This month, we interview Dr. Aleksa Moss, Head of Early Years at Utahloy International School Guangzhou (UISG) in China. Aleksa completed Lexis Education’s Teaching Young Children in Multilingual Contexts (TYCEMC) Tutor Training in 2021. In this interview, she shares her experience becoming a tutor and delivering the course to her colleagues.
Did you find the TYCEMC tutor training to be valuable?
Having in-depth training on the materials that I now present to class participants was vital to the success of my current TYCEMC courses. The tutor training provided a safe space to ask logistical and clarifying questions so I could go into teaching the course with confidence.
In what ways did it impact your own teaching?
The Tutor training allowed me to reflect on the teachers in my department, and how to better serve their language needs as their administrator. I apply strategies and language scaffolding in meetings and workshop to a higher degree now that I did before tutor training.
When you ran the participant course, did you and the participants find it to be engaging?
I have run the TYCEMC course several times and the dynamics are different each time. The biggest engagement point is connecting the content of the course to what is happening in the classrooms daily. Lining up lessons about procedures or narratives alongside the modules in the course boosted the participants’ connectedness and ability to deeply engage with the material.
Did teachers use their understandings from the course in their teaching?
When I do class observations or walk through our school, I see evidence of application not only from the current course participants, but from last year’s cohort as well. The Lexis courses we offer our teachers directly impact the planning and teaching of English language at our school.
Would you recommend the tutor training and/or the participant course to other teachers? Why, why not?
For anyone working in multilingual environments, these courses are highly valuable. The Tutor training is especially beneficial if your school or organization is committed to a high level of language support because providing the course to participants is more economical with an in-house trainer.
Any other comments?
The customer care and logistical support from Lexis Education has been wonderful over the years. No question is too small, and support is always there when requested.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Aleksa.