By Rahla Khan
AROUND a year ago, I attended a certification program for English language teachers in the UAE. Our group of trainees consisted of several women who wore Hijab: an American revert, a European Muslim and a lecturer from Iraq.
Our class was a motley mix: musicians from Spain, students from Cuba, an office boy from Bangladesh, an Indian concierge, an Egyptian security officer, an Iranian housewife, a Russian barista and a Filipino caterer – the aim was to make the teaching experience as varied and inclusive as possible and expose trainees to a variety of learner challenges.
An important part of the course consisted of assessing peer performances – not just by commenting on positive aspects of co-trainees’ classroom manner – but also by giving them (what we diplomatically called) “things to think about.”
Besides, hawk-eyed assessors observed all classes vigilantly, ruthlessly noting distracting personal and verbal tics, and jotting notes on the trainees’ performances, to see how closely we corresponded to an exacting checklist of criteria provided by the University of Cambridge. Read more ...
AROUND a year ago, I attended a certification program for English language teachers in the UAE. Our group of trainees consisted of several women who wore Hijab: an American revert, a European Muslim and a lecturer from Iraq.
Our class was a motley mix: musicians from Spain, students from Cuba, an office boy from Bangladesh, an Indian concierge, an Egyptian security officer, an Iranian housewife, a Russian barista and a Filipino caterer – the aim was to make the teaching experience as varied and inclusive as possible and expose trainees to a variety of learner challenges.
An important part of the course consisted of assessing peer performances – not just by commenting on positive aspects of co-trainees’ classroom manner – but also by giving them (what we diplomatically called) “things to think about.”
Besides, hawk-eyed assessors observed all classes vigilantly, ruthlessly noting distracting personal and verbal tics, and jotting notes on the trainees’ performances, to see how closely we corresponded to an exacting checklist of criteria provided by the University of Cambridge. Read more ...
Source: Saudi Gazette
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