reflective dimensions

1. INSTITUTO DE FORMACIÓN DOCENTE CONTINUA
LENGUAS VIVAS BARILOCHE (A-052)
Profesorado de Inglés- opción pedagógica a distancia
Subject: Taller de Práctica docente
Student: Muñoz Natalia
Tutor: Aurelia Velazquez
Dimensions of reflective learning
“Reflecting back on my kindergarten
experience”
Thinking back
The purpose of this unique experience was to put into practice and apply
the detailed knowledge that the different subjects showed me off
throughout the years I have been studying. I always thought that the
biggest challenge was going to be to work out with children who were so
little and they had never been in contact with English before I was going
to teach them as in our town kindergarten does not have a L2 in their
curricula.
After the observation period, I knew that the class had certain issues as
regards following directions, paying attention and carrying out the given
activities by their teacher since in many times she had to stop the class

2. in order to stop the children´s misbehaviour. Taking this into account, I
believe that the activities and differentresources used to teach were well
developed since children were motivated and engaged with them. The
activities and different resources followed the Natural Approach. This
theory suggests that learners with high motivation make better and that
visual aids are useful for a meaningful learning. In addition, the input
should be relevant for learners and a relaxed classroom atmosphere
helps learners in their process of learning. Therefore, I consider that the
activities that were carried out by learners were highly motivating
because they responded in a positive way since they were extremely
engaged with the resources like the songs, photocopies and activities.
I believe that in order to develop this experience it was extremely
important to know several teaching strategies since I had to apply them
when I had to ask for silence or attention.
After this experience with little kids, I understood how important it is to
encourage them to work in the activities and to provide them with a
positive feedback since they felt more motivated to participate even
when they did not seem willing to do it. I also learnt that teaching little
kids is more challenging than teaching young learners since their
attention span is shorter than younger learners` so the activities need to
be short, motivating and engaging for them.
I have to confess that I learnt that young kids are more affectionate and
caring than other students and they do not fear when they have to
express their feelings which helped me to develop my order classes with
them as I understood what they loved to do in their classes.
Thinking forward

3. After going through this unique experience that will definitely help me to
improve my future teaching experiences. I believe I would change some
aspects in order to make a better performance, so that my learners
would enjoy more the classes. First, I would take my own technological
gadgets like CD player, TV and projector since the kindergarten did not
have any type of these electronic devices so many of the activities were
not as fun as they were supposed to be since they were carried out in
my personal computer and not all the learners could see. Second, I
consider that the photocopies given were extremely fun and that it was
better for them to paint them with tempera and using their fingers so
these kids love working with their hands rather than singing.
I consider that after this experience I know the importance of having all
our resources ready and being able to improvise in case that the activity
does not work since learners might have got bored so it is extremely
important to plan in advance and to be as flexible as possible in our
teaching classes.
I definitely think that this classes with little kids taught me that working
with them can be a difficult task but at the same time one of the most
rewarding, since they show their love and kindness without any type of
prejudice.
Thinking inwards
My kindergarten practicum was an important experience since it was the
first time I worked with so little kids. I understood that little kids have a
routine and that they are used to having the same teacher everyday who
seems their second mother so when a new teacher enters to their
everyday routine they get anxious, excited and they misbehave when

4. they are not working. After my first class, I realized that routine and
being like a mother was important for them so I started to act like a
mother who taught them English. The fact that they have never had
English before was also a challenge since they were extremely nervous
as they did not understand most of the words. I tried to help them
understand by making body gestures and movements, miming and using
visual aids so the second class was more relaxing for them too. I believe
that this experience taught and made me understand that little kids can
understand without knowing to write or read but this requires more time
and emphasizes the daily input. I wish I could have had the opportunity
of being more than just four short classes with them-
Thinking outward
Thinking about the different pieces of advice I got before starting with
first practicum, I have to say that they really helped to organize the class
and to follow the different steps in a coherent and smooth way in which
learners felt comfortable and relaxed. In addition, my tutor´s feedback in
my lessons plans helped me to think about engaging activities since that
was a rather big issue for me. However, I understood the class dynamics
and the children`s way of working and I could teach them during my four
classes.I made an English portfolio to give them as a souvenir from their
English teacher in which I included the worksheets they did during our
classes. The observation and the practicum helped me realize how a
kindergarten works and how important it is to start from early stages with
the teaching of a second language.