An-American-in-Malta

Studying in Malta

 

              CELTA Class Syllabus

 

Before CELTA

 

 

 

 

During CELTA

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY AFTER CELTA

                                          Studying in Malta

        It's my CELTA and I Can Cry

                          If I Want To....

 

 

 

(For those of you less than 100, my title is paraphrased from an old song by Leslie Gore in the 60's.)

 

Last Friday around noon Malta time--It finally happened: I cried in front of my teacher--yes, that one--in class.  At least, I wasn't the first student to do so.

 

I thought I had done a good job teaching a class of intermediates,  and so did all my trainee peers.  But the teacher--the one who gives you the grade-- apparently didn't think it was so good.  I didn't fail it; it just was OK--just standard for this time of the course.  Well, I can't wait for this time of the class to be over with.

 

The only good thing that came out of Friday was all the support of my fellow colleagues--mostly Maltese--who cheered me on and told me that they were going through the same thing.

 

The worst part about this course is that it makes you doubt whether or not you even want to teach ESL afterwards.  Well, I may not know if teaching ESL is for me, but I do know one thing:  Malta is for me.  I love the people here.  And if that's all I get out of this CELTA course, then it was worth it.

 

No, that's a lie.  I better get the f_____ certificate out of this course, too.

 

Hang in there with me, would you?

 

 

It was Carnival this weekend in Valletta. This was fun and colorful and cheered me up for about 2 microseconds.

Professor A

                                        Studying in Malta

                    I Knew You'd Read It!

 

                This is my teacher Professor A with the CELTA course I'm taking.   But I have another teacher--Mr. Louis--who is really good-looking. 

 

But my luck.  I had to email my teacher A about a paper we were doing. He apparently saw my blog address--yes, this blog--and read it.  And told me he read it and liked it.  So, how am I supposed to write anymore about the CELTA course and how I feel, etc., etc.?

 

He promised that he won't read it until after the course is over and the grades are posted.  "So what do you think?" he asked.  Right.  He's British and goes..."Riiiiiiiiiiight" whenever he wants to change the topic. 

 

So what do I think, Prof A?  You're so vain, I bet you think this blog is about you........Now we'll see if he keeps his promise and doesn't read it.

 

It's halftime with the CELTA--and here's what I've done:

-Taught six classes.

-Got just a passing grade to standard--not above standard--as everyone else got, I think.

-Cried three times--once in the street, once in classroom with other students--no other teachers there.  And one time somewhere just for luck.

-Comforted two other women crying--one in class in front of the teacher; one just in front of us CELTA students.

-Developed a severe case of public bathroom phobia because the toilets in the school don't flush.  Here I am in the most prestigious English-language school in Malta and one of the best in the world, actually, and I watch as the secretary has to take a bucket into the bathroom because the toilets won't flush.

-Passed my first written paper.  There are three more to go.

-Finally slept five hours in a row this weekend.

-Made some wonderful Maltese friends these past two weeks who I don't think I could ever live without now.

 

As for Professor A, well....I think I can live without you.

Studying in Malta

                                    Expat Living in Malta

                    What This Course

                     Has Made Me Do

 

 

 

1. Because I've had so much work in this CELTA class--at home--after 9 hours of the class itself--I haven't done a wash in a week.  No time. Two days I ago, I spilled chocolate on my bathrobe.  Finally, I licked it off.  And then I gained a pound from that.

 

2. I also haven't washed a dish in a week.  Now I have to throw some away.  Those are the ones that my cat didn't lick.  At least those I could put back in the cupboard without drying.

 

3. They told us to talk to ourselves in the mirror at home, practicing what we're going to say to the classes we teach.  Well, I don't know if my students are learning English, but my cat is.    (No, R and B--I'm not getting like Grandma was--not yet, anyway.)

 

4. Yesterday, I finally got the nerve to go up to a Maltese vegetable vendor (I've been scared to since I've been in Malta), and he threw a banana at me after I corrected his English.

 

5.  We have a lunch break but we don't have time to go anywhere and eat because most of the break is for getting ready for the class we're going to teach right after.  So I have to make my lunch every day.  On Wednesday, I brought my trash instead of my lunch bag.  And I ate it.   And I gained a pound from that.

 

6. My cat scratched me last night when I went near her bowl.  For God Sakes, I was going to leave her half!  Doesn't she know that by now?

 

7.  The other night I ate eight Mozart marzipan chocolate candies.  And then if that wasn't bad enough, afterwards I had dessert.

 

The worst thing this class has done is to prevent me from responding to your comments--which is my favorite thing.  This blog is the only thing that calms me down now.  It's the only place I can say what I want freely and not in a controlled, choreographed way.  And I appreciate all your support and encouragement.  And I will be getting to those comments.  I promise.

Studying in Malta

                                 Expat Living in Malta

                    The First Class

 

 

I

 

                             No, that's not me. But it could be.

 

Well, I'm not worried about feeling like I'm in a foreign country anymore; I feel like I'm on another planet.

 

A few observations on my first CELTA class today:

1. There were twelve students there--well, 13 if you count my pimple.

2. There were only two men.

3. I like my two teachers (male) very much and am already wondering if I could ever match up to them in the least someday.

4. Many students are already experienced English teachers, taking the CELTA to improve their skills.

5. I'm not one of them.

6. We were told that this CELTA course is the equivalent of a one-year course in only one month.

7. That means that at the end of this month, I will have aged a decade.

 

Folks, that's all I can tell you right now. I did my homework for tonight.  I have to make my lunch for tomorrow and I don't want to.  I want chocolate so much now--but I can't have it because every woman in the class is thin and beautiful. Every single one. How can that be?  The youngest is 18; the oldest is probably me--almost 56.  Another woman may be a bit older.

 

Thanks for listening.  Will let you know how it goes in a couple of days.  I hope all of you are doing OK.