Sonia w3 response ALR.docx

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ONCE A LEARNER, ALWAYS A LEARNER

When I go home next week, I am sure people will be curious about the contents, the

experiences and techniques I have learned during these weeks. How can you summarize what

we have learned during this time? I would have to tell them about the daily routine, about

sharing the bathroom with strangers, about the long hours trying to keep up with work, and

about the interesting workshops we’ve had . How can we summarize the fun we had, the

constant laughing at breakfast, lunch and dinner? Can we really describe the common inquiries

we have about what being a teacher really means? How do you tell, in a nutshell, the dreams

and hopes you share with a group of people who for a month, become your support group,

your circle of friends? I don’t think you can. This is an experience you need to live in order to

understand. So, I will just tell my colleagues it was a very hard and very enriching experience

that I enjoyed a lot.

Speaking about learning, something new that I have experienced during these three weeks

is that real life English is very different from the kind of English we usually teach in the

classroom. We were taught that there are some natural characteristics of spoken languages

such as false starts, hesitation and rewording. I know these are normal and expected as people

speak more spontaneously. When I have traveled I have been exposed to different accents

and intonations but it has been different this month. This month, we have interacted in a

different way because we have lived with native speakers almost 24/7. When you are a tourist,

you usually interact for short periods of time with native speakers but this month has been like

an “immersion” experience for all of us. I am sure we will understand a lot more what

authentic materials are and what real life language is. This has been an interesting experience

as an English teacher and it will enrich my practice especially because I will try to expose my

students to “true” English.

One element of this experience that has been extremely useful and meaningful for me is the

different classroom arrangements the trainers have used. Working in pairs, small groups and

as a whole class has been an enriching experience from which we have all benefited. It has

been thought-provoking to see the trainers use different techniques to form groups during the

workshops. I have come to think about this course as an experience I would like to have

recorded so that I could use the models, frameworks and elements whenever they would be

appropriate in my practice. Hopefully, I will remember by studying my notes and I will be able

to recall what I have experienced and how that experience felt in order to use it in my context.

Another element I would like to incorporate in my practice is the use of community builders. I

usually use ice breakers the first day of class but then I don´t usually make time for them



anymore. During these three weeks I have danced, laughed, jumped, talked to people and

participated in activities that have given us a sense of belonging and sharing that is certainly

invaluable when learning. There are many advantages to using community builders. First,

learners can feel more engaged in activities. Second, we become active and integrated in a

group whether the activity promotes competition or cooperation. Third, moving around

provides students with the opportunity to relax and express themselves differently. Also these

activities, if well-planned, provide students with the opportunity to practice the target language.I see myself using these activities during classes and workshops with colleagues.

When does learning take place? This is a question people have been wondering about for a

long time. During the last two weeks we have probably been expecting to witness the miracle

of learning. We have been waiting for an epiphany, for enlightenment to show in the faces of

our students. Is that the way learning occurs? Perhaps, we have all been looking in the wrong

places. We have been waiting for learning to arise around us and in my particular case, I think

I should have been looking inside of me. I believe during these weeks, we have all seenlearning take place right before our eyes. We have been living and experiencing learning. The

issue with learning is that it is not determined by numbers or pages studied in a book or points

obtained in a test. Learning is marked by know-hows, by opportunities that have been taken

and that will prepare you for future encounters. Learning may happen as raindrops or as a

heavy downpour but it is everywhere.

For learning to occur, we need certain conditions. Just like a well-watered plant grows

better, we need to promote specific circumstances in our classes for our students to learn more

effectively. A positive, non-violent learning environment is a must if we want to support the

growth of a plant called learning. NVC begins with a teacher who is aware of his/her students’

needs and who really cares about them. It is not stated in a teacher’s CV that he/she is

tolerant and respectful but maybe it should be at the top of the list because it makes a big

difference in students’ performance if they go to a class in which they feel appreciated and

accepted. What else do we need for learning to occur? I have learned both from experience

and from this course that well-planned activities and tasks promote the achievement of

objectives. The frameworks we have been presented with during these weeks will allow us toplan better, well-scaffolded classes which will eventually promote learning to occur at its own

pace.

When I got the chance to take this course I set a goal on my mind. I decided to take every

opportunity I had in order to reflect on my practice, to evaluate what I have done so far and

most of all to become a better teacher and incorporate what I learned here into my practice. I

didn´t think this experience was going to be about me as a learners but about me, the teacher.



I think the achievement of my personal goals for this course will only be seen when I

incorporate the new knowledge into my everyday life, back at home. But I can say that in

regards to the learning part of the course, I have learned to look at teaching from a new

perspective. The frameworks we have used during our practice teaching are new, refreshing

ways to plan my classes. I cannot say that I have managed them perfectly, it’s a learning

process. I feel, however, ready to experiment with them to incorporate them into my classes.

In the case of ECRIF I think it allows for more time for the learner to assimilate the content andto process the information presented to them. I would say I am only clarifying or

remembering. I will need lots of conscious practice in order to incorporate ECRIF into my

practice but I will try to do it.

