Reflection strategies
1 like488 views
The document discusses evaluating an English coursebook using Littlewood's framework and realizing not all activities were well-suited for the students. It was important to analyze each activity carefully to determine if it should be used as-is, adapted, or rejected. Authentic texts that expose students to real discourse should be prioritized over textbook examples. Professional development is also discussed, emphasizing the importance of reflection, research, collaboration, and innovation to continually improve teaching techniques.
Reflection strategies
- 1. Reflection Coursebook Evaluation Using Littlewood’s Communicative Methodological Framework we had to evaluate a coursebook, selecting, adapting or rejecting activities according to what we thought it was suitable for our students. I learnt to classify the activities according to quasi-communicative, functional communication social interaction or structural activities. While using this framework I realized that not every activity on the coursebook was well-prepared or according to what we wanted to teach to the students. We had to adapt the majority of the activities so they become good activities. I realized that we have to check in advance the activities that appear on a textbook, to know which to use or not. In my opinion, we do not have to trust one hundred percent on coursebooks because they are not always accurate enough. We need to analyze the activities carefully so we can improve the activities or if that impossible reject them. I also learnt that we have to focus the aim of the activities and task on our students, so they get to understand what we want them to learn about. To know the difference between authentic and not authentic text is remarkable, because it allow us to comprehend how to choose texts, dialogues, etc. In my opinion we should use authentic texts, so our students are exposed to real discourse and they understand that real texts are different from the ones presented in a coursebook.
- 2. Reflection Professional development Professional development is a very important issue for everyone who believes that professional development is important throughout the life of being a teacher. Autonomy, commitment and innovation, in my opinion, are the key of professional development, since these characteristics enable us to keep fresh and happy in order to update our techniques of teaching, to know new approaches, etc. It seems to me that professionals should look for the opportunities of innovate and become experts in what they do. I understood that we have to reflect on what we do, do research, evaluate other professionals’ performance and learn from them, learn from our mistakes. It is absolutely necessary to reflect on how we teach, in the case of teachers, because sometimes we think we are doing it right but that is not always the case. We have to do research in order to comprehend what happens inside the classroom, understand our students, and find the ways that they get more engaged with what we teach. Since English is a difficult subject we have to study the ways that our learners like to learn English. We have to work with other to reach our goals, believe in group work, peer work, couching, innovation, commitment and autonomy.
- 3. Learning Strategies In this Unit I learnt how to use and teach learning strategies according to different authors. The main differences between teaching and learning. We had to create a Language learner profile which enabled me to put in practice the systems of the language; we had to interview the selected students and find his or her mistake and then, evaluate the performance of this student. Afterwards we had to assess this student preparing a lesson based on other author as Chamot’s lessons, so he or she could work and improve his or her mistakes. Interestingly to me, the thing that I really learnt was that in order to get a good mark, we had to complete and do all the activities, but also we have to have clear instructions to know what to do with the corresponding points of each task. Hopefully in future assignment I will take this into consideration to perform better.