My journal secondary period Moure Regina checked

My journal
Practicum period: Secondary.
Trainee’s name: Regina Moure.
Tutor: Cecilia Zemborain.
1
Date: October 1st, 2015
1st Observation- Intermediate Group - Ciclo Orientado. Instituto Marcelo Spínola.
This was an unscheduled instance of observation. Paola Hurban, the teacher in charge of
this group, suggested that I should spend more than the mandatory 120 minutes observing
these Ss in order to get a better idea about the dynamics in the classroom as well as the
way they usually work.
Before going any further, I’d like to mention a few features of this group, some of which are
shared with the other English groups in this secondary school.
For starters, English groups are arranged according to the Ss’ linguist level and the
“trayecto” they are doing in their mainstream lessons. That is to say, Ss at year 1 and 2 of
their secondary education are streamed into three groups: elementary, intermediate and
advanced. These three groups (which vary in the number of Ss per classroom) belong to the
Basic cycle (Ciclo básico. I’m not sure of my translation here). When Ss start their year 3,
they automatically go through a new placement test so that they are assigned to a new
English group in the “Ciclo Orientado”. Therefore, Ss from years 3 to 5 are grouped into
elementary, intermediate and advanced groups.
Arranging Ss this way is part of a project designed by English teachers back in 2011. The
goal is to avoid having mix-ability groups in a single room since they have proven that such a
situation affects ss’ motivation by keeping learners covering the same topics over and over
again without any sense of progress. The idea is that Ss finish their secondary education at
a higher level of English than the one they had in Year 1.Nonetheless, these teachers admit
the project needs to be revised because intermediate learners have not developed their
speaking and listening skills at the same level of their reading and writing. This is the case
with Professor Hurban’s group.
Another feature that is worth to be mentioned is the fact that English lessons take place
once a week, either at the beginning of the school day (from 7:20 to 9:30) or at the end (from
11:00 to 13:10). This has both positive and negative consequences. On the bright side, I
can say that having Ss for 2 hours at the beginning of the day somehow guarantees having
Ss’ minds set for the English lesson without any interference from other subjects. The
amount of time also allows Teachers to start, develop and finish almost any topic. However,
those groups attending English lessons on Mondays or Fridays face the drawbacks of losing
continuity due to extra-large weekends, which are very common in our country. Thankfully, I
was allowed to choose among the groups available and my decision was mainly influenced
by this aspect: I really need a certain level of continuity to assess my performance.
A (not-so-typical) lesson
Last Thursday the local teachers’ union called for a strike, so not all Ss were present
(teenagers are the first ones to join a strike,heheh!). Thus, even though the group is made
up of 33 Ss, there were only 17 at 7:20 when the lesson started. Only after the first break (at
8:40) the number increased to 25.
Comentado [1]: Good!
Comentado [2]: We do!
Comentado [3]: Indeed!!! =D

My journal
2
Paola started this lesson greeting Ss in English but the following exchanges were made in
Spanish. Almost the first hour was spent on taking attendance, collecting past-due
homework, discussing about Ss’ responsibility and checking homework on the board. By the
way, Ss do not hand in their homework on time. As expected, there was a huge focus on
Ss’ internalising the structures studied, but in connection with the speaker/writer’s intention
(function).
Paola and her group follow a coursebook (Next Move 2 - Pearson) and all the work done in
and outside the classroom derives from it. What is more, this teacher told me she usually
covers a whole unit in two consecutive encounters, which implies that I should do the same:
“The coursebook must be used, otherwise parents complain”. That will be a challenge
for me since I haven’t followed any coursebook so far in my practicum.
As regards “my topics/structures”:
Date: October 8th, 2015
2nd Observation- Intermediate Group - Ciclo Orientado. Instituto Marcelo Spínola.
During this second instance of observation, I was able to interact a bit more with the Ss. By
the way, there were more students present in the room this time than in the previous class.
In this opportunity, the group’s monitor (preceptor in Spanish) came into the room to take
attendance, something that Paola also did, just for her own record. On the whole, taking
attendance and collecting homework took around 5-10 minutes which coincide with the
arrival of latecomers.
Right after that, Paola asked for volunteers to come to her desk to say the dialogue from the
last lesson “by heart”. Last Thursday she gave Ss the chance to choose the type of
homework they would have for that weekend. Option A consisted in practising and role-
playing a long dialogue in groups of four. That is to say, Ss would make groups of four,
Comentado [4]: Anything to comment on this lesson?

