final reflection

1. Taller de Práctica Docente - 2018
Tutor: Velázquez, Aurelia
Trainee: Barrionuevo, Patricia
Final Reflection - Secondary Practicum
Introduction
In order to develop the last period of her teaching practice: secondary
level, the trainee was accepted at Escuela Industrial N° 5, a technical public
school in Río Turbio, Santa Cruz province.
The period took over a month and a half approximately during October
and November 2018: two observation lessons (120 minutes) and seven lessons
delivered by the trainee (480 minutes).
2nd year - section ¨B¨ was the course assigned: a numerous group of 30
students of around 14/15 years old. These students regularly count with two
English sessions per week: one of 40 minutes and one of 80 minutes.
Students normally follow a photocopied hand-out during lessons. Their
level of English being Elementary.
Experience
The first week was devoted to comply with the Observation Period. On
the one hand, interviewing the class teacher and members of the Directive Board
to get informed about the group assigned and their educational context; on the
other, observing lessons by the class teacher in order to gain some knowledge
about the contents being developed, students’ previous knowledge, analysing
strategies and ways of teaching and learning, attitudes and/or behaviour, needs,
interests and the like.
Following the annual planning, the teacher´s suggestions, and considering
the data obtained from observations, the trainee was able to step towards the
Practicum stage.
Deciding on contents and topics was not as difficult as attending to some
delicate issues perceived during observations:
Institutional organization: human resources at school are plentiful and
diversified, with rather complex relationships. It was extremely difficult to find the
needed actors at fixed times and agree about the use of resources; everybody

2. seems to be quite misinformed about institutional matters and events. The
atmosphere was a little tense which did not propitiate a very collaborative
attitude.
The group and the subject: it is a numerous and very noisy class.
Considering the time of the year, it could be noted that contents set were not
completely achieved. Strikes, students´ behaviour and an indifferent attitude
towards learning in general, result in a dreadful picture: Students do not pay
much attention or obey the teacher, a great majority do not complete tasks.
Moreover, lessons were taught mostly in Spanish following a rather mechanical
routine of grammar explanations and photocopies´ practice.
These conditions filled the trainee with a deep sense of uncertainty and
anxiety to face the experience.
Under such contextual reality, the trainee tried to think of ways to integrate
target contents with topics which would raise the students´ interest and
motivation to learn, together with strategies which called for a more active
students´ role and a more meaningful use of English. Thus, the main aims set for
the period attempt to propitiate an atmosphere of trust and opportunities that
would allow students to see the subject from another angle, and to develop an
interest for learning a second language.
Taking advantage from the target teaching points: past events, the trainee
planned a unit of work which included topics connected to ¨pioneers in history
and inventions¨ hoping that these would arouse students´ interest and
expectations to learn facts using English as a vehicle.
Realia, interesting and colourful innovative resources, such as texts,
technology and pictures together with compensating strategies: body language,
gestures, voice tone and pitch, aided and supported understanding and learning.
Their photocopied hand-outs were strengthened and/or adapted by more
motivating and significant tasks and additional materials, which tended to cater
for all learning styles, enhancing individual and collaborative strategies to develop
all four macro skills in language learning.
The difficulties perceived during observations presented great overcomes
during the practicum: there were lessons cancelled due to extra-curricular
activities which were not informed with due anticipation; lessons were constantly
interrupted by other teachers, directors and preceptors who behave as if they
were unaware of the trainee´s presence. Furthermore, arrangements made
beforehand related to technological or audio-visual aids were never complied
causing considerable delays or failure of activities planned which needed to be
solved on the spot. As regards students, a big portion of the class did not have
the slightest interest in making some progress, they just did not care, they ignore
rules, explanations, everything… the trainee talked to them a lot lesson after
lesson and even consulted the directors and teachers about the situation, only to

3. be told that parents never showed up, and that the behaviour and attitude had
been a constant during the whole year. A great disappointment!
Nevertheless, there were students who expressed satisfaction at the new
teaching approach and dared to take risks and participate. They could change
their attitude form the blocking ¨no le entiendo nada en Inglés¨ to completing
tasks without having obtained a translation to Spanish by just making an effort
to understand. They could appreciate the importance of paying attention to
explanations and not just completing their photocopies mechanically. What is
more, most of them enjoyed the readings and getting to know facts about people
and things they did not know by means of another language. They now know
how many doors open to them just by being second-language users, considering
the globalizing place media and technology occupy in our lives.
Learning from experience
Despite ups and downs, the experience was most enriching. Each new
lesson brought about difficulties which became new challenges for the trainee
that called for a main aspect in teaching: constant self-assessment.
This meant doing a self-critical evaluation after each session to improve
lessons and benefit students´ learning by searching for more interesting topics
and materials, adjusting the methodology and teaching strategies to raise
student´s motivation, revising classroom management skills as well as redefining
planning once and again.
The trainee was faced with a ¨non-ideal¨ real picture of today´s secondary
school in her local context, both in terms of institutional drawbacks and of
students´ relationship with educational life. It might have been somewhat
deceiving and frustrating at times, but it propitiated professional learning and
growing, not only for the trainee but also for students and the host teacher.
Adolescents are learners with particular characteristics facing a
troublesome period in their lives. They are tired most of the time, mostly by the
end of the year. They can be rebellious, joyful, creative, sleepy, tough, lazy, critical,
or everything at once. The trainee had to learn to develop patience, become
creative and do her best effort at times when everything seemed not to be
working as expected.
Another learning concerned adapting to the context with all its strengths
and weaknesses without abandoning the aims set at the beginning of the period.
In Conclusion

4. The experience was clearly far from any expectation that the trainee must
have previously had. It really was an extremely demanding and worrying practice
period, but in all, it proved satisfactory and valuable.
As regards the objectives set, contents selected for the period could be
taught and made tangible for the students. Most of the learners were eager to
participate and some even took risks, maybe for the first time.
Motivation and confidence, two major goals set, were then achieved;
students have the chance to learn English from a completely different approach,
they enjoyed topics, activities and materials. They can now realize how much
English they can understand without having to resort to Spanish.
The trainee tried, by all means, to cope with all learning styles, but as the
class was so numerous it was difficult to get the most of everybody. It would
have surely been completely different to develop the practicum during the first
semester, as students were exhausted and they still had to participate from two
big school projects which take place each November: ¨Feria de las Regiones¨ and
¨Feria de Ciencias y Tecnología¨.
Of course, the trainee has still many teaching points to improve for her
future career, such as: timing, activities´ explanations, transitions between stages
in a lesson, and assessment. Managing skills for big groups also need to be
considered for future action; but this experience was only a starting point. It
pointed out the many necessary tools a teacher need in order to stand in a
classroom and really ¨TEACH¨.