Today has been my second day at IES Bernat al Ferrer and, as my tutor and I had agreed, I have met the three remaining groups my tutor teaches this year. If last Thursday I was with groups B1 in 3rd of ESO and D2 in 1st of ESO, today it was the time for 3rd of ESO D1 group and the two groups which I will follow, this is 3rd of ESO B2 and D2, where I will participate more actively and I will implement my unit plan.
The first group was 3rd of ESO D1. While she was entering the class and the students were getting ready to start the class, my tutor has greeted the students and has asked them about their weekend with a smile on her face. Then she has checked attendance and homework. No-one missing today, buy some hadn't done their homework. She has asked them why they weren´t able to do them and, after hearing their reasons, she has insisted in the importance of doing their homework on a daily basis. Afterwards, she has briefly introduced what they would be doing during the class (difference between the past simple and the past continuous) and has started writing a sentence on the blackboard as a way to start the session. The main language used by my tutor has been English, but when she suspected there was any important word, sentence or grammar content the students mightn´t have understood, she has translated it for them or has given clear examples to clarify the meaning, sometimes even related to our daily lives (such as “imagine you were watching TV, Big Brother, for example, and…”). This strategy seems to keep the attention of the students, they smiled and listened carefully. And at the same time, my tutor made sure this way they were following the key issues. The students seem to try to interact in Catalan or Spanish with her. But, in such a situation, she has used her sense of humor and her usual smile to answer them “sorry, I don´t understand”. Then, the students have tried to reformulate the question in English and she has helped them when necessary. After the grammar part, my tutor has asked the students to do an exercise and she has been around checking all the students were doing it or if they had any question. All of a sudden, she has seen there was a student with a mobile phone in his hands, and despite the excuses of the boy, she has taken it from him and kept it until the end of the class. Mobile phones are obviously not allowed in class, they must leave them in their lockers during their classes. For my tutor, discipline is basic: calls for silence, listening carefully, sitting correctly or not making noise with the chair when sitting or standing up are very important. She wants an effective working atmosphere and with her insistence on discipline, her sense of humor and her personal attention to the students, she has managed to achieve it. Then the bell has rung. Time-break non-verbal sign to keep the students silent, which they have very clearly understood: before leaving, my tutor has assigned them homework for the next class. Then the students have collected their things, stood up and said goodbye to her as they were leaving.
After group D1, I have participated in group B2. This is one of the groups I will follow more closely, though I will not be implementing my unit plan with them. Their level of English is low comparing to D1 group and it is quite similar to B1 group. If group D1 uses Oxford’s English Alive, groups B1 and B2 use Oxford’s Spotlight, which has the same contents but seem to have a lower level of English. Group B2, nevertheless, seems to be a very nice and friendly group. They are only 15 students and when my tutor has introduced me as a CAP teacher and has said my name, one of the girls has said tomorrow will be my saint day!
Following her routine, my tutor has first started checking attendance. Then she has seen one of the students wasn´t feeling very well, so she has worried about her and has suggested her she´d better go home. Her throat was swollen, so my tutor has accompanied her to call her parents. When they were back, the student has collected her things and my tutor has taken good attention and care of her until she has finally left the class. By the tone of her voice and the slight physical contact, with her hand on her shoulder, I can see there is reciprocal affection going on between my tutor and her students. After this, they have corrected some exercises. There were volunteers all the time, so the students seemed to be motivated to participate in the class and to learn. Her questions are not usually directed to any student in particular, so all the students feel free to answer. She thanks them when they participate and, when they do and they do correctly, my tutor encourages them positively by saying “¡Hoy estáis que os salís! (You are brilliant today!). This seems to keep them even more effective for the next question. The class was in English, but as the level of the students is so low, they needed translations very often. So, either she asked the class in general for the meaning of a word or she translated it directly if she considered it was very difficult for them. The students’ interaction was only in Spanish or Catalan, as their vocabulary in English seems very limited. Nevertheless, my tutor has constantly encouraged them to use basic words such as “sorry” when they were caught speaking in class, “please” when they wanted to ask for something and “thank you”. Even when they said a sentence in Catalan or Spanish my tutor asked in general to all the students how to say that in English. Another strategy she uses to keep the students motivated and participating is using a sentence repeatedly together with a touch of sense of humor. It works for her: “copy, copy!” keeps the students’ attention on learning and “taking home” the outstanding vocabulary.
Next, my tutor has asked the students what they had had for breakfast one by one. With such a simple conversation, where the kids have been smiling and laughing all the time, they have used the past tense, which was, in fact, the objective of the lesson.
