Regional Session

 OUR REGIONAL SESSION- 26 November

  We had our regional session in Kvakhvreli public school. We started our session at 10 o'clock, at first we had presentations, share some informations about our traveling in the USA. The first session was Marime's session about "Warm-ups", The second was mine- 'Teaching reading beginners' ( to teach how to read a letter or word 1st graders) and the last was Tamar- the topic-" Activation schemata" . We had 12 participants, they were teachers from different villages. The sessions were interesting, participants were involved and active. After a month on-line training I think that the session was good, Thank you- everybody who help me to conduct such an interesting and useful session.

Sasion Plan

                         Module Procedures

Name: Nino Sarauli

Title: Teaching reading for beginners.

Audience:  Newly entered teachers from my school and district. I chose the topic because our students start learning English at the age of six, It is difficult to teach reading English first graders when they do not know reading in their mother language.

Objective: By the end of the session teachers will know how to teach letters and words reading beginners.

Duration:  60 minutes

Stage 1- Aim: Participants will be able to discuss/explain key concepts of beginning reading.
Time	Topic		Organization	Procedure	Materials, Handouts
5 min	1)Introductory ice-breaker		Individual	·         TT and Trainees present themselves (trainees write their names on the paper and draw plant , they explain what is the relationship between the plant and herself )
5 min	2)My personal philosophy of reading		Individual, pairs, Whole group	TT writes questions on the board: ·         Should I teach only orally or start reading from the beginning (1st grade)? ·         Should I teach Ss only single letters or the written forms of meaningful words? ·         If I decide to teach single letters, should I teach their names first , or their (usual) sound? Trainees think about the questions individually, then share in pairs and As a whole group discuss it.
20 min	3) How would you answer the question above?		Individual, group work	TT divides trainees into 3 groups and  gives handouts ( different handouts different groups ) ·         Trainees read texts individually ·         Discuss in groups ·         Change group members and share information ( jigsaw reading )	Handout2- Beginning reading: some guidelines (A Course in English Language Teaching/ Penny Ur.) Slattery, Willis (English for primary teachers)
Stage 2- Aim: Participants will be able to demonstrate activities of reading.
Time	Topic		Organization	Procedure	Materials, Handouts
20 min	1)demonstration- Letters in words	Pairs, Whole group		1)      One participant draws a letter on the back of next participant and the group tries to guess the letter and say the name. 2)      T divides trainees into groups (3 in each group) and asks them to demonstrate  how to teach a letter or a word .
5min	Summaries – Procedures		Individual, Group work	TT asks questions: ·         which useful reading techniques do you remember ? (draw mind map and write points )	Flipcharts, markers
5 min	Course Evaluation		Individual	Write the short evaluation of the session	Handout 4- Evaluation form

Bibliography: Cambridge University press- A Course in English Language Teaching/ Penny Ur.—2^nd ed. 2012 ( Teaching Reading, Beginning Reading(2): Practical principles( p. 138) Beginning Reading(3):reading tasks (p. 140) and  Slattery, Willis (English for primary teachers)

Our Action Plan (Gori Region)

Before conduct our session we are going to inform:
1)      Our audience- The teachers from our schools, especially newly entered teachers from nearest villages.
2)      Alumni ( to participate )
3)      School administration ( for places, for technical resources )
4)      Resource center ( to inform teachers )
5)      ETAG ( to inform teachers )
      Before conducting we need :  The suitable place-  well equipped for session, Recourses ( papers, flipcharts, markers, handouts…) , Break ( just coffee and cookies ).
Challenges:
Ø  Place ( Where to conduct )
Ø  Break ( How to manage break )
Ø  Resources ( papers, markers…)
       We are going to conduct our sessions at the same place and day and the audience will be the same approximately 10-15 teachers. Marine’s topic is How to begin lesson with warming up activities. Tamar’s topic is Activation of Ss schemata before reading a new text. And Nino’ topic is Teaching reading for beginners. At the end of each session we will evaluate teachers by our questionnaires , prepared beforehand. 
       While conducting our sessions we plan to observe each other. Each of us will focus on different aspects to give collaborative feedback at the end of the session.

17 August

 Travel to DC . We spent 5 days in Washington DC. we had session in the World learning office. We met the president of World learning,



We visited all the sightseeings: US Capitol, The White House, Washington Monument, Georgetown University,Pentagon , Lincoln Memorial,Albert Einstein Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial,Korean War Veterans Memorial, Luther King memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Union Station, Old Post Office , China Town and lots of Museums: Smithsonian, Air and Space, Art Gallery and so on. It was Brilliant City.