My journal
3
assign themselves a character and practice the dialogue until they learn it by heart. Paola
had made special mention to the accuracy not only as regards pronunciation, but also about
using the right intonation pattern as a way to reinforce, indicate meaning and intention.
Hearing that was completely new to me; I mean, during my prior practicum period,
intonation, rhythm and stress were not taken into consideration: the focus was only on
pronunciation.
Anyway, Ss didn’t choose that option and prefer learning a shorter dialogue by heart but
individually. If I had had to choose, option A would have certainly be funnier and more
significant since it would have given me the chance, as a learner, to interact with my mates
and work together.
So,before Paola started listening to individual Ss say the dialogue by heart and provided
them with feedback on the aforementioned features (segmental and suprasegmental), Ss
were assigned a few exercises from their coursebook. Paola didn’t explain anything about
the procedure for carrying out the tasks, but simply wrote the page and number of exercises
Ss should complete and read the prompts aloud. She also told Ss that as soon as she
finished listening to them all, they will have to provide feedback in order to check the
activities as a class.
Unfortunately, Ss didn’t make wise use of the time because when she asked for feedback
they only had completed the first exercise. Immediately, Paola indicated that the remaining
activities will be part of the homework assigned for next Thursday (the day I would start
delivering lessons to this group).
Something I noticed when Paola was assessing Ss’ oral performance had to do with the way
she negotiated marks with them. Beside giving her own feedback, she also asked learners to
evaluate their own performance, saying what they considered to be their main strengths and
weaknesses.
All in all, the first 80 minutes consisted in checking attendance, assessing Ss’ oral
performance and going over the only task they managed to complete. Ss spent the last 40
minutes (after the first break) under my guidance. Using L1, I explained to Ss my reasons for
being there and my idea of working with them for the next four classes. Besides, I asked
them to complete a survey that would help me have an idea about their relationship with
English as a subject and, more precisely, about their likes as regards music, considering that
the upcoming unit in their coursebooks deals with that topic.
I was reading Ss’ surveys during the last weekend and many of them shared their idea of
English as an important tool for their future, either for travelling or for pursuing their goals
when they attend superior studies at university. Nonetheless, they also mentioned that they
need to slow down a little so that they can make use of the language, actually learning it.
Therefore, I think that is a hint I must take at the time of designing my lesson plans.

My journal
4
1st Class- Intermediate Group - Ciclo Orientado. Instituto Marcelo Spínola.
First lesson delivered, and although I meant to follow the lesson plan by the letter, the real
situation in the classroom, as well as in each and every classroom at school made me alter
it a little.
To begin with, the teachers’ union had called for another strike (the second this month) last
week and it was scheduled for today. Prof. Hurban called me yesterday to know if I had
planned to join it or not (I work at the same school in the afternoon shift with primary Ss).
Since I’m short of time for both this practicum and my own teaching schedule, I decided not
to join any other strike, at least not this year. It may sound a bit selfish, but I need to keep a
constant pace, otherwise, it would be harder for Ss and me to achieve the lessons’ goals.
Well, this strike situation faced Paola and me with a requirement from the Headmistress
(Fabiana Perazolo) who asked us to allow a few students from the Elementary group to
spend the next three periods with us because their teacher was absent. I was ok with that,
but Paola was not that sure. Later she explained that she could be responsible for her Ss
only and, considering the fact that this lesson might be recorded on video, she found
admitting these Ss an issue for we ignored whether their parents had granted the school
permission to video record their children..
So all those learners and the headmistress went out of the classroom. Only right after that
could I start the lesson. Because of all monitors were absent, I had to call the roll myself, a
task that helped me to relate faces and names. I also instructed Ss to hand in their
homework to Ms. Paola. Up to that point, everything seemed to be working properly but I
started noticing that Ss did not follow my words if I spoke English for purposes not
connected to teaching. I know that everything taking place within (and even outside) the
classroom should be considered an opportunity for learning something, but they think
different and I found it wise to follow them on this. Therefore, my first activity, the one aimed
at answering Ss’ questions about my presence in their classroom and my way of teaching
the language was carried out in Spanish. During those minutes I asked them to relax and
was very clear about my intention of using English more and more during the lessons, not
only at the moments in which we go over the activities in the book but also when I go around
the classroom monitoring their work. A small talk in English works wonder when you think
you are not able to communicate in a language other than yours.
After explaining that, we started working with the images. I did make use of English here, for
both introducing the pictures to Ss and modelling the task. Ss drew on L1 to explain their first
activity when I asked for any volunteer to do so.
A big mistake from my part was pointed out by Ms. Paola. When Ss were working on their
own, thinking about the ideas each picture brought to their minds, she asked me if I had
adapted the activity for Ximena. I had completely forgotten about her! Since she was absent
during my observations, I didn’t take her case into account! Ximena is a blind girl. How am I
supposed to resort to visuals to teach English communicatively to a student who isn’t able to
see? I wanted to kill myself! Paola told me that she generally describes pictures orally
(mainly in L1) so as to involve her in the activities.

