WATCH THE VIDEO
SHOW NOTES
- Give their introduction
- My friend’s mother
- Dally Mesa
- Lives in Maryland
- Has been teaching for about 30 years
- She loves her students
- Loves reading about the brain (Favorite book: “Brainstorm”)
- Why did you become an English teacher and how long have you been an English teacher?
- She started teaching right out of college
- The principal was her friend, so she asked her to teach
- Started teaching at a bilingual school
- Can you tell us about your first teaching experience?
- Was dropped in the classroom
- They gave her the books and basically said “Go for it”
- There was a stray dog named “Old Maggy” that became the class pet
- They were 6th graders
- As a teacher, what have you noticed are the three best qualities of a good English student?
- Desire to learn (“Burning desire to learn”)
- Consistency
- Read
- Did you ever have a favorite student? Tell us about him/her
- Her name was Susan
- She was actually an English speaker BUT her English grammar was horrible
- She was from North Carolina
- Her parents had divorced and she had a lot of emotional issues
- She wasn’t doing her homework because she was so distressed
- She was a loner, but Mrs. Dally invited her to eat lunch with her
- They shared a pickle and that led them to develop a great relationship
- What are the hardest things about teaching English?
- Having them learn the vowel sounds (pronunciation)
- How to make learning fun
- What do you enjoy most about teaching English?
- Making the connection with students
- The spark and twinkle in their eyes when they get something
- Do you speak another language? Tell us about it.
- She speaks Spanish and a little French
- Do you know any good English resources?
- Watch a movie with English subtitles
- Listen to music in English
- www.readingatoz.com
- www.ixl.com
- Advice for other 2nd language teachers, students, and teachers
- You can do it!
- It may seem like you are not improving, but keep going!
- Practice, practice, practice
- Practice, hear, and read