                               Georgetown University




 Pentagon




 Art Gallery




Smithsonian Museum 




  Roosevelt Monument 

13- 14- 15- 16 August

 Micro training and feedback. ( in three groups of ten ) All participants micro training twice. 25 minutes training - 25 minutes feedback. We were divided into three groups and assigned a trainer for observation and consultation. We got group and individual advice and assistance from trainers while planning our micro-trainings.


My first Micro training ( Teaching reading lower level )

My Second Micro training ( Making groups )

Each teacher who was presenting would get the trainers observation as well as group member’s who took the seat by the trainer during the presentation. This was a valuable and mutually beneficial experience.

12 August

 Plenary Designing and evaluating workshops, Teaching Grammar and lesson planning.
Grammar- Language learning is often viewed as linear process. We teach this piece and we expect that our Ss will acquire them one by one. However , that is not what happens. For example you are learning the tenses, and you are doing fine, you learn the simple present, the simple past, the present continuous. Then the teacher introduces the present perfect, and all of a sudden you performance becomes less proficient. You have added another tense and the system you have constructed regresses. Fortunately, through interaction with others, eventually, order is restored. Learning is a creative process, full of hills and valleys. Learners should use language in order to learn it.

Giving Feedback- Giving teachers ownership of development
Good Feedback- Content : Discusses content, process , values; Highlights positives;   Highlights deficiencies with specific and tested guidelines for improvements;
- Direction: Is a two way street
- Process: Is conducted in an environment befitting the goal: mutual understanding and improvement.

10- 11 August

 ( Saturday - Sunday ) Free Time , visit Historic Deerfield, New York , Community Exchange day.
                                       Cultural Activities

      1) Historic Deerfield Visit. We had a tour in a beautifully restored museum house with its architecture and furnishings, collection of early American crafts, ceramics, textiles and metalwork.I was really impressed with everything I saw there and especially with our tour guide who gave a very emotional tour and it was impossible not to follow her in every detail.

 2) New York . On Sunday We visited New York, It was very interesting , impressive, exciting trip. We took Hop on , Hop off Bus and traveled around the city, We saw Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, Museums...  We sang national anthem:

8-9 August

  Workshops: Training delivery, working with course books, . Plenary ways of providing input,. Teaching listening and reading. Considerations when using a course book lesson:
- What are my students objectives?
-Which activities will help me accomplish these objectives?

-Are the activities engaging?...

Process Categories in teacher training:




We worked on adapting materials in our textbooks.

7 August

 Assessing the needs of teachers. Workshop: Teaching vocabulary, Teaching speaking .
1) What makes a good speaking class?
   - Learners talk a lot.
   -participation is even
    - motivation is high
   -language is of an acceptable level
2) A general checklist for pair and group speaking activities:
                                       - Is talking really necessary for the task or activity to be completed?
                                        -Are pupils using stretches of language?
                                        -Is thinking involved?
                                       - Are all pupils involved in some way?




We were invited to have a lunch- barbecue . We had different food, breathing fresh air and communicating with other people living and working on the campus. It was really fun and exciting.

6 August

 Library Orientation . After that Plenary- How teachers learn. Experiential Learning, Reflection. Learning is social. Workshop- Learning centered classes.
Moving from teaching to training :
1) know your subject.
 2) Use your skills as a teacher when you train.
 3) Know what you are trying to accomplish.
 4) Learn to recognize results.
 5) Allow yourself to be a beginner.



After the training we visited  the SIT Graduate Institute Library and they  introduce us  the electronic resources.

Brattleboro Visit - We visited Brattleboro, Walked in the streets .

Workshops - Program orientation, Moving from teachers to trainers. Our trainers are Andrew Dick and Radmila Popovic. We discussed qualities and attitudes, similarities and deferences.

5 August

 First day in the USA. We are in Word Learning center ( campus ).When we arrived in Brattleboro we were welcomed by Neil, a person who gave all the necessary details we needed. The first trip, it was campus orientation. There are lots of residences: Oak - World learning EDEP Education unit Language and culture department,  Rotch - Facilities EIL, Academis Resource Exchange/ Library, Student center- Student affairs, EI Cafe, student computer lab, The Stephen and Nita Lowey International Center Dining, Classrooms, Residence... I and Tamar live in Ellsworth  Residence.

Munich Airport

Munich Airport - Germany 04/08/2013

Tbilisi Airport

Tbilisi- Airport 04/08/2013 

Vere Palace- Tbilisi

    Hotel Vere Palace- Tbilisi  , Georgia  : Orientation meeting.( 02 and 03 August 2013 ) Pre-departure orientation meeting was well planned for us to get to know one another and be organized during the flight and to get to know the schedule of our stay in the USA.