Editor’s note: Since February 2020, we have been running a series devoted to language aspects of the COVID-19 crisis here on Language on the Move. In this new post, two teacher trainees, Amelia Baggerman and Bonnie James, reflect on their practicum experience during lockdown.
During the NSW school closures in 2020, Amelia Baggerman and Bonnie James undertook a TESOL practicum as part of their Applied Linguistics and TESOL degree at Macquarie University. The practicum is convened by Agnes Bodis. During the practicum, the majority of time is spent in a placement at a language teaching institution. Trainee teachers conduct observations, materials preparation, and supervised teaching practice. The unit design is underpinned by reflective teaching practice and aims to enhance the capacity of taking informed actions in teaching and engaging in the process of continuous learning.
Learn more about the Graduate Certificate of TESOL and the Master of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at Macquarie University by clicking on the links.
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Amelia Baggerman and Bonnie James
The pandemic turned out to be a learning opportunity (Image credit: Tonik, at Unsplash)
COVID lockdowns all over the world have undeniably affected the way we learn and teach. Teacher training courses have adapted various methods to continue their practices and also prepare student teachers for the changed teaching conditions (Bodis, Reed & Kharchenko, 2020; Pinar, Derin & Enisa, 2020).
The two of us had enrolled in the online stream of the Graduate Certificate of TESOL through Macquarie University the year before the COVID pandemic hit and were committed to finishing it in June 2020. However, due to COVID, our practicum at the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institute was delayed until the second half of the year.
“How else would our practicum be affected?”, we wondered. Could we still use classroom techniques like pair work, and would we learn everything we needed to?
We need not have worried because completing the Graduate Certificate of TESOL during a pandemic turned out to be quite an enriching experience; perhaps even more valuable than what we were expecting.
Virtual classrooms enhanced our learning experience
Prior to COVID, there was something undeniably isolating about catching up on recorded lectures alone at home. For us, it came as a great relief to hear that our remaining classes would be on Zoom during the pandemic.
Zoom transformed the traditional lectures into small interactive sessions with our professors and fellow students which led to more memorable and in-depth learning. The rapport in the classroom was alive and dynamic, unlike in traditional lectures where professors are physically removed from the audience and mostly provide a unilateral dialogue. On Zoom, we could see our professors and fellow students face to face and interact with them in what seemed to be a more natural medium of communication.
The virtual classroom had an impact on how memorable the sessions were. Our lecturers also encouraged us to form study groups on Zoom. From these study groups and the active interactions with our professors grew colleagueship and an ongoing professional network across different cities in Australia. This ongoing support gave us the confidence that we would not continue our professional development alone upon graduation because we would have a whole community behind us for support.
An unusual practicum experience
Our practicum experience was anything but usual. We commenced our practicum near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a time of uncertainty and fear in the community, so much so that a single clearing of the throat would turn heads. One of us remembers swallowing water down the wrong hole whilst watching the mentor teacher. I hadn’t known my mentor teacher for very long and I didn’t feel we had built much of a relationship yet, so I simply tightened my muscles to force the cough down and as tears built up in my eyes, I hoped no one would notice but I thought, if they did, at least I wasn’t coughing! Tears were less of a concern than a clearing of the throat!
During the pandemic, we not only learned to practice teaching, we learned how to handle a pandemic in a learning environment for adults. Upon entry and exit of the classroom, everyone had to sanitise their hands. We had to ask everyone if they were well and if anyone showed any possible cold and flu symptom and at times advise them to get a COVID-19 test.
How do you square pair work and social distancing?
While we were both eager to try out different pair/group work activities that we had learnt about, facilitating said pair/group work turned out to be quite the challenge as social distancing had to be strictly enforced. This meant that the desks were arranged in rows with a minimum of 1.5 square metres between them. Students were allowed to swivel their chairs around to face their partner/s but were supposed to keep to their own desks. This forced us to think creatively, and I (Amelia) was relieved to discover that board games were still an option, even if it meant printing out several A3 copies so that everyone could see. Quizlet and Kahoot games were also an excellent option, as they allowed the students to engage with the material, and each other, without moving at all.
Experiencing the holistic role of teachers
During a time of political ambiguity many decisions had to be made including whether to keep adult institutions such as TAFE open or closed and for how long. It was our head teachers who stepped in to make these important, swift and unprecedented decisions in the best interests of their staff and students; something from which we have learned and will forever admire.
