Fifth Journal

Some Uncomfortable Attitudes

This week I felt a little bit dissatisfied. As I have already told you in the previous journals that I am conducting English classes in two groups. There is a group in particular that seems to have a very slow pace regarding their learning process in contrast to the second group of younger students. In the group mentioned, there are some students who are the ones who start an unfavorable learning environment.

What I refer to, is to that uncomfortable attitudes that some students have towards the learning process of the English language. In some cases, if a student makes a speaking mistake those students make a lot of fun about it. At the beginning when I noticed it for the first time, I tried not to pay too much attention to this. Probably, I thought that it would be better to ignore them just like kids who are ignored and stop doing something unpleasant. Very soon, I could probe that I was wrong. Those conducts are repetitive.

 As usually, I pay close attention to even little details in every context. In this order of ideas, I decided to talk to those students who were making fun of silly things such as mistakes while producing speaking English. It is unsuitable to have a learning environment where students are shy and do not like to participate. I consider that learning English is a matter of having a good amount of input, and then taking that input to start producing output. But student won´t produce any sort of output if they are shy and if they do not feel secure. Learners have to feel that making mistakes is an important stage of the learning process, and that they are free to make them and what is more important, to learn from them.

In this sense, I decided to talk to those guys who use to laugh every time they heard a mistake. I told them that they were creating a learning environment where students do not like to participate because of them. Additionally, I told them about the implications that making mistakes brings. I let them know that it was not beneficial for none of us, and that I did not want them to keep doing so.  

Regarding to my speech´s speed, I decided to pay attention to it. I noticed that sometimes I tend to speak fast and students did not understand even a general idea about what I was talking about. In this week, I talked slowly and students seem to enjoy more the English class since they can understand what we are talking about. Furthermore, I asked them again to let me know if there was something that they would like me to change about the class development.

Fourth Journal

A Case of Disappointment

In the present week I felt a little bit disappointed. Despite almost everything was going great and I was successfully achieving my goals, I had a regrettable event.  Student were supposed to bring to class a poster that they were going to use for their presentations about a certain topic. It was the same class that my practicum advisor was going to observe the way I was conducting the classes. I started the class normally, greeting students and asking them how their day was going on. Then, I asked students to start their presentations, and surprisingly many students did not bring their homework.

Even if it is not the teacher´s mistake, I felt a little bit embarrassed and I was mad at them. I immediately talk to them about it, and tell them that they have to be responsible if they want to achieve their goals not only in the education field, but in their lives. Students were embarrassed and some of them exposed their point of view. Finally, we reached the agreement of being as responsible as possible because it was beneficial for students and teachers. I felt a little bit sad since my practicum advisor was there, and she evidenced it. Even if it was not my fault, I felt embarrassed. Nevertheless, my practicum advisor made a good report based on the class observation. She pointed out that the teacher´s reaction towards the event was good and that responsibility needs to be encouraged.

Aside from the past event, I felt the classes were active. I feel that I am more secure and this is a good advantage because students can feel when the teacher is shy and insecure. It is never good to let them know that you are not sure about what you are talking because they can take advantage of it and create a rough environment against you. For this reason, it is recommendable to show self-confidence while conducting your classes at any time. Even if you do not know very much about a certain topic, you have to give your speech showing self-confidence.

Regarding the students who seemed to have drugs abuse problems, it is worrying that they did not attend to classes this week. I asked the technician instructor about them, and he told me that he already sent those students an e-mail. I will be attentive to their current situation because it would be terrible that they leave the school so early due to sad issues such us drugs consumption.

On the other hand, it seems that students are getting used to the English sounds. Last week, students told me that they did not understand in some cases when I used to speak a little bit fast. I let them know that they can ask me to speak slowly when they think it is appropriate. From the very beginning, I have tried to integrate the English language as possible. I try to talk in English at all times and as much as possible. In some cases when giving instructions, I can tell that they do not get the main idea of my speech. When I notice it, I try to use different techniques such as body language and gestures. I think it is good to elicit meaning without using the mother tongue.

