the history of my career as a teacher

In my high school year book, I wrote “pre-school teacher” as my ambition. I had no second thoughts about wanting to become a teacher.

I got into college and I remember being so eager to finish my tertiary education so I could immediately start working as a teacher but sometime in my senior year, I went through a difficult situation and this severely affected my studies. The grades—which were supposed to be the most important grades— I received during my senior year were really disappointing. They were good enough for me to graduate but bad enough to get a teaching job in a reputable school.

That’s when I started to doubt about whether I should teach or follow another career.

I could have got a teaching job right after college but if I would have had, I am sure that it would have been in a second class private school where the teacher’s salary is way down below the minimum salary and I couldn’t afford to work and not earn enough to support myself.

So I decided to work in an office. Being really good with computers helped me earn my first job as a payroll clerk in a textile company. My career had grew in that company but after three long years, I realized that I want something else for a career. I had resigned from my post and then I tried looking for a teaching job. After about a month of unsuccessful job hunting, I lost hope. I had decided to go back to the business world and easy enough, I landed a managerial job in a small electronic factory in Manila. The pay was great but I only lasted seven months because I was totally unhappy with the job and I didn’t get along with my boss.

I had tried applying for jobs abroad and I was really pleased when I got a job offer to teach in China. Without hesitation, I had accepted it and flew immediately to China. I signed a contract to teach for a year in a middle school somewhere in a third class city near Changhcun, Jilin, China. It was a really tough year but thinking about it now, I am sure that going to China is one of the best decisions I made in my life. It paved my way back to teaching plus I met my husband. Shortly after getting married, I stopped working because the nature of my husband’s work doesn’t allow us to stay in one place long enough for me to teach in a school.

When we had finally settled down here in Austria in April of 2009, I got the time to focus on my career. It wasn’t easy but with a lot of hard work and with my husband’s support, I can call myself a “teacher” once again.

teaching ESL through HDEE

The onset of globalization made learning English a worldwide movement. Over the last few decades, more and more non-English-speaking countries incorporated English as an important part of their educational programs. Parents from all over the world are becoming increasingly aware of the need for English knowledge so naturally, they want the best and the most effective English learning method to prepare their children to have the English competency they will need later on. Many educators are continuously testing and devising various approaches to effectively teach English. Among these educators is Helen Doron, a British-born linguist who formulated the Helen Doron Method–a method that stands out above the rest.

she-teachesThe HD method is based on scientific studies and it is internationally recognized to be a very effective approach to teaching English because unlike other methods, this method uses the “mother-tongue approach”—children learn English in an immersion setting. This approach places the children in a setting where English surrounds them and being in this setting will make them learn English as if it were their mother tongue.

This method encourages the English language acquisition at an early age. It takes advantage of the “windows of opportunity”—that is the time when a child can best learn or refine abilities. Through the HD method children as young as three months old are exposed to English not only in an HD classroom but also at home through daily listening or simply by hearing English songs, rhymes, poems and short conversations from the HD CDs provided to them.

In contrast to the traditional teaching approaches that utilize ineffective and monotonous dictations, the HD method employs a variety of meaningful games and activities. These activities are designed to teach the language through stirring the senses of the learners. Children in an HD classroom do not just “hear” the words but they also “experience” them thus reinforcing their comprehension of the words’ meanings. An HD classroom is never dull because the HD method emphasizes “learning through fun”. Children learn best when they are having fun therefore every HD lesson is thoughtfully planned to include not just one activity but a variety of them to stimulate children’s curiosity and to keep up with their short attention span. With just four to eight children in each HD class, maximum participation is always achieved. Nobody feels left out. Everybody has the chance to talk, to participate in games, and to interact with the teacher and with the other children in the class. The HD method also emphasizes “encouragement through praising”. Children are praised for participating instead of being criticized for wrong answers. Without them knowing, praises encourage children to strive to give the right answers and when they receive praises, they know that they achieved something. This helps a lot in building up their self-esteem that will eventually make them feel at ease when speaking the language. Learning does not come naturally when a child feels that he is being tested or when he feels pressured. For that reason, HD teachers are taught to create a situation that motivates the children to speak willingly instead of cornering them and demanding them to speak.

In contrast to a traditional classroom, HD lessons are done in an informal setting. This leaves out the constraints of being in a traditional class where children are required to sit up straight and to be still. The HD method believes that children should be comfortable and active. The atmosphere in an HD class is always conducive to learning.

The HD method has different programs for children from three months old to 14 years old. These programs come with carefully designed teaching and learning materials. These materials are created based on the children’s age and English proficiency so a child at the age of eight who is learning English for the first time uses different learning materials compared to that of child with the age of two. This is to ensure that the materials match the children’s interests.

Learning Centres that apply the HD method must utilize the HD learning and teaching materials and must also ensure that all their teachers have a complete understanding of the method. Not only do qualified HD teachers have an excellent grasp of the English language but they are also trained to apply effective classroom activities in their teaching. HD teachers attend regular trainings and seminars to equip them with the latest knowledge of HDEE programs and teaching strategies.

With the HD method, parents can be sure that they’re giving the best English education to their children. This proven method can only result to success. Many parents are happy with the HD method because they see that their children reach certain milestones in English after every program. This is the reason why many parents let their children continue learning English with HDEE and children like it too because they play and have fun in every HD lesson.

Learning English through the HD method is fun and easy because learning is achieved through a natural way.

teaching is…

Teaching is truly a pervasive profession and as such, the strong will to succeed and a brave character are needed. Let it be known that the weakest of hearts is the least candidate to get involve in teaching for it is never an easy task.

HDTTC1I decided to become a teacher mainly because I find happiness in the company of children so logically, I chose a profession that could give me the maximum exposure to them. I thought that children are the sweetest, that they are the easiest of company, and that as long as you are nice to them, they will all like you. Now that I think of it, that reason is quite shallow because although teaching involves a great deal of spending time with children, it requires more than that.

True, children are sweet but it is also in their nature to be active and mischievous. They will not always sit beside you and stare at you with fascination. They will run around, scream, and turn the classroom upside down so as a teacher, you should be able to keep up with them by being active yourself. You have to make sure that you have the energy to give them the activities they need. You have to creatively find ways on how to maintain a lively atmosphere. Then of course, you have to have a great deal of patience to forgive their mischief and the tactfulness to correct them.

True, children are easy company but it is not always the case. They will only be attentive and participative as long as you hold their interests and that, I think, is one of the most difficult tasks of a teacher. You have to always have new things to offer, new things to show, new things to tell about, and new things to share in order to satisfy their curiosity and to nourish their love of learning.

True, children are nice but they also have the tendency to be disobedient if they think they can go away with it so as a teacher, you have to be somewhere between strict and lenient. Better yet, you have to know each of you pupils’ characters to be able to handle their disobedience in a way they needed to be handled. Learn to criticize the fault but never the child. It is difficult but great teachers learned the art of affectionately instilling discipline in their pupils.

I am a young teacher and I am still learning. It is very difficult for me sometimes but I know that I’ll never be truly happy having a career other than teaching. I might do jobs out of the teaching profession when I have to but I will always go back to teaching because it is my passion…my craft… and I will strive hard to perfect it.

new blog

she-teaches
I am supposed to be preparing tons of visual aids necessary for my demo lessons in our teacher training course on Friday but starting a blog is much much more interesting so…

CHEERS to this new blog!!!!!