1. Practice II
AylenFernández
1
Reflection on my Practicum
During my practicum, the greatest challenge was to persuade children to
feel completely motivated during all the classes by choosing alternative and
exciting activities that were, at the same time, related to the things with which
they felt empathy (e.g. photocopies with images of Monster Inc.-Frozen-Bart
Simpson). I found no obstacles since the whole group of students were very
participative and I could perform all the activities I planned. Although all the
activities were enjoyable, I felt really pleased with three of them which deserve
a special mention: the development of the short story ‘I Wish I Had a Monster’
and the video ‘Four Little Corners’, in which children showed an impressive
level of motivation and were very collaborative during the activities performed
with both projects. The other remarkable class was the one about the ‘Monsters
Project’. I realized how important is to motivate young learners and making
them feel free while working. During the development of these classes I had to
improve some aspects, which I finally could mend due to my practicum. First, I
did not used to write on the blackboard all the answers, date, pages and all the
things that were mentioned during the class, but after a few classes, and after
being observed, I could improve that. Then, when I realized the short story
reading and discussion, I noticed how important body language is for YLE, so I
also improved this aspect. Students demonstrated their motivation state and
how much could they learn while playing/working during these three classes.
I recommend team work/a pedagogical partner for the practicum. In my
opinion, working with Alexis Cora had no negative points. We performed a very
good team and we helped each other every time we needed it. We shared all
the work in and outside the classroom. We were available for each other
whenever it was necessary and, inside the classroom, we understood each
other perfectly well. He helped me a lot during my classes by monitoring
children behaviour and also helping those students who found difficulties in an
activity. At the beginning, both of us were afraid of being in charge of a course,
but as the practicum was progressing, I lost the fear and I really enjoyed playing
the role of a teacher. I felt really comfortable and satisfied by the end of the
practicum since it was a very beautiful and unforgettable experience.
2. Practice II
AylenFernández
2
Being observed was really important for me and I felt totally comfortable
with it, since I found the teachers’ suggestions completely useful. I felt
accompanied by them during the whole practicum and the conference that we
shared after each observed class helped me a lot to realize the things that I
needed to improve as well as the positive aspects of the way in which I had
developed my class. Another totally helpful issue to mention were the office
hours that were provided by the teacher. They helped me to plan my classes, or
to make them better, every time it was necessary. I also received several
suggestions and great ideas for my activities from the teacher, as the Big Book
with which I developed the short story.
In order to conclude, I should remark how comfortable and gratified that I
felt during my practicum since it has been the most outstanding experience I
have had since I am being prepared to be an English Teacher.
