The Secret Recipe to teachers’ learning

"Fools learn when they must. Wise people learn when they can." (Duke of Wellington (1769 - 1852)

"...Teachers learn all the time." (Hassan Meneimneh)

Duke of Wellington Painted by Rembrandt Peale
and currently showing at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
(via www.artclon.com)

You can find more about the 1st Duke of Wellington on BBC– History or On AudioEnglish.net

You can enjoy more quotes about The Duke when you visit WikiQuote

Honestly, I am amazed how I made it passed this week. I started teaching a new intensive course on Monday. The course runs for 3 weeks of 6 hours daily including Saturdays. So I will be teaching 12 straight hours per day with only an hour for lunch in between the two courses, only to spend it on the road commuting between campuses. Between teaching hours and time spend on the roads and preparing for my courses, I was left with only a few out of the 24 hours in each day to spend on the e-course assignments. As soon as I finish writing those lines I will be completing all my assignments for Week 3 and all within deadline and you might hear my roar: I did it!

How did I do it? I guess with proper planning and lots of enthusiasm of following on the exciting knowledge this course is bringing. The third week of the course held more learning in its folds then the previous two.

The “Project Task” for this week consists on reading and analyzing one of our predecessors’ Final Project Reports, from a selection provided by our instructors. This exercise exposed me to the final output required from us at the end of the course. So now, I can see the finish line and focus on reaching it. It is good to see where you are going then enjoy the ride. One can learn a lot from analyzing a ‘good’ sample product. It encourages critical thinking while drawing guidelines from the strengths and weaknesses of others’ work. The compilation of my colleagues’ analysis provides even a thicker guide.

The Technology Tool of the Week

Delicious is delicious on its own, but the overwhelming number of wonderful links shared by my colleagues is just the cherry on top! In just one week and my list is rich with great bookmarks and that is only about Oral/Aural Skill Building. The counter will run even faster as we go through all other skills in the next weeks. I am drooling and so ready to dig in!

The suggested readings on Building Oral/Aural Skills for ESL/EFL are quite informative and efficient in provoking an interesting discussion around the subject. The various backgrounds and experiences of the course participants and their enthusiasm enriched the discussion thread on Nicenet and shed light on few overlooked aspects of the subject like the importance and approaches of teaching pronunciation in some countries and the alternative tools and methods for enhancing the Listening/Speaking Skill learning experience, especially the student self-learning.

This week is coming to a close with a giant step further in my continuous learning journey.  Time well spent.