Setting the mind to study mode

When I really want something I can be very strong willed and single-minded. Five weeks ago I decided I'd had enough of drinking and smoking and the effects they were having on me both mentally and physically.  I duly read Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking and instantly knocked my smoking habit on the head.  Interestingly, while I was reading it, I realised that much of the logic he applied to quitting smoking could be easily applied to stopping drinking.  As a result I cut both vices in one fell swoop with remarkable ease and have been feeling nauseatingly smug ever since.  My mind is set, for the duration of my DipTESOL course, for a clear-headed and virtuous lifestyle.

When I did my RYA YachtMaster course, I effectively wrote off my life for 4 months and did nothing but eat, sleep and drink sailing (and a shit load of rum of course).  I stayed on the Isle of Wight or on various yachts and saw no one bar my instructors and fellow classmates.  By focusing on nothing but sailing, I managed to achieve my YachtMaster much to my family's amusement, who had rarely seen me up on deck during our countless childhood sailing holidays, where I hid down below, reading, playing cards and fighting with my brothers. I am determined to apply this same focused mindset to studying for my teaching course.  

One method that seems to be working so far is basically flicking a switch in my head to change my perception of weekends from free time to study time.  By doing this, any time I actually get off to do fun things becomes a bonus, rather than any studying time being perceived as a subtraction from fun time. So, for example, last weekend I read articles, chapters from text books and blogs until my head felt ready to explode.  At which point I took a break to walk up the Peak - a bonus!  I went back to work with a clear head, finally finishing at 4pm when I went to one of Hong Kong's many islands to a strange music festival.  Sunday followed a similar path, I studied from 10am to 3pm and then went for a barbecue at the Yacht Club.  By the end of the weekend I felt a huge sense of accomplishment having made a massive dent in my course assignments for the week, and I still felt I had had some free time to have fun and catch up with friends.

With my new healthy lifestyle and my focus set to study mode, I am overflowing with energy.  I feel upbeat, super motivated and completely up for the challenge.  Despite the volume of work I am currently facing I am really excited to be using my brain and improving my teaching. It's up to me to make sure that the switch remains firmly fixed onto study mode over the coming months.

The trauma of making an intro video

Last week was the initiation week for my DipTESOL course and our main assignment was to make an introduction video about ourselves. I'm pretty good with technology so the technical aspect of this task didn't faze me.  However, the idea of filming myself and looking at myself on screen, filled me with dread.  Nevertheless, I knew I had to suck it up and get on with it, particularly as watching myself on film is going to become a major part of the course.

Although I saw that one of the students had been brave enough to leave his home to film his introduction on a stunning deserted beach in Spain accompanied with his gorgeous dogs, I was far too self-conscious to leave the confines of my office/spare bedroom.  I went to great lengths to try to artistically set-up my shoot and make the lighting as flattering as possible - after all this was the first time any of my course mates would see me and I wanted to make as good a first impression as I could.  Now all I had to do was work out what I wanted to say remembering to answer the brief of telling people why I had chosen to do the diploma and what elements of the curriculum I was particularly interested in studying.

On paper this sounded fairly straightforward.  I have very clear reasons on why I am doing the course and I know the areas that have piqued my interest.  The issue I had was communicating this concisely within two minutes and in one take - as I still need to perfect my editing skills.  So for around an hour, I sat in front of the camera attempting to appear unselfconscious, articulate and approachable. This took take, after take, after take, after take.  Even the final version exceeded the 2 minutes and I felt I looked desperately uncomfortable.  However, after some very minor editing and the application of a few snazzy (I love this word!) graphics I managed to pull together an introduction video that I could live with.

My main learning from the experience was that: 1) I will never make it in this world as a TV presenter, 2) Trying to film something in one take is practically impossible, 3) iMovie can make even the most crap video appear relatively professional.

Anyway, I thought I would leave you with one of my first attempts where 'Sweary Mary' makes an appearance.  If you're really interested, you can also see the final version.  It is a little tedious but the graphics are cool!

A new challenge: studying to be a better teacher

I know, I know, it’s been ages since I last blogged – 10 months actually.  However I have made a new resolution to tie in with the start of a new challenge – to blog more.  And as for the new challenge, well I am about to embark on my DipTESOL (Diploma in teaching English as a second language).  This is the next step in a bigger plan I have been cultivating over the past year or so.

When I decided to take my CertTESOL three years ago, I really did see it as a stop gap as I took a breather from a 19 year career in advertising, PR and marketing and worked out what my next career move would be.  I never thought for one minute that I would thrive as a teacher and still be doing it three years later.  I didn’t think I had the temperament or patience, plus I swore too much.  Surprisingly I took to teaching like a duck to water achieving an ‘A’ in my CertTESOL and coming top of my course and toning down my ‘Sweary Mary’ side.

If you have read my blog before, you will know that my teaching career did have a few false starts – I still cringe thinking back to one of my first NET (Native English Teacher) job interviews I wrote about in this blog.  But despite the wobbly start I have spent the past few years gaining experience in teaching a range of age groups from 6 months old (ridiculous, I know!) to almost pensioners in a variety of settings from one to one tutorials to small groups to big school classrooms.  I have designed my own courses, delivered pre-designed courses and taught business English, conversational English, phonics, school curricula and even maritime English.  Despite the experience I have gained, I do feel slightly hampered.

You see I dropped out of university and never completed a degree.  I never saw the point at the time as I was lucky enough to get my first job in a very junior role at a sports marketing company where I worked on international golf tournaments and got to travel for the first time to Hong Kong and China.  This was followed by a temporary job at JWT, a massive very well-known ad agency, and through hard-work, long hours and sucking up to the right people at the right time I managed to get taken on permanently, promoted, and trained alongside all the milk-round super grads who had joined the agency with their Oxbridge degrees.  So I never saw the point of going back to uni to get a degree when I already had the job I would have wanted to get had I completed my degree!  The problem is though, that when you change careers and want to progress within the education sector, you really need to walk-the-walk and have some tangible qualifications and letters after your name. So, the purpose of doing my DipTESOL is three-fold:

1) To provide me with a higher level teaching qualification that will give me access to more job opportunities in the future
2) As part of a potential bigger plan to set me up for studying a Masters in Applied Linguistics or similar (if I decide I enjoy studying again)
3) But ultimately to make me a better teacher

So, from now until the end of next summer I am returning to student mode (while still teaching) and I am going to try to keep my blog updated so that I can document the highs and lows of studying for my DipTESOL.  I’m very excited to be starting this new challenge but equally slightly apprehensive. I’ve heard it’s quite tough at times so there may be some tear-y and tantrum-y blogs over the coming months! Regardless, the prospect of engaging my brain again and filling it with new information is quite exhilarating and I'm planning to embrace my inner geek.