Adventure of Teaching @adventureofteaching-blog - Tumblr Blog

Introduction

The journey of teaching-learning has not been easy; however, it has been fun, interesting, and innovative. The teaching-learning process always requires efforts, patient, passion, and optimism, but the results are gratifying. Through this adventure we called teaching, we have got many good experiences and we have experimented a growing in our professional skills.

Adventurers are constantly being challeged by circumstances. They find a life test that might scare them, but they always face them, getting the resources they have, going inside and devise a plan, and presenting themselves to what they encounter. You have everything to be an adventurer. Are you ready to take the first step?

#cesarlarrazabal #madelynmorales #cristhiantacon #leslievega #marvinvelasquez #first

Formative Feedback about the Subject: César Larrazabal

Mr. Quintanilla has been a clear example of a person that is really committed to his work.

He has provided since the very beginning a clear path where he wanted us to go.

He has followed all the regulations from the unversity, adpating himself to the law.

He has been empathetic when things go wrong, providing solutions to students instead of being closed and rude.

He has given clear instructions on the activities he has assigned most of the time.

He has presented himself available in case of any doubt.

He has reflected in himself what he would like from us in each class.

He has been punctual and responsible with each assignment.

He has provided with the material to be worked with since the very beginning.

In the syllabus, he established all the evaluations with anticipation.

To sum up: he has worked to accomplish with all what is needed to be a real Didactics teacher.

#cesarlarrazabal #thirteenth

Formative Feedback about the Subject: Madelyn Morales

Although it was my first time taking classes with T. Frank, I felt welcomed and comfortable during the whole semester. That is why, I suggest him to continue doing group activities in classes since I think it is a good way for students to understand and manage new topics. Also, I suggest him to continue giving educational sites to get ideas for making activities since they are useful when doing the teaching practices and continue making varied activities. Besides that, I think it is a good idea to continue making discussions or giving opinions toward a topic since, in my opinion, it made me feel engaged to pay attention to the presentations and with the content of classes. In addition, it was a great learning time, and it also helps me to improve my responsibility, punctuality, and dedication.

#madelynmorales #thirteenth

Formative Feedback about the Subject: Cristhian Tacón

For me, this course was excellent. I liked the way we studied each topic. The teacher was always making us thinking about why some topics we important for our professional development. Therefore, we did not see the topics shallowly, but we studied them deeply. Also, I liked the way the teacher used to give us feedback. When we had demo classes, for instance, he used to write each detail he observed and after the presentation, he told us what we did well and what we had to improve. That is very helpful for students. I would like the teacher to continue doing it. Finally, I liked the teacher’s attitude. He was always willing to help us in any thing that we asked him. He showed that he really cared for our learning. All in all, DEL III was excellent since we studied deeply the topics and the teacher was committed to help us.

#cristhiantacon #thirteenth

Formative Feedback about the Subject: Leslie Vega

I could see that the level of complexity of the subject was higher than in the previous Didactics. I was amazed of the smoothness and facility in which the teacher delivered each topic. This course proved me that the experience and knowledge the teacher has makes a different in students’ learning. The teacher made us really interact with each topic that was presented. We did not learn just to pass an evaluation, but we learn to acquire new techniques and experiences for our teaching. I encourage the teacher to continue working like that, making interaction between student-student, and student-topic the main focus of each class. The teacher made us be into the topics even outside the classroom. We had to analyze and not just read what was assigned to us. This subject helped me clarify doubts I had from the teaching world. Finally, I experimented what real learning is.

#leslievega #thirteenth

Formative Feedback about the Subject: Marvin Velásquez

In my opinion, the course was very helpful to improve our teaching. I think that this course have served me as boost to my teaching skills because now I am more confident when planning a class, and also I am more effective when giving classes. In addition, I liked the way the teacher gives his classes. I think that he should continue teaching in that way, giving examples of the topics and providing students the necessary tools for learning. Besides, I really liked that the teacher provided us the documents for lesson planning. Thanks to that, my repertoire is wider than ever before. I suggest the teacher to continue doing that because students benefit a lot from those resources. In essence, this course has been very fruitful for me because it helped me to grow as a teacher, and thanks to the teacher I have many tools to work with.

