THE CAP IS OVER. LAST REFLECTIONS...

Yes, the CAP is mostly over and I have already finished my practicum in IES Lluís Vives. Now I think I will go to bed better because while I've been implementing the unit every day and night I couldn't avoid thinking on the activities I planned. Depending on how the things were going the day before I changed some contents or I designed new tasks. That's why I think that every single day I worked with the students on this unit was different. I planned plenty of activities and I must admit that most of them had nothing to be with their original conception when they became real. That’s the challenge, I guess. You can design a nice task and spend hours and hours on it and afterwards fail, whereas you can do an activity which didn’t take much of your time and then succeed.

While I was designing this unit I was convinced that only with the participation of my pupils I could achieve some of my objectives. I was in front of a group with a low level of English and partly unmotivated or pessimistic teenagers. I needed to engage them in this project from the beginning and at the end of the first day I thought I could achieve it. The first session, with an advertisement about the need to learn English, a Power Point with a crime scene, some pictures about forensic material and a trailer of ‘Rear Window’, was successful. The interaction student-teacher was fluent and I didn’t have to stress on motivation because they asked and answered without any need to push them. The day after things became more complicated. Now it was their turn to speak. I asked them to summarize in groups of two a text about a specific forensic laboratory and then they had to come in front of the class and explain it to their classmates. In that case I realised they weren’t used to talk aloud and they didn’t like that pressure. The last day some pupils confirmed the impression I got in the questionnaire. Some of them didn’t really enjoy the activity and they felt uncomfortable to speak to an audience. The fact that some of them had such a low level of spoken English turned the activity a little bit slow and tiring for some of the students, which it was a pity because the content was quite interesting. That day I realised I was being too demanding for their taste. Nevertheless, I believe that if we had done the same activity with a Power Point support it would had been different because they wouldn’t have felt so lost and probably the task would have worked better. I decided then to change from task, and as I had 10 minutes left, I decided to start a discussion about Death Penalty. Here the subject attired everybody’s attention. I was glad, we were speaking, interacting, listening and working towards the basic competences.

Apart from improving their oral speech one of my main objectives was to reach their motivation. Did I achieve it? Now I think that sometimes they really enjoyed the class but in some cases they didn’t. It’s really difficult to maintain the motivation in the class and not losing it. But, with no doubt, what I really found most difficult is to generate motivation while teaching grammar. I tried several strategies and I haven’t been teaching long enough to say that I’ve found the clue. I was asked to teach them ‘Modals’ and I assumed they already knew that topic. The problem was they didn’t remember anything and they were listening to me as if everything was new for them. That made me delay the tasks I planned and discard some of them, some nice one I’m sure they would have enjoyed. Now, if I had to implement that unit again I would first check what do they know about modals and then design the activities. It would be like a ‘coming from’ and ‘going to’ previous task necessary to implement a successful six hours unit.

Little by little they got used to my teaching and I think we reached a good climate. My students had always had a good behaviour in class and they were respectful towards me. If the bell rang they waited we finished the task and they never had a bad answer to me. I really enjoyed my time with them. One of my great satisfactions arrived the fifth day when a boy who never used to open his mouth, a really shy boy, started to answer some questions without any need to push him. One of my worries was to make them feel relaxed and be able to participate in class even if they committed errors and in my assessment questionnaire most of them answered that yes, they felt relaxed. Most of them also said that after this unit they felt the need to speak and improve their English, which it is a first step to bring motivation. If you ask them what can they do after the unit, most of them answer they can recognize and understand some crime and scientific vocabulary, give their opinion about a current affair and listen to TV/radio news or other real English audiovisual support and get a general idea of what they are saying, and use modals in their productions. So, from their point of view most of my previous objectives were achieved. However quite a lot of them didn’t like that the teacher spoke all time in English and that she asked a lot of their participation in class. That means that if I stayed more time with them I would have to work harder on these two points so that they fully enjoyed the English class.

Another interesting point was the treasure hunt. Only two out of five groups did the homework I ordered them for the last day. I must admit that first I felt a little bit sad about that. Nevertheless, when the class was over and I read the assessment questionnaire I gave them at home I had a big surprise. Where they were answered ‘What did you enjoy the most from this unit?’ all the people who did the homework answered ‘doing a piece of radio news with my group’. That’s what confirmed me that if you want to reach everybody in an English class you must design plenty of different activities. An unmotivated un disruptive boy enjoyed games a lot, a student who was the whole class half asleep was very keen on ICT activities and joined in the treasure hunt, a diligent girl the modals…

As soon as I had finished the unit with them I felt I had done a first important step in my way to become a teacher. I thanked them all to let me stay and observe them all this time, I think they didn’t really understand why I was so pleased for the chance they gave me. I learned a lot from them but what’s more important they made me aware about my lacks and my needs to become one day a good and respectful English teacher.

