First Day of School!

While I would like to say that my adventurous spirit is what drew me to the Balkans this summer, in actuality I am here on a study abroad. There are 16 teachers from the United States enrolled in coursework at Eastern Michigan University who had the most amazing first day teaching English as a Second Language at School Marko Nuculovic.

The administrators and staff greeted our eager group with equal enthusiasm. After the quick hustle and bustle of the room assignments, last minute printing and supplies, we all got to work setting up our rooms for our Montenegrin students. After months of planning, our EMU crew was ready to put into practice all that they have worked towards.

Danielle, my teaching partner and I, volunteered to run a class for the parents. Having been told our learners were early beginners, we prepared very simple lessons. To our surprise, most of our adult students had much more communicative abilities than we thought. It's a good thing Danielle and I are experienced teachers overall, as we got through our basic 75 minute lesson plan quickly and had to adapt a few activities on the fly for the next 75 minutes. Quick, a sticky note here, a partner share there, and a question-answer session there. And to think, Danielle and I have never worked together until this first amazing day!

While many of the students followed along easily, a few did need more help. One woman immediately asked me when she entered if I spoke French. She had lived in France for years and had not studied English for nearly 20 years. She was apprehensive, unsure, yet clearly interested. Never fear, as I put my own French language skills to use making sure that if she didn't comprehend the English she could still participate. Really, I get to use my French skills to help a Montenegrin learn English? Just one of many pleasant surprises today.

To our relief, the parents thoroughly enjoyed the class and our lessons. They easily interacted with their peers, and helped one another think of words and understand when needed. All of this put me at ease, as I was so nervous to teach a full class of adult for the first time. As the class ended, each of our appreciative students were sure to thank us both and shake our hands. See you tomorrow, we all excitedly said.

This is my study buddy and roommate Shelby and I for our "First Day of School" photo.