After this class, I had a small conversation with my tutor about the need to pay slightly more attention and be more affective to some particular students, after watching her attitude in this class. These are normally students with family issues such as divorced parents, lack of any parent… We both have agreed these students need a bit more of encouragement.
The first group was 3rd of ESO D1. While she was entering the class and the students were getting ready to start the class, my tutor has greeted the students and has asked them about their weekend with a smile on her face. Then she has checked attendance and homework. No-one missing today, buy some hadn't done their homework. She has asked them why they weren´t able to do them and, after hearing their reasons, she has insisted in the importance of doing their homework on a daily basis. Afterwards, she has briefly introduced what they would be doing during the class (difference between the past simple and the past continuous) and has started writing a sentence on the blackboard as a way to start the session. The main language used by my tutor has been English, but when she suspected there was any important word, sentence or grammar content the students mightn´t have understood, she has translated it for them or has given clear examples to clarify the meaning, sometimes even related to our daily lives (such as “imagine you were watching TV, Big Brother, for example, and…”). This strategy seems to keep the attention of the students, they smiled and listened carefully. And at the same time, my tutor made sure this way they were following the key issues. The students seem to try to interact in Catalan or Spanish with her. But, in such a situation, she has used her sense of humor and her usual smile to answer them “sorry, I don´t understand”. Then, the students have tried to reformulate the question in English and she has helped them when necessary. After the grammar part, my tutor has asked the students to do an exercise and she has been around checking all the students were doing it or if they had any question. All of a sudden, she has seen there was a student with a mobile phone in his hands, and despite the excuses of the boy, she has taken it from him and kept it until the end of the class. Mobile phones are obviously not allowed in class, they must leave them in their lockers during their classes. For my tutor, discipline is basic: calls for silence, listening carefully, sitting correctly or not making noise with the chair when sitting or standing up are very important. She wants an effective working atmosphere and with her insistence on discipline, her sense of humor and her personal attention to the students, she has managed to achieve it. Then the bell has rung. Time-break non-verbal sign to keep the students silent, which they have very clearly understood: before leaving, my tutor has assigned them homework for the next class. Then the students have collected their things, stood up and said goodbye to her as they were leaving.
After group D1, I have participated in group B2. This is one of the groups I will follow more closely, though I will not be implementing my unit plan with them. Their level of English is low comparing to D1 group and it is quite similar to B1 group. If group D1 uses Oxford’s English Alive, groups B1 and B2 use Oxford’s Spotlight, which has the same contents but seem to have a lower level of English. Group B2, nevertheless, seems to be a very nice and friendly group. They are only 15 students and when my tutor has introduced me as a CAP teacher and has said my name, one of the girls has said tomorrow will be my saint day!
Following her routine, my tutor has first started checking attendance. Then she has seen one of the students wasn´t feeling very well, so she has worried about her and has suggested her she´d better go home. Her throat was swollen, so my tutor has accompanied her to call her parents. When they were back, the student has collected her things and my tutor has taken good attention and care of her until she has finally left the class. By the tone of her voice and the slight physical contact, with her hand on her shoulder, I can see there is reciprocal affection going on between my tutor and her students. After this, they have corrected some exercises. There were volunteers all the time, so the students seemed to be motivated to participate in the class and to learn. Her questions are not usually directed to any student in particular, so all the students feel free to answer. She thanks them when they participate and, when they do and they do correctly, my tutor encourages them positively by saying “¡Hoy estáis que os salís! (You are brilliant today!). This seems to keep them even more effective for the next question. The class was in English, but as the level of the students is so low, they needed translations very often. So, either she asked the class in general for the meaning of a word or she translated it directly if she considered it was very difficult for them. The students’ interaction was only in Spanish or Catalan, as their vocabulary in English seems very limited. Nevertheless, my tutor has constantly encouraged them to use basic words such as “sorry” when they were caught speaking in class, “please” when they wanted to ask for something and “thank you”. Even when they said a sentence in Catalan or Spanish my tutor asked in general to all the students how to say that in English. Another strategy she uses to keep the students motivated and participating is using a sentence repeatedly together with a touch of sense of humor. It works for her: “copy, copy!” keeps the students’ attention on learning and “taking home” the outstanding vocabulary.
Next, my tutor has asked the students what they had had for breakfast one by one. With such a simple conversation, where the kids have been smiling and laughing all the time, they have used the past tense, which was, in fact, the objective of the lesson.
After this class, I had a small conversation with my tutor about the need to pay slightly more attention and be more affective to some particular students, after watching her attitude in this class. These are normally students with family issues such as divorced parents, lack of any parent… We both have agreed these students need a bit more of encouragement.
