Affective Teaching

Hello everybody! I have been absent until today because I have had loads of work, a teacher training and a I travelled. Let me introduce myself! My name is Graziela I´m from Brazil and I work with children for 5 years. I graduated in Musictherapy and started working with children at a private bilingual school. For 4 years I teached music classes for children there using English. Last year I moved to a small town, where my family lives, and I also started to teach English for children at Cultura Inglesa´s school. I brought my experiences form classroom managenment but taching a new language is something knew and that´s why I´m looking for more preparation. (This is my first online course and google community. rsrs)

Hi my name's Damien. I run a language school in Thailand, Trat English Community (TEC) and a teaching with technology blog called Technology English Community (TEC²). I've had to relearn the teaching craft as I taught English for Academic Purposes for nearly ten years without a young learner in sight. The last two years I've been reading up and trying to get as much info about teaching children as possible.  In the beginning I thought there were no real comparisons but now I think a lot of the ideas I've learnt about teaching young learners apply to adults as well.  I'm a fan of creativity and using puppets in the classroom, that's why I was interested to find out more about these techniques from Juan - and Buddy. Looking forward to week three! Nice to meet you all.  Here is my school FB page https://www.facebook.com/tectrat/ and my web site www.tecsquared.com .

Hello all :) My name is Yasmin and I am introducing myself late, but I only joined the course this week..I did attend the second live session tho, thanks to a nudge from my colleague Ayat (thanks, Ayat!)  So, I work at the British Council in Cairo, Egypt and have only been an EFL teacher/teacher for 2.5 years (this has been a career change for me. Which I am really enjoying). I did my CELTA in July 2013 at IH Vancouver and then worked in Paris for 15 months teaching mostly Business English and some exam prep classes, and then in Jan 2015 moved to Cairo, Egypt to teach General English. I've only been teaching Young Learners since September 2015, but I enjoy it very much and this course has already opened my eyes to so many ideas and techniques to try. I'm very glad to be part of the community!

Discussion Task #2 English was my worst Subject-I’d take a Calculus over English Literature. Even though I am a Native speaker. English was hard for me! I was always scared to hand papers in for the fear of a low test score. It wasn’t until I moved to Miami Beach, Florida where Spanish was a must for my work that I truly understood Language and how and we learn. Living in the multicultural city eventually, I needed to train many of my employees how to Speak English. When I took skills that I excelled in and applied it to teaching English all of my fears seemed to go away. To me, whether it was teaching adults or children I believe in fostering a safe environment for the learners is key. “It’s becoming the teacher I always wanted to have.” -my favorite quote from last week.

Discussion Task #3 I cheered, smiled and felt a nudge of confidence in my teaching methods as I watched the video on circle time. In all most all public Korean Elementary schools it is very unorthodox to sit in a circle to do all most anything: games/activities/warm ups. The teacher stands in the front of the classroom for the forty-minute class as the students sit orderly in their seats. For the following reasons circle time is a challenge for Korean Elementary Schools. First, time and space. We have a very little time to move desks with 25 plus students in a class. We have a very structured lesson plan and curriculum deadlines to withhold. Next, cultural differences in teaching and learning English in Korea we sadly don’t always advocate exploration. As a Native teacher we are expected to be the disciplinarian and authoritative figure. When a teacher sits with the students it would seem the students would lose respect for the teacher, circle time is a great way to ask students how t...

Task #3 I really enjoyed watching the Circle Time video. Throughout the video, I kept thinking of the song and story time I led with toddlers, and how I could use some of the techniques in the video with the very young language learners. In circle time, the students get to know each other better as they share what they are thinking and feeling. It helps a bond grow among the students. It encourages understanding and a caring atmosphere at the beginning of the class so that the students and the teacher understand how everyone is feeling that day. This leads to a better learning environment as the students feel safe with each other and the teacher. When the students feel safe, they are not as worried about making mistakes. They will look forward to learning together. Some problems that can occur during circle time include: 1) a student, who is very shy, might not want to share anything. 2) a student might be unwilling to sit and listen to others and then could cause a distraction. 3) one...

