Today is Manuel's first whole day with me, and I always imagine myself in the student's situation on that first day.
Imagine, so wanting to learn something, so really needing to, that you would actually pay to live with your teacher, in their home, with their family.......
....and we've all watched 'Wife Swop'!!
Perhaps, for me, the first few days are some of the most exciting of the job.
The house has been cleaned to within an inch of it's life, the garden too, all the paperwork is up to date and the next job is the 'meet and greet' at the airport.
Have any of you stood at arrivals with some one's name on a piece of paper ?
'Please not them, please not them', goes through your head, as you watch the slow, steady flow, of suntanned Ryan Air holiday makers, burnt to a crisp, still wearing the 'Lads on Tour' Tee shirt, kissing their welcoming girlfriends, winking and high fiving their mates....'What goes on tour , stays on tour, aye Davie'.....
And then, suddenly, quite unexpectedly, a face pops up.... 'Carol ?' and kisses you on both cheeks, rather hesitantly, as they know we Brits don't like it......
..and I feel a hugely pleasant sigh of relief.. " Yes this is going to be good!', and I must add here, I have always had really wonderful students. Nice people, hardworking, respectful and friendly.
Anyway, back to Manuel..... half way to the airport, I fumble my hand over the passenger seat, checking for the 'Meet and Greet' sign, (my logo of a spotty mug full of pencils and crayons, with his name underneath), it's not there.I check and check and check again, it's not in the car. O.K. not a problem, I will go to the airport, get some paper and write his name on it.
Drive into short stay car park, check purse for debit card....all good...
Park car, take ticket, put ticket in pocket, note where car left....all cool
Walk into airport...plane has landed 15 minutes early...
Panic...its midnight...everywhere is shut...I need to get a meet and greet sign sorted. People are pouring out of arrivals, everywhere is closed, I see a desk with a uniformed worker turning all her stuff off. " Help', I begged, 'do you have a piece of paper I can have to write some one's name on?" She hands me a 'note it' , a 2 by 2 sticky Post it and a green highlighter that has seen better days.
So stand with the 'post it' and wait for someone to come to me.
By the time we get home, have a sandwich and glass of chilled Cava and a quick tour of the house its 2 am Madrid time.
On the first day, I make an exception, breakfast is at 9, and lessons start at 9.30, after that, breakfast is at 8 and lessons begin at 8.30.
Manuel has requested 30 hours of English lessons a week, this is 6 hours a day, with the weekends free, but as I have other teaching commitments on Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning, we will have lessons on Sundays as well and Manuel will have some free time during the week.
The first two lessons consist of completing a range of assessments in grammar and vocabulary and in the four skills, reading, listening, speaking and writing, then we complete an in depth needs analysis and from that, we develop the (flexible),course programme.
On the first day, after lessons, I usually take students for a walk around Street, we visit Clarks Village and the Tourist Information Centre.I point out other places of interest including, the swimming pool, the Shoe Museum, Strode Theatre, the bus stops for Glastonbury Wells and Bath, the local pubs - The Bear Inn, Mullions and 'Spoons' and the best Indian Restaurant in Somerset, Saffron.
We usually have to get a front door key cut, as they tend to leave with the student!
By the time we arrive home we are getting hungry, and there's nothing better than the smell of something delicious coming from the kitchen as you step into the house.
English Lesson
Vocabulary associated with cooking
Slow Cooked Brisket of Beef
This is a wonderfully tasty dish that needs little preparation, cooks itself slowly during the day, leaving plenty of time for lessons and excursions.
Imagine, so wanting to learn something, so really needing to, that you would actually pay to live with your teacher, in their home, with their family.......
....and we've all watched 'Wife Swop'!!
Perhaps, for me, the first few days are some of the most exciting of the job.
The house has been cleaned to within an inch of it's life, the garden too, all the paperwork is up to date and the next job is the 'meet and greet' at the airport.
