Final reflection of the subject: Practicum III

After finishing the subject, I must confess that at the beginning I was very excited about it. Teaching English at a school was one of my dreams, one of the most important parts of my teaching degree. Therefore, the subject Practicum III has helped me to reaffirm this value and has also given me the opportunity to know better how to teach English in a classroom. Now that I have finished, I can strongly confirm what I first thought: It has been an amazing experience for my personal and academic growth.

I really believe that teachers always need to be studying and improving their knowledge, and during this school placement, as I had supposed before starting, I had learned much more than I expected.

I was completely interested in learning the previous organization that an English teacher must have. Fortunately, I had been able to know how an appropriate lesson has to be planned, and how you need to modify what you had planned, depending on the rhythm of the class and the situation that you find when you start the lesson. I have checked that this is hard work, and that a teacher needs a lot of time to get ready before starting a lesson.

However, I have not been able to see strategies to keep students motivated. I have to say that combining different type of activities is a good way to make them pay attention; but in general, I felt that students did not like the English language. From my personal point of view, it is very sad, and I really think that this students’ perception could have been changed into a better one. If I were the teacher, I would have shown them real situations where they can need the language, because I detected that they didn’t enjoy the lessons because they thought this language was useless. Probably, I would have use English song’s lyrics or English videos of some famous people to create the necessity to understand the language: a real learning situation. Another option would have been to establish CLIL lessons, because in my opinion, teaching a subject through a foreign language has the potential to increase motivation and success for learners.

Regarding on what I brought to the school from my personal experience, I must confess that I did my best on helping the specialist as well as all the other members of the school: I felt surprised when they asked me to design the costumes of carnival of first and second grade, as well as the lesson to create the costumes. I took advantage of what I had learnt during my camp stuff course. What’s more, I also gave to the English specialist some ideas about how to motivate the eldest students with the topic “London”, and I brought some Pounds and some pictures about my travel to the city. In addition, I also helped a teacher to create an online newspaper, by sending her some useful tools that I found. Finally, I also share my knowledge acquired at University: on the one hand, I showed my “English Scrapbook” (done with Theresa Zanatta on the subject Didàctica de la Llengua Anglesa) to all the English specialists, who were very grateful and made copies of it. On the other hand, I explained to the head teacher and other teachers how to use the Symbaloo tool in order to organize the most useful links of the school, and I helped them to create a Symbaloo page for the school.

For all of those reasons, I can be very proud about what I offered to the school, but I have to be very thankful to all the teachers, because from the first day they received me with open arms, and I felt really comfortable to do all those interventions at the school.

Finally, I must confess that I have designed my unit taking into account a lot of useful strategies that Theresa Zanatta and Neus Figueras had taught to me during the first semester. I knew that all I had learnt was going to be really useful, but in fact it has been essential to develop my unit. Furthermore, I have tried to do it in a fun and effective way, using meaningful resources and always bearing in mind the individual needs.

To conclude this final reflection, and according with what I wrote on my letter of intent, I would like to highline the personal interest that I had on seeing a CLIL lesson. Unfortunately, the school didn’t use this methodology, so I was not able to participate or to see it. This fact has made me become even more interested on this methodology. For that reason, now I am thinking on enrolling on a CLIL course for teachers after finishing my degree. Probably, if I had seen a CLIL lesson in my school placement and I hadn’t liked it, this curiosity that I current have would have disappeared.

All in all, this subject has helped me to complete a formation to become an English teacher, and I must recognise that I would have liked to stay a longer period at school: I had the sensation that I was learning something new every day, that’s why I felt so sad when the last day arrived. Anyway, I had had the opportunity to find out how my job is going to be, and I have seen a very nice example of how to be an English teacher.

5 Senses Unit: My 4th intervention

 Lesson 4: The taste museum - Taste sense

Material for the teacher                                                              Material for the students

 Rubric

Description of the lesson and observations:

The same morning, before starting the lesson, I talked to the English teacher in order to explain her that I needed the computer room in order to do the activity. Unfortunately, the room was taken. So this was my first mistake: the day before I should have reserved the room, but I didn’t remember to do it. For that reason, I decided to change the groups: Instead of working in pairs, the first activity was done by the whole group together, using the whiteboard. In fact, I ended up quite happy of this change. I realised that if I had done the activity in the computer room, it may have been a chaos, and I am not sure if we had had enough time to do all the tasks of the lesson. As far as I have seen, changing rooms can produce a disorder and a more difficult management of the class.