My journal
5
This really makes me look for other strategies to teach the target language to this group of
Ss. Maybe employing audio clips instead of pictures to elicit vocabulary or answers from
learners during the initial stages of the lesson. It is something to think about carefully since,
being a visual learner myself, I cannot figure out any other way than audio clips.
To tell you the truth, this got me on my nerves. I mean, how do these people manage to
work with this blind child without resorting to ICT or at least to the coursebook audio?
Thankfully, I had downloaded the course CDs on advance and also included the audio
connected to the reading activity in my plan and thus Ximena was able to carry out the
remaining activities.
Apart from that “incident”, Ss were able to make connections among the different words
during the feedback stage. They explained how a single becomes a hit. They went over this
orally but I think it would be great to ask them to write something similar about one of their
favourite songs, perhaps surfing the net to get the information they need… It’s just an
idea...let’s see.
The third activity was not very appealing to Ss, although they liked to see the names of the
songs they suggested on a fictional chart.
In consequence, we moved quickly to the reading activities, which they seemed to enjoy.
Nonetheless, they remained reluctant to answer my questions in English, for instance, when
they had to explain why they considered a statement to be false. So, after they provided their
reasons in L1, I rephrased them in English and asked them to tell if I was right or not.
The language focus phase was the easiest one for Ss for it was very much the same as
what they usually do with Ms. Paola. We went over the structures, we analysed the functions
(making predictions/offers) and solved the situations suggested in their coursebooks to make
use of the recently learned grammar.
All in all, I think I need to introduce changes gradually, not as impositions but simply showing
Ss there are other ways to learn English besides following the coursebook from A to Z.
Despite what happened with Ximena, the fact that I exposed Ss to the coursebook audio,
introduced something different to what Ms. Paola usually does in class.
Resources to work with Ximena:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/teaching-english-blind-students
An article explaining ways to teach English to visually-impaired Ss.
http://www.robobraille.org/
A text-to-braille converter. Ximena has her own braille typewriting machine so, if I provide
her (or her parents) with the English text in braille beforehand, they can type it and use it in
the classroom. That, along with the audio, will make things easier...I guess...and I hope.

My journal
6
Date: October 22nd, 2015
2nd Class- Intermediate Group - Ciclo Orientado. Instituto Marcelo Spínola.
This second lesson was delivered last Thursday, but I delayed writing this entry because Ms.
Paola had asked me to have a meeting with her. She wanted to provide me with some
feedback on this lesson as well as on the first one.
Therefore, my retelling of this second encounter will include some remarks made by her.
Some of them coincide with the ones made by my tutor and others, although useful and
worth being taken into account, lead to modify my approach to teaching English to this
group.
The 2nd lesson, stage by stage:
In the first part of my lesson plan I had mentioned a visually-impaired student, Ximena. In
order to make her take part of the activities, I delivered the handouts three days prior to the
lesson for her accompanying teacher to transcribe them into Braille. That didn’t happen. She
never received the handouts; she didn’t read anything. Her mate, sitting next to her, read the
activities aloud for her (in L1, grrrrrr!!) and she completed them in her notebook.
Having said that, this is what happened last Thursday.
Routine:
Scheduled to last ten minutes at the most, it actually took longer. The ICT assistant (person
in charge of taking appliances,(say, TV sets, projectors, speakers, etc) to the classroom
came to school later than expected. I had made arrangement with the school superiors to
have the LCD screen in the classroom right from the start, but considering that everybody
(Ss, professors and monitors) arrive in school at the same time the bell rings, nobody was
there to set up the screen.
Therefore, that had to be done during class time.
After that, Ss handed in their homework and then I informed Ss the news Ms. Paola had for
them.
Warm-up:
This task was OK: Ss seemed to enjoy it and Ms Paola told me (in our follow-up meeting)
that she liked the idea of providing audio hints instead of making Ss read them from a text.
In her feedback, my tutor asked me how I expected Ss to fill in the handout: would I write the
words on the board? or would I ask Ss to come to the front to do that for their mates? What
would I do in order to check spelling of those words?
Taking those comments into account, I did the following:
→ Ss listened to the audios and called out the word(s) they thought might go in those empty places. I
also asked them to count how many blank spaces they had to fill in.
→ When the right word was mentioned I asked Ss to tell me how I should write that word: Could you
spell “Composer” to me, please?
→ As soon as they spelt the word, I write it the word myself on the board, after repeating it a few
times and having asked Ss to do the same.
Comentado [5]: This goes beyond your reach, Gina. You did
your best!
Comentado [6]: If you worked on this school, you would
know this and make the necessary arrangements...Plan an
activity, etc.
Comentado [7]: I did! I told both Principals about my need to
use have the screen from the very beginning of my lesson,
although I would use it in the second period.
Comentado [8]: Ok, then... :)