Have any of you stood at arrivals with some one's name on a piece of paper ?
'Please not them, please not them', goes through your head, as you watch the slow, steady flow, of suntanned Ryan Air holiday makers, burnt to a crisp, still wearing the 'Lads on Tour' Tee shirt, kissing their welcoming girlfriends, winking and high fiving their mates....'What goes on tour , stays on tour, aye Davie'.....
And then, suddenly, quite unexpectedly, a face pops up.... 'Carol ?' and kisses you on both cheeks, rather hesitantly, as they know we Brits don't like it......
..and I feel a hugely pleasant sigh of relief.. " Yes this is going to be good!', and I must add here, I have always had really wonderful students. Nice people, hardworking, respectful and friendly.
Anyway, back to Manuel..... half way to the airport, I fumble my hand over the passenger seat, checking for the 'Meet and Greet' sign, (my logo of a spotty mug full of pencils and crayons, with his name underneath), it's not there.I check and check and check again, it's not in the car. O.K. not a problem, I will go to the airport, get some paper and write his name on it.
Drive into short stay car park, check purse for debit card....all good...
Park car, take ticket, put ticket in pocket, note where car left....all cool
Walk into airport...plane has landed 15 minutes early...
Panic...its midnight...everywhere is shut...I need to get a meet and greet sign sorted. People are pouring out of arrivals, everywhere is closed, I see a desk with a uniformed worker turning all her stuff off. " Help', I begged, 'do you have a piece of paper I can have to write some one's name on?" She hands me a 'note it' , a 2 by 2 sticky Post it and a green highlighter that has seen better days.
So stand with the 'post it' and wait for someone to come to me.
By the time we get home, have a sandwich and glass of chilled Cava and a quick tour of the house its 2 am Madrid time.
On the first day, I make an exception, breakfast is at 9, and lessons start at 9.30, after that, breakfast is at 8 and lessons begin at 8.30.
Manuel has requested 30 hours of English lessons a week, this is 6 hours a day, with the weekends free, but as I have other teaching commitments on Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning, we will have lessons on Sundays as well and Manuel will have some free time during the week.
The first two lessons consist of completing a range of assessments in grammar and vocabulary and in the four skills, reading, listening, speaking and writing, then we complete an in depth needs analysis and from that, we develop the (flexible),course programme.
On the first day, after lessons, I usually take students for a walk around Street, we visit Clarks Village and the Tourist Information Centre.I point out other places of interest including, the swimming pool, the Shoe Museum, Strode Theatre, the bus stops for Glastonbury Wells and Bath, the local pubs - The Bear Inn, Mullions and 'Spoons' and the best Indian Restaurant in Somerset, Saffron.
We usually have to get a front door key cut, as they tend to leave with the student!
By the time we arrive home we are getting hungry, and there's nothing better than the smell of something delicious coming from the kitchen as you step into the house.
English Lesson
Vocabulary associated with cooking
Slow Cooked Brisket of Beef
This is a wonderfully tasty dish that needs little preparation, cooks itself slowly during the day, leaving plenty of time for lessons and excursions.
 |
| Peel some mushrooms |
 |
| Peel some shallots |
 |
| Slice the tops off some Chantenel carrots |
 |
| Get some garlic cloves and fresh thyme. |
 |
| And a nice peice of Brisket from your local butcher |
 |
| Heat up a small amount of hot oil in a casserole dish Brown the Brisket all over by placing it in the casserole dish. |
 |
| Remove the Brisket and put all the vegetables in the casserole dish. |
 |
| Add some wine |
 |
| Add more wine |
 |
| Season well with salt and pepper |
 |
| Bring to the boil, then add the Brisket |
 |
| Put the lid on the casserole dish |
 |
| Place in a low oven!! Low heat ! |
 |
| Close the oven door and forget about it |
 |
| For about six hours |
 |
| Take it out of the oven |
 |
| And serve it with some fresh vegetables and a potato or two. |
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