#marvinvelasquez #thirteenth

Self-assesment: César Larrazabal

I've used the criteria that the teacher used to have a self assessment in this subject. I understood the need to create completely specific learning objectives and to always direct the classes in that direction. I consider that the lesson introductions an closures are being worked out little by little. I have bettered my to include participation in learning. I need to practice more with instructions and explanations, though; sometimes I may get in blank or hesitate too much in the middle of activities. With individual and group learning, I have worked a lot, whereas with feedback, the topic I was very reluctant to talk about, I'm on my way to incorporate it in all aspects of my life. I have spent hardship with technology resources; I need to improve my knowledge about LCD projectors. The same happens with charts and hand-crafted materials; I have to spend a lot of time preparing them because I don't enjoy making them on my own. When it comes to classroom management, I know that I have to be constantly looking for "victims" who don't follow the routines or rules, as well as conventional guidelines in a classroom. I've noticed that I'm getting used to direct myself to all the class and that I'm more attentive and responsive to my students. In communication, though I consider it is my advantage with pronunciation, grammar, and voice projection, I need to work on fluency, vocabulary, intonation and enthusiasm. In a nutshell, by recognizing my strengths and weaknesses, I have a clear map that shows me where I need to strive more.

#cesarlarrazabal #twelveth

Self-assesment: Madelyn Morales

During the development of this subject, I have learned from the mistakes I have made, for example, my attitude and energy in class, lesson plan every class, the control of students' attention, the use of bad use of feedback, etc. Besides, I have grown as a person, for when working with others, I learned how to solve problems and deal with differences. Also, I learned many strategies for teaching either basic or complex topics; for example, to use the body to learn new vocabulary as mimics, to group students to learn from others, to use the L1 of students to make the difference between languages, among others. Furthermore, I have learned from my classmates: their creativity, enthusiasm, techniques when teaching, the management of the class, and activities. I have put into practice their pieces of advice as to prepare classes with anticipation or to use activities during explanations. I am sure I have learned a lot from my surroundings; although, I still have many things to improve since I have had good and bad experiences.

#madelynmorales #twelveth

Self-assessment: Cristhian Tacón

Didactics of the English Language III has been a source of learning for me. In the first place, I learned some things that were not clear for me before, especially, lesson planning. Before this semester I had a lot of doubts about lesson planning, but now I have learned a lot about it. Also, I learned how to give feedback and how to use many teaching approaches. In this subject, I also learned teamwork. I liked to work with the guys I had to as they were proactive and responsible. We did not have any problems at planning, organizing and running our lessons. One thing that helped me a lot was “learning from mistakes”. There was a demo class that we did not run as we expected. In my case, I recognize that I procrastinated a lot, and at the end, I was too anxious for finishing my part of the lesson that I did not even have a rehearsal of my participation before. I learned that I have to change my habit of procrastinating. Therefore, this course helped me understand better some topics, work in teams and learn the consequences of procrastination.

#cristhiantacon #twelveth

Self-assessment: Leslie Vega

Didactics III was a rollercoaster for me. Even though there are a lot of things that I still have to improve, the difference between when the course started and when it finishes is huge. There were a lot of things that were new for me since there were some things that were now explained to me in the past. I learned the things that make a teacher, a teacher. I also learned how to create more detailed and organized lesson plans: its follow ups, the different kinds of activities, and the pre, during, and post stages of every part of the lesson plan. I improved the way in which I create objectives because now I know Bloom’s Taxonomy. For me, the learning was significate because I could interact, discuss, and reflect on each topic, and that is the way I learn the most. I definitely could see me as a protagonist of my own learning, acquiring and analyzing new things. I have had good and bad experiences but I learned from every single one of them. Didactics took the best of me, and I tried to take the best from Didactics. All in all, I learned a lot and now I can focus more on the things that I have to improve.

#leslievega #twelveth

Self-assessment: Marvin Velásquez

In this semester, I consider that I did well the things; however, there are some aspects to change. In the positive things, I improved a lot in my lesson planning since it was so difficult for me at the very beginning. Thanks to the course, I could learn how to construct a good lesson plan with specific objectives and meaningful activities. At the beginning of the course, it was kind of difficult the rhythm of the class because it was the first time in that group. However, I could adapt to the teacher’s way, and learn from him. In the things that need to be improved, I have that it is still difficult to me the lead in activities. Even though I learned about that, I have some troubles when planning a good transition between stages in a lesson plan. Also, what I learned from the course was really helpful, and also I obtained experience. My learning was successful because now I have more knowledge and experience than before.

