School - Part 2

I’m writing this blog entry about two/three weeks after I posted the first part on school. I have almost completed my 5^th week at the school. It feels like much has changed since I last posted, but I’m not really sure how. Perhaps I have learned more about myself in a teaching capacity and now have a clearer idea of what teaching in a Georgian school actually entails.

In the previous blog about school I wrote about the school building and described some of its features, inside and out. This part will discuss what life is like at school; the teachers; the students; teaching styles; after-school lessons as well as a few random comments here and there.

I am well aware that the TLG (‘Teach and Learn with Georgia’ – i.e. my employers) read these blogs, so I will be careful with my choice of words. I am a big supporter of the programme and would not like to say anything which could potentially be misconstrued and consequently cause problems for either myself or the programme. Common sense prevails so obviously I will not name any students or teachers in this blog and I will certainly not discuss confidential issues. Instead, I will concentrate on the wider challenges I have faced whilst teaching at the school.

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I teach around 23 lessons a week. Over the week, that’s about four to five lessons a day. I start teaching at 9am most mornings, and I am always finished by 2.15pm. I like the schedule and it gives me plenty of time in the afternoon to meet friends in the city centre or just head back to the house to rest.

I work mainly with three teachers, but occasionally have the odd class with one or two others. All the teachers I have worked with as well as others I have met during my time at the school are very friendly, just like the other Georgians I have met in the country. For many of the teachers it is the first time they have met a native English speaker and I think it is exciting and interesting for them to meet someone new. Aside from the English teachers most of them don’t speak English, although I get by with my basic knowledge of the Georgian language. Greetings and every day conversation – “Hey how are you?” etc is sufficient and I enjoy the interaction. I am actively trying to improve my vocabulary and will always try to use new words and phrases when possible.

The teaching styles I have seen vary. Two of the teachers I work with, who are certainly in the latter half of their careers, go straight to the textbook every lesson. EFL teachers (English as a Foreign Language, for those who are not familiar with the acronym) are always encouraged to avoid relying on textbooks because many books, particularly ones used in countries like Georgia, have mistakes and are often very uninteresting for students to learn from. This is not a fault of the teachers because they have always taught this way. Yes, English is still learned by the students, but perhaps not as effectively as it would be if they did not rely so much on the books.

During the first few weeks of teaching at the school it was mainly a chance for the students to ask questions about their new teacher. The students seemed interested in finding out about my hobbies and what Scotland is like. Many asked for comparisons between the two countries and whether I liked Georgia. As with any new experience it was daunting to begin with, but I soon felt very comfortable in front of the classes and I have to say it felt very natural being there. The main topics of conversation included music, sport, whether I am married or not (Georgians get married much earlier than your average couple in the UK), and…religion.

Religion is one of those topics you need to be very careful with when discussing with people from another culture. I discussed Christianity in the UK and explained that, compared to Georgia, there are far less people who are religious (I read a few months ago that almost 84% of Georgians are Christian Orthodox). I know a lot of teachers have avoided the topic of religion in their classes and I have no problem with that, but if a student is genuinely interested then I feel obliged to provide them with an answer. I explained that despite being christened at birth, I do not believe in religion. They asked whether I celebrate Christmas if I am not religious. I explained that I do, but for me and my family Christmas represents a time for us all to get together and celebrate being a family. There were no problems with us discussing religion in the classes because the students were engaged and I think they found the topic insightful and interesting. I don’t think discussing religion needs to a problem so long as it’s done in a mature manner and there is respect for each individual’s views/beliefs. As an English teacher, I’m just happy for the students to be discussing topics in English!

The ages I teach vary from about 7/8 years old (3^rd grade) to 17/18 years old (12^th grade). I enjoy teaching all ages and wouldn’t say I prefer one grade to another. The little ones are full of beans and are very keen to learn English. Their knowledge of English is remarkable and has far exceeded the expectations I had prior to teaching. Teaching English to children at a young definitely has its advantages and I think they will significantly benefit from this in the long run. At the moment, the majority of students in the 3^rd to 5^th grade are at similar levels. They love to sing songs and always have smiles on their faces which is nice and makes the teaching very worthwhile.

It is a slightly different story for the higher grades, which I will discuss now. There are two main points I’d like to make regarding the students in the higher grades. Firstly, and most importantly, many students that I teach have an excellent understanding of the English language. Whether it’s reading, writing, listening or speaking, they are very impressive and there are many individuals who are practically fluent in English. This is a fantastic achievement for them considering the majority of them have never spoken to a native English speaker before. Without going off on a tangent, I think telecommunications has a lot to do with this. Particularly through the internet, students now have exposure to media such as music and films from all over the world, and I think this has helped improve their English. Some of the students I have spoken to at school have said this is exactly the case, which is great as far as I’m concerned.

Onto the second point. Whilst many of the students in 10^th/11^th/12^th grades have excelled and have a very good understanding of the English language, too many others have stalled somewhere along the way, and are now at the point where they are not interested in class because they do not understand the material. This is disappointing and frustrating because these classes have a distinct divide, which perhaps most evident when you’re standing in front of the class. You have students sitting at the front of the class who bring their books each lesson and actively want to improve their English, and those at the back of the class who don’t take books with them and just speak in Georgian. Maybe all English language classes are like this, I really don’t know, but it certainly presents me with difficult challenges, particularly when trying to get everyone involved in the lesson. In fact, there is also a third group within each class, and this consists of students who do not care about learning English and do not tend to make much of an effort in class, but have excellent reading skills and can pronounce words perfectly. This is possibly one of the most frustrating aspects for me because these students clearly have the ability, but for whatever reason they are just not motivated to use it. Despite this however, I do my best to involve all students in the lessons and always try to encourage everyone to participate.

Just today I spoke with the school Director (Principle or Rector depending on the school you went to) about having after-school English lessons for students who want to learn and improve their English. This will be open to students from the 10^th to 12^th grades. I must first gauge the number of students who would want to attend these lessons and over the course of the week I shall speak to the classes concerned. I believe there will be enough students to fill at least one classroom, and if there’s more demand than I initially anticipate, then I will see about holding these lessons over two days instead of one so everyone gets to attend. I guess one of the main advantages of these after-school lessons is that the students are not held back or distracted by the students who do not care for learning English. It would also be much more informal, and I’d encourage students to bring up any problems or issues they have whether it’s grammar, pronunciations, definitions or any other aspect of the English language. Time will tell how these plans pan out, but I believe I can make it work and have the resources and support at school to make it happen. Perhaps this will feature in one of my future blogs.

Before I wrap up this blog entry on school, it’s important to discuss one more thing. Despite what I have written about many of the students who do not care about English and do not make an effort in class, I have yet to meet one bad person. Every student I have met, whether it’s in class or when I’m walking around the school, are polite, well-mannered and very respectful. It certainly makes the whole teaching experience less intimidating. At the start and at the end of class, every male student shakes your hand and say “hello” or “goodbye” as appropriate. If you see students around the school or when moving from class to class, almost everyone you recognize says hello and there are many students I’ve had good conversations with despite having never taught them in class. It certainly comes down to the whole Georgian mentality of being just really nice people and I think it’s absolutely fantastic. Collectively and individually Georgians are just great people and at school this is certainly no different.

This has easily been my longest blog entry thus far, so if you’ve stuck with me from start to finish then thanks very much. Over the coming weeks and months I hope to have more detailed blog entries on topics such as food, drink, driving (not combined with drink, obviously), the Georgian people, weather, and one on Tbilisi also.