My Learning process

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MY LEARNING PROCESS IN FUNDAMENTOS DE LA ENSEÑANZA Y
APRENDIZAJE DE LAS LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS DURING THIS
SEMESTER PERIOD 1 - 2015
Nowadays it is really relevant to meditate in our actions and about how to take the best
decision in life. The best action is what will define us actually academically. In my
academic studies, according to what I have reviewed in my portfolios I can say that in all
this semester I have learned a lot of thing like how to organize my schedule, how to be
more disciplined, how to improve my class performance, even to know how is my learning
process. My learning process has not been easy. Explain what I have acquired in just
sentences is a real hard work for me. A learning process is individual and it requires
understanding, synthesizes, analyses, to apply the knowledge in real life. I split my learning
process in three parts: personal part, skills and concepts.
First of all, in my personal part, I am going to talk about how were my first days with this
subject. That first one I felt pretty good, I liked the dynamic which we used in class, there
were many students participating. I rose my hand and gave my opinion about a text given
by the professor. Actually, I looked at in the dictionary some words which I really did not
understand. I consider that I started this class with an interesting attitude. I expected good
things in spite of all the comments about this subject told by some classmates that I did not
like it because I have always liked to take the best side from the things. The second one I
brought my material and I read about the topic, also I participated so that I answered the
questions which the teacher asked. I talked about my ideas and thinking. I gave my opinion
to the classroom according to I understood and I brought my homework finished.

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During those weeks, I could organize my entire schedule. I realized that being organized is
really useful and it helps a lot when someone like me has a hectic-life. A hectic-life is very
common now and that is why there was something weird for me when I was told by my
classmates that I had to do the miniportafolio even If that day there were not classes. To
me, at that moment, not having class means to rest. Perhaps you would ask: but why?, It is
simple, because a day like for example: carnival. It is celebrated by many people and they
travel and have permission to be absent from work, and the other days, those ones have
another liabilities in their timetable. So, It was difficult assimilate.
Assimilate is a really important word that I had to take account. What I assimilate those
weeks is really meaningful. The information, the organization, the homework, the use of
my time, were a contribution to my life´s project which I will take for doing a better work
as future language teacher. As a student from foreign language, Once I realized that some
of us had several doubts about the tasks and grades therefore the teacher answer it. I can say
that is important to clarify any questions from the students, it helps. So I liked it because I
was satisfied about it.
Satisfy my learning process in my personal part has been a hard experience. I have to admit
that in my learning process, It may seem awkward, but I am a little slow. I have always
needed time to understand, assimilate the things. So, study under pressure is one of my
biggest weaknesses. Perhaps, in this moment I have not had clear the majority of the things
but I am sure that in any instant I will get better the information and all the knowledge
which I still have to develop. I need to improve a lot of things, for example: I have to learn
how to study with the shortest time possible. I usually think that maybe it could be a trouble
in my mind that I cannot understand all the topics or the homework at the same time.

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However some persons (family) around have told me that continue trying it. Actually my
family have completed a role important in my learning process. They have been a support.
I think that everybody in life should have a support. It gives confidence and comfort in
everything. Especially, when we need it for example in the university. I will use it with my
future learners when I am doing my labor as professional English teacher.
As an English teacher training, I can say about what I have learned in this class that all this
information I can use it like an example to follow when I will be in a classroom with my
future students. I realized it works. Also, There was a homework which was not as good
as I thought. It was really disappointing. I did not expect that. That was my first essay in
this course and it was not pretty good. I scored 1.5. I showed it to my mother and she was
really worried about it. But, it is necessary to learn from the errors, even to improve the
skills.
Second, in my learning process, there are skills (reading, vocabulary, memory,
comprehension/understanding). Those skills are important to learn. To learn I use different
strategies. For example I liked to practice reading and identify the quotations in each
paragraphs according to the authors, and that was what we did once in class. I consider that
this is a really good way to train our cognitive knowledge. Even we can use it to apply in
our future class or now in our classes from the university every day. Another way to learn is
with the «Venn Diagram», I really liked because it was a different way to share the
information, practice and to improve the reading comprehension. It facilitates the form
which student catches the main ideas from any paragraph, text, material, etc.