To finish the day and the participation in all the different groups my tutor teaches, I have had my first attendance to D2 group, where I will implement my unit plan. This group has the best level of English compared to all the other groups in 3rd of ESO. My tutor speaks only in English and she uses Catalan or Spanish only in the case of some translations. The interaction with the students is in English too and if any of them forget, one “Eps! In English!” is enough for the students to change their interaction language. They are using Oxfords’ English Alive 3 too, as group D1. But they seem to be even a bit more advanced than D1 group.
After greeting the students, the first thing my tutor has done is introducing me. I was sitting at the back of the class, so everybody turned around and looked at me. Afterwards, as a warm-up, my tutor has asked the students if they had gone to any party last Friday. It was “La Castanyada” / Halloween, so some students explained what they had done on Friday night and over the weekend. Then, my tutor asked the students to open their books and for a volunteer to read. Some hands were risen. This group seems to be very motivated too and to learn faster and easily than the students of other groups. There are 22 students. It's classroom number 2 and it has the same greenish tones of all the other in IES Bernat el Ferrer. This one in particular is not equipped with audiovisual material, but my tutor has brought a CD player to do a listening. It is a bit cold in the class, approximately 19º. Some students have their coats on. The blinds are open, it is a bright sunny day. During the listening the students were silent. They were trying to concentrate on what is being said. After this, she asked questions to particular students using their names and when they did not know the answer, she asked other colleagues or asked in general to all the class. All of a sudden, two students have started talking. When my tutor noticed this, she asked them to separate their desks. Then she has asked another student to sit correctly, this time reinforced by a “sit correctly in my class!”. A call for discipline is implemented with this group too, as she has already done with the other groups. When another student has yawned, apart of telling him off, she has in addition taken the chance to make him speak in English by asking him at what time he went to bed and what he had done until that time. This has, under my opinion, been an excellent combination of how discipline can be used to practise English in class too.
Then my tutor has checked the time in her watch. Only five minutes to the end of the class. So she has changed the subject of the conversation and has assigned them a composition as homework. The remaining time until the bell has rung has been used to clarify what they need to check and study for their exam, which they will have next Monday the 10th of November.
After greeting the students, the first thing my tutor has done is introducing me. I was sitting at the back of the class, so everybody turned around and looked at me. Afterwards, as a warm-up, my tutor has asked the students if they had gone to any party last Friday. It was “La Castanyada” / Halloween, so some students explained what they had done on Friday night and over the weekend. Then, my tutor asked the students to open their books and for a volunteer to read. Some hands were risen. This group seems to be very motivated too and to learn faster and easily than the students of other groups. There are 22 students. It's classroom number 2 and it has the same greenish tones of all the other in IES Bernat el Ferrer. This one in particular is not equipped with audiovisual material, but my tutor has brought a CD player to do a listening. It is a bit cold in the class, approximately 19º. Some students have their coats on. The blinds are open, it is a bright sunny day. During the listening the students were silent. They were trying to concentrate on what is being said. After this, she asked questions to particular students using their names and when they did not know the answer, she asked other colleagues or asked in general to all the class. All of a sudden, two students have started talking. When my tutor noticed this, she asked them to separate their desks. Then she has asked another student to sit correctly, this time reinforced by a “sit correctly in my class!”. A call for discipline is implemented with this group too, as she has already done with the other groups. When another student has yawned, apart of telling him off, she has in addition taken the chance to make him speak in English by asking him at what time he went to bed and what he had done until that time. This has, under my opinion, been an excellent combination of how discipline can be used to practise English in class too.
Then my tutor has checked the time in her watch. Only five minutes to the end of the class. So she has changed the subject of the conversation and has assigned them a composition as homework. The remaining time until the bell has rung has been used to clarify what they need to check and study for their exam, which they will have next Monday the 10th of November.
Now I have seen all my tutor’s groups. It has been very useful, as I have been able to experience and take my own conclusions about their different levels and the different strategies and methodologies my tutor has to follow to teach each of them. A call for discipline, this has been very common in all her groups, and managed, if possible, with sense of humor. It seems to be a great recipe to keep the students paying attention and participating in an effective working environment, as my tutor manages to achieve.
Tomorrow I will have group D2 again and, afterwards, I will participate in the class of an English speaking teacher with half of group D1. She is an Erasmus student doing a practicum as a teacher in IES Bernat el Ferrer, so I am sure the experience will provide me with some interesting conclusions too.
Tomorrow I will have group D2 again and, afterwards, I will participate in the class of an English speaking teacher with half of group D1. She is an Erasmus student doing a practicum as a teacher in IES Bernat el Ferrer, so I am sure the experience will provide me with some interesting conclusions too.
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