Reflection 4:  Class observation “Opening a classroom door” 

1. what was the role of the teacher?

The teacher's role is try to make the students paying attention, she doesn't  scream , but most of the time she found herself rising up her voice.

2. what was the role of the students?

They were listening the teacher's instruccions , some of them were writing on their notebooks, others were just using their mobile phones or drawing.

3. what were some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

The teacher uses listening activities, repetition,grammar translation,she tried to encourage students to participate in the classroom activieties which was an extremely difficult work.

4. what was the nature of student-teacher interaction?

A lot of threaten was allowed in the classroom, it was the way in which she could show more power than the students. I really think that power is important on that kind of schools.

5. what was the nature of student-student interaction?

The worst I have ever seen in my life. They behave very badly they have no respect for their classmates at all. The girls were so vulgar that I could close my eyes and imagine that I was talking with wommen older than me.We create some rules and they started to behabe in a better way. For example one student said that girls should show respect for them too. I totally agree with him and I told them that I you want respect you have to be respectfull with the others.

6. how were the feelings of the students dealt with?

It seem to me that they feel a bit bored, an axious too, because the teacher didn't tell them what the class was about, the level of the book they worked was not acoording to their level of knoledge, they were threaten all the time with the fact that if they didn't payed attention they were going to be suspended or they will have to bring their parents, so they work under pression all the time. I can't imagine how uncomfortable that will be.

7. how was language viewed?

Well some of them think that is boring but they commonly say the same thing about others subjects, but there is a little group that actually enjoy the language and say that is fun but I think that they don't have the skills to develop the language properly.

8. how was culture viewed?

To be honest, if I understand the question well, there wasn't much culture in the group, some of them enjoyed the activities for moments but the rest of the class didn't seem interesting in any subject, I asked them but they were very demotivated, so I t was quite difficult, but at the end I asked to other teachers what to do, and they recommend me a very good movie "Simon Birch" and they enjoyed the movie because it was fun, and emotional and related to their age.

9. what areas of language were emphasized?

Grammar, vacabulary ,listening and a bit of speaking.

10. what language skills are emphasized?

Writting, listening, speaking, grammar but most of the time grammar.

11. what was the role of the student's L1?

Very important, they didn't speak in english unless they have to repeat something.

12. how was evaluation accomplished?

They have grade for everything they worked on class the teacher told me that you coudn't make a quiz because they neve studied, it was better to make everything in class, they get point for that work and at the end that was their grades.

13. how did the teacher respond to student errors?

She didn't correct speacking error just grammar error on the worksheet she tell them, what was wrong but she didn't explained why, she said this is wrong changed it and the student usually went to another student and copy the right answer.

14. what techniques did the teacher use?

The teacher uses translation.

Spirituality & Practice: Book Review: The Circle of Life, by Joyce Rupp, Macrina Wiederkehr

Spirituality & Practice: Book Review: The Circle of Life, by Joyce Rupp, Macrina Wiederkehr

This is an articule that I found interesting talking about nature as "the classroom of the heart", sometimes we can't find the answes to some problems and we have ,to go back to the basic things like nature.Today I feelt that it was going to be imposible for me to manage or  control people, kids, teenagers younger 15 years than me. I don't have a solution, maybe if I take a look to the nature I could find something that worth for me.

Reflexion 

 What is your learning style? 

 My learning Style is to explain other people what the topis is about What strategies do you use/ have you used to help you learn English? Listen to music, karaokes,the bbc online,on tv, and read aloud and on the bus way home. What is your past experience of learning Enlish? Almost nothing, I learnt a bit of german when I was 11 to 14 years old I just remember the songs.

Reflection

 How did the age, ways and context in wich you learnt English influence your success at learning? 


In my own experience I think that influences a lot. I was influenced by my mother when I was a child to listen The Beatles music,and i think that this exposure at a very early age is the reason why I don't had problems in learning a second language. When you are a kid is easy to aquiere new language, you don't have the interference or tranfer problem, that we do have when we are older.

