Journal 2

1. My Journal
First entry
Date: 2nd September
This is my first observation in seventh grade, the group is very nice,
they are about 25 students, more girls than boys. Their level of English is
quite good, there are some students who have a higher level, but they are
just two or three. The class is very harmonic and Ss are well predisposed, I
think it’s a very nice group.
Second entry
Date: 5th
September
Today is my second observation, and students are very polite with
me. They come and talk to me, ask me questions and are glad that I’m here
to work with them. As I noticed last class, there are three students that have
a higher level than the rest, but I also noticed that there are some students
that have some difficulties when acquiring new language. In general, when
an activity is proposed, the teacher must wait for about 5 extra minutes so
all of the children can finish their work.
Third entry
Date: 9th
September
Well, today is my last observation, the students come and say hello
to me, specially the girls. I sit and observe an oral lesson in which they
have to talk about their families. There are many students who can speak
very well, but there are some others that are very shy and don’t know how
to formulate the sentences. Fortunately, the teacher helps them, but much
Spanish is spoken in the classroom.
Fourth entry
Date: 16th
September
Today is the first lesson I’m going to teach, the idea is to teach the
Simple Present (Ss already know some vocabulary and how to make
sentences in this tense). Well, now that I have finished, I can say that the
timing was just perfect! No problems aroused during the lesson and the

2. students were perfectly capable of understanding when I spoke them in
English, some of them were a bit lost, but with gestures, pictures and
mimics they were able to catch up.
Fifth entry
Date: 19th
September
Today was the second lesson I taught, and I must say that I adore
these students, they just love working with me, even the teacher told me
they like my lessons more than Pamela’s! They paid attention all the time,
worked very quickly and had a really good time. There were no problems
with vocabulary, just some of them with the pronunciation of certain
words, but we practiced those words and the problem was solved.
Sixth entry
Date: 23rd
September
Today we continued with Simple Present, the difference was that this
time we start working with I/you/we/they instead of he/she/it as we did in
the previous lessons. Most of the students had no problems to understand
that the S at the end of the verb is no longer needed, but the students who
are low level had to try many times to make the exercises until they
understood the difference.
Seventh entry
Date: 26th
September
Today was my first recorded lesson, the topic was Leisure Activities,
we worked with Lady Gaga’s routine, we made a speaking activity and a
reading activity. Students were very excited with the idea of recording the
lesson, so they were a bit shy and quiet, but they worked perfectly anyway.
Eight entry
Date: 30th
September
Well, I have finished with the second recorded lesson. This time
students were more confident with the camera so the spoke much more,
even between them. The topic taught was prepositions and some objects
that you can find in the living room and in the kitchen. They loved working

3. with pictures and acquired the new vocabulary with great ease, so it was a
pleasure to teach this lesson. I just loved working with this group, and they
loved my lessons too, so I’m more than happy!
Dear Michelle
These journal entries show you still need to reflect upon lesson aspects and
different issues. Even if you are satisfied with your teaching and the group,
you should go deeper into your teaching and their learning.
As this is your last journal entry, it seems a good opportunity to reflect
upon your learning process:
• To what extent has this experience helped you in your teaching
development?
• What have you learnt about this age group?
• What do you think you still need to learn about students this age?
• Did you do some research on this age group before you started teaching
these children?
• How did your previous knowledge help you plan your lessons and teach
your classes?
• What new pedagogical knowledge did you acquire?
• What relevance did you give to pedagogical decisions while planning and
teaching your lessons and when reflecting upon them?
• To what extent and in what ways has keeping a teaching journal deepened
your knowledge and improved your teaching practice?
These questions are meant to foster further reflection.
Cecilia