My second teaching practice, Second Period!

Fortunately, my second teaching practice was gratifying; I noticed that I improved my teaching during this time. I began the class with a warm up activity in which they had so much fun, because it was dynamic, and especially, this group it was very active, even introverted students had fun and participate in the activity. If one student lost, he had to create a subjunctive mood sentence. Personally, I liked this activity because students had to think and say an example that other students didn´t say before, all the group participated. 

To continue, I gave them a worksheet that the teacher already told me. Before working in the worksheet, I gave them a few examples of subjunctive mood in order to introduce the next activity that consisted in writing an answer to each questions using subjunctive mood. After five minutes, I started to ask for the answers, I knew that there could be more than one option for the answers, and it was, some students had different answers, but the most important thing it was that the answers were correct.

Later, I asked them to make couples to talk about "Dealing with Stress" for some minutes; the teacher told me that they already knew about that topic because the students were going to talk about it in their impromptu speech, So I strongly believed that this activity could help them to improve in their speaking, fluency and to clarify ideas about it.

In addition, I asked the students to make trios and read an article from the book about "Dealing with Stress" and also, look for new vocabulary. I decided to make trios, despite sometimes could be wrong, because I asked them to read aloud one student for each paragraph in order to improve their pronunciation. Short time later, I asked the students if they had found new vocabulary, and some of them asked me for the meaning of some words, I answered them. Then, I asked some of them to read aloud in order to help them to feel less shy and improve their confidence at the moment to talk in front of the class, because I knew that they were going to had an impromptu speech with the teacher Walter.

To finish, students worked in an activity from the book in which they had to complete the information, using the subjunctive mood, for example if they had the beginning of the sentence, they had to complete with new information, something invented. Then, I asked some of them to give me they own examples based on the information in the book. Finally, I asked them to work in a worksheet that the teacher Walter asked me to do, in which they had to complete, order o create subjunctive mood sentences. However, I couldn´t review it, the teacher told me that my teaching time was exact and that I didn´t have to worry about review, because that activity was an extra just in the case to  need to cover any space, so, he was going to review it the next class because it was the homework. Briefly, in the feedback, the teacher Walter told me that I really did a better job this time, obviously, the developing of the class was much better and he advised me to continue like that. I had never thought that I could achieve it, no because getting better grades, but for improving in my teaching.

My first teaching practice,second period.

During my teaching practice in the second period, I felt more comfortable and able to do a better job; I realized that I improved my teaching because I commit less mistakes and I got not nervous; this time, I felt more competent as a teacher and actually, the develop of the class was much better. 

Through my class observation, I could observe that It was a big group, what meant that had some advantages and disadvantages but I started to think about activities that could be appropriated for them. 

Basically, to start with the class, I began to introduce myself, telling them my name, asking how was their week , why I was going to  teach the class on Mondays and what were my expectations with them. Then, I developed a warm up in which they had to introduce themselves telling their name and why they were studying English; however, my error was that I didn´t understood what the teacher had already told me before, he told me as advice, to do a warm up in order to break the ice, so he recommended me to develop an activity that could help me to know a little about them, So, despite it was a simple activity, I took some time to develop.

 Despite the inconvenient, I continued with the second activity, I already had written some questions on the board, according to a discussion about the topic "Frustration" like for example: What is your biggest frustration? What things make people feel commonly frustrated and why? etc.  I formulated the questions because sometimes, the internet doesn´t have  what we as  teachers really need to take to develop the activities with the students, so in many cases, the teacher has to invent or create the material that it will be more successful with students. I formulated questions according their interest, or situations that they were passing related with got frustration. During the discussion I was monitoring them in order to check if they were working in the activity or help them if they had any doubt or question. I realized that all the students were working and interested in the activity, that made me fell very well because everyone was paying attention to my class. After they discussed, I started to ask questions to some of them, and I could observe that they were very participate and their opinions were very good. In personal, I really liked this activity because I could interact with the students and talking a little more, that helped me to know them better and have more communication with them, so at the end of the activity students were more attentive to the class and they felt more comfortable. I strongly believe that this activity it was  successful for helping students to practice their speaking, fluency and express their opinions.

In addition, the activity of "Frustration" is going to take into consideration for their next oral exams and impromptu speech, I hope that through the practice of talking about it, it could help them to be more prepare and have and idea about this topic.

Moreover, the grammar that I used were "Past Progressive, Past Perfect and Past Perfect Progressive". So it was a little complicated because it was advanced level. But fortunately, I liked it because students understood me when I was explaining the class to them.

Then, I asked them to make trios to work in a worksheet to develop some exercises that the teacher asked me to work it,in the activity, Students had to create the Wh-questions for the answers giving to them, focusing on the underlined words to create the questions. I gave them some minutes to do it and then I started to ask some of them the answers, respectively. Some of them had different answers in some of the questions, but actually, it was right.

