Yesterday was the third teaching practice in Advanced English I, and as every Friday, I want to share with you some of the most remarkable things I experienced. Well, yesterday’s class was better than the others; I say that because I had the chance to be given a very positive feedback form my tutor; when I say “positive feedback” I mean that I could learn many things that I thought I was doing ok. I always say that the best way to really realize what we are doing not so well is by using a “mirror”. That mirror can be any people surrounding you, but when you have someone that really knows about didactic; you learn so many interesting things.
The first activity I did was a warm up called “pass your sentence”; It was really a success due to the fact that I could see that students not only enjoyed playing, but also practicing the structure already studied. Something I have to say is that the group is a key ping in the development of the class, so if they cooperate, everything goes well; thanks God, it is not a problem in this group.
I also brought speaking activities for students to practice the target structure; they were asked to give the weather report based on some material provided by the practitioner (me jajajjaja); it was really nice, and it was something that I really liked in this session. The last activity was nice, too. Students were asked to make a circle and select a partner to work with; they were asked to go to the center of the circle and pick a piece of paper containing the description of a situation. Student A read the paper, and student B gave pieces of advice; then the process was repeated for about 5 minutes.
There is something that I am still having problems with; I think that I have to be careful with the time because sometimes I don’t have enough for all the activities I plan to do.
lunes, 1 de noviembre de 2010
viernes, 22 de octubre de 2010
My second class in Advanced I
Yesterday, I had the chance to teach the second class in Advanced English I, and as I always say, there is something new that as a practitioner I learn every time I teach. I can say that yesterday’s class was better that the first one; yesterday I felt more confident, and I think my students noticed that since the very beginning of the class; it was evident because y could observe their willingness to participate; it also motivated me even more because I felt that what I was doing was relevant for them.
The first activity, which in my opinion was the best part of the class, was absolutely a success. I could see that students really enjoyed, more than playing, practicing the target structure that was been studied the previous day. After the class, I heard from one of the students that he had really enjoyed the way in which the class had started.
One of the activities I found kind of hard was the grammar explanation; it took me more than the time I thought I was going to be needed; however, after the explanation I felt really glad to see that my students were using the grammar structure appropriately in the oral exercise.
I have to accept that not all was as good as I thought was going to be; something that I have to be careful with is the time; I always have problems when timing activities, so this class was not the exception, I had considered to develop five activities, but I had to skip one of them because I realized that the time was not going to be enough. I know that the lesson plans are sometimes flexible, but I think time is a big challenge for me; the best part of this is that I have already noticed that problem, so what I will try next class is to do it better.
The first activity, which in my opinion was the best part of the class, was absolutely a success. I could see that students really enjoyed, more than playing, practicing the target structure that was been studied the previous day. After the class, I heard from one of the students that he had really enjoyed the way in which the class had started.
One of the activities I found kind of hard was the grammar explanation; it took me more than the time I thought I was going to be needed; however, after the explanation I felt really glad to see that my students were using the grammar structure appropriately in the oral exercise.
I have to accept that not all was as good as I thought was going to be; something that I have to be careful with is the time; I always have problems when timing activities, so this class was not the exception, I had considered to develop five activities, but I had to skip one of them because I realized that the time was not going to be enough. I know that the lesson plans are sometimes flexible, but I think time is a big challenge for me; the best part of this is that I have already noticed that problem, so what I will try next class is to do it better.
viernes, 15 de octubre de 2010
Unlearning many things
This was the first day teaching in Advanced English I, and the only thing that I can say right now is “what a nice experience!!” I have to tell you that before the class; it was so hard for me because I got very nervous; it was normal due to the fact that all my partners were afraid of teaching in that group, so my first impression when I knew I was going to be the lucky one was not so pleasant for me.
There are many sentences that can be set as the title of this experience; however, I consider that the most appropriate is “unlearning many things” I decided to use this title because of many points I could notice that were not as I thought they were.