THE LESSON PLAN

 had already done 5 days of my lesson plan. I've got lots of feelings and thoughts in my mind, some positive and other negative. Nevertheless most of them are good feelings and I can say I have reached one of my objectives that was to attire the participation of those students who didn't like to answer to any questions done in class. I must say I have a very nice class and I must be very glad with them because they have let me do my practicum with them. But most of my reflexions will be written in my memoria so here I just post you the very first day of my lesson plan. I had technical problems and not everything was as I planned. I tried my power point in another pc the day before but finally they moved me from class so... Anyway, it was a nice first day and the most important thing is that the students looked as if they were enjoying it. The starting point was a Crime in a museum and from here we entered 8 forensic laboratories. We also saw a trailer of 'Rear Window' (La Ventana Indiscreta) from Alfred Hitchock.

WHO'S WHO? AND BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE

The 25th of November my teacher was ill and I had the chance to stay with the class and experience with them a communicative activity. As they were studying the past tenses I prepared a game based on famous people who died killed or in accidents (Ghandi, John Lennon, princess Diane, JFK...). I split the class into two different teams and each of them had to elect a spokesperson. The two representatives had to sit down, one next to the other and in front of the blackboard, and away from their group. Then I gave each team biographical details about a famous (who was he, how did he die, why did they kill him, why is he so important...) and every member of the group had to keep in mind something about this famous and explain it as soon as he can to the spokesperson. Each one had to run to his spokesperson and whisper him the information until he got who was the famous. Every time one team gave the right answer I wrote down 1 point on the blackboard. They had 6 famous. The team who got more points was the one that won. What it most astonished me was that the activity attired the attention of two boys that never wanted to participate in class and that they used to attend the English class completely apathetic. I was glad because I realised they enjoyed the activity and it was also useful to improve my relationship with the pupils.

The next day my teacher was still ill and I stayed one more day with them. She asked me to tell them to do a composition based on some instructions given in the book. As we had some minutes left I decided to know more about them. Like that I could design better my lesson plan and try to do something they really enjoyed. They explained what they would like to study when they finish their studies in the high-school. After that I introduced them the film 'Bowling for Columbine'. This film explores the causes for the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 where two students killed 12 classmates and one teacher. They also wounded 23 others before committing suicide. I asked them if they could imagine for what reason the two boys, who were 16 years old like my students, committed this massacre and we talked about the use of weapons in the USA. Some of the students had seen the film so the activity was even more interesting. The fact that some of them knew it made the rest of the class to keep more interest into it. They gave me their reasons and after all I asked them to tell me what did the two killers do when they finished their assault. All of them told that they run away. When I explained them that they killed themselves they were astonished and when I show them the pictures from the murders (two white skin and blond guys) they were even more surprised.

MY VERY FIRST DAY AS A TEACHER

Two weeks ago I can say it was my very first day as a teacher. I teached the whole class during one hour and I can say I really enjoyed it. The students were great and the participation was quite high even if the subject was a little bit hard (past tenses!). Now I know better the students and I can't stop all day thinking about good activities for my lesson plan that make them join in my exercises. During this class I could see two girls that didn't want to make any effort not even try to give an answer to my requests... So, one of my challenges for the lesson plan is to integrate them in the group. Some of the students are really shy so that can be difficult...

MY FIRST LESSONS

1st Batxillerat
Listening and Speaking
I've already done some activities with the students and I can say I really enjoyed it! I've spent four hours with my 1st of Batxillerat class and we have done plenty of activities (listening, reading comprehension, grammar and speaking). One of the listening activities I found more attractive was a conversation between people from different parts of the world (India, Spain, USA and Canada) with different accents. The situation was quite real and you could imagine some of our students having the same conversation in a future time. That was a useful exercise.

Today my coach let me carry on my own a listening activity. They had to answer true/false and multiple choice questions and most of the students were quite good at answering. I must admit there were only 9 students, as tuesday they split the group, and working in that conditions is a pleasure. Before starting the activity I asked them if there was any word they didn't understood but apparently they hadn't any doubt. Afterwards I realised I should have insisted on it or guess which words could cause them some problems because in fact they failed one of the questions because of a misunderstood word. Later on my coach asked me to follow on with a speaking activity. Maybe is in this kind of activity where you need to be more creative to encourage pupils participation. We were talking about Tanzania. 'Would you like to visit Tanzania?' The first answer we got was 'absolutely no because there are plenty of diseases in that country, nothing to visit, not any interesting building and furthermore it's not nice to see poverty'. At that point you must give positive elements so that the rest of the class gives positive opinions because otherwise the speaking activity is finished in less than one minute. 'But what about wildlife?' 'What about the countryside landscapes?' 'What about meeting new people with another lifestyle?' Hopefully some of them changed their mind and the activity went on.

