This summary provides the key details from the document in 3 sentences: This document describes a trainee's experience doing their secondary practicum at a public school in Pigüé, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The trainee observes that most students come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have difficulties concentrating. The English class has 25 students aged 14-15 who have a poor level of English and rely on the teacher translating everything into Spanish.

1. SECONDARY JOURNAL
I´m doing my secondary residence in "Escuela Secundaria N 2", in the
city of Pigüé, in the province of Buenos Aires. The school is located near the
centre of the town. This is a public institution and it is characterized, again as
in my previous practicum experiences, by facing challenging circumstances
and having students from disadvantaged background and students who come
from low income families. Most of them have personal or family problems,
adjustment or developmental issues, or general academic difficulties.
As regards the group of students I´m working with, they are 14-15 years
old, and are 25 in total. They are students with social and emotional
needs,though they seem to have a good relationship between each other.
They are a very active group and most of them have difficulty concentrating.
Some students listen to music while the teacher is explaining.
They do not use a course-book and a have a very POOR level of
English. Their English teacher explains and translates into Spanish so
students do not use the 2nd language in the classroom. Comentario [1]: It would be
interesting to go deeper into the
learners' needs and interests. What
teaching and motivational strategies
does the teacher apply? How would
you feel if you were a student in that
lesson?
What do the images below tell us?
Comentario [2]: Neither the teacher
nor the resources motivate the students
to learn. The materials she uses to
teach do not motivate them to learn
because they are not close to the
students´ interest, likes and level of
English. The only teaching strategy she
applies is translating into Spanish. If I
were in that lesson I would not feel
motivated or engaged at all. The
images below tell us that they want to
express themselves and that they are
also exploring their personal identity. I
think they also show a rebel behaviour
as adolescents like to test parents´and
teachers´ boundaries.

4. Trainee’s name: Johanna Morel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 2nd Year
Date: 5th September
I arrived at the institution and all the teachers welcomed me. Constanza
(the English teacher) and I entered the classroom and she explained to the
students my role there.
The students said hello to me.
The classroom is small so students always sit in pairs.
The English teacher started the lesson giving feedback to students on a
test about present simple they had had the previous week. Some of them
failed and when they saw the marks they just put the test away and continued
talking about something else. They did not care much about the feedback.
After this, the teacher asked if they had any doubt or question related to the
test, but some of them simply admitted they did not study. Then the teacher
gave them a photocopy and read it aloud asking them to listen and pay
attention. Then she asked them if they know who Julia Robert is, they said
they did know. Students did not understand some words from the text so the
teacher translated them into Spanish. After this she asked them to read the
questions about Julia´s routine and circle the correct option. She gave them
some minutes to do them and then they corrected them together.
Comentario [3]: What do you think
about this procedure? Would you have
done the same?
Comentario [4]: I would have asked
them to have a look at their test and
reflect on their mistakes. I would have
also given them feedback and maybe
do some of the activities from the test
together on the board.
Comentario [5]: How could they?
Comentario [6]: They were not
interested in the lesson, they were
talking about something else, listening
to music and using their cellphones.
Comentario [7]: How could the group
be encouraged / motivated to learn?
Comentario [8]: The group could be
encouraged and motivated to learn by
considering the students´ interests and
likes and also their different learning
styles. It would be essential to design
material close to their level of English
and also close to their interests.
Comentario [9]: Was there any task
for students to do while-reading? What
was the text about? Was it of interest to
them?
Comentario [10]: There wasn´t a
while-reading task. The teacher just
gave the students a photocopy about
Julia Roberts´week schedule.

