For my practicum, I attend two classes taught by my sponsor teacher. I usually complete four hours each day since each class is two hours long, with the exception of one class that is cut short on Fridays. One of the classes focuses on reading while the other focuses on listening and speaking. So far, I have completed seven hours of observation towards fulfilling the requirements for my practicum. These hours were spread over the course of two days—May 13th and 24th.

Reflecting on the courses

The reading course is very curriculum-based and the topics that are taught in the class are pre-determined by the department. The students have both a midterm and final exam. The actual content of the two exams is unknown to the instructors to prevent the instructors from "teaching to the test." As such, the instructors in the English program are under a lot of pressure to cover everything so that the students are prepared for their exams. The program also has short quizzes. However, the material covered in the quizzes and how it is tested are flexible and determined by the instructor.

The conversational course is not curriculum-based and the instructor has the freedom to modify what is taught in the lessons. Should there not be enough time to cover all of the material in the syllabus, the instructor can decide not to teach a unit or particular activities. Since there are no exams, the instructor gets to decide what the students are quizzed on. The students are assessed on their participation in class and their ability to complete major projects or tasks. For example, one of the units is on participating in social events and students learn about holidays and other types of celebrations in Canada. Students were asked to do a short presentation in class where they compare a holiday or celebration from their own country and/or culture to a similar holiday or celebration in Canada.

One of the things that has surprised me so far has been the degree to which activities from the textbooks are used as resources. I am used to the CLB guidelines where the teaching community has created a wealth of resources and examples of real life tasks that students work towards completing as they develop the necessary language and skills that they need. In my practicum, the activities in the textbook are sometimes modified but the amount of opportunities to include different types of activities (such as those that suit different ways of thinking and processing information) are very limited. This is especially true for the reading class. As such, I will look for opportunities to supplement the textbook in my teaching time.

I was also surprised by the lack of technology present in the classroom. The TESL program has emphasized the role of technology in the classroom and has encouraged us to use it in our lessons. However, I find that its absence in LINC classrooms and the classroom for the English program I was placed in does not reflect this. The classroom uses technology sparingly for reviews and/or games as filler activities. The instruction for both classrooms still rely on traditional teaching methods where the teacher provides notes on the whiteboard and verbal instruction/lectures. In the case of the classroom that I volunteer in, the lack of technology in lessons is likely due to a lack of funding and/or the impracticality of having literacy students using unfamiliar technology. However, I assume that the program classroom does not have these problems since every student has a cellphone. As such, I will look for opportunities to use technology in the classroom.



References

Medina, Lorelyn. (2018). Illustration of an Asian Girl Teacher Teaching English to a Group of Kids in Class [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-vector/illustration-asian-girl-teacher-teaching-english-1214896024