JOURNAL No. 1
La Plata, Huila September 23th 2015
I
would like to share my experience with the class in tenth level. In 1004, there
is a student who likes English a lot, his name is Alejandro. Alejandro
dedicates most of his free time listening to English songs, watching films and
chatting with friends that he has met in the social networks. In fact, he is a student
who helps their partners during a lesson because he is the first one that finishes
the activities. Those previous
conditions make me think of a different activity for him. After talking to
Alejandro, one of the ideas was that he could prepare an oral presentation
about any topic. I agree with him, but I recommended that the topic was
suitable for all their partners, because when working with teenagers, teachers
notice that there are many topics that are quite “complicated” to work. For
example: topics related to drugs, racism, sex, ect.
During
some weeks, Alejandro was reading a short story called “Lost in the cave” and
he prepared a power point presentation. Unfortunately, when he was going to
present their final work something happened with the equipment. The video beam
did not work, the computer did not recognize the file or there was not a
classroom for the presentation. Those previous problems teachers have to handle
when working with technology. Finally the day arrives and Alejandro could
present his topic.
What
I like the most about this presentation was their partners’ attitude and
behavior. They were listening to him, paying attention and quite astonished.
Alejandro talked about the experience of three friends who had lost in a cave.
He used pictures and tries to explain the details of the story. At the end, the
students could ask questions but anybody participate. I did not understand the
meaning of that silence, but when Alejandro finished, I asked the students if
they had understood what he described and many of them talked about general and
main ideas, in fact, they use their first language to retell the story. For me,
it was perfect! My students have got the message, maybe they do not know in
that moment the expressions in English to express their ideas. What is more, Alejandro’s
partners wanted to know the strategy that he used to speak English in the way
he did. The answer of Alejandro was this: “If you want to learn English, you
have to do an extra effort and think that you can learn it….” (English version).
Great story. I liked how you used one of your students to show the others that any of them can learn the language and be able to use it to share their likes and thoughts. Alejandro seems to be a committed student in terms of English learning. Keep the good work, Sandra :-)
ResponderEliminarThis is a very goood example of a good teacher's skills, you took the risk of giving him the responsability to teach others an important issue. I am sure you role was very important and I want to know from your perspective, what kind of skills have you developed in order to help this student be engaged in the class.
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ResponderEliminarI think this story is a great example of how an English lesson can be carried out from different perspectives. Besides, this reflection shows that a lesson is not always meant to be directed from the teacher's point of view. Students' role is also important in the classroom as generators of knowledge.
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