TPD Final Reflection Secondary School
- 1. INSTITUTO DE FORMACIÓN DOCENTE CONTINUA LENGUAS VIVAS BARILOCHE (A-052) Profesorado de Inglés – Opción pedagógica a distancia Subject: Taller de Práctica Docente Student: Jimena Benito Tutor: Aurelia Velazquez Date: November 18th Dimensions of Reflective Learning “Reflecting back on my practicum experiences in secondary school” Thinking Back To begin with, I have to say that this experience with secondary students was really rewarding. The group is lovely: second and third year grouped by level, eight boys and seven girls who were not used to listening to the teacher the whole class in English. During the lessons, they also asked me to speak in Spanish and even said: “A translator, please” in Spanish. They were very funny and luckily, they really engaged with the /topics that I proposed in the lessons. They truly amazed me since they knew Shakespeare and many other celebrities we worked with. They also amazed me when they were motivated to speak in English about jealousy with a ballad that we studied. I felt very pleased to know that I could motivate them using the appropriate themes in the lessons. I think that it was possible because I listened to them and their needs and especially because I could build the proper rapport with them. I tried every class to encourage them to speak a bit more in English and I could see how the students who were more confident little by little answered my questions in English and without translation. That was a big achievement for me. Adolescents are great; I enjoyed a lot of being with them. They always seem to be ready to speak about different themes and to express openly what they like and what they do not.
- 2. I felt pretty much secure and relaxed during this practicum period. I think that it was because, in the first place, I was more confident in the classroom with the students and planning the lessons. In the second place, I was doing my practicum in a school near home which helped me to be more relaxed because I did not have to drive on the route. Although planning the lessons was still a time-consuming task, I felt more prepared to do it. I planned every lesson freely since the course teacher only told me that I had to teach Past Simple, so I decided every lesson what theme we can study. It was a relief! I did not worry about student book; I just planned what I thought it would be appealing for adolescents. During the lessons we dealt with different theme like celebrities, William Shakespeare, and a ballad called “The two sisters of Binnorie”. I was amazed since such different themes engaged them and they were motivated doing the activities. Thinking Forward If I had the chance to develop this practice again, I would make only some little changes. I think that I would prepare more activities for homework or would use more the Whatsapp group to present some short and motivating exercise so as to make them practice much more. In my opinion, I felt much more secure and relaxed during the lessons, so I could establish a good rapport with the students. Therefore, the lessons were delivered smoothly and both the students and I enjoyed them. Thinking Inward This experience was meaningful to me because I felt more prepared for the lessons and also more relaxed. During this practicum period I propose to myself being more connected with the students and paying close attention to their needs. I consider that I succeeded since I listened to them and planned according to their interests. I feel that I could understand them, so I am satisfied with the way I developed this practice. I also think that, as our teachers have been telling us, “practice makes perfect”. In this sense, I think that the previous practicum periods (kindergarten and primary school) gave me the possibility of trying different activities and strategies so I understood how classroom management works best according to different group of students. Surely, I made some mistakes during the lessons. However, as I felt calmer than in previous lessons, I could notice the mistakes and repair them. I have learnt a lot not only from this practicum but also from my tutor and the
- 3. teacher course. I always could count on them and I felt their support and availability to help me. That made me feels very supported and calm. Thinking Outward Thinking about my tutor´s advice and suggestions not only during this practicum period but also in the previous periods helped me a lot to be aware of my own mistakes. In this sense, I think that every single step walked on this path had a purpose and helped me to develop my teaching, but also my learning skills. I have learnt from these students that it is very important to respect the pace of every group. As they are in an elementary level, they always complained because I spoke in English. Of course, I used several strategies in order to make clearer my speech. And they understood me perfectly. Taking this into consideration, I believed that teaching English as a foreign language is a hard work but it is worst if we do not use it during the lessons. These students were very surprised because I delivered the lesson only in English. That´s why I think that using the language in order to teach it is the best way of learn it. I did this final practicum period in a different institution, so it was new for me. Nevertheless, I felt very comfortable. From the very beginning the headmaster, the secretary, the preceptors, the teachers and also the librarian were very kind and were always available to help me when I needed. I have to admit that during this experience I felt more prepared, calmer, and I really enjoyed the lessons. I am grateful to my tutor who was always close to help me with my doubts and, even in the worst moments, she was patient and supported me. And, of course I am very grateful to the students who helped me be a better teacher and especially a better person.