Reflexion

 I disagree with the teacher that sais " It is difficult to use different correction techiques with different students",maybe it is, if you are not interested in your students, which is the case of a lot of teachers I have met during my life as a student. But I think that is not too difficult to get a picture of the students even in the first class. Once, i had to prepare a class for the group, and I inmediately notice what were the principal student's characteristics, maybe at the beggining you are going to pay more attention to the truoble makers and the most participative ones, but then, you will have the opportunitie to met the rest of the class in just a few classes more.This is very important if you want a succesful learning. For example if a student is shy and maybe he didn't talk too much in classes, is going to feel embarrased in front of the others if you correct him in a very notorious way. So, I think that part of the teacher's role is to pay attention to the student's need to improve their English learning experience.

Reflection

Well, for me, as an future English teacher,the most suitable of all the English methods is a combination of all of them,because I need to know a bit of everything I need to know how a sentence's framework is , what does the words means in the second language.

 My students are not motivated at all. The don't seem to find any reason to learn a second language. For the formal teacher and for myself is extremely difficult to teach them because they don't want to learn,but, there are some of them, which seems to show a little bit more of enthusiasm about learning english.

 They seems to prefer production of the S.L instead of repetition, translation, or grammar focus. I totally agree whit them. I understand why I have to learn al the grammar rules but, I think that sometimes the classes are too grammar focused, structured we don't use language in context we just work with a book every day, how wonder we are going to do something different with our students? Is not that we don't have the resources now internet can help us to make something different.

Reflection    What is learning English like? 

 a) The first student seems to show a highly motivated student. He think about English as something useful,necesary and helpful.I imagine, that he is going to use English as a tool for work maybe or for playink computer games,this is a very good way to learn vocabulary maybe he sees tv programmes in English, so he is going to aquire vocabulary trough a naturalistic context, which is going to help him to learn in an easy way.


 b)The second student think that english learnig is like bread ,plenty of resources but non of them are very good. Maybe he is not as motivated as the first student beacause he hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy the second language learning. Maybe he doesn't have qualificated teachers,maybe he doesn't have the extrinsic or intrinsic motivation necessary to make a second language learning succesful.

Reflection 3:   Teaching philosophy. 

 You should explore your thoughts about language instruction, specifically your own beliefs about language teachers, learning, and instruction. These beliefs shape the way you think about your own teaching. Use the following questions as a guide : 1. What does it mean to be an effective second language teacher? I believe that is not only one correct answer for these question. If It exsisted I am sure that teaching should be much more easy . But I do think that there are some things that are very important in teaching effectively a second language, enthusiasm/ expresiveness clarity on expalnations and raport/interaction (Murray in 1991)are also important, but still In my opinion I believe that good teachers has to love to teach. In the way of becoming an english teacher I came across with some teachers that doesn't love to teach maybe they did it but they they give up. I thing that one important characteristic that an English teacher should have is to be positive and pacient,and curios too because i have realized taht there are many problems in education and we now are living a time of changes we have to breath depple and absorb all these fresh air that is coming to us,and make a change create new theories investigate is a way to make teaching effective to share experineces with other teachers, all these in order to be an effective second language teaching. 2. How do you think second languages are learned? We have studied a little bit of these topic and i think that second languages are better learn if the teacher speack the class in english if the inout that the students receive is in the target language. Obviously these depend a lot on the level on the students, you have to adecuate your class to the students. Maybe in the practice is not easy, maybe at the beggining you should have to give explanations in the mother tongue, but you can give them little by little more and more, and at the end you will be able to speack most of the class in the target language 3. What do you see as the most important factors in learning another language? To be exposed to the target language is for me the most important thisg student have to have the opportunitie to communicate their feelings thoughts in the target language , errors are going to be a lot but that is not the most important factor , they have to lose the fear of communicate in the target languae for this reason it is necessary that the students are exposed to the language that wants to be acquired 4. How do you think second languages should be taught? In English with a lot of activities and task thought on the student interest realia and everything available to make them interested. Learnig is better aquiered when students are motivated. That is our job to make them realized of the benefits of learning a second language and make the learning occurs. 5. What should be the role of the teacher? The teacher should be a facilitator of knoledge, he shouldn't be the center of the class, he have to make the connection between the students and the knowledge, he has to make the students participate, interact with them, help them to connect their previos knoledge. 6. What kinds of language learning experiences do you think a second language teacher should provide? Every posible available experience, bring them authentic material, realia, give them the posibility to interact with native speackers. Work in grops student some time learn from teaching and correcting each other, there are no limits you have to be creative.

