Wednesday 13th, October. The moment came for me to say “goodbye” to all those students who made me feel so comfortable for more than a month; it was the end of the practice period.
When I started Workshop IV this year I thought that it was going to be the most difficult workshop we had ever had and that planning every single lesson would represent a daunting task. Contrary to my expectations, the practice period turned out to be a challenging but invaluable experience. It was just necessary to get started with the plans and to get to know the students a bit each lesson. Then things started flowing naturally.
During the month I spent at Normal I I learned a lot of things. Surprisingly for me, I´ve discovered that I feel quite more at ease working with adolescents than with kids. Teenagers allow one to be ironic, to mock at them and at yourself freely –without hurting their feelings, of course-, to carry out a systematization with the certainty that they have or they haven´t understood. Teenagers are more challenging and more demanding than children in terms of explanations and justifications. If you don´t know whether, say, the passive voice is clear for them or not don´t worry: they´ll immediately let you know. Teenagers usually value the effort one makes to prepare handouts, to take photocopies, to find interesting topics and to correct homework. Perhaps they don´t express it, but be sure that they know that one prepares the lessons if one does so, they know that we go to bed late, they know that we will explain things twenty times if that is necessary and they know that, in our case, we are trainees who want to make the most of our period in their class and that we want to graduate in order to see our dream come true.
The last lesson was highly emotive. I was about to burst into tears at all times. Everything went as planned and fortunately no one missed the lesson. I had prepared lots of funny activities for them to enjoy the lesson and to unwind, but without forgetting that it was an English lesson. I tried to leave an imprint in their lives, so I showed them Susan Boyle´s video (see previous post) and I also read a story for them. As a gift, I had prepared cards with a chocolate for each of them. It was so funny to make them shut their eyes before receiving the gift! They were very anxious and they couldn´t wait to open their eyes. While keeping their eyes closed some even hypothesized that the class teacher and I were going to carry out a massacre! After opening their eyes they were so pleased to see a little gift on their tables! They were thankful, as well and some even told me that they were about to cry.
When I asked them to give me feedback in a sheet of paper, they wrote the most rewarding things one could ever read. It was great to discover that even the laziest ones had enjoyed all my lessons and that they have learned. In fact, one of the boys told me that he would never forget me because it was with me that he passed the first English test in his whole life. I guess that this is one of the most precious prize for a teacher, isn´t it?
Wednesday 20 October 2010
Monday 4 October 2010
A clear example
Merryl Goldberg was one of the main presenters at F.A.A.P.I. She broke the ice by playing the saxophone and then she also invited Harmer to play with her. After a bit of music she started with her speech. Hers was one of the presentations that I liked the most, since she gave lots of concrete examples of how to include art within the four walls of a classroom.
I had never listened about her and hence, I hadn´t expected such a presentation. She seemed to be a very active and efficient woman, at least on stage, and I guess she must be like that in the classroom, too. She not only gave lots of practical examples but also made each of us feel part of her presentation as well.
At one point in her presentation she gave a list of the ten basic things that enable both teaching and learning. One of the key points she mentioned was CONFIDENCE. And she showed us this Susan Boyle´s video to exemplify what she meant:
I had never seen that video before and I didn´t know that the jury and the audience laughed at this singer in her first appearance. In fact, I hadn´t heard much about her or about her music. As if she knew she was going to win the contest, this woman showed everybody how important confidence in oneself is. Maybe she was quite conscious of the great voice she had, but anyway, confidence was paramount. She didn´t panic on front of such an audience, she didn´t feel nervous and she didn´t tremble! –Or at least it didn´t show!
At the moment in which the judges gave her feedback they were all right: Susan Boyle turned out to be a great surprise. It is really nice to listen to each of them apologizing and to listen to the audience clapping. I think that it is a clear example of how cynical about and prejudiced against people society can be. The video should leave each of us wondering why we pass on judgement before even listening or getting to know each other. And obviously, we should understand that we can do whatever we want to do if we are convinced and determined to fight for our dreams.
This week I´m finishing my practice period at Normal 1 and I´ll show this video to my students, not only because they will understand everything that people in it say, but also because I want to leave an imprint on them. I want them to remember me, my lessons and my teachings. And I hope I can still confidence in them to achieve all their dreams and to understand that, as the slogan claims, “impossible is nothing”.
I hope you can apply this video to your lessons as well! Enjoy it!
I had never listened about her and hence, I hadn´t expected such a presentation. She seemed to be a very active and efficient woman, at least on stage, and I guess she must be like that in the classroom, too. She not only gave lots of practical examples but also made each of us feel part of her presentation as well.
At one point in her presentation she gave a list of the ten basic things that enable both teaching and learning. One of the key points she mentioned was CONFIDENCE. And she showed us this Susan Boyle´s video to exemplify what she meant:
I had never seen that video before and I didn´t know that the jury and the audience laughed at this singer in her first appearance. In fact, I hadn´t heard much about her or about her music. As if she knew she was going to win the contest, this woman showed everybody how important confidence in oneself is. Maybe she was quite conscious of the great voice she had, but anyway, confidence was paramount. She didn´t panic on front of such an audience, she didn´t feel nervous and she didn´t tremble! –Or at least it didn´t show!
At the moment in which the judges gave her feedback they were all right: Susan Boyle turned out to be a great surprise. It is really nice to listen to each of them apologizing and to listen to the audience clapping. I think that it is a clear example of how cynical about and prejudiced against people society can be. The video should leave each of us wondering why we pass on judgement before even listening or getting to know each other. And obviously, we should understand that we can do whatever we want to do if we are convinced and determined to fight for our dreams.
