Capstone Project I. Teach English Now.

1. The first task of the Capstone I Project
Teaching Purpose: From an early age, I was aware that my father had traveled to the
United States, to reside there. I was only five years old when my father decided to separate
from my mother. For some reason, I got the idea that someday I could go to live in the
United States. This thought, produced in me the need to learn to speak English. But it was a
teacher when I was studying in high school, which made me more critical of this need to
speak English; so before I changed school during my senior year of high school, I promised
to that teacher that when we met again, I would only speak English with him. So it
happened, I spent about two years, and when I met again with the teacher, I could show him
that I had tried to speak only in English with him.
That is the reason why I became an English teacher, to be an instrument of those who truly
yearned like me, to speak this important language. My first opportunity to put my
knowledge into practice in the English language was when I became a tourist guide. Then, I
started working as a teacher of English for a school; that school assigned me students at the
general basic level. By that time, I had already completed several English courses, through
schools in the United States; Hemphill School, California Aircraft Institute, among others.
In these moments I am a teacher of English for different careers, and my purposes with my
students are that they acquire the necessary tools in the communicative aspect that allows
them to have a proper bilingual function in their jobs. Some of my students are technical in
electricity, audiovisual communication, environment, medical records, among others. I
must point out here that the tools, strategies, and techniques that I learn here in the
programs of COURSERA courses are handy to develop my classes.
My Teaching style: At this moment my students do not need to have an advanced level of
English, due to, I work with general basic English levels, that is, confirming the writing,
reading, and essential communication aspects. I may the student understand how important
is for them to speak English because, at the end of a degree, the law in Panama requires the
graduate must complete a sufficiency assessment to recognize their level of English. I base
my teaching techniques through the Communicative Approach model (1980). I often use
role play, teamwork, dialogues and conversations through combinations of the
Communicative Approach and the Direct Approach methods (1900). Some of my students
observed some shyness to participate in the classes, so the techniques of Affective
Humanistic Approach (1970), are instrumental in these cases.
Teaching Techniques: Gaining attention and motivation of the students is fundamental in
my classes, so, the achievement of motivation in my students is significant for me. I try to
make my students see the importance of speaking English. At the beginning of my classes,
I always try to motivate my students, and may they see the benefits to talk English as a
professional and for the social lives. Above all, I remind them that obtaining their degree of
graduation from any career at grade level; they will have to demonstrate knowledge of the
English language as reading, writing, and communication depending on the field they have
studied. I show them newspaper clippings showing the requisites to fill vacancies in sub
executive and executive positions. English language levels are required, in the same way,
the difference in salaries that there are in the call centers for those who speak English. Who

2. differentiate up to the US $ 300.00, unlike the same position with those who only speak
Spanish. These elements make students focus on the reality that today means the
professional who speaks or does not speak English.
I want to mention two stories of students in my classes, during my time as a teacher of
English. One of them was a professional woman; she was in the area of administration and
hospitality. She was one of my students in an English class as a second language program
at the O & M University in the Dominican Republic. She said that when she had her
interviewed for an Executive position for the Meliá Hotels chain, but she could not get the
job due to her lack of speaking English.
Another case occurred in one of my English classes in Panama, at UDI University, this
student told us. I was interviewed for an executive position in an international company
established in Panama, who was looking for a representative for foreign affairs, missed this
fantastic opportunity, for not knowing how to speak English.
Jesus Mejia