Journal entries Secondary Level

1. JOURNAL ENTRIES
SECONDARY LEVEL
I.F.D. N°13
Zapala, Neuquén.
GROUP: 5º 1
STUDENT: Fernanda Emili E. López
Observations’ Journal:
Date: 28/04/15
Class: 5º 1
Today was my first day with the group 5º 1°. I have to say it was completely different from
my previous experiences with the primary level since adolescents’ world is completely
different to children’s. To begin with, I think they didn’t even listen to which my name was
and they showed kind of indifferent to the fact that I was present in one of their English
classes.
I was kind of surprised about the fact that when I asked the teacher about students’
level of English, he said that they were beginners. I’m quite concerned about this because
they are in their last year of secondary education and their level of English should at least
be a little bit higher than the one they own.
The teacher greeted the students and they instantly started to speak in Spanish. He
proposed to play a game of girls against boys so they all showed enthusiasm. The group
was sitting in 4 rows in front of the teacher and looking at the board. The desks are
supposed to be for two people but as many students still don’t have their course books
some students sat in groups of three.

2. The class was mainly devoted to the revision of words which formed part of a
reading previously learnt in class. Students were constantly shouting and were eager to
participate because they were involved in competing against each other. One of the
students who goes to a private school of English was separated from the whole group and
helped the teacher. During the game they behaved correctly and as they were less than 15
students, the group was quite integrated. I believe I’ll notice the different small groups
formed in the next lessons.
The teacher applied different classroom management strategies as competition
games for them to participate and he went around the classroom to check students’
comprehension of instructions. However, students showed little or no empathy towards
learning English. I can say the approach was the communicative one since students
communicated to each other and with the teacher so as to produce language; nevertheless,
instances of English occurred in very few situations. As regards this matter, the teacher
explained to me that students had had few English lessons due to strikes and “Jornadas
Institucionales” which have occurred quite often in the last few months.
I am really encouraged to continue working with this group because I think it is
going to be the most challenging group of my practicum period. I cannot even explain how
enthusiastic I am to help them feel a little bit more at ease with English lessons.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
Excellentattitude Emili!
I’m sure you will!
Considerthat the lessonswill be taught mostlyin L2 and that you must try to fosterL2 use in
class. 
Cecilia
Observations’ Journal 2:
Date: 30/04/15

3. Class: 5 º 1°
Today was my second day with the group 5º 1°. It was completely different to the
first class during which I hardly had spoken to students. Luckily, I could speak with them
and understand their issues about learning English.
I have to admit students’ level of English is quite low since they are revising present
simple and present continuous which had been already taught during their 3rd year of
secondary education. The teacher has revealed to me that what in fact happens to them is
that they are lazy and that’s exactly what I noticed today. Students start doing an activity
presented by the teacher and they cannot finish it. Although the teacher walks around the
classroom, it’s impossible for him to help all of them. A small number of them could finish
the activities presented. What is more, some of them have not bought the course book yet.
The teacher greeted the students and they instantly started to speak in Spanish.
Once again, he proposed to play a game of girls against boys so they all showed
enthusiasm. The group was sitting in 4 rows in front of the teacher and looking at the board.
The class was mainly devoted to the revision of present simple and continuous
tenses. I believe students’ attitude was quite different to the one presented when playing
games. I believe the exposure to grammar rules made them feel distracted and bored. The
teacher presented this in Spanish and checked comprehension of rules in different
situations. Students answered that they understood the rules explained; however, when they
had to complete activities in their books, most of them couldn’t do it alone. I felt as if the
teacher had explained everything and they weren’t present in the lesson whenever they
asked questions which had already been explained before.
The teacher applied different classroom management strategies as competition
games for them to participate and he went around the classroom to check students’
comprehension of instructions. He even sat in different desks to help students understand
the grammar explanations. When I spoke to him, he pointed out that many students come
from another secondary school in which English is taught only after 2nd year of secondary
level and it involved mere translations of texts. Some students showed interest and made an
effort to improve while others already claim that English will be one of the subjects they
won’t pass.

4. I already know what the teacher has asked me to teach and I’m thinking which
would be the best option to help these students feel a little bit more at ease with the English
language.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
What resourcesdoeshe usuallyuse?
What about the kindof tasks?
This is not clearlydescribed,and therefore,the reasonswhy SS are not eager to learnthe
language are not easilyperceived.
Wheneveryouobserve a lesson,make sure you go deeperinto lessonaspectsthat may
contribute to or hinderlearning.There ismuch more to what the teacheror the students say.
Have a great secondary practicum, Emili!
Cecilia
Class Journal 1:
Date: 12/05/15
Time: 40 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°
My first class with this group was really encouraging since I could work on all the aspects I
wanted to review with them. I feel satisfied as regards their development all along the two weeks I
have observed them and today, when I worked with them. I had the chance to have the
headmistress Mónica present in the class. For this reason, I was quite enthusiastic about it since the
course teacher, Nicolás, had already told me about this.
Before the lesson, I was calm, which was surprising for me since I had a few days to
prepare for this lesson. I wanted to teach this lesson so that I could have a glimpse of what my
whole practicum period would be like. I think I was confident before teaching this lesson and I
believe this was shown during the class
As the lesson unfolded, students were encouraged to participate and luckily they all
behaved properly. I believe it was because of the presence of the headmistress; however, she had

5. been the group’s teacher in the past and they were familiar with each other. Moreover, I think
students regarded this activity as revision between Present Simple and Continuous as interesting
since they had to talk about themselves and this is completely different to talking about others or
unfamiliar people. This is something we have been discussing in Didactics III/IV and I was pleased
to see it is what really happens in the classroom.
As regards any inconvenience that may have been present during the lesson, students
complained about the book they had since they couldn’t see the pictures it had and which were
related to the lesson. Nevertheless, I could bring colour pictures to the lesson and I would like to
continue using them since I noticed they enjoy visual material.
My personal analysis is quite positive. I know there is still a lot to be done and students are
about to have exams and they will receive their qualifications card and this usually involves a lot of
stress. The teacher has requested that the following lessons be about revising present simple and
continuous. For this reason, I will have to focus on that but now I will take into account students’
needs.
All in all, I feel confident since students could finish the activity proposed for this lesson.
Although the lesson was only for 40 minutes, I think I made proper use of timing. I need to revise
the seating arrangement since as the tutor commented in the lesson plan, a semi-circle may have
been better. However, I had no opportunity to arrange the seating disposal since students were in
class in the 40 minutes before my lesson. I will take this into account for lessons of 80 minutes.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
Even ifthe lessonis40 minutes,devoting5 minutesto changing the seatingarrangement may
be worth doingas the other 35 minutesmay implymore interaction,and thus, more learning. 
Did SS use L2 inclass?
Cecilia
Class Journal 2:
Date: 14/05/15
Time: 80 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°

6. My second class started quite complicated. I had already planned this lesson and I was
ready to continue with the schedule. However, when I got to the school the headmistress told me
that the teacher Nicolás will be absent for some time. A new teacher was introduced and I was
pleased to know that she had been a student from Lenguas Vivas so she is aware of everything that
this period involves. Her name is Juana Merino and she observed my lesson.
In the first place, everything started a few minutes later so I had to start as quickly as I
could to teach? the vocabulary given. I was not quite sure about the lesson plan since I did not
receive the mark I expected and I was not sure about how students were going to answer to the
presence of a new teacher. I think it started quite well since I could change one of the activities from
the beginning. Students made the matching activity but it also involved them into the lesson and
they mimed some expressions.
As the lesson unfolded, students participated a lot. I was quite surprised by this since
although they are not a shy group, they tend to feel nervous when speaking English . They easily
learnt the vocabulary since the expressions were a mix of previously learnt words and
regular/irregular verbs. I think there is a lot of revising to be done as regards this topic since they
had difficulties to identify irregular verbs. I think it’s important that only few students have the list
of irregular verbs. I have to take into account the fact that this lesson involved a lot of vocabulary
referred to accidents and the main focus was not the use of verbs; however, this is something which
I would like to help students improve .
If I have to name any inconvenience is the fact of being told about this change of teacher
with no time since the lesson I taught was in accordance with the previous teacher’s decisions. Now
I have to develop different lessons for students to revise what they previously learnt. I think this has
only caused troubles to me and not to students, which is the most important aspect.
My personal analysis is mainly positive. I continue feeling confident since I’m starting to
develop a good relationship with students which is important for me. I think it will be interesting to
work with a new teacher who has recently done what I’m doing now. I am excited for the next
lessons with this group.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
Not much is explainedabouthow the SS reacted to your teaching,how effective the activities
and strategieswere,and so on.
Make sure you explore these aspects infuture journal entries.
Goodjob, Emili!

7. Cecilia
Class Journal 3:
Date: 19/05/15
Time: 40 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°
Today I taught the third lesson with this group. I have to say I felt comfortable all the time
and especially after discussing some aspects to take into account for the following lessons with the
teacher. I think I have to enjoy this time of practicum period since that is shown during the lessons.
Although I was quite certain about the lesson plan I had developed; once I received feedback on it,
I couldn’t believe why I didn’t include any context for the pictures and activities developed. I guess
this happens when one is completely stressed out and nervous. I think I’m going under a lot of
pressure because of this and other aspects from my life, and then I did wrong in this lesson plan.
Nevertheless, I carried the lesson with some improvements because it was a revision lesson.
Firstly, students shown surprised after I said that this was a revision lesson for Thursday’s
exam and they all had been informed about it last Thursday. I think most of them had not reviewed
anything for the exam. I started the lesson and it was as if most of them had forgotten everything
about these two tenses which have been studied in the last years from secondary school.
As the lesson unfolded, students asked questions as regards the topics they are going to be
assessed about. Most of them worked in a correct way when writing sentences in the present simple
and continuous and, luckily, we could work with a context in the whole activity since pictures were
used to discuss two different topics, the one I mentioned and the use of different expressions to refer
to their interests. Once again, most of them could complete the activity and we could devote time to
discussing their doubts. I think it is a matter of reviewing the material they have and checking
questions when they have the opportunity to do it so since then it may be too late.
If I have to be completely honest, then the inconvenience I notice is that some part of the
group is always working and asking questions but they seem shy to participate. The rest of the
group seems as if they were in a different planet whenever you start speaking in English. I know
it’s hard for them but on some occasions I just feel that they do not even care about learning this

8. subject. I think I have to work hard to make them realize that English is not an easy subject if one
puts no effort in learning it.
I want and need to improve many aspects. I’m all the time thinking about different
strategies for students to really feel eager to learn this language. I’m getting to the middle stage of
this practicum period; therefore, I’ll do my best.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
Sure, Emili!
Take it easy and get ready to apply what you have beenlearningin Didactics with Darío, and
evenin the first and second year Didactics courses.
Perhaps,the topics are not that interesting,perhapsthe activitiesneedto be adapter to their
interests,among otherissues.
TellingSS theyhave to revise for an examis not that inviting,either.
You couldtry asking SS to change seats, again, change the seatingarrangement, try other
strategiesand materials, as well.
Keepup the hard work and keepreflectingbothon your achievementsandthe aspectsto
improve.
Cecilia
Class Journal 4:
Date: 21/05/15
Time: 80 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°
Today it was the fourth lesson with 5°1°. It had already been arranged that students were
assessed during this lesson; therefore, I planned a test so as to check students’ progress during this
first term. it took me some days to develop this test since I wanted to include everything students
had previously learned and reviewed. Although they didn’t learn so many topics or vocabulary

9. expressions, I think the unit “A world language” was quite complicated for them. What is more,
they also revisited present simple and continuous tenses and phrases to express preferences.
Firstly, I explained all the activities carefully for students to start working as quickly as
possible. I could arrange the sample sent by the tutor before going to school so I could create a
context which would help students understand the activities they were going to do. I think it’s
important the fact that the teacher asked me to prepare this test since it will be something I will have
to do in the future. We have been dealing with this topic in Didactics III/IV and I could put into
practice what we had seen.
As the lesson unfolded, students asked questions as regards the grammar part. I can’t
explain why it’s so difficult for them to remember the difference between present simple and
continuous. I believe they know how to explain when to use them but they tend to forget about their
grammatical compositions. They tend to confuse when to use the verb to be or auxiliaries do/does. I
think it’s a matter of them putting a lot of effort on this aspect. Whenever I asked them questions to
understand their uses, they knew them; however, some of them forgot the important components of
both tenses.
Once again, one part of the group started doing the exam and were completely immersed in
doing it so and asked few and clear questions. On the contrary, the other part of the group which is
usually a more talkative one asked questions without reading correctly the whole test. I think that is
an aspect students need to improve, which is reading everything with careful attention since in
many situations the answer is just in front of us. I believe this is something this group would need to
learn, especially if next year they are going to continue their studies in the university.
As I still have some lessons left, I’ll try to teach some of those reading strategies which one
learns after doing a lot of exams. In some cases, it’s just a matter of experience; nevertheless, I
don’t see why not teaching students this age how to prepare for exams and how to do them.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
Here,there isa contrast impliedthatmakes me think that you have beentold thisshould not be
the case. Is that so?
Is exam trainingthe only purpose they shoulddeveloptheircomprehensionskills?
A lot of food for thought,Emili. 
Cecilia
Class Journal 5:

10. Date: 26/05/15
Time: 40 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°
I’m getting closer to the last lessons with this group; therefore, I devoted a lot of time to
plan a lesson which would be appropriate for students and their learning process. I had thought of a
lesson which would catch their attention from the very beginning. For this reason, I decided to give
the lesson as if I had broken my arm. In this lesson, I really appreciated the fact of how important a
well-developed context is. I acted out the whole lesson since it was a short lesson so I tried students
to be concentrated on the revision we were doing.
Firstly, I helped them revisit previous knowledge about accidents and their correspondent
reactions. I think this was encouraging because I carried a lot of visual material and I also helped
them by giving them some parts of the expressions like the word “tree” in the expression “he
crashed into a tree”. I think students understood the context and were eager to participate.
As the lesson unfolded, students used the L2 on several occasions and this happened in
more times than I had expected. Although their problem is not being shy, the presence of the
camera was quite a surprise for them even when I had explained I would use a camera in the first
lessons. Luckily, students participated and mimed accidents and their reactions whenever I asked
them to do so. The seating arrangement contributed to this because they were close to each other
and could observe the flashcards.
Their reactions as regards the use I made of English was quite well received and they
understood what they had to do. When they were asking to each other how they would react, they
used L2 and some of them L1 but I could ask them to say it in English. The strategies used as the
seating arrangement and the creation of an appropriate context were effective. The aim of the lesson
was that students practiced the correspondent vocabulary. I decided not to further explain about the
uses of conditionals since I thought this would have caused problems to their understanding of the
topic.
I’m trying to do my best in this challenging period which will definitely contribute to my
professional development. What is more, I’m reflecting about issues I had not thought about before
such as the mood and attitude we have whenever we stand in front of any group of students.

11. López, Fernanda Emili E.
Goodthinking!
I’m glad too see how much you are learning and developing,Emili! 
Keepit up!
Cecilia
Class Journal 6:
Date: 26/05/15
Time: 80 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°
This lesson had been postponed for different reasons. First, auxiliaries decided not to go to
school last Thursday (May 28th
) and I couldn’t teach this lesson. Then, I decided to do a different
lesson plan for the 40 minutes class which was supposed to be taught last Tuesday (June 2nd
). This
time classes were suspended due to strong winds in Zapala. In this lesson students had to learn the
past continuous and I could really appreciate the importance of having continuity in the lessons. I
think students do not revisit the subject at home. I do not know if this happens with all the subject
or only with English but it is noticeable. I think vocabulary should be revisited every time it’s
possible. However, not only the students are the ones to be blamed in this situation.
Firstly, context was created through a short video. Students could watch a longer part of the
video which was adapted to their needs. The video clearly showed the use of the past continuous.
Therefore, students could easily understand it. I think the past simple is more complicated for them
since irregular verbs have to be frequently practiced so as to be learnt. Nevertheless, in this case
past continuous did not represent a big problem for them to practice.
As the lesson unfolded, students cooperated with each other and could ask questions using
the tense learnt. Moreover, vocabulary of different activities was seen and this contributed to their
pronunciation practice. I think flashcards were useful and the use of a video really encouraged them
to learn in a different way.

12. They used L2 when asking questions to each other and when writing some sentences for
their partners to complete a true or false activity. The strategies used as the use of visuals and
encouraging material together with the cooperation among students were effective. The aim of the
lesson was that students practiced the correspondent tense. I decided not to combine this tense with
the past simple because I think students still need a lot of practice with both tenses before being
combined.
I believe I’m living the reality of today’s state education. This school has a lot of building
disadvantages and when I finished the lesson students had to leave the school due to the lack of
water in the building. Classes have been suspended once again. It is tiring but what worries me the
most is that students are the ones who have to suffer this reality and that does not benefit them at
all.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
You are right, Emili.Contextsand school situationsare very differentfromwhat we may
consideras ‘ideal educational environments.’Whatcan we teachersdo to improve on that and
helpour students learndespite difficulties?

Keepit up, Emili!!
Cecilia
Class Journal 7:
Date: 09/06/15
Time: 40 minutes
Class: 5 º 1°
Once again this lesson had been postponed for the same reasons that were mentioned in the
previous journal. As today there was a national strike, I didn’t know whether this lesson could be
taught or not. Not many students attended school since tomorrow’s decision about the continuity of
lessons in I.F.D. N° 13 is crucial and many teachers and students have already decided not to
continue lessons in this way. There are lots of problems and I understand the decision taken but it

13. will imply that I cannot end my practicum here. I previously spoke to the teacher and explained the
situation to him; luckily, he attended only this 40 minutes lesson. Students were less than expected
so changes had to be made.
In this lesson students had to review the difference between can and could. Firstly, context
was created through pictures about myself and I used past and present characteristics to show the
difference between both modals. I think the use of pictures of myself was quite encouraging since
students could easily understand the differences between their uses. As there were few students, I
could ask all of them to create sentences on their own. I think this is the positive view of having few
students since I could work with all of them in a more personalized way than when the whole group
is present.
As the lesson unfolded, students could work individually and in pairs. In this case, for the
reading comprehension race I could form the groups according students’ strengths and weaknesses.
Students who understood the topic and had high marks during the exam worked with students who
got low marks in the exam or showed misunderstanding of the topic. Even though groups couldn’t
be formed with 4 people as it had been planned, students enjoyed the activity and the aim was
accomplished.
They used L2 when doing the second activity when they could use creativity and showed
interest in stating why they didn’t do homework. This is something I noticed in this group and that
is the fact that they did homework only when the teacher told them that they wouldn’t pass the
subject if they didn’t hand in their activity books. The strategies used as the use of visuals and
encouraging material together with the cooperation among students were effective. The aim of the
lesson was that students practiced the different uses of can and could and I believe this was
achieved.
I feel I ended up this lesson having mixed emotions since I know there haven’t been
presented solutions to this institution which for many years was my second home. Hopefully, long-
term solutions will be offered to every person involved in this institution.
López, Fernanda Emili E.
Class Journal 8:
Date: 18/06/15
Time: 80 minutes

14. Class: 4th
Year
I could finally teach the eighth lesson of my secondary practicum. After previously
discussing the difficult situation of I.F.D. N°13 with the tutor, she offered me the solution of
teaching this lesson in one of the groups I usually teach. Lessons in I.F.D N°13 will not continue
until at least July 22nd
and that is the day when there will be a meeting; if there are not solutions
offered, classes won’t probably begin this year. As this was the context of the final part of my
practicum, I decided to teach one lesson with my own students.
In this lesson students had to review the uses of should and shouldn’t, must and mustn’t.
Firstly, context was created around the topic of anger. I tried to create a context which would caught
their attention from the very beginning and I believe it was effective. I think the use of a scene of a
movie was quite encouraging since students could easily understand use of it and what the lesson
was going to be about. As there were few students, I could ask all of them personal questions as
regards the situations and the people who usually make them feel angry.
As the lesson unfolded, students could work in pairs and in whole group discussions. In
this case, I created communicative activities which involved a lot of discussion among students. I
think they understood the topic and showed interest about it. Personal matters were discussed and a
relaxed atmosphere was created.
They used L2 all the time and they could use creativity and showed interest in stating their
personal opinions about the topic. I enjoyed the lessons and made jokes in certain situations and this
was noticeable. I have to admit lessons in private institutions tend to be in a completely different
situation than in state ones. Whenever I tried to show students a video I had to take my own
personal computer for them to watch it. However, if students do not have proper central heating at
state schools, then it may be impossible for them to have the proper technology to have different
lessons. As regards the strategies used, I showed students two videos and prepared a PowerPoint
presentations which pictures and definitions for them to understand the vocabulary used in the
videos.
I am quite concerned about I.F.D. N°13 situation but I think that I didn’t have any other
option than teaching this lesson in a different situation. I felt comfortable and the aim of the lesson
was achieved.

15. López, Fernanda Emili E.
Dear Emili
You have managed to fulfill youraims despite all odds. Thislast lessonprovedyou may plan
more communicative classesthat are not so focusedon grammar. Try to implementthisin all
your classes,be themin public or private institutions.
It has beena pleasure to accompany your during thislast stage of your initial teacher education.
Keeplearningand developing!
Cecilia