 Later on, I continued with the next activity, I asked to the students  to make pairs or trios to work in the book, page 30. In this activity, the student had to complete the sentences in the book, adding  "Wh-words" or "no matter" in some cases. I decided not to do many writing activities, so I asked to the students to complete the sentences just by talking and not writing the sentences, I gave them some minutes to do it. Short time later, I asked some of them to give me some examples, and many of them participated in the activity and the sentences were well structured. Even I wasn´t doing CCQ yet, I could realized that they were understanding the class.

To finish, I gave the students a worksheet in which they had to look at the pictures and complete the sentences using the past simple and the past perfect. The teacher asked me to work in this activity, despite it was a writing activity, I realized that It was helpful because after students finishing I noticed that all of them understood the class. 

Something that I have to improve is the timing because, I finished 5 minutes before, but It will be something that I will consider for the next time. 

My Second Teaching Practice!!

In my second practice , everything was much better, I could close to my students a little more and I felt more confident developing my class.

The first activity was a warm up in which students had to make groups of 5 and choose one color envelope per group, then they had to open it and read the piece of paper that contained 5 prepositions of place; students had to create a sentences and read aloud one by one in their group, then after some minutes, I asked some of the students to give me an example and they did it perfectly. These type of activities are difficult because you had to spend much of your time to prepare it.

Then, I used a reading to present the topic, and this activity as the previous one, I invented to use it and that´s one of my favorite experiences in my preparation as a future teacher, I felt comfortable to be able to decide to change somethings, for example: many activities in the lesson were about places that students didn´t know, so I changed it and I created a reading about where is the Santa Ana Cathedral? and places from El Salvador in order to transport students to get more familiar and to be able to use it in their real situations. Then, I asked them to work in pairs and practice the conversation.

Later, I developed my class with a listening activity, they listened twice and then students worked in a worksheet activity. I continued with my favorite activity, "sentences strips", because I could notice that they enjoyed it a lot and worked hard in learning and doing the best. Everyone participated in this activity and they helped each other. Finally in the last activity I asked students to describe some famous locations in their hometown. Many of them described Ahuchapan because they are from there. I felt very proud that I could achieve my goals, I mean what I expected them to be able to do it. It was satisfactory and I had never felt that before, its something that  you can feel when you are a teacher.

The teacher told me that he was surprised to see my activities and how I could adapt to our country, this was what he and me most liked about my teaching class.

What I have to improve it´s the seating arrangement, I couldn´t change it in my second class because the students of one class before were receiving the class in our room and it was to late, and they didn´t go outside the classroom. So I have to start to late, but fortunately, it didn´t affect me to much. I expect improving every more time and continue to make more effort and less mistakes.

Good lucky for all my classmates!!

My first Teaching Practice !!

 My  first teaching practice was on February 14 , in basic level and the topic was "Prepositions of Place" it was really nice and important experience for me, It was so difficult  to prepared the class, because I wanted to do the best of myself as a teacher but I had never teach in the university and I look so young and that really worried me, because I am 1 or 2  years old than them, I felt that was a disadvantage; however, I was completed wrong.

First, I wrote the date, the agenda and the topic, but they already knew my name, because my tutor asked me to introduce myself in the previous class observation, however, I introduced myself again and greeted the students asking them how was their week. Then, I started the class with a warm up using a game called "Running Race" in which students had to make groups of 5, they developed a very dynamic activity. Later, I presented the topic by using a listening conversation, students had to listen and practice the conversation in pairs and change the roles, I decided to ask them to work in pairs for the students who are shy or don´t like to develop dynamic activities and also because It´s successful for listening learners and students can practice their speaking. 

Then, I continued with the grammar explanation, I tried to explain them many times in order to they could understand that I didn´t realize that I took more time, I have to improve don´t waste a lot of time in the grammar explanation for my next classes. In addition, I gave them simple examples to facilitate students learning. For the control practice, they had to look the city map that was in the board asking and answering questions about where were the places in the city map?. The semi practice was one of my favorites activities, because I invented it by myself, I thought about what I could use for semi practice and I had the idea to make students to participate not just in speaking, so I made a chart in which students had to pass to the front and write one sentence using prepositions of places according to a city map, students passed to write to the chart on the board. ,I really liked this activity because makes me feel great that students took the marker and passed to the front to write a sentences by themselves, that´s meant that they understood very well, and that was my best satisfaction.

 Finally,for the free practice, I asked students to draw a map of their neighborhood describing the locations of the places around their houses. 

In the feedback, teacher told me that he liked the use of visual, because get´s students attention, and the activities were very nice, also told me that the use of charts avoid me to waste time in writing on the board and that was right to monitor my students when they were working, but what I need to improve is the seating arrangement, because it was kind of difficult for me to walk around and monitor them and he also told me that I needed to have more self confidence, because I did it well, he told me, but I guess that it was because I was nervous to teach my first time. I know that I could do it better the following practices and the mistakes that I committed this time, I have to avoid for the next time.

Good luck for all my Classmates!!!