Hello again

Hi Karen, Yvonne, M and everyone else,

Thanks for posting. Yes, yvonne, the singing bread ladies are alive and well. There are a few regulars in my alley way. They are my source of carbohydrates! 

I have been feeling better with teaching here because it is starting to feel more natural and routine. I have had to really adjust to this context. I have started to gather more creative materials such as songs (thanks Karen for the idea). Last night, I read a really great journal article about teaching in Vietnam and the main thing that stood out to me was the writer's idea that CLT is a Western notion of teaching. I don't mean to say it's lacking in any way, it's just that Vietnamese students have a different way of thinking and being in the classroom. The article challenged the notion that pair and group work are the ways to make something communicative...In this EFL context, sometimes it feels like "classwork" is a more appropriate way of making lessons conversational and interaction-based. I think my beliefs about CLT as defined by Brown were sort of detrimental for me in this context. I have had to expand my definition some. 

I have been keeping a teaching journal, and when I read over it last night I can tell how I am starting to evolve. At first I was writing mainly about the stresses, perceived failures, and frustrations. Now I am starting to focus more on what is actually working here and what the students are responding to. I am becoming much for positive and relaxed, and this makes me feel good.

Thanks everyone for your comments. 

More pictures to come...

natalie