Third Journal

Respectful Students

In the past third week of my teaching practicum, I felt pretty nice. It seems that I am getting used to their learning styles and to their pace while working with a certain topic. In contrast to last week, I feel more secure and comfortable when I have to start the class and follow the steps suggested on the lesson plans. Now, I feel that students know that they have to show respect towards me. I can tell that they have a good attitude because of the fact that I am respectful too, and they know that my intentions are beneficial for them.

This week, I am starting to feel like a real teacher. To be honest, it felt weird to wear a teacher´s white coat and to hear students calling you teacher or instructor. It is good to feel that I am actually becoming a teacher, since then, I will play correctly the role with all the factors that it implies. I have to take into account that teachers are role models for many students, and that many of them may start having the wish of becoming English teachers too.

It is noticeable that some students have started to maintain a good communication with me. Some of them are asking all the time about cultural and phonetic and grammatical aspects regarding to the English language. Most of the students are really kind and they demonstrate that they like the English class. This is heartwarming to me because I believe I am doing my best in the teaching practicum and all I want is to feel they like the class and that they are improving gradually their communicative skill.

This week, I was worried because I noted that there may be some students with drugs abuse issues. There is a blond-haired woman with a male friend who present weird behaviors. They do not like participating and they are usually too distracted. Most of the times, they talk about different issues during the English class and when I ask them something related to the class, they do not have any answer. They even do not know what to say and what is the specific topic that is being covered. Another reason why I am thinking about this serious problem is that those two students show some signs of drugs abuses such as Bloodshot or glazed eyes and dilated or constricted pupils. The first thing I did, was to let the technical instructor know about the situation. I hope he will talk to them about the possible consequences that they may face. Next week, I will pay close attention specifically to them to see if their conducts are repetitive to take action. Nevertheless, for the time being, I will encourage them to participate. I will ask them continually about basic things, and I will offer them rewards such as positive points that will help them to achieve the goals for the first unit.

I consider this week as a fruitful one. In general, I think I achieved my goals, and some important topics were successfully covered. The students showed good interest for learning more, and they seem to enjoy the activities. I will try to keep a good learning environment doing my best in every class so as to students to remain being active learners.

Second Journal

Following Rules.

This second week was neither rough not easy. I completed successfully all my duties and I did not let my motivation to go down due to the couple of constrains. I am very happy because I can notice that most of students are taking into account the rules that I tried to construct with the students help. Nevertheless there are a couple of students who do not like following rules, and try to confront the teacher arguing that they do not know any English.

The environment where I work on varies a lot. I teach English to two different groups. One group is conformed by learners from unprivileged areas of Campoalegre and Neiva. Students from this first group are very attentive. They show motivation in every activity I carry out with them. Since they are very young, I try to provide them with dynamic activities that actively involve them. The Students from this group are very privileged since it is just three months since they do not study the English language, and they have good basic commands in the language. These students are characterized for being kind, open minded, active and respectful. There are some situations where the teacher is trying to give some explanation or instruction, and if there is someone making noises or talking out of their turns, the rest of the class ask him to be respectful and the remain quiet. I have noticed that sometimes students start to stand up from their chairs to talk and bother to others. They have those type of conducts just when they feel that they already know the topic and when students finish their tasks. I think it is paramount to keep them busy paying attention to the teacher, participating in any activity or helping the teacher to finish a task.

On the second hand, the other group that I work with is conformed by learners who are a little bit older. Unlike the first group, the students from the second group are from unprivileged areas of Neiva city. They come from different social realities. It has passed at least 1 or 3 years since their last learning experience. I try to be very comprehensive, and I implement didactic and basic activities in order for them to find it easy to understand every topic covered. Moreover, I speak slowly and I make good use of gestures and body language to give a clear message in the native language.

Sometimes, students ask me to slow down on my speech and they ask me to explain twice a topic. I really appreciate that students do it, because it is the best way how I confirm that they are paying close attention to the explanation, and that they are willing to learn and to enrich their communicative skill. I think that it is better to start using some techniques in order for me to get all the students attention. Some of them are very distractive when they think I am not looking at them. I will try to involve every students in the activities to catch all their attention. Additionally, I will deliver some responsibilities to the students who finish first. It would work if I want them to be busy. Otherwise, they start to walk around the classroom and they will be another reason why students get distracted.