My journal
7
I didn’t ask Ss to come to the board and write because of time-economy matters.
As regards one of the clues (the one designed to elicit “playlists” from Ss), Ms. Paola told me
that she was not able to follow it since she is not familiarised with this music app, “hence, Ss
might not know about it either”.
I don’t really think adolescents have no idea about the most common music apps available
today, but I take her advice. She suggested that I make a brief introduction in L1 before
moving to the English version. The sandwich technique would suit here.
Presentation 1:
The transition worked as expected. Nonetheless, this activity had to be modified on the spot
since Ss called out a good deal of Latin and local types of music:
→ Folklore.
→ Cumbia.
Comentado [9]: Great!
Comentado [10]: I agree.

My journal
8
→ Bachata.
→ Latin music as a broad type of music.
→ Reggaeton.
→ Punk, just to name a few.
Besides, they didn’t mention Opera and Jazz, styles which I had planned to introduce;
something I did during the first practice stage.
Practice 1:
In this task, Ss were exposed to different pieces of music for them to relate to any of the
music styles displayed on the board (mind-map).
I couldn’t show videos here as I had planned: The TV didn’t turn on, or it simply turned off on
its own (during the break time I realised there was something wrong with the electric
extension provided by the ICT assistant). In consequence, Ss only listened to the different
tracks.
Comentado [11]: Good!

My journal
9
As they listened and identify each type of music, I called for volunteers to come to the board
and number the styles in order of “appearance” . They were also asked to name any
performer of such a style, either a singer or a band.
In our follow-up meeting, Prof. Hurban explained to me that, although the activity was OK to
her, she would rather used more colours. And, instead of losing time asking Ss to come to
the board and write a number next to each type of music, she would have asked them to
write the singer/band they recognised as representative of each type of music. Good point,
I’ll bear it in mind for a following occasion.
Remember the music styles Ss had come up with during the previous stage and which I
hadn’t thought of? Well, I decided to introduce a piece of homework here in order to relate
both stages and give Ss a chance to work on their own musical likes.
Ss will have to look for a video featuring one of the music styles they mentioned in the
brainstorming stage activity that I hadn’t considered. They will have to store that video in a
pen drive so I can get to know more about that style.
This was also discussed with Ms. Paola yesterday during our meeting. She explained that
not all Ss (and even herself) know how to download videos from the net and that I should
have thought of this before asking them to do something they do not know how to do it. Or
at least ask them whether they know to do it or not and show them the procedure. Roger
that! I agree...but this practicum period is a pain in the neck. I’m afraid these mistakes
prevent me from getting my degree. Let’s see…
Presentation 2:
This activity was OK. I imagine that because it was taken from the coursebook (believe me, I
started hating coursebooks!)
Practice 2:
Students were expected to relate types of music with the musical instruments used in those
styles. Ms. Paola liked the graphic organiser and Ss could go over the task relatively easy.
L1 use started to be needed for Ss to know what they had to do.
I also had to make another change to what I had originally planned for this lesson. In my
plan, Ss would have to ask their music teacher about the instruments played in each music
style. Well, these ss do not attend music lessons since those are part of the basic-cycle
curriculum.
Therefore, Ss were asked to do a little research about their favourite music styles and check
which of the musical instrument they saw that day are played by that particular style’s
performers.
Pre-listening Activity:
During this task, Ss had to predict the topic/ theme of the song. In order to help them do that,
I showed (and asked Ss to describe) three images.
They did it quite well here.
Comentado [12]: Great idea!
Comentado [13]: The process is assessed, as we are
discussing on the forum... So, please, Gina, take it easy and
enjoy it...;)
Comentado [14]: Ha ha! Welcome to the club! just kidding...
They are sometimes an excellent source of texts and audio
material, but not the only resource to rely on...
Comentado [15]: You know? I've been toying with the idea
of not adopting any coursebook next year with 1st graders
(those who met Tiggy during my Kinder practicum). I'm
planning of creating a whole world for Tiggy in which Ss can
create something.
Comentado [16]: Fantastic!! It is a lot more demanding for
teachers... but coursebooks limit the range. Once it is bought
by parents, it has to be used in class...:(
Comentado [17]: Excellent!

