Bringing the World Closer

First Assignment

Hello everyone! Congratulations on completing your first task: successfully logging in to the MyTeachingHouse.com site!

We are presently developing Generation 2 of the MyTeachingHouse site. It’s a great resource both on the course and after the course (in finding work and keeping up with friends you’ve made during the course). As this site is under development, we’d appreciate any feedback or suggestions that you have.

I have a few more tasks for you to complete—it may take about an hour or two. Please read the instructions below and complete it before next Monday.

Directions: All written answers must be posted on this thread (First Assignment) within the discussion forum in your course group. Since there are many of you, it's important to post only on this thread (click "Reply to This" at the bottom) so that we can keep the forum from getting full and messy-looking. However, if you have any other comments or questions you are welcome to start a new thread.

1. If you haven’t already, edit your profile with your current location, status and photo

2. Browse through our international directory of English language schools (hover over "RESOURCES" in the toolbar at the top of the page and click "SCHOOL DIRECTORY" ). Post the name of a school that you think you might be interested in applying to after the course, and (briefly) why you liked that school.

3. Go to Course Forms and find a word from one of the glossaries that you do not know.

4. Post one idea or recommendation for MyTeachingHouse.com.

5. Post a personal goal related to taking our Teaching House CELTA course.

6. Post a comment about someone else’s comments, for example, “Lizzy, I agree with your comment about the job listings section…” or “Abby, I saw that you wanted to work in Paris. I was thinking about that myself—is it hard to find work in France?” If you're one of the first people to post, come back later with a comment after your peers have caught up.

Good luck and keep coming back to our site!

You can email me at christen@teachinghouse.com with any questions.

All the best,

Christen

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joan Rankin on January 28, 2011 at 12:06am

I'm still trying to find and remember my way around it too. On our group home page, big blue arrow. I'll move into Studio 819 on Saturday.

Permalink Reply by Nicole Noran on January 28, 2011 at 7:39pm

That's great, Joan! I hear good things about Haifa from everybody. Teaching English for nursing is probably something in high demand - you should have no problem finding the right spot!

Permalink Reply by Kirsten Thomas on January 28, 2011 at 2:39pm

I have a similar personal goal. Public speaking has never been a strength of mine and that is definitely something I will be working on.

Permalink Reply by Kirsten Thomas on January 28, 2011 at 2:35pm

2. I would like to start by saying that I am going into this teaching program with a completely open mind as far as where in the world I would like to teach after I complete the course. Thailand and various places in Europe have crossed my mind as places I would really like to experience. When browsing through the school listings, the most appealing school was The Regents School in Phuket, Thailand. I like the location of the school, right on the beach in Thailand, but not in Bangkok. I also like that it is a grade school since I feel that I would be more comfortable teaching children.

3. Realia

4. If I could change one thing about the website I would remove the comment box underneath the Discussion Forum. I think that this box is unclear. What are we supposed to be making comments about? Isn’t that what the Discussion area is for?

5. My goal for the course is to receive a Pass A, hold myself with confidence in front of a classroom full of students, and gain the skills necessary for employment.

Permalink Reply by Nicole Noran on January 28, 2011 at 7:41pm

Kirsten, I have a friend living in Phuket... I could probably put you in contact with her if you're interested.

Permalink Reply by Kirsten Thomas on January 31, 2011 at 12:09am

That would be very helpful and much appreciated! I would like to speak with someone already in the area and get their opinion on daily life.

Permalink Reply by Cody Goyette on January 28, 2011 at 2:47pm

2. Patong Language School, Thailand. I have heard that Thailand as a whole, and Phuket specifically, is one of the most beautiful and fascinating places to visit. Also, I have discovered that the cost of living is relatively cheap to the possible income you can incur.

3. Choral Drill

4. What is the Listings tab at the top of the page for? When I first opened the tab I thought it would have all the job listings available to Teaching House Members, instead the listing page had no available displays and the Job Listings were located under the resources tab.

5. My personal goal is to become employable. I hope to gain enough confidence and expertise in teaching English that others will honestly gain knowledge from being in my presence.

6. Elise: the ability to teach multiple students with confidence is also one of my goals. It is easy to teach one individual because you can teach at the speed required for that individual to retain the information. Teaching a group can become much more difficult due to the fact that people retain information differently.

Permalink Reply by Sydneyann Shook on January 28, 2011 at 4:46pm

Hi, I’m Syd from Los Angeles!

2. I think I’d like to teach at the Kabira International School in Uganda. I’ve enjoyed all my non-profit experiences in East Central Africa and would love to go back! It is very hard for me to choose one school though, there were several in Mexico that I was really interested in as well. My husband grew up in Mexico City and we spent time living in an indigenous village in Guerrero. I want to continue browsing through the Mexican schools and see if there are any with indigenous interests. I love these resources!

3. Ha! I’ve never seen an overhead projector referred to as “OHP” – good to know!

4. One suggestion for the site might be to have the job listings categorized and searchable by area – like the school directory.

5. One of my personal goals related to the course is to have a kind of personal library (based on my notes, books, online resources, handouts, etc) for practical English teaching activities that I can reference when I’m putting together lesson plans. I’d also like to get very efficient at lesson planning!

6. Great site! I’ll definitely be back!

Permalink Reply by Jeff Cooke on January 31, 2011 at 2:22am

2. I could not access the Resourses Directory using Internet Explorer.

3. Cloze

4. Make the Resource Directory more user-friendly with links.

5. I want to learn new skills that will prepare me to teach in a formal classroom setting.

6. Dubai sounds interesting. Has anyone worked in the Middle East?