First of all, I learned that our worst enemy at the moment of teaching is our predisposition; I got very nervous because of I had never worked with that group and because I did not know the way the tutor used to evaluate practitioner’s classes. Guess what? I realized that the only thing you need in order to get good grades is to be confident about what you are going to do; it means to get prepared in advanced, so that at the moment of being teaching, everything goes as you had planned.
Something that I will never forget is a very interesting suggestion my tutor gave me; I have been writing objectives for every class that I have to teach; however I did not know that I was making a mistake at the moment of writing them; that problem was basically the structure of it. I wrote the following objective “to read, analyze and discuss about the main ideas presented in the written material”; as I said before that is the structure I have been using for a long time, so what I learn was that when we write as an objective the verb discuss we do not need to use the word about. In order words, the right structure is “to discuss the main ideas presented in the written material
I am just waiting for next week class.
There are many sentences that can be set as the title of this experience; however, I consider that the most appropriate is “unlearning many things” I decided to use this title because of many points I could notice that were not as I thought they were.
First of all, I learned that our worst enemy at the moment of teaching is our predisposition; I got very nervous because of I had never worked with that group and because I did not know the way the tutor used to evaluate practitioner’s classes. Guess what? I realized that the only thing you need in order to get good grades is to be confident about what you are going to do; it means to get prepared in advanced, so that at the moment of being teaching, everything goes as you had planned.
Something that I will never forget is a very interesting suggestion my tutor gave me; I have been writing objectives for every class that I have to teach; however I did not know that I was making a mistake at the moment of writing them; that problem was basically the structure of it. I wrote the following objective “to read, analyze and discuss about the main ideas presented in the written material”; as I said before that is the structure I have been using for a long time, so what I learn was that when we write as an objective the verb discuss we do not need to use the word about. In order words, the right structure is “to discuss the main ideas presented in the written material
I am just waiting for next week class.
jueves, 16 de septiembre de 2010
Explainig grammar again
Well, this morning was my third class in intermediate English I; I am so happy because today’s class was better than the previous one. I don’t know my other classmates’ way of thinking, but in my personal opinion, even though sometimes the comments given by our tutor are kind of hard, I think these are the ones that make us grow in our leaning process. I have to be honest and say that at the moment of being given the feedback, I almost always get frustrated because I try to do everything right; however, there is always something that doesn’t go well. Thanks to some experiences that I have had through different trainings, now I am aware that the best way to notice what as teachers we are doing not so well is by using a mirror; that mirror can be our students, but the most effective one is another teacher because she/he knows a lot about didactic strategies that as a teacher in training we can follow.
These are some of the most remarkable moments in today’s class:
I began the class with the warm up provided by the lesson plan; it was a nice way to start because I could see that students really enjoyed talking about what they were supposes to buy at the store. Here happened something that really made feel ashamed; believe it or not I didn’t know the right pronunciation of the word “cucumber”, I have been using for all of these years the pronunciation I thought was the right one. The mistake was basically the stressed syllable, so I am sure I will never forget how it is pronounced.
The rest of the class went well even when I had to explain the grammar part again; I know I made mistakes in the explanation, but I am so glad to see that there were new ones; I didn’t commit the same that I made in the previous class.
Well, I am just waiting for next week’s class; I hope not to explain the grammar part again jajajajaj
These are some of the most remarkable moments in today’s class:
I began the class with the warm up provided by the lesson plan; it was a nice way to start because I could see that students really enjoyed talking about what they were supposes to buy at the store. Here happened something that really made feel ashamed; believe it or not I didn’t know the right pronunciation of the word “cucumber”, I have been using for all of these years the pronunciation I thought was the right one. The mistake was basically the stressed syllable, so I am sure I will never forget how it is pronounced.
The rest of the class went well even when I had to explain the grammar part again; I know I made mistakes in the explanation, but I am so glad to see that there were new ones; I didn’t commit the same that I made in the previous class.
