Didem Temiz, the owner of the 2010-2011 Kaşgarlı Mahmut Kindergarten Blog shares with us her thoughts and impressions about the teacher training course she attended in Norwich, UK.
If somebody had told me that “ It will be you, Didem, who would take a course from Hitomi Masuhara and Brian Tomlison, I would probably just say “Come off it”. But thanks to my school, İSTEK , I went to Norwich as a first runner up of The 2011 İSTEK Blog Competition to take the course, Material Development, from these two amazing renowed trainers.
” Norwich is East Anglia’s capital city. Its rich cultural, social and educational resources make it a fascinating place to explore and a stimulating environment in which to study. ” This is written on NILE web site for Norwich, but I assure you that Norwich is beyond this definition with its art galleries, museums, cinemas and theatres, pubs and restaurants. I especially liked the open air market and the castle in the city, moreover I was stunned when I saw the puppet theater which offers craft-based workshops for children and adults.
I liked the puppet theater, the open air market and mustard in Norwich, but I mostly liked the course, Material Development. Thanks to this course, I learned that I am the only one who is in charge of my lessons apart from my yearly plans, daily plans and even my course book. I don’t have to be dependant on my course book. If It is useful for my lesson, I can turn the book inside out. I can omit the activities or add new features to the activities. Moreover, I can share my responsibilty for my lesson with my students more than I did before. I think the most amazing part was realizing that even one poem can be the most effective teaching subject for pragmatic, discourse, strategy, genre, text type and critical awarnesses.
This course for two weeks was an important opportunity to see the British culture deeply and develop myself as a teacher. I miss that rainy weather, people who don’t hustle and bustle and the teachers and colleagues in NILE. Thanks to my school, I had a chance to meet Great Britain. And here before coming to end, I would like to share one of the poems we were taught during the course.
Didem TEMİZ
English Teacher
İSTEK Kaşgarlı Mahmut Kindergarten
“IN CASE OF FIRE”
Roger McGough
In case of FIRE break glass
In case of GLASS fill with water
In case of WATER wear heavy boots
In case of HEAVY BOOTS assume foetal position
In case of FOETAL POSITION loosen clothing
In case of CLOTHING avoid nudist beach
In case of NUDIST BEACH keep sand out of eyes
In case of EYES close curtains
In case of CURTAINS switch on light
In case of LIGHT embrace truth
In case of TRUTH spread word
In case of WORD keep mum
In case of MUM open arms
In case of ARMS lay down gun
In case of GUN, fire
In case of FIRE break glass
We are delighted to announce the winners of the 1st ISTEK Blog Awards.
As ISTEK Schools Foreign Languages Department, we believe the importance of professional development. We implement a continuous in-service teacher development program according to the needs of our teachers. We think that teaching today’s children with methods from the past would not create a positive learning environment and being able to captivate them require constant development and being equipped with the latest techniques and approaches.