Teaching English

My class has grown! I now have 7 students (7.5 if you include Max’s 3 year old little sister who much enjoys our classes and has already mastered “hello” and “later.” Although some of the more in depth themes give her trouble her class participation is unrivaled). So I began my connection with Education Resource Center ( CRP) through Gregoria Apaza although that affiliation is no longer in tact- Gregoria decided they didn’t want me to be teaching in a setting beyond their control in a many-times anti-American/impoverished city. So I decided to teach any way. One because I really enjoy it and had already made the commitment to the director and two, because we had already had two classes. Although I was informed that these students had a decent base in English and I would be focusing on conversation, that was entirely incorrect.

All my preparation was conversation games and vocabulary building- now its numbers, introductions, present-tense conjugation, and basic grammar. Turns out they had had “a year or more of English” but only once a week for less than an hour and apparently with little to no use of mnemonics; or anything they would or could ever use in a classroom or real-life setting.Additionally I’m making all my own materials- the CRP has no money for texts and I haven’t found any English textbooks in the scattered corner librerias which are more like supply stores with a few books here or there. I’m still looking around and have a couple good leads but until then I’m the writer and editor. Which I suppose sounds alright but last I checked Wake Forest didn’t teach me how to write educational texts. On the other hand, I really enjoy it- I like the creativity and freedom of it. Next week we're going to teach eachother how to cook a dish and on Thursday we're going to have a poprock festival when we translate their favorite English songs. Any suggestions and/or resources are gladly welcomed!