#marvinvelasquez #twelveth

High School Teaching Practicum Experience: César Larrazabal

Teaching actual classes myself is conscious-making and mind-opening. This is the space where we can show what we can do. There is no more if I were a teacher, I would; in this moment, one has the option to make a difference to stand out or to function in the role as all the other teachers do. This teaching practicum helped me realize the points I need to work on more, the ones I’m in the process very clear.

My strengths are voice projection, engagement, energy, and communication skills. Although at the beginning, I was reluctant to start directing activities, I’ve noticed that every time I am up to the front of a class, I feel more confident to speak. Likewise, I have been able to establish a good rapport with students by being easy-going and trying to engage with them whenever possible.

My areas of improvement are classroom management, discipline, and lesson planning. I could have gotten a well managed classroom if I had not presented myself very friendly and soft at the beginning. That was my breaking point. My cooperating teacher had already advised me to be strict with them, but I did not quite obey that direction completely. I know that the activities I would plan functioned sometimes, but I have to use constantly the phrase “Ok, everybody, let’s pay attention to…” My frustration was evident a couple of times, as well. I learned that I have to be rigid at the beginning and becoming to loosing down as the course advances and they are getting used to that way of working. The opposite won’t work. Besides, discipline is based to have an appropriate environment for learning. The final point that I have to improve is to plan lessons. Sometimes, I would not adapt my activities, so my students would end up lost without knowing what to do. I struggled a lot creating activities and practices that might change the routinary fill-in-the-blank actions.

To addess these improvement areas, I will

set a working class tone from the very beginning

maintain discipline from the first behavior found in class

take notes of the types of activities that I’m working on to vary the skills to be developed, the warm ups, and the nature of the activities.

#cesarlarrazabal #seventh

High School Teaching Practicum Experience: Madelyn Morales

It was a nice experience to work with teenagers; although it requires more effort to prepare the classes, to keep them paying attention, to control their behavior, etc. During this task, I discovered many things about me; for example, I found out I have problems when explaining a topic spontaneously, so I have to prepare explanations with anticipation. Also, I found out I am good at giving examples, at making students participate, at engaging students in classes, so I have to keep working in that way. Besides that, I noticed I have to work in my pronunciation and fluency and to manage the time when teaching, so I have to look for pronunciations of the words before classes and to practice how to explain a topic before classes.To control the time, I have also to practice before classes and take the time when giving directions. Furthermore, I learned the importance of planning classes with anticipation, for classes have a better flow, students comprehend and participate more, there is confident in classes, explanations are understandable, among others.

#madelynmorales #seventh

Professional Development

César Larrazabal

Although the pronunciation included in the videos might be slightly different from the ones we are used to, I have two favorite British websites that are completely useful. They have podcasts, programs, grammar exercises, resources, and articles about English teaching.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bbclearningenglish

It also has a YouTube channel, which is mainly focused on learning, but they can help you get ideas to teach with their outstandingly creative ideas, such as talk shows explaining grammar and a pronunciation workshop.

https://www.britishcouncil.org/

Here the main focus is on podcasts. It has many videos and lectures in the downloadable app, too. They are crucial for teaching to study for standardized tests as TOEFL, TOEIC and others.

In order to avoid the preference over British sites, I also suggest you revise these two YouTube channels to learn American pronunciation.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-MSYk9R94F3TMuKAnQ7dDg

In their app-based videos, all the phonemes of American English are taught in context, with their corresponding examples and phonemic transcriptions.

Madelyn Morales

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9SpbqR8-Kc

Motivation is an important factor for people to continue learning since a person without motivation does not allow him/herself to learn more. That is why, I think this video can help people who want to continue acquiring knowledge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roVi9l3MKt0

https://betterlesson.com/

https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/best-professional-development-websites-and-plns-for-teachers

I also think this material could help a teacher who wants to enrich his/her knowledge, for there are some programs that allow teachers to learn online and help them to improve their skills.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCve1_r0O9nxyYYBh36apfww

This Guatemalan English teacher shares what she does in her experiences. Ranging from her decision to become a teacher up to warm-up activities and videos of whole classes, Lucie enthusiastically includes all what an EFL teacher wants to know. The best part is that her videos are in Spanish, as she teaches English for Spanish speakers.

Cristhian Tacón

https://worksheets.theteacherscorner.net

This is a very useful website in which we can create worksheets for our practices; for example, we can create crosswords.

https://www.englishgrammar.org

This site lists the grammar rules of the English alphabetically, and they are easily accessible. Not only that, they provide PDF files of lessons on these rules that you can use with your students.

https://www.youtube.com/user/rachelsenglish

For me, this site is the ultimate resource to understand phonology of English. Rachel explains the pronunciation of actual words in daily speech. She deconstructs conversations into the sounds and explains phonological variations, such as the flat T, assimilation, vowel reductions, etc. Rachel has a series of videos of many often-mispronounced words for free.

