The good ol' days

Today's lesson started out with a review of last weeks one point as always here at Smith's School of English. The student had reviewed it well. I could tell because he used it so naturally when i presented him with an opportunity to do so.

After the one point we began discussing phrase cards 1 through 5. The student came right out and said he really enjoyed these phrases and told me that these are great for expanding his "range" in English and that the phrases themselves seemed very practical. He would do his best to define the phrases using different terms, use them in sentences, and pose questions to me using the new phrases. This provided a lot of talking practice for him and eventually led to him telling me that he used to own a coffee shop. You never know where the natural flow of conversation will take you!

He described this as a really great period in his life, a fond memory if you will. I could tell how sincere he was by the nostalgic look in his eye. He told me all about how he used to enjoy talking to the customers and filling their cups with coffee. He had about 11 staff members that worked with him there and it all sounded very fulfilling to me. Now he is retired and enjoys a more relaxing daily life but it was rather touching to watch him reminisce that way. When time was up we finished up with a new one point and said our farewells until next week.

Happpy New Year!

Wow! 2009 is here and we have a whole new year to look forward to here at Smith's School of English. As expected, most students seem to want to talk about what they did over the Christmas and New Year holiday as well as ask me questions about mine. Be fore we get into that though i make sure to establish a one point at the beginning of the lesson to make it clear the lesson has indeed started. I do my best to make this a smooth transition and get it in right away but if the student is excited about something before I can even get a word in I don't mind letting the one point go until they say what they wanted to. After all, In a conversation lesson practicing speaking is the point right? I wouldn't cut a student off when they are practicing excitedly just to fit my time schedule.

After establishing the one point we practiced asking and answering basic and expansive questions based on the subject of the recent holiday. This takes a lot of discipline on my part so as not to do all the talking myself. My job is to evaluate the students' questions and answers while offering support where needed. Some times it's easy to lose yourself and take over the conversation but I keep control for the sake of the students' practice time.

After that bit of fun we so a bit over review in a more structured fashion in the form of a routine. It's a nice way to start the year off since students are often so familiar with the lesson structure. After being gone for nearly 2 week a bit of familiarity can be a relief I'm sure.

With the review finished an no time left we finished of with the first one point of 2009. Welcome back!