About Me....
I created this blog as a place where I can share EAL/D (ESL) theory, teaching ideas and information.
My hope is that this blog will be useful for other ESL teachers and also classroom teachers who are catering for EAL/D students in their classroom.
About Me: I graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Education (Primary). After 2 and a half years of doing a mixture of temporary and casual teaching I decided to travel overseas.
My now husband and I spent a year living in South Korea teaching English as a Foreign language. It was an amazing experience and it was my first foray into the world of teaching English - EFL. It also gave me the unique opportunity to experience what it is like to live in a country where I did not speak the language. I was able gain a useful insight for how it must be for people who come to Australia without any English.
Following my Korean experience I went to the UK. I spent two years teaching in a very large, multi-ethnic Infants school. This was a real eye-opening experience and my first opportunity to teach newly-arrived students, refugee students, NESB students with special needs, Phase 2 and Phase 3 ESL students. I now know what it is like to be a classroom teacher and have a knock on the door saying "Here is your new student....oh and he doesn't speak any English!"
On return to Australia I interviewed for an ESL teaching position at a large primary school near Lake Macquarie. This was my first experience as being the person responsible for the support of ESL students (newly-arrived, Phase 1, 2 and 3) within my school. No one in my school really knew about the ESL scales, and so it was a matter of reading the document and 'giving it a go'......and that's exactly what I did. Luckily my local school area have an ESL network that meets twice a year....and that really helped me to navigate the new and exciting world of ESL.
I started a Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Wollongong. As part of the course I had to do a practicum teaching experience with a qualified ESL teacher. I went to a large Primary school in Newcastle and met a brilliant and inspirational ESL teacher who shared so many wonderful ideas and resources. Although I was already working in the field of ESL and was already a qualified teacher, I believe that this practicum was the turning point in my ESL teaching career. I really got my head around what the role of ESL teaching was all about. I often think back to my ESL practicum for inspiration.
Since gaining my ESL qualifications I have worked in 9 different schools in the Newcastle area as their ESL teacher. As students move or progress through the scales, my allocations to schools change. Every year is a new adventure into the EAL/D world!
My hope is that this blog will be useful for other ESL teachers and also classroom teachers who are catering for EAL/D students in their classroom.
About Me: I graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Education (Primary). After 2 and a half years of doing a mixture of temporary and casual teaching I decided to travel overseas.
My now husband and I spent a year living in South Korea teaching English as a Foreign language. It was an amazing experience and it was my first foray into the world of teaching English - EFL. It also gave me the unique opportunity to experience what it is like to live in a country where I did not speak the language. I was able gain a useful insight for how it must be for people who come to Australia without any English.
Following my Korean experience I went to the UK. I spent two years teaching in a very large, multi-ethnic Infants school. This was a real eye-opening experience and my first opportunity to teach newly-arrived students, refugee students, NESB students with special needs, Phase 2 and Phase 3 ESL students. I now know what it is like to be a classroom teacher and have a knock on the door saying "Here is your new student....oh and he doesn't speak any English!"
On return to Australia I interviewed for an ESL teaching position at a large primary school near Lake Macquarie. This was my first experience as being the person responsible for the support of ESL students (newly-arrived, Phase 1, 2 and 3) within my school. No one in my school really knew about the ESL scales, and so it was a matter of reading the document and 'giving it a go'......and that's exactly what I did. Luckily my local school area have an ESL network that meets twice a year....and that really helped me to navigate the new and exciting world of ESL.
I started a Graduate Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Wollongong. As part of the course I had to do a practicum teaching experience with a qualified ESL teacher. I went to a large Primary school in Newcastle and met a brilliant and inspirational ESL teacher who shared so many wonderful ideas and resources. Although I was already working in the field of ESL and was already a qualified teacher, I believe that this practicum was the turning point in my ESL teaching career. I really got my head around what the role of ESL teaching was all about. I often think back to my ESL practicum for inspiration.
Since gaining my ESL qualifications I have worked in 9 different schools in the Newcastle area as their ESL teacher. As students move or progress through the scales, my allocations to schools change. Every year is a new adventure into the EAL/D world!