5. Later the teacher asked students to make a chart with the days of the
week and complete it with their daily routines. Later she gave them these
questions:
When do you go to school?
What do you do on Tuesday afternoon?
Where do yo go in the morning?
Then the lesson finished as Constanza asked the students to answer
the questions for the next class.
Notes:
-Most of the students did not finish answering the questions
-Three of the boys were listening to music while the teacher was explaining
-Some of the students are rude and use bad words
-The teacher explained and talked in Spanish.
-Some of the students did not write on their folders neither participated in the
lesson.
- Most of them use their cell phones and even one of the girl was charging her
phone in the classroom.
Trainee’s name: Johanna Morel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 2nd Year
Date: 7th September
During this lesson we entered the classroom and Constanza greeted
the students. Then she gave this photocopy to the students and asked them
what type of text it was (in Spanish). The students answered it was a
personal diary. After this Constanza read the text asking students to listen and
pay attention. The students did not understand some of the words, so the
teacher translated them into Spanish. Then the teacher asked students to
complete the girl's schedule.
Comentario [11]: Why don't you plan
an activity in which they can use their
mobiles / listen to music?
Comentario [12]: _Marcado como
resuelto_
Comentario [13]: _Reabierto_
Comentario [14]: Why did you close
this comment? You may tell us how you
would feel about this type or task =)
Comentario [15]: Sorry I don´t know
what I did. Yes, I would try to plan
activities using movies or songs for the
next lessons. I think they would really
like them... they enjoyed a lot the
power point, so I realized they like
visual and auditory activities.
Comentario [16]: Great! What about
'the pedagogical use of their mobile
phones'? =)
Comentario [17]: Not all of them
have got cellphones. But I´ll see what I
can do.
Comentario [18]: One mobile per
group of three to five students might do.
:) Of course, take
this as a suggestion.
Comentario [19]: Who was the girl?
Was there any context set?
Comentario [20]: I remember the
teacher said, "well you don´t know the
girl, but I do... her name is Margaret".
That was the "context" of the activity.

6. Once they finished, the teacher wrote on the board some questions for them
to copy and answer on their folders.
1- where does Margaret go in the morning? She goes to school...
2- where does she go at 7.30?
3- what does she do at 7.15?
4- what does she do at school?
5- where does she have lunch?
6- when does she go to the sports club?
They answered the first question together as an example and then the teacher
asked them to answer the questions in pairs.The teacher monitored them and
provided help while they were answering the questions.
Notes:
-Most of them could not finish answering the questions
-Students were really noisy
-Constanza reminded them that during the following lessons I will be teaching
them,some of the students got angry and said they did not want a new
teacher.
Trainee’s name: Johanna Morel
Comentario [21]: Why do you think
this was so? Does the teacher only use
texts as didactic resources? How close
to the learners' interests are the
activities?
Comentario [22]: Most of them were
not concentrated on the activity, mainly
because they were not motivated and
engaged in the lesson. Some of the
students didn´t even know who Julia
Robert is.
Comentario [23]: Why?
Comentario [24]: Because they were
not engaged in the lesson and also
because they have English lessons on
the last hour of school, so they are
usually hungry and tired and anxios to
go home.
Comentario [25]: Could you let them
have something to eat / drink in class?
Perhaps they are not allowed, but some
mate / cookies / etc. might help.
Comentario [26]: They are not
allowed,but I´ll see what can be done
Comentario [27]: Is this a natural
reaction on their part? How do you feel
about this?
Remember to share next entries with
both Aurelia and me. Have a great
secondary practicum!
Comentario [28]: I think this is
natural as they are adolescents and
some of them have rebel attitudes and
behaviour and they like to test rules and
boundaries.

7. Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 2nd Year
Date: September 12th
Lesson number: 1
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
This was my first lesson with the 2nd year of Secondary students, so I was
nervous and anxious mainly because during my observation period I could observe
students were unmotivated and uninterested in the subject. Some of them also had
behavioural problems, and used bad words. The lesson was based on the
Communicative approach. During the lesson students were engaged and showed a
positive attitude. First, I presented the new vocabulary using sport flashcards and
students participated saying out loud their favourite sport. Then I showed them a
powerpoint about different athletes to introduce the present continuous structure. I
asked them questions using the new structure and then asked them to repeat. They
were very active and showed a positive attitude.
I could notice that students were paying attention and were really engaged with the
new topic. Students liked the first activity and all of them participated. They also liked
the matching activity and the game. During the last activity they could infer the
difference between present simple and continuous. Constanza (their English
teacher) told me she was happy because she noticed they could understand the
difference between both times.
As regards my teaching strategies, I tried to speak English all the time, I also
used miming a lot. I asked them simple questions for them to answer and made
them repeat vocabulary. In this lesson I included visual aids (the sport flashcards
and the power point to engage visual learners); interpersonal style (students
expressed their favourite sport, they described what the athletes were doing in the
powerpoint, they played a game), to engage students who prefer social activities and
also to engage students who prefer kinesthetic learning; and intrapersonal style (the
matching activity), to engage those students who prefer solitary activities. As regards
the classroom management strategies, I used eye contact to hold students
´attention. I also used gestures, facial expressions and mime, to aid visual interest
and convey the meaning of language. I used my voice to get students´ attention. As
regards the seating arrangement, during this lesson, students were sitting in pairs. I
also used elicitation to find out what students already knew and get them involved
and interested (mainly during the first part of the lesson). I also monitored them and I
could realize most students finished the activities at the same time. I tried to be
encouraging and establish a good rapport to motivate the students I had the right
manners with them and tried to smiled most of the time. I showed a positive and
enthusiastic attitude mainly because most of the learners have personal or family
problems, and they are students with social and emotional needs. So it was
essential to have a positive impact on them.
Comentario [29]: Tenses

