Comment by Gina Webster
"I have to say that my most enjoyable learning experiences have had to
do with the instructors, particularly their presentation skills,
energy + enthusiasm. I remember less the activities and materials and
more the feeling that I left that class with (what is that great
quote about "they'll forget what you said but they'll always remember
how you made them feel"???). As far as materials and activities go...
I find classes with well-organized, CONCISE, and efficiently
delivered material to be the most enjoyable. I can't stand having to
wade through tons of material to seek the information that I need."

Some of the most enjoyable classes for me were in College when I studied German. My majors were Psychology and Spanish so I considered German more of a hobby than a class. That could be part of the reason that I enjoyed it so much, but the professor also contributed. I had never studied German before- I couldn't even say, 'Hello, what's your name?', but she conducted the class in a completely communicative way. She never spoke English in the classroom, only German. I loved the way she taught because it was challenging. We were on our toes throughout the whole class, trying to understand her instructions and keep up with the pace. The professor was able to find the right balance of activities that are challenging but not impossibly difficult and that made (most of) us want to achieve.
I try to keep this in mind when teaching my classes. Some students respond very well to being challenged and it motivates them even more. Not all students are alike however, and it can be quite difficult to find that balance of challenging but achievable.

I think that my experiences are similar with those of Micaela and Gina. Enthusiasm is a key word. I think that I could feel when the instructor liked what they were doing and wanted to be there. I always liked to be challenged and not simply told facts. When I think about the teacher that I thought was the best during my time at university I think that he had a real passion for his subject (sociology) and he really wanted to see students get involved. He also went out of his way to show that he wanted and cared about students' opinions. Here was a genius in his field asking 18 year olds what they thought about life. It was very impressive. I think that we can learn clearly about teaching English that each student has something to offer us.

I think I got off on a bit of a tangent there. In terms of the materials and activities that I most appreciated, I think it was those where we had to solve a problem. Collaborating with classmates and working through a challenging issue were very helpful.
I felt that these were the skills that we need "in the real world" to succeed.

I remember so many classes as a learner...
The ones I enjoyed the most were when we (the learners) had speak about (or teach) a specific issue. It's really interesting finding out how the same issue is so differently interpreted. And it's really important to being heard.

I was in a special class for foreign language since my 8th age and we had many different foreign (english speaking) tutors and teachers who were using different learning methods.

I personally appreciated lessons which were based on simplicity and easy to grasp information. Encouraging us to talk was the most challenging thing and for me the most interesting out of all others ways such as reading, filling in gaps or writing.

I had my most wins from understading grammar. Grammar is the basic for being able to talk and not feel ashamed or unsure... I enjoyed lessons where the teacher was able to explain us grammar in a simple way, used many examples and let us to think about the reasons why the sentence is build the way it is build or what is the derivation of differet words and what are the similarities between the mother language and the foreign language.

Of course, the most enthusiastic and energetic teachers are still in mind and I can still remember them.

Funny, but what I remember a lot is some classes which were different from the usual ones. What I mean is for example a class with another student explaining all the intricacies of reported speech. I remember being so much impressed that a girl my age could venture such a thing!!!

I realised I had forgotten to sign up,
Agnieszka Samojłow:)))

TEST
on new matura Matrix Intermediate plus
Name: Score: / 63 points
Date: Mark:

I. TRANSLATE: (max. 10 points)
1. a complaint 6. kwitnąć
2. to soar 7. przyjemność
3. to increase 8. rozwiązać
4. illiterate 9. według
5. to look after 10. odebrać telefon
II. WRITE THE OPPOSITES: (max. 5 points)
1. intelligent -
2. leisure time -
3. fall through -
4. expected -
5. midday -
III. Write sentences using the following phrasal verbs plus translate the whole sentences into Polish: (max. 10 points)
1. take up 2. put off 3. bring about
4. work out 5. feel up to
1. .................................................................................
2. .................................................................................
3. .................................................................................
4. ...................................................................................
5. ...................................................................................
IV. Fill in the gaps with articles ( a, an, - , the): (max. 24 points)
........... Sandra lives in ................. Szczecinek. In ..................... morning she wakes up early and hurries to ........................ work. She never has .......................... breakfast before ................. going out, although she is ...................... doctor. She commutes by ................ car. She works 9 hours ...................... day and she is back at ................... home in ...................... evening. From ...................... Mondays to ....................... Fridays she does not go to .................. clubs but at ..................... weekend she does. Sometimes she even goes to ................... cinema or goes to see ...................... Niezdobna River or ....................... Trzesiecko Lake. Once ............ month she goes by ................. train to .................... Baltic sea to admire .................. seagulls and other birds that live there. She loves ............ beach there. That is ............. hobby of her dreams.
IV. Put the verbs in the correct form: (max. 9 points)
1. Do you think you ........................ (become) a pop star? I don’t know.
2. She’s just phoned to order some pizza. They ...................... (get) it in a minute.
3. I ....................... (learn) more, I promise.
4. I am busy next week, please do not try to call me. I ..................... (study) Maths.
5. Trevor knows exactly ahat he wants to do with the money. He .................. (spend) it all!
6. When I last saw you, you ............................ (look) out of a window.
7. And this is when I ................................. (realise) how silly I was.
8. When she .................................... (see) me, she always .................... (laugh)!
V. Imagine that you got a letter of complaint from a dissatisfied customer. He had ordered 9 magic pens but only 4 of them arrived. Some of them were damaged, broken. Write a short reply (5 sentences) reacting to that situation. (max. 5 points)

That is one of my tests (from 2 years ago). It is not about lesson planning, but can go along with Course Design, as testing students' knowledge is just what naturally follows some number of activities.
I wonder if anyone can comment on this.
Agnieszka Samojłow

ha ha

I can see that it wasn't a good place to ask such a question:)))

greetings anyway