Apart from that, the lesson was, in my opinion, completely successful. I made the students listen, read, write and speak: First of all, they listened to a video which explained how we perceive the taste and the different buds that we have in our tongue. Then, they have to read the text that they have in the worksheet and filling the gaps by writing words that appeared on the video. Finally, the last activity was done in groups and it was corrected orally, so they had the opportunity to speak and to say these new words and the different tastes. So I felt satisfied about the lesson, but, once more, I was not able to complete my rubric during the lesson: I didn’t have time. Students required all my attention, even when they were working in little groups.

I would like to add that I beard in mind to accomplish the students during the whole lesson, by congratulating them with words like “Well done! Good job! Exellent!” because I had realised (during the English lessons with the teacher) that they are more motivated if they receive this kind of accomplishments.

CLIL - Would it be possible at la Sínia?

During a CLIL lesson, a foreign language is used as a tool in the learning of a non-language subject in which both language and the subject have a join role and are integrated.
Teaching subjects through a foreign language has the potential to increase motivation and success for learners, lead teachers to collaborate and take charge of these developments in order to enhance their own teaching and professional interests by generating their own theories of classroom practice. But, apart from that, there are much more reasons to believe in CLIL: Theoretical bases for CLIL

Apart from that, CLIL instruction has some requirements. After reading "The integrated nature of CLIL: A sociocultural perspective" and "Developing CLIL: towards a theory of practice" I am going to comment the most important requirements which are necessary to develop a CLIL lesson, in order to analyse if it would be possible to do CLIL at La Sínia:

- Active participation of the learner
As La Sínia works by projects, students are always asked to participate, they are constantly the centre of the activities and it makes them to get involved in everything. So they are actively learning in almost of the activities.

-  The learners need the language to assist their thinking and develop their higher order thinking skills
The English lessons of la Sínia are very dynamic, but students are not used to talk in English. They use words, but they don't ask or answer questions in English. As it was commented in one of the lessons, students feel shy or they don't want to do mistakes while they speak, so they prefer to speak in Catalan.

 - A CLIL classroom demands a level of talking, of interaction and dialogue activity which is different to the traditional content or language classroom
As I have commented before, the interaction and the dialogue is constant, because normally the student is the centre of the activity; but the problem is that this interaction is never done in English: the teacher speaks in English, but students don't try to follow her. 

- The teacher should have the chance to teach in bilingual/language specialist schools using CLIL methods, apart from practising CLIL teaching in methodology seminars and workshops.
The specialists of the school have a very high level of English, so they are completely able to arrange a CLIL lesson. Apart from that, they have both assist to CLIL courses, to improve their teaching skills and to know a bit more about this methodology.


- Teachers are authoritative mediators
As long as I have seen at their lessons, both specialists manage their lessons as mediators of the students' learning, but keeping their authoritative position, because if they didn't do it, it would be completely difficult to manage the lessons.



After analysing this aspects, I strongly believe that CLIL can be developed in any area if teachers are able to benefit from more cooperation between teacher education institutions and local schools. But it is true that some schools have more difficulties to develop CLIL than others. However, in this case, I think that La Sínia works with a methodology which completely fits with the CLIL requirements. But it has to be said that some aspects should change if it is wanted to achieve a successful CLIL lesson. And the main aspect is, in my opinion, the dialogue between teachers and students in English. Teachers must work on motivating the pupils to speak English at class. It does not matter if they are wrong. The most important is to talk and to try in order to improve their level. This has to be transmitted to the students, and teachers should give talking opportunities to allow students to get used to it before developing a CLIL lesson.