8. There is an aspect I would like to improve. Watching my practicum video
video I realized that I could have asked different students come to the front and
mime the action instead of always miming the same person. I also had to use a bit of
Spanish during the explanation of the game. But on the whole, I was happy to see
they were engaged and participating.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived
experiences
During the matching activity I could realize that students were engaged and
motivated in the lesson. They liked the activity and worked really hard. Then we
checked the activity orally and all of them participated.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
For my first lesson I have chosen this phrase because I know I have some
aspects to improve but I'm glad because I could engage students into challenging
activities including a topic of their interest. All the students were motivated to learn,
they showed a positive attitude and participated all throughout the lesson
Comentario [30]: Nice pic!

9. Materials:
Powerpoint:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zcydvech9w8aqi1/OLYMPIC%20GAMES
%20%20joha%20orig1.ppsx?dl=0

14. Video Lesson 1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3s5BRJpk22XRUJENU9uR213Z2c/view?us
p=sharing
Trainee’s name: Johanna Morel
Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 2nd year
Date: 14th September
Lesson number 2
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
This lesson was based on the Communicative Approach. During the lesson
students showed a positive attitude. During the warm-up I showed them photo of
Juan Martin del Potro and they participated answering question orally. They used a
picture of their favourite athlete to write sentences and describe what the athlete was
doing in the picture. I monitored them and they worked really hard. I took some extra
pictures for those who did not take one. During the reading stage they were engaged

15. and payed a lot of attention. The activities were a bit challenging for them, and
needed a lot of help, mainly because they are not used to reading texts, not even in
Spanish.
The activity about adjectives was hard for them, because they are used to
translate everything into Spanish. However, we did it together and they could get it.
The true/false activity was easily for them. They worked in pairs and then we
checked it together on the board. The liked the information mapping activity. They
could do it without any problem.
As regards my teaching strategies, I spoke English most of the time, I also
used miming and I provided examples. I asked simple questions for them to answer.
In this lesson I included visual aids (images of different athletes) interpersonal style
(students worked in pairs during the reading stage and also completing the
information mapping to engage students who like social activities; and intrapersonal
style (students write about their athlete), to engage those students who prefer
solitary activities. As regards the classroom management strategies, I used eye
contact, gestures, facial expressions and mime. I used my voice to get students´
attention. As regards the seating arrangement, students were sitting in pairs. I also
monitored them especially during the last activity and I could realize all of them
worked really hard.
There is an aspect I would like to improve. During this lesson I could notice
they needed a lot of help during some activities related to the reading stage. Though
they were transparent words, maybe I could have used some pictures to help them
get the meaning of some adjectives.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived
experiences
It was great to see that some of them brought a picture of an athlete they like
and worked hard to do the activity.

16. Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
For my second lesson I have chosen this phrase because I though some
activities were difficult for them we worked together and students realized they were
able to do them.