We were reminded of our holistic role as teachers and the significance of this. We were not there to simply teach English. We were there to assist our students in various ways to cope in English-speaking communities, jobs and then, a pandemic. We had a responsibility to ensure that our students understand their responsibilities in response to COVID-19 and the daily updates regarding the pandemic. Some students thought the situation was worse than it was, whereas others were convinced it was less serious than it was. The challenges lay in assessing the readability of the information at hand and then adapting it so that it could be understood by our students without missing important details.
Teaching is a calling
Face-to-Face teaching has returned to many universities and colleges now in Australia. The technical and pedagogical skills we and our lecturers have acquired are staying with us.
Studying and completing our teaching practicum during the pandemic certainly brought about many challenges, but it also made for a particularly enriching and memorable learning experience. Had it not been for Zoom classes, the two of us would not even have met, much less formed the friendship we have today. We discovered that, despite widespread fear in the community and amidst hand sanitisers and socially distanced desks, meaningful learning can very much still take place.
Most importantly, however, we discovered firsthand that the influence of a teacher extends far beyond the four walls of the classroom and into the community at large. This brings with it great responsibility, and great privilege.
References
Bodis, A., Reed, M., & Kharchenko, Y. (2020). Microteaching in isolation: fostering autonomy and learner engagement through VoiceThread. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 2(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.46451/ijts.2020.09.14
Ersin, P., Derin, A., & Enisa M. (2020). Boosting preservice teachers’ competence and online teaching readiness through e-practicum during the COVID-19 outbreak. International Journal of TESOL Studies, 2(2), 112-124. https://doi.org/10.46451/ijts.2020.09.09
Piller, I. (2020). Does every Australian have an equal chance to know about COVID-19 restrictions? Language on the move (01 September 2020): https://www.languageonthemove.com/does-every-australian-have-an-equal-chance-to-know-about-covid-19-restrictions/
Zhou, N. (2020). Australian Universities Plan to ramp up in-person learning in early 2021, The Guardian Australia (20 January 2021) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/20/australian-universities-plan-to-ramp-up-in-person-learning-in-early-2021
Bioblurbs
Amelia Baggerman has always been passionate about travelling, foreign languages and cultures; interests which dovetailed nicely into an ESOL teaching career. After some volunteer teaching in Indonesia and some private tutoring in both Germany and Colombia, she was convinced that teaching foreigners to speak English was the perfect career for her. She completed her CELTA in 2016 and then spent the next few years teaching in private ELICOS centres, before deciding that it was really something she wanted to pursue. This led her to completing a Graduate Certificate of TESOL through Macquarie University in 2020 and now she has very happily settled into her new role teaching at TAFE in Sydney. She looks forward to seeing her students every day and considers it an honour to be entrusted with their education.
Bonnie James commenced her journey in teaching by being a volunteer language tutor whilst studying law at the University of Newcastle. After graduating and working in the legal field with a combined degree in Laws (Honours) / Diploma of Legal Practice and a Bachelor of Arts, she realised that law probably wasn’t the career for her. Once again, she set out to volunteer but this time she volunteered at her local TAFE in the English language department where she found inspirational mentors. This led to Bonnie achieving a 120 hour TESOL Certificate which allowed her to become an online English Foreign Language teacher for primary school students predominantly based in China. To expand her professional opportunities, she completed the Graduate Certificate of TESOL through Macquarie University this year and commenced teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Bonnie is thankful for all of the wonderful mentors she had including the teachers at TAFE and professors at Macquarie University who made her dream to become an ESOL teacher possible. linkedin.com/in/bonnie-james-3a31a41a5
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What an inspiring and interesting blog article about learning and teaching! Thank you for this, Ms. Amelia and Ms. Bonnie!
Teaching in the middle of a pandemic where everything is uncertain and unpredictable is definitely not an easy task. With the sudden transition to online distance learning, teachers needed to immediately adapt regardless of the challenges of the modality to still make learning possible for their learners. This shift amidst the pandemic proved that teachers’ flexibility are undoubtedly because of their passion for teaching and as the article stated, “Teaching is a calling.”
This blog article brings to light that teachers are strong bridges which make distance learning possible. Congratulation on this blog!