TEFL Dagsboro Delaware

Two summers ago, I signed up for an intensive Arabic course for beginner and intermediate level students. The course, which was provided at a local mosque, was free of charge and spanned five weeks of summer. The imam who taught the class warned us to take the “intensive” part of the course's title seriously. He also informed us that throughout his years of teaching, his experience was that many students, for a variety of reasons, would quit. When the five weeks ended, I was the only student left in class and by this time had gotten to experience both group and one-to-one learning and teaching. As an aspiring teacher of english as a foreign language, the shift in dynamic and methodologies as the class's numbers shrank began to interest me. The course was two days a week and two hours each class. Its pace relied heavily on homework assignments and on each student's willingness to put in large amounts of time outside of class. During the first lesson, introductions were made and general conversation was started as a way to determine learners' interests, levels, goals, and reasons for studying Arabic. From there, the imam imparted general advice on how best to acquire the language and the alphabet. After these brief introductions, we launched into reading and writing the alphabet, as well as learning pronunciation and honing our listening skills. What was interesting to me was the imam's method of fast-paced teaching, as well as the other students' motivational levels. As homework became increasingly more difficult, students began dropping out of class; however, as students quit, the imam began to take more personal notice of the ones who remained. He divided the class into two groups – beginner and intermediate – and taught to each level. After working with one level, he would either divide students into pairs or have us singly work on exercises while he spoke with the other level. The class would work together as a whole during pronunciation drills or more general discussions. As more and more students either dropped out or became irregular in their attendance, the imam's teaching became more and more geared toward individual students' needs. At times, he even altered his pace to accommodate those of us who remained, and the content and speed of the class became much more of a compromise between teacher and student. Ultimately, by the end of the course, I felt I had experienced a variety of teaching methods. In the beginning, I was both grateful for and intimidated by the larger numbers in the class. I was hesitant to speak because of my complete lack of knowledge of the language, yet I was determined to catch up, to reach a point where I could better participate. The imam's teaching style, which did not have very many activate phases and relied heavily on worksheets and study, was still conducive to a larger learning environment, and he made good use of group pronunciation drills and pair work. Finally, by the last day of class, I had already had several one-to-one lessons with the imam. Knowing that I might be the only student in class further motivated me to complete my homework and allowed me to feel freer in asking questions or in expressing what I still hoped to learn. The imam was flexible in these regards, too, and made sure to combine my hoped-for trajectory with his pre-planned lessons. From those experiences two summers ago, I not only learned a smattering of Arabic, but I learned the importance of having both structure and adaptability. I also learned the drawbacks and benefits to working with large and small groups as well as single students. While large groups may be more conducive to a greater variety of activities, smaller groups allow both teacher and student to hone and narrow their focus. With smaller groups, too, a heavier workload can be more effective, as questions or concerns can be addressed more promptly and thoroughly. Perhaps, however, what struck me the most - regardless of class size - was the importance of establishing a good rapport with students from the start, as well as maintaining a diligent patience and flexibility.