Peou putting his new skills to the test

Mott Peou from Sangkheum Center for Children completed the teacher training course and reports in his own words the benefits of the course and what he’s learnt…

It was a beautiful last two weeks for the course at Salariin Kampuchea organization so I had learned a lot from the course such as teaching grammar lesson, listening, reading, classroom management, potential classroom problems and we had feedback at the end of every single session to find out the strength and weakness points to develop our teaching practice to apply to the real teaching demonstration after the course.

I definitely love the course and have seen myself much better developed in teaching styles almost every single session at my workplace and I am really satisfied the course that had provided lesson planning stages, new model techniques, students’ rapport and how to build up the relationships between the students and teachers to work well. I am interested in the course and really helpful for our English Programme especially the teachers who wants to teach students in formal way and successful.

At last I would like say many thanks to “Hope” that had given us the best teacher training course for last two weeks. It was precious weeks and times, should never forget and love forever. Thanks for your kindly.

Mott Peou, English Teacher at Sangkheum Center for Children

Peou in class with Steve Longley, Teacher Trainer

Peou attentive in class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peou testing his new skills in a real classroom situation

HOPE sponsored teachers complete Teacher Training Course

Teacher training for Sangkheum and Salariian Kampuchea English teachers is complete and Steve Longley, Teacher Trainer, is extremely pleased with the effort everyone put in and the results!

The 4 teachers survived the course and were able to join the teacher/student party at the end with smiles on their faces. The last 3 days saw them each conduct an 80-minute lesson putting in what they had learned with a handed-in written assignment evaluating themselves and a peer. All of them have made huge strides forwards and now it remains for them to continue with their new skills in their own organisations. I am more than happy with the way the trainee teachers conducted themselves throughout the course with open ears and a willingness to improve. I would also like to thank the students of the Salariin Kampuchea who welcomed each different teacher warmly and were a joy to teach.

Steve Longley – Teacher Trainer

Steve Longley, Teacher Trainer, in action

Training continues this week in Siem Reap for four teachers at HOPE supported organizations Sangkheum Center and Salariian Kampuchea. As Steve the trainer reports it’s all going extremely well.

…So the 1st week is complete and the teachers finally got to teach on Friday and put into practice what they had learned so far. Previously I had been teaching different skills lessons with them watching and looking out for specific areas of methodology. After they taught, they filled in a self evaluation form before commenting on each others lesson. I believe it was also an eye-opener for the busy week next week where their lessons increase from 20 to 40 and then an 80 minute lesson at the end. They know the workload will be tough but the trainees also know how much they will get out of their hard work.

With 3 days remaining of the course, the final 80 minute lesson looming and a 1000 word assignment to complete, the 4 trainees seemed remarkably happy. The 4 teachers have just completed their 40 minute lessons and are now getting used to commenting on each others teaching. No longer are they just waiting for the trainer to analyse the lesson but they themselves are now writing on the board how Teacher A did not meet his main aim or Teacher C used the whiteboard correctly during the student feedback. Also, after each lesson, the teacher is filling in a self evaluation form. This, along with peer analyses, are huge steps in progressing as a teacher.

Steve Longley – Teacher Trainer

The work shop is a 2-week intensive course designed to be a springboard for locals wishing to teach English as a Foreign Language. The course is being conducted by a trained and experienced professional and will work within 8 workshops covering teaching practice, classroom observation and a written assignment.

Notes from Steve the teacher trainer…

….So I have completed 2 days. Very different days. The first day the electricity went off so we got candles but the teachers and students adapted well. The second day was more text book and went according to plan. The 4 teachers are very different so it should be interesting to see them teach for the 2nd time on Friday.

My “coach” is in the guise of Rob a friend of many years who is joining me all the way to Paris as well as being navigator, mechanic and I suspect, cajoler when I have a strop! I am hugely indebted to Rob for all his help and his invaluable encouragement. Only thing is, Rob has been cycling (and I mean club level and very well at that) for as long as I’ve known him…oh and he’s over 6 foot tall so several advantages over lil’ ol’ me.

So, the advice from Rob is simple, “you just need as many hours in the saddle as possible!” “Oh right no problem then!!”

A few painful spin classes in the gym later and I was out on the road… complete with new “proper cyclists” cleats… in other words those things you actually clip your feet into. You learn by your mistakes right… well after falling off the bike 3 times (fortunately when the bike was practically stationary) I seem to have learnt! What’s a few bruises amongst friends.

So I’ve picked up the hours a bit, helped by a weekend in Brighton staying at Robs. He dragged me out into Sussex for what turned out to be a really pleasant 50 mile ride….in well under 5 hours. Chuffed and relieved…. I think we were both glad to realise I should be able to go the distance. And it is the distance not a race after all, although we do have a fairly strict timetable to meet with a ferry to catch and then Eurostar per-booked for the return.

Now the strange thing is the legs are fine, even the bum is fine, but all that fresh air just wipes me out and after a day on the bike I can sleep for England.

During the Olympics, my favourite event of every 4 years, I had the perfect excuse to sit on a bike in the gym for several hours at a go… the training was definitely going ok. That said I have avoided rain… please all pray for an Indian summer in September.

…But the real test was Sunday 16th August, fuelled by watching over 7 hours of Olympics on the Saturday I met up with Rob in Brighton and we proceeded to cycle back to London. A journey Rob knew well, made it so much easier as he could point out the potential difficulties (and going down hill with panniers on your bike is, I discovered, quite difficult and quite scary!!!). Getting over the South and North Downs were quite a challenge and I think I got noticeably quieter after about 4 hours in… too tired to even speak – yes even me! We stopped ever so briefly to take on a little food, and within 6 hours we had got to Wimbledon, South London. We went separate ways from there, and I was in the bath with a whole large bar of Green + Blacks within 7 hours of leaving Rob’s house… some 65 miles away. Phew.

Since then the good old British summer, (wettest August on record) has forced me into the gym a bit more than I would have liked but I have managed to graduate to not one, but double spin classes back to back. There was a time back in May when I could barely get through a 45 minute class without looking and feeling terrible!

Less than a fortnight to go and now my biggest fear is the weather. Anyone who knows me knows I hate being cold and I hate being hungry, so the prospect of both at the same time is scaring me – Poor Rob! But the underlying reason why I am doing all this training and giving up annual leave far outweighs any girlie fear!

I have one final big training ride the weekend before departure then I’ll be resting and packing (Very lightly – a challenge in itself for me).

Early Sunday 14th September we will ride from my house in West London to Tower Bridge where we will commence the Two Towers Tour aiming to cover over 200 miles and arrive at the Eiffel Tower the morning of Wednesday 17th.

This is a personal challenge I am driven to complete to give HOPE the best launch possible. I look forward to writing all about it… from a warm study stuffing my face with chocolate!

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