Hi to everyone! I'm Karen, and I am from southern California. I've worked as an English teacher and a language and culture advisor for children, youth and adults for many years in both Taiwan and the U.S. Most recently I worked in Seattle with international toddlers and their mothers to help the children learn English through songs, finger plays, rhymes and other playful activities. I love working with, and learning from, other teachers. So, I'm very excited to learn more about Teaching Affectively from Juan, along with all of you! I know that Juan and Buddy the Frog are going to share a lot of useful ideas with us!

I really enjoyed today's session! Here are my notes! :-)

Hi everyone, I'm Ayat Tawel, an EFL teacher from Cairo, Egypt. I have been teaching for about 15 years now in different language schools. I am currently teaching at the British council in Egypt (which is a different and exciting experience). I have taught young learners all my teaching life, and find it really challenging and inspiring. As using technology in ELT is one of my main interests, I have explored the potential of many online tools with young learners . I believe we keep learning every day we teach YLs. That's why I am very excited about joining this course esp. that Juan has been inspiring us with his ideas all the time. It's also great to be among the iTDi family again, and to have some of my online friends and even friends from Egypt here as well. Looking forward to learning with and from all of you :)

Hi, I'm Daniela from Brazil. I've been teaching for 8 years mostly in language schools. I'm currently teaching teenagers in a regular school, but I taught Young Learners groups before and I really enjoy teaching them. I'm looking foward to learning a lot  with all of you.

Salutations! I'm from the United States. Currently, teaching English at a public Elementary School in South Korea. I enjoy incorporating my background in visual and performing arts in the classroom. I believe not all classes are created equal; not all students are created equal. We need to adapt and try new things. Happy to join this course.

Greetings, I'm an American, living in cherry blossom filled Japan, where I teach EFL classes for 4-8 year olds, at a private Japanese kindergarten. I love teaching this age group! I've been in this country for almost 16 years and enjoy visiting the various regions to give presentations for teachers of very young learners. My other passions include physical activity, photography, travel, personal growth and professional development. I'm a Kreative, Innergetic, Motivator (K.I.M.) and I look forward to learning with you!

Greetings from Tunisia, I have been teaching English for five years and I'm a firm believer that once learners love you and they are comfortable in your class, learning will be better enhanced. I love having a good affectionate rapport with my students that's why I am enthusiastic about this course. Looking forward to make it an enjoyable as well as insightful learning experience with this multi-cultural community.

Hello Everybody! My name is Aby. I´m from Mexico, Guanajuato, I´m an English Teacher in elementary school. Is my second time in iTDi. I love teaching and learning. looking foward to start.

Hello Everybody! I am Caroline but you can call me Carol. I am from Brazil/São Paulo and I have been working with bilinguism since 2011. I am really happy to join the group and anxious to start the course.

Hi everyone. This is Maha from Egypt, Cairo. I am a delta holder and I work for the British Council. Currently I am on maternity leave and I am going back to work very sooon. I am not that good in teaching kids but hope things will be better after the course.

Hello everyone! My name is Núria and I am from Brazil. I have been a teacher for more than 20 years. In addition to my passion for teaching young learners, I am passionate about affective learning. I am really excited about this course! Cheers, Núria

Hi everyone! I found Juan's page whilst looking for jokes for my private students:-D. I have been a private tutor since I was a teenager, but mainly worked as a translator. Since my dad died two years ago I have felt a shift and I now my dream is to become a full-time teacher. I am currently studying to get the teacher certificate. Affective learning totally resonates with me and I want to dedicate most of my final dissertation to it. I am a huge fan of Gertrude Moscowitz:-D!

Hi, Juan. My name is Danielle and I live in São Paulo (Brazil), although I was born in Rio de Janeiro. I´m in the process of becoming a teacher, and my dream is to teach very young learners. I believe I´m going to learn a lot with you all here!

Hello everyone! My name is Renata. I am from Macedonia but currently teaching in Turkey. I am so excited about this course because I have been teaching young learners for 21 years now... I am sure we will enjoy the course so much. I have attached a recent photo with my youngest students. Regards to you all....