The Methodology of Madness

Well, here we go.  

This is a video from  my first day of classes at Yeo Ju Institute of Technology (YIT), a 2 year college where I am currently employed. What I  would first like to mention is that my supervisor has strongly hinted that I pass every student that meets the attendance prerequisites in which YIT "enforces". Having to abide by such a suggestion, I feel that my hands are very much tied when it comes to student grades, which in turn allows  the less motivated students to give very little effort in their studies. With the majority of  YIT students tending  to have very low English skills, they often get stressed when speaking in front of the class.  With my class's anxiety level in mind, as well as my grading situation, my  main objective is to attempt to set a less stressful  class environment so that the students feel less intimidated when  they are called upon to speak in front of their peers.  As seen on this video,  I openly display my own errors in front of the class in the  hopes that  S's become aware that it is OK to make mistakes, where as a lack of effort is frowned upon. 

After watching my video, I was quite surprised by how many CI techniques that I use in class.  Obviously Choral repetition is a major part of my teaching style, as is modeling, and the WB.  Also, I often have Ss work in pairs for 5 to 10 minutes, (which is not shown on the video), then  I have them come in front of class so that the Ss ask their partners the daily questions without the aide of their notes  (which also is not shown on the video).   I then correct any errors that they may have made, either directly or by writing the mistake on the WB.  At the end of the class, I give homework points to whichever students ask me a daily conversation question.

To conclude,  it was quite painful to watch this video, I often appear cumbersome and unprofessional.  As the days progress at SMU, i am finding more and more things that I must work on as to improve my teaching level.  I am very much a proponent of self improvement , and  although this was painful to view, I was glad to see  the many things that I can improve on so that I look more professional  in the future.