Tuesday 5 July 2011

Summer school

At last! I am teaching at a summer school for teenagers who come to the UK to learn English and have fun away from the watchful eyes of parents. I am at the University of Kent campus in Canterbury which is sprawling with architecture that reminds me of Milton Keynes circa 1980. It's very green with rabbits skipping across the paths in and out of the woods.

I have never stayed at a university. I have a room in a shared house and it's been good to meet other teachers who are returning from their year abroad teaching in places like Seville and Sardinia. This is what language teachers need to do to earn money in the summer months and it is good to find somewhere that is close enough to London and also nice and rural. I am looking forward to getting out to the coast some time soon and exploring Whitstable and Herne Bay - both are a twenty minute bus ride from here.

There are a lot of schools taking place here and at times it seems like a battle zone in the canteen as everyone tries to get fed as quickly as possible. The food is better than expected but is on the carb heavy side. I am trying to get as much fruit as I can under the watchful eye of the catering staff who make sure the fruit or pudding rule applies at all times - and only one piece of fruit.

I start teaching the syllabus tomorrow and have chosen to teach upper intermediate. I will be teaching three hours a day and will have the afternoons free to lesson plan or head off to explore. I am here for a month and will update soon on how I am doing with my Italian teens!

2 comments:

  1. Glad to hear all is well, Debbie. Seeing as you have the afternoons free it just occurred to me I could drive down to Canterbury one day and we could have an outing to Whitstable, or wherever. What do you think? We coul eat fish and chips on the sea-wall or stick to shellfish. I'd love to hear more about the summer school.

    Sheila

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  2. I have only just read this comment, Sheila. Shame as it would have been a lovely thing to do. However I did get to see you when I got off my bus in Lewisham! How strange was that!!

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