Here there is a page of an interesting teacher and researcher about CLIL, Erwin M.Gierlinger. He has a lot of information about CLIL, some news, projects, models and so on. Have a look at it!
Clilingmesoftly

Symbaloo - Sharing knowledge

The head teacher of the school asked me if I could explain to her and to the rest of the teachers how to create a symbaloo page, because she had listened that it was a very useful tool but nobody had explained how to create it, and neither to the rest of the teachers. I completely accepted and I considered it was an opportunity to share my knowledge and to contribute in the evolution of the school. The last day, almost all the teachers came to the computer room to listen to my explanation. I was quite nervous, but I had prepared at home how to explain it properly, so I think I did a clear explanation. Then, I showed my personal symbaloo page to make the understanding easier. Finally, I answered some questions that they had and I started to create a symbaloo page for the school. I did it in a very dynamic way, asking them to add a tile, to edit the page, as well as asking questions to make sure that they had understood how this tool worked. It was a very nice experience.

Methodology aspects to highline of the English Lessons (3)

• Maple Leaf Learning: This is the work of a Japanese teacher. He creates his own videos and songs to teach English, and he uploads them to Youtube. The videos allow the teacher to create a very nice learning enviroment, where students enjoy, they are motivated and the lesson is really interactive. What's more, when using this kind of videos, the level of participation is really high.

• Theatre plays: The company "Blue Mango" is coming to the school to performance different theatre plays (The Lockness Monster for 3rd and 4th grade and Sherlock Holmes for 5th and 6th grade). The teacher has a CD with songs and some worksheets to work before the company comes to the school. Students are motivated because they know that they are going to enjoy during the theatre play, and for that reason they keep attention, they work very well and they are interested in the topic. They know that this learning will be useful to understand and follow the theatre play.

• Timeline: Creating a personal timeline allows the eldest students of the school to revise the grammar tenses that they have been learning during the primary education: Past Simple, Present Simple and Future. Apart from that, it is a child-centered activity, because they include on their work what they want related with their experiences and their lifes. Apart from that, they are allowed to present as they want: PPT, cardboard... 

• Being close to the students: The last day, as I knew that students of 6th grade were working the city of London (related with the theatre play Sherlock Holmes) I asked the teacher if I could bring some real pounds and some pictures about my travel to London. The teacher agreed and it was a really successful class: I showed them the most important monuments and places of London (Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circus, London Eye, London Underground, Camden Town, Notting Hill, Tower Bridge...). They were very excited watching at my pictures and asking me questions. Then, they also liked the coins, because most of them had never seen Pounds. I have learnt that sometimes it can be a useful strategy to show your real life to the students, in order to teach them something interesting: they will be much more motivated.

Teaching meeting 2

Following the same topic that was commented on the last meeting, in this case all the teachers had to create a  table. They were organized in groups of 8 to 10. Then, they had a list with possible activities, methodologies and strategies and they have to decide in which part of the process those activities were more appropriate. It was very interesting to discuss with the rest of the teachers, to give reasons to defend your ideas, and to share opinions. It was a very meaningful meeting, and the picture shows the result of what it was decided. This kind of activities also help to establish a good environment at the school, where teachers know each others and are used to talk and discuss with them. If teachers work in that way, the results are always much better.
I have comproved that the communication is essential everywhere!

Home-school connection at la Sínia - The morning of the fruit

At this school, teachers and all the staff members are very conscious of the importance of the parents in the education of the kids, as well as the advantages that has a good relationship between teachers and parents. That's why they establish some moments to keep parents at the school, helping at the library, sewing, doing some expositions to the students, helping to create the customes on carnival, and so on. 

But today I have taken part of an original way to encourage the Home-school connection. It is called "the morning of the fruit"

During all the week, students of kindergarten are bringing some fruit: apples, bananas, strawberries, kiwis, pears... Then, on Thursday morning from 9 to 10, some parents come to the dinning room and start to peel all the fruit and to cut it in small pieces. They fill big bowls with pieces of fruit, in order to create a macedonia. This macedonia will be the breakfast of the kindergarten children.

Today, I have taken part of it. It has been amazing to see how mothers and fathers speak between them, comment some things that have happened recently at school (for example, today they have talked about carnival). They also have the opportunity to talk with some teachers that are helping to peel the fruits.

Apart from that, and focusing on the children, this activity promotes the good alimentary habits, because eating fruit is basic for their physical development and they have to get used to eat it.

This idea to promote the home-school connection was firstly used at L'escola Martinet, a public school of Ripollet which support and work with free education theories.