Well, I am just waiting for next week’s class; I hope not to explain the grammar part again jajajajaj
lunes, 13 de septiembre de 2010
Second Class
I have just finished teaching the second lesson in this group, and as I said before I learn something new every class I teach. Unfortunately the second class was harder that the first one; last week the problem was that I didn’t know the group, so it was the first time I had to work with them; however the second class was kind of difficult for me.
Just to begin, let me tell you that I had to explain the grammar part, and as always it took me a lot of time; I used an innovative way to do it (I thought), but at the end it didn’t result as I wanted. I divided the class into 5 groups and I gave each group a different rule about the uses of comparatives and superlatives; the idea was to let students discover the rules, so after some minutes they had to share what they understood. It was the main idea, but later I could notice that it took me too much time, so at the end I couldn’t do all the activities I had planned.
There something else that I think was not so well; I begun explaining a grammar rule that, according to the lesson plan, was supposed to be explained at the end; I did that because I could see that the structure was very simple, but later I noticed that I was making a mistake because I skipped one important step, so students loosed the right sequence.
Not all was bad; there was something that really pleases me. At the end of my class I continued in the classroom, so I had the chance to observe the rest of the lesson, and I could notice that students were using the structures that I had explain in a very successful way; it was amazing because I felt that what I had taught was producing good results.
I also have to say that the group I am working with is really nice; they are very respectful, so it is comfortable to work with them; I think it allows me getting more confident at the moment of teaching.
Just to begin, let me tell you that I had to explain the grammar part, and as always it took me a lot of time; I used an innovative way to do it (I thought), but at the end it didn’t result as I wanted. I divided the class into 5 groups and I gave each group a different rule about the uses of comparatives and superlatives; the idea was to let students discover the rules, so after some minutes they had to share what they understood. It was the main idea, but later I could notice that it took me too much time, so at the end I couldn’t do all the activities I had planned.
There something else that I think was not so well; I begun explaining a grammar rule that, according to the lesson plan, was supposed to be explained at the end; I did that because I could see that the structure was very simple, but later I noticed that I was making a mistake because I skipped one important step, so students loosed the right sequence.
Not all was bad; there was something that really pleases me. At the end of my class I continued in the classroom, so I had the chance to observe the rest of the lesson, and I could notice that students were using the structures that I had explain in a very successful way; it was amazing because I felt that what I had taught was producing good results.
I also have to say that the group I am working with is really nice; they are very respectful, so it is comfortable to work with them; I think it allows me getting more confident at the moment of teaching.
viernes, 3 de septiembre de 2010
ANOTHER NICE EXPERIENCE
Through the process of teaching we also learn new things; in my personal experience I can say that as practitioners we still have to learn many important aspects to be considered at the moment of teaching. I have taught the first lesson to intermediate level students, and it was a very exciting experience in which I had the chance to meet new people and share many interesting ideas. I have to be honest and confess that I was really nervous at the beginning of the class; I do not know why but even after more than 5 months teaching different levels I still have that problem. However, I also confess that after 2 minutes teaching I get confident enough and the atmosphere changed for me.
The experience in this group was successful because everything resulted as I thought it was going to be; here I am going to share with you some of the activities that I carried out:
At the beginning I introduced myself, and I think that it allowed me getting confidence; I could see that all the students were paying carefully attention to me, so it motivated me a lot. I think since that moment I felt like in my everyday classes in the extension program; I felt my words were attractive for my students and it was one of the most pleasant moments for me.
The warm activity was a game that my friend Yannely once told me. The game consists on having students in a circle; a volunteer stands inside the circle keeping his eyes closed; the rest of the group walks around the volunteer. At the end the person inside the circle points at someone and asks him a question using the past tense; if the volunteer guesses who the person in front of him is the game ends.
As you can see my students begun using the target structure from the first activity; I decided to do that because I knew they were studying it in the previous class, so it was anything new for them. Through this activity my students also got fun.
