Although I have given up teaching, I still do one morning a week as a volunteer for an English conversation group for people whose first language is not English. Not all the ‘teachers’ have actual classroom experience, but we run a very successful group, and have a lot of fun.
We knew today that one of our team of seven would be away, but the six of us could manage with the 15-20 students we expected to be with us on the first morning back after Christmas… then our leader had a terrible tooth problem; she could one at the start of the session, would go and have her tooth extracted… and then come back! What a hero!
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours with another one of the teachers preparing a lovely PowerPoint on the New Year, and New Year’s customs. She is a wonderful singer and we included a couple of songs she would sing, one of which the students could join in and do actions (all helping to increase vocabulary and fluency!) This morning just before eight o’clock, she rang to say she was poorly, so could I pick up her memory stick with the presentation and then I could show it – without the singing!
At the church where we hold the classes I tried to open the PowerPoint… my friend had saved the wrong one – never mind, I could use it anyway as it was on ‘Seasons’… but then the laptop refused to work… oh well, we’ll just do an ordinary presentation with the talented artist among us would illustrate it on a flipchart.
At last coffee time, an important part of the morning as this is where we all socialise and enjoy each other’s company and conversation I made the coffee this morning lovely Fairtrade filter coffee, and I made it rather strong… mmmm! Someone found some brown sugar, what a luxury! After all the disasters, there’s nothing like a nice cup of coffee or tea!
Back to the lesson and a couple of us were clearing up the coffee things and doing the washing up when someone from a different voluntary group came over for coffee and I offered her some of ours, and would she like some brown sugar.
“Are you sure it’s sugar?” she asked… and then tasted it… and then spat it out…
For some reason someone had put a jar of play-sand in the coffee cupboard…
… I’m just glad I don’t take sugar in my coffee!
What a morning! Let’s hope next week will be better… but I won’t know because I will be up in Glasgow with my friend Elly, and a lot of other very excited Mavericks’ fans!
in a jar
Lois Elsden 