My journal
10
While - listening Activity:
Ok
After - Listening activity:
Ss had to work in pairs, each member receiving a different handout with blank lines to
complete.
Ms. Paola agreed with my tutor on this activity was not clear, lacking of purpose.
According to Prof. Hurban, I messed up everything by explaining tasks in English (!) and
making check-moves or asking Ss to explain the activities to their mates in English without
resorting to translation. Since time is a scarce resource, L1 use is almost mandatory here, as
well during the language focus phase.
Language - focus:
I couldn’t complete this stage, neither could I set homework.

My journal
11
As my tutor suggested, I elicited that structure from Ss. Then we moved to the chart with
examples from the song.
When I reached this point:
Ss had trouble recalling Present Simple so we have to go over it. Again, Ss liked doing this!
I mean...explaining structures…
I managed to explain First conditional use, provided a few examples in English and that was
that. Time was over. Therefore, the grammar practice stage will take place during the first 40
minutes next Thursday, along with taking attendance and collecting homework, assigning
more homework for the to reinforce this structure (as you see, it seems that it all has to do
with internalising structures). Comentado [18]: Perhaps, fewer activities are required.

My journal
12
In her feedback, my tutor asked me to include more speaking activities or group work tasks
in the following lessons. Sorry to say that would not be possible, especially after my meeting
with Ms. Paola.
As regards the adjustments required to make the song activity more meaningful or at least
clearer for Ss to carry it out, I only asked Ss to read aloud and then copy the missing lines.
Since they didn’t like doing it, only a few of them completed it.
Conclusion:
I hate this practicum period!
For starters, I cannot believe that intermediate Ss could not follow and take part in oral
exchanges in the target language. 5th graders did it better!
During our meeting, Ms Paola told me about the real reason for that to happen. The criteria
followed to grade Ss and allow them to move from an elementary level to its immediately
superior have nothing to do with CEFR or any other scale to evaluate learners’
achievements in a foreign language after a period of instruction.
In this school, Ss getting a mark of 8 or above in the last term of the school year “move” to
the following level at the beginning of the next year.
Since grades are not based on Ss’ linguistic and communicative skills only, they do not really
reflect Ss’ actual ability to communicate in L2.
In this context, I do mess up everything up using the target language, but it is also true that
the system employed is far from reliable. Although this group is labelled as “Intermediate”
and the coursebook they follow is aimed at intermediate learners of English, these Ss is at
an upper-elementary level, at the most.
Coursebook
I’m totally aware that my tutors at LV want me to exploit other resources, to be creative in
order to make my teaching memorable to Ss. But, on the other hand, I have Ms Paola asking
me to use the coursebook in class so they can cover during the month we have ahead. The
point is to make better use of the time we have available: Ss are supposed to start unit 8
next class!
Moreover, “they get bored if they do not go from one activity to the other (in the coursebook)
orally”. In this case, oral production is limited to the contextualised-self contained exercises
displayed in the coursebook.
So, what are my plans for the next two encounters? The third lesson will be delivered as
Prof. Paola usually does and I’ll try to check by myself if Ss really like that way.
3rd Class- Intermediate Group - Ciclo Orientado. Instituto Marcelo Spínola.
Comentado [19]: If you do, you will miss the chance of
learning from the experience...
Comentado [20]: Yes, I know...but that was my mood at the
time of writing this entry.... :(
Comentado [21]: Ok...;)
Comentado [22]: Great idea!!!
Plan 4 can be based on a combination of resources.
Comentado [23]: :-*

