ESL Practicum: facilitating a discussion

Hello Readers,

Caveat: Another cliche:  Tis' true, diba? You have to be at the right place at the right time ( for opportunities ).  On a short notice, Director N told me that she'd miss class because she had to go to the South Korean Embassy to get a visa because she and her colleagues needed to "bid" and present a case justifying the University as the location for an international conference ( to take place in 2013 ).  So rather than canceling class, I was asked to step in and be a substitute professor for a day.  Of course, I said YES!!!

4 years of experience teaching did come in handy especially with a day's notice.  The main objective/lesson of the day was to discuss the article "The Dangers of Cramming" and reading strategies, such as outlining and summarizing.  The last 30 minutes of the class was dedicated to DEAR.  To prepare, I read the article, did the accompanying exercises ( forgetting the 2nd part because of excitement ), and outlined a lesson plan ( including prompt questions, and main points to highlight ).

When the moment came, I was more excited than nervous ( realizing how hungry I am for teaching in this environment ).  My main goal was for students to connect to the text so they'd walk away from it with something useful instead of just remembering how they "crammed" the night before to complete their English assignment ( due in class today ).  Through the prompts and discussion, we indirectly discussed the text.  Later we evaluated it from an academic and personal standpoint.

We didn't have time to connect ( in a more DIRECT way ) how reading strategies could help students avoid "cramming."  We didn't get a chance to go over the assignment ( in hindsight, skipping D.E.A.R might have been more apt at the moment because 25% of the students didn't utilize the moment to "drop everything and read" ).

In terms of classroom management:  I think I did well; I didn't encounter any major behavioral problems ( maybe it's the Filipino culture? ).  Because of occasional chatter, I had to tell the class to stop talking while their classmate talked.  In most cases, I'd stop talking and this strategy usually get their attention.  I'd throw in a joke/pun once in while just to see if they're paying attention, and I remembered to extend my wait time ( to encourage more responses ).  Sometimes the discussion carried me away ( forgetting to highlight and connect ideas ).  I even learned a bit about the student culture here in the Philippines: a Math teacher's "sleeping powers," the pervasiveness of Facebook, et. al.  AWESOME!!!