As of this writing, I have taught three ESL classes at the CORE (Community Organizing to Reach Empowerment) Center.  The ESL classes are designed to address the literacy needs of adult learners in the community and tend to attract native speakers of Spanish though I have heard that there have been others who have occasionally taken advantage of the opportunity.

Although I had volunteered for a short time in the morning ESL classes at CORE, I was extremely nervous to teach my first class there because I was trying to design a lesson plan for students I did not know.  I was unsure of their English skills and intimidated by the prospect of having a class of students who had widely divergent levels of English skills.  To meet this demand and to make myself more comfortable walking into an unknown teaching space, I prepared two lessons with materials.  The first lesson was for more advanced learners while the second lesson focused on beginning intermediate learners.  I had my fingers crossed that I wouldn't have any true beginners.

I walked into the CORE Center and found myself faced with two students with similar levels of English skills.  I  was relieved.  I taught the more advanced lesson, focusing on the students' particular needs.  At times the teaching delved into more personal, storytelling territory, which allowed all of us to learn more about each other.  I learned that one student did not like Mexican food and loved American food.  The other wanted to go to college but was unsure of what she wanted to learn there.  The volunteers, students, and I shared travel stories.  It was a good class.

For the second week's class, I felt slightly less nervous preparing class because I already had a beginning intermediate plan and an idea of where the current students needed the most help.  I prepared a lesson on medical emergencies with more practice on the grammar points from the week before.  Three students showed up to this class with only one repeat student.  The two new students were at a slightly lower level than the students from last week so I modified my advanced plan to meet their level.  It seemed to work out well and the students shared stories of past physical injuries.

Before teaching the third week's class, I again felt very nervous and unsure of how many students would show up.  Teaching a community-based ESL class is teaching to the unknown.  Each week there is uncertainty in preparing lessons.  Is it too hard?  Too easy?  Interesting enough?  Is what I am teaching what they need and can they actually use it in their lives?  I don't have the answers to these questions, and asking the students what they need is only helpful if they continue to show up.  And for week three, only one student showed up.  I didn't teach the lesson I had prepped for that day because that is not what he needed.  We talked about his family and his job.  I learned that you have to kiss a cow on the head to convince her to become pregnant.  He practiced the difference between /sh/ and /ch/ and learned about Halloween words.  I'm not sure how much knowledge was transmitted, but I do know that the class was fun.

I'm still nervous about week four, but at least I don't have to prepare a new lesson.