My journal
13
After drafting and editing, and thinking about a way of getting these Ss attention and help
them learn at the same time, I delivered my third lesson today.
Before analysing each and every step taken during the lesson, I’d like to explain the changes
I introduced to the original plan based on my tutor’s suggestions.
The plan.
The day after my second lesson, I had a meeting with Prof. Hurban in which she provided
me with her feedback and suggested a few changes to my way of teaching.With all that in
mind (and having talked about the matter with my tutor) I designed my third lesson plan. My
tutor checked it and made a number of suggestions in order to balance the local tutor’s
requirements and the approach to language teaching we favour in LV.
Below you can see the original plan with the comments made by my tutor first and then its
“improved” version:

My journal
14
I took my tutor’s advice and changed my transition move. I ignore if Ss would have prefer
that I talk about structures right from the very beginning, but I felt much more comfortable
doing it the way I did.
A similar approach was taken to revise First conditional. Although I did mention the structure,
the resources I employed made the activity more appealing to Ss (at least they laughed at
my comments, which aimed at that precisely. I needed to feel, to know they were following
me)

My journal
15
Here you have the actual cards (big cards) I used:

My journal
16

My journal
17
When it was the time to work on making offers with will, I employed the following cards:
Although similar to the phrase included in the original plan, this one provided a more real
context. I was lucky because one of the Ss brought a package of crackers to have breakfast
at school.
I included a second situation:

My journal
18
This was a two-purpose situation card: on the one hand, it would help ss to think of a way to
help me by offering me their cell- phones. On the other hand, Ss would be exposed to the
tense/structure they were about to learn.
It didn’t work that way, sorry to tell, but I least I tried something different, and I avoided
writing on the board.
At the time of revising First Conditional, I kept on drawing on cards:
Comentado [24]: Why not?
Comentado [25]: Because the exposure wasn't enough. I
still believe this group of Ss should have worked on a single
unit, instead of the two we covered.

My journal
19

My journal
20
In order to use these cards, I called individual Ss to hold them in front of the class for their
mates to see them. I kept two other cards, IF and , and by asking these Ss to switch
positions I demonstrated how the meaning remained the same even if the clauses were
moved and how the comma wasn’t needed anymore when the present simple clause is in
second position. I did that with the sentence taken from Mars’ song, while Ss did the same
with the second example.
In my original plan I explained my intention to draw on L1 for helping Ss to grasp new
structures and uses.

My journal
21
But I used less Spanish than expected, even Ss relied less on it. I’m not saying neither of us
used it, but the class wasn’t completely delivered in Spanish, which had been my nightmare
in the last week.
About my performance:
All in all, I can say that I do well when it comes to work on vocabulary, listening, reading and
speaking, but grammar explanation is my weak point. I founder on explaining structures, I’m
not used to doing so.
I infer I need to revise my grammar books in order to be better prepared and avoid getting
nervous.
Tomorrow morning I have a new meeting with Ms. Paola so I think there’ll be an update to
this journal.
Date: November 31st.
I had a meeting with Ms. Paola yesterday in which she provided me with her feedback, as
she has been doing in the last three weeks.
Comentado [26]: not clear...
Comentado [27]: I fail...I'm not good at explaining grammar.
Perhaps that has to do with the approach we adopt here at LV:
Avoid explaining grammar, simply expose Ss to the language
and let them infer the rules.
Comentado [28]: You don't. How can SS get used to the
inductive approach to grammar teaching when they have been
learning L2 grammar in their L1?
Comentado [29]: ;)

