My Life after CELTA

Another eventfully eventless week came to an end today. It was brimming with deliberation, contemplation, and a myriad of unexpected tasks. I weighed the pros and cons of being a reliable and knowledgeable English teacher. I’m still not satisfied with my overall knowledge of the English language because I’m fully aware of my mistakes. It is rather irritating that I’m still prone to producing silly errors while writing, speaking and taking various tests. Aside from extending my vocabulary, I must re-learn specific grammatical topics, as well as familiarise myself with the natural language, before I can confidently take on more students and fully embark on this fantastic English teaching journey. I might come across as an overly meticulous and anxious individual striving for perfection, but I’m not. I want to provide my best for my students, and I don’t want them to face a confused old geezer who, for example, doesn’t know the difference between avenge and revenge. I must double my effor...

The 10th week of the year revealed many conundrums. We came to realise that our initial assumptions about our sleeping issues can be solely attributed to the long-term effects of COVID-19. These post-infection impacts fundamentally affected our unusually erratic sleeping patterns and routines. One day, we slept like logs, whereas the next night turned into a waking ordeal. If our sleepless nights hadn’t been enough tribulation, the weather ensured an additional detrimental factor. Navigating the days seemed challenging due to the early spring imposed fatigue and weariness, often resulting in us nodding off every ten minutes. Even the discernibly longer bright hours couldn’t boost our mood, however the morning walks with Abby, the dog, on the bright streets were quite noteworthy. Similarly, my warped perception of passing time was also worth mentioning the other day. I attempted to defend my conclusion by purporting the significance of the distorting nature of the passing of time. Howev...

Another week is almost over, with only a few hours left of it, which means we've passed the middle of February. Reflecting on the past six days, they revolved around a handful of topics: teaching, dogs, sleeping, and the exceptionally warm weather. What an exciting life we have, innit? Speaking of thrilling existence, I finished the CELTA course this time last year, one of the most memorable events in my life. In retrospect, it wasn't that difficult. However, when I was dealing with the lesson plans and considering all the details we learned while crafting and executing the lessons, I experienced another wave of angst. I was terrified. My anxiety level was so high that it almost reached astronomical levels. Still, it was a one-of-a-lifetime experience, and despite wanting to quit several times during the process, I'm glad I persevered. But enough of this malarkey, let's get back to this week. The unusually warm weather ensured the restless nights. Neither of us could sl...

A cracking idea occurred to me as the alarm went off and shattered the silence at 6:00 a.m. this morning. Initially, I was ready to grumble about another night of tossing and turning when this plan surfaced from the depths of my brain, which, let's face it, is a rather gross exaggeration considering how limited my grey matter's capacity is. Even I was surprised by it: it seemed like a mirage at first. As my CPU started its booting sequence, the haze vanished into thin air, leaving behind a clean strategy. On a side note, capturing such moments in my life when an idea presents itself out of the blue in a split second with intricate details never fails to amaze me. The mind is a stupefying organic tool.  After devouring the usual pancake breakfast and sipping the much-needed caffeine, giving an extra jolt to my already revved-up engine, I dashed to my humble little office in the basement to kick off my morning routine. Despite a pounding head urging me to put the plan into words,...