Archive for October, 2008

Okay, so here’s the update for the past several weeks. I’m still
self-employed with a few hours at a college that I’m thinking of
asking to remove soon. I just don’t want to work -both private
and contracted- after 5 pm. I can fill in my mornings andafternoons
with private students. I have trouble forming an evening group, though.
I had some calls about in-company classes but that is not until
winter break.

I had a party with my friends and students to commemorate one year
of my practice and my 27th birthday. Not many people came because
it turned out that October is a birthday and holiday month. We had
a potluck party and I still drink the juice they brought. There’s a nasty
stain on my carpet for that matter. I received lovely presents, including
the Bible in modern day English.

Next week I’m heading for Stockholm, leaving on Monday and
returning on Thursday. I can’t keep all that excitement, I’m
about to explode! Yatta! I’ll post the photos asap.

My Italian classes are going well. I made some friends online
who live in Italy, so now I can practice more often.

I spend money on books but that’s the disease with no cure.
I still need to figure out where I can buy a dictionary of abbreviations.
My family gave me some money as a present to invest into a
Lithuanian-English dictionary, and so I did. It’s very practical.

I also had my hair cut. Now I’m one sexy teacher :DDD

My life’s flowing quietly and peacefully. I have my private students
and my college students to keep me busy. My income is getting a bit
better with a few students willing to have lessons three times a week.
That means working on Fridays but since it’s my preparation day and
I have to go to the office, I don’t mind having a few morning lessons.
My problem is I cannot say no to money at this stage of my career.

This week I have attended two teacher development seminars. One
was held by OUP and aimed at Business English. The gratis book we
got was Business Result Upper-intermediate. It contains a CD (they
must have forgotten to rip it off :D) with listenings tracks, so it’s a gem.
The other seminar was by Pearson Education and was aimed at
exam classes. The gratis book is called Premium. I need to have a
closer look at it. It’s got a CD-ROM so that’s a plus.

Using the discounts they gave during the seminar, I bought
‘Across Cultures’, a one-level book with a CD and a Teacher’s book
to supplement my lessons on different cultural topics.

I keep going to my Italian lessons. The method used is by all means
not communicative and the majority of the time is taken by L1 being
used to introduce new grammar and vocabulary. I still need to decide
if I like it or not. Also, there’re special membership tickets at the Italian
centre of culture for those who want to borrow books and watch Fridays’
films at their place. I still need to find time and go there to have more info.

The coming Friday is important because it’s a double celebration: my birthday
(on the 15th) and one year of my self-employment. I will give a pot-luck party to
my students and friends.

englishdroid, where ARE you?
http://www.englishdroid.com/node/519

I revised my rates and increased the price for individual lessons by 10 Litas.
My October timetable is crazy, I work from 9.00 to 21.00 with a lunch break
and short coffee breaks. I expect a long and barren summer plus the winter
break is never easy, so I need all the money that comes in.

I am happy to say that (after upgrading to a paid domain, too) the
number of emails/calls is very big and I cannot accommodate all students, so
I keep a waiting list. Naturally, many want to study after work, that is, 5 or 7
p.m. and that time slot is almost always taken.

The turnover is not high so far but I expect it with some students who
aren’t really putting English lessons as their priority. For example, I have an
elementary group that wants lessons once a week because the other day
is ‘good for leaving’. Talk about progress! But this time I’m getting less
ambitious and more practical-even if it’s an affair for one month, it’s
a cash affair, isn’t it?