My journal
22
Even though there weren’t many negative remarks, the thing that struck me the most was a
comment made by Ss. According to her, learners are asking her to come back to deliver
lessons because they get bored...Again, the same issue.
Then we moved on to analyse each stage of the lesson and I have to agree with her that Ss
did it quite well when working with the activities from the coursebook. I don’t know...they are
used to working that way. Maybe they feel comfortable with the coursebook because it
allows them to know what comes next beforehand and avoid the uncertainty of spontaneous
talk.
Wow! what an epiphany! Ss in a language classroom avoiding spontaneous communication,
one of the main reasons for learning a second or foreign language.
That talk led Ms. Hurban to share with me her idea that Ss study for the exams, they only
want to pass the subject and that’s all. And she teaches them for that purpose. That is why
she conducts the lesson in Spanish. She sounded somehow resigned to that reality. My
conclusion? These Ss do learn, but they don’t learn the language, they learn about the
language with the only purpose of passing written exams.
We’ve been dealing with assessment and teaching recently in both Didactics III and TPD
and this was one of the topics aroused in the papers, articles and books read. In this case,
assigning Ss a grade is the sole reason for teaching, nor for enabling them to acquire and
develop the skills they might need in the future. Those Ss who may want to learn the
language for reasons other than simply passing tests are forced to become autonomous
learners.
It is sad to see that the same situation I experienced during my teenage years is the same
these Ss face today. Cheers for those Ss, then, because their will to improve will lead them
further.
Date: November 5th, 2015
4th Class- Intermediate Group - Ciclo Orientado. Instituto Marcelo Spínola.
Last lesson delivered to a reduced group of Ss since some of them were sitting for final
exams in other subjects. Remember these Ss do not belong to a single course.
As my tutor clearly explained in her feedback on this lesson plan, the first activity carried out
was a sort of routine instead of a warm-up activity. Nonetheless, Ss were very attentive to
what was going on in the front. What is more, they didn’t hesitate to discuss the exercises
aloud, which was of help for those who still have doubts as regards present perfect.
So, even though this was a fairly controlled task, Ss did participate. According to Ms. Paola,
this had to do with the number of learners in the room and, to some extent I think the same. I
mean, the number of Ss shouldn’t be an impediment to implementing a communicative
lesson plan. Some adjustments need to be made along with some kind of agreement
between T and Ss as regards the type of interaction during the lessons. These are topics we
dealt with in Didactics and, as we read from several authors, reaching to an agreement with
Ss requires time and proper organisation from the very beginning.
Moving on to the second task, solving a crossword, they were amazed at the size of my
poster. I noticed, I guess that I’ve already said this, that they “like” to see that you have taken
Comentado [30]: Well, Gina! I cannot add much.
Perhaps, some oral exchanges in pairs can be done in the next
lesson, so that SS do not feel exposed. We cannot change in a
few lessons what has been done for years. Try to be objective
and do not get discouraged by this experience. On the
contrary, schools in general, and secondary school in particular
are in need of a change. You are doing a great job!!
Comentado [31]: as regards...?

My journal
23
time to prepare whatever you bring into the classroom to work with them. It’s a feeling I have
with my own Ss, that I also experienced with 5th graders and now with this group. “Wow,
qué grande! Vos lo hiciste, Ms? was the first reaction I got from these learners.
Ss also laughed at the image of “el Chavo” and his signature phrase. Besides, it pictured
quite well the function I was trying to introduce.
Both the listening and the speaking activity were ok for Ss. They were short and very
controlled, so learners felt confident enough to try designing their own dialogues without
following the suggestions made in the book.
The number of Ss lowered even more in the last hour due to a rehearsal. There’s a mass
tomorrow morning and a group of selected Ss play an important role in it, so they left the
class to comply with that. Therefore, fewer Ss than expected carried out the writing task. As
suggested by my tutor, I collected the works to provide learners with feedback even though I
won’t be in charge of the group next week.
Now that feedback is mentioned, my tutor also asked whether I had planned to ask Ss about
my performance during those 4 classes we spent together. I guess I was a bit discouraged
at the time of designing the plan that I didn’t think about that. Afraid of reading things I
already knew? Maybe. But as my tutor said to me, it’s not easy (I dare say it is not possible)
to change the ways a group of Ss is used to working in a single month when they have been
doing it that way for years.
Comentado [32]: =D

My journal
24
Now that it’s time to write my self-assessment reflection, I know exactly what to write under
the “Thinking forward” heading: No coursebooks for teenagers, not rushing from one unit to
another, especially when you are following one designed for a school of English. I’d like
something similar to what I did with kindergarteners and fifth-graders. Definitely, I’d like to
teach English that way.
Dear Gina
As this was your last entry in this journal, now 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
students?
• 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.
You may now upload this journal to the campus with comments.
Congratulations on your outstanding work during this course!!!
Way to go!!
Cecilia

My journal secondary period Moure Regina checked

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Similar to My journal secondary period Moure Regina checked

Similar to My journal secondary period Moure Regina checked (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

My journal secondary period Moure Regina checked