Reflection about the whole practicum

1. REFLECTION ABOUT MY PRACTICUM
Which class did you enjoy most? Why? (Back up with theory)
What was the greatest challenge for you during the Practicum? What did
you do to face/overcome it? (Back up with theory)
I have already finished my practicum and I feel I learnt a lot. It was the
most beautiful experience I had during my course of studies. I am very
grateful for this possibility of learning from reality. I adored my children. It
was wonderful to arrive each Thursday and be received with kisses and
hugs. It required a lot of work, but I completely enjoyed it.
Actually, I enjoyed each of my classes, but the one I enjoyed most was the
last one, closing the practicum with a project. I felt proud of my kids
showing how much they knew, and I was so happy to see them making the
posters and enjoying the activity as I did.
This activity was different to all the previous ones, because they had to work
in groups. The activities they solved during the whole unit were planned to
be solved individually. But this one was different and an important change,
since very young learners prefer working alone and can be reluctant to
share. As it was an activity where they had to make a poster -something
easier that the activities they were solving-, it was not necessary to form
mixed-ability groups. Although we did not trained children to work in
groups, they did it very well.
Regarding instructions, the children understood them, so it shows me that
they were clear enough. I stood the whole class between the two groups that
were organized, so I could hold their attention properly.
I liked my students working in groups because they were able of providing
different opinions and varied contribution. Moreover, it encouraged broader
skills of cooperation and negotiation. Although working in groups can be
very noisy, this time the kids worked peacefully, mainly because they were
engaged in the activity. It was very important that there was not domination
from any individuals; all of them worked cooperatively.
As regards challenges, the greatest of them was meeting children with some
serious problems, such as behavior problems, lack of attention or autistic
spectrum disorder (trastorno de espectro autista). At first it was kind of
difficult for me to adapt to those situations because since I come from a very
little town, I have never seen things like that, especially the problem that
Joaquin has or the one who Gonzalo suffers -violence at home-. Despite of
that, I believe that it is good to encounter situations very different to those

2. we are not used to, because I learnt even more, and learnt how to manage
new situations. I remember one class in which some students were writing
on the tables, so I stopped the lesson and talked to them about the
importance of caring the furniture we use every day at school. Then the kids
erased it. In another class two kids were using harmful nicknames, so I told
them that they should not do it because they need to learn to be respectful
and accept others what they are like.
Finally and so as to conclude, I can say that I am sure not only the kids
learnt new vocabulary and a lot of other things but also I learned a lot from
them. It was a wonderful experience.