I'm not going to lie... things can get difficult.

Ahhhh, home! On your Year Abroad, of course you're going to get homesick and miss people - hell, I'd give anything to be back in Bath with my boyfriend and my friends, or back home with my family having a Sunday lunch and going for walks... Oh god, now I'm going to get upset! It is hard, but for me, being in France with a French family but also an English-language housemate is a lot easier than it was when I was in Barcelona this summer all by myself. Also, with the wonders of Skype, MSN and webcams, I can arrange to talk to my family and friends really easily and I know it's only usually a maximum of 6 weeks until I go home again!
But (what a rebel, starting a sentence with 'but') this blog is not about my whinging or pining for home, this is about the difficulties I've ALREADY encountered with teaching (things that are prevalent across Europe I'm sure), and more importantly, les professeurs.

1. Some teachers don't teach in English. This is incredibly frustrating, as I can compare between teachers who speak only in French and teachers that speak only in English. Two of my classes are taught mostly in French, mainly because the teacher's level of English isn't that good. These classes are pretty terrible at English and forget to put verbs in sentences (even the infinitive would suffice, it's correctable!) and worst of all, look at me blankly when I speak because they're not used to hearing English or my accent due to the teachers' lack of English. It's hard to remember that it's not the childrens fault that they're not great at English, as I often find myself getting frustrated if they don't know a simple tense or verb. On the other hand, most other teachers speak ONLY English (except a few difficult task instructions of course) and the difference is astounding - they can translate simple paragraphs at age 12, they don't read off sheets when they're asked questions and they speak in full sentences. All I want to do is know the reasons for not speaking English and encourage the teachers to do at least 50/50 class! Although I'm sure they complain about having 100% English-speaking classes, it seems to be paying off at a very young age... I'm looking forward to seeing the progress in both camps.
   
2. Some teachers don't correct mistakes. They simply bark "The difference between singular and plural - you don't understand it." at 12 year olds who need at least some sort of prompt as to where exactly they're going wrong, not just a vague topic. Even if the teacher tells them a grammar book chapter to read up on, or tells them that they'll review it quickly at the end. I feel like interjecting and telling them what's up and explaining it in a simple fashion, but it's not advised to go against teachers and their methods...
   
3. Two of my teachers are incredibly archaic in their teaching stances. They never give praise, even if it is simply "well done". In one class, I sit at the back and am used like a tape; if there is an article to read, she asks me to read it, and I duly oblige. The other teacher also sits me at the back, asks me to mark some vocabulary tests whilst she conducts speaking exams - essentially one pupil doing their speaking exam in front of the ENTIRE class of 25. I remember being 12 or 13 and not wanting to appear better or more hardworking than anyone else, and also despising speaking out loud in front of people, so at the pupils' age of 12-15, carrying out tests in this fashion is a terrible idea (but I simply CAN'T tell her that!) as the pupil is shy, the rest of the class misbehaves, making the entire class a waste of time for me, the teacher and of course the pupils. One teacher also tells the pupil what their mark was, in front of the class, provoking ridicule if it is too high or too low, subconsciously making the kids aim for mediocre marks!

Right, rant over. Hopefully once my 'observation period' is over, The children are brilliant and most of the teachers are inspiring, but I'll hopefully be able to inject some useful English into these classes... except after seeing some of the teaching methods, I think it's going to be a harder job than I first imagined...!