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MY CLASSROOM GEORGIA Khatuna Kharkheli is an English language teacher in the Faculty of Education, Exact, and Natural Sciences at Gori State Teaching University (GSTU) in Gori. With her passion for developing innovative and creative lessons and with her commitment to professional development, Ms. Kharkheli works to inspire her students to achieve success both in and out of the classroom. “If students do not have motivation, then they will not learn,” she said. Khatuna Kharkheli in the English library at Gori State Teaching University 40 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 2017 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum To increase students’ motivation, Ms. while giving them the opportunity to Kharkheli begins lessons with a warm- express their own thoughts in a way that up activity—such as showing images or was interesting and engaging. making predictions—as a way to capture students’ interest in the day’s topic. And She also provides her students with when teaching a new group of students, opportunities to use English outside the Ms. Kharkheli surveys them to learn classroom. In 2015, for example, she their interests and hobbies. She uses that organized an English/Georgian poetry information to design lessons that integrate event. Several native English speakers the learning objectives with topics she knows were invited to join her students at the her students are already interested in. For local American Spaces. Her students example, one semester she discovered that practiced English and learned about most students in her class liked the movie American culture, while the invited guests Sweet November. She designed a lesson that were introduced to Georgian poetry and involved watching the movie trailer and learned about Georgian culture. Each of discussing the plot and characters. The lesson her students recited one poem by Georgian ended with a discussion of the question, “If poet Galaktion Tabidze in Georgian and you were the director of this movie, would one poem by Maya Angelou in English. you change the movie’s ending? If yes, A discussion followed. Students translated how would you change it?” Students took the themes of the Georgian poems into turns sharing their answers and hearing the English and discussed the English poems. creative ideas of their classmates. By using At the end of the event, the attendees sang this movie instead of solely relying on the an English song together, then engaged textbook, Ms. Kharkheli helped students in informal conversation while enjoying develop their listening and speaking skills Georgian treats. Ms. Kharkheli and her students work together to create a colorful poster to review and practice phrasal verbs. americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2017 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 41 More recently, to improve her students’ and want to teach and help students as my speaking and presentation skills, Ms. Kharkheli lecturers taught and helped me.” She likes took them on a field trip to Mtskheta, a teaching university students because she former capital of Georgia and the center of feels they have an “understanding of why the Georgian Orthodox Church. Before the learning languages, especially English, trip, students prepared short English language is important for their future lives and presentations about Mtskheta’s churches and careers.” historical sites. During the trip, they gave these presentations while standing in front of With a population of about 55,000, Gori is the very sites they were talking about. the largest city and regional capital of the central Georgian region of Shida Kartli. It is no surprise that Ms. Kharkheli decided GSTU is the largest university in this to become an English teacher. In addition region. Many GSTU students are from to being the daughter of a language teacher Gori and nearby villages, though some (her mother is a Georgian language and students come from other regions of literature teacher in the local public Georgia. The university consists of six schools), she fell in love with English at a buildings, four of which are nestled young age. “I started learning English from together in the center of town. The English a private tutor when I was six years old, Philology Department is headquartered and I really liked English from the in Building 2, which also boasts a large beginning,” Ms. Kharkheli said. “I English language library. deeply admired my tutor for her clear pronunciation, her interesting teaching Each degree program has its own language methods, and her knowledge and requirements, but all students are required intelligence. I wanted to be like her.” to study English for at least two years. English language lecturers at GSTU typically When Ms. Kharkheli studied at GSTU, she teach between six and 16 hours of classes majored in English Philology, then received a each week. In a recent semester, Ms. fifth-year master’s degree in the same subject. Kharkheli taught eight hours: four hours From the time she completed her master’s of Pre-Intermediate Practical English and degree in 2006 until she began teaching at four hours of Intermediate Practical English GSTU in 2014, she worked for a variety to biology, math, and education majors. of organizations while working as a private Foreign-language classes at GSTU are often English tutor at home. kept small—typically no more than 14 to 18 students—to encourage communicative One position Ms. Kharkheli held was language practice. Because of flexible Regional Coordinator for Teach and Learn attendance policies, daily attendance is often with Georgia, a project of the Ministry of lower than that, with many English classes Education and Science that brings native having fewer than ten students attending on English speakers into Georgian primary any given day. and secondary schools for an academic year. In this position, she delivered trainings Classrooms at GSTU are simple and about co-teaching to the English-speaking plain: a whiteboard or chalkboard and volunteers, local English teachers, and desks arranged in rows. Most classrooms school administrators. have a wall of windows, allowing for natural light. Technology is not standard, In 2014, Ms. Kharkheli landed her dream but the university provides portable CD job teaching at her alma mater. “I had been players for faculty to use. Ms. Kharkheli dreaming about this and then found out that would like to see more technology made there were some vacancies, so I applied,” available, especially classrooms equipped she said. “I graduated from this university with computers and projectors. 