This week I´m finishing my practice period at Normal 1 and I´ll show this video to my students, not only because they will understand everything that people in it say, but also because I want to leave an imprint on them. I want them to remember me, my lessons and my teachings. And I hope I can still confidence in them to achieve all their dreams and to understand that, as the slogan claims, “impossible is nothing”.
I hope you can apply this video to your lessons as well! Enjoy it!
Friday 1 October 2010
F.A.A.P.I. 2010
To tell you the truth, I went with no clear idea on mind of how the congress was going to be like. I knew that some of the people –Harmer, to be more specific- we´ve been reading to throughout these years were going to attend the congress and to give speeches, but I had not expected to enjoy the three days in Córdoba as I did.
Jeremy Harmer, then, gave an incredible speech during which I thought I was looking at and listening to a poet. He was amazing, really! The energy with which he spoke was really contagious and he managed to make everybody feel eager to participate. There were some moments during his presentation in which I felt like a like child, listening at everything he was saying, laughing, shouting and staring open mouthed at him. Among one of the various things he shared with us, here is an example of a “diamante” poem he showed:
Imagine! Most of us were women, so everybody started shouting. As he knew quite well that that was going to happen, he immediately started laughing and make us read this poem:
I am one of those creatures who love collecting brochures and who like entering raffles, so imagine that F.A.A.P.I. was Wonderland for me! It was a pity I didn´t win anything, but I enjoyed filling in each blank space I could. I also enjoyed a lot browsing at books, buying stickers and sealings which who knows when I´ll use them.
It goes without saying that I couldn´t enjoy the presentations more! When attending speeches, I remembered the Pecha Kuchas we have been doing in class. It was great to see slides and to feel that I was ready to do the same sort of presentations those people were doing. Some of the presentations were boring, even as regards design, as the colours were just black and white, or the pictures were not the ones I would have chosen. Those things made me fully understand the importance of everything we are doing in class. As future teachers we must learn how to stand in front of a crowd, how to speak in public, how to design a presentation and how to teach others to do so. I could feel the need of changing tones and of designing and using techniques that could motivate and engage the audience while one is speaking.
I loved those presentations in which the speaker didn´t have a sheet of paper in hand! That was a clear sign of how confident and how well-prepared they were for their presentation. Not to mention how efficiently they handled the overhead projector and how professionally they moved from one topic to the other one, making plenty of connections in the audience´s minds so that there were not loose ends left by the end of their speeches.
Apart from the technicalities and the abilities of each speaker, I found the contents of most presentations extremely interesting. Herbert Puchta mentioned that “mirror neurons” have been discovered, and that those neurons are the ones that, for instance, make one yawn while someone else is doing so. In the same way, those neurons are the ones we are supposed to activate during our lessons so as to make everybody feel eager to participate and eager to learn.
It goes without saying that I couldn´t enjoy the presentations more! When attending speeches, I remembered the Pecha Kuchas we have been doing in class. It was great to see slides and to feel that I was ready to do the same sort of presentations those people were doing. Some of the presentations were boring, even as regards design, as the colours were just black and white, or the pictures were not the ones I would have chosen. Those things made me fully understand the importance of everything we are doing in class. As future teachers we must learn how to stand in front of a crowd, how to speak in public, how to design a presentation and how to teach others to do so. I could feel the need of changing tones and of designing and using techniques that could motivate and engage the audience while one is speaking.
I loved those presentations in which the speaker didn´t have a sheet of paper in hand! That was a clear sign of how confident and how well-prepared they were for their presentation. Not to mention how efficiently they handled the overhead projector and how professionally they moved from one topic to the other one, making plenty of connections in the audience´s minds so that there were not loose ends left by the end of their speeches.
Apart from the technicalities and the abilities of each speaker, I found the contents of most presentations extremely interesting. Herbert Puchta mentioned that “mirror neurons” have been discovered, and that those neurons are the ones that, for instance, make one yawn while someone else is doing so. In the same way, those neurons are the ones we are supposed to activate during our lessons so as to make everybody feel eager to participate and eager to learn.
Jeremy Harmer, then, gave an incredible speech during which I thought I was looking at and listening to a poet. He was amazing, really! The energy with which he spoke was really contagious and he managed to make everybody feel eager to participate. There were some moments during his presentation in which I felt like a like child, listening at everything he was saying, laughing, shouting and staring open mouthed at him. Among one of the various things he shared with us, here is an example of a “diamante” poem he showed:
Man
Brilliant, perfect
Working, learning, earning,
Speaking, speaking, speaking
Furious, exhausted
Woman
Brilliant, perfect
Working, learning, earning,
Speaking, speaking, speaking
Furious, exhausted
Woman
Imagine! Most of us were women, so everybody started shouting. As he knew quite well that that was going to happen, he immediately started laughing and make us read this poem:
Man
Stupid, rude
Sleeping, eating
Trousers, underpants, knickers, shirts
Working, sporting
Clever, beautiful
Woman.
Stupid, rude
Sleeping, eating
Trousers, underpants, knickers, shirts
Working, sporting
Clever, beautiful
Woman.
In this case we all stood up and just clapped and cheered!
That was by far the best example of an effective presentation I had ever seen.
That was by far the best example of an effective presentation I had ever seen.
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