17. Materials:

19. Trainee’s name: Johanna Morel
Practicum level: Secondary

20. Group: 2nd Year
Date: September 19th
Lesson number: 3
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
This was my third lesson with the 2nd year of Secondary students, so I was
more confident now, because during my previous lessons students worked hard and
were engaged in the learning process. The lesson was based on the Communicative
approach. During the lesson students participated a lot. They enjoyed watching the
part of the movie and liked to order in sequence the different parts of the movie.
Then, the placed the vocabulary cards with the correct picture. They worked hard
and could do it without problem. After this, I played the trailer again and students
recited the correct vocabulary out loud by stopping the trailer for each picture scene.
I checked their understanding of the new words by asking questions and
encouraging them to provide the correct answers with examples or miming. During
the last activity I provided them with an example at first and they continue working on
it in pairs. They completed the sentences using the present continuous and the
pictures and vocabulary cards. I monitored and provided help while they were
working. As regards my teaching strategies, I tried to speak English all the time, I
used miming a lot and I asked them simple questions for them to answer and made
them repeat vocabulary. In this lesson I included visual aids (the movie flashcards
and pictures and the trailer to engage visual learners); interpersonal style (students
worked together ordering the pictures and placing the vocabulary cards) to engage
students who prefer social activities; and intrapersonal style (the activity they had to
complete as if they were a TV reporter), to engage those students who prefer solitary
activities. As regards the classroom management strategies, I used eye contact,
gestures, facial expressions and mime, to aid visual interest and convey the meaning
of language. I also used my voice to get students´ attention. As regards the seating
arrangement, during this lesson, students were sitting in pairs. I monitored students,
especially during the last activity in which some of them needed help. I tried to be
encouraging and positive.
There is an aspect I would like to improve. The last activity was hard for some
of them, as in order to do it they were supposed to have all the pictures in order and
the vocabulary cards organized. Some of them were a bit distracted and it was hard
for them to organize all the information. However I provided help to those students
who found it difficult.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived
experiences

21. During this activity I could realize that students were engaged and in the
lesson. They liked the activity and worked together ordering the pictures. Then we
checked the activity orally and all of them participated.
Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
For my this lesson I have chosen this quote, because though the writing
activity was difficult for them it was great to see them working hard and making an
effort to complete the activity.

23. Materials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGsXGak8eKk

25. Trainee’s name: Johanna Morel

26. Practicum level: Secondary
Group: 2nd year
Date: 26th September
Lesson number 4
Section 1: Describing the lesson as it unfolds
This lesson was based on the CLIL and Communicative Approach. During the
warm-up stage I showed the students different pictures related to a song a like. Then
they worked in pairs discussing and matching each picture to its own meaning. They
enjoyed this stage and participated a lot. Before listening to the song, in order to
become familiar with new vocabulary students had to think how they feel
about different situations mentioned in the song. I provided them with six
possible answers. After this, they wrote down how they felt using different
adjectives that also appear in the song. Then, we interacted orally and they
told me how they felt about those situations. They were very active during this
activity. During the while-listening task they were concentrated and tried to
answer the questions, though some of them could not answer all of the
questions, they were able to do it later. The following task was a bit harder for
them, but I helped them, so they kept focus and motivated in the lesson.
During the matching activity they worked in pairs, though they did not know all
the words, they were able to do as there were many transparent words and I
also provided help. When I gave them the lyrics of the song they were excited
and told me they liked the song. We watched the video again and they sang
the song out loud.
As regards my teaching strategies, I spoke English most of the time, though
some of them still did not understand what I was saying, so I also used the sandwich
technique. I also used miming and I provided examples. I asked simple questions
for them to answer. In this lesson I included auditory learning (students listened to a
song) visual aids (pictures related to a song, a video clip) interpersonal style
(students worked in pairs discussing and working in different activities, they sang the
song together) to engage students who like social activities; and intrapersonal style
(students wrote about their feelings), to engage those students who prefer solitary
activities. As regards the classroom management strategies, I used eye contact,
gestures, facial expressions and mime. I used my voice to get students´ attention. As
regards the seating arrangement, students were sitting in pairs. I also monitored
them and provided help.
There are some aspects I would like to improve. During this lesson I could
notice they needed a lot of help during the after- watching task. Although the video
had the lyrics of the song on it, they were not able to do it. So, when I realized they
could not do it and in order to avoid them feeling frustrated or unmotivated, we did it

27. together and I stopped the video on each sentence so that they can complete it.
They could do it without problem this way and I could notice they were glad they
could complete all the sentences.
Section 2: Making sense of the lesson through relevant lived
experiences
I liked this activity because I could notice they were engaged and also I
enjoyed a lot listening to the students talking about their feelings.

28. Section 3: Interpreting the lesson in words and images
For this lesson I've chosen this phrase because though they made some
mistakes, it was great to see them participating and active during the whole lesson.