42 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 2017 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum The main building of Gori State Teaching University Still, she finds ways to make her classroom wishes, then posted them on the tree. Not a more welcoming and comfortable space only has this poster become a visual reminder for learning. She often rearranges the desks of the language elements students were to facilitate group work and communicative learning, but it also provides encouragement speaking activities, and she adds technology for students to pursue their dreams. by bringing her personal laptop to class to share videos and images. Ms. Kharkheli believes that the best teachers are those who are lifelong learners. “I cannot Another way Ms. Kharkheli brightens up her say that I already know everything about room is by having students make colorful teaching,” she said. “Teaching is a continuous posters about the language concepts they are process. Every lesson conducted teaches studying. One lesson involved creating and you something new and shows you what to presenting posters that explained differences improve in future lectures.” between verb tenses. Now she brings these posters to each class to aid students who are To continue learning and improving as a visual learners. For another lesson, on wishes teacher, Ms. Kharkheli takes advantage of and conditionals, Ms. Kharkheli made a professional-development opportunities. She “wish tree” poster. Students combined target is an active member of the Gori chapter of vocabulary about professions and travel with the English Teachers’ Association of Georgia, the target grammar points to express their which meets twice each month; at these americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum 2017 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 43 meetings, teachers take turns presenting on their best practices, new techniques, and As the role and status of useful resources. Additionally, Ms. Kharkheli English in Georgia participates in webinars and Coursera courses. and trends in Ms. Kharkheli is also enrolled in a PhD program in English Language Teaching English language teaching Methodology at Telavi State University. Her continue to change, main research interests are related to writing methodology and writing motivation, and Ms. Kharkheli she is researching the potential for improving writing skills through informal and formal is among the new generation letter writing. of teachers leading the way. “One of the reasons I’m focusing on this topic is so that I can help my students become better writers and understand its importance,” she said. “Knowing how to write well in English language teaching and learning English is important for a student’s future is changing in Georgia. There is a move life, future career, and for being integrated away from teacher-centered and textbook- with society. Also, there are more foreigners centered classes and grammar-translation here in Georgia than in the past, so all skills of methods to student-centered classes where English are becoming increasingly important. teachers use communicative methods to Through my PhD studies and research, I hope engage learners. In the next decade, Ms. to help my students both to become better Kharkheli expects to see an improvement writers and to see the importance of writing of the status of English in Georgia, in English in today’s world.” as well as more exchange programs that send Georgian students abroad to study. Although at times it can be stressful to balance her roles as student and teacher, As the role and status of English in Georgia her PhD courses inspire her to continue and trends in English language teaching motivating her own students to do their continue to change, Ms. Kharkheli is among best and work toward achieving their goals. the new generation of teachers leading the After earning her degree, she plans to way. With her motivation and passion for continue teaching and conducting trainings. English teaching and desire to continually She doesn’t plan to stop learning, however; learn and improve, she is sure to have a she looks forward to having more time positive impact on today’s learners, and to continue taking teaching methodology perhaps she will inspire a few to become courses, in Georgia or possibly abroad. tomorrow’s teachers. For now, Ms. Kharkheli is thankful that she gets to work with professional and This article was written by Melanie Baker, an encouraging colleagues and administrators, international education and TESOL professional and she feels that from the university rector who served as the English Language Fellow in Gori, to the dean to the department chairs, there Georgia, during the 2015–2016 academic year. is support for professional development and improvement. The teachers enjoy Photos by Melanie Baker collaborating with one another, she said, adding that it is nice to work in such a supportive and positive environment. 44 ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM 2017 americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum