Reflection- Teaching Practicum II "Teaching English to Teenagers"

 

Teaching Practicum II - Teaching English to Teenagers course has already finished. It was one of the most important subjects I took in my 5^th years at University in order  to become a professional teacher. Last semester, I had a great experience in Teaching Practicum I –Teaching English to Children. I had never had the opportunity to work with kids before taking the subject.  I learned a lot of important aspects as well as strategies that were useful not only by working with children but also teaching teenagers, eventhough the experience is totally different. Why was it a different experience?. First, the age, behavior and attitude of students are different because of their brain’s development. Second, in Teaching Practicum II, we started working with a new framework to plan our lessons which is called ECRIF. This framework is divided in the following stages: Encounter, Clarify, Remember, Internalize, and Flently use. To be honest,  at the beginning of the course I had no idea about this framework and I felt a little bit scared about applying it. However, I had high expectations about learning this framework and I had a big intrigue to know how was the experience to plan my lessons using ECRIF. When our teacher Yanira Peña explained us the ECRIF framework I was confused because of the different stages and what kind of activities could be more  effective  according to the different stages for this framework. However, it was only through practice that I really understood that this new framework is teacher friendly and flexible. Besides, as soon as I started practicing in classes the ECRIF framework I realized that lessons  are very detailed and organized. I consider this is important because both of roles teacher’s and students’ are very clear. I also understood that different activities can be used in order to deliver a lesson using this framework, and it is not as complex as I though at the very first time I saw a template about it. Let me tell you I really like the ECRIF framework. I think I will use it for  future lessons.

Moreover, as I mentioned above, ECRIF looked complex and confused for me. I did not know what kind of activities I had to apply for each of the stages , and I had not clear enough the difference between some of the stages about the framework . For example, remember and internalize stages. In order to clarify my doubts and to overcome this situation, I researched on Internet about ECRIF and its components as well as activities we should apply in order to deliver a potential lesson. I also watched some tutorials on Youtube, and I practiced a lot.

In Teaching Practicum II, my classmates and I had the opportunity to practice teaching with teens. I think all of us delivered good lessons and we also improved our teaching styles, strategies, materials, attitude in each lesson taught. A classmate who really caught my attention because of the  great improvement he had  during the three lessons was Luis Oyarbide. In his practice, I could notice the improvement he had not only in his lessons but himself as a teacher. I remember his first lesson taught in this course. He was a little bit nervous. I could notice on his face. Furthermore, there were some materials which needed to be improved. Even though he had a good attitude toward students, in his first class he was serous and the tone of his voice were not appropriate at all. On his second lesson, the improvement was noticeable. This time Teacher Luis looks more confident. The instructions given were clear and he interacted more with students. I think this last point is very important for the reason that students feel confident when teachers smile with them or when teachers express positive phrases such as “Excellent job!”. Finally, in his last lesson, Luis did a really good job, the activities he planned were funny and meaningful  for students. The materials he uses were appropriate. One of the things I liked from Luis lessons is the fact that he always asked for volunteers and students raise their hands. It is admirable because sometimes students feel shy in the class. As well, teacher Luis had a good control of the time. During his third lesson his nervous disappear because he looked really confident. He knew what he was doing even though he was the only one who had to teach one hour and a half. I think this aspect was a challenge for him. However, teacher Luis demonstrated his potential on the teaching field and the great teacher he is. Nevertheless, Luis, my classmates and I need to improve some little details in order to deliver excellent lessons in the future and to be potential teachers.

Finally, I want to mention that I learned different things in Teaching Practicum II. In my personal opinion, I did a good job in this course. I effort a lot in order to deliver really good classes. I dedicated enough time to plan my lessons, materials and other important aspects for each of my lessons taking into account students needs. As well, I think I applied the ECRIF framework properly. I consider all my lesson plans were clearly detailed. I tried to apply all my knowledges and strategies during my practice. As teacher I felt confident when delivering my lessons. The activities I planned were effective; eventhough, I know I need to improve some important details but I am sure I will do it because teaching more than be a profession is a passion for me.

 

 

"The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, the great teacher inpires" - William Arthur Ward