Refelxion 2

Rich people are more likely to succesful learn a second language at school than poor people.

The poor suffer from dire deprivations of various kinds: lack of adequate food supplies, remunerative jobs, access to health care, safe homes, safe water and sanitation,and educational opportunities. ("World Happiness report" edited by John Helliwell, Richard Layard and Jeffrey Sachs). These is part of the serious problem, that poor people have faced since ancient time, differences between clases are now and then one issue that we, as teacher, have to take into consideration. In my personal experience in VISE I have realized that this statement is unfortunately true for a lot of people. Teachers sometimes focus their attention and Im not saying that this is totaly wrong on students with problems, rather than in those that sometimes have the capacity to learn more, and these capacities are lost for ever. Maybe thay have to take risks and push more I am not sure yet, I dont have the enough experience to give a solution,but I think that if you want to motivate students to learn , you have to show them that if one can the rest can too, and in this way and of this form to be raising the level of the language that the teacher wants to be acquired gradually. If you go to a public school the reality there is that in seven grade of primary school students are working with vocabulary such as : train, car, motorcycle and most of them don't undesrtand what are they talking about, even though the class in 90 per cent in spanish. They haven't traveled in their entire life, but the goverment gives thenm a text under the name "English abroad" wich in my modest opinion, is a joke. There is a lack of coherence between the text and the context of the students , so they feel complete uncomfortable. The sutuation that these same students are " puente" these means that they have to go ( during the class) to have breakfast and then,they have lunch, this take in total app. 45 minutes not taking in consideration the time that they spend sitting , and keeping quiet and focus their attention on the class. Under these circumstances I wonder how we expect learning. Well, there is learning obviously , but in a very lower way. I m not saying that poor people can't be succesful in learning a second language , but the circumstances are completely different for each case. So, for all the things that I mentioned before I truly believe that today rich people is more succesful in learning a second language unless there are some exceptions.

Reflexion 1
Autobiography


My name is Abigail Quezada Cabrera I was born in February 11, 1984 Viña de Mar, Chile my father’s name is Luis Enrique Quezada and my mother’s name is Isabel Cabrera.I have one older brother his name is Luis Quezada and three youngest brother and a sister : Aníbal, Francisco and Daniela,respectively. I studied in Claudio Matte School until second grade, then because my mother have problems to go to to the school with my little brothers she change the school and she put me in Ministro Zenteno school and I was there until six grade and because I had some problems related to a school bulling classmate for that reason my mother decided to change me from Nuestra Señora de la Paz school. I finish my Primary school and I get into high school José Cortes Brown, I studied there with a scholarship that I lose in third grade because of my low grades, my mother wanted to change me again from school but I refuse it, so I finish high school there. When I graduate from high School in 2001 and I had to wok because I couldn’t get into University that year. My mother works at a supermarket and I start to work immediately after finish high school with the idea of studying and working. But, meet Jose Jimenez there; with I get married in 2002.In January 2004 I get pregnant, José Tomas Jimenez Quezada came into my life. My new life change in 360 degrees but i get used to very quickly to be a mother, but not to be a wife we have lots of conflicts fights and we decided to broke up with my husband two year later. That was pretty devastating for me I was too young and I didn’t want to raise my son alone, so we decided to give us another chance and we go back together and one and a half year later I get pregnant again. Her name is Pascuala Anaís Jimenez she is six years old by now. After that I was completely dedicated to the kids but I knew that I had a doubt with myself. I ,encourage by my brother, decided to study again, it was very crazy thought at the beginning but it became real, I have always had very clear in mind that I wanted to become a teacher but, English was not on my planes, it was and it is still difficult, but I thought that that was going to be a good opportunities to learn something new. I never though that that dream was going to become into a reality even today, I can barely believe that my dream became true.