Another activity that was absolutely nice was a group discussion based on childhood events; I assigned each group a different statement, so all of them were talking about something different at the same time; later they shared their ideas with the whole class.
There was just one thing that I consider not so ok; it was until I finished my class that I noticed I did not use the board so much; I guess it might be better to write the new vocabulary on the board, so that students had the chance to write it down. This is just one aspect that I am going to consider for next classes.
Well, I just want to teach my second lesson and learn something new; by the way, the group is very nice, so it is really a pleasure to work with them.
The experience in this group was successful because everything resulted as I thought it was going to be; here I am going to share with you some of the activities that I carried out:
At the beginning I introduced myself, and I think that it allowed me getting confidence; I could see that all the students were paying carefully attention to me, so it motivated me a lot. I think since that moment I felt like in my everyday classes in the extension program; I felt my words were attractive for my students and it was one of the most pleasant moments for me.
The warm activity was a game that my friend Yannely once told me. The game consists on having students in a circle; a volunteer stands inside the circle keeping his eyes closed; the rest of the group walks around the volunteer. At the end the person inside the circle points at someone and asks him a question using the past tense; if the volunteer guesses who the person in front of him is the game ends.
As you can see my students begun using the target structure from the first activity; I decided to do that because I knew they were studying it in the previous class, so it was anything new for them. Through this activity my students also got fun.
Another activity that was absolutely nice was a group discussion based on childhood events; I assigned each group a different statement, so all of them were talking about something different at the same time; later they shared their ideas with the whole class.
There was just one thing that I consider not so ok; it was until I finished my class that I noticed I did not use the board so much; I guess it might be better to write the new vocabulary on the board, so that students had the chance to write it down. This is just one aspect that I am going to consider for next classes.
Well, I just want to teach my second lesson and learn something new; by the way, the group is very nice, so it is really a pleasure to work with them.
lunes, 16 de agosto de 2010
Third Entry
I am aware that human beings learn something new every day, so it does not matter how experienced a teacher is, at the moment of teaching there is always something that needs to be improved. The last idea refers to one of the activities I developed in this week’s practice, and that I am going to explain later. Everything was going well; I had planned every single detail, so from the very beginning I tried to establish a good rapport, and everything was nice. I explained the use of the articles a and an in sentences.
The first activity was a word game; the objective of this was to help students to remember about some irregular plural nouns. I could see that they really enjoyed the activity because it was something different to what they were accustomed to; they were interacting one to each other, so it gave them the chance to share their ideas in English.
There was something that I know needs to be improved; it was the grammar explanation in which I had to demonstrate the right use of the article previously mentioned. I wanted to be as much clear as possible, so I presented some grammatical rules, but later, I could noticed that students were kind of confused; because of that I just showed them a pair of examples to clarify any doubt.
I think it could be better just to show the real use of the article without giving any rule because it confused my students a little; I learned that by giving too many rules we not always are being specific. I think that it might be better to present a few examples on charts or any other kind of visual aids and explain the reason why we use the articles like that.
I am missing one practice with this group, so I expect to learn something new this coming week.
The first activity was a word game; the objective of this was to help students to remember about some irregular plural nouns. I could see that they really enjoyed the activity because it was something different to what they were accustomed to; they were interacting one to each other, so it gave them the chance to share their ideas in English.
There was something that I know needs to be improved; it was the grammar explanation in which I had to demonstrate the right use of the article previously mentioned. I wanted to be as much clear as possible, so I presented some grammatical rules, but later, I could noticed that students were kind of confused; because of that I just showed them a pair of examples to clarify any doubt.
I think it could be better just to show the real use of the article without giving any rule because it confused my students a little; I learned that by giving too many rules we not always are being specific. I think that it might be better to present a few examples on charts or any other kind of visual aids and explain the reason why we use the articles like that.
I am missing one practice with this group, so I expect to learn something new this coming week.
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