became confused on how to handle the situation, then i move on to my next discussion. in foresight, it would have been a great time to address new vocab, but, as it was my first class, i failed on the opportunity.
so i ended my lesson thinking i royally screwed up and lost track of my goals. however, the instructor reviewing me said i did a great job being patient, not losing the respect of my students. he said i achieved my first lesson goal -- getting the students talking -- which was all that was expected of me on my first day.
tomorrow my lesson involves a hand out where i discuss death, dying, and killing, and associated vocabulary. then i'll cover a matching execise where the student try to match famous people who died with their last words. it should make for a very chipper class, don't you think? not really. anyway, we'll see how it goes. i'm starting to pick up a lot of useful skills. the most important thing to remember that teaching is entirely different than regular communication, and much of the interactions are very simple and deliberate, without any eloboration or courtesy. it's very strange, but i'm getting the hang of it.
as far as prague, i doubt i'll ever leave. honestly: i feel truly happy for the first time in my life. before now, it felt i was living for other people and being forced to do things i didn't want to do (which i was). i was always somewhere i didn't want to be around people i didn't want to see. now, i'm in one of the most beautiful, hospitable places in the world and feel almost constant joy for life. you, being in your ideal spot, probably have an idea of what i'm talking about. so, i'm probably never leaving here, and, after speaking to some instructors at the school, i think they're interested in hiring my there after i graduate. either way, and unlike america, employment will be a certainty.
i hope all is well. let me know how your schooling is going. i'm just too busy to help these days.
a-dios,
keith
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