As I mentioned some time ago,my plan was to cross check my teaching with the help of Cambridge Teacher Framework. Now, the time has come for the full confession. It is unbelievably difficult to assess your teaching in few words. The document outlining full level descriptors of the Framework consists of 10 pages and being honest in the evaluation you should refer to every point of this paper. First draft of my evaluation contained 4 pages. Below you’ll find the version which barely touches the issue.
Having read the framework I can call myself a proficient teacher in all aspects but planning. I have a quite good understanding of many learning concepts. Moreover, I frequently demonstrate this while teaching, but not planning. If I only did more lesson plans, my students learning would be better organized.
Although I like theories and being a psychologist I admire a well-structured theorem, the longer I teach the more dubious I am about them. Although I mainly use the communicative approach, surely you can find me exploiting grammar translation as well. The concept of methodology, which especially needs my attention, is elicitation; I seem to prolong the stage too much spoiling the lesson’s pace.
This may be cared for through a stricter time management and better planning.
Even if I feel proficient about the language concepts, as I’ve been teaching for 14 years, I need to expand my knowledge of key terms for describing language. I can answer most learner questions without the help of reference materials, however sometimes I find myself not able to answer questions about linguistic concepts in an easy way. My students crave for more adequate explanations, but that may be due to their high level of English and expectations.
The way I can improve this area is to attend a training refreshing the core linguistic concepts. This I plan to realize through some stated-funded courses throughout the next school year. I would benefit from CELTA, DELTA or TKT, but so far it is beyond my financial abilities.
Being knowledgeable about theoretical principles of teaching and assessment I still don’t have a habit of following the syllabus rigorously. I use a wide range of teaching techniques, from blended learning through flipped classroom up to simple project work, but it is more intuitive than planned. That is why my teaching is not always coherent and often chaotic. In this respect, I plan to design rough plans of 50% of my lesson along with my syllabus before the school year starts