Leslie Vega

https://www.telc.net/en/about-telc/news/detail/tips-for-teaching-a-foreign-language.html

The link talks by itself. In there, you will find many useful and practical tips that will help any teacher to teach a foreign language. What caught my attention in that article is that it is focused in student-centered instruction. These tips help teachers bring context into the classroom and motivate students.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrU6YJle6Q4

This TED Talk is very interesting since it may help teachers introduce them into the students’ world. What the behaviors mean, and what are the messages that students usually send, consciously or unconsciously.

Marvin Velásquez

https://www.learningpersonalized.com/how-to-encourage-student-interest-in-foreign-language-learning/

I recommend this article because I think that we as teachers EFL need to cultivate the interest in learning languages. This article provides some good suggestions to motivate students.

https://www.readingandwritinghaven.com/best-books-for-english-teachers-professional-development/

Reading and Writing Haven’s BEST BOOKS FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. In this article, a list of book recommended for all the English teachers. It’s a great resource to read when we are on our reflective vacations.

#cesarlarrazabal #madelynmorales #cristhiantacon #leslievega #marvinvelasquez #eleventh

Analysis of Microteaching Sessions: César Larrazabal

Didactics classes have worked as an application laboratory. Opportunities to apply what has been learned are everywhere. I have been subject of the teaching opportunities as well. While being up to the front, my performance empowered my teaching skills in the following ways:

Experience. “I have no previous experience” may one of us say in a job interview or a CV, but the demo class presentations do serve as experience of having given a classes and taught knowledge and skills. I have more experience now with the demo classes than at the beginning of the semester.

Readiness. One of these days, I was wondering if I was ready to teach in the outer world. More immediate: I thought of me giving classes in the teaching practicum. Whether I feel ready or not does not worry me. With the demo classes, I do know now a class’ skeleton.

Preparation. Demo classes are just a part of what should be done by a teacher every day. A teacher should be prepared in all the sense for the classes to be productive.

Criteria. After having been exposed to evaluations in which the criteria is in the game like communication, feedback, dressing, and objectives, these guidelines are likely to be stuck to my head in each class.

Group work. These demo classes are a space full of opportunities to rehearse teamwork, partnership and leadership. All the features that a 21st century teacher would have to relate to working in groups.

Projects. PBL, as I exposed, keeps forever. What I’ve taught in my demo classes will not get out of my head. So would all the knowledge exposed as I remember my classmates’ participation and their material.

#cesarlarrazabal #tenth

Analysis of Microteaching Sessions: Madelyn Morales

I think the microteaching section helps me a lot to improve my skills. First, it helps me reflect on my abilities; for example, how fluent I am, how well do I work under pressure, if I have to improve my pronunciation if I have to work on explanations, among others. Second, it helps me to put into practice new methods and techniques when teaching; for instance, make students speak aloud, include every student in classes, provide feedback to students, etc. Finally, it helps me to improve my lesson planning skills; since I have problems when planning classes, I participated in the elaboration of the lessons of demo-classes more than usual. Now, I can say that I have improved a lot in that area; for example, I know how important the focus of the objectives are and what kind of verb I have to use.

#madelynmorales #tenth

Analysis of Microteaching Sessions: Cristhian Tacón

The micro teaching sessions I had during the semester were an essential part of my professional development as a teacher. Through those sessions, I learned how to carry out activities and have a good rapport when presenting a lesson. Only reading theory in books is not enough; we have to put that into practice. Besides, we need someone who help us identify which areas we have developed and which ones we need to improve. These sessions helped me understand different approaches for teaching a second language. Since we were asked to teach those topics, we put an extra effort to understand them very well. I can surely say that we learn when we teach because we have to know very well what we teach. The micro teaching sessions empowered me as they left me a repertoire of resources and teaching ideas for my classes. Now, I feel more confident when I have to teach since I know what I can use to teach X topic; for instance, in my last demo class, I learned how to use Movie Maker to create interesting videos. All in all, the micro teaching sessions empowered me to become an effective EFL teacher since they helped me know how to carry out activities, understand different topics, have a repertoire of resources for my classes.

#cristhiantacon #tenth

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