final reflection

1. INSTITUTO DE FORMACIÓN DOCENTE CONTINUA
LENGUAS VIVAS BARILOCHE (A-052)
Profesorado de Inglés – Opción pedagógica a distancia.
 Subject: taller de práctica docente
 Tutor's name: Aurelia Velázquez
 Student'sname: Nadia Aguirrezabala
 Assignment title: Final reflection
Thinking back
To begin, it was a big challenge to work with this group; first of all because the class is
composed by 11 boys and only six girls, girls tend to be quitter than boys; it was
difficult for me to catch boys` attention.
The teacher in charge of the class does not use English to communicate, she explains
all the activities in Spanish and she translates every single word; students do not feel
the need of learning the second language to communicate.
The first two classes were certainly awful; students did not understand a word and I
felt that I wouldn`t make it; I did not feel ready to teach beginners of primary school,
the lessons were really frustrating.
The third lesson was a bit different; I felt better because I understood that the
practicum period is the process of learning for the training course. Furthermore, that it
was not necessary that everything go perfect, I was there to learn to be a teacher, to
learn how to teach beginners from primary school. That reflection made me charge
myself of energy and to continue with the practice period.
I changed the strategies, I started using only copies that I gave to students, but they
could not follow the instructions, so I decided to use posters with big pictures to
explain the activities; I looked for other kind of tasks to get students` attention and

2. understanding. Also I included games and songs and that works better than the
previous activities.
The topic I had to work with was the verb HAVE/HAS GOT related to the family and to
some possessions. It was significant for students since it is an important verb that they
will use from now on and the vocabulary was about daily objects, words that students
use in Spanish every day.
I had to develop my body language and to use cognates to be understood. It was not
enough speaking, I had to explain activities using the blackboard, posters, pictures,
onomatopoeia and of course mimic.
Thinking Forward
If I had the opportunity of making this practicum again, I would pay more attention to
the needs and characteristics of the group; I would concentrate on visual stimulus and
I would take more time on planning activities and preparing materials from the very
beginning.
Also, I would make a list of friendly words to use on the lessons and to practice them
to incorporate them on my vocabulary.
Thinking Inward
I learned a lot from this experience, children are wonderful and they have a lot of
things to teach us; they have values that many times adults lose on the way.
At first, I thought it was going to be easier, although I had not got experience teaching
children from primary school, I did not think it was going to be so difficult.
Moreover, I think that there is a huge difference from the first lesson to the last one; I
relaxed myself and take this period as it is, a learning period. I feel satisfied, but I
would like to start earlier on the course with the practicum period.
Obviously I do not feel like the same person that got in the school the first day, I
changed my mind, now I can see the whole picture, I do not concentrate only on my
project, but also on students learning process and I could understand that they are
different to each other. I studied the cognitive styles and with this experience I could
learn it by my own.
Thinking Outward

3. With this experience I learned the importance of teaching English speaking in English,
it sounds redundant but it is important to understand that the only way to teach an
idiom is speaking it. Students were not accustomed to listen instructions and to be in
an environment where they may use the second language to communicate; they only
used and listened a few words in English, which made my project more difficult.
There are some social implications on teaching out of the work of teachers; the reality
of the students of the school is a little complicated, most of them do not see that
learning a second language could be useful. What is more, many of them finish the
primary period and do not continue studying. This aspect makes the task of teaching a
bigger challenge; students do not have motivation, so teachers have to look for
strategies to catch them and to make the learning process as enjoyable as possible for
both actors.
Conclusion
On balance, I learned to use different kinds of strategies, of cognitive styles. I could put
into practice some items that I had studied on the course on previous years, I created
games, looked for activities, examples, pictures and everything everywhere. I would
like to have a better experience, but many times I felt frustrated, I could not see the
light at the end of the tunnel. When I finished I felt more relaxing and in my opinion
the last lesson was the better one, since I could organize my head. Moreover, I sustain
that for teaching a language it is necessary to use it all the time, I could see that
translation is not good for students.