Working with my peers, I have learned a lot, not only about them but also about myself. It

has sometimes been difficult because we have different learning styles and working paces.

Some people need music to learn, others need to comment everything they read and there

have been a couple of times when people have not done what they were supposed to do andthat’s when you need to focus on you own goals and be tolerant of other people’s priorities. I

have learned about positive ways of seeing life, about looking at my learners with new eyes,

about working long hours and putting all your effort in order to reach your goals. It has been a

great experience, one that will treasure for the rest of my life.

I have learned a lot during this month. I have learned from the readings, from the trainers,

from my peers, from the students and I would like to believe that I have learned from and

about myself. It has been very enriching to teach in this context and be observed and to

receive the gift of feedback. After more than 20 years of teaching I still have so much to learn.

I need to improve the way I give feedback to my students about their work. I also need to

work on my instructions and on the order of the tasks I use in my classes. I would especially

like to improve my PDP’s so that I am really using the material to its highest potential. There is

so much to do! Hopefully I will still have the next 20 years to improve as a teacher, and the

rest of my life to improve as a learner.

DAPA #1

Third Week / Saturday, September 13 th , 2014

Description

For my second PDP lesson I chose to teach Reading. I wanted the activity to be really meaningful anduseful for my students so I decided to use a menu. I downloaded a menu from a local restaurant thatserves Costa Rican food and edited it a little bit. I had to change prices in order to make it simpler forthe learners then I made the most expensive dish to be only $11. After talking to Laura, she suggested



having a comparison with another menu and asking questions that would represent a little bit of achallenge for my students such as what would a vegetarian person eat in the restaurant?. I plannedfor my students to work on strategies like scanning for prices and types of dishes and also skimmingfor the restaurant´s name and location.

When the class started, I was very pleased because the students seemed to have lots of vocabulary todraw from during the activities. One of the vocabulary words was “dessert”. My students understood

the meaning well when I provided a picture with rice pudding, custard and tres leches . I have beenusing this strategy in class (I saw it in Roger’s class, actually). I draw a dot over the stressed syllableon a word to help them with pronunciation. When I pronounced the word, I noticed that my studentslooked at me and repeated the word. I pronounced the word again and still felt their confused lookson me. I thought “What’s wrong?” so I looked at the board and there it was. By mistake, I hadmarked the first syllable of the word instead of the second and I saw the three of them pointing at theword and saying: “No, teacher!” I immediately corrected my mistake and marked the correct syllable.I was so happy to see that my students were aware of the correct syllable even if that meant theywere also aware of my mistake. After the class I thought that it is sometimes worth making mistakesin class.

Interpretation Generalization Plan Action

The learners’ performance washelped by the fact that we hadused the strategy to signal thestressed syllable before. Absolutely.

Having routines and developingstrategies in your class providessupport to students and makesthem feel more confident whenperforming in class. Agreed.

I will use the strategy in my classesto help sts improve theirpronunciation and to provide themwith visual support about stressedsyllables, especially for long wordswhich might be difficult for them.Good.

I was able to realize my mistakebecause sts used body language tocommunicate with me even beforethey orally expressed that therewas something wrong. Good.

It is essential for the teacher to bereally present and attentive todetails during the lesson in orderto aid sts when clarification isnecessary. Exactly.

I will try to be present for my stsand aware of their body languageand needs during the lesson. I willtry to be more careful with thewords I write or paste on theboard. Great idea.

The fact that I didn´t signal thestressed syllable before pasting iton the board confused thestudents. Good.

It is important to have all materialsprepared before class. Bypreparing materials ahead, it is lesslikely that we will make mistakes.(less likely but not guaranteed,after all, we are humans) Verytrue.

I will prepare all material for myclass before class and I will go overdetails such as stress andpronunciation of the targetvocabulary. Perfect.

Letting me know what was wrongwas hindered because thestudents don´t have a set ofexpressions that will aid them withbasic classroom interaction. In thiscase, they would have benefitedfrom an expression like: “Teacher, I

It is important for the teacher toprovide the students with a set ofsimple, basic instructions that theycan use during daily interaction inthe class.Agreed.

I will provide my students with alist of simple questions andexpressions they can ask tocommunicate with the teacher andtheir classmates. Maybe even havea poster with this kind of language.



have a question.” Good.

Dear Sonia,

After reading your essay, I’m left thinking about how learning, community and NVC are all connected toteaching and our students’ success. I loved your rain metaphor for learning beca use there are so manydifferent kinds of rain and even extremes. Sometimes there are downpours and other times we have a

drought. As for going home and incorporating this knowledge, I would suggest going slow and tryingone thing out at a time, otherwise, it can be overwhelming and disastrous.

In your DAPA, I separated what I would consider introduction/background information from themoment. Both are valid, but it helps me to see where my attention should be focused. The chart partwas excellent. Great job Sonia.

You have met the requirements for this assignment. Good luck on your portfolio.

Pura vida,

Amanda

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