F2F Class Notes (JJ)

Why do you want to study in our school?

During my four-year teaching practice, I encountered various difficulties. On my way solving them, I read books about English teaching methods. By putting those methods into practice, I find found myself developing into (turning into/becoming) a better teacher. The more I read and learned about English teaching, the more I wanted to learn. That’s why I am here. I really want to study more and thoroughly (more thoroughly and more broadly) about English teaching. You may retort by saying if I have a willing heart, I can learn anywhere. But I think learning by myself and learning at a school is totally different. A school can not only provide me with a sea of books, but also can give me the opportunity to learn from the knowledgeable professors and classmates. That is absolutely the best way to improve myself. Surely I would like to study here and make the best of my school time.

As a school, why should we accept you?

As you can see, I am ready to learn, so I won’t waste my time here. I believe the school would not turn away  shut doors to a student who is willing to learn. I believe that every school would opens doors to students who are willing to learn. Second, I know I have to read numerous English books about teaching, pedagogy, psychology and I am ready for that. Because I have been reading The Economist for about a year. Reading fast and with interest is already one of my habits. As for writing papers, that is what I have always been dreaming of. During my teaching practice, I have already written articles on my wechat official account, articles about my own teaching problems, solutions and ideas. I am prepared to write more critical-thinking articles articles that require/involve critical-thinking and perhaps publish a book. Studying here will provide a wonderful chance for doing that!

What are your strengths?
The biggest strength of mine is that I am self-reflective. Reflecting on my own experience helps me to improve. I usually watch my recorded classes and then write the blogs about my own teaching performance. I would first write reflect onsomething I didn’t perform well on/in, and then think of some practical ways of improving them. After conforming to those ways for about a month, I would examine review my videos again and see if my teaching performance gets better. I think this is the fastest way of advancing myself. It is useful in other fields, too, besides teaching.
Second, I’m able to work efficiently while under pressure. *focus on talking about yourself and not other people* (Many people are too nervous about deadlines, so as to finish their tasks hurriedly below expectations, or too casual about deadlines, so as to perform like procrastinators.) But I never see deadlines as a monster. I see them as my friend. With deadlines, I can make my own schedule and stick to those tasks until I finish them all.

What are your weaknesses?
First, I easily get bored with routine tasks. That is to say, if a task is too boring tedious and unchanging, I would find it hard to persist on. But somehow I have to deal with some routine tasks. In order to hold on to them, I would add something new and creative. For example, I have to remind my students to hand in their online homework every Wednesday. In order to make it more interesting, I make some emojis. In that case, the students would find it funnier more fun and would be more willing to hand in their homework.
Second, my speaking speed is a little bit too fast. At least some of my students once complained about that. Therefore I intentionally slow down when I am giving a class.

The biggest reason I want to study here is that I found my problems. On my way to solving them, I read a lot of books about teaching. I want to learn more about the academic knowledge about English teaching. Admittedly during these five years of teaching experience, I learned by myself, but compared with learning in a school with professionals. (…) I believe that studying here will provide me with that chance.

Revised:

The main reason (…) And I want to enrich myself, increase my level of understanding of teaching methods, philosophies, etc or broaden my horizons.

I will put my knowledge into books or papers. I want to publish a book which is a combination of my practical experience and theoretical knowledge. I have been recording my own teaching performance and then I will watch my own performance and see if there’s any problem. During that process, I listed some weaknesses and how I can overcome those weaknesses. (…)

Revised: I will put my knowledge into practice, in writing books and papers.

Pressure can push/bring the best out of me, just like during these years, since I made the decision to take this examination. Yes it’s a pretty hard one, but I am juggle my work with this examination. I mean I work under pressure and study under a lot of pressure. But I can make a list and set goals so that I can overcome them one by one. That is why I can perform well while under pressure.

Revised: Pressure can bring the best out of me, (…) I am juggling my work AND this examination. But I can make a list and set goals so that I can finish/complete/accomplish/tackle them one by one.

During our lives, there will be many times when we will have to deal with routine tasks. (…) The second weakness is that I don’t think I’m as perseverant as I thought I was. But later I overcame them because I let myself breathe so I give myself one or two days to not exercise (…) Those are my two weaknesses and how I overcome them.

Revised: In life, (…) Those are my two weaknesses and how I overcame them. Sometimes, I have difficulties in maintaining habits.

Write your answer for: What have you read recently? (related to education and your grad school application)