My schedule is as follows: 1-2, 5-6, 6-7, 7-8:30. It's the same for Mon/Wed as Tues/Thurs in terms of hours, but each pair of days involves different classes. Fortunately I'm not teaching a full-load like some of the others, who have 4-5 and 8:30-10 (yes that's PM) classes as well. It's not so much a long day (and it is long even though we start late) as the planning that is involved with so many classes. I guess I should be thankful that 4 of my classes are the same level--supposedly. The only thing with that is each class is different and will undoubtedly be at different points once we start on their textbook.
It was a long and trying week because the textbooks haven't arrived, and we had to find materials suitable for levels of students that we are only just getting to know. Of course the indicated level is not quite an accurate description of classroom dynamics, as we are getting familiar with pretty quickly....
I'm teaching a big mix of classes, with one very young and beginner's level class of 6-8 year olds, which is pretty cute and fun so far. There are only 3 of them and the other day we played a game to review (or learn for the first time) body parts. They enjoyed sticking tags all over me to indicate my ears, knees, nose etc. I've got 4 groups of an elementary level group of 10-12 year olds, which seems to be the most challenging level so far. Sometimes they are still but once you get them started, they talk and talk and talk and interrupt and run around, and control is but a faint hope in the distance. Still working on how to deal with more classroom management (rules, discipline, rewards etc) which isn't my forte....being strict isn't really my style but it needs to be done here! I also have one group of teens 12-14 who are at quite a high level and foresee doing the Cambridge First Certificate Exam (FCE) in the future. They are quite the opposite of the 10-12s because they are quite subdued, in their teenager ways. :) They are a good group (only 5) and we have been doing various topics--taught them about gambling the other day! ;D Lastly at the end of the night, I end off nicely with very relaxed adult classes. Both are quite high upper-intermediate/advanced levels, so it's nice to be able to have good conversations and let them practise without having to worry about babysitting issues! With Spanish adults, you don't have to worry so much about them not contributing to the conversation! :D I had more of an issue with shy students not wanting to speak out in Canada, but not here! There are of course some that are more hesitant, but you will undoubtedly find a topic to stir the pot a little. ;)
So it's the long weekend here too, and not because it's Thanksgiving, but because it's the Spanish national day on Monday the 12th. It doesn't seem like a big deal as far as I can tell, but hey, it's a much-needed extra day off. We were all exhausted today and it showed while we were having meetings and doing planning. None of us seemed to have gotten much done after about 6 hours of admin work of the day....
I'm going to head off for a mini-vacation to Portugal for 2 days, just to explore another town and get out of the house for a bit. Even though I have lots to do, I don't want to spend the next few days sitting at home working, or probably more like getting distracted and wandering in circles. =P Instead I'll be meeting up with Ruben again and we're going to be tourists in Porto, one of the major cities in Portugal, the country known for towels, coffee and peanuts (among other things).
The weather is supposed to be great (unusual for this time of year) and staying in the mid to high 20s throughout the following days....the world it is a changing!
The next holiday is the beginning of December...a long, long weekend of 5 days free! Something to think about as we slog through the following tough weeks...
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to folks back home! Eat some turkey and pumpkin pie for me, and be thankful for the autumn beauty that has arrived before you. :)
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