Final reflection primary practicum-aguirrezabala
- 1. INSTITUTO DE FORMACIÓN DOCENTE CONTINUA LENGUAS VIVAS BARILOCHE (A-052) Profesorado de Inglés – Opción pedagógica a distancia. Subject: taller de práctica docente Tutor's name: Aurelia Velázquez Student'sname: Nadia Aguirrezabala Assignment title: Final reflection Thinking back To begin, it was a big challenge to work with this group; first of all because the class is composed by 11 boys and only six girls, girls tend to be quitter than boys; it was difficult for me to catch boys` attention. The teacher in charge of the class does not use English to communicate, she explains all the activities in Spanish and she translates every single word; students do not feel the need of learning the second language to communicate. The first two classes were certainly awful; students did not understand a word and I felt that I wouldn`t make it; I did not feel ready to teach beginners of primary school, the lessons were really frustrating. The third lesson was a bit different; I felt better because I understood that the practicum period is the process of learning for the training course. Furthermore, that it was not necessary that everything go perfect, I was there to learn to be a teacher, to learn how to teach beginners from primary school. That reflection made me charge myself of energy and to continue with the practice period. I changed the strategies, I started using only copies that I gave to students, but they could not follow the instructions, so I decided to use posters with big pictures to explain the activities; I looked for other kind of tasks to get students` attention and
- 2. understanding. Also I included games and songs and that works better than the previous activities. The topic I had to work with was the verb HAVE/HAS GOT related to the family and to some possessions. It was significant for students since it is an important verb that they will use from now on and the vocabulary was about daily objects, words that students use in Spanish every day. I had to develop my body language and to use cognates to be understood. It was not enough speaking, I had to explain activities using the blackboard, posters, pictures, onomatopoeia and of course mimic. Thinking Forward If I had the opportunity of making this practicum again, I would pay more attention to the needs and characteristics of the group; I would concentrate on visual stimulus and I would take more time on planning activities and preparing materials from the very beginning. Also, I would make a list of friendly words to use on the lessons and to practice them to incorporate them on my vocabulary. Thinking Inward I learned a lot from this experience, children are wonderful and they have a lot of things to teach us; they have values that many times adults lose on the way. At first, I thought it was going to be easier, although I had not got experience teaching children from primary school, I did not think it was going to be so difficult. Moreover, I think that there is a huge difference from the first lesson to the last one; I relaxed myself and take this period as it is, a learning period. I feel satisfied, but I would like to start earlier on the course with the practicum period. Obviously I do not feel like the same person that got in the school the first day, I changed my mind, now I can see the whole picture, I do not concentrate only on my project, but also on students learning process and I could understand that they are different to each other. I studied the cognitive styles and with this experience I could learn it by my own. Thinking Outward
- 3. With this experience I learned the importance of teaching English speaking in English, it sounds redundant but it is important to understand that the only way to teach an idiom is speaking it. Students were not accustomed to listen instructions and to be in an environment where they may use the second language to communicate; they only used and listened a few words in English, which made my project more difficult. There are some social implications on teaching out of the work of teachers; the reality of the students of the school is a little complicated, most of them do not see that learning a second language could be useful. What is more, many of them finish the primary period and do not continue studying. This aspect makes the task of teaching a bigger challenge; students do not have motivation, so teachers have to look for strategies to catch them and to make the learning process as enjoyable as possible for both actors. Conclusion On balance, I learned to use different kinds of strategies, of cognitive styles. I could put into practice some items that I had studied on the course on previous years, I created games, looked for activities, examples, pictures and everything everywhere. I would like to have a better experience, but many times I felt frustrated, I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I finished I felt more relaxing and in my opinion the last lesson was the better one, since I could organize my head. Moreover, I sustain that for teaching a language it is necessary to use it all the time, I could see that translation is not good for students.