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Pick up the ideas is really useful. Every student picks up the knowledge in different ways.
So, I acquire more the knowledge when I read taking note or writing it down and I put
colors in each title and highlight what I think is relevant and needs to stand out. Also, I
learn by making mistakes, it is not a beautiful way to learn but happily I have reached a lot
of things. Actually I have always needed an example or reinforcement teacher to do stuff,
so far. Except when I have to learn vocabulary, this is easier for me than read.
Acquire vocabulary is convenient for any student in foreign language. To get more
vocabulary I listen to music and during these classes I search, read a lot, do all my
homework. Actually I feel that I have spent time with it but maybe I get trouble when I
usually do not understand the assignment or indications and that is the reason why I cannot
go on. In spite of that, I have practiced my English and I have learned new concepts.
Third, in my learning process there are concepts. In the concepts there are several theories,
researches and definitions. Those concepts are: Behaviorism, Innatism, Audio-Lingual-
Method, Communicative Competence, Language Acquisition and Application, The five
Characteristics of Learner-Centered Teaching, Research on Error Correction and
Implications for Classroom Teaching. Those have been a big help to understand my
learning process. As I already said, it has been difficult to comprehend.
One of the hardest topics that I have to comprehend was Behaviorism. Behaviorism is
known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning based upon the idea that all
behaviors are acquired through conditioning and conditioning occurs through interaction
with the environment. Even behaviorists believe that our responses to environment stimuli
shape our behaviors. For example in my case, at the moment when I did not know that I had

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to do the Miniportafolio in Carnival. Unfortunately I did not take account this and I scored
less than others, which was a particular way to understand behaviorism. I got my
punishment and there was not next time to not take account of it. My response was evident
in Easter week when I did it everything well.
As opposed to Behaviorism which says “say what I say”, there is a theory which says that: -
“It´s all in your mind”. This theory is the Innatism. Innatism argues that everybody was
born with a acquire knowledge. It means that all the information is in our head. The main
figure from this theory is Noam Chomsky (born 1928-present). According to some
researches with kids who were studied and showed that they told some words that they had
never told before.
Researches have showed many results that have served as help to many students. Students
as me really need to read information to get more knowledge which help in our work and to
be focus on the best method to apply to our future students. So, a method that was
controversial it was Audio-lingual-Method. Audio-Lingual-Method, the methodology to
teach language. Here is only English. Audio-Lingual-Method assumes that the only source
was the teacher. That is why the pronunciation is extremely relevant, it believes that the
teacher pronounce bad by consequences, the learners too. Maybe if the students are
children. Today there is Internet, and the learners can check the pronunciation of what they
want to know. One of the some activities which this method (Audio-Lingual) applies was
repeat the dialogue by heart. According what I understood in all the materials that I had to
read for learning about those topics, at that time what happened in our mind was irrelevant
because people thought that we could not know what someone was thinking in there, only
we were able to know about the input and the output. Years later appeared that it would be

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possible. Study what happen in the mind, that is mean, I can open the black box, through
cognitivism, mentalist perspective and natural approach which are centrals. Those come
from Rebecca Oxford, Malley, J.Michael and Chamot, Anna. That is the reason why it
attracts my attention. Nowadays there are many tools used by teachers in order to improve
the students learning.
To improve the student learning is necessary to develop the communicative competence.
The communicative competence includes: Linguistic Competence, Pragmatic Competence,
Sociolinguistic Competence, declarative knowledge, skills and abilities, Personal
Knowledge and ability to learn. To learn a language is necessary: to know the grammar
(linguistic), a real communication (pragmatic), to know how and when I can speak formal
or informal way (sociolinguistic), know the traditions, believes (declarative knowledge), to
overcome the stereotypes (skills and abilities), our personality (personal knowledge) and to
discover what is different (ability to learn). Those are really important to know a language.
Language Acquisition is also an important theory in where I can understand how I can
develop abilities in another language. That is why, Language Acquisition have five
important hypothesis. These hypothesis are: The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis, The
Natural Order Hypothesis, The Monitor Hypothesis, The Comprension Hypothesis and The
Affective Filter Hypothesis. The first one talk about two ways: we can acquire language
and we can learn language. While one occurs subconsciously (Language Acquisition), the
second is a conscious process (Language Learning). I think it is a really interesting
Hypothesis.

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The second hypothesis, we do not learn but we acquire the parts of a language in a
predictable order. Here there are two facts: it is not true that “simple” rules are acquired
early and complicated rules are acquired later, and the natural order cannot be changed, it
means that we cannot alter it. The third hypothesis talks about a monitor or editor that we
have. This monitor consciously corrects errors. It is difficult to use. To use the Monitor it is
necessary to meet three conditions: we must know the rules, we must be focused on the
form and we must have time (Krashen 1982, 2003).The fourth hypothesis says that we
acquire language when we understand messages. So, there are two facts: effortless and
invonluntary. Even it has corollaries of the Comprehension Hypothesis, it mentions that
talking is not practicing although can help acquisition indirectly because we get input and
makes us feel more like a user of the second language. At last, the fifth hypothesis. It
claims that affective variables prevent input from reaching the “language Acquisition
Device”. It was called like this by Chomsky. He said it is a part of the brain responsible for
language acquisition. To me it is pretty important because now I know why sometime I am
in shock due to personal trouble and it had made me feel blocked. I agree with it because it
is necessary which students are in good conditions generally.
Each student is different. And I as a future teacher should know how to teach. There are
five characteristics of Learner – Centered Teaching. These are: Learner-centered teaching
engages students in the hard, messy work of learning, includes explicit skill instruction,
encourages students to reflect on what they are learning and how they are learning it,
motivates students by giving them some control over learning processes and encourages
collaboration. Those characteristics are essential to apply in a classroom in an appropriate
teaching.

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In teaching is not just giving the information, materials, etc. It is not enough. It necessary to
check if the students do it right. So, in a research by Diane J. Tedick, University of
Minnesota, with Barbara de Gortari, on Error Corrections, talks about the Types of
Corrective Feedback. These types are: Explicit Correction, Recast, Clarification Request,
Metalinguistic Clues, Elicitation and Repetition. The first type I could observe it when I
was in my practicum.
My practicum is a helpful. It has made me understand some things. For example I could
understand better in the observation when a correction is appropriate or not. That is the
reason why I say that is better do the corrections immediately, but it depends on the
situation due to in some cases we can make the student get in shock or blockage because
we did not let them go on with their imagination which is unlimited and sometimes we as
teacher make them get frustration. And I am not to make students feel down or get in
shock.
To conclude, my learning process during this course makes me think about three aspects
very important about me: my personal part, my skills and the acquired concepts. Those
make me feel a person of integrity. I think that this semester I have acquired some
behaviors that I will need in my future as a teacher like how to be organized, how to do a
lesson plan, some theories which will serve like a base in my pedagogical work, and among
others. Actually I decided to continue the course, trying and studying more than before,
regardless of the consequences, even if I will not sleep as long as I am able to get better in
my studies. I think that all in this life is sacrifice and the worse could be doing nothing.

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In life this experience helps to be better. It has been a significant one to be taken as
example in the future as English teacher. Well, I consider that these classes were practices,
relevant and important for my learning process. I think that in every class should have
exercises or activities to help the students to improve themselves. So that, I can take this
experience to apply in my practicum experiences, even the organization can be taken to
guide what we want to do in the as English teacher. I think that to be a teacher I need a
really excellent preparation to teach learners, because they are the future in a society, even
for the whole work, and the education is the base.To me it is clear, it is very important in
our training how we have to be ready for new needs and demands of the country. Also, I
have to develop skills because it will help me to develop as competent teacher for life, with
better educational policies and strategies, taking an attitude of researchers, readers and be
able to interpret what we read, so that the teachers are who forms to students based on their
own knowledge, skills and values. Therefore, is what helps to build culture because we are
for students transmitters of values that sometimes even unconsciously we reflect in the
students, attitude or treatment and it has to be for good because sometimes students bring
from home or society for the classroom or home classroom.

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