Exam correction
Last week my coach corrected with their students an exam. Before giving them the results they revise altogether the exercises. Afterwards the teacher gives them the corrected exams with the marks. The students compare with their classmates the corrections and have the chance to ask their teacher if there's something they don't understand. In the case of some students which have failed she recommends them to take extra English lessons. One of the proposals I enjoy the most is that the high school offers to their pupils 1,5 free extra hours of English per week in the same centre with a native teacher. My coach tries to encourage all of them, above all those who have more difficulties, to benefit from this resource.

2nd ESO Observation
Halloween activities
Last Thursday another teacher invited me to see one of his 2nd of ESO classes. It was a split class and they exhibited the histories they made up for Halloween. Some of the presentations were quite good. They used the PC to explain their histories and they even used theatre skills while they were talking. That was a nice experience for everybody. In that case you could see high levels of English and creativity and poor levels of the language. The teacher talked with the kids which didn't create a good job. I guess he encouraged them to do a bigger effort next time.

1st ESO Observation
Learning the colours but also some habits
What a beautiful time we spent with a 1st of ESO class... Apparently they are the ones who have more difficulties in 1st of ESO but they were also the ones who needed more help and as they are only 12 years old they were very sweet. It was rather an 'Aula d'acollida' than an English class. The teacher shows them lots of habits (say hello when you enter the classroom, raise your hand for questions, wait your turn for talking...) and has the challenge to make them concentrate on what they are doing. That's one of the main problems, the lack of attention. She teaches them the colours with a song they find in Internet. As it is a sweet song they enjoy the activity and the lesson is quieter than the teacher expected.

THE LOWEST IS THE LEVEL, THE HARDEST MUST BE THE MOTIVATION

20th of October: IES Lluís Vives, a former primary school built during the Republic in Sants (Barcelona), is where I'll do my practicum with my colleague Anna, who is also studying the CAP. Our tutor is an experienced teacher who has been working in this centre for 15 years. She knows well her students and from the first day you can see she has a good empathy with them. As the English level is extremely different in a same class they have decided to divide all the pupils which integrate a year of ESO into three levels depending on their skills and needs. Although the tutor has assigned me a 1st year of Batxillerat class, the first meeting I had with pupils was with a group of 10 from 4th of ESO in an ICT activity. They were the ones who had the lowest English level of their year and it wasn't at all an easy group. Besides the social and cultural circumstances that might affect to all boys and girls attitude who where there, I must admit that I didn't expect quite an elementary level in 4th of ESO. The teacher had to translate once and again every little thing she said so that her pupils could follow the lesson. One of the boys didn't even unload his rucksack and stood the whole hour in front of the PC with it on. It was as if he was saying 'common, hurry up, I wanna go home'. That was a pity because he seemed to be clever. So, after one hour with them I realized that most of them were unable to concentrate on what were being taught and that they really needed lots of attention, motivation and a well-planned activity which didn't give them the chance to disconnect constantly from the lesson were doing. In that case is where you really must become a creative teacher. So, the lowest is the level, the hardest must be the motivation. That means the teacher must work hard to look for strategies that work with the children.

The bell rang and the lesson finished. Afterwards came a group of 15 from the same year but with a better level in comparison with their previous classmates I met. The first thing I noticed is that when they entered the classroom they said 'Good afternoon' to the teacher. Their concentration capacity was a little bit better, just a little bit, and even if they were more pupils the lesson was quieter and the teacher could do more work with them. Nevertheless, I must say that in the previous lesson the teacher had asked them to bring a CD they have from the text book and only two of a group of 15 brought it! So she had to improvise and change the activity. I asked myself if the same happens when homework is ordered.

NICE TO MEET YOU

21st of October: At 9 h in the morning I've met part of the group I'll be with for two months. I must say that I must be glad. I've a 1st of Batxillerat, which means that these pupils are studying apparently because they want, not because the law says it and that makes the difference. The teacher knows them very well as she has been with them for three years and some of them have even participated in an exchange she organizes every year with another secondary school from Holland. So, the empathy here is guaranteed and teacher and pupils work together to gain a good lesson. Today there are only 11 pupils because they do ICT activities in the Informatics Classroom. I try to remember their names and not to forget their faces as I will stay with them a long period. Today they have reviewed some prepositions because on Thursday they have an exam. Here the participation is high and satisfying for the teacher. Afterwards they have worked on the lyrics of ABBA's song 'Dancing queen'. As it is an attractive song for teenagers they really enjoy it. They imagine how this dancing queen is and here is where the teacher works the best their oral speech. After that, they do a karaoke with the song which makes them to have a good time apart from learning. I can say from my first impression that is a nice group. One of the thing I liked the most is that they help each other a lot, that made me think that for practicum with them I can do exercises to work in pairs or small groups, I'm sure they will enjoy it. Let's see how the rest of the group is next week! If you want to know it you'll have to wait until Wednesday!