Overall Reflection

1. Overall Reflection
The whole of my practicum period had been a thrilling time that gave me the opportunity
to put into practice what I have learned throughout this Teaching Training Course while
being supported and guided by my tutor and local observers. I really enjoyed the three
practicum stages as each one, with its own challenges and peculiarities has contributed to
enhance my teaching and learning experience as well as my personal life.
Since I wanted to make the best out of my practicum experience I tried to plan lessons
and develop materials which could be motivating and engaging and that at the same time,
could suit the students’ needs and interests as well as serve to their diverse intelligences
and learning styles. For that reason and to support the teaching practice I gave thought to
all the different approaches, methods and strategies about teaching and learning I have
studied over the years. In addition, as I am a firm advocate of introducing information and
communication technologies in the classroom, I used as much ICT as the schools’ resources
had allowed me.
To be honest, at the beginning of my practicum I was extremely anxious and many times I
wondered if I could be as good as I was expected to be. Even though that uneasiness
started to fade after the first class, it never wore off completely since up until the end
of my last lesson I was unable to truly relax.
Working with very young learners at the kindergarten level, was an experience I really
loved and will be always close to my heart. Children were not only sweet and affectionate
but also so open and inhibited that getting actively involved in all the activities was not a
problem for them. I also admired their ability to make sense of most class situations in a
natural manner, and without much intervention of my part.
At the primary school level, I felt impressed by the students’ involvement and
participation as well as their eagerness to resolve their activities and also by how much
they helped and cooperated with each other when they worked in pairs or larger groups.
The last stage was as difficult as it was fulfilling. The group of adolescents was large,
chatty and easily distracted, in addition, their level of familiarity with the English language
was very diverse, so it was a challenge to keep them motivated and interested throughout
the whole class. Although at first, most students were reluctant to a class in which only
English was spoken, gradually, they got used to it and enjoy it. In spite of everything, the
atmosphere in the class was positive and friendly and overall students worked well and
completed their tasks successfully.

2. Undoubtedly, when teaching large groups I have to work on better assessing students
previous knowledge as well as to develop more efficient classroom managing strategies so
as to avoid disengagement. Additionally, in order to capture students attention and keep
its momentum throughout the whole lesson, I need to improve my warm-up periods as well
as to smooth out the transitions between different tasks.
Keeping a journal has taught me the importance of having a regular retrospective look at
my teaching experiences, as by writing about what actually happened throughout each
practice, helped me to identify and evaluate not only what was good and what was bad but
also to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses. What is more, reading my classmates
journals was very inspiring and gave me the opportunity to learn from their own thoughts,
feelings and experiences.
Furthermore, I believe that reflecting for its own sake would not bring any benefit to my
development as a teacher. To end the reflective circle, I must keep a critical eye on my
teaching performance and be willing to change and improve those aspects which not
contribute to an effective teaching practice.
Finally, when looking forward, I like to imagine myself as a teacher who would never get
stuck in that comfort zone where things remain as they are because one feels safe or the
results are just acceptable but as a teacher who would always be open to different ideas
and opinions, ready to learn new things, keen to change when necessary and